And counting....

We have less than a week left in our travels. 6 days and counting.... Yesterday afternoon we arrived in Paris, where we are staying with Benny's aunt and uncle who are living here for a semester. We arrived here from Athens, and before that the Greek islands.

This will actually be a pretty short entry (sorry FrugalMoon fans, there is too much to see in Paris to be cooped up here!) But here's a quick summary of what we did since our last posting.

Santorini: this island is the one many people think of when they think of the Greek islands -- whitewashed houses with blue trim, beautiful views, and Byzantine churches. The island is volcanic in origin, and when the volcano's cone collapsed several thousand years ago the ocean filled the crater, leaving a half-donut shaped island with striking cliffs and cliffside towns along the coasline. Although we enjoyed Santorini (in particular the caldera views and the black sand beach near our hotel), the island was a bit too touristy and overdeveloped for our taste. The highlight of our time in Santorini? Renting a SmartCar and cruising around the island.

Paros: our next stop was Paros, north of Santorini. This was one of best islands we visited. One of the reasons we enjoyed ourselves so much was our hotel, Rooms Mike, where we had a nice studio apartment with a small kitchen, a porch, and a view of the harbor. If you ever visit Paros -- regardless of budget -- this should be one of your top choices. We spent most time wandering the island and exploring small villages and beaches. We also spent half a day on Antiparos, Paros' small neighbor, where we visited a small cave with some beautiful rock formations. This island, unlike Santorini, seemed like a real living Greek island, and not just a tourist destination.

Athens: the next stop was Greece's capital and largest city. Frankly, we were quite dissapointed by Athens. Although Athens is known for its ruins, we found that the Greek ruins in Sicily -- which we saw at the beginning of our travels -- where more spectacular (and in much better condition) than those in Athens.

We are continuing to work on our "Best of/Worst" of posting. That's all for now....au revoir!