When I went to University I was no dummy. I knew I wanted to live in the international dorm, not just to enhance my own world view but, to meet new people and hopefully make meaningful friendships that would someday allow me to see the world in my favorite way, through the lives of my friends. And hopefully, I would be able to return the favor and they would be able to visit me wherever in the world I am. Because, in my mind there is nothing better than a familiar face in a far-off land. (Take my two previous blog posts as an example of that!)
One of the very lucky parts about serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Eastern Europe is the potential for some pretty sweet travel opportunities. One of the unlucky parts about this is the financial cost of visiting these places. This is where those international friends come in handy! One of my good friends and co-workers back at UNH is from Greece, and so when I was thinking about my summer travel plans I thought what better way to see Greece than whilst visiting an old friend. And so, a couple weeks ago my boyfriend Sam and I departed on our European adventure before he headed home (he completed his service and is now a RPCV, I'm so proud!). We left on a night bus to Bucharest, tickets flying out of Romania are nearly half the price as flying from Chisinau, and our early morning flight got us in to Athens around 9am. Sidian, my friend who lives in Greece, picked us up at the airport and drove us to his cousins apartment where we were staying for the week. The first day was leisurely, we had a lovely lunch with Sidian and his father at a restaurant in the center of Athens. After Sidi headed back to work and Sam and I headed out to explore the area a bit. We walked all around and saw Parliment with the guards and their funny pom-pom-ed shoes, we walked through the royal gardens and over to the modern historic Olympic stadium. It was a laid back day after all of our traveling. Later when Sidi got off work he took us to his friends coffee bar where we sat outside and enjoyed the atmosphere and sipped on ice tea. After Sidi took us to Lykavittos Hill, a big hill in the middle of Athens, with a pretty little chapel on top and some of the best views of the Athens skyline at night. It was so beautiful and definitely a 'I am so blessed' moment, I had countless moments like this on the trip.
The second day in Athens, Sam and I decided to sleep in a tad and rise at 9 am to catch up on the sleep we had lost from our overnight travel ordeal. When we finally got in to town we explored the central market and, I was able to pick up a half kilo of apricots to munch on for only .25 euro. ( I can't help but succumb to a deal like that.) Lunch was lamb kebabs from a famous kebab restaurant, but the key is to order on the street that way you can take them away and its only 2 euro, rather than sitting where they jack-up the price by more than triple. I'll happily sit on a curb and eat those kebabs any day of the week. After lunch we made our way to the Archeological museum. Now, I wish I were the kind of person to take great pleasure in museums but, after years of trying to pretend like I am moved by clay pots I know who I am, and I am not a person to ogle over old clay anything. Sam, on the other hand, loves museums and the kid could honestly spend days staring at those damn pots. So, I tried my best to be upbeat about the whole museum situation, after all I was in a new place to learn, an afternoon learning about a collection of 16th century clay pots was the least I could do. I know what you are thinking, spoiled American, I know I kind of think it too. But, to be honest I would be just as happy sitting on a park bench people watching for hours so, to each his own, right? That night Sam and I prepared salad and spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce (that I made from scratch, thank you very much). Everyone seemed to enjoy it, or they were all real good pretenders.
The third day was our big 'tourist day' we woke up early and headed out to the Acropolis before it got too busy and too hot. We spent the morning exploring the Agora, the Acropolis, Dionysus theater and the temple of the Olympian Zeus. We again ate delicious gyros for lunch before hitting a strategically placed visit to the AC-ed Acropolis museum in the afternoon. That evening we had a Chinese food feast at Sidi's father and step mothers apartment it was delicious, after we hiked up a hill in Sidi's neighborhood that gave us a unique view of the Athens skyline through the trees.
Our fourth day in Athens we decided it was time to hit the beach. We got some traditional Greek pies for breakfast before heading to the coast via the public tram. The beach was busy but we were able to find a spot. It was ridiculously hot out and Sam and I spent most of our time in the water just trying to stay cool. In our mind the beach was pretty great, later talking with Sidi and his friends we were told that this is the 'worst beach in all of Greece', I guess ignorance was bliss for us. Although the day resulted in some pretty pink sun-burns for Sam and I, guess the sunscreen wasn't waterproof. In the evening Sidi took us to a museum that had free admittance on Thursdays. Here is my abridged version of what I understand the museum to be, a collection of a bunch of old junk some disgustingly rich old dude had and turned into a fancy-pants museum when he died. Was that an offensive enough summary for you? I think I was just disappointed in seeing more damn clay pots, although some of them had some pretty erotic scenes etched on them so that was entertaining. Sam was annoyed when he caught me giggling and taking pictures of a vase with just a guy standing in the nude with his mass at full salute (What? I need to entertain myself somehow, while he is educating himself). I have to give it to him though, the old dude had some pretty nice jewelry in his massive collection of junk, bravo for his wife.
The fifth day in Athens we headed off to the island of Aegina. About an hour off the coast of Athens it is lesser known than the island of Hydra and half the ferry price, but, I would like to think boasts many of the same quaint island qualities. We got to the island in the morning and found ourselves some coffee before we milled about the island exploring the little cobblestone lanes. It really was beautiful and had an entirely different feel from Athens. We enjoyed the 'island time' lifestyle for the day and sat out at a nearly deserted beach right next to some Greek ruins before finding our way back in to town for a delicious seafood lunch. I am still daydreaming about the mussels. Aegina is the island known as the birth place of pistachios so in the afternoon Sam and I found ourselves relaxing, sipping a couple of local brews, munching on pistachios, smelling the sea air and reading. Absolute bliss. In the evening we hopped on our high-speed ferry back to Athens and met up with Sidi and his friends for a few drinks at a local bar.
The final day in Athens was another relatively lazy day. We took our time getting up and heading in to the center. We got coffee and sat out planning our next leg of the trip. We walked down the touristy streets and I picked up a few things for people. We walked around the Plaka, an area up around the Acropolis that is especially pretty, after we had a bite to eat before heading back to the apartment to wait for Sidi to get off work. When Sidian got home he drove us out to one of his friends homes on the coast outside of Athens. We went to the beach and it was so amazing. The water was crystal clear and the sun was beginning to set. It was refreshing getting a couple more hours floating in the salty sea water. His friend, Pavos, made us a delicious dinner and we spent the rest of the evening hanging out on the roof patio of the house. When the sun had fully set, and the sky was dark for the night it was time for us to head home. We thanked Sidi's family that night before bed, our flight the next morning was far too early to naturally be awake. They were some of the most wonderful and gracious hosts I have ever had the pleasure of staying with. They truly made our visit all the more special and invited us back whenever we please.
The next morning, we awoke early and Sidi generously woke up on his one day-off to drive us to the airport.
We were off to Turkey, for the final leg of our amazing trip.
One of the very lucky parts about serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Eastern Europe is the potential for some pretty sweet travel opportunities. One of the unlucky parts about this is the financial cost of visiting these places. This is where those international friends come in handy! One of my good friends and co-workers back at UNH is from Greece, and so when I was thinking about my summer travel plans I thought what better way to see Greece than whilst visiting an old friend. And so, a couple weeks ago my boyfriend Sam and I departed on our European adventure before he headed home (he completed his service and is now a RPCV, I'm so proud!). We left on a night bus to Bucharest, tickets flying out of Romania are nearly half the price as flying from Chisinau, and our early morning flight got us in to Athens around 9am. Sidian, my friend who lives in Greece, picked us up at the airport and drove us to his cousins apartment where we were staying for the week. The first day was leisurely, we had a lovely lunch with Sidian and his father at a restaurant in the center of Athens. After Sidi headed back to work and Sam and I headed out to explore the area a bit. We walked all around and saw Parliment with the guards and their funny pom-pom-ed shoes, we walked through the royal gardens and over to the modern historic Olympic stadium. It was a laid back day after all of our traveling. Later when Sidi got off work he took us to his friends coffee bar where we sat outside and enjoyed the atmosphere and sipped on ice tea. After Sidi took us to Lykavittos Hill, a big hill in the middle of Athens, with a pretty little chapel on top and some of the best views of the Athens skyline at night. It was so beautiful and definitely a 'I am so blessed' moment, I had countless moments like this on the trip.
The second day in Athens, Sam and I decided to sleep in a tad and rise at 9 am to catch up on the sleep we had lost from our overnight travel ordeal. When we finally got in to town we explored the central market and, I was able to pick up a half kilo of apricots to munch on for only .25 euro. ( I can't help but succumb to a deal like that.) Lunch was lamb kebabs from a famous kebab restaurant, but the key is to order on the street that way you can take them away and its only 2 euro, rather than sitting where they jack-up the price by more than triple. I'll happily sit on a curb and eat those kebabs any day of the week. After lunch we made our way to the Archeological museum. Now, I wish I were the kind of person to take great pleasure in museums but, after years of trying to pretend like I am moved by clay pots I know who I am, and I am not a person to ogle over old clay anything. Sam, on the other hand, loves museums and the kid could honestly spend days staring at those damn pots. So, I tried my best to be upbeat about the whole museum situation, after all I was in a new place to learn, an afternoon learning about a collection of 16th century clay pots was the least I could do. I know what you are thinking, spoiled American, I know I kind of think it too. But, to be honest I would be just as happy sitting on a park bench people watching for hours so, to each his own, right? That night Sam and I prepared salad and spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce (that I made from scratch, thank you very much). Everyone seemed to enjoy it, or they were all real good pretenders.
The third day was our big 'tourist day' we woke up early and headed out to the Acropolis before it got too busy and too hot. We spent the morning exploring the Agora, the Acropolis, Dionysus theater and the temple of the Olympian Zeus. We again ate delicious gyros for lunch before hitting a strategically placed visit to the AC-ed Acropolis museum in the afternoon. That evening we had a Chinese food feast at Sidi's father and step mothers apartment it was delicious, after we hiked up a hill in Sidi's neighborhood that gave us a unique view of the Athens skyline through the trees.
Our fourth day in Athens we decided it was time to hit the beach. We got some traditional Greek pies for breakfast before heading to the coast via the public tram. The beach was busy but we were able to find a spot. It was ridiculously hot out and Sam and I spent most of our time in the water just trying to stay cool. In our mind the beach was pretty great, later talking with Sidi and his friends we were told that this is the 'worst beach in all of Greece', I guess ignorance was bliss for us. Although the day resulted in some pretty pink sun-burns for Sam and I, guess the sunscreen wasn't waterproof. In the evening Sidi took us to a museum that had free admittance on Thursdays. Here is my abridged version of what I understand the museum to be, a collection of a bunch of old junk some disgustingly rich old dude had and turned into a fancy-pants museum when he died. Was that an offensive enough summary for you? I think I was just disappointed in seeing more damn clay pots, although some of them had some pretty erotic scenes etched on them so that was entertaining. Sam was annoyed when he caught me giggling and taking pictures of a vase with just a guy standing in the nude with his mass at full salute (What? I need to entertain myself somehow, while he is educating himself). I have to give it to him though, the old dude had some pretty nice jewelry in his massive collection of junk, bravo for his wife.
The fifth day in Athens we headed off to the island of Aegina. About an hour off the coast of Athens it is lesser known than the island of Hydra and half the ferry price, but, I would like to think boasts many of the same quaint island qualities. We got to the island in the morning and found ourselves some coffee before we milled about the island exploring the little cobblestone lanes. It really was beautiful and had an entirely different feel from Athens. We enjoyed the 'island time' lifestyle for the day and sat out at a nearly deserted beach right next to some Greek ruins before finding our way back in to town for a delicious seafood lunch. I am still daydreaming about the mussels. Aegina is the island known as the birth place of pistachios so in the afternoon Sam and I found ourselves relaxing, sipping a couple of local brews, munching on pistachios, smelling the sea air and reading. Absolute bliss. In the evening we hopped on our high-speed ferry back to Athens and met up with Sidi and his friends for a few drinks at a local bar.
The final day in Athens was another relatively lazy day. We took our time getting up and heading in to the center. We got coffee and sat out planning our next leg of the trip. We walked down the touristy streets and I picked up a few things for people. We walked around the Plaka, an area up around the Acropolis that is especially pretty, after we had a bite to eat before heading back to the apartment to wait for Sidi to get off work. When Sidian got home he drove us out to one of his friends homes on the coast outside of Athens. We went to the beach and it was so amazing. The water was crystal clear and the sun was beginning to set. It was refreshing getting a couple more hours floating in the salty sea water. His friend, Pavos, made us a delicious dinner and we spent the rest of the evening hanging out on the roof patio of the house. When the sun had fully set, and the sky was dark for the night it was time for us to head home. We thanked Sidi's family that night before bed, our flight the next morning was far too early to naturally be awake. They were some of the most wonderful and gracious hosts I have ever had the pleasure of staying with. They truly made our visit all the more special and invited us back whenever we please.
The next morning, we awoke early and Sidi generously woke up on his one day-off to drive us to the airport.
We were off to Turkey, for the final leg of our amazing trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment