In the nine days since I've had Internet access, I've lived an entire lifetime...

I'll start with the latest and work back through the week in the days to come.

Our Saturday in Athens, Greece, included photographing the sunrise over Athens from the Star Clipper, our sailing vessel. Then we disembarked and caught a bus to Mars Hill and the Parthenon. It's easy to see how Paul would conclude that the Athenians were religious. I was impressed anew with the fact that he didn't rail against their Greek pantheon of always-competing and bickering gods. He simply concluded that the Athenians' "altar to an unknown god" was a step in the right direction and proceeded to tell them that the true God was not made with hands--and that he is never far from any of us.

Our guide mentioned that while Americans seem uninterested in talk of gods and goddesses, knowing what god/goddess a city worshiped is essential to understanding it. Athena is the goddess of wisdom, so citizens of Athens wanted their city to reflect culture and philosophy. Corinth was the home of Aphrodite, goddess of love (and not the agape version). That might explain why so much of Paul's letter to the Corinthians focuses on morality (Rom. 6, 7) and love (1 Cor. 13). My hypothesis is that Ephesus, being home to virgin Artemis, had a distinctly pro-independence flavor.

From the Parthenon in Athens we could see the city's ancient theater, the agora, and the temple of Zeus. Afterward we also saw the shopping district (Plaka), Hadrian's Arch, and the site of the first modern Olympics.

With two others from our group, I spent my free time walking to the brand new Acropolis Museum. I enjoyed seeing archeologists' visions of what the parthenon once looked like. I also saw many artifacts--amazing artifacts--found during years of digging. I didn't even know about the museum before the trip, but someone on our group had an article from the Wall Street Journal about it. More than thirty years in the making, it opened last month and was built to house findings from Acropolis Hill. The entrance has floors of thick glass through which visitors can look below and see ruins discovered during excavation for the building. And what a view of the Acropolis! (Plus entrance cost only one Euro--about a buck-fifty.)

From there we all checked in at the Hotel Grande Bretagne, and I had a rooftop swim to cool off. There I enjoyed a long chat with new friends I will really miss. Then we closed out our fantastic week with a dinner banquet, during which Steve Green performed his most well-known worship songs.

We said goodbyes to friends old and new and the trip officially came to an end. I could have squeezed in three hours of sleep instead of just 90 minutes, but I wanted to see the Acropolis lit up at night from the top of the hotel (wow!). Then a few of us headed across the street to see the changing of the guard at Parliament.

Back in the room I packed, took a quick nap, and then rose for my 2:30 AM shuttle to the airport and the long day of travel. Many movies, naps, and stiff muscles later, I saw the welcoming faces of my husband and daughter. After a 45-minute drive home, I fell into bed at 4 PM.