Greece

Another bout of tough flight scheduling left us hanging out in the Casablanca airport at 1am on September 27 as we awaited our departure for Athens, Greece. The late hour did not faze us though as we were beyond excited to rendezvous with Lauren's mom, Mary, and sister, Erica, in Athens. From the first meeting at the Hotel Stanley in Athens until our good-byes in the Athens airport, with Santorini sandwiched in between, we had the most amazing time together. We felt so fortunate to be able to share such beautiful places with our loved ones and it was wonderful to see some familiar faces after being on the road for a while. Although we were really sad to see Mary and Erica go, we also really enjoyed our time relaxing on and touring the gorgeous islands of Corfu and Kefalonia.

It is no wonder that so many people choose Greece as a honeymoon destination: the scenery and atmosphere are equal parts romantic and heart-stopping. Being gluttons, we also delighted in the many culinary treats and fresh food that Greece has to offer. Fortunately, we did a lot of walking, so our bodies stayed in decent shape. We will definitely return to Greece, but until we do, we have these pictures to remind us of the great times.

Not even the throngs of tourists could dissuade us from visiting the Acropolis and its centerpiece, the Parthenon.
Lauren walking on the ancient stones of the Acropolis, with part of Athens' vast expanse in the background.
The sense of ancient history was palpable as we walked the Acropolis, as with the virginal (in this sense, lacking scaffolding) Temple of the Vestal Virgins.
Few, if any, cameras can do the magnificence of Santorini justice. Here we look down from the top of Fira into the bay which fills the caldera of the still-active volcano.
Each evening on Santorini we took pause to admire the beauty of the setting sun, usually over a cup of coffee, a snack, or an early dinner.
Six months into our marriage (on this night) and her beauty only increases each day, eclipsing even this stunning sunset over the Aegean Sea.
Fira, Santorini sunset photo courtesy of Lauren.
Mom and I getting ready to take a bumpy (and stinky!) ride up the very steep hillside of Fira, Santorini. We'd been looking forward to riding these donkeys since we started planning the trip. Erica wanted to ride the donkeys too, but as she was (and still is) pregnant, the Greek men said "Baby no, Baby no," so she couldn't participate. Shucks!
Mom took this picture of us just lounging in one of the many comfy, modern chill-spots at The Aressana, our hotel on Santorini.
On our way to dine on delicious Greek delicacies, including moussaka, Greek salads with lots of feta, fresh seafood, gyros, and souvlaki.
We spent a healthy amount of time on Santorini within the confines of our luxurious hotel, especially around this immaculate pool area.
The three (two formerly) Eades women enjoying Coca-Colas in glass bottles. Mary enlightened us on all things botanical during our tour of the lush island of Santorini.
Lauren on the bridge which spanned the Aressana pool, with the cozy cabanas in the background.
T.J. found the fountain of youth, or at least one that gave a cold and free massage.
The three Eades women on the promenade outside of the Aressana, which overlooked the caldera and offered incredible views at all times of the day and night. Erica, four months pregnant and looking fit and fabulous, was an inspiration to all moms-t0-be, as she braved the rigors of international travel with aplomb.
I was blessed to spend such a wonderful time with my wife, my second mom, and the sister that I never had.
Leaving Mary and Erica in Athens, we headed northwest to the island of Corfu, where as the sign indicates, they perform medical procedures at the bus stop. Weird place, made even wilder by our stay at the (in)famous Pink Palace. On two of the days of our stay in Corfu, we rented four-wheelers to cruise around the island.
We have to be particularly careful with Lauren's noggin following her brain surgery, so they busted out the most aggressive head protection that we had ever seen. I encouraged Lauren to wear this for the duration of our trip, but she refused.
Driving a quad on the streets of Corfu was a harrowing experience given the maniacal driving habits of Greek motorists. Still, we made it through unscathed and got to see some cool ancient sites and buildings. We also got to drive on some of the roads featured in the James Bond film "For Your Eyes Only."
T.J. relaxing at one of the monasteries we visited on our quad tour of Corfu.
From Corfu, we took a 7 hour cruise on this well-appointed ferry to Piraeus, where we spent the night before boarding another ferry for Kefalonia.
We lucked into a cheap and comfortable apartment (the view from our balcony is shown above) in the small village of Agia Efimia on Kefalonia, the island on which they filmed Captain Corelli's Mandolin. We rented a car for two days and toured the whole of the island. The magnificent views and food notwithstanding, perhaps the highlight of the tour was our chance discovery of a miniature golf course near the town of Skala.
Laying with our feet up on Myrtos Beach, Kefalonia, with the stark blue Ionian sea and lush hillside in view.

It was mid-October and the sun was still strong, keeping the water a warm, yet refreshing temperature.

Lauren taking full advantage of the European predilection for topless sunbathing.

Morocco

Beholden to the carriers and routes available through our Star Alliance Round The World ticket, we were forced into a convoluted journey from Dar Es Salaam to Casablanca, Morocco. We flew from Dar to Zurich via Nairobi, then from Zurich to Frankfurt, where we had a 12-hour layover involving several coffees and a bratwurst/maultaschen soup lunch, and then finally touched down in Casablanca at 2am after 36 hours of traveling.

Fortunately, we found Morocco far more safe and much less frustrating than East Africa. For the sake of brevity and in order not to bore our readers, we have elected not to give you the full blow-by-blow of our time in Morocco. Instead, we present you with pictorial highlights of our time in Casablanca and Fes, the two cities that we enjoyed the most. We also spent a brief time in Rabat in a fruitless attempt to get our Indian visas sorted out. Unfortunately, our travel time in Morocco was somewhat limited as Lauren had contracted the E. Coli virus, likely due to our inadvertent ingestion of rat in Tanzania, which we were told repeatedly was beef (bastards!). A quick trip to the hospital, aided by my long-lost knowledge of French, got her the antibiotics she needed, but she was still feeling pretty rough for about 5-6 days. Poor girl!

In the end, we decided to keep Marrakesh for another time and stay in Fes for 6 nights, which turned out to be the right decision. We found a cool little pension in which to stay and loved wandering through the labyrinthine alleyways of the old medina, spending time watching the passerby at the numerous cafes and restaurants near the Bab Bouljoud (Blue Gate), and hanging out with our new local friends.

Now, the pictures:

It being the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, we were not allowed into the stunning Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, but the intricate designs on the exterior were more than enough to impress us.

The Hassan II Mosque is massive. To give you an idea of the scale, this is not even the biggest door to the mosque and it completely dwarfs Lauren.
Lauren dancing as we await the departure of our train to Fes.

We were really drawn to the beautifully crafted mosaics, which could be found throughout the medina in Fes, the largest in the world.
Fes was a cool mix of the modern and the ancient, both in architecture and transportation. Fes was celebrating the 1200th anniversary of its founding during our time there.
The painstaking detail with which everything was constructed, especially the gates, evokes Morocco's rich and accomplished culture.
Lauren was so excited to discover that cats were everywhere in Fes' medina. Here, three cats eagerly await scraps from one of the medina's many butchers. On several nights, Lauren would collect her leftover food in a napkin and stroll through the streets feeding the cats. Though slightly disturbing, I supported her like a good husband. We all have our peccadilloes, right?
On our way to dinner one night, my beautiful wife spied this tiny kitten playing around with its siblings in the medina. Although I used to despise cats, I have come full circle and contemplated taking this kitten along in my pack.
The traffic in the tight streets of the medina can get pretty clogged at times, especially when the donkeys pass through on their way to deliver goods to the merchants.
The entrance to Dar Bouanania, our pension in Fes. It was located off some random alley in the medina and we had to pay a local boy a few dirhams to help us find it. As it happened, this alleyway was also the site of weekly knife fights, where disgruntled people from all over Fes came to settle their grievances via blade battle. We were alerted to this fact by the bloodcurdling screams coming from the alley one night. We did not venture out into the alley at this point, as even the local residents were hiding in their houses.
I took this picture of Lauren from the other side of the open courtyard over which our room looked at Dar Bouanania. It had once been a house but was converted into lodging, while still retaining the traditional Moroccan decor.

Just another day of exploring the many intracies of the medina.

T.J. and Yassin, our local friend. Yassin was a fount of knowledge about the medina and a super cool guy to boot.
Lauren peeking down the stairs at one of the many restaurants at which we dined. Moroccan food is so tasty and we chowed on various tagines, couscous, and keftas throughout our stay.
You can find just about everything in the medina. Can you tell what delicacy this butcher has for sale on the right?
How about now?
We took a day trip from Fes to the ancient Roman city of Volubilis in order to gear up for our impending trip to Greece. Here I am posing among one of the many sets of 2500 year old columns.
Together enjoying a beautiful day in front of the ruins of the Volubilis forum.
Here we are underneath the triumphal arch built to memorialize Volubilis' inclusion into the Roman Empire.As we were walking through the ruins of Volubilis, I noticed an oddly shaped object on a pedestal in one of the houses. Upon further inspection, we found a 2500 year old phallus that was for some reason located in the front entranceway of this particular house. We leave it to your imagination to unravel the mystery of its purpose.