It’s all Greek to me!

So, right now I am jamming to the sounds of Mariah Carey, SWV, Tony Toni Tone, Troop, Luther Vandross, and all the other great 90’s R&B artists. You might ask why I even have time to do so? Well, I have been on a “ferry” (which is the size of a cruise liner) for the past 6 hours, with 2 hours to go until I reach Athens. Once I reach Athens, I’ll be spending the night at the airport waiting to catch my 8am flight into Paris. I think we all know that I will NOT be attending class on Monday – sorry profs.

our ferry to Athens

Either way, I figure this is a brilliant time for me to either upload pictures and write my blog entry or do my homework – again, you guys know me so well!

Well, I must say that Greece was AMAZING! The country is very archaic though, as is the language. I mean, this was my first time in a country where I literally needed a translation just to understand the letters. Who speaks Greek anyways?!

We arrived in Athens around 6pm after our flight from Marrakesh. Speaking of the flight, I was so glad to be back on a major commercial airline! Don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate the cheap services offered by EasyJet and RyanAir, but nothing beats a commercial airline that knows how to serve meals on long flights and offers complimentary drinks and sweets along the way. Actually, the meal wasn’t bad at all! It was some sort of beef with rice and a spaghetti sauce, salad, rolls, crackers & cheese, and a Greek pastry which was soaked in honey. Yum

meal on Aegean Airlines

Since we literally had only a few hours until our boat was scheduled to leave the Athens port, we hurried over to the metro (which took 30 minutes just to leave the airport – so not okay) and went to see the Acropolis – I couldn’t be in Athens and not get some history and culture in! It was great to see, but before we could even leave the sight nightfall came and it was time to hurry over to the port.

Acropolis

THAT was even an adventure – halfway into the metro ride over there, we’re informed that half of the line isn’t working and that we’ll have to take a bus for part of the way. Ugh! What’s worse is that the announcement wasn’t in English, it was all in Greek; we were solely relying on the goodwill of strangers to know what was going on. Then, when we ask which way to go, what do you suppose their answer was? “Just follow the crowd.” Lol I almost died laughing. I’m in a city for the first time of my life, it’s pitch black outside, I barely knew where I was going the first time around, and I’m just supposed to follow everybody? What if they were serial killers? Well, I had no choice so follow them we did and we arrived at the port safely.

Our ferry to Santorini

But wait, more complications. It took forever to find the ticket office for our ferry, and when we did we found out the boat was late – due to weather conditions! NOT what I want to hear before I embark on an 8-hour ride. But somehow we got through it – maybe it was the delicious vegetable patty and pizza I ate before embarking? Or the bottle of wine I consumed along the way? Anyhow, we made it to Santorini safe and sound – 4 hours late, but safe and sound.

our seating arrangement on the boat

And oh my gosh it was worth the travel! The views are AMAZING and it was great to get away from the hustle and bustle of Paris for awhile. It was also great to be in a place where I had to do absolutely NOTHING.

view of Santorini port Thira

On our first night, we just sat around, met up with some friends, had a drink or two, ate some delicious curry chicken, and went to sleep.

The next day, we went on a day-long tour of the area. First, we sailed to the volcano (hiked up that),

at the volcano!

then we sat at the hot springs for awhile (didn’t want to get my hair wet),

Santorini hot springs

then went to Thirassia (rode a donkey up the hillside),

me on the donkey in thirassia!

and ended at Oia (hiked up there, too) where we watched the sunset.

oia sunset

I also bought some cool presents. Oooh and went inside a Greek Orthodox church where I was CLEARLY against the dress code.

Greek Orthodox church

Oh well! It was an interesting day that involved a lot of hiking but also a lot of new experiences and beautiful sights.

So after all of that touring, we decided the best thing to do on Saturday would be to lay on the beach. And that’s all we did THE ENTIRE DAY. Felt so wonderful! All the restaurants have beach service, so you just go lie on one of the lounge chairs, and sit. Everything else comes to you. Cocktails helped, too

All in all, it was a great time and a relaxing one. The weather was great, not too cold or hot, and I found the people to be very friendly. Actually, I think Greece has the most friendly people I’ve encountered so far.  And I LOVED the food! Didn’t have a bad meal the whole time I was there. Of course I ate more margherita pizza (I’ve been deprived of real pizza in Paris),

Greek margherita pizza

had a souvlaki pita,

souvlaki pita

and ate stuffed tomatoes.

stuffed tomatoes

That’s all for Greece -  I hope to return!

Santorini at sunset

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