So, the next day in Kefalonia we decided to go to the famous Myrtos beach. We asked our very nice hotel concierge how to get there. She called us a cab and we met Gus. Gus thought up a crazy way of making money by driving us around all day. He would drive us to Myrtos for 20 euros, later go back to the hotel in Sami and pick up our luggage, drive back to Myrtos and get us and then drive us over to Fiskardo to catch our next ferry to Lefkada. We made it there with plenty of time to spare, chilled out and got a coffee and then got on the boat.
The boat was not as luxury as our first one. In fact, it was quite dull. But we got to watch the sunset as we motored over to Lefkada. We got into Vasiliki around 9 at the same time. My Lonely Planet guide (aka my BIBLE right now) recommended this hotel that was relatively cheap. It had good views and was close to the ferry dock. We miraculously found it but they had no rooms. They referred us over to Apollo Hotel, 200 meters up the road that was sure to have rooms. We walked in and by miracle of miracles, they had a room available. My Grandma Oney always tells me that I lead a 'Charmed Life' and I think I am feeling the full effects of it. The hotel was even cheaper than the first! We went to dinner in town right on the water at this Italian/Greek Restaurant. They served us massive amounts of pasta and we actually got doggie-bags to bring it home.
We went back to the hotel and a motor bike passed us. As we were waiting at reception for the concierge (aka Euro Baby's Red-Haired Twin accd to Maggie) the man on the motor bike turns around. He may or may not have fallen in love with me in that instant and was like, let's go have a drink! What are you doing now? Maggie and I promptly replied that we were going to sleep.
After a great sleep, we wandered around town. We sorted out getting a bus to Lefkada town where we are now. We are going to take a cab down to the airport and take a regional flight to Athens. Tonight we will stay there before catching a high speed ferry down to Santorini for the next few days. I didn't have time to blog before now but now all my faithful's are caught up on our details.
Little People, Big Characters
Maggie and I finally met up in Athens. Let me describe the event fully:
I was dead asleep in the hostel room. She touched my leg and I sat bolt upright. I then hugged her, Lauren and Lauren's sister (whom I have never met) I didn't have my contacts in and I was so confused to see Maggie in Greece. But it was so fun! We decided to go out for coffee and walk around Athens.
We went to a place and had Frappe's which the girls apparently hate. I don't mind them but there is really no American equivalent. It is iced coffee with this weird foam on the top that is very bitter. I like it, Maggie and Lauren hated it. But anyway it made for an interesting afternoon.
After that we walked around and shopped. There were way more stores than I imagined and some of them sell real brand stuff, like Chanel and Prada. And there are also other random fakes as well. It was confusing but it was a lot of fun to see Athens. Everywhere we were we looked up and saw the Acropolis. We ended up then walking to a cafe to have some early dinner/late lunch. Of course the restaurant was busy because it was Sunday and it was probably the only one open that served food within a 40 km radius. The Greek man that seated us placed us right next to a table of other Greek men, who all had disconcerting grins on their faces. We sat down and ordered some appetizers. Right after that we were given shots of Ouzo, the Greek aperitif equivalent.
Oy.
The men then started asking us where we were from. We said Chicago. They said Al Capone. We gave them half answers and had to sip part of our Ouzo. It was disgusting. After our food came and eventually the men left, we put the Ouzo out of sight and out of mind. My throat still burns when I think about the nasty taste. Ick.
Then the day continued. We stopped by Lauren and Elyse's hotel to check up on their stuff. They were leaving late that night and didn't want to pay for the hotel room so they had left their bags in the lobby. We went back to our hostel and got dressed for dinner.
Let me describe the hostel to you. It was in the middle of town, great location and really friendly staff. The rooms were big and air conditioned. Day 1 I moved in and one of the guys, I will refer to him as Black Shirt gave me crap for taking the lift up one floor. He makes appearances later on in the week.
So we met up with the girls I had gone sailing with and got dinner at this place called the Noodle Bar. Thai food!!!! YAY! After probably eating too much we wandered back to the hostel and I passed out from being so tired. Lauren and Elyse left in the middle of the night to catch their 7am flight back to the states.
Next Day: We get up and get ready to go. I am waiting downstairs for Maggie when Black Shirt again makes an appearance. This time he has ample space to get by me but puts his hand on the small of my back and says excuse me to get by. Red flag. Mags and I went back to the Acropolis. I had never been and we hiked up. It was so close to our hostel it was ridiculous. We saw the Theatre of Dionysus, the Parthenon, the Agora and all sorts of other things on the Acropolis. It was crazy to see this place that I wanted to go see for so long. We got up pretty early to go see it all to avoid the rush and the heat.
After that Maggie and I continued to wander around Athens shopping as we went. We stopped for lunch and had Greek salads and this feta cheese thing that was amazing. I can say by far that the food here is amazing. I have tried almost everything and I have never been disappointed.
We went back to the hostel to nap during the heat of the day and then headed out to the Temple of Zeus and the National Gardens which specialize in trees. The Temple was really cool, I could not even imagine what it would have been like when it was complete. Now it is mostly a few columns and others that have subsequently collapsed. There are also rampant cats everywhere in Greece and on our way over to the gardens we stopped and petted about 40 kittens. Gross I know, they probably have diseases. But they are so cute!
As we were strolling through the gardens we stopped to take tons of pictures. We saw this small group of people stopped and pointing at something. We looked down and saw 2 turtles. They looked like they were fighting. I have seen all sorts of turtle behavior having them for most of my childhood but this was bizarre. I couldn't tell if they were fighting or mating. And then it became obvious... it was turtle sex. Ew. I made a video that Maggie and I plan on putting on to YouTube but it was disturbingly hilarious.
After our sunset at Syntagma Square we got dressed up (relatively, we are traveling) and went to the roof top bar of the hostel. We were seriously hanging out, drinking and "shooting the $hit" while overlooking the Parthenon. Top experience for sure. We ended up talking to these Aussie boys, of course, who were from Melbourne. They were great guys and we ended up drinking a little too much Ouzo. At 12 the hostel kicked us off the roof because the neighbors complain. We went around the corner to another bar that was chill.
As we were hanging out, who walks in but Black Shirt. I recognized him in pictures at the hostel as one of the owners/managers. Turns out, he is an owner. And he has a pretty famous sister with the same name as mine. Crazy, huh. We hung out for the rest of the night.
The next morning, feeling no so hot, Mags and I headed off to catch a train to Patra and then a ferry to Kefalonia. The taxi driver took us on a round-about way to the train station, stopping to pick up a random lady off the street momentarily and then finally depositing us 5 minutes before our train had to leave. It was a nice train but we were still confused if it was the right one. After riding it for 2 hours, it stopped at Kiato and we had to change trains. Though there was no information that said this. It just stopped, and we followed the crowd.
This train was a bit sketchier and Maggie thought we were going to fly off the tracks at least 3 times. We made it to Patra with plenty of time to catch the ferry to Kefalonia. It was a reaally nice boat and I slept the whole way practically. In the middle of the lounge, on the floor. All 6 feet of me. Heh...
As we got off the boat in Kefalonia at 9:30 at night, I was praying we would be able to get a room for the night. We wandered down and the first hotel was full. He referred us to another hotel 100m down the road. We walked in and asked if they had any available rooms. They did, and a double was only 60 euros, not much more than a hostel. Phew.
Here ends part 1 of the Ionian Travel Expedition. Part 2 will resume momentarily.
I was dead asleep in the hostel room. She touched my leg and I sat bolt upright. I then hugged her, Lauren and Lauren's sister (whom I have never met) I didn't have my contacts in and I was so confused to see Maggie in Greece. But it was so fun! We decided to go out for coffee and walk around Athens.
We went to a place and had Frappe's which the girls apparently hate. I don't mind them but there is really no American equivalent. It is iced coffee with this weird foam on the top that is very bitter. I like it, Maggie and Lauren hated it. But anyway it made for an interesting afternoon.
After that we walked around and shopped. There were way more stores than I imagined and some of them sell real brand stuff, like Chanel and Prada. And there are also other random fakes as well. It was confusing but it was a lot of fun to see Athens. Everywhere we were we looked up and saw the Acropolis. We ended up then walking to a cafe to have some early dinner/late lunch. Of course the restaurant was busy because it was Sunday and it was probably the only one open that served food within a 40 km radius. The Greek man that seated us placed us right next to a table of other Greek men, who all had disconcerting grins on their faces. We sat down and ordered some appetizers. Right after that we were given shots of Ouzo, the Greek aperitif equivalent.
Oy.
The men then started asking us where we were from. We said Chicago. They said Al Capone. We gave them half answers and had to sip part of our Ouzo. It was disgusting. After our food came and eventually the men left, we put the Ouzo out of sight and out of mind. My throat still burns when I think about the nasty taste. Ick.
Then the day continued. We stopped by Lauren and Elyse's hotel to check up on their stuff. They were leaving late that night and didn't want to pay for the hotel room so they had left their bags in the lobby. We went back to our hostel and got dressed for dinner.
Let me describe the hostel to you. It was in the middle of town, great location and really friendly staff. The rooms were big and air conditioned. Day 1 I moved in and one of the guys, I will refer to him as Black Shirt gave me crap for taking the lift up one floor. He makes appearances later on in the week.
So we met up with the girls I had gone sailing with and got dinner at this place called the Noodle Bar. Thai food!!!! YAY! After probably eating too much we wandered back to the hostel and I passed out from being so tired. Lauren and Elyse left in the middle of the night to catch their 7am flight back to the states.
Next Day: We get up and get ready to go. I am waiting downstairs for Maggie when Black Shirt again makes an appearance. This time he has ample space to get by me but puts his hand on the small of my back and says excuse me to get by. Red flag. Mags and I went back to the Acropolis. I had never been and we hiked up. It was so close to our hostel it was ridiculous. We saw the Theatre of Dionysus, the Parthenon, the Agora and all sorts of other things on the Acropolis. It was crazy to see this place that I wanted to go see for so long. We got up pretty early to go see it all to avoid the rush and the heat.
After that Maggie and I continued to wander around Athens shopping as we went. We stopped for lunch and had Greek salads and this feta cheese thing that was amazing. I can say by far that the food here is amazing. I have tried almost everything and I have never been disappointed.
We went back to the hostel to nap during the heat of the day and then headed out to the Temple of Zeus and the National Gardens which specialize in trees. The Temple was really cool, I could not even imagine what it would have been like when it was complete. Now it is mostly a few columns and others that have subsequently collapsed. There are also rampant cats everywhere in Greece and on our way over to the gardens we stopped and petted about 40 kittens. Gross I know, they probably have diseases. But they are so cute!
As we were strolling through the gardens we stopped to take tons of pictures. We saw this small group of people stopped and pointing at something. We looked down and saw 2 turtles. They looked like they were fighting. I have seen all sorts of turtle behavior having them for most of my childhood but this was bizarre. I couldn't tell if they were fighting or mating. And then it became obvious... it was turtle sex. Ew. I made a video that Maggie and I plan on putting on to YouTube but it was disturbingly hilarious.
After our sunset at Syntagma Square we got dressed up (relatively, we are traveling) and went to the roof top bar of the hostel. We were seriously hanging out, drinking and "shooting the $hit" while overlooking the Parthenon. Top experience for sure. We ended up talking to these Aussie boys, of course, who were from Melbourne. They were great guys and we ended up drinking a little too much Ouzo. At 12 the hostel kicked us off the roof because the neighbors complain. We went around the corner to another bar that was chill.
As we were hanging out, who walks in but Black Shirt. I recognized him in pictures at the hostel as one of the owners/managers. Turns out, he is an owner. And he has a pretty famous sister with the same name as mine. Crazy, huh. We hung out for the rest of the night.
The next morning, feeling no so hot, Mags and I headed off to catch a train to Patra and then a ferry to Kefalonia. The taxi driver took us on a round-about way to the train station, stopping to pick up a random lady off the street momentarily and then finally depositing us 5 minutes before our train had to leave. It was a nice train but we were still confused if it was the right one. After riding it for 2 hours, it stopped at Kiato and we had to change trains. Though there was no information that said this. It just stopped, and we followed the crowd.
This train was a bit sketchier and Maggie thought we were going to fly off the tracks at least 3 times. We made it to Patra with plenty of time to catch the ferry to Kefalonia. It was a reaally nice boat and I slept the whole way practically. In the middle of the lounge, on the floor. All 6 feet of me. Heh...
As we got off the boat in Kefalonia at 9:30 at night, I was praying we would be able to get a room for the night. We wandered down and the first hotel was full. He referred us to another hotel 100m down the road. We walked in and asked if they had any available rooms. They did, and a double was only 60 euros, not much more than a hostel. Phew.
Here ends part 1 of the Ionian Travel Expedition. Part 2 will resume momentarily.
Oh, Bless!
My goodness. I don't even know where to begin to describe the last week of sailing.
The three Australian sisters were absolutely a blast. The islands were fantastic. The memories are still vivid. But I will begin my story with Helena's perennial comment, Oh, Bless!
Helena is from England. She is a school teacher. We love her. We pronounce her name Helener because that is the way English people and Aussies pronounce things, with the inevitable -r on the end. We had a blast talking to her about anything from her students to John's lack of knowledge about women. (John will be getting his own story soon) I seriously cannot imagine the trip without her wit and sarcasm.
Patrick our skipper is from New Zealand. He always kept a few tricks up his sleeve, such as his ability to produce bottles of alcohol seemingly from random places around the boat. He also was good for a laugh talking about former passengers. The story about the 82 year old woman who had short term memory loss and a drinking problem was my personal favorite. And not to disappoint, he also managed to keep it under wraps that he is engaged and going to get married to a Brazilian girl in October.
The Aussies are from Sydney! Two of them work in London right now but Bromwyn is moving back to Sydney soon. She was a nurse for Chelsea... yeah. Her sister Larissa works in London and probably will stay for another year or so. Sarah was the eldest sister. She was the quietest but I could sense she knew how to push her younger sister's buttons. The first few days of sailing with them was a blast because the wind just died. The water was flat and we would stop and have a swim off the boat in the middle of the Aegean!
John. Oh John. He was from a smaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall town near Chicago. So small I have never heard of it. He travels several weeks a year, alone. He has no family and is in his 60's. He acts as if he is poor but he's not. He is the most random person I have ever met in my life but despite all of that we all still managed to enjoy his company. He also had an obsession with ferry boats. Since the Aegean is filled with island hopping tourists, there are many boats daily between them. Every time, and I do mean, EVERY time he saw a ferry boat he would say in his monotone drawl, "There's a ferry 20 degrees to our port. It looks like a High Speed 2." Patrick would either nod or disagree. But by the end of the week we had all unwittingly become members of the John Cramp Ferry Boat Spotting School. Later he confessed to Katie that he does not have an obsession with ferry boats, but he is simply afraid they will run us over. Every time he points them out he is concerned Patrick will steer us into one of them. Needless to say it kept us amused for hours.
So one night we were out and we anchored off the coast of Serifos I concocted a game to compete with everyone. It was called the Fender Olympics. The fenders are the buoys you hang from the side of the boat to stop the boats from rubbing into eachother. They were about a meter long and white. So, we had a game where we tried to ride the fenders like a bull. It was quite tricky until after hours of trying, Patrick jumped on and told us the secret. Instead of locking your ankles together, you keep them floating by your side. Genius. Anyway, then there were different levels of difficulty. It came down to Bromwyn and me over the swinging of the rope attached to the buoy. She got points for style, I got points for athletic ability. It was great fun.
But all in all, the trip was amazing. We saw so much more than I had expected to see. And I met some great people. I am back in Athens now for a few days meeting up with Fezekas. She should be coming to our hostel at any moment. The suspense is growing but after that I think we will head to the Ionians and Corfu. I hear good things and the 6 hour bus trip staring us in the face should prove many fun blogs as well.
The three Australian sisters were absolutely a blast. The islands were fantastic. The memories are still vivid. But I will begin my story with Helena's perennial comment, Oh, Bless!
Helena is from England. She is a school teacher. We love her. We pronounce her name Helener because that is the way English people and Aussies pronounce things, with the inevitable -r on the end. We had a blast talking to her about anything from her students to John's lack of knowledge about women. (John will be getting his own story soon) I seriously cannot imagine the trip without her wit and sarcasm.
Patrick our skipper is from New Zealand. He always kept a few tricks up his sleeve, such as his ability to produce bottles of alcohol seemingly from random places around the boat. He also was good for a laugh talking about former passengers. The story about the 82 year old woman who had short term memory loss and a drinking problem was my personal favorite. And not to disappoint, he also managed to keep it under wraps that he is engaged and going to get married to a Brazilian girl in October.
The Aussies are from Sydney! Two of them work in London right now but Bromwyn is moving back to Sydney soon. She was a nurse for Chelsea... yeah. Her sister Larissa works in London and probably will stay for another year or so. Sarah was the eldest sister. She was the quietest but I could sense she knew how to push her younger sister's buttons. The first few days of sailing with them was a blast because the wind just died. The water was flat and we would stop and have a swim off the boat in the middle of the Aegean!
John. Oh John. He was from a smaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall town near Chicago. So small I have never heard of it. He travels several weeks a year, alone. He has no family and is in his 60's. He acts as if he is poor but he's not. He is the most random person I have ever met in my life but despite all of that we all still managed to enjoy his company. He also had an obsession with ferry boats. Since the Aegean is filled with island hopping tourists, there are many boats daily between them. Every time, and I do mean, EVERY time he saw a ferry boat he would say in his monotone drawl, "There's a ferry 20 degrees to our port. It looks like a High Speed 2." Patrick would either nod or disagree. But by the end of the week we had all unwittingly become members of the John Cramp Ferry Boat Spotting School. Later he confessed to Katie that he does not have an obsession with ferry boats, but he is simply afraid they will run us over. Every time he points them out he is concerned Patrick will steer us into one of them. Needless to say it kept us amused for hours.
So one night we were out and we anchored off the coast of Serifos I concocted a game to compete with everyone. It was called the Fender Olympics. The fenders are the buoys you hang from the side of the boat to stop the boats from rubbing into eachother. They were about a meter long and white. So, we had a game where we tried to ride the fenders like a bull. It was quite tricky until after hours of trying, Patrick jumped on and told us the secret. Instead of locking your ankles together, you keep them floating by your side. Genius. Anyway, then there were different levels of difficulty. It came down to Bromwyn and me over the swinging of the rope attached to the buoy. She got points for style, I got points for athletic ability. It was great fun.
But all in all, the trip was amazing. We saw so much more than I had expected to see. And I met some great people. I am back in Athens now for a few days meeting up with Fezekas. She should be coming to our hostel at any moment. The suspense is growing but after that I think we will head to the Ionians and Corfu. I hear good things and the 6 hour bus trip staring us in the face should prove many fun blogs as well.
S_mmer Is Not The Same Without 'U'
Note: This blog contains some material not appropriate for young children. Ahem, alcohol.
Mykonos...dear Mykonos.
2 days ago we sailed into Mykonos. The whole group was ready to be done with the first leg and the sailing was especially rough. We made it in and finally got sorted. The plan was to unload our stuff and go into town for the day. The port is about 2.2km from town, so we had to take a taxi in.
Helena, Katie, Emily and I went into town and shopped. It was an all day event for which I forgot my camera. Uugh! The scenery and the quaintness of Mykonos is everywhere. We walked into this store and found ourselves in the middle of a handmade shoe department. They were beautiful leather sandals everywhere. I ended up buying a pair of black strappy ones that are flat for 20 euros. And the coolest part is that the woman selling us the shoes was married to the man who made the shoes.
We continued to shop, stopping to eat and then starting again. I bought a silver chain bracelet that has the typical Greek waves symbol. So cute.
Then we headed back to our boat to get showered for the night out. I wore my red dress which was killer with my silver sandals. So, we hopped on a bus with the new group and headed back into town.
Let me just say, the 3 Australian girls we picked up are so cool! They are so much more fun than the older couple last week. We also have John, a man from a small town near Chicago as well. He will be getting his own blog entry dedicated specifically to him. Yeah. Yeah.
After dinner of fabulous Rigatoni with 4 cheeses, we started drinking. We went to this bar called the Scandinavian. It was full of tasty drinks and even tastier waiters. They were from around the world. Did I mention Mykonos has a huge gay population? We wandered back down to the harbor to drink some of our own vodka. After having about 1 shots worth, I made a huge error and accidentally flung the vodka bottle into the harbor. There was no rescuing it. So, Katie went to buy us another bottle.
As she was gone, 3 boys sidled up to us. They started looking at us but I couldn't tell if they spoke English. Finally they made their move and introduced themselves. 2 were from a small town up north and the cutest one, Christos was from Athens. We hung out with them for a while and then headed back to the Scandinavian bar. We danced there with shirtless gay men. Then at 2am we headed to Argo, another dance club. It was crazy that no people were there yet! But we had a good time anyways.
At 6am, finally, we wanted to take a cab home. Only problem was there were no cabs. We stayed at the cab stand for about a half an hour and saw 1 cab. And there was a long line in front of us. So, Christos, Emily, Katie, her boy Helias and I started walking home. In our intoxicated state it was fun. But the sun was starting to come up! We finally made it home and I have coordinated to hang out with Chris in Athens. But somewhere along the way we lost Katie.
The next morning after about 3 hours sleep we got up. It turns out, Katie got on a scooter with some random Greek guy and he gave her a ride back to the boat. She got there about 45 minutes before us. But the walk was extremely memorable, as well as the night.
And the title of this blog refers to a shirt Christos was wearing. Appropriate!
Mykonos...dear Mykonos.
2 days ago we sailed into Mykonos. The whole group was ready to be done with the first leg and the sailing was especially rough. We made it in and finally got sorted. The plan was to unload our stuff and go into town for the day. The port is about 2.2km from town, so we had to take a taxi in.
Helena, Katie, Emily and I went into town and shopped. It was an all day event for which I forgot my camera. Uugh! The scenery and the quaintness of Mykonos is everywhere. We walked into this store and found ourselves in the middle of a handmade shoe department. They were beautiful leather sandals everywhere. I ended up buying a pair of black strappy ones that are flat for 20 euros. And the coolest part is that the woman selling us the shoes was married to the man who made the shoes.
We continued to shop, stopping to eat and then starting again. I bought a silver chain bracelet that has the typical Greek waves symbol. So cute.
Then we headed back to our boat to get showered for the night out. I wore my red dress which was killer with my silver sandals. So, we hopped on a bus with the new group and headed back into town.
Let me just say, the 3 Australian girls we picked up are so cool! They are so much more fun than the older couple last week. We also have John, a man from a small town near Chicago as well. He will be getting his own blog entry dedicated specifically to him. Yeah. Yeah.
After dinner of fabulous Rigatoni with 4 cheeses, we started drinking. We went to this bar called the Scandinavian. It was full of tasty drinks and even tastier waiters. They were from around the world. Did I mention Mykonos has a huge gay population? We wandered back down to the harbor to drink some of our own vodka. After having about 1 shots worth, I made a huge error and accidentally flung the vodka bottle into the harbor. There was no rescuing it. So, Katie went to buy us another bottle.
As she was gone, 3 boys sidled up to us. They started looking at us but I couldn't tell if they spoke English. Finally they made their move and introduced themselves. 2 were from a small town up north and the cutest one, Christos was from Athens. We hung out with them for a while and then headed back to the Scandinavian bar. We danced there with shirtless gay men. Then at 2am we headed to Argo, another dance club. It was crazy that no people were there yet! But we had a good time anyways.
At 6am, finally, we wanted to take a cab home. Only problem was there were no cabs. We stayed at the cab stand for about a half an hour and saw 1 cab. And there was a long line in front of us. So, Christos, Emily, Katie, her boy Helias and I started walking home. In our intoxicated state it was fun. But the sun was starting to come up! We finally made it home and I have coordinated to hang out with Chris in Athens. But somewhere along the way we lost Katie.
The next morning after about 3 hours sleep we got up. It turns out, Katie got on a scooter with some random Greek guy and he gave her a ride back to the boat. She got there about 45 minutes before us. But the walk was extremely memorable, as well as the night.
And the title of this blog refers to a shirt Christos was wearing. Appropriate!
Binomial Nomenclature
We like to name things. To say the least.
Here is a short description of what we have come up with so far:
Wendy Peppercorn - she is the name for the gang plank. For those of you who never had a childhood or like my parents, have no knowledge of pop culture, Wendy comes from The Sandlot. She was the lifeguard that Squints made a daring move for in the pool. I am not sure how we named her the gang plank other than the fact that she was always a risk somebody was willing to take. Appropriate.
Norman Johnson - the name of the dinghy. Norman came about because I was thinking of the time I read the book, The Life of Pi. In it, the tiger has a strangely commonplace name like our state of the middle ground dinghy. I couldn't remember what it was, so I threw out Norman Johnson. It stuck.
Richard Parker - I remembered the name of the tiger! And we named the van Richard Parker that we drove around in. It was a beast to say the least and more than one moment I spent thinking how Richard Parker was the last thing I was going to see alive.
Dimitrious the Succulent - our boat's name is Dim, but we wanted to spice it up and give it a more descriptive adjective. We saw a sign that said succulent spaghetti or something like that so I wanted to keep that great word in our daily vocabulary.
Here is a short description of what we have come up with so far:
Wendy Peppercorn - she is the name for the gang plank. For those of you who never had a childhood or like my parents, have no knowledge of pop culture, Wendy comes from The Sandlot. She was the lifeguard that Squints made a daring move for in the pool. I am not sure how we named her the gang plank other than the fact that she was always a risk somebody was willing to take. Appropriate.
Norman Johnson - the name of the dinghy. Norman came about because I was thinking of the time I read the book, The Life of Pi. In it, the tiger has a strangely commonplace name like our state of the middle ground dinghy. I couldn't remember what it was, so I threw out Norman Johnson. It stuck.
Richard Parker - I remembered the name of the tiger! And we named the van Richard Parker that we drove around in. It was a beast to say the least and more than one moment I spent thinking how Richard Parker was the last thing I was going to see alive.
Dimitrious the Succulent - our boat's name is Dim, but we wanted to spice it up and give it a more descriptive adjective. We saw a sign that said succulent spaghetti or something like that so I wanted to keep that great word in our daily vocabulary.
Naxos = Octopi
So, after spending just a little over a day in Naxos it is safe to assume the island has one purpose... to feed tourists Octopus. There were so many around hanging on clotheslines, grilling on a spit as you walk by the restaurant, and my favorite, hanging above your head as you walk through the white cobbled streets.
I could not want anything further from Octopus to eat so naturally, Naxos was a bit hellish.
Just kidding, it was a lot of fun. We ended up renting a van to take us around the island. We drove through the middle to this really old distillery for Citron alcohol. Then we headed up to this really cute old village where it was basically a photog's heaven. After that, we went to this really local secluded beach and ate lunch. By the way, 2 euro pita gyros are a staple in any traveler's diet in Greece. They are delicious, and nutritious.
So after that we drove along the mountain road back to the port to head off to Paros, another island. The swell was up pretty high so the ride over was so much fun. And as we went along we were jellyfish spotting. They are brown here. Hmm, maybe they are suntanned as well.
Landing in Paros, we hopped off the Wendy Peppercorn, (our name for the gang plank) and ran over to the old Venetian port. It is basically a fort rock structure but the light couldn't have been better. Katie and I wandered around Paros for a few hours, looking in all the shops and just soaking up the atmosphere. Most of the shops are quite pricey but the quality is not there. Kind of bizarre.
Then later we went out for dinner and a drink. The first spot we ended up at was amazing. It was called Del Mar, and it was literally coming out of the sea. There was a retainer wall for the water a mere foot from the first chairs and tables. All night we watched the waves crash on the wall and then move their way up to our feet. They came close, but we never got wet.
From there we went back to the port front where it seemed it was the place to see and be seen. I got a club sandwich, which was interesting. We chilled out and then made it back to the boat to sleep.
Today we are sailing to Rinia, an island off the coast of Mykonos. After that we head into Mykonos where the real partying begins. Oh dear... I hope they don't serve Octopus.
I could not want anything further from Octopus to eat so naturally, Naxos was a bit hellish.
Just kidding, it was a lot of fun. We ended up renting a van to take us around the island. We drove through the middle to this really old distillery for Citron alcohol. Then we headed up to this really cute old village where it was basically a photog's heaven. After that, we went to this really local secluded beach and ate lunch. By the way, 2 euro pita gyros are a staple in any traveler's diet in Greece. They are delicious, and nutritious.
So after that we drove along the mountain road back to the port to head off to Paros, another island. The swell was up pretty high so the ride over was so much fun. And as we went along we were jellyfish spotting. They are brown here. Hmm, maybe they are suntanned as well.
Landing in Paros, we hopped off the Wendy Peppercorn, (our name for the gang plank) and ran over to the old Venetian port. It is basically a fort rock structure but the light couldn't have been better. Katie and I wandered around Paros for a few hours, looking in all the shops and just soaking up the atmosphere. Most of the shops are quite pricey but the quality is not there. Kind of bizarre.
Then later we went out for dinner and a drink. The first spot we ended up at was amazing. It was called Del Mar, and it was literally coming out of the sea. There was a retainer wall for the water a mere foot from the first chairs and tables. All night we watched the waves crash on the wall and then move their way up to our feet. They came close, but we never got wet.
From there we went back to the port front where it seemed it was the place to see and be seen. I got a club sandwich, which was interesting. We chilled out and then made it back to the boat to sleep.
Today we are sailing to Rinia, an island off the coast of Mykonos. After that we head into Mykonos where the real partying begins. Oh dear... I hope they don't serve Octopus.
Dimitrios the Daring
So, since I haven't blogged in a few days, it is natural to assume I have been on a boat.
A 50' Bavaria Yacht to be exact.
And it's name is Dimitrios. So far on the trip, I have been seasick and ill, went swimming almost everywhere in the Aegean, went cliff jumping and that was just yesterday. On the tour we have 2 couples, one from Serbia who live in Canada and the other who are German/Serbian and live in Athens. Go figure.
Then, I am roommates with an English woman and there are 2 girls from Wisconsin to round out the crew. Our skipper is from New Zealand.
The first day we just hung out in Santorini's Marina Vlihada where we got dinner at this crazy taverna on the cliff. After sleeping so soundly, we headed out on the water for Folegandros. We made it there after virtually motoring the whole way. I don't even think we had the sails out. After that, we moored and put the wooden gang plank out. We actually have a gang plank. We got off the boat and walked over to the beach where we could swim. We all took showers in the water and then washed the salt off on the boat. I don't think I have ever taken such a public bath.
We hung out by the marina for a bit and then headed up to the Hora to watch the sunset. The Hora is the main town area, separate from the harbor where most of the island's inhabitants live. They are really small islands, this one's permanent population was 270 people, plus goats. The next day we got up leisurely and waited to get water in the boat. It was a process only the patient could handle seeing as how many people were bribing the water man to fill up their boats first.
We then headed out to sea, to do a bit of sailing. We had the main sail up and the Genoa (the jib as it's called when it overlaps the main sail) and started flying. It was so much fun. At one point, Patrick, our skipper told us to walk up to the prow of the boat and hang on. We were heeling over and the water was just spraying us as we hung on. It was a blast.
After we made port in Skinoussos we had to blow up the dinghy to get to land. I named the dingly Norman Johnson, because I couldn't remember the name of the tiger in the book the Life of Pi. Our yacht is pretty nice and I would say large, but compared to the luxury liners that were rolling in, it seemed tiny. Their dinghys were probably worth more than our boat. Crazy! There was a really huge one 2 away from us and we thought the blonde bombshell on the back was a celebrity. So, I busted out my camera with zoom lens and started taking pictures of her. Turns out, we didn't know her.
After the most overpriced, underserviced dinner ever we took the Norman Johnson back out to our boat for the night. I passed out I was so tired.
Today we sailed on over to Amargos where we are having a day on the land. I got internet, we are going for coffee and we all sent international faxes. heh.
Greece is a photographers dream! Tomorrow we head to Naxos which should be a 22 year old American's dream...
A 50' Bavaria Yacht to be exact.
And it's name is Dimitrios. So far on the trip, I have been seasick and ill, went swimming almost everywhere in the Aegean, went cliff jumping and that was just yesterday. On the tour we have 2 couples, one from Serbia who live in Canada and the other who are German/Serbian and live in Athens. Go figure.
Then, I am roommates with an English woman and there are 2 girls from Wisconsin to round out the crew. Our skipper is from New Zealand.
The first day we just hung out in Santorini's Marina Vlihada where we got dinner at this crazy taverna on the cliff. After sleeping so soundly, we headed out on the water for Folegandros. We made it there after virtually motoring the whole way. I don't even think we had the sails out. After that, we moored and put the wooden gang plank out. We actually have a gang plank. We got off the boat and walked over to the beach where we could swim. We all took showers in the water and then washed the salt off on the boat. I don't think I have ever taken such a public bath.
We hung out by the marina for a bit and then headed up to the Hora to watch the sunset. The Hora is the main town area, separate from the harbor where most of the island's inhabitants live. They are really small islands, this one's permanent population was 270 people, plus goats. The next day we got up leisurely and waited to get water in the boat. It was a process only the patient could handle seeing as how many people were bribing the water man to fill up their boats first.
We then headed out to sea, to do a bit of sailing. We had the main sail up and the Genoa (the jib as it's called when it overlaps the main sail) and started flying. It was so much fun. At one point, Patrick, our skipper told us to walk up to the prow of the boat and hang on. We were heeling over and the water was just spraying us as we hung on. It was a blast.
After we made port in Skinoussos we had to blow up the dinghy to get to land. I named the dingly Norman Johnson, because I couldn't remember the name of the tiger in the book the Life of Pi. Our yacht is pretty nice and I would say large, but compared to the luxury liners that were rolling in, it seemed tiny. Their dinghys were probably worth more than our boat. Crazy! There was a really huge one 2 away from us and we thought the blonde bombshell on the back was a celebrity. So, I busted out my camera with zoom lens and started taking pictures of her. Turns out, we didn't know her.
After the most overpriced, underserviced dinner ever we took the Norman Johnson back out to our boat for the night. I passed out I was so tired.
Today we sailed on over to Amargos where we are having a day on the land. I got internet, we are going for coffee and we all sent international faxes. heh.
Greece is a photographers dream! Tomorrow we head to Naxos which should be a 22 year old American's dream...
D.I.T
Yesterday I went on the traditional day tour of Santorini. That includes a Volcano tour (All you Mizzou ppl know how I loooove me some Volcanoes) swimming in a hot caldera, taking a tour of a small village on another island named Thirassia and then going to Oia for the "Famous Oia Sunset."
The first part included a bus from the hostel down to the port of Akrotiri. I have never seen a huge bus packed with people clambering down such a steep hill! There were about 20 switchbacks to get through before we made it down. I didn't get sick, but I was a bit anxious about crashing and flying off the cliff.
Then, they just sort of point and yell at you to go to certain boats. There is no real direction and you could probably go on whichever boat you wanted. I went on this huge sailboat, which turns out just motors. So me and about 400 of my newest closest friends squashed onto this blazing hot boat bound for the volcano. Santorini has a violent past of eruptions and the middle of the island virtually sank in some time ago. Then the water from the sea rushed in and that is how the island became 4 islands. So we went to the part which is the cinder cone, but since the volcano is active but has violent eruptions, there is no lava and no cool photos. Only heat. Blazing heat. I walked for 45 minutes among throngs of tourists and got to the top, only to realize the view was the same as from the 10 minute long walk. I headed back to the boat sweaty and dirty.
Then I sat down next to a girl who was really cool. We started talking and she was a student from L.A. We ended up hanging out for the rest of the day.
The caldera was nice to swim in, better because we were so sweaty. And then we headed to lunch at Thirassia. It turns out Phaedra (that was her name) is half Greek, even though she has red hair and freckles. So we went to this little restaurant LITERALLY right on the water and had the best Pita-Gyros of my life. Seriously, the best! And then we got the bill, less than 5 euros each! The gyros were 1.70. Insane!
We headed back to the boat, anxious for the last part of our tour, the sunset in Oia.
So anytime you see famous pictures from Santorini it is the shot with the blue church and the sea. Sometimes there is a sunset in the background. It is so famous that you take massive tours up there. But to get up to Oia on the cliffs from the sea you can either walk up a steep hill or...
RIDE A DONKEY!
So, naturally, we rode donkeys.
I have never gone on such a wild ride. First of all, my donkey looked about 50 years old and was already breathing hard when I got on him, from the right side. Second of all, all day long the donkeys walk up and then run down. Third of all, my donkey had a twinkle in his elderly eye and I knew I was in for some fun.
So we start riding and it is hard work staying on the pathetic little thing. My stirups were about a foot to short, so my legs were sticking out weirdly. You don't have reigns because, let's be honest, you couldn't control a donkey anyway. So you hold on to this little horn type handle and pray you don't die. I was second in line and the donkey in front of me with a Spanish woman on it was quite slow. My donkey agreed. The race began.
He was going left. He was going right. He was in the donkeys butt. Then the really steep part came and he was trotting, yes Trotting! up the hill. In all this haste, the Spanish woman was screaming. In my donkey's quest to run up the hill he was pushing her donkey over into the wall. I was having the time of my life, fully trusting in Old Blue as I called him...her...it. Whatever. But I thought she was going to die of a heart attack. And the only English the donkey man could say was Lady, No problem! So, I am calming her down as I ride next to her in Spanish and the donkey man continues to hiss, chant, spit and shout to get the donkeys moving. At the end, we got off the donkey, my knees were sort but my adrenaline could not have been pumping faster. What a rush.
And the scenery was Amazing. Top 5 of my life. We walked around and I started making jokes about the donkey. Since other people had just ridden as well, I really started going on with this Aussie.
Our conversation:
Me: What if the donkeys want to quit? They just say, fuck it, I am jumping off this cliff, passenger and all?
Phil: Yeah, or they could want to break their own leg. They could run into a wall.
Me: And did you see the donkeys the guide was dragging behind him? I think it was a Donkey In Training.
Phil: A DIT! I've heard about those! They have to pass a really hard fitness test. Then they get certified to be a real donkey. Unfortunately by the time they pass all the tests they are elderly and almost always die within the year.
It continued like this for a while. Phaedra and I continued to walk down the street until we got to the spot. Like, the famous sunset spot. Since it was around 6, we had a few hours to wait. We found a little nook that was shaded and out of the way but guaranteed we had the best view. After about 15 minutes, Phil meandered up with Tally, his cousin. They sat down with us and we just chilled for 2 hours until the sunset. It was so cool, we were all just taking the piss out of life and especially the donkeys.
Afterwards we took our buses back to our respective hostels and agreed to meet up later. They came to my hostel and we went to dinner on the beach. Both of them are in the Aussie army and are on leave from Iraq. Gross. But it was one of the most fun days ever. Sadly, the left today to go to Rome but I am sure we will hang out when they come to Sydney next year. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!
The first part included a bus from the hostel down to the port of Akrotiri. I have never seen a huge bus packed with people clambering down such a steep hill! There were about 20 switchbacks to get through before we made it down. I didn't get sick, but I was a bit anxious about crashing and flying off the cliff.
Then, they just sort of point and yell at you to go to certain boats. There is no real direction and you could probably go on whichever boat you wanted. I went on this huge sailboat, which turns out just motors. So me and about 400 of my newest closest friends squashed onto this blazing hot boat bound for the volcano. Santorini has a violent past of eruptions and the middle of the island virtually sank in some time ago. Then the water from the sea rushed in and that is how the island became 4 islands. So we went to the part which is the cinder cone, but since the volcano is active but has violent eruptions, there is no lava and no cool photos. Only heat. Blazing heat. I walked for 45 minutes among throngs of tourists and got to the top, only to realize the view was the same as from the 10 minute long walk. I headed back to the boat sweaty and dirty.
Then I sat down next to a girl who was really cool. We started talking and she was a student from L.A. We ended up hanging out for the rest of the day.
The caldera was nice to swim in, better because we were so sweaty. And then we headed to lunch at Thirassia. It turns out Phaedra (that was her name) is half Greek, even though she has red hair and freckles. So we went to this little restaurant LITERALLY right on the water and had the best Pita-Gyros of my life. Seriously, the best! And then we got the bill, less than 5 euros each! The gyros were 1.70. Insane!
We headed back to the boat, anxious for the last part of our tour, the sunset in Oia.
So anytime you see famous pictures from Santorini it is the shot with the blue church and the sea. Sometimes there is a sunset in the background. It is so famous that you take massive tours up there. But to get up to Oia on the cliffs from the sea you can either walk up a steep hill or...
RIDE A DONKEY!
So, naturally, we rode donkeys.
I have never gone on such a wild ride. First of all, my donkey looked about 50 years old and was already breathing hard when I got on him, from the right side. Second of all, all day long the donkeys walk up and then run down. Third of all, my donkey had a twinkle in his elderly eye and I knew I was in for some fun.
So we start riding and it is hard work staying on the pathetic little thing. My stirups were about a foot to short, so my legs were sticking out weirdly. You don't have reigns because, let's be honest, you couldn't control a donkey anyway. So you hold on to this little horn type handle and pray you don't die. I was second in line and the donkey in front of me with a Spanish woman on it was quite slow. My donkey agreed. The race began.
He was going left. He was going right. He was in the donkeys butt. Then the really steep part came and he was trotting, yes Trotting! up the hill. In all this haste, the Spanish woman was screaming. In my donkey's quest to run up the hill he was pushing her donkey over into the wall. I was having the time of my life, fully trusting in Old Blue as I called him...her...it. Whatever. But I thought she was going to die of a heart attack. And the only English the donkey man could say was Lady, No problem! So, I am calming her down as I ride next to her in Spanish and the donkey man continues to hiss, chant, spit and shout to get the donkeys moving. At the end, we got off the donkey, my knees were sort but my adrenaline could not have been pumping faster. What a rush.
And the scenery was Amazing. Top 5 of my life. We walked around and I started making jokes about the donkey. Since other people had just ridden as well, I really started going on with this Aussie.
Our conversation:
Me: What if the donkeys want to quit? They just say, fuck it, I am jumping off this cliff, passenger and all?
Phil: Yeah, or they could want to break their own leg. They could run into a wall.
Me: And did you see the donkeys the guide was dragging behind him? I think it was a Donkey In Training.
Phil: A DIT! I've heard about those! They have to pass a really hard fitness test. Then they get certified to be a real donkey. Unfortunately by the time they pass all the tests they are elderly and almost always die within the year.
It continued like this for a while. Phaedra and I continued to walk down the street until we got to the spot. Like, the famous sunset spot. Since it was around 6, we had a few hours to wait. We found a little nook that was shaded and out of the way but guaranteed we had the best view. After about 15 minutes, Phil meandered up with Tally, his cousin. They sat down with us and we just chilled for 2 hours until the sunset. It was so cool, we were all just taking the piss out of life and especially the donkeys.
Afterwards we took our buses back to our respective hostels and agreed to meet up later. They came to my hostel and we went to dinner on the beach. Both of them are in the Aussie army and are on leave from Iraq. Gross. But it was one of the most fun days ever. Sadly, the left today to go to Rome but I am sure we will hang out when they come to Sydney next year. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!
Opa! Opa. Opa?
Upon arrival into Santorini, I went to bed.
The next day... I went to the beach at Perissa. Black sand, blue water, rocky scenery! It was amazing. I walked around and found a Thai restaurant, but their Thai food was only served for dinner! I got a chicken salad anyways, and it was fabulous.
Afterwards, I walked around and took photos along the beach. I bought the Lonely Planet guide to the Greek Isles, which is pretty good. It should come in handy in the next 2 weeks. Then I read my books and chilled out. The Canadian girls made it back into our room and I somehow finagled an invitation to dinner with them. It turns out, they were there with 4 other girls so I was rolling deep with Canucks.
During dinner, I was confused because I had been in Greece for more than 24 hours and still had not heard my first Opa! They don't say it when they are drinking, they don't say it when they are eating. When do they say it??? After a lengthy dinner in which it took the restaurant 2 hours to make our drinks and food, we went to happy hour at the bar across from our hostel. 2 euros buys you a shot of racca, which is like grappa, and a Greek beer. Mmm... not! We chilled until it ended and then headed to the beach to go out.
There is one cool bar where most everyone goes because it is open late. It is called The Beach Bar. Creative, I know.
We went there and the girls really wanted to go to Fera and go out. They seemed to be a little boy crazy, but I made friends with Sefia the original girl from my hostel. So we stayed and then started dancing. It turned into a whole night affair where boys would surround us and dance, timidly ask us our names in broken English, and then we would dance away from them only to be approached 5 minutes later.
We met a Greek boy named Yanni and after watching me dance for a bit he yelled, Opa! I was so happy to have heard my first Opa of the trip.
The next day... I went to the beach at Perissa. Black sand, blue water, rocky scenery! It was amazing. I walked around and found a Thai restaurant, but their Thai food was only served for dinner! I got a chicken salad anyways, and it was fabulous.
Afterwards, I walked around and took photos along the beach. I bought the Lonely Planet guide to the Greek Isles, which is pretty good. It should come in handy in the next 2 weeks. Then I read my books and chilled out. The Canadian girls made it back into our room and I somehow finagled an invitation to dinner with them. It turns out, they were there with 4 other girls so I was rolling deep with Canucks.
During dinner, I was confused because I had been in Greece for more than 24 hours and still had not heard my first Opa! They don't say it when they are drinking, they don't say it when they are eating. When do they say it??? After a lengthy dinner in which it took the restaurant 2 hours to make our drinks and food, we went to happy hour at the bar across from our hostel. 2 euros buys you a shot of racca, which is like grappa, and a Greek beer. Mmm... not! We chilled until it ended and then headed to the beach to go out.
There is one cool bar where most everyone goes because it is open late. It is called The Beach Bar. Creative, I know.
We went there and the girls really wanted to go to Fera and go out. They seemed to be a little boy crazy, but I made friends with Sefia the original girl from my hostel. So we stayed and then started dancing. It turned into a whole night affair where boys would surround us and dance, timidly ask us our names in broken English, and then we would dance away from them only to be approached 5 minutes later.
We met a Greek boy named Yanni and after watching me dance for a bit he yelled, Opa! I was so happy to have heard my first Opa of the trip.
My Own Personal Bus
In the last few days we spent in Como, many exciting things happened. We went to Switzerland and bought amazingly cheap luxury items, we went shopping at the market in Como where I got an "imitation leather" jacket, and Marco and Ila got engaged.
Sorry if I was the one to break the news to you, but if you didn't know already, you must be unreachable.
Yes, it was lovely. We had it all planned out. (Marco and I) We were walking up to this really old lighthouse looking over Como. At some point, Marco would tell me to go take some "photographs" and I would wait about 1 minute and then emerge, taking pictures of the whole proposal. Ila didn't really know what was going on, and didn't even realize that I was behind her taking pictures. Her reaction was an obvious yes, and she promptly started... sweating.
These are classic Ila reactions. She either sweats, or she doesn't get it. For instance, Marco and I were talking about how during the war his Nona would walk to Switzerland for work and every time she would come back 'pregnant.' Then we talked about how she would sell the cigarettes she smuggled in to other people. Well, Ila didn't really understand. After a few confused moments she asked, "How many kids does your Grandma have?"
So then on Tuesday evening, Marco and Ila went to the hospital to tell Nona about their engagement. She was happy for them for about 25 seconds and then started complaining about the nurses. She is a hellion.
That night we went out to have ice cream and celebrate my last night with the Koalas. Ila got nervous, another classic reaction, and ordered Straciacella and Crema Nutella. She actually managed to not order completely disgusting food but those are still Nona-flavors.
Wednesday morning arrived. I finished packing and we headed to Milano airport. I said goodbye and jumped in the queue for Alitalia to Athens. Nothing exciting happened on that flight but when I got to Athens I have a regional flight booked to Santorini. After waiting for a couple of hours, I was about to board my plane when the flight attendant told me I needed a paper ticket. Apparently the bonehead who checked me in didn't make sure I had it with me and just processed me anyway. I didn't have an e-ticket which meant I was out of luck. After nervous waiting for about 15 minutes and our bus to our flight heading to the plane, we zipped back up to the Olympic Airlines desk and I was issued another ticket. I don't know what angel was on my shoulder for that one. But after all that, I was given my own personal bus. I have always wondered what people had to do to get their own private shuttle to their plane.
Uugh.
A short skip down to Thira and then I got in a Mercedes Benz cab to my hostel. I am in a room with 3 other girls, 2 from Canada and 1 Aussie. I think today I am going to Perissa Beach, which is black sand. It is supposed to be 200 m from the hostel but I hear it is a 10-minute walk. I guess they judged the distance according to a turtle.
On another note, Maggie Fezekas and I are going to be doing up Athens in a couple weeks! Crazy excited for that. I think tomorrow I will go on a day trip to the Volcano, swim in a caldera (I just love volcanoes!) and watch the famous sunset at Oia. What a life!
Sorry if I was the one to break the news to you, but if you didn't know already, you must be unreachable.
Yes, it was lovely. We had it all planned out. (Marco and I) We were walking up to this really old lighthouse looking over Como. At some point, Marco would tell me to go take some "photographs" and I would wait about 1 minute and then emerge, taking pictures of the whole proposal. Ila didn't really know what was going on, and didn't even realize that I was behind her taking pictures. Her reaction was an obvious yes, and she promptly started... sweating.
These are classic Ila reactions. She either sweats, or she doesn't get it. For instance, Marco and I were talking about how during the war his Nona would walk to Switzerland for work and every time she would come back 'pregnant.' Then we talked about how she would sell the cigarettes she smuggled in to other people. Well, Ila didn't really understand. After a few confused moments she asked, "How many kids does your Grandma have?"
So then on Tuesday evening, Marco and Ila went to the hospital to tell Nona about their engagement. She was happy for them for about 25 seconds and then started complaining about the nurses. She is a hellion.
That night we went out to have ice cream and celebrate my last night with the Koalas. Ila got nervous, another classic reaction, and ordered Straciacella and Crema Nutella. She actually managed to not order completely disgusting food but those are still Nona-flavors.
Wednesday morning arrived. I finished packing and we headed to Milano airport. I said goodbye and jumped in the queue for Alitalia to Athens. Nothing exciting happened on that flight but when I got to Athens I have a regional flight booked to Santorini. After waiting for a couple of hours, I was about to board my plane when the flight attendant told me I needed a paper ticket. Apparently the bonehead who checked me in didn't make sure I had it with me and just processed me anyway. I didn't have an e-ticket which meant I was out of luck. After nervous waiting for about 15 minutes and our bus to our flight heading to the plane, we zipped back up to the Olympic Airlines desk and I was issued another ticket. I don't know what angel was on my shoulder for that one. But after all that, I was given my own personal bus. I have always wondered what people had to do to get their own private shuttle to their plane.
Uugh.
A short skip down to Thira and then I got in a Mercedes Benz cab to my hostel. I am in a room with 3 other girls, 2 from Canada and 1 Aussie. I think today I am going to Perissa Beach, which is black sand. It is supposed to be 200 m from the hostel but I hear it is a 10-minute walk. I guess they judged the distance according to a turtle.
On another note, Maggie Fezekas and I are going to be doing up Athens in a couple weeks! Crazy excited for that. I think tomorrow I will go on a day trip to the Volcano, swim in a caldera (I just love volcanoes!) and watch the famous sunset at Oia. What a life!
Frederico the Goat, Tweet Tweet and Jimmy
Yesterday, Marco took Ila and me to walk around Como and explore his hometown. We walked around by the lake and went down to the pier. We went among many old villas and the views were incredible. When Marco was 12, he had a tryout with a professional team in Como. There is a picture of him, (all legs and hair) hanging on his wall. We walked by the stadium and it was open by a miracle. We sort of invaded it and I got to run up the top of the bleachers and take a picture out over the lake.
Then the next day we went for a walk up to this really old castle looking over the whole region. I hadn't eaten since breakfast and was pretty hungry when we started our ascent. We walked for about an hour straight uphill. Literally. When we finally made it to the top (Ila sweating and Marco with boundless energy) we had an amazing view. There was the remnants of an old castle and we climbed up it to see to Milano. After we were scared getting back down, Marco helped us as we were being complete weenies.
Then on our way home we were walking, Marco slightly in front and Ila a little ahead of me. We saw this man sitting on the side of the road and then heard this scratching noise in the bushes. Out ran a billy goat who promptly started squirming and chasing his own tail! Ila was so scared she ran behind me, thinking the goat was going to attack us. Marco started talking to the man and apparently the goat lived on the mountain. The man had named him Frederico because a few years ago he had befriended the goat. The man had gone up to the mountain to bury his last German Shepherd, and he met the goat. The goat was extremely friendly and wanted to play. Thus, Frederico.
As we were standing there talking, we pet the goat as if he were a dog. He was chasing his own tail and biting it. At one point, he got so excited to play that he head butted Marco in the knee. Marco: "God damn it, Frederico! I know you are excited but take it easy!"
We parted ways with nothing but fond memories of the goat.
Later that night we went to get Aperitivo, which is something like cocktail hour in the States. We went to the main piazza in Como and met up with many of Marco's friends. All of them fabulous Italians, that is except for Tweet Tweet.
His name was Vincent.
He was a disaster.
He apparently was sort of friends with the guys but not really. He was a bit odd and had this mad habit of not realizing people's personal space. He would sidle up really close to you. You would try to back away but he would just keep coming. Apparently, sometimes he gets about 4 inches from your face without realizing it. Fabio, one of Marco's friends, was able to reel him in more and would periodically yell at him to move back or be quiet. We started calling him Tweet Tweet because he was like a little bird, always following them around.
And then during the middle of the evening, I see a man walking his pet... guinea pig. I thought it was a rat and then I realized it had more crazy fur. For some reason, as I am yelling, Rat! Rat! it ran straight to my feet. The man had to yell at it to walk with him and then he picked it up and put it on his neck.
And Jimmy. Ah... Jimmy.
He is Marco's delightful friend whom at first we all thought was gay but it turns out is a ladies man. He is a SHARK! He chases girls all around but without success. And he is the nicest guy! He was a riot and spoke a little english, but he said it would improve with his consumption of alcohol. We then went to a town barbeque, up the road.
Almost to Switzerland! We got out and walked up another mountain and were met by hundreds of Comanzci and other Italians from around the area. We ate pork, which is a specialty of the area and watched fireworks. Then, there is a huge bonfire where they literally burn the mountain. I have never seen such a humongous fire! Afterwards, we ate some "traditional cake" which looked chocolate but was in fact fruit cake and then headed on home.
Today we went for a boat tour around Como. It was beautiful and I got some great shots of the Villas. I picked out Villa Carlita which I will buy after I make my first million. We passed by George Clooney's villa, but I couldn't pick it out of the crowd. After lunch at Menaggio, we headed back to Como and to the apartment. Time to prepare ourselves for shopping tomorrow!
SHOES
I needed shoes in Italy. They only have 40, which is equivalent of US size 9. Ehh... Anyways I finally found a CUTE pair. They are seriously HOT and they were only 20 Euros. Bravo, Como, Bravo!
Then the next day we went for a walk up to this really old castle looking over the whole region. I hadn't eaten since breakfast and was pretty hungry when we started our ascent. We walked for about an hour straight uphill. Literally. When we finally made it to the top (Ila sweating and Marco with boundless energy) we had an amazing view. There was the remnants of an old castle and we climbed up it to see to Milano. After we were scared getting back down, Marco helped us as we were being complete weenies.
Then on our way home we were walking, Marco slightly in front and Ila a little ahead of me. We saw this man sitting on the side of the road and then heard this scratching noise in the bushes. Out ran a billy goat who promptly started squirming and chasing his own tail! Ila was so scared she ran behind me, thinking the goat was going to attack us. Marco started talking to the man and apparently the goat lived on the mountain. The man had named him Frederico because a few years ago he had befriended the goat. The man had gone up to the mountain to bury his last German Shepherd, and he met the goat. The goat was extremely friendly and wanted to play. Thus, Frederico.
As we were standing there talking, we pet the goat as if he were a dog. He was chasing his own tail and biting it. At one point, he got so excited to play that he head butted Marco in the knee. Marco: "God damn it, Frederico! I know you are excited but take it easy!"
We parted ways with nothing but fond memories of the goat.
Later that night we went to get Aperitivo, which is something like cocktail hour in the States. We went to the main piazza in Como and met up with many of Marco's friends. All of them fabulous Italians, that is except for Tweet Tweet.
His name was Vincent.
He was a disaster.
He apparently was sort of friends with the guys but not really. He was a bit odd and had this mad habit of not realizing people's personal space. He would sidle up really close to you. You would try to back away but he would just keep coming. Apparently, sometimes he gets about 4 inches from your face without realizing it. Fabio, one of Marco's friends, was able to reel him in more and would periodically yell at him to move back or be quiet. We started calling him Tweet Tweet because he was like a little bird, always following them around.
And then during the middle of the evening, I see a man walking his pet... guinea pig. I thought it was a rat and then I realized it had more crazy fur. For some reason, as I am yelling, Rat! Rat! it ran straight to my feet. The man had to yell at it to walk with him and then he picked it up and put it on his neck.
And Jimmy. Ah... Jimmy.
He is Marco's delightful friend whom at first we all thought was gay but it turns out is a ladies man. He is a SHARK! He chases girls all around but without success. And he is the nicest guy! He was a riot and spoke a little english, but he said it would improve with his consumption of alcohol. We then went to a town barbeque, up the road.
Almost to Switzerland! We got out and walked up another mountain and were met by hundreds of Comanzci and other Italians from around the area. We ate pork, which is a specialty of the area and watched fireworks. Then, there is a huge bonfire where they literally burn the mountain. I have never seen such a humongous fire! Afterwards, we ate some "traditional cake" which looked chocolate but was in fact fruit cake and then headed on home.
Today we went for a boat tour around Como. It was beautiful and I got some great shots of the Villas. I picked out Villa Carlita which I will buy after I make my first million. We passed by George Clooney's villa, but I couldn't pick it out of the crowd. After lunch at Menaggio, we headed back to Como and to the apartment. Time to prepare ourselves for shopping tomorrow!
SHOES
I needed shoes in Italy. They only have 40, which is equivalent of US size 9. Ehh... Anyways I finally found a CUTE pair. They are seriously HOT and they were only 20 Euros. Bravo, Como, Bravo!
It's a Joke, Laugh!
Ila and I are now in Como, Italy. It is fabulous weather and it was so good to reunite the koalas (my nickname for Marco and Ila) Yesterday we walked around downtown Como and took pictures and window shopped. My flip flops are toast and we are looking for some supportive cute sandals for me. The only problem is Italians have midget feet.
And I want a pair of Birkenstocks that just have 1 simple strap, and according to Italians with midget feet, they are ugly. So thus a dilemna was born.
I think we walked into so many shops looking for the same pair of shoes but when Marco asked the people if they have size 41 or even, gasp, 42, they were shocked and said no. Today we are going to the House of Shoes to look for shoes for giants. I hope we will have better luck.
And after walking around and house-hunting for Villa Carla, we headed back home to rest for a bit. We were going to meet up with Marco's friends for a drink later in town. After dinner we headed back to the city and met up with Alberto and Stefano, two of Marco's friends. We walked around by the lake and since Stefano hadn't eaten, we went to a "Mexican" Restaurant for dinner.
Here is what I learned from that dinner:
Chardonnay in Italy is sparkling.
Pierrina's are tacos, with raw meat in them.
Also, Italians created everything in the world. The wheel? Italy. The Internet? Italy. The United States? Italy.
And then we got onto the topic of making jokes. They weren't translating that well and after every joke that Alberto made, he would look at me and say, It's a joke! Laugh!
Eventually, I got a few of the jokes. And they got some of mine. So we left the Mexican restaurant and came home to go to sleep.
The next few days should be very exciting, considering we are going outlet shopping at Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci and others in Switzerland. It should prove fabulous. Ciao!
And I want a pair of Birkenstocks that just have 1 simple strap, and according to Italians with midget feet, they are ugly. So thus a dilemna was born.
I think we walked into so many shops looking for the same pair of shoes but when Marco asked the people if they have size 41 or even, gasp, 42, they were shocked and said no. Today we are going to the House of Shoes to look for shoes for giants. I hope we will have better luck.
And after walking around and house-hunting for Villa Carla, we headed back home to rest for a bit. We were going to meet up with Marco's friends for a drink later in town. After dinner we headed back to the city and met up with Alberto and Stefano, two of Marco's friends. We walked around by the lake and since Stefano hadn't eaten, we went to a "Mexican" Restaurant for dinner.
Here is what I learned from that dinner:
Chardonnay in Italy is sparkling.
Pierrina's are tacos, with raw meat in them.
Also, Italians created everything in the world. The wheel? Italy. The Internet? Italy. The United States? Italy.
And then we got onto the topic of making jokes. They weren't translating that well and after every joke that Alberto made, he would look at me and say, It's a joke! Laugh!
Eventually, I got a few of the jokes. And they got some of mine. So we left the Mexican restaurant and came home to go to sleep.
The next few days should be very exciting, considering we are going outlet shopping at Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci and others in Switzerland. It should prove fabulous. Ciao!
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