Trips II

GREECE: ATHENS and SANTORINI

Day 1: While on the plane to Athens, Hailey and I enjoyed our first Greek meal. Although I’m still not totally sure what it was, it was tasty and went well with the white wine they served haha. We took a bus into the city and experienced our first little oops moment; we got separated and on different buses. Long story short it all worked out but I almost had an anxiety attack in the process. When we disembarked the bus, we met Lucy- an Australian girl traveling by herself who happened to be staying at our hostel. The three of us got settled in our rooms and went out for our first true Grecian experience. My, oh my, how I love their food… I didn’t put a single thing in my mouth that I didn’t love. My hips can prove that.

Day 2: Lucy, Hailey, and I toured the Acropolis and grounds (the Parthenon and Theaters). We also saw the ruins of The Temple of Zeus and Hadrian's Arch. It was so surreal to be walking among the ruins that I’ve studied about for years. I found myself just standing and staring where the Senate met and at the Agora; these places that were so important in their day. Hard to believe the rocks and history books are all that’s left of such a magnificent city and culture. That afternoon we visited the beach! Our new friend Kat suggested the trip. Kat is from Pittsburgh but studied in Bristol, England for the past year and was also staying at our hostel. The beaches in Athens are certainly beautiful but I would take our sandy ones any day. The beach was made of small pebbles- not ideal for walking; however, the salinity difference was fun. Sunbathing without profuse sweating was also a treat!

Day 3: Our trio walked through the touristy part of town and toured the Botanical Gardens (it might have been my idea) that morning to kill time. We were having a pleasant day until it was time to catch the ferry to Santorini that afternoon. We got to the port, said goodbye to Lucy, who was jumping on a sailboat to sail the Mediterranean- tough life, and proceeded to find our boat. Evidently our ferry had mechanical issues and was stranded somewhere. To simplify the story of next hour of my life: lots of running, lots of sweating, many failed English-Greek conversations, and one awkward trip to the Port Authority Office. We managed to catch a later ferry and made it to the island that night. Now you all know I love to eat, so I could not miss the chance to eat an incredible meal. We dined at Ellis Restaurant where we experienced two new things. First, our waitress was from Charleston and spoke no Greek- real English conversations!! And second, as I was dining on my delightful lamb and ginormous block of feta that accompanied our greek salad, our first earthquake. The food was wonderful and the earthquakes were a little unreal. We experienced three shakes that night total; which led me to ponder what kind of an evacuation plan the island might have. Hailey didn’t appreciate my musings, but I’m pretty sure neither one of us will ever forget that night!