Going Greek!

We have been studying ancient Greece in our history lessons, so I planned a field trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science to see an IMAX film on Ancient Greece. Happily, Gramma and Grandad Perkins decided to come down from Ft. Worth to join us on our "trip."

Together we explored the beautiful Greek islands and were transported on a modern-day journey through time and place. We saw how the island of Santorini was formed and how the island’s volcanic eruption, one of the biggest explosions in Earth’s history, occurred. Grandad really enjoyed that part, being a geologist himself. We watched a team of archeologists piece together the puzzles of ancient history. And we traveled to Athens to see how innovative computer graphic imaging (CGI) can restore the Parthenon and the famous statue of Athena to its original glory, showcasing how the ancient monument looked in its prime. The photography was amazingly beautiful. I kept hearing murmurings of "wow!"

Emma's favorite part of the show was the recreation of the Parthenon and the statue of Athena. Vivian's favorite part was the volcanic eruption and the scientific approach to determine what happened and when it happened.

After the movie, we explored other areas of the museum. We started with the dinosaur bones, but Vivian wandered into the chemistry exhibit and stayed there for a while. Then we went upstairs to the Gem and Mineral exhibit. Unfortunately, the exhibit is being refurbished, so the labels are not on the exhibits. BUT all the mineral and gem samples are there. Grandad was impressed with the size and quality of the exhibit. He was really in his element -- forgive the pun. Then we happened upon a new exhibit of gems and jewelry. WOW! Some really impressive pieces.

Finally, we went throught the Energy exhibit -- newly redone. Again, Grandad had a good time there -- mostly about oil production, but some alternative energy options as well. Probably the most fun was the simulation of going down in a well in a "geo-vator."

Following our museum experience, we went to a Greek restaurant called Niko Niko's -- a Houston original. We ordered too much food, but it was sooooooo good! We had Pastichio (pasta, ground beef, Greek spices), Mousaka (layers of eggplant with ground beef and potato), Keftedes (Greek meatballs), Dolmas (Grape leaves stuffed with ground beef and rice, Spanakopita (Greek spinach pie), Tiropita & Gyros meat served with Greek salad, pita bread & Tzatziki sauce on the side. The girls tried everything (at my insistence) and found that they liked several things. Both liked the gyro and the pastichio. Neither liked the keftedes, mousaka or dolmas. Emma also liked the Greek salad and the spanakopita. We were stuffed at the restaurant, so we took dessert home. Vivian ordered rice pudding that was terrific. We also got 2 Kourambiedes (also called Wedding Cookies -- baked Greek almond cookies covered with powdered sugar) and Baklava (Flaky fillo filled with ground walnuts and cinnamon topped with homemade honey sauce). It was a meal to remember!