Greece, Part I

Saturday, October 13th: We departed Harrogate at 10 am; 16 hours later we arrived at our hotel in Athens. Seeing as how it was 2 am, we crashed. Sunday: We saw the Greek version of the changing of the guard, ate our first authentic gyros, and spent the remainder of the day at the Acropolis, where the Parthenon is located, as well as 4-5 other sites around the city. The architecture and history there = AMAZING! Monday: We caught the 7:30 am 5 hour long ferry ride to the island of Santorini. We explored the city of Oia, took lots of pictures, watched a beautiful sunset, ate dinner, and went to bed.

Tuesday was the most eventful day: We caught a bus in attempt to see an archaeological excavation, but when we reached the destination we discovered it was closed. Boo! (A British guy was killed at the site 2 years ago and it hasn't reopened to the public since.) So instead, we walked to the red sand beach and made some American friends on the way, Vanessa and Paul. After the beach, we went back to their hotel for lunch. Several hours later, we had reservations for a sailboat cruise and headed to the "old port" where we were supposed to meet. The tricky part was that the old port was waaaay down at the water level compared to the entire city which was built up on the top of tall cliffs. So in order to get down to the port, you had to either walk down 600 stairs, catch a cable car, or ride a donkey down. As usual, the Riggs had budgeted JUST BARELY enough time to make our boat's departure. We were aiming for the cable car ride, but the forever long line forced us to do otherwise. This is where the fun comes in. Our trusty tour book said the 600 ankle-breaking cobblestone stairs (where you have to avoid heaps of donkey dung) take approximately 20 minutes to get down and well, we only had 10. So the running began. I couldn't keep up with Brandon so he told me to go at the fastest pace I could and he would sprint down and hold the boat for me. He took off and was immediately out of sight. I was flying by the normal, walking people and was probably at the 400th stair mark when I heard a voice say, "And there she goes!" I looked back and saw our friend Paul. He and his wife were going on the same boat cruise and seeing him was enough of an excuse to stop running and catch my breath. I walked down the rest of the way and we made the boat just in time. :) Somehow, amazingly, Brandon ran down all 600 steps in 8 minutes. Wow. What a way to start our activity! The boat took us to a nearby active volcano where we got out and hiked to the top. In certain spots, you could see yellow smoke oozing out of the ground, which was cool, but other than that it just looked like a mountain made of black rock. Next, we motored over to some natural hot springs created by the volcano in the Aegean Sea. We had to jump off the boat (or dive if you're Brandon and lower yourself down if you're Lisa) and swim through freezing cold water to get to the hot springs. It was definitely worth it though. Shortly afterwards, we arrived back at the port and had to go back up. This time we opted for the donkey ride. It was crazy. These donkeys were very aggressive and literally raced each other to get to the top first. They rammed each other so as to not get passed, and with a pack of donkeys going down and a pack of donkeys going up at the same time there was a lot of traffic jams and road rage. It was so insane! My donkey was really fast and passed a whole group of people. We ended up being the head of the pack and were the first ones at the top. First place for me! :) We have some great footage on the whole experience that I will be sure to post. After we showered and cleaned up we met Vanessa and Paul at their place for some appetizers, wine, and a stunning sunset. We all went out to eat together and then made our way to bed.

Well, this concludes the first portion of our trip. Up next, Naxos, Mykonos, Delos, and a final day in Athens.

Changing of the guard in Athens. They wear silly puff ball shoes.



We've arrived! The grandiose Parthenon.

Name this capital style... (Answer: Ionic.)

Caryatids, female statues that act as columns.

Another ruins site.

Looking out our hotel window... the Acropolis lit up at night.

Beautiful Santorini.

You can see how the city's built on the cliffs.

In the lead already...

Overlooking the red sand beach.



The 600 stairs with it's many torturous switchbacks.

The sailboat we rode.

Part of the active volcano.

Who knows how long...

I'll admit it, I was sad to leave England this time around and got all nostalgic our final days in Harrogate. I walked around town trying to capture fond memories and favorite scenes in a little under 50 photographs. We said goodbye to Harrogate for who knows how long... years and years I'm sure. Harrogate will always have a special place in our hearts; Brandon and I spent a total of 9 months of the first 3.5 years of our marriage living in that town. I've picked some of my favorite photos to share with you. Enjoy.

Soon to come, our time in Greece.

The train station that we RAN to a few too many times.



In England efficiency isn't necessarily taken into consideration.

When will we see Smart cars on the 405 freeway?

Best fish and chips in my life...

One of the main streets.

The Royal Pump Room Museum.

The stray, 200 acres of land that exists for picnics, local football matches, etc.

The Turkish baths.

Lastly, our place of residence. We were in Flat 7, rockin out on the 3rd floor.

My birthday...

The fun started with lunch at Betty's (famous for their tea) with my friend Laura and a surprise guest, Brandon. He took time off work to join us at the restaurant.


Then, Laura and I got manicures... nothing like a little pampering on your birthday. :)




Afterwards, I came home to these beautiful flowers from Brandon.


That night we had dinner plans with another couple that live out here, Jack and Patty. So I celebrated the remainder of my evening over at their place. It was fun; I enjoyed their company. But it doesn't end there... Brandon still wanted to take me out for a special dinner just the two of us. So Thursday night was celebration dinner #2. We went to 'Chino Latino' in Leeds.

"It is a modern pan-asian cuisine with a latin cocktail bar. Chino Latino has forged the reputation as one of the 50 best restaurants in Europe. It has perfected the art of a sophisticated and cosmopolitan dining experience."

Here's us ready to go eat:


The food was amazing. One of my favorite dining experiences in... a long, long time. We ordered 4 dishes because they are smaller portions and meant to share among your table.

Asparagus and spinach in a sesame sauce
Seared marble beef with crispy garlic and yuzu vinaigrette
Black Cod tempura with citrus glaze
Tannki roll tuna- salmon and sea bass with avocado and spicy tarragon miso with tempura crunchy

This was the black cod tempura... yummy! I wish we had pictures of the other dishes though because they were even a more impressive presentation.


I also must mention all the love that was sent my way from friends and family back home. Thank you guys for making my day special. So there you have it. Who said getting another year older was so bad...? I love birthdays! :)

the weekend +

Recently the Riggs have been quite busy. We've had plans if not every day, then every other day... but we love it! I'll hit a few of the highlights. On Saturday we had taco night at our place. About 15 people (ranging from ages 23-60 ish) came over and chowed down on lots of yummy food courtesy of Bea. Our place is fairly small so it made for cozy conditions in flat 7 that night. But it worked out fine, and was a fun time. Sadly, we didn't take any pictures during the actual party, but you can see a few shots below of the next morning before the cleanup took place.



Only a portion of the food that night.


On Sunday, Brandon and I went on a hike in West Burton, a one hour drive from Harrogate. It was 3 hours long and moderate on the difficulty scale. Here's the link that talks more about it: http://www.walkingenglishman.com/dales21.htm
We saw the beautiful outdoors of England and several waterfalls.





Very typical Yorkshire Dales.


We even saw a black sheep.


Yesterday, I went to Leeds (30 minute drive from H-gate) with my friends Laura and Patrick to the Asian markets. A first for me; very fun. We decided to make Wonton Soup for the H-gate crew. We bought the goods and began slaving away in the kitchen. It was a long and tedious process, but boy oh boy were the results worth it. Thanks Patrick's mom for an amazing, authentic recipe! The soup was fabulous; I ate two bowls.

Me & Laura with our perfectly pinched Wontons before they were cooked.


Well, that's about it for now. Later.