Shopping (and all the rest)!

Apologies for the blog blackout last night – we literally did have a blackout! We’d just finished typing the blog and were in the process of transferring it to the site when a power cut hit the whole of Tolon! We did try posting this morning but things weren’t quite back to normal on the internet front. Sorry if you missed us!

We did get a chance to catch up on all the messages you’ve been sending us. Daniel, Iman didn’t break her ankle, she’s just sprained it, but thanks for your concern. Hi Laila! Fatimah – despite the plaster, Iman has been shopping like you wouldn’t believe so I’m sure there’s something in her goody bag for you! Mr Suter misses you all too, Tiara – he hopes you’re being good for Mr Whitaker. Civene misses you too Tala. Tamara, it’s hard enough to get Azfer to make sure he stands at the front so we can see him, we can’t concentrate on getting him to look at the camera too! Ahmed, we’re sure it is quiet without Amr, even if Mrs Churchill seems to think you are all noisy too – remember, we’ve got him here with us. Mrs Gikas, we’ve had souvlaki only once, but we have had lots of other wonderful food too. And yes, Mrs Williams was cold on the boat, but that was as we were on the top deck on the way home and it was a little windy. Finally, the only danger of any plates breaking on our Greek night were as heads landed on the table as people fell asleep! Keep the comments coming, it’s great to know you’re following our progress.

This morning we threw our windows open to the sound of the waves lapping at the hotel steps and watched the sun rise over the mountains. Jealous? You should be – it was spectacular. There was a general reluctance to leave Tolon – so much so that Azfer hid his room key in his pocket so that we wouldn’t have to depart! Eventually we set off on our way, heading for the theatre at Epidauros. We’ve been lucky on our trips – we have had two guides, Anna and Rebecca, who have been giving us running commentaries on the bus and around the museums and ancient sites. In fact, Anna was very flattered to be told that she was the nicest Greek person that one of the boys had met – even though she hails from the north of England! Rebecca is Greek, and regaled us with tales from Greek mythology all through the journey. If you don’t know anything about Epidaurus, it’s a theatre that seats 14,000 and has absolutely amazing acoustics – Rebecca ripped a piece of paper at the bottom and it could be clearly heard at the top, without any technical gadgets in sight. Abdullah was slightly confused by the whole acoustics thing – he stood at the top and shouted down, wondering if he could be heard at the bottom. We blame the teachers! We tried to encourage Amy to sing to us from the stage – bear in mind some of the most famous names in ancient and modern Greek theatre have performed on that stage – but in the end Mr Suter stepped up with Ben and they sang “Morning has broken” to the enthralled crowds. We sense Nurse Eileen cringing even from here reading that!

From there, we travelled to Mycenae, home of Agamemnon, the King who led the Greeks to Troy – Mr Whitaker’s class should know all about that. We visited a beehive burial tomb and then the main citadel, with its massive fortified stone walls and impressive lion gate. The views were spectacular, and we could see why its location had been chosen. We could almost imagine the amassed ranks of Greek ships assembling before embarking for Troy. Well, the teachers could – the children discovered lots of natural darts growing in the grass and had great fun firing at each other! We were slightly concerned for a while when Mr Suter went to explore a set of steps leading down into a dark narrow passage and didn’t come back for a while – well, Mrs Williams wasn’t that concerned as when Mr Suter emerged, she already moved everybody on!

We lunched in Mycenae on stuffed tomatoes, Greek salads, oven baked lamb and potatoes and ice cream – absolutely delicious. We’ve had two cooked meals each day, each of three courses plus salads, so it’ll be diets all round when we come back.

The catch word for this group has become “shopping” – we’ve never known anything like it! We no longer say “cheese” when posing for the camera but “shopping!” Even a brief photo stop at the Corinth canal became a frenzy of commercial activity! After a snoozy journey back to Athens, we dumped our bags in the hotel and went for a walk to Athens’ flea market – at one stage we had to go back as we thought we’d lost Mrs Williams, only to discover that the shop had run out of enough carrier bags to carry all the goodies she’d bought! We know one mum did tell the group to be sure to leave something behind for other tourists, but we’re very sure that they didn’t – the children will be coming home with twice as much stuff as they arrived with (Mrs Williams four times as much!).

So that’s it – we’ve finished our touring and tomorrow all that remains is to pack up and head off to the airport. We’ve had an absolutely wonderful time, and the children have been an absolute credit to themselves and the school. We’ve enjoyed every minute, but we suspect that we’ve a few children looking forward to a big hug from mum and dad tomorrow evening. Max has perhaps summed it up best: “I’ve been in BISAK for seven years, and this is the best five days I’ve had in that time.” What more can we say?

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside…

Time is flying by – it’s hard to believe that here we are ending day 4 already, and that we’re starting our journey home tomorrow! We’ve moved on from Athens and are staying tonight in the Hotel Tolo in, not surprisingly, Tolo. We’ve had a busy day, but first, our Greek night last night.

We were collected from our hotel and after a short drive, dropped off for a stroll through the area known as the Plaka (the area around the Acropolis and the oldest part of Athens). Despite exhortations at every opportunity to stop for the shops, we continued on to the O Geros Tou Moria restaurant (The Old Man of Morias). We were treated to a selection of traditional Greek starters and main dishes, and at regular intervals were entertained by Greek dancers. No one from our party was brave enough to venture onto the dancefloor, although Azfer looked worried at one time when he was coming back from the loo and got caught between them! It was a very entertaining evening, not least for the fact that at least three of our party couldn’t keep their eyes open…..to start off…, it got progressively worse as the night went on with the children dropping like flies. We almost stole the show as we became the center of attention. Time to go!!! Angus was asked this morning if he enjoyed the night. “Yes” – and after a pause “Did I miss many courses?” For the record, Angus, it was two you missed (main and desert).

Today has been fantastic. We started at the National Archaeological Museum where Mazyad has set a new photographic record – 150 photos in seven and a half minutes! Or to be more precise 1 ½ rooms. He was surprised when his batteries ran out towards the end of the visit. Some of the artefacts were simply outstanding, and any amount of photographs would not do them justice. We spent about an hour and a half there, before moving on to the Greek War Museum. We didn’t tour the whole museum, just a privately sponsored wing where a serial weapons collector had donated his collection to the museum. What was interesting was a gun that had been owned by a previous Greek Prime Minister, Andreas Papandreou – it was given to him, according to the display card, by the Kuwaiti Royal family, but in fact had the Saudi Arabia coat of arms on it.

We then left Athens, and moved towards thye Peloponnese and a small village Isthmia for lunch. Our restaurant was located immediately adjacent to the start of the Corinth canal (aka, Isthmus) and we were treated to the sight of the bridge sinking under the water to allow a ship to pass through. Myrna enjoyed rescuing fish trapped on the bridge when it reemerged after the ship had passed. Lunch – mousaka and yiouvetsi (oven baked veal and risoni pasta) – was delicious.

We spent an extremely pleasant afternoon then wandering the streets of Nafplio (the first Capital of Modern Greece) a small seaside town dominated by an imposing Venetian citadel. Sadly, we didn’t get up to that (Iman might have struggled on the 853 steps, not to mention the teachers) instead we split into small groups for a bit of souvenir hunting. When tired of that… OK, the girls never tired of that, and actually weren’t seen all afternoon after entering the first shop. The boys strolled along the sea front, and were fortunate to come across Fantastic Freddy from Alaska, a tightrope walking street entertainer, who certainly appreciated his instant audience. Clement enjoyed being on his shoulders on a unicycle, and Angus, Bassil and Max were willing participants in a magic trick that went badly wrong – through no fault of their own.

We now safely ensconced in our hotel. The sea is lapping on the beach at the back door, and we look out of our balconies across, as Mr. Gikas said, “a million dollar view.” Mountains and islands – simply spectacular. Of course, the children are more interested in looking across he road at the gift shop, but sadly that was shut before we’d finished our dinner!

Tomorrow is our last day of touring – we’re off to the theatre at Epidaurus, and then the ancient citadel at Mycenae… but that’s all to come!

For a bit of a laugh: on the 2nd morning when climbing the Acropolis, Mr. Gikas carrying Iman piggyback and Jenna walking using the crutches, a guide approached Mr. Gikas and asked where we were from. When told Saudi Arabia, he asked “Are you a special needs school?”!!!!!!

On top of the world (well, Athens)…

Today we hit perhaps the most iconic symbol of modern day Athens – and ancient Greece. The Acropolis. Wow! But more of that in a moment…

We had a lie-in this morning, and we’d like to say that the children looked refreshed, but the long sleep left them looking even more disheveled than they did last night before retiring! We did have our own bit of drama last night – poor Iman took a tumble on the boat and twisted her ankle. With a swelling the size of an egg, she got an extra bit of sightseeing with a visit to a very efficient Greek hospital. Fortunately, nothing was broken (despite the reports we’ve heard back from Saudi!) although she does have a cast on and is using crutches to assist her!

Talking of eggs, great achievement this morning. Amr was a little perplexed as to how to eat a hard boiled egg – he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it! He did say he wanted one like Mr Suter’s, but he was actually eating a fried egg at the time. Watch out for more cookery lessons on our curriculum!

And so to the Acropolis. As soon as we sighted it, cameras were clicking away, although wallets were also taking a hit as the first path side vendors selling some kind of toy also proved a great attraction. We were slightly worried that Iman might not be able to make it to the top, but had a practical solution – Mr Gikas and Mr Suter took turns to carry her, piggy back style, up to the top. And to think that if Iman had taken a donkey ride on the islands yesterday she would have had to pay €10.

Our guide Rebecca explained all about the Acropolis, and all the surrounding ancient monuments we could see. The children proved eager to capture all on film – one particular hole in the rock held great attraction, until Mr Gikas explained that it was an extremely recent one and probably the product of renovation work!

But it is stunning on the top. The views themselves are breathtaking – you could almost take yourself back in time and imagine the horror the Athenians felt as they saw the Persian fleet in the distance on the blue sea. Old and new buildings merge with stunning effect and you peer down over the Athenian rooftops. The photos don’t do it justice, but you’ll get something of an idea of what it’s like.

From there we visited the new Parthenon Museum, where the original remains of the porticoes and frescoes are displayed. Mr Suter felt somewhat under pressure with all the references to the Elgin Marbles being held in the British Museum in London and not returned – Max wanted to know why didn’t we organize a trip to London for our ancient Greek history so we could see more of them! The joy of this museum is that all the artifacts are not hidden behind glass, but are out of display – but with a plethora of accompanying security staff. “Don’t touch” seemed to be a phrase that our students didn’t really grasp – we certainly attracted a lot of nervous attention from them.

From there, we returned via the Olympic stadium – Mazyad wanted to know why we couldn’t go in and try to whisper up to the audience, but was soon put right that we’ll be able to do that at Epidauros in the theatre there – he was a day or two too soon! A rooftop lunch looking out over the city followed – we’ve been blessed with the weather again and once more the sun has been shining high!

We move on tomorrow, but are out for a Greek folk night tonight. The girls are putting on all their finery – the boys are claiming that spraying themselves with smell wells will have just as good effect as showering and putting on clean clothes! Your laundry bills won’t be too high this month when they return! More anon when we get to Tolon!

Antio yah tora!

Hello Mr Suter and crew

Hey guys

Just a quick 'hi' from Mr Whitaker. It's Friday now so obviously no school - just writing from home to say we missed you on Wednesday. We had a good day at school, we had a visit from a very famous football person, his name is Tommy Docherty - I'm sure Mr Suter will be able to tell you all about him!

Thank you so much for your blogging, I look forward to reading it to my class and Mr Suters class tomorrow! We're going to put it on the whiteboard and look at all your cool photos - it looks like you're having such a good time.

Mr Suter - I just remembered you can moderate the comments yourself - no need for the email, just click on the 'comment moderation' tab in the dashboard.

Picture this

Mr Suter thinks he has mastered the technology - here goes...

We are sailing, we are sailing…

No stormy waters for us. After a good night’s sleep, we were up early this morning for our island cruise.out to Hydra, Poros and Aegina. Quite what type of boat we were expecting to take us out I don’t think anyone can say, but probably none of us expected the huge three decker that took us out. We settled down below decks, serenaded by an international musician playing Zorba the Greek tunes for us.

Our first port of call was the island of Hydra. Today is National Day here, and we were treated to a march past of local schoolchildren, the youngest dressed in traditional Greek costumes. Like bees around a honeypot, the souvenir shops proved a huge attraction and with 21 children in tow we delighted the shopkeepers. With time limited, we managed a sea front stroll during which the children managed to acquaint themselves with all sorts of local flora and fauna, in particular donkeys, well fed cats and one particularly long and hairy caterpillar!

Our short voyage across to the island of Poros was eased with lunch. When we disembarked from the boat, we climbed up a narrow flight of stairs to explore some of the narrow cobbled streets behind the main sea front – once again, the shopkeepers took an assault! If you were worried they were thinking of you at home, you’d be amazed at how many times today we’ve heard “I’d like that for my mum”, “Dad will love this”.

We spent the next leg across to Aegina on the top deck – the sun was blazing all day, although it was chilly enough with the wind. Pretty much everyone in the group tried a “Titanic” moment, standing at the front of the boat leaning into the wind (and railings – don’t panic!). Amr did his best to lose his tour hat, seeing it blown up on top of the upper deck control room, but it was rescued by an obliging crewman. We had a delightful stroll along the seafront in Aegina, although Mrs Williams was extremely worried that she might not get another shopping opportunity. We explored the seafront, and then split into groups of shoppers (Civene was amazed at the staying power of the boys in the shops) and sunbathers/sea creature hunters.

Back to the upper deck for the trip home, the wind eventually drove us below decks where we spent the remainder of our journey. A short bus ride home, dinner and then bed – despite their denials, all that fresh air has exhausted the children (and teachers!) and beds were very welcomed this evening.

If you’re reading this back in school on Saturday morning with Mr Whitaker or Mrs Churchill, the children would like you to know that they certainly do wish you were here as they are having a blast. Unfortunately, Mrs Williams forgot to bring the spelling words so the test we promised them won’t be able to take place, unless Mr Whitaker emails them to us – but then we’re not sure if we’ll be able to fit them in between the Acropolis visit, Greek dancing, museum tours…

And a final apology for not putting pictures up – Mr Suter apologises for his technical ineptitude…

Arrival in Athens

Well, here we are, after what seemed like an incredibly long journey. Customs was cleared quickly and easily with no difficulties, and having been given a bit of free time to explore before our departure time most made their way to the ice cream parlour – at 2.30am in the morning! We have photographic evidence of all the culprits (anonymous at this stage!!) but sure mums will find the chocolate and strawberry stains on some white clothing. Rumours circulated that Mr Suter was seen at McDonalds but flatly denied it, claiming that Nurse Eileen would never let him eat so unhealthily. Again our resident detectives have the evidence.
The journey from Bahrain through Abu Dhabi to Athens was largely uneventful, although a few moments stick out: Azfer trying to “steal” his emergency lifejacket from the plane; Kyle taking the customs officer’s immigration stamp; Abdullah making every effort to stay on his feet and collectively the number of lollipops that were consumed in Abu Dhabi could have energized the entire Saudi Olympic team for the duration of the games..
Resplendent in our white ‘tour’ hats, after arriving at our Hotel exhausted and starving Mr. Gikas led us on an exploratory tour of Athens, to find a traditional Greek snack to tide us over until dinner. Souvlaki and chips, partly traditional – OK cooked in greek olive oil were, wolfed down with gusto. Despite the fact that the walk gave us some stunning views of the Acropolis framed by the tall buildings along the narrow roads, the highlight of this excursion was by far chasing the pigeons in the town hall square! Emre is still maintaining that pigeon poop on your derriere is luck!
Down town Athens has thrown up some sights and sounds we wouldn’t normally see in Khobar. A passing vendor selling hand made wooden toys thought his luck was in as the children were captivated by his offerings – he probably sold more in half an hour with us than he probably normally does in a week! A flower seller tried to continue in the same form – Amy and Cordelia were delighted to be offered flowers by a passing stranger, but didn’t realise the hidden tag of having to pay for them! Crossing roads has proved a nightmare – no one pays any attention to anything any other road user is doing. Imagine the worst streets in Khobar, and add in motorbikes going any way they like, whether on the road or the walkways, and you’ll get an idea! Luckily coming back to the hotel we were escorted – quite randomly, not because of our behaviour! – by four policemen and women who held up the traffic for us at every junction. So yes, all still present and correct!
Exhaustion has set in – an early night for all, as we look forward to tomorrow’s island cruise out into the bay! It’s been dry with some sun today, and we’re looking for more of the same tomorrow! Watch this space!