Here are some pictures of our new ride!  As you can see, I think Brian could pick it up over his head, but it is surprisingly roomy inside!  It is brand new and has air-conditioning so we are more then happy with the little sucker.  It is easy to park also, a very important attribute in this city of traffic.  Brian is managing to drive with no major problems.  I am amazed everyday at how the people in this town manage to survive the roads on a daily basis.  I first hand have experienced riding on the back of a motorcycle here (sorry mom) with no helmet.  It is a sobering experience.  Safety devices in Greece seem to be very pase and I can count the number of helmets I have seen on one hand.  All you see are bopping heads everywhere.  Youngsters on their cellphones, driving in stilettos, weaving in and out of cars......so irresponsible (I'm getting so old).  But seriously, even seat belts seem to be only an annoyance.  Just last night I went out with a couple of girls and the girl in the passenger seat (Kate, a guy on Brian's teams' gf) buckled the seat belt BEFORE getting in the car and sat on top of it so that it wouldn't beep.  She went to all that trouble instead of just putting the darn thing on.....as you can see, I am bewildered by this.  Anyways, besides quite a few missed turns Brian seems to always get us to where we want and need to be.  We wonder if we will ever successfully be able to drive in this town with out magically arriving at our destinations.  Thank God for the Sea, if all else fails, drive towards the Sea.

On another driving note.  We learned today that the drive from Athens to Patra (the one we traveled just a few short days ago) is one of the most dangerous drives in ALL of Europe.  I think when we traveled it I was too jet-lagged/delirious to fully notice.  What I did notice, and what Dimitris pointed out to us, was that it is a one lane "highway."  One lane being a VERY loose term b/c people in Greece see this as merely a suggestion.  In reality it has been turned into more of a two lane highway, with slower cars creeping onto the shoulder and faster cars freely passing on the inside, going both ways mind you.  When I say faster cars...I mean all cars.  There is a state of mind here in Greece that everyone needs to be in front.  So, you are challenging all drivers for first place on a one lane freeway going about 200km/hr.  Did I mention it was curvy and had cliffs off the side?

There is not some magical gene in Greek people that make them talented race car drivers either.  Apparently about 20ppl die on this freeway every week and you see the results of these deaths with little crosse

s and mini memorials sprinkled all over the sides of the freeway in memory of those who have perished.  The drivers also fail to take the GIANT signs on the road telling them "DANGER many deaths have happened on this freeway" seriously.  I say this because Dimitri  translated these signs to us on our drive with a little chuckle.  In conclusion, Brian nor myself will be picking anyone up from the airport who will be visiting us, sorry.  We have researched other modes of transportation and there is a bus and train (I recommend the train, although we've heard they derail quite often) that will take you right into Patra from the airport.  SAFE TRAVELS!