Greece was just as I remembered it last year, but then again that’s why I keep going back. A highlight from Greece was visiting the Benaki Museum in Athens. Benaki was a wealthy man living in Alexandria who migrated to Greece in the early 1900s. He was an avid collector of Greek history and art, particularly that of Modern Greek history. After his death he donated his estate and his entire collection to the Greek government – hence the Benaki Museum was formed. I don’t think there is any place in the world with a more impressive collection of Modern Greek history than here. On the third floor was the traveling photo exhibit of Hubert Pernot. In the late 1800s Hubert was commissioned by the French government to come to Greece, take photos and convince the French people to vacation there. I’m not sure why the French government wanted the French people to vacation in Greece, perhaps moral was low and Greece was seen as an exciting new land just coming out of a 400 year war. In any case, Hubert fell in love with Greece and spent the next 30 years of his life touching every part, during which he compiled three amazing photo albums. This exhibit is a collection of his best photos (digitally enhanced of course).

You can look at photos from my trip here.

Photos

I just got back from Italy – Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome – it’s a great country. I was there for 2 weeks and everything other than the flights there and back, was great. I’ll go on the record as saying I’ll never fly US Airways again. 3 of our 4 flights were delayed, they lost our luggage when we arrived in Milan and when we arrived back home and because they made the connection flights so close together I never ran so fast through an airport in my life.

Other than that, the trip was honestly great. If you ever get a chance to go to Italy, make sure Venice is at the top of the list. The city is amazing, not place like it in the world. Choosing a good restaurant in Italy can be tricky, but I have a pretty good strategy: If the music is in English, the menu has green leaf salad and everyone around you speaks English, then your in the wrong place. I quickly learned to ask around (especially the people at your hotel) were the good places to eat are. These are the places were the locals go, their hidden away in obscure alleys, but the food is amazing. I took some pictures that you can see here.

Paros, Greece – I hadn’t posted in a while and thought November deserved something.

The Greek island of Naxos is rich with a certain type of mineral called Emery. Before the decline of the industry, the town of Moutsouna was buzzing with boats docking to get their next shipment. Today Moutsouna is used as a small tourist destination with nice villas and cafes for people looking to get away from the busy city life. I spent an afternoon here while I was in Naxos and saw the ultimate BBQ near the water (were the boats used to dock). Give me that BBQ with that view and I’m happy.

See them here.

More photos here

I was at the Starbucks at Erin Mills & Dundas today (in Mississauga, Ontario) and as always the cars here were top notch. It blows my mind how so many nice cars can be in one location. I took these photos within a 5 minute span.

Thats only a few – More here