Anyway back to the trip...I got to Athens on August 11th and didn't waste anytime- I headed to the Jewish Museum which was very interesting. It told of how Jews ended up in Greece and also had artifacts from the Holocaust- heart breaking. Next I strolled to the National Gardens and the tomb of the unknown soldier. They had some military guys and then did this changing of the guard ceremony. I also visited the stadium of the 1st modern day Olympics in Athens in 1896. That kept me busy until it was time to meet my group which mainly consisted on people from Australia, US, Canada, Italy, and South Africa. We were quite a diverse group and our tour guide was from New Zealand. She was so much fun to hang with. The Plaka Hotel we stayed at had a roof deck overlooking the Acropolis ("city on a hill") which consists of the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the and Temple of Athena Nike. I had a great time roaming the streets in search of merchant bargains. There is tons of shopping in the Plaka area as well as Syntagma Square. I even ran into the fresh market where they were selling whole carcasses and fresh fruits and veggies-yum.
Day 2- I spent that day trying to figure out my camera charger but I did make it to the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus and Temple of Hephaestus. I don't have pics from the later but I met a guy from Ohio who will share his photos with me. They are doing a lot of renovation on the Parthenon so much of it is scaffold. That night we went a restaurant with singing and dancing. A few of the girls and I even tried some Greek dancing- hey why not it's not like anyone knows you. Besides, much of the music sounds like Israeli music anyway. I think I appreciated it more than other people on my trip for that reason.
Day 3- Goodbye to Athens...off to the Cyclade island of Mykonos. FYI ferries in Greece are chaotic and NEVER on time!! The ferry was 3 1/2 hrs but the time passed quickly with sleeping, people watching, eating, and being worn out from jam packed days. All the streets in Greece are so narrow some we lugged out suitcases up and down streets and up stairs (they never heard of elevators either!!) As an aside...I never quite got used to not throwing my toilet paper in the toilet- they have trash bins to throw it in, but I never once clogged a toilet so go figure. After we headed to the beach...so close all we had to do was cross a road. The sea floor was slabs of rock, no sand so it was hard not to slip. After, I strolled around with some other people and then partied at the pool deck bar. Again they had traditional dancing and got quite the workout participating.
Day 4- Took the bus in with another person from my group and strolled into town...later that night some bar hopping and checking out the hottest places on the island. Bars don't close until like 5am- they know how to party hardy and have no problem catching dinner in the late evening. I'm a big fan of vegetarian gyros and they have the best crepes ever!! Got kinda tired of the yogurt and jam each morning.
Day 5- Climbed Aphrodite's Boobs (two hills that look like...well you get the point). It was very windy so a little scary getting down. After, I ate at a taverna on the hill. At night our group took a coach to Paradise Beach to the Tropicana Bar. It was pretty crazy and I think all of Italy was there that night, apparently Greece is a hot destination with the Italians. Warning even if beaches say they are not nude there are still ladies topless. Oh well it's all in what you're used to.
Day 6....Left Mykonos and on another ferry to Santorini...again very chaotic. Santorini if you don't know was formed my volcanoes so the beaches are not sand but all black volcanic rock. We had dinner that night at a restaurant and got to see a firework display reenacting the volcano eruption. The fireworks looking like lava spitting out. Incredible!! Then we strolled down town. Santorini is also famous for their fried tomato balls...almost like falafel balls but better.
Day 7...Took the cable cars down the mountain and rode donkeys up the mountain. Then we shopped around town. That evening we had an optional sunset Greek style picnic in a town in Santorini called Oia. It one of the most expensive and beautiful places on the island. And of course more bar hopping.
Day 8...Off to check out the Kamari Beach, one of the black rock beaches. We did dinner that night at a restaurant overlooking the caldera and saw a more beautiful sunset then I saw in Oia.
Day 9...Just a short ferry ride to the island of Ios. We had the best view of the beach from our balcony. Ios is pretty much a party city. Not to much going on in the day time other than hitting the beach, which is what I did and then more partying at night. Pretty much everything was in walking distance but sidewalks don't exist so you have to be very careful.
Day 10...one of the best days spend on a pirate ship sailing around Ios...we went to a beach pretty much only accessible to boaters called Pikri Nero Beach. Again climbed some rocks and had some difficulty getting down. We played paddle ball, Frisbee, and snorkeling on the beach. Even got to jump off deck and swim. Awesome.
Day 11... more bar hopping and Day 12 was the same. Had a go at some baklava and spanikopita and cheese pie.
Day 13... 4 hr ferry ride back to Athens where we spent the last night. Got some last minute shopping done and enjoyed my last gyro and spent my last euros. Said good byes to all my fellow Contiki travelers
Day 14...woke up 2:00am Athens time to catch 2:45 bus to airport with another girl who also had an early flight. Flew to Milan, Italy to Philly and then Philly to Tampa. They "lost" my luggage since it never arrived to Philly and I'm stilling waiting for it. It should take a couple days hopefully. After being up for nearly 24 hrs, that's the last thing I wanted to hear. I am very jet lagged and woke up at 4am this morning wide awake and ready to start the day. You have to go to Greece, it's beautiful and lots of fun. I'm ready to go back to work tomorrow and glad to have be home. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!
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