Home again

Well, we made it home safe and sound but not without issues.

The biggest one being that after getting to the airport (thankfully, after!) the clouds covered Athens and it DOWN-POURED! I'm talking in sheets. The sky darkened and we just couldn't believe the change in weather. The last two weeks have been hot and sunny with blue skies and on the day we leave, downpour. Our flight was delayed two hours because of the rain. We weren't thrilled but what else could we do.

Once we boarded we were told the flight would be 10.5 hours - and it did. Thankfully though it went quite quickly (for me anyway - I watched three movies).

We had arranged a ride home through a drive service before we left so we found our ride and got home around 8pm (3am Greece time). Seeing as we'd been up since 6:30am Greece time, we were pretty exhausted. We grabbed food (customary sub sandwich, lol - funny because after overseas adventures, we (me) always ends up getting a sub upon return), showered and crawled into our SUPER comfy, cool, soft, clean, OWN bed. Oh how I missed it! I was up at 6:30am this morning regardless.

We're now home having done some unpacking, laundry, grocery shopping and picking up our kitty and just trying to stay awake until bed time so that we can get back into routine as soon as possible.

Once I get some pictures uploaded, I'll post the link here.

Thank you for following our adventure!!

I'm glad to be home safe and sound and with loads of great memories :)

Amanda xo

Adio Greece: thanks for the memories

It was another hotter than hell kind of night for me - I'm tired of it. Only one more to go. Tomorrow night I'll be in my own bed! H urray!

We got up and going this morning a little later than usual, leaving around 9:30am to the Acropolis bus stop to catch the hop on, hop off bus that would take us to the Parliment building. I had been told a couple of times by different folks that the changing of the guard on Sundays at 11am is quite the sight to see, so that was our morning mission. We arrived early and found a spot along the rope that outlined where we could stand. We were in the sun, which wasn't ideal but had a good view. The soldiers protecting the parliment building and the prime minister's home are from an elite military class which requires special training, character and even height! It reminded me of the Swiss Guards at the Vatican. They have 3 one hour shifts in a 48 hour period where they have to stand super still outside of the parliment or PMs house. Tourists pose beside them and try to get them to move (within reason) but all these guys do is blink! 

Two of the guards stand outside together, watching over the tomb of the unknown soldier (at parliment building) and they change guards every hour on the hour. On Sundays and special occasions, the changing of the guard is a bigger deal. A band played, a whole lot of soliders marched and they all wore matching ceremonial uniforms (that take ages to make!). They also moved in synchronization; the two at the tomb moved very slowly to regain their circulation after standing still for an hour. The whole process was really neat to see.

After that we hopped on the bus for the  audio tour of Athens - it was a bit of a bad idea as we sat up top on the bus in the sun and heat, but we learned about different sites and areas in Athens which was neat to know, especially after wandering around quite a few of them over the last few days. We managed for awhile and then got off at a square to find some food. We had kebabs (beef and lamb mix) in a pita - very yummy. We then wandered through the area of Plaka which was really touristy. Aside from the ancient sites, most of the areas we came across were really geared to tourists - lots and lots of shops and restaurants, essentially all offering the same stuff. 

We found our customary trip magnet and then found the bus to go home.

We showered and prepared our bags for our trip to the subway and airport tomorrow.

We haven't seen much of Evita, preferring to be on our own. We've just hung out in our room for a few hours with our feet up. At times our schedule and Evita's are totally opposite and we don't see each other for more than a brief interaction. She's nice, no problem there. We realized we made the goof when booking the room, that it was a private room and not private apartment. Whoops. Lesson learned. It hasn't been so bad. The biggest downfall is the heat, the being confined to our room for privacy, having hushed conversations, and sneaking around in the morning to be quiet. 

We left to find dinner at "God's Restaurant" (LOL). It was about a 20 minute walk from our place. We found it and enjoyed our last dinner in Greece. We shared bread and tzatziki and then I had  moussaka (delicious) and Jeff had beef with orzo pasta (it looked like thick rice pieces - he said it was good). The service was good, the food was good, the atmosphere was lovely as we sat out at a table outside (as is typical). On the walk back, I had a very lovely sensory experience - it was dusk and we had full bellies of Greek food, there were children playing games outside, Greek women having conversation, couple's holding hands, a guy putting on a marionette show to a crowd, musicians playing for money, vendors selling wares and the Acropolis lit up for the night on our right. It was all the Greek I could take in all at once and it was perfect.

We're now back to our place to pack so we're ready to go first thing in the morning.

We're ready to go home, despite having had a great vacation. 

Next I write will be to inform that we've made it home safe and sound.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and to journey with me on another adventure as I Holler Around the World.

Ciao for now.

Amanda xox 

Ancientness

So, last night's sleep was hot again. I can't wait to be back in my own bed, in my own room, where I can control the thermostat so it's at my exact comfort level. Jeff has a sweat/cool fabric that you can wear on your head or around your neck. I keep drenching it in cool water and then move it from body part to body part throughout the night; it seems to help but isn't the ideal solution.

We got up a little later today than yesterdy. We grabbed a banana and a croissant from Evita's kitchen and headed out to the grocery store to get more water. We then headed to the entrance to the Acropolis as that's where the hop on, hop off buses were. We each got a ticket that would last us two days on the bus. The bus offers a 90 minute audio guide tour around Athens as well as the option to get on and off as often as you like (at designated spots).

We started at the Temple of Zeus. More columns and ancient stone - pretty amazing really. We didn't have a guide or anything so we kind of made it up or guessed the best we could as we went along. I had Jeff pose as if he was throwing a lightening bolt, lol. He's a good sport. We then saw Hadrian's arch (a big arch...lol) - he essentially gave a lot of money and wealth to the city (thus became the emperor) and he was worshipped as a "coequal" to Zeus - must've been some guy to be worshipped alongside a god.

We then took the bus past the parliment building and prime minister's home - most bautiful street in Athens. It was lovely! Bautiful upscale homes (apartment buildings) and trees, gardens. We'll go back tomorrow.

We got off at the Panathenaic Stadium (over 2500 years old but renovated in 1869) where the first modern day Olympics were held numerous times since 1896, most recently for 2004 summer Olympics. It was big!! I can't imagine how many people it could hold. Let me Google it - wikipedia says it could initially hold 80,000 people but now can hold 45,000 - I wonder why the decline?

We then took the bus to Monastiraki square as Jeff wanted to have gyros from the 'best/oldest place in town' - they were good but to me didn't taste any different than anywhere else. We wandered through the tourist area that had lots of shops flogging their wares. We still need a magnet for our collection. I guess that will be tonight or tomorrow's goal!

While passing a shop, I said hello in Greek ("yasius") and  the shop girl continued on in Greek. I laughed and said I spoke English. She was so impressed, shaking my hand and saying I had the tounge for the language. I said a couple of other things and she waved me off laughing, impressed. Perhaps I should be picking up a second language... I doubt it will be Greek. Better return to my Spanish.

We stopped at the Hardrock Cafe (they're everywhere!) for a drink - Jeff had a beer and I had a delicious fruit smoothie. The air conditioning was glorious. We were able to cool down and use the restroom before continuing on. 

We walked (unknowingly) to the area of Ancient Agora - essentially ancient Athens below the Acropolis (ancient hill) and decided to wander through. It was  so hot so we kept to the shade as much as possible. The ruins were neat, if not nearly indecipherable... It's challenging to see rock and stone that is 2000+ years old and try to conceptualize what it might have looked like. Eventually it all starts looking the same, but we could appreciate how old it was and the history attached. We saw a church (that in the grand scheme of things was quite young) that had original wall paintings. We also saw a temple that is the best preserved in Athens (especially compared to the Parthenon and the Temple of Zeus) - most columns were in tact as well as the roof. It was neat.

One of the things we've noticed while touring through ancient sites are the number of 'security' guards (actually, whistle blowers, literally) that have to tell people not to touch anything. Today we saw some people place a minion toy on an ancient stone ledge thing and boy did they get told off! How hard is it, people?? Don't touch the ancient stuff! Every time we heard a whistle blow we knew someone had touched something, lol. 

We were close to home so walked back, picked up some more water, as well as  juice and chocolate milk (I hadn't had milk in nearly 2 weeks - it was good!).

We got back about 3:30pm. We showered and laid down for a bit. It was siesta time afterall. Jeff fell asleep despite himself (he said he wan't tired and then started snoring). I really do believe the heat and walking takes a toll on us. 

We left for dinner around 6:30pm. We didn't know where to go and ended up at a restaurant I had seen on our Athens map. The food sounded delicious but it was also crazy expensive (I should have known). We ordered appetizers and left (and it was still stupid expensive). We ended up getting gyros on the way back to our place. I don't even know how many gyros we've had at this point. It sure is a lot. It's been such an easy and cheap default meal.

We sat outside for a bit on a pedestrian road as there were a ton of vendors out selling their products (mostly jewelry and art) and an African band playing the drums. It was quite the scene - the two of us eating gyros, observing the Parthenon all lit up beautifully, listening to an African band and people watching (with little English heard). Jeff had a bit of a bellyache so we headed back to our place for about 9pm.

Tomorrow is the last day of our trip. We have a couple of ideas for things to do which we're looking forward to - seeing the change of guard (special on Sundays) at parliment, and taking the athens bus tour with audio guide. We also have to find our trip magnet! And possibly eat more gelato... lol.

For now, it's R&R before bed (another hot night I think, urgh and the dog down the road won't stop barking!). Can't wait to get home to my own home and my own bed.

Adio.

Amanda xo

Acropo-what?

After a sweaty night's sleep (for me anyway - Jeff seemed to do okay), we got up and going to the Acropolis (essentially a big hill with ancient buildings) before it got too hot out. It isn't that far away (10-15 minutes?) from where we are staying but anything uphill or in the sun (which it is both) is tough. We were there by 9am (it opened at 8am) which seemed to be a good time because by 10am the crowds were really flying in. We toured around on our own, taking in the wonder in architecture and art from over 2000 years ago. We were awed by the size and the work that would have had to have gone in to build the various buildings, such as the famous Parthenon (which was built as a temple for Zeus's daughter, Athena - which Athens is named after). Did you know that the story goes that Zeus swallowed Athena's mother, Metis, when she was pregnant, and then he had his head axed open and his daughter, Athena essentially jumped put of him fully armed for battle? I had no idea that was her birth story! 

We toured around the Acropolis for an hour and then to a couple of ancient outdoor theaters where dramas were performed to the mass of 17,000 people. That was really a neat site to see. We even got to sit on the stone seats - imagine how many people have sat there over thousands of years - pretty amazing. The other theater is still used today!

Side note - we have seen so many dogs lying all over the place, presumably trying to keep cool. They're everywhere and appear quite uninterested in the people walking by. We've also seen lots of cats; one was waiting outside of the grocery store meowing at people, lol. Smart kitty!

We've also seen our fair share of street people (including children - often playing instruments), all asking for money and looking worse for wear. It breaks my heart. It's everywhere.

To cool off, we went to the Acropolis museum. We watched a short video about the Parthenon which helped us understand how it was built and the art/sculptures that can be seen there. It was interesting and helped us appreciate what we were seeing.

After the museum we ended up in tourist town (the area of Plaka) without planning on it. We needed food and water (already having consumed a litre each this morning) and paid astromical amounts for both (although comparable to home). Yesterday, 2 gyros cost 3.80€ in our neighbourhood and today, nearly 8€ because of where we were. Urgh! When you're desperate though, you'll suck it up.

We got back to Evita's around 2pm and Jeff had a nap while I wrote blog entries and put my feet up. My feet have been sore and swollen for days now. Walking around is losing it's appeal. We're pretty much always tired and hot.

We showered and prepared for dinner, leaving around 6pm. We opted to try a restaurant we learned about on tripadvisor. It was a bit of a walk but at that time of day, the weather was much more manageable. It took about 20 minutes to get there. Jeff had the directions all mapped out so it was a piece of cake. The walk was through town - comparable to many down town areas we've seen (lots of shops, kiosks, restaurants, fast food, even a "euro store" like a "dollar store"). There continues to be graffiti everywhere - some of it just tags and others quite elaborate. The restaurant was a deli - selling loads of different deli meats. We were lucky to get a table as it appeared that people had reservations. We sat right in front of the deli counter at a small table.  We were given some shaved deli meat and cheese to try (cheese was strong!) and then some bread. Jeff had a beef with peppers and potato dish (he said it was "so tasy") and I had mini sausages with Greek yogurt, mustard, tomato, and pita. It was all good. On the way back to our hotel, I had a chocolate mousse cup from a bakery (delicious!).

We were back in our room at 8:30pm and have been reading and watching youtube. I'm tired. I have a huge blister on my foot, which really hurts. I've done some "surgery"' lol, and have wrapped it up with polysporin in hopes that it will feel better tomorrow.

Tomorrow's plan is to take the 'hop on, hop off' bus tour so we learn more about Athens and see some more sights (without having to walk eveyrwhere in the heat). 

I'm hoping tonight isn't as hot as last night, but I'm sure it will be. Ah well. We're trying to stay positive.

Ciao for now. 

Amanda xo

Arrival: Athens

Yesterday was the first day that I didn't want to/was too tired to write a blog entry. It wasn't a fabulous day.

The day started at 4:30am and without breakfast (our choice but we couldn't muster an appetite so early). Our bus to the airport picked us up at 5am and despite stopping at a few other hotels to pick up guests, we were still at the airport for 5:17am. We located our Oshawa friends and chatted with them while waiting to board. There were no seats available at the boarding gate so had to stand (not the end of the world but a little annoying).

Our flight was only 35 minutes long (shortest one I've been on, I think, other than a flight at Buttonville airport when I was a girlguide) and they still managed to get everyone a chocolate croissant (that was good although came in an aluminum package that said "7 days", lol).

We arrived to Athens just after 7am. We couldn't check in to our next place until noon and we had all our luggage with us so we killed time at Cafe in the airport. It was a long few hours. We looked over the Athens map to plan our next few days and Jeff had a Greek coffee (it was way too strong - he had just wanted a regular coffee). 

We left the airport at 11:30am to go to the subway station. We took the subway quite a ways and then walked a fair bit to the new place; it definitely is in a residential type area. There are lots of apartment buildings, although no more than about  10 floors at most.

We met Evita, our host.  We learned she is also staying in the apartment with us (it's her home). We weren't expecting that. We thought we rented her apartment privately. We were disappointed because we really would have preferred our  own space and privacy to hangout (our only private space is the bedroom - not comfortable to sit).  Evita is very nice though; we just were planning on something different. Not how we wanted to end our trip. We are trying to make the best of it. 

We had a nap as we were hot and pooped, then went exploring. We didn't get too far as it was too hot out.

We found food and water, both of which we needed badly.

We headed back to Evita's and chatted with her for quite some time (maybe a couple of hours?). I showed her pictures of home and the snow we had in February. 

We went out to find dinner and stopped at a burger place we had seen on the way to Evita's. It was cheap and good.

We got lost on our way back from dinner (in the dark) and being so tired and sore made being lost really unpleasant, but we made it.

We then went to bed after watching a Seinfeld episode on our ipad. The traffic outside was super loud and it was so hot that I had a really crummy sleep. I kept a cool cloth on me throughout the night to help.

Yesterday was the first day I really wanted to go home.

Adio islands!

Today went by really quickly; our best guess is because it was our last island day before heading back to Athens (which means we're nearing the end of our holiday).

We started the day with breakfast - as usual there was lots to choose from and so we filled our bellies easily. We then prepared to go to one of the unique beaches on the island. We had a hard deciding which one to go to as they all sounded neat. We opted to go to the beach in "Perissa" as it had black sand! 

The bus ride to the beach took about an hour; although it was long, we got to see more of the island and some small towns. I told Jeff it was a cheap tour, lol. 

The sand and pebbles/rocks at Perissa beach were dark due to the volcanic nature of the area. Neither of us had ever seen a black beach before and it was really something!! Leading into the water the ground turned from sand to pebbled and the coloured pebbles really stood out against the black ones. We rented a couple of beach chairs and umbrella at a restaurant and spent the day there. We read our books quietly and occasionally went swimming to cool down.  Jeff said there were fish that were biting his feet when he set them down - he said it felt like last night's fish spa adventure. It kind of creeped me out (I mean, last night was in a controlled space, free ocean is freaky) so I got out promptly after ensuring my feet didn't touch the ground. I'm about done with sun bathing this vaction - too hot - so I found comfort in the shade for the day. We ordered lunch on the beach and around 4:30pm we grabbed the bus to head back to our hotel. This time it only took 20 minutes; must've been an express bus or something.

We stopped for a bubble tea and an iced coffee (very popular here) on our walk to our hotel. 

Side note - the driving here is crazy! Stop signs are only suggestions, buses can fit into nearly any tight space, and apparently a road appearing for one way traffic can fit both. Not everyone wears helmuts on motorcycles and honking is the fastest way to communicate all sorts of things. I forgot to mention yesterday that we witnessed our bus driver throw eggs onto parked car windshields to (presumably) show his annoyance that they were parked where they shouldn't have been, making his driving the big bus harder. It was pretty funny. I wonder what the car drivers would have thought to return to egg that had cooked on their windshield in the heat!

We stopped at a little restaurant (a "taverna") for dinner; nothing fancy. We both got pasta plates. I wasn't feeling Greek tonight, so Italian it was! It was good, if not rather simple. Jeff grabbed a gyro on the walk back to the hotel for some meat.

I've had more compliments on my Greek accent today. I'm slowly learning more words and have impressed some locals. I think they enjoy helping me.

It's nearly 8:30pm and we're back in our hotel room. We've got to pack our bags as we have to be up and ready for the bus to the airport for 5am - urgh! 

It'll be an early night so we can be up and going around 4:30am - only 8 hours from now. Ewww.

Next you hear from me will be when we're back on the mainland.

Have a good afternoon!

Amanda xo

Another long and enjoyable day!

We were up at 7:30am to prepare for our hike from Fira to Oia.  At 8am we grabbed breakfast at the hotel's "breakfast room" which just so happens to be located right beside our room. Breakfast surprised us as Jeff had read some crummy reviews; it had a ton of stuff!! Pre-made omelets, french toast, something deep fried that Jeff said tasted like stuffing, cereal, yogurt, toast, pastries, hot dog weiners, bacon...plus juice, coffee, cappuncino. There was no shortage of options to fill our bellies. We didn't have too much though as we were heading right out for our hike. 

We left the hotel about 8:30am and made our way to the path that would take us to Oia. The hike took 3 hours and we were sweaty messes, despite being in the shade for the first half. We traversed up, down and around towns, and HUGE hills (mountains?) following the ocean. For a good portion of the hike we could see the ocean on either side of us (either side of the island as it was really narrow). The path changed often, from gravol, to large rocs, to cobble stone, to charcoal brick looking pieces... It made the hike really tough at times as we had to watch each step we took! A few times I slid and it was a little scary - especially when out in the middle of the mountains and with bad knees and ankles!! Let me tell you, it sucked to climb up - I mean climbing up endlessly. It was gruelling at times leaving us out of breath. We took water and picture breaks to keep us going. I was feeling overheated and had a headache - not a good sign. The saving grace was the view - STUNNING!! If it weren't for it, I probably would have just sat down and refused to move, lol. It was especially hard seeing how far the town was and the two mountains in between! Climbing up hurt my lungs and calves and climbing down was rough on the knees and ankles. We made it though and aree glad we did it.

At about 11:30am we made it to Oia. It was hot there and very touristy. We became sick of the crowds almost immediately. We didn't want to shop so we stopped for gelato; Jeff had pistachio flavour (his favourite) and I had coconut and lemon (light, refreshing and delicious!). We were so dirty from our hike (all the dirt and dust) that my legs were nearly black! I felt gross - sweaty, dirty and hot. We looked around town a bit but soon took a bus back to Fira. Once there, we each grabbed a chicken gyro to go and went back to the hotel; It was about 2pm at that point. 

I showered off the dirt and then we headed to the hotel pool. Jeff went in a number of times but I stayed in the shade and read my book. It was nice to relax and stay out of the sun. We noticed a couple of skinny kitties wandering around the pool and they came to see us. One even jumped up next to me on my beach chair to cuddle! He nearly fell asleep! It made us think of our own furbaby, Clyde, who is getting spoiled at Jeff's parents.

We headed to town around 6:20pm and sat on a bench to wait to watch the sunset (7:30pm). We sat next to a fellow Canadian and chatted with her for some time. She immigrated to Canada from China as a teenager in the 90s with her parents. She had an interesting story to tell.

We watched the sunset and although it may be slightly better in Oia, we've opted to enjoy it from Fira only; we just can't fathom the chaos of tourists in the area and then filling packed buses afterwards. The view we've had the last two nights has been lovely.

After the sunset we went for dinner at "Momma's House" as recommended by our guidebook. The service was excellent and the food was delicious; we shared bread that came with a feta garlic spread, Jeff had moussaka again and I had an eggplant dish (eggplant "nest" stuffed with goat cheese, green peppers, sun dried tomatoes, beef).

After dinner we thought we'd try an experience that we came across the other day - a fish eating foot place, lol. This is a place where you put your feet and about half your bottom leg into an individual tank filled with mini fish that lick your dead skin off and leave an enzyme that betters it. It was wild!! lol. Jeff told me he always thought it would be neat to try (as seen on TV) so we decided to give it a go. There were two other couples in the shop who encouraged us as well. Jeff did it for 15 minutes and I did for 30. They start with cleaning your feet before putting them in the tank. When your feet go in, the fish swarm immediately. It's quite the sensation! Jeff said it was "tickly" where I thought it felt like a dozen or more small vibrations - not at all painful. It was quite the sight to watch! We had a good laugh and our feet came out softer.

We then checked out the bus station schedule because we plan to hit up a beach tomorrow.

Side note - I've been getting many compliments on my Greek! I think the locals appreciate the effort and some have said I'm doing really well - some even have asked if I was Greek!

It's now 10pm and we're pretty beat.

Tomorrow is our last day in Santorini; we hope to see a cool beach.

Until then, 

Adio.

Amanda and Jeff xoxo

Santorini

After taking in as much of the stunning view from our balcony in Ios as we could, we packed our bags and prepared to leave the hotel. The day time reception lady (who we have enjoyed talking to) made a special point to come around the desk to give us a hug and double cheek kiss to say goodbye and wish us well. She was so lovely. We forgot to get a picture with her and are kicking ourselves. It was her spirit we'll remember though.

We were taken by van, with our Oshawa friends, to the port to wait an hour for the ferry. It was hot and sunny so we found some shade and chatted until we were called to the gate to wait. We took the boat called "High Speed 6". It was very big and quite empty so we sat where we wanted. The trip was quick - maybe 40 minutes. After we arrived we went to find our airtransat representative (i.e. someone holding an airtransat sign) and were told which bus to get on to take us to our hotel.

We arrived and it was a little chaotic as people were trying to check in all at once. I felt kind of crummy, hot and light headed which was a bummer. I'm not sure if it was the heat, dehydration, hunger, motion sickness or some combination of them. 

The hotel is nice but no palace like the last one. We're on the first floor and our room and window opens to an indoor courtyard - boring! Ah well, have to have the mediocre to appreciate the grand!

We stopped at the grocery store across the street to replenish our snack and water needs, then wandered to town and found food (gyros!! (pronounced "yeeros". We could eat them every day).

 

We then had our orientation meeting with our trip rep and she talked about some excursions, the island and answered our questions.  We then opted to stay by the pool for a bit before going for dinner. I'm quite tired today and was trying not to fall asleep at the pool.

We headed to the grocery store for a second time to pick up more water and some granola bars for our hike tomorrow from Fira (where we're staying) to Oia (pronounced "eeya") - about a 3-4 hour hike along the coast. We did something similar in Italy (Cinque Terre) and it was pretty amazing. Tripadvisor says this is the #1 thing to do in Santorini. We'll go right after breakfast to be done for lunch. Hopefully it's not too too hot; we'll be at the water so hopefully that will help.

Our guidebook suggested a restaurant called Naoussa for sunset view and moussaka. We thought we'd seek it out and we were lucky to be able to get a table on the roof to watch the sunset (most were reserved). It was goregous!! I'm talking stunning oranges and pinks over an island in the bay. We both ordered the homemade moussaka. Jeff said he would have eaten it up to his eyeballs it was so good. And it was! That leaves only one more item on our 'to-eat' list (and this is a late addition), baklava (dessert). 

We wandered through the shops area after dinner; most of them are tourist focused (clothing, jewelry, trinkets) but it was a beautiful sight to see it all lit up at night. I took a dozen photos at least!

We tried to find the start of our hike for tomorrow but didn't - we think we were pretty close though. I guess we'll see in the morning.

We headed back toward our hotel and again went to the grocery store (3rd time is the charm) because I forgot clothing soap. I know it's only been a week but when you sweat through everything, clean bras, underwear and shorts need to be replenished! I washed them in the shower and have hung them to dry. Hopefully they will dry pretty well overnight.

I'm pretty pooped today. We're a week in (halfway) and have had a great time so far. We're now preparing for this leg of the adventure without going too crazy (although a 4 hour hike sounds a littl nuts, lol).

I'm hitting the hay. I'll post tomorrow to let you know I survived the walk along the coast!

Amanda xoxo

Dinner with friends

Hello, Yiasus!

There was no post yesterday as we didn't get home until midnight, which is super late for me - I've always been an early to bed kind of gal. It's 8am when I write this as I wanted to be up and outside on our balcony taking in the view before having to pack up our belongings to move on to Santorini. The ferry is at 12:35pm and we'll be getting a ride to the port an hour before.

So, yesterday. 

We had a good breakfast at the hotel and then opted to head to the town 5 minutes away calld Chora. The weather was cooler with clouds rolling in steadily so it made sense to go when we wouldn't have to contend with the heat. We took the city bus which was no big deal at all - the stop was right outside our hotel. We wandered through the small town for a couple of hours. It's all white, concrete buildings that are connected and on a hill, so lots of stairs and ramps everywhere. Only 1600 people reside on the island year-round. We noticed a lot of small clothing, souvenir, jewelry and ice cream shops, many of which weren't open yet. There were also a ton of bars. The island of Ios is known to be a party island. We could just imagine the drunk chaos that would take place on these narrows streets, especially going up and down the various (uneven, sidways, twisted) stairs! We saw a dental clinic and Jeff figured it would get a lot of business from fallen party-goers, lol.

The town was really quiet as it was morning and it is end of season. We saw a number of posters indicating that last night was the last event of the season for numerous bars - including one last pub crawl to 6 of them (that started at 11:30pm!!). We met a lady named Tracy, who is from London, England and who runs a retro clothing store in town. She had nice things but they were expensive. She was super friendly so we chatted with her for awhile. She told us a bit about the town and how the Greek people differ between islands. She was funny and chatty. She introduced us to Dimitri (as he was walking by) as he would be our server at the restaurant (Lord Byron) tonight.

We headed back to the hotel to spend some time at the beach before heading back to town for dinner with our new friends, Danielle and Bobby (newlyweds from Chicago).

As we were asking (the very nice, very accomodating, friendly) reception lady some questions, she got yelled at (in Greek) by some impatient guest. No matter where you go, there is always a grump unhappy about something! We think he was irritated that we were taking too long and he wanted beach towels. She apologized profusely to us so she could deal with him. Despite the language barrier, the customer service "language" was quite clear. We teased her later saying we hope she told him off and she said although she wanted to, she couldn't; we said we totally get it, lol. We talked with her about meal times in Canada and she was apalled, lol. I explained 7am breakfast, 10am snack, noon lunch, 3pm snack, 6pm dinner, maybe 9pm snack. She said breakfast is usually around 11am, lunch around 5pm and dinner can be 10pm or later! We're obviously on very different schedules!!

We spent some time on the beach about mid afternoon but it got so windy that the sand whipped at us (ouch!) and we opted for the pool. We were able to use the huge sun bed (that can easily fit 5 or 6 people) and lounge for an hour or so. As it sits above the second pool and looks over the bay and ocean, it really felt as if we were on top of the world, spoiled and luxurious. In between soaking up the moment and really taking it in, I also took a dozen pictures. It was so beautiful.

We then showered and dressed to head back to town for dinner. We made it there and waited at our table outside for Danielle and Bobby who were going to meet us at 7:30pm. I got chilled with the wind and so we moved inside. 7:30pm came and went and we suspected they had gotten lost because we recalled them saying something about the restaurant being near the port (it wasn't, lol). Just after 8pm, Jeff and I ordered food as we didn't know if they were going to make it. I ordered gnocchi with a mushroom cream sauce and crispy procuito (Amazing!! I would order it again in a heartbeat!) and Jeff had a crab and spaghetti dish (with bib and crab cracking untensils and everything!! lol He said itvwas also very good). Danielle and Bobby arrived just after we ordered and we were on our second round of drinks (white, fruity sangria for me and beer for Jeff). We were glad they made it. They apologized and said they had gone to port - as we expected. They ordered food and we sat and chatted for quite some time.

We then headed to a bar next to the restaurant for drinks. It was known to have different kinds of beer. Danielle ordered ouzo for us all and neither she nor I liked it. The kind we had tasted like black licorice (ewwwww). Our husbands drank ours. We then opted for drink number 2 and mine was entertainment for the rest of them. A red liquid with half a lemon inside and a gob of really sticky sugar. The sugar didn't dissolve so it was relly tart. Oh well!

At 11:45pm, Jeff and I had planned to takethe last bus back to our hotel but for a euro or so more, we took a taxi as it was faster and available immediately. We said goodbye to our new friends and exchanged information. They are heading to Santorini tomorrow so we may try to meet up again.

We were in bed and asleep around 12:30am.

Now it's 9am and Jeff is still sleeping. I'll have to wake him for breakfast and to start packing. 

This morning has a cool breeze off the ocean. The clouds are rolling through but when the sun hits you it's lovely.

I'll update about today later tonight.

Until then,

Amanda xoxo

Awesome day!! Opa!!

What a fabulous day!

It started after a great night's sleep - the best since we arrived to Greece. The bed is king size, comfortable, and the a/c works great! Thank goodness!

We ate breakfast at the hotel; there was lots to choose from (pastries, bacon, sausage [aka hot dog weiners], eggs, fruit, cheese, bread, cereal). We easily made up our plates. The only issue we had was the amount of bees that tried to join us for our meal - hard to enjoy yourself with the threat of being stung!

We had planned to go to Maganari beach today, on the south end of the island (about a 40 minute bus ride) but we changed our minds last minute after hanging out on some goddess-like sunbeds (billowing sheets with pillows and everything!) overlooking the beautiful beach below us. We opted to stay close as the beach here is lovely and  being close go our hotel had its advantages. So, we paid our 5€ for our beach chairs and settled in for the day. And the day was HOT!! The sun was strong and it took no time before we needed to cool off in the water. The water itself was gorgeous - you could walk right in it, it was so warm and you floated easily! All we had to do was keep ourselves verticle and we'd float - even Jeff, who is what we call a 'sinker', lol.  We didn't have to work at all to float around in the water, which made hanging out in the ocean all that much more enjoyable. We were in many times throughout th day.

As this beach is often very busy during the high season (June-August) there are lots of activities on the beach to do, including wake-boarding, peddle boating, tubing, kyaking, paddle boarding, boat tours, banana boat, scuba diving and this giant couch looking thing that you sit on and it gets pulled behind a power boat (similar to tubing but bigger, sitting up and unlikely to fall off). Jeff and I did the couch ride and it was AMAZING!!! We had so much fun!! We were laughing, screaming and grinning from ear to ear for about 10 minutes as we bounced and flew over the water a speeds comporable to the boat pulling us (at one point we were side by side with it!). With every wicked jump or bounce we laughed harder. I kept giving the driver the thumbs up when he gave it to me - we weren't sure if that meant go faster or if we were good. It didn't matter. His excitement and enthusiasm for our joy was intoxicting. I'm smiling as I write about the memory already. He blew a whistle, hollered at us, clapped, waved, cheered. It was a hoot and a half and a highlight of our trip so far. All I could say afterward was, "That was so much fun!!"

After that we spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach. We met a young couple (Danielle and Bobby) who were sitting behind us (from Michigan but living in Chicago) who are on their honeymoon. We chatted with them for quite some time. They are staying in town ("Chora") and had come to the beach for the day. Seeing as we are planning on going to town tomorrow, we arranged to meet them for dinner. We have a double date! lol

Jeff and I got back to the hotel after 6pm and got cleaned up to go to the Mexican restaurant next door to the hotel (we read good reviews online). We had drinks (I had a strawberry mojito) and food - we shared a HUGE plate of chicken nachos (delicious!) and "Mexican rice balls" (rice, jalepeno and cheese deep fried and served with a yummy sauce). All was very good! I ordered a brownie and they brought two (I think they thought Jeff would want one - I took the 2nd one to go). They also brought us a bite size brownie in a caramel sauce that had cayenne pepper in it - it was good too! Jeff is stuffed to his eyeballs.

The restaurant was mostly young people - a first for us as we've typically been the youngest everywhere we go. We met the owner and she said her place is often full of Canadians in June. She was very nice. She sounded as though she was from Australia but we didn't ask. Jeff bought a shirt from the restaurant as a souvenir.

On our way back to the hotel, our Oshawa friends called my name from a dark patio they were sitting on - Jeff bumped right into me when I stopped at the sound of my name. It was pretty funny. It's been nice to talk with them when we see them.

We made it back to our room about 10pm and I'm now finishing my blog (about 4pm home time) and preparing to go to bed. Jeff has been trying to find the blue jays game online to listen to but hasn't had much luck.

It was a full day of fun, friends and food. We've got another full day in Ios tomorrow before heading to Santorini.

Right now there are fireworks going off across the water! Who knows why and who cares! We've got a great view from our balcony as we're about the same height they are going off. 

This really has been an enjoyable and relaxing vacation thus far!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Amanda and Jeff xoxo

Arrival: Ios

It's hard to believe that earlier this morning we were already saying goodbye to our first Greek island - Naxos, and have since spent the day on Ios.

We got up and had breakfast before Nikos picked us up and took us to the port. It's quite notable that he will be part of our Greek memories for years and years to come, and yet we were 'quick turnaround tourists' (I totally made that phrase up, lol) for him. As always, we need to be aware of our presence as you never know what kind of mark you can make on someone's experience!

We waited for the "Flying Cat" ferry and boarded rather chaotically - we had no idea where to put our luggage and when we figured it out, there was little room for our bags. We just sat them down and hoped for the best - it worked out fine. The ferry moved really fast so we were in Ios in no time (about 50 minutes). We ended up heading to the hotel (in a van) with the same folks that sat behind us on the plane - neat! They are our parents' age and are from Oshawa. After days with only broken English it was nice to converse easily. They commended us on taking this adventure while we can, noting that it gets harder the older you get.

We ended up at a hotel called Ios Palace, although we were supposed to go to Dionysos. We're not exactly sure what happened and we were looking forward to Dionysos as it had fabulous reviews on tripadvisor. Ios Palace however is  an "option 3" hotel (i.e. more expensive, especially since we purchased the "option 1" package!). Needless to say, we aren't complaining! The hotel appears to be the largest in the area we are and is lovely (much busier than in our Naxos hotel that had approximately 10 guests... Or less, lol). Our room is on the top floor which has provided another spectactular view - mountains, beach, restaurants and the two pools of the hotel. It's pretty amazing.  This view comes at a cost though, including not one but two elevators plus a hill and some stairs, lol. Jeff and I are grateful that we're mobile and able-bodied! We were sweaty messes when we first arrived and immediately turned on the air conditioning. This Greek sun is HOT! And it sure is tough (more like gross) to try and put sunscreen on your sweaty body.

We went for a quick walk after getting into our swimsuits and then opted for the pool as it was mid afternoon and we didn't think it was worth it to cough up the 5€ for the beach chairs seeing as we'd go tomorrow. The pool was glorious - 100% refreshing. We were in and out of it a number of times whe we felt our skin was starting to fry, lol. We wear lots of sunscreen and take shade breaks whenever we can. Neither of us wants to contend with a sunburn on vacation!!

We stopped at a mini market that sold grocery store items - we picked up the essentials, beer, water, chocolate and chips. Jeff bought oregano flavoured Lays and they were good! We'd eat them at home if they were available.

We opted to try a restaurant for dinner that was recommended in our Greece guide book called Drakos. It is known for seafood; and as Jeff would say, "When in Rome!" It was on the exact opposite end of the beach, which was only a 10 minute walk. We sat at a table next to the water.

Jeff ordered the catch of the day, which was an experience! He had to select the type of fish (red snapper, scorpion fish and some other grey unknown) and then select the specific fish to get weighed (for price) and dinner! He said the only fish he had heard of was the red snapper and the scorpion fish sounded "dangerous", lol!! When it arrived, it was literally just the cooked fish on a plate. Our server offered to open it up and remove the bones, which was greatly appreciated as it would have been a challenge and a half for Jeff. He had the fish (with a lemon and oil dressing) with bread and oil that came with the meal. I ordered a squid (calamari - did you know that the word "calamari is Greek!? I didn't!) stuffed with feta cheese, tomato and onion. It was risky for me as I've only ever had calamari fried - you know, so it's practically unrecognizable! I had kidded with Jeff that I didn't know what I'd do if the whole squid came... And of course it did, tentacles and head and all. It was mind over matter at that point. Thankfully the stuffing inside of it was delicious! I ate all of it but the tentacles - I just couldn't do it, lol.

During dinner we watched a young boy throw bread into the water to feed some fish - they really gobbled it down! We also people watched around us, including a family with two toddler boys. Jeff and I had read in our Greek guide book that children are adored and they are expected to assimilate/participate in adult life (i.e. adult food, long dinners, conversation) - we've noticed a number of parents appear quite lax with their children (not compromising safety) - no helicopter parenting here!! 

We bumped in to our new Canadian friends on our way back to the hotel. As silly as it sounds, it's comforting/enjoyable to see 'familiar' faces - a little patriotic unity and similar culture unites!

We got in around 10pm and are getting ready for bed now (10:30pm).

Tomorrow will probably be a beach day - especially if this hot weather continues!

Until next time,

Amanda and Jeff xoxo

Beach day in Naxos

Again I was wide awake last night at midnight, but this time I think I can attribute it to the heat. I spent a ridiculous amount of time (and annoying beeps from my frivilous button pushing) trying to figure out the air conditioner, with no real success. Well, I was able to get it working but then it got too cold with the fan, so then had to turn it off. Urgh! Thankfully I was able to get back to sleep some time after 1am.

We were up at 8am and then slowly made our way to breakfast. There were only a few other guests around. I had yogurt with nutella, juice (that tasted like apple spice tea??), some canned peaches, a hardboiled egg and some fried things we couldn't identify, lol. It all hit the spot. We're pretty easy to please.

We called our friendly cab driver, Nikos, to take us to the beach. Nikos has driven us nearly a half dozen times at this point so he's become a familiar face. We told him we wanted to go to Propokios beach but he said no, Plaka is better as there are fewer people. Seeing as he is a resident of Naxos we figured we'd trust his reccomendation. He was bang on. We drove by Propokios and he was right, it was a crowded beach in size and full of people.

It took about 10 minutes or so to get to Plaka and we were glad we followed Nikos' advice. Naxos has some of the most beautiful beaches in Greece and this didn't disappoint. It is 4km long, wide and soft sand. The water was clear and warm too - as warm as the ocean gets anyway! Nikos dropped us off at Cedar Cafe, which he said was his friend, and left us to our own devices. The main road was dirt, which added to the beachside charm. Jeff and I walked a little bit down the road before opting to return to the Cedar Cafe because we liked the look of the thatch umbrellas on the beach (and Nikos said they would call him for us when we wanted to return to our hotel). We rented a couple of chairs and umbrella (already in place on the beach) for 5€ and settled in for the day. A server from the cafe took our order, bringing Jeff a large beer for the beach. Jeff's easy to please.

We spent the afternoon in the sunshine and heat, reading, swimming and lounging. At one point, Jeff and I were in the water and a fish got eerily close to us - seeing as a fish attacked us and our friends in Cuba in February, I was quick to get out of the water! Jeff said it wasn't big deal (ha!). It didn't stop me from going in again when I got too hot.

We watched the waves vary from calm stillness to roaring, at one point crashing over the sandy incline of the beach and past our chairs! It made nearly everyone jump to grab their belongings should they have been on the sand! I don't think anyone was expecting the water to go as far as it did - it only happened once but it was enough to have everyone move their stuff, lol. Thankfully I had my backpack off the ground.

We opted for lunch at the Cedar Cafe and it was delicious! I had a Greek salad (tomato, onion, feta, olives, capers, olive oil), and it was so good! The feta cheese was so creamy and the olive oil wasn't the cheapy kind we get on sale at Zehrs (lol). I tried a black olive - still don't like them, lol. Jeff had saginaki (fried cheese) and it was okay, nothing really special. We split bread and tzatziki (drizzled with olive oil) which was also super delicious. We are quickly making our way through our must-try Greek food list! Only thing that is left is moussaka!! And the drinks ouzo and kitron (although we bought some and will try soon!)

At 5pm we had the Cedar Cafe call Nikos, who picked us up and dropped us to our hotel. We'll be seeing him in the morning when he drives us back to the port for our ferry at 11:35am. The people here have been very friendly and accomodating. We're lucky as our Greek only includes the word 'hello' (yassus) at this point, lol. 

Jeff and I have showered and are now thinking about dinner. I'm writing on the ipad as I look out over the bay and at the town of Naxos and surrounding mountains (beauty). While we've enjoyed our stay and would return, we would probably stay elsewhere to avoid the need for a taxi - we could rent a car or atv but we weren't prepared to navigate that with only a day and a half here.

Update - we tried the kitron. It's made from citrus leaves and comes in three different varieties. Clear is strongest, then orange, then green (increasing in sweetness). Jeff bought a sample of orange. He said it tasted good, after it burned down your throat. I say, it burns down your throat and into your belly. I had to chase it with beer, lol. I guess that's what 40% alcohol will do to you. Blegh! lol

Side note - it's kind of gross to have to put your used toilet paper in the garbage after using it. Nothing like poop paper in the trash can for a day. Be thankful for the sewer system back home!

We've now had dinner. I had cheese and spinach pastries and a plate of eggplant and Jeff had fried cod with beets - all was very good. My mai tai however was SUPER strong, which was was unpleasant.

It's 9pm and we're ready to head inside after taking in the lights from town. The wind isn't too strong so it feels warmer tonight. I hope it doesn't stay too warm or it'll be me against the air conditioner again!

Tomorrow we're off to the island of Ios (pronounced ee-ohs) and the reviews of our hotel on tripadvisor are awsome!! We're excited.

Until tomorrow,

Amanda and Jeff xo

Day 3: Island of Naxos

We started today early, way too early - I'm talking before 5am and I had already been awake tossing and turning since 12am. I think my late afternoon siestas, albeit brief, plus jet lag are still interefering with a good night's rest.

We grabbed a very quick breakfast at the hotel - most of the items from yesterday werent available (due to the ugly earliness of our need, lol). I was surprised to see so many people taking the same bus as us to the port for our ferry. 

We had a brief few minutes of anxiety when we still hadn't received our ferry tickets for one of our trips, but thankfully at the very last minute (actually a few minutes late) our air transat guide showed up, confirmed the bus and gave us our needed tickets. We stopped at a few other hotels to pick up other guests heading to th port. When we got there, it was quite busy, but we had no issue getting on or loading our luggage. We found our seats (after realizing there was assigned seating) and settled in for the journey. The ferry itself was really quite big, holding loads and loads of people. It was going to three different islands (Mykanos, Naxos, Santorini). We sat in a foursome with a small table between, more comfortable than those sitting in airplane fashion. The seats were comfortable and there was lots of room. There were two decks; the upper for the "club class", which I assume was first class. We sat with a woman who spoke Greek and a girl about my age named Shannon. She is from Oklahoma This was her 3rd time to Greece. We chatted a bit before retreating to our headphones. Jeff and I each took a gravol for motion sickness, just in case, and we felt fine. I had a nap. Jeff said he watched people fall all over the place trying to walk when the boat was quite rocky. He said it looked like Oktoberfest!! lol. 

We stopped at Mykanos first. The transition from passengers off to new ones on was really efficient. An hour (about 11am or so) later we arrived to Naxos. When we got off the boat we had thought we were looking for an air transat person, however quickly realized that wasn't the case when we saw a man holding a typed piece of paper with "Litt" on it! That was funny and something Jeff nor I had experienced before. He took us to our hotel, Naxos Magic Village. It is about 10 minutes away from the port. It looks a little old but it sure has charm and the view from our room is spectacular - overlooking the ocean, beach, and town. It really is something to see. I'm guessing we have a premium room as not all have this view. It pays to come during the mid-season versus during the summer! We've barely seen anyone here.

We unpacked, got changed and called for a taxi to take us to town. We could have rented a car, 4 wheeler or mo-ped but after seeing how close the taxi drivers drive to one another, we decided against it. The parking itself would have been tough too without anyone really following any rules, lol.

We wandered through the town, eventually finding a castle area that housed a Catholic Church that is still used regularly, and a dilapetated tower. It wasnt really all that much to see. We then walked along the street near the water that had many restaurants and souvenir shops geared to tourists. We stopped for ice cream, which was delicious! Jeff had caramel and I had nutella. 

We walked until we could see the temple of Apollo - which was started and never completed, and then cabbed it back to our hotel. The downside to being so far from town is the taxi fare as there aren't any restaurants, etc. near us. The hotel has a restaurant which is where we will have dinner.

We spent the afternoon at the pool; only one other person was there with us. It has been very quiet here. The sound of the ocean is our background noise, which is lovely. The sun was hot but the breeze cool so it was perfect for some R&R. We then headed back for a snack and to chill out berfore dinner. Our view is beautiful but chilly since the sun has moved. I had to put a sweater on!

We had dinner at the hotel restaurant as it would cost us 10€ each way to go to town. We each got a kebab, which was a huge ground meat patty (like a homemade hamburger patty but longer) on top of a pita and on the side was fries, tomato, onion and tzatziki. It was all very good, although we weren't sure how to eat it; did we pick it up like a wrap? Use knife and fork? It was messy but we ate it with our hands. It was a lot of food and we were full when done. Then the waitress brought us ice cream; I tried to say I'm so full and she replied with, "it's just ice cream", lol. We ate a few bites and then paid. It was much cheaper than going to town and we are satisfied, if not slightly uncomfortably full!

So far we've really enjoyed the pitas, gyros, tzatziki, yogurt, spanokopita and ice cream. I have yet to have mousakka and look forward to trying it when I can!

We're now in bed at 8:36pm - that's what happens when you're up ridiculously early. We were able to get wi-fi, which we didn't think they would have, so that was a really nice surprise - I get to write to you!

Jeff's found a fishing show (in Greek of course) to watch. Yes, despite our quaint room, we still have a flatscreen TV, lol. So far, we've been able to watch Mike and Molly as well as Two and a Half Men in English before bed. Huzzah!

Tomorrow we are heading to the beach for most of the day and looking forward to some ocean swimming.

Hope all is well on the other side of the pond!

With love,

Amanda and Jeff xo

Day two:History, sun and gyros

After an odd night's sleep (wide awake at 1am - stupid jet lag!) we headed down for breakfast that the hotel offers and is part of our package. I was surprised to see the variety of foods as Greeks aren't known to be big breakfast eaters - I guess the hotel has figured out their tourists! There were baked goods (croissants, cheese pie?, bread), fruit, boiled eggs, bacon (cold and too soft though), cereal, yogurt, assorted deli meats, feta cheese, mushrooms... We were able to make our plates up pretty easily - my favourite, yogurt with nutella!

We then had to decide what to do today. As it was shaping up to be another scorcher, we opted to head to the National Archaeological Museum as we figured there would be air conditioning, lol. The other option was to climb some big hill Jeff found on our map. It is supposed to have a great view of the city, but all I could think of was what sweaty messes we would be. We have a pretty stellar view from our room and from the penthouse of the hotel anyway.

Side note - the elevators in this hotel are divided by even and odd floors. I've never seen that before. They're also a little unnerving as they make scary sounds and don't remain open despite trying to keep them from closing!

We walked quite a ways down town, which is covered in graffiti, to the subway station where we bought tickets and made our way to the train. It took one transfer to get to where we were going. We didn't get lost once! 

The museum, as hoped, was beautifully air conditioned and after our walk we were grateful for the respite. We spent a few hours wandering through the exhibits. It was pretty incredible to see pieces from ancient (neolithic) Greece that were over 6000 years old! I can hardly comprehend what life would have been like back then. We sure saw a lot of pots and pans - even back then they were creative in style! We also saw huge sculptures of gods (Poseidon, Aphrodite, Dionysus) and men (e.g. Emperor Hadrian who was worshipped as a god), as well as endless figures carved from different materials and lots of jewelry. There was lots to see and after we had our fill and things began to look the same (which is inevitable after your first 100 items in an exhibit), we stopped for lunch in the museum cafe. It was a disappointment (neither of our meals were all that tasty - phyllo pastry kind of stuff). I got a slushie that cost more than 5x than what we'd pay at home (whoops!!). Oh well.

When we got back to the hotel we put our trunks on and spent a few hours at the pool. We were lucky to get seats as Jeff had read that it gets quite busy up there, but maybe that was more during high season. It was beautiful again and a lovely way to spend the afternoon - warm breeze by the pool.

We grabbed dinner from the same gyro place as last night (cheap, easy and good) - we each had a chicken and pork kind, both were delicious. 

We have to be up super early tomorrow to get to the port where a ferry will take us to the island of Naxos. We have to be ready for the bus at 5:45am... eww. Jeff thinks the ferry ride will take 4-6 hours; I'm hoping it'll only be 4.

So, pretty early to bed for us so we can be up for our 5:15am breakfast.

It was another relaxed, even-paced kind of day. We're enjoying ourselves and looking forward to experiencing what 3 of the Greek islands have to offer!

Off to the next leg of our adventure (but first, bed).

With love,

Amanda and Jeff xo

Greece Day One

We made it! Opa! It's been a really long day though. I'm not quite sure what day my body even thinks it is at this point. Our flight from Toronto was scheduled to leave at 2:40pm Sunday (and we were right on time) but we experienced a Hollywood-like interruption when the lady across the aisle from Jeff needed medical attention. I've got to say, it sure was something to hear, "Is there a doctor on board?" from the pilot. Needless to say we were right next to the drama and the poor lady was not doing well (chest pains). This was all happening just moments before taking off (I mean, we're on the runway at this point!). The plane returned to the gate, fire and rescue entered and she and her husband left. The poor woman! I hope it was nothing serious. I'm glad she got the support as I'd want it if it were me. We ended up delayed an hour.  

The flight beyond that was calm. We had Ipad screens in the seats ahead of us so we watched movies (Pitch Perfect 2 and Inside Out) and played games. It helped the time go by (10.5 hours in total with the flight delay - was long). I took a couple of Gravol at one point after dinner (chipotle chicken with rice, Greek type salad, bun, fudge) which helped me get a wee bit of a sleep but nothing substantial. It's next to impossible to get good sleep on a plane - no comfortable positions, especially after 8 hours.

We arrived to Athens at 8:20am Monday (today - yes, we travelled through time to the future!), found our luggage, made it to air transat bus and got to our hotel - a 45 minute drive from the airport. We had a brief orientation (that was more boring than anything) and then headed out of the hotel because we couldn't check in yet. We wandered through a supermarket on our walk as we always enjoy doing this. We went up and down the aisles looking at everything. It's pretty amazing how much is familiar (nutella, cheerios, tide, pringles, stride gum, activia yogurt...).  And yet there were many items we didn't have a clue what they were. The grocery store was two levels, with Walmart-like items on one level (luggage, clothing, household items) and food below. You had to take a flat escalator down between the floors (I later realized it was flat because people would be pushing shopping carts between floors). There was a whole section devoted to fresh fish lying out in buckets too, heads still on and everything. We were wondering where the funky smell was coming from! We picked up water and chips before heading back outside. Jeff grabbed a Starbucks coffee and I grabbed, what I assume was, spanakopita, which was delicious! Layers of phyllo pastry and cheese and spinach - yum!!  We sat the shade a bit before heading back to the hotel. It appears we are in a grimy part of the city. The buildings sure look run down. Also note, the cross walk man sign changes from green to red immediately - no blinking, no yellow, so they're basically telling you to HURRY UP!

We were able to check in to the hotel when we got back and the room is just fine, nothing special, and not bad. The view though is pretty amazing. All I can see are white, off white or beige buildings that house Athens' 5 million residents (for a country of 11 million, that's a lot!).  There is barely any free land space or natural greenery - just building after building after building. These places are so close together someone could sneeze three blocks away and you'd hear them. It sure is a sight to see. Nothing like home.

Jeff and I fell asleep this afternoon in our room. We're creatures of habit and this disrupted sleep (i.e. Jeff hadn't slept all night) was tough. It's also been 30+ degrees out which is tiring in and of itself. We knew today would be generally low key and we've both been okay with that. We woke at approximately 3pm Athens time and headed to the Penthouse to the pool and bar. It was gorgeous! The lounge for drinks was very pretty, the pool was refreshing and we were totally surrounded by the city (I mean 360 panoramic!). From my lounge chair, I could see a mountain. It was beautiful. The sun was hot and the pool was cool so we spent a couple of hours lounging comfortably. 

We picked up some beer and snacks from the grocery store before grabbing gyros at a shop along the road - they were delicious. We'd have them again easily! 

We've found the computer where I can blog (at least for another day) so we've taken some time to get that done before going to bed for a good night's sleep before figuring out tomorrow's plan. We're in no rush and are going to take our time. We're both looking forward to it.
 
Overall, I think today was a very relaxing way to start our trip - long but pretty low key.

Hope you are enjoying your long weekend!

With love,

Amanda and Jeff

P.S. Thankfully there is English all over the place or we would be doomed! I don't know the names of the letters in Greek, let alone how to pronounce them! We just smile and say thank you, a lot. So far so good.

Opa!

It's been two and a half years since my last post - hard to believe (well, maybe not, since I just totally forgot about this blog *gasp*). So much has happened.  In a nutshell, we went to Cuba as my last post indicated and we had a great time - the hotel was fabulous and the beach was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. The water was crystal clear and glorious - the definition of my 'happy place' (I'm pretty thrilled as you can see...).

After that adventure, my husband (of a year now!) and I got married - had a great day despite the rain. Great food (homemade mac n' cheese anyone!??), great music, a photobooth, friends, family and a day that celebrated the joy and commitment we bring to each others lives.

 

We then headed off to Wald Disney World for our honeymoon. It was wild - 108 degrees every day (don't ever go in August...) and that made it pretty miserable at times, but we did our best to enjoy the experience. We ate like royalty (Disney food is AMAZING!!) and saw all sorts of fantastic displays and rides and larger than life parks. It really was magical (despite sweating the entire time). We left for one day to Universal Studios so I could see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - which totally made my trip. We got to tour Hogsmeade village (Honeydukes candy shop anyone? And Butter beer - which tasted SUPER sweet); take the Hogwarts Express (train) to Diagon Alley and we got to try on wizard robes and I picked out a wand (well, really it found me). I mean, for Harry Potter fans, this is beyond fantastic!! It was such a ball, even hubby was impressed and he's only a "fan" by default through me. 

 

     (Below is lunch one day - LUNCH!)

                    (This was a lucky shot as there were a bazillion people around. I ran over and got hubby to snap this quick!)

Since then, we've been to Cuba again (that's 5 times for me) - Holguin. It wasn't super fabulous but it was nice enough. I wasn't at work! That was in February of this year, so 7 months ago, and now my hunny and I are heading off to Greece. GREECE!! We've got a fantastic two week trip ahead of us starting tomorrow. We're flying out mid-afternoon on a direct flight to Athens. With the time change, we'll arrive about 7am Athens time - kind of crazy. That jet lag will get me for sure! Or, perhaps the adrenaline will keep me pumped throughout the day - I guess I'll see!

We then spend 2 nights in Athens, then a few nights each on the islands of in Ios, Naxos and Santorini before returning to Athens for a few extra nights we added on to our package (http://www.transatholidays.com/en/Athens/Island-Hopping-Omega?ID=25533&tmpl=DO) just to chill out and relax before returning home. We're so excited! Well, I am - hubby is the quiet enthusiast :)

I haven't packed yet and we'll be on the road in less than 24 hours! With all the traveling I've done though, I'm feeling pretty confident that I'll pull it together pretty easily. I've got most items ready to go, but still waiting on some laundry to dry (and at 30+ degrees outside, it's drying quickly).

What an adventure this will be - again! I can't wait to get to the airport. We love the anticipation and the possibilities of the airport - the ability to go anywhere in the world is pretty amazing and very much for the privileged of us that are able to afford (in many ways) that luxury. We are so privileged to live the life we do and so we try to take our traveling experiences and apply them to our day-to-day to make our world at home a little better - whether that's compassion, a broader mind, curiosity or patience.

Until we meet again - see you soon! Or in Greek, "α λέμε σύντομα" (I think anyway - I just Googled it...). My broken Spanish isn't going to help me here... :)

Amanda