I arrived in Greece on Thursday and found Katy, my old roommate, waiting for me at the airport. It was so great to see her. We have lived together for the past 6 years, seeing each other almost every day... it's been really hard to be apart from here for so long.
Well, we didn't waste any time... we jumped right in to having a great time. Right after we checked into our hostel in Athens Greece, we went exploring. We found some old ruins, the Acropolis, an Olympic stadium, an awesome playground, and the best Gyro stand ever. We watched an awesome sunset from the roof of our hostel, and then called it an early night because we were both exhausted from our long day of travel.
Friday was a wonderful day spent exploring Athens. We started off the day by arranging our travel for the rest of the week with a local travel agent, and then made our way to the Acropolis. It was amazing. The architecture and pure size of the building was awe inspiring... and the contrast of the white on blue was beautiful. The day was a beautiful day with bright blue skies, warm weather, and a cool breeze. We explored the museum, taking in the beauty of the stone carvings, and then made our way down to a church and some more ruins. For lunch we had some great gyros and some fresh strawberries which were absolutely amazing... especially after the African diet of rice, noodles and potatoes that I had been used to. The afternoon was spent shopping... wandering in and out of the quaint shops along the picturesque tiny streets of Athens. We watched an awesome sunset at the Acropolis before relaxing in the hostel bar with some beers.
Saturday morning we were up bright and early at 5:30 to catch the subway to the port where we began our 8 hr ferry ride to the beautiful island of Santorini. We arrived in Santorini at about 3:00 in the afternoon and began to explore the island right away. The island is beautiful. All of the buildings are white washed and have blue windows and doors. The island was formed by a volcano millions of years ago, and has black soil everywhere. The edge of the island forms a cliff that goes straight into the ocean, giving amazing views. We caught our first Santorini sunset that night and were amazed when the sky turned a bright red.
Sunday morning we awoke in our cute whitewashed hotel and made our way to the moped rental station where we found ourselves a cute red moped for the day. We got on the bike and began to explore the island, zipping up and down the curvy, narrow roads on our sleek motorbike. First we drove to the highest point of the island where we took in amazing views, and then were off to the beach. The beach that we found was a black sand beach and absolutely beautiful. Katy and I laid on the beach for a good part of the day talking girl talk and working on our tans. When the suns rays weren't as strong, we jumped back on the moped to do some more exploring. We cruised all over the island, taking in amazing views and feeling the sea wind on our face. We returned the moped about 6:30 pm, just in time to catch a great dinner of gyros, Greek salad and wine before watching yet another amazing sunset on the island.
Monday we decided to do a boat trip to an active volcanic island just off the coast of Santorini. The ship that took us over to the island looked just like a pirate ship, so that made it even more exciting. Once on the volcano we hiked up to the peak. Once up there, you could see places where gases were still escaping from the crater. The last eruption was only 50 years ago! It was pretty cool. From there we went to the hot springs caused by the heat of the volcano.
Well, we didn't waste any time... we jumped right in to having a great time. Right after we checked into our hostel in Athens Greece, we went exploring. We found some old ruins, the Acropolis, an Olympic stadium, an awesome playground, and the best Gyro stand ever. We watched an awesome sunset from the roof of our hostel, and then called it an early night because we were both exhausted from our long day of travel.
Friday was a wonderful day spent exploring Athens. We started off the day by arranging our travel for the rest of the week with a local travel agent, and then made our way to the Acropolis. It was amazing. The architecture and pure size of the building was awe inspiring... and the contrast of the white on blue was beautiful. The day was a beautiful day with bright blue skies, warm weather, and a cool breeze. We explored the museum, taking in the beauty of the stone carvings, and then made our way down to a church and some more ruins. For lunch we had some great gyros and some fresh strawberries which were absolutely amazing... especially after the African diet of rice, noodles and potatoes that I had been used to. The afternoon was spent shopping... wandering in and out of the quaint shops along the picturesque tiny streets of Athens. We watched an awesome sunset at the Acropolis before relaxing in the hostel bar with some beers.
Saturday morning we were up bright and early at 5:30 to catch the subway to the port where we began our 8 hr ferry ride to the beautiful island of Santorini. We arrived in Santorini at about 3:00 in the afternoon and began to explore the island right away. The island is beautiful. All of the buildings are white washed and have blue windows and doors. The island was formed by a volcano millions of years ago, and has black soil everywhere. The edge of the island forms a cliff that goes straight into the ocean, giving amazing views. We caught our first Santorini sunset that night and were amazed when the sky turned a bright red.
Sunday morning we awoke in our cute whitewashed hotel and made our way to the moped rental station where we found ourselves a cute red moped for the day. We got on the bike and began to explore the island, zipping up and down the curvy, narrow roads on our sleek motorbike. First we drove to the highest point of the island where we took in amazing views, and then were off to the beach. The beach that we found was a black sand beach and absolutely beautiful. Katy and I laid on the beach for a good part of the day talking girl talk and working on our tans. When the suns rays weren't as strong, we jumped back on the moped to do some more exploring. We cruised all over the island, taking in amazing views and feeling the sea wind on our face. We returned the moped about 6:30 pm, just in time to catch a great dinner of gyros, Greek salad and wine before watching yet another amazing sunset on the island.
Monday we decided to do a boat trip to an active volcanic island just off the coast of Santorini. The ship that took us over to the island looked just like a pirate ship, so that made it even more exciting. Once on the volcano we hiked up to the peak. Once up there, you could see places where gases were still escaping from the crater. The last eruption was only 50 years ago! It was pretty cool. From there we went to the hot springs caused by the heat of the volcano.
That afternoon we took a local bus to OIA, another city on the island to explore the city and watch the sunset. Apparently it is one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world... and although it was beautiful, I don't think it was better than the sunsets from my dock in Random Lake.
Those will always be the most beautiful to me. Katy and I did have a very relaxing evening though wandering the streets, taking in the architcture and scenery and admiring the amazing sunset views. It was so beautifully unreal, I felt like I was in a postcard.
Tuesday we said goodbye to Santorini and boarded a ferry to Mykanos, another Greek island. We arrived at our hotel and it is absolutely adorable! It is whitewashed with blue shutters and has an awesome swimming pool and sea side views. All this for only 40 Euro a night! I love low season. The weather was a bit rainy though, so we spent most of the day just exploring and walking around the city before making our way back to the hotel to drink some wine and hang out.
4 comments:
Hi Julie!
Wow! You have had some interesting experiences. I am fascinated in hearing about everything when you come home. I just wanted to say Hi and that I am thinking of you. I miss you a lot since the weather is nice and I don't have my walking buddy! Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip! Carla
Holy Cow do you look tough...like Hercules or something. You better put the gun show away before you scare the locals.
-pl
Greece sounds great! The photos are spectacular.You and Katy look like you're having a blast. I liked the description of the donkey ride. I had to laugh when I read it. We got your phone message when you got to Greece. Thanks-although it is hard to miss your calls( I got home a 1/2 hr later), it is always good to hear from you. I will be at Grandma Vos' for Mothers day so don't try to call Random Lake that day. Love MOM
Hey Julie!
Your pics are amazing!! I love the sunset ones! Only 22 days and counting until I get to see you!!! We are going to have a blast!! Have fun in Greece!
-Barb
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