Athens

5/6/08 7:00am

Well, we aren’t in Athens anymore but we were yesterday. Well, Adrienne was. I was in the sick bay. That’s right folks, I am sick. I will spare you the gory details but when we called down for Imodium from the doctor’s office we were told that I would have to come down for some blood work. I, of course, decided I felt much better and after getting some Imodium from a fellow traveler (thanks Rose) I went to the theater with Adrienne to get our tour bus assignment for Athens. I was fine. Then, about two minutes before they called our bus number, I was not fine. I was heading to the doctor. I made Adrienne go on the tour anyway. She had never been to Athens and I needed her to get olive oil and t-shirts for the boys.

After the blood work was done the doctor told me that I had a “berry bad invection.” Once I translated that, those of you that know what we went through with mom back in December can imagine the effect it had on me. I turned into a blubbering idiot. But, I pulled myself together and let them pump a bag of Cipro into me by IV along with some anti-cramping and anti-nausea medication and then I went upstairs to bed. I had to go back in the afternoon for dose #2 of the Cipro and I will be doing it twice today also, but I feel much better. When Adrienne got back from Athens she asked me all kinds of questions: What kind of infection is it? Are you contagious? My sleepy answer was “I don’t know.” So she came down with me for my second dose and grilled the doctor. The doctor said that it was a bacterial infection that likely came from food in Egypt. We have our doubts about this since it had been more than 24 hours since I ate anything in Egypt, but we took her word for it. She assured us that I was not contagious and I should be fine to go into Naples tomorrow.

Adrienne had a great time in Athens from what I understand. The tour we booked had a bus driving by all of the great monuments with a brief stop to take pictures. From her pictures it looks like the stadium has been completely re-done since mom and I were here in 2000. I remembered when we were discussing it at dinner last night that in 2000 they were talking about re-doing it for the 2004 Olympics. She enjoyed seeing the acropolis and the Parthenon and then shopping in the Plakka. She finished up my souvenir buying needs, so she is a good girl.

Today we have another lazy sea day and then we are in Naples tomorrow and then back to Rome to start heading home.

Whew! We finally got a connection. So you are as up to date as we are. See you soon!!