Greece: Living on a dream of Gyros and Crepes

Wednesday, April 7,2010, we say Ciao to our amazing, unforgettable experience of living in a tent in Rome, and say Yahsu to Greece!

But before we get there, we had to get to the Rome Airport. This was an adventure in itself: we booked a cab to pick us up bright and early, and a little station wagon pulls up.

Welcome to the Cab Ride of Death...

So we manage to squeeze ourselves in with all of our luggage and we are off. Well I am pretty sure our cab driver used to race in NASCAR, because I have never experienced a car ride such as this.

First, our Cab driver decided to leave his left turn signal on the ENTIRE cab ride; mind you we only took right turns? Then we would be driving and he would decide to not follow his GPS and would suddenly take an off ramp; therefore cutting off all the cars behind us. One car got fed up with this, and decided to show us a couple "choice" gestures. Our cab driver decided to retaliate by making a gun shape with his hand and then pointed to his head in reference to the other driver and mumbled under his breath. Oh god.

From there we started increasing our speed, and before I know it my knuckles are white from gripping the side of the car so hard... I looked over at the speedometer which then read that we were going just over 160 Kilometers Per Hour.... roughly 100mph.

Well, needless to say with speeds such as those, we were at the airport in no time! (Thank god.)

Ok, so we arrive in Athens, and I could not be any happier!!! We begin our amazing time here by being upgraded by our hostel to an apartment suite. This is a wonderful surprise and boy what an upgrade! Our new hostel was actually an apartment that came with a kitchen, bar, seperate bed and bathroom, and living room with a couch, TV, and so much more! This place was amazing! Even if it was only for one night; we definately lucked out!

So we finally drug ourselves away from the TV and just grabbed a bite to eat, explored the shopping scene, and then explored a hill we found that overlooked all of Greece. Beautiful sights from every angle! It was amazing to be up there, but soooo dangerous because the rocks were so slippery for some reason! After another photo shoot, we opted to go back to our suite and enjoy some TV before our 4am wake up call to head to Mykonos!!

Ok so here begins the journey to Mykonos -

We grab a taxi at 5am to take us down to the ferries; where we then have to wait for our tickets, walk to the wrong port, and then eventually find our ship. HUGE. But nice; would have appreciated it more if it weren't for the fact it was 6 in the morning, we were exhausted, and we had a five hour trip ahead of us. No worries, a couple hour nap and an amazing Flocachino (frozen caramel coffee drink) later, we arrive!

So we get off the boat where we are greeted by typical Greece. I mean honestly it is exactly like something you see in a movie: houses of pur white with blue trim outlining the coast coming out at every angle. So beautiful! And then we look for our shuttle who also happened to be the owner of our guesthouse we were staying in.

We find him and are taken to our Guesthouse! Yes! Not even a hostel, a GUESTHOUSE. and what a place - a cute little building where we got a full bedroom with four seperate beds and our own bathroom and it included air conditioning, a fridge, decorations, and it was just picturesque. Love Love Love! And our window opened up to overlook the famous Mykonos windmills and the ocean... life cannot be more perfect.

So we settle in and then head out to explore what Mykonos has to offer! We walked through the "steets" which are basically alleys covered in hanging flowers and vines, sops, bars, restaurants, houses and so much more! It is adorable. I am in love and want to live here.

But then we realized we were hungry and here begins our Love of Gyros. The cheapest, and most delicious food yet! For only 2 euros, you get a full gyro filled with meat, fries, onions, peppers, and tazitki sauce - pure heaven.... (sorry guys, in case you haven't noticed... I like food. A lot.)

But we grew tired and decided to blend in with the rest of Europe and take a siesta before going out later that night....

Wow. well the Greeks know how to party. We didn't even leave till almost 1am and people were just beginning to go out! It was crazy! and I don't know how they do it because one drink was almost $16 us dollars. Unreal. But it didn't matter because it was SO MUCH FUN!

We mainly stayed at a place called Semeli's where we made friends and just danced all night. And we met so many people - and we realized that Greek people are the nicest people in the world! They are constantly looking to please others and just go out of their way to be friendly. Yep, this is definately my future home.

Well after an amazing night, we head back, but not before grabbing yet another gyro (better start keeping count...).

So we wake up today and decide to really enjoy this amazing weather by going to Paradise Beach! After a crazy bus ride where we met more people from Chicago, London, Spain, and California - we finally arrive to a beautiful beach! Well, since it wasn't tourist season yet in Greece, it was relatively quiet, but was so relaxing. and since we made friends; we just talked all day while getting the first glimpse of sun in months!

So after a couple sandcastles and a pink panther drink that came in a watering can and meant for roughly 7 people; we head back for yet another siesta before going out that night with our new friends from California.

We began at Semeli's again, stopped in Mykonos bar and a place called Caprice's before we eventually ended at a place called Jackie-O's.....

Well Jackie-O's is not your typical bar. We go in and are greeted by ratio of roughly 13 guys to every 1 girl.... and it wasn't until we passed by a 6'5" man in drag that it dawned on us that we were in a gay bar.... Whoops.

No worries; ended up being an amazing night! We just danced on tables and made more friends who were very "generous" to us hahaha But 4am rolls around again and we decide to get our nightly gyro before bed yet again....

Well it is now Saturday, April 10, 2010, and we have to sadly leave Mykonos today... We pack up, grab some crepes and a gyro, and eventually head out of the most amazing place in the world.... So sad to leave, but thankfully we were still going back to Athens!

And here begins our 5.5 hour ferry ride yet again... atleast this time we met some guys and just made some conversation while playing some card games. Helped pass the time for sure.... Especially since when we tried to sleep, we were rudely awoken by a man who jumped on the ship to sell his youghurt nougats? yeah. and he didn't want to just sell them... no he felt the need to scream the same phrase over and over again in Greek roughly 4 feet from us. Wouldn't have mattered if he were farther away though I guess seeing he was THAT loud. Very tempting to trip him every time he walked by, but I resisted.

Well we dock yet again and we head to our hostel, still hoping we have an upgrade, but are unfortunately put in a 6 bed room where we find out it is a mixed dorm. Our roommate was a man from Australia who was just so uncomfortably awkward. Just kind of stared and wouldn't talk. Awkward.

Luckily we weren't there that much since we went out for dinner for some more gyros where we then meet a couple restaurant owners/workers. They let us sit at their place since it costs money to sit down and eat, and we made friends... again.

It was funny too cause later TK and I decide to see Athens nightlife, and end up meeting up with one of those restaurant workers from Plaka, Mario. He helped us and showed us around to the night scene. After walking for what seemed like miles of no one in sight, we eventually find streets lined with people!

Now this was an interesting experience since it was just TK, myself, and Mario. Well in Greece, blondes are apparently in short supply because EVERYONE was making comments to Mario... for example, "You my friend are a lucky man with those two!" Hahahahahha Mario responds, "Yes I know!".... well that didn't make things awkward!Haha especially since after those comments his stance changed, as if he were a "big, tough man" with Tk and I at his side.

But we go to a couple bars and clubs and had a great time! Made friends with the DJ, other awkward Greek men "getting their groove on," and so forth. A good night all in all until we had to walk home and my feet could not handle it anymore.... Oh the pain....

But we eventally make it home and go to bed at roughly 5am.

Well going out was a good/bad idea. Oh well, we head to our "free" breakfast which consisted of a toaster, a piece of bread and a tomato??? We made due though before our $8 walking tour where we saw the parthenon & Acropolis, 2004 olympic stadium, temple of Zeus, parliament, changing of the guard, and an amazing flea market/shopping area... Also had 2 more gyros. YUM.

But after the tour, we went on yet another shopping spree and got some more gelato, crepes, and gyros. Wow. But during all of this we were stopped a couple times by some Greek vendors, where one goes, "Where are you girls from? you are soo..... pale?" Hahahahaha everywhere we go, everyone knows we are Americans... not that it is necessarily a bad thing; but just weird? Oh well...

Then we walk around Plaka again where we run into the same restaurant owners and workers, including Mario. Well he comes and greets us as we eat yet another gyro, and he decides to treat us to some shots... well ok these weren't just shots... no they were basically poison. Tk could barely take hers down and I think Mario felt bad, so he shyed away hahaha

But we finished up, and headed back to get a good night of sleep in before our last day in Greece... Sad...

So it is our last day and our plans include: gyros (of course), gelato, shopping and the beach. Well, we technically did accomplish all of this... but the beach kind of turned out to be a bust since all the chairs were stacked, it got cold, and it was empty.... so we stayed a bit before heading back to Athens where we ended up seeing the restaurant workers YET AGAIN. Wow. we need to find a new part of Greece to explore or something hahaha

But we grabbed our final gyro and gelato before we said our goodbyes and headed for the airport.


So there it is - the most expensive, yet memorable 16 days of not only my experience studying abroad, but my life!

Now its back to the "Real World" where I get to go back to London and spend over a week with my parents!!

Goodbye Spring Break 2010, and hello last month and a half in London!

Roma: "Hey Look it's The Colloseum!"

Rome! Well we figure out transportation pretty easily before we arrive at our next hostel at 11pm.... A Tent. Yes. We are staying in a tent for the next three nights. and when I say tent, I literally mean four fabric walls with a zipper window.

It consisted of a linoleum floor and a bunk bed with two little lights attached to the wall, and one blanket and pillow each...

Now this would be fine if it was over 50 degrees out and/or not rainy... one could only dream for such weather though.... So we head to our tent in the freezing cold while the rain starts to drizzle.... This is going to be a very... "unique" experience to say the least.

But we drop our things off before grabbing a bite to eat at the campground restaurant before heading over to the campground bar. Here we just hung out when all of a sudden mobs of people come in dressed in either togas or as Oompa Loompas. Literally. This was, well.... it was weird. I mean oompa loompas? what is going on. But then the ooompa loompas started grabbing people and dying them orange from all the paint on their bodies... Me included in this category. One came up from behind and started rubbing my face. I just stood there in shock not sure of what was really going on....

But what made the night even more interesting was when the owner of the place turned off the music and turned on the lights suddenly and started yelling at the mobs of drunken teenagers... But then all of a sudden he stops yelling, grabs a girl onto the bar and starts dancing and the music starts again?! What?!!!! oh well...

So we knew we had a big day ahead of us, so we headed back to our tent where I was nervous I wasn't going to wake up due to hypothermia. I slept with 2 pairs of socks on, 4 layers of tops, 2 pairs of pants and leggings, and a scarf. Even then I could still see my breath and woke up not able to feel half my limbs... The running joke of this was whenwe went to bed, I look at TK and say, "shut the tent, you're letting all the hot air out." Now this obviously was a joke since it was probably warmer outside of the tent...

But it's Easter!!! Off to the Vatican of course! Now you think Easter, and you're supposed to think Spring. With Spring you think nice weather with the breeze blowing, sun shining, birds chirping.... well our day consisted of pouring rain, mobs of people trying to push into the vatican, umbrellas nearly poking out our eyes from every direction, and freezing cold... but we survived and made it!

We were in the Vatican where we saw Easter mass and saw Pope Benedict! A once in a lifetime opportunity. So cool to actually experience... but then mass ended so we went to wait for our bus home... and we waited, and waited, and waited some more in the freezing cold pouring rain... the bus never showed though? We became very hopeful with every passing bus, but never did ours come... This is where Kelley pronounced, "I love the feeling of rejection." Yes.

So we then hop on a tube and another bus to get back to our campground for lunch only to discover the chef had just quit and there would be no more food. Oh this sucks. So back out we go, where we grab a bite at a McDonalds seeing everything else was on Ciesta... again.

But the day started to improve - we went and found the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain where we made our wishes, grabbed some dinner and then came back to our... Tent. Here we all just hung out and tried to think of anything to help keep us occupied... including camping games. wow.

Ok So Monday, April 5, 2010. The weather has improved~! We saw the sun atleast today!! Although there was a lot of overcast, a huge improvement from the past couple days! So today we continued our adventures by going to the Colloseum, the Roman Forum, and Capital Hill.

Now the Colloseum. Ok it is a big circle with arches. Yep thats it.

Ok. It was cooler then that, lets be real... its the Colloseum! It was enormous and just to think about how old it is and how they managed to build it and how well it's "preserved" so neat... But like the Eiffel Tower, it appeared everywhere!

I know Rome and the Colloseum are synonymous with one another, but come on. Every street corner we would turn around and there it would be! So the running joke of the trip then became, "Hey guys did you see the Colloseum???" Because it is near Impossible to miss.

So after we saw the Colloseum from EVERY angle possible, in and out, we headed across the way to the Roman Forum where we are given a free tour by famous actor, Aaron Eckhart (2-Face from The Dark Knight). Ok well it wasn't him, but might have well been!! and he gave a nice, short, sketchy tour where he repeated, "This is a free tour if anyone wants to join..." 15 times. Literally. We counted.

Then it started raining. again. Ugh this has got to stop. So we go back to our campsite... again. Another night of feeble attempt at entertainment in our tents before bed...

Today must have been a day for the Gods! SUN, WARMTH, HAPPINESS. So with this, we head over to the Vatican Museum where we waited fr 2.5 hours, kicked a person out of line, and paid way too much to get in. But we made it, so we walk around, explore all the statues, artifacts, etc. and then decide to head for the Sistine Chapel...

Well 34 rooms later, we finally get to it! When you get in though, they yell at you to be quiet, no pictures, and to move quickly. So it was really neat to see, it was big; but not the size I was expecting I guess? Still amazing to see one of the most famous paintings in the world!

So we are rushed out and explore the rest of Rome... Headed over to St. Mark's Basillica, hung out in the middle of Vatican City, and then grabbed some more food and some more gelato.. surprise surprise.

But we ended up heading over to see the Spanish Steps, the Trevi, the Colloseum, and the Pantheon because of their fame for how they look at night... Well the Spanish Steps looked the same, The Trevi was awesome, and the Pantheon was under construction.... Wow. We fail at this whole timing issue.

But after the most walking we have done this trip,going for roughly 14 hours. Wowza... No worries because tomorrow we head out to Greece!

Cannot wait for sunshine and gyros!

Florence

After another dreary day of travel, we arrive in Florence, Italy! We set off to meet up with Kelley at our hostel; and after trudging through the rain, we arrive! What a nice hostel it seems, too! It comes with free internet, towels, sheets, and seems very legit. The only part that was unfortunate was that we had to take roughly 41 different secret stair cases to just get to our room. No worries. We made it!

So we catch up with Kelley before we eventually head out. We end up finding Piazza San Signorina Square where it has replicas of all the famous statues~ an outdoor museum if you will. But on the way we stopped at yet another gelato shop! (Of course) and this has to be the best gelato yet!! The choices were endless, and the gelato itself was stacked roughly 2 feet high in the cases! It was unreal!! and the owner was really nice... Gave us a back massage HA. Not sure why seeing we don't speak Italian, but after that awkard moment we finished our gelato and continued to explore before grabbing some dinner.

Well dinner was good, minus the fact I doused my pizza and pasta with too many chili spices and couldn't eat my food without tears welling up in my eyes. Sad.

But now the weather was finally clearing up as the sun was setting, and we went to see the church where Gallileo and Michaelangelo were buried... Five pounds and ten minute later, we left. It was interesting; but probably not worth the money in my eyes...

So the next day was April 2, (I realize I am very far behind...) and that means its JAY WALT'S Birthday!! Happy Birthday Dad... J-Dubbs... J-Dizzle Nizzle! Now since I wasn't able to see or talk to him; I decided to celebrate on his behalf with a Tuscany Day Tour. What a good daughter I am, right???

This was fantastic - started at 8:30am where we met up with our tourguide Sandra pronounced - S-aooonn-dddrrr-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. and our bus driver Emeliano pronounced - Eeeeee-meal-eeee-aaaahhh-nooooooo

But the tour started in Sienna where it is just beautiful! We explored a town square and probably my favorite church yet (even though I don't even know the name of it...), then we headed off to a vineyard for some lunch and a wine tour.

Wow. what a lunch - Everything they gave us was homemade and organic from their own farm/vineyard. We even got to see some of the cows that we were eating for lunch hahaha but lunch itself was unreal...
It came with -
Bruschetta, bread with oil and parmesan cheese, pasta carbonnara, ham, salami, an assortment of cheeses, biscotti, and 4 different bottles... yes bottles, of wines - chianti, chivellis, pinot, and a sweet dessert wine that tasted like another mix of tequila and vodka mix. uck.

Besides the dessert wine-lunch was amazing! The view outside was amazing as well... The place where we had lunch overlooked acres of the vineyards as far as the eye could see. It was breathtaking. It was like what you would see on a postcard... Too bad we had to head out yet again...

Then we arrive at San Gimignano - adorable. It was a little town that apparently had the "world's best gelato" (although I personally didn't enjoy this gelato as much, it has won numerous awards). But we go exploring and found a little castle that overlooked more fields and vineyards above the rest of the city.

How can one place be so beautiful?! Everywhere you look is just another image you never want to forget. The way this place is "put together," it's just...perfect. No other word can really come to mind how to describe it. The way the Italians preserve the history in their architecture; mixed with the welcoming ways of the people, and the ways in which they live such a simple, fulfilled life... it's almost too perfect!

Again, it's time to leave yet again to head out on our last leg of our tour - Pisa!

Well Pisa is what you think it is... a tower that is leaning and people from all over the world trying to get a picture "holding" it up. Basically that is all Pisa has to offer outside of hundreds of men attempting to sell you knock-offs of anything and everything! Purses, watches, sunglasses, etc.

So we did the typical tourist thing attempting to "push" the tower straight again before we headed out back home. A long and tiring day to say the least; we just wanted a time to relax... but this didn't happen.

We get to the hostel and are sitting in a common area when we are shortly greeted by a large group of French guys... we begin attempting to converse with one another; but obviously I speak only a little french, and although they all spoke atleast a little English, only one, Frederic, spoke almost fluent English. This was quite entertaining to say the least. But we made friends and after a bit of convincing; we all head out to a club...

But before TK and I headed out, we ran upstairs to change, when we were greeted by a French woman who started yelling at us threatening to call the "policia." Not exactly sure why this came about since we weren't even talking and although we attempted to tell her we don't speak French and had NO idea AT all wht she was saying... she continued getting mad at us for standing there? No worries... time to leave.

So we head out and get a little lost, get a little beat box session from one of the French guys with braids, and then rougly an hour later we arrive at the club. Seemed like a fun place; good music, fun crowd, and interesting atmosphere.

But TK and I kindof just go off in our own little world trying to just have fun. I think the best part of the night was when we were trying to "get away" from the group of French guys and took safety on top of a speaker! The guys tried to join us up there, but were quickly pushed away by bouncers. Oh life is good! and to make things better; we saw our friends yet again from LAX who are studying in London again!! But thank goodness we did because we basically used them as an excuse to get away from the French and ran to them for safety Ha. Thanks Steve and Ben! The French guys didn't really enjoy this; and all headed out except one who we made the long trek home with us. Too bad he spoke the least amount of english...

After roughly 4 hours of sleep, we were up again to go do some final exploring of Florence... We first went o Accademia to see Michaelangelo's David before we went over to a hill over looking all of Florence and found an amazing view. We also lucked out with some "nicer" weather. While up there, I got free lunch, we saw roughly 53 chinese weddings, and the most beautiful Ferrari ever. Future car for sure.

Another decent day, and only a few complications when trying to get our train to Rome. Thankfully everything eventually worked out and we said Ciao to Florence, and Bonjourno to Rome!