we're in

well that was quite a week! eh hem.

we're bien installe, and out trying to discover our new neighborhood now. everything is so close, and i realized this is really the first time i've lived truly in the inner city. okay, but montrose doesnt really count because in houston you drive everywhere. here, it'd be a liability to have a car. i read recently the average athens driver spends 40 minutes looking for parking in the city center. for those of you familiar with athens, we're in pangrati - 2 blocks behind the divani caravel hotel. for those of you not familiar with athens, we're about a mile due east of the acropolis.

lucas is 7 months now! for christmas we decorated a 15-inch olive tree, and opened all but one each of our gifts on christmas eve.. we couldnt wait, haha. lu got some jingly soft blocks, a bunch of clothes (thanks evan!), 2 pacifiers, a teething rattle & a new pair of shoes. i got a book and ph got a fuzzy housecoat.

for new years we celebrated after lucas fell asleep at 9, with cheap greek champagne (ick!) and some delicious kind of dessert roll. i fell asleep at 10, but woke up at 11 asking philippe about what did the note on my pillow say? (huh? i was dreaming-half-awake-sleepwalking-ish) and then woke up again at 12 to watch the fireworks from our balcony. we couldnt see much, but we did see some. athens doesnt put on an official fireworks show, it's always individuals setting them off from their rooftops all over town.. so the sounds lit up the night and had us running to the front and back porches trying to catch any glimpses of actual works.

hope you all had marvelous holidays, and happy new year!!