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

New adventures

Wow... it's been awhile since I last posted - nearly a year! 
The highlights of the last year? Well, I was unemployed until August, which was stressful and then I I was hired for a position in my field that really is a great fit! It's a contract position though... *fingers crossed that something comes out of it* I'm enjoying it and learning a lot, which is awesome.

I can't believe it's been over a year since we got home from our Eurotrip adventure - time sure flies when you're having fun, I guess!  We still talk about it often and smile at memories and stories we find ourselves rehashing.  Around Christmas time, for example, we went into a popular upscale bistro/grocery store/market place in town and found a whole ton of products that we saw all over Europe... it made us laugh and reminisce.  We saw the Mozart chocolate balls from Austria, the awful cookies we had in Germany at the Haus Reinbeck, the Italian chocolates in the pretty blue wrapper... Pretty neat to see it all together in one store - IN TOWN!

I often reminisce about my travels and find myself wondering about the people that I've met around the world. I thought of the girls we met in Portugal who introduced us to the chocolate cookie, Tim Tams, that we found in our local Zehrs market - it made me smile at the memory of having dinner with them in Lisbon at the hostel.

When it snows, I often think about my host family in Ghana - wondering how they are doing and what life looks like 5 years since I've seen them.  I've emailed Pops a few times lately but haven't heard anything from him.  I fear the worst and that I won't hear from him again - I wonder if it's inevitable after so much time.  It makes me sad to think it.  At the very least, his son, Godwin, is on my facebook page (thank you Mark Zuckerberg - inventor of facebook), so at least we can still be in touch.

As for our current plans, Jeff and I have decided not only to join three of our friends on a relaxing, vacation to Cuba in Feburary, but we are also on an adventure to marriage!  The biggest adventure of my life I would guess (ask me in 60 years!).   He asked on Christmas day and it was sweet and funny - the way it should be coming from him.  I'm a lucky lady.  We're excited to be planning a great event to celebrate so many years together - 2014 will be here before we know it.

So, for our fabulous February vacation to Cuba, we're going to the Melia Cayo Santa Maria.  Aside from the 116 km drive from the airport, it's got everything the group of us were looking for; beachfront, swim up bar (a must), a la carte options, disco, international drinks... you know, all the important stuff!

It may not be a big adventure but it sure feels like a necessary trip!  We're very excited to be getting away on a vacation.  The holidays were busy and with the engagement and wedding planning, I feel a little bit like a spinning top! Not to mention my birthday is coming up soon - it's a busy time of season for us (essentially, all winter!).  It'll be nice to lay by the pool and the beach, with a cold drink and a good book.  I'm looking forward to the recharge.

Anyway - that's essentially the update for now - lots going on and yet not a whole heck of a lot to report on :)   Our next adventure may be our honeymoon! We'll have to start thinking about that one! Maybe another overseas adventure?  The possibilities are endless :)

Some of my Favourite Shots

Just copy and paste for some of my best amateur shots!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100168743379937.2431848.122613545&type=3&l=bc3bc53a3b

Pictures

I took over 4900 pictures (no wonder Jeff wanted to throw my camera out the window at times!) and then deleted a number of redundant or blurry photos, which got me to approximately 4200.

Here are 128 that are posted on facebook that give a very brief glimpse into our adventure. It's much easier than trying to upload pictures to my blog (something I will most likely do over time but am in no rush to do right now).

Click on the first picture for it to enlarge and then you can click the arrow on the right of the picture to take you to the next one.

Enjoy!

Amanda

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.976037117857.2416113.122613545&type=1&l=4acd093ad9

The Trip Home

Oh my gosh, what a journey it was to get home!

We were up, packed and ready to check out by the allotted 10:30am after I picked up breakfast from the grocery store for the last time (bananas, fresh orange juice, danishes...).

We put our luggage in the luggage room because we had three hours to kill before heading over to the shuttle. We attempted to go for a little walk but after printing off our boarding passes at a phone/internet centre we just wanted to go sit and wait until it was time to leave.

We sat out in the garden area of the hostel and chatted with a few other people coming and going. During one of these chats we learned that Rome had undergone daylight savings time that night and we had no idea! That meant that we were up and checked out an hour earlier than we had to be! Which meant we had four hours to kill, not three! URGH! lol It would have been helpful to know that information before we got out of bed...

Anyway, Jeff and I entertained ourselves by chatting with a few other Canadians who had just arrived and by playing Akinator Web Genius on the ipad... love that game! :)

We headed off to the train station at the correct time and stood in line to get our boarding passes for the bus. The whole shuttle thing was chaotic as people didn't have boarding passes or validated their ticket wrong or tried to pay cash to get on the bus. It was a little nuts but we figured it out and got a seat. Now, it couldn't just be any seat because Jeff didn't want the first two rows but the third row and the only two seats on the bus that were broken! Well, the seats ahead of us were broken and the only thing keeping the heavy set guy in front of Jeff from leaning too far back and squishing him was a red rod stuck between the backs of the seats to hold them together... lol I couldn't stop laughing at Jeff for choosing those seats out of them all!

The ride only took half an hour and I'm not surprised why as the driver weaved in and out of traffic, pissing people off along the way (at one point, a passing car was giving him the finger, while laying on his horn, while a smoke dangled out of his mouth and his daughter witnessed). I felt nauseous with the whole jerky movement of the bus but managed to hold my breakfast down (barely).

We checked our bags, found our gate, shopped at the duty free and then tried to spend every last euro we had - it was surprisingly hard! I ended up getting some biscottis and some beer nuts from a shop in the airport... lol

Because we pre-booked our seats we knew we'd be sitting in a two-some together which was excellent. Airtransat isn't known for having a lot of room but we had no problem with it at all. We received a hot meal, beef stirfry with rice (something we hadn't had in a long time) and then proceeded to watch four movies, FOUR! It was a super long flight, over nine hours and neither of us slept much at all (I think I got about 20 minutes maybe... Jeff said I didn't sleep long enough because he wanted my late night pizza snack when it came around, lol).

The plane ride was pretty uneventful, which is good for flyers. The flight director was really thorough and kept us update with all the happenings on the flight and it was all executed smoothly. For over nine hours, it was a good flight.

We found our airtransit shuttle after going through customs, which gave us a little bit of a hard time (so irritating! "How can you afford this trip if you're not working?" Oh, I don't know, we saved our money, how else do people do it!? Urgh), and found we were the only two getting driven home. The driver was super chatty and talked our ear off the whole way, which actually helped the ride go quite quickly.

We definitely had mixed emotions when we arrived home; It was nice to be in a familiar, clean, homey place, but it was sad not to be heading off on another adventure. Both of us felt the sting of the end of our trip and weren't exactly happy about it.

We showered, watched a few episodes of Big Bang Theory on DVD and then hit the hay. It was nearly 1am (7am Rome time without the daylight savings!) by the time we got to sleep. Talk about a day of timing confusion!

We slept until 7am or so this morning and then both lay awake until we decided to get up. It's now 8:50am or nearly 3pm in Rome time. Our bodies are all out of whack and yet we're both awake (Jeff's looking at the savings we got on our duty free purchases and watching sportsnet as he unpacks his stuff).

I'm going to find something to eat for breakfast... Oh, funny story - when we arrived home last night I found a sample pack of nutella in our pile of mail! I had so much nutella on our trip because it was everywhere, so this was hilarious to come home to!

Anyway - yesterday was a long, long day, and we'll probably be beat later this afternoon, but for now we're adjusting to being home and are looking forward to sharing our experiences with our families and friends.

Thanks again for following our journey and for encouraging me to post :)

All the best,

Amanda (and Jeff) :)