Today was a very quiet day. Mark and Martha called to say that the overcast weather made it less-than-ideal for an excursion they were planning about 90 minutes away. It was just as well as Kim was also having a less-than-ideal day. I did some work, we shopped at a neighborhood grocery and just hung around the apartment. Kim suggested that today's blog entry be about the apartment: not just because that's where we were today but also so our guests can get a sense of what to expect.

The first pictures are really of the balcony rather than the view, although you can certainly see some. The first picture is looking north, toward Athens (the balcony faces east). You should be able to recognize that the balcony runs the length of the apt: not wide but very long. Athens is very much a balcony culture. Most apartments have balconies and people are seen using them. We've been a little voyeuristic: not lewd or anything, but we have been able to see into some very nice apartments. You'll see that some people across the street (west-facing balconies) have rolled their awnings down to avoid the harsher sun. We may have to do that before we leave but certainly not in February. The seond picture, facing south, shows the balcony from the other end (laundry in foreground) with the sea in the distance. Our tram stop is immediately in front of that (you can see the gray-roofed shelter).

Our bedroom has a queen-sized bed. It's low to the floor but otherwise just fine. I didn't want to include multiple pictures from each room, so I'll just explain that it has a door to the balcony (right of picture), large dresser (behind) and build-in closets (left). The picture is taken from the doorway to the hall. We can hear the church bells (see top picture) each morning at 7. We also hear a fair amount of street noise, but it's not too bad (light sleepers might have trouble).

The kitchen is very small. There is a table (on the left) that would seat two very snugly, but we use it for prep because counter space is limited. The refrigerator is good size, but the electric stove would never accommodate one of Kim's more elaborate meals.

This room I guess we'll call the family room, although it is actually serving mostly as an office right now. Just to the left is the secretary desk where we have the laptop. The daybed in the lower right is one of two guest beds. Notice the door to the living toom (straight ahead) and dining room (left) are both pocket doors. Yes, they still work. The building is from 1971: Mark says it's an "old" apartment. I didn't have the nerve to tell him our Muncie house is 7 years older. You may be able to tell that there are hardwood floors. The sketch on the wall is of the former owner/resident. Some of her many books on art can be seen in the built-in shelves on the left.

The dining room obviously has the table in the foreground (covered with 42 applications from Greek graduate students seeking a Fulbright to study in the U.S.). In addition you can see the second daybed on the left.

The living room obviously centers on the TV. We get a number of channels (20 maybe) including one Swiss (in French) and CNN International. Many of the Greek channels carry some US TV shows. Some are dubbed into Greek but many are subtitled, so we can watch and actually work on our Greek reading (we did that in Slovenia years ago - in Slovene, not Greek).

I didn't include a bathroom picture because I couldn't get back far enough to take in the whole room. It's large enough, though, for a toilet, bidet, sink, washing machine and full-sized tub.