you know it's been a good vacation when...

... you forget your password at work. whoops! In a few hours, I go back to work after three weeks of vacation. The office has just moved, so today I need to find my new desk, unpack my one pathetic little box and figure out how to get a new password, amongst other things. I expect I'll be wading through a lot of emails too.

We've been home about 36 hours. So far, we've done mountains of laundry, thrown out loads of junk mail, paid bills, slept in our own beds for two nights, gone to the farm for a pickup, shopped for groceries, talked to our mothers, made a first attempt at catching up with email, and have come close to erasing the combined volcano-tornado that seems to travel through the house when we come back from a trip. Oh, and Robert went to work yesterday for a few hours; more on that in a bit.

And yes, the vacation was wonderful. I've been a little slow in writing just because there's so much to say and there are so many pictures to select from (over 1000; Robert claims that a quarter of them are of cats). So I'll say a bit here and then more later. With that, some highlights:

• When we arrived at our hotel in Athens, we realized we were directly across the street from some ruins, so we went exploring and found the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian's Arch, with the city roaring all around us. Several times walking around Athens, we'd stumble on a preserved site, protected from modern life, but out on display. In fact, it turns out that the subway has several stations with museum-quality exhibits to admire while you wait for your train.
• On our first day, we headed to the National Archaeology Museum of Athens, which we picked almost at random from a list of many tempting sites to visit. What a treat. We spent a lot of time in the Mycenean area, where they've arranged the displays beautifully and helpfully. Later, we visited Mycenae and the museum at the actual site, so it all fit together well. One of the huge ka-thunks of this day was finally realizing how much the Greeks and the Egyptians interacted. So I felt like our trip was a follow-on chapter to our trip to Egypt.
• On our last day in Athens, we spoke to someone who invited us to see a brand-new exhibit connected to the not-yet-opened new Acropolis museum. It was small and stunning, presented as an archaeologist might see it, with all the exhibits in sand.
• We ate outside almost every single day, usually in a quiet spot such as a pedestrian-only square. Overhead, we typically had umbrellas or grape arbors or trees. The food at the tabernas was fresh and delicious.
• Nearly everyone spoke enough English to get by and many signs were in both English and Greek. I was delighted to be able to sound out most words in the Greek alphabet, but I felt like a five-year old as I'd proudly read words to Robert. I also learned a few Greek words, including maxillaria for pillow. Those of you who've seen my bed at home understand why I needed to learn that word. It seemed to delight hotel staff that I did know the word.
• There were high winds for the boat portion of our trip, which forced our captain to change our itinerary dramatically. Still, we went to great places, including Hydra, a car-free island where most heavy transportation is done by donkeys who can walk up and down the staircases carved into the streets. We also went to Kea, where we hiked along a mountain path to visit a huge statue of a recumbant lion.
• Then on the bus portion of the trip, we visited some very moving sites -- Mycenae, Corinth, Olympia, Delphi, and Meteora.
• The people on the trip were wonderful. Dancing on the boat was -er- an adventure (the floor was "grabby", the deck was curved, and there were obstacles -- what's that mast doing in the middle of the dance floor?). But the dancing was gentle and fun, we had great musicians and caller, and that part of the trip provided a great way to connect with our fellow travellers.
• Barcelona remains as loveable a city as it was when I last visited 30 years ago. Transportation is quick and efficient. My brother and his family are just settling in. They're working hard and seem to be thriving.
• And coming home was a treat. Our house sitter is careful and thoughtful and leaves an extremely clean camp site. The cats seemed very happy to see us, picking up almost exactly where we'd left off. That means they were treated with great kindness in our absence.
• Oh, and I think I mentioned that Robert verbally accepted a verbal offer for a new job just days before we left. Minutes before we left, he received emailed paperwork that he needed to fill out, sign, and fax back. So the first few days of our trip included a scavenger hunt for an internet cafe (we found lots) with a working printer (some) and a scanner (plenty) that worked (ah, that was the problem). We finally found one on a small Greek island. So we spent part of a sunny afternoon in a dark, smoke-filled room lined with computers. Most of the people there were playing internet games (it was called the Fight Club, after all), and there we were, madly printing, filling out forms, signing them, and scanning them back in. After submitting the paperwork for his new job, he sent in his official resignation letter to his old company. So yesterday was his last day on the job, with a goodbye lunch to come later this week. New job starts on the 22nd. Go Robert!