the weekend

Our weekend here was complete - with a visit to the morning market, a diaper blowout, an evening volleyball game (with riot police), and a nice Sunday beach visit (there was sun, there was rain, there was hail) wrapped up with a full-blown terrible-three temper tantrum. Yes, those times have arrived, and neither of us know quite what to do. Anyways.... the only things missing were - nothing, really. But on facebook I see friends getting together with friends and brunching, lunching etc., and if you've been a reader for more than a season, you'll know that this is my only real qualm with this itinerant life we are so lucky to lead (I miss my friends!). I would also like to move more, and reading this list of Fitness Laws feels right. Will I ever be able to forgo morning sleep in the name of exercise? Maybe when sleeping gets more predictable... (sounds like an excuse to me). I'm tempted to sign up for Ottawa's Race Weekend's 10km - stay posted. Quickly, to wrap this up: Steve's team starts playdowns with a home game on Wednesday, and then competes Wednesday and Saturdays until two winners and two losers emerge at the end of it all - April 30th is the last series of games, I believe. Fingers crossed that these guys can sort a few things out and stay in the first division!

top: police bus outside the gym, ppl being frisked upon entry and riot police separating the AEK fan club from fans
bottom: we sat upstairs (special!) - nice view, and I had to resort to phone-as-a-toy to keep the kids from going crazy

(Writing the above caption I realize I missed a few things: the home team's fan club and the opposing team's fan club (AEK) are "friends", which means that the AEK's fan club is granted entry into the gym - they are the only club whose fans are allowed to come and watch games here in Patra. I'll post a video of some game and fan club action tomorrow - it's taking way too long to upload. Someone turned off more than half of the lights in the gym partway through the second set, and it took at least 20 minutes to get them on and get everyone (athletes, coaches) calm and on the court and playing again (really). I felt way more comfortable being upstairs in the little office/room, but there was no bathroom, so Hendrik had his first pee in a bottle which I felt weird about because I had to hold it (bleccuggh). I was ready to run for it after set three, since both kids were starting to go bonkers - and so was I (both of them insisted on sitting on my lap to watch the game). After the loss there were temper tantrums (grown-up ones resulting in broken table, smashed freezer) - but I didn't see any of that. I got the kids out of there stat as soon as the game wrapped its ugly little self up. Steve said after the game, "there could be elephants on the other side, and guys wouldn't even notice"; this is a team that beats itself. Let's turn it around in the next month eh boys?)

Kalogria

site that dates back to the 13th cent. BC, not far from the beach: from left - the view looking back towards the water, on top of the building, and views beyond, with thunder calling down from the sky