Off to Egypt today for 5 nights. We have booked a package tour because we a blousy girls and didn't think we could hack it on our own. Looks pretty luxury though, with 4 stars all the way and a luxury cruise on the Nile from Aswan to Luxor.

Athens is actually a pretty cool place, much to my surprise after so many people had told us it was not very nice. The acropolis is fantastic, it is enormous and everything is so well preserved. The parthenon is the most impressive with almost all the columns intact and some of the original statues still there. You get a great view of the city from the Acropolis too, Athens sprawls for ever. The theatre of Dionysis is was also pretty impressive, I think I have seen it before - did the 3 tenors sing there?

On our first night we went and saw the movie, The Tailor of Panama, at the open air cinima in Plaka, where we are staying. The movie was really good and from where we were sitting you could just see the Acropolis lit up behind the screen!

Yesterday we went and saw the pom pom dudes at the Greek parliament. Had my photo taken with one, you have to join a line to do it - the guards must hate it - bloody tourists! We were there for the special Sunday changing of the guards. It is very much like the changing of the guards at Buckingham palace with the band and the march to the barracks, only the military costume is very different. The tall and very built Greek guards wear white stockings and pleated tunics with a tassled red beret. The best bit though are the clogs with pom poms. When they walk they scrape the clogs against the marble, and the steel spikes make a noise.

We also went to the museum which was great. I have never seen so many statues in one place. The Mycenean stuff was the highlight...so much gold!