Day 1 : Assembling bikes/ gear with the Athenian Parliamentary building in the background where the bus from the airport dropped us off.
Day 1 : Climbing at the foot of the Acropolis.
Day 1 : Athens spreads in the valley below the Acropolis.
Day 1 : The Parthenon, Athens Greece.
Day 1 : Overlook from the top of the Acropolis, Athens Greece.
Day 1 : Asking for directions somewhere outside Dervani, Greece.
Day 2 : John leads the way into strong winds and occassional spray of crashing waves along the north coast of Peloponissos, somewhere near Xilokastro Greece.
Day 2 : Stop for a break on a hot Greek afternoon. The smell of ocean fills the air. Beside a constant hum of rubber tires, the blue ocean and sky frames the mainland across the sea.
Day 2 : Accomodations onboard the overnight ferry from Patras to Corfu. Here we're enjoying sandwiches, chips and wine while reviewing the day's notes.
Day 2 : Patras, Greece's third largest city.
Day 3 : We disembark from the overnight ferry on Corfu island and snap this photo as it departs for its next stop, Ancona Italy.
Day 3 : Strolling along the neat, clean stone streets of downtown Corfu town, originally a Venetian city.
Day 3 : A quick stop this morning for breakfast includes a frappe (cold coffee) and a cheese and potato wrap. The commuters passing by en route to work (by foot) look at us as if we have square heads. Some stop and chat to find out more about what brings us to their little corner of the world.
Day 3 : My sister and her soon to be husband could not have picked a more beautiful chapel to have her wedding. Kanoni chapel in Corfu Greece is completely surrounded by clear water with the exception of this straight narrow sidewalk.
Day 4 : Late in the morning, George and John spotted some fellow wedding guests en route to the area where the ceremony and reception would be held later in the day. Doo Be Doo Be Doo.....
Day 4 : Getting dressed for and showing off what some of us were wearing at the wedding. The attire was everything from summer to slick. L to R is brother Nick, cousin Steve, George and cousin Antonis.
Day 4 : George is already beaming, and bodyguard John is making sure that the entourage has the all clear.
Day 4 : Taso greets Irene as she and her family arrived at the chapel just before the ceremony.
Day 4 : During the ceremony, father Makrinos stands flanked by his two boys.
Day 4 : The Greek wedding tradition includes lots of dancing en masse.
Day 5 : John and George were heading out of Corfu town when they were stopped by a car with none other but the newlyweds themselves. Irene and Taso were spending the day taking wedding photos with endless smiles.
Day 6 : Cousin Efthemios, seated in the right bottom corner, built this beach house in which we stayed for two days.
Day 7 : Little cousin Ionnias (Johnny) stands with John and George in the courtyard of his family's home, where John and George were visiting with their bikes. Johnny is clearly aspiring to be the next generation of cycle enthusiasts in George's family.
Day 7 : Cousin Alekos allowed for some space in his workshop to perform some minor maintenance in preparation for the next stage of our trip.
Day 7 : John gives a toast for George's birthday gathering at the beach house.
Day 8 : Prince Poseidon meets the local fanfare upon his arrival on the sandy shores.
Day 8 : The 1 hour ferry from Lefkimi, Corfu to the mainland town of Hyoumenitsa.
Day 10 : John follows George through the Greece/ Albania border crossing.
Day 10 : George enthusiastically describes the hills leading up to Sokol Pali's family cafe/ property where we end up being invited to camp and enjoy breakfast the following morning. We are delighted at the hospitality and fluency with which we communicate in Greek on our first night in Albania with this family.
Day 12 : The 120km road between Sarande and Vlore, Albania is a little over a year old. Motorists are suprisingly respectful, with road qualities at an optimum compared to any we have ever ridden.
Day 11 : About every ten kilometers we pass through a village such as this one nestled into the steep mountains of the Albanian Alps.
Day 13 : Last night, we camped with the honey keeper. His 20 bee boxes stretched across a field along the main road. He is helpful and happy and for breakfast we share honey comb and fruit.
Day 12 : In 90deg temps, under a mid-July sun, John stops to ponder a most difficult 3500' accent which would require the next next two hours and our greatest physical excertion to date.
Day 14 : In Malfetta, the main square's street shares no distinguishable boundary with the harbor.
Day 14 : The horizon of the Adriatic sea from this point in Trani is broken only by its church as it stands against the sun.
Day 15 : This is the quintessential idea of Venice.
Day 15 : Venice, the city on water.
Day 15 : Stopping for a break at the intersection of an alley and canal.
Day 17 : Bassano, Italy lies at the foot of the Italian Alps. From here we begin our 5 day climb to the border with Austria.
Day 18 : George kneels for a photo of one of our sponsors' logos from street view.
Day 19 : A simple breakfast of fruit, bread and cheese begins most of our mornings. This day, we pull off beside the bike trail in the shadow of the mountains awaiting us ahead.
Day 19 : The grueling ride takes its toll on John's damaged rear tire. Luckily, we are carrying a spare and could continue on.
Day 19 : At the trip's 1000km mark it was evening in Brixen, Italy when we stopped to take these two photos (one looking forward, one back) to mark the event.
Day 20 : Prior to decending into Austria, George replaced some of his brake pads for good reason.
Day 25 : Nordlingen, Germany. A typical afternoon streetscape.
Day 27, Outside Rothenburg, in the a rural countryside between towns.
Day 26 : Rothenburg, Germany. We brake for a hotel and a two day rest (first full day break since Greece) to update the blog and recharge our batteries.
Day 26 : Rothenburg, Germany. Scaffolding surrounding the central chapel for refinishing of the exterior facades.
Day 25 : Rothenburg, Germany. A typical gate entrance to this fortified Medieval town.
Day 26 : Rothenburg, Germany. Sharing a laugh and lunch time beers with fellow tourists from The Netherlands.
Day 25 : Rothenburg, Germany. Bikes parked outside the hotel before deciding to stay here for two days rest.
Day 27 : Reichelsheim, Germany.
Day 28 : Aschaffenburg, Germany. We meet for dinner with Karoline, George's friend from Japan who had not met for 6 years.
Day 28 : Ascheffenburg, Germany. Prost! (Cheers!).
Day 29 : Leaving Aschaffenburg, Germany.
Day 29 : Stop for lunch break mid-day in our push for Frankfurt Germany.
Day 29 : Arriving in Frankfurt, Germany on the banks of the river Main.
Day 30 : Campsite on the Rhein River, near Koln, Germany.
Day 30 : Outside Koln, Germany.
Day 30 : Border between Germany and The Netherlands where nuclear power plants and rising steam can be seen all along the horizon.
Day 31 : Baarlo, The Netherlands. Celebrating our 2,000km mark from Athens, Greece.
Day 31 : To the right is Charles, our Dutch friend who helped fix John's flat tire in the Alps near Salorno on day 18. We had taken two distinctly different paths since then, but still managed to bump into each other 1500km later on another trail in The Netherlands. We were pleased at the coincidence.
Day 32 : Approaching Njimegen, The Netherlands.
Day 32 : Njimegen, The Netherlands.
Day 33: Showing our Hokie Pride.
Day 34: Foley leads the way to Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Stop for some laughs and lunch break.
Day 37 : John works on a blog entry, at a coffee shop in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Thankfully we've found wireless internet to be plentiful here.
Day 34 : The Rietveld Schröder House, a beautiful example of De Stijl architecture in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Day 34 : Wind turbines, 8 stories high line the horizon.
Day 35 : Out for a stroll along the canal. Here, everyone rides a bicycle.
Day 35 : Main street, a canal in Giethoorn, The Netherlands.
Day 35 : An evening by the campsite with George Makrinos and John Foley.
Day 35 : Main street Giethoorn, traffic jam on the canal on a Tuesday morning.
Day 26 : George taking a nap halfway along The Netherland's 30km long and northern-most dike, the Asfluitdijk.
Day 37 : Behind us, a windmill turns. Above us the clouds are drizzling so we've got our jackets on today.
Day 39 : The bikes, Baby Blue, and Blue Thunder, lean against one another on the North Sea after pedaling across Europe from the Mediterranean sea.
Day 43 : Rotterdam, The Netherlands. We stop here for internet and coffee rest.
Day 41 : A break on park bench in The Haag, The Netherlands.
Day 43 : Along a canal in The Netherlands.
Day 42 : At the Kunsthal, designed by Rem Koolhaas in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Day 45 : Stopping north of Brussels, Belgium to celebrate crossing the 3000km mark.
Day 45: We ride between rows of perfectly planted tall trees en route to Brussels, Belgium
Day 46 : Brussels, Belgium. Taking complete advantaced of high speed internet and cpu powerhouse. We kept ourselves busy behind the keyboard when we could.
Day 46 : Brussels, Belgium around afternoon.
Day 46 : Brussels, Belgium along Avenue Louise.
Day 47: Brugge, Belgium. Reflection in John's sunglasses shows the front porch patio of a restaurant we stopped to enjoy Belgian beer.
Day 48 : Noord Zee, Belgium Bike-EU's last sunset from continental Europe. Tomorrow we cross by ferry boat from Calais, France.
Day 49 : The White Cliffs of Dover, England carve the boundry between the North Sea and UK.
Day 49 : Cloudy skies over Deal, England.
Day 50 : The English countryside.
Day 50: Canterbury Cathedral, England.
Day 50 : Riding through the English countryside west of Canterbury.
Day 51 : Sir Norman Foster's millenium bridge crosses the Thames between The Tate Modern Museum and St. Peter's dome.
Day 52 : A double-decker bus rushes by St. Peter's dome, London England.
Day 51: Crossing Tower bridge in London, England.
Day 52 : Postcards written to family and friends of the travel. London, England.
