Here are the answer to some of your questions, the ones I can easily answer.

>From Athens to Patra, which is the closest port for Kefalonia, you need about 2,5 hours of driving under normal conditions, which means that all the Athenians are not leaving the town for Easter. In the last case you may need more than 5 hours.....

As far as I know (but as I have never done that trip, my infos are not accurate) the trips for Kefalonia from Patra are served by some of the ferries travelling from Greece to Italy. Normally that ferries leave Patras after 20.00, which means that they arrive at Kefalonia about midnight or later. I don't know anything for the schedule from Kyllini and Igoumenitsa. There is a WEB site, http://www.gtpnet.gr where you can find more infos. Sorry, but today my time is very limited. About flights: try the Olympic official site: http://www.olympic-airways.gr

I am the only one who is able to drive a manual shift car. You mentioned flying. Do you have any idea as to the cost or if there is somewhere on the Internet where I could check. You did not comment on the possibility of a bus to the ferry to Kelfalonia. We then could rent a car after we got there.

Of course there are busses going to the ports, but I don't know anything about their schedule. The time you need to go to a port with a bus is much more than the time when you drive, because the bus has regular stops.

We of course celebrate Easter here in US, but did not realize when we made our plans that it seems to be a much bigger celebration in Greece. We plan to stay in Athens for Easter and would like to know if there is some way that we could join in the celebration of this glorious time?

For the Greek people Easter is the most important Christian celebration, so from Monday (24 / 4) to Friday (28/4), they everyday go to the churches, where there are special ceremonies. Don't miss Friday evening (about 20.30) the tour of the Epitaph along the streets of each parish and Saturday night (around 23.30) the ceremony of the Resurrection. Sunday all day you will find a lot of songs and dances and, of course, the appropriate food: lamb on the spit and kokoretsi!!!!!

You closed your e-mail mentioning sunny Athens. How is the weather there now? We need to know what type of clothes to pack.

The weather is excellent. Today we have from 17 to 28 oC, and I think it will be better next week. We wear spring cloths, but a woolen is still necessary, especially the evening.

Sorry to be so full of questions, but realized that there were so many more things we should be checking on. My son's friend didn't indicate to him that the drive to the ferry looks like a long drive according to the map we have and I am sure he does not mind driving it. Are the 100% cotton items difficult to get in Greece the reason you mentioned them?

No, I mentioned 100% cotton items because here in general we don't like the polyester or synthetic things (we prefer natural materials), and a cotton or linen is welcome.

Here I have to finish, because I have a lot of work. Best regards Joanna in Athens.