Ferry Adventure and Safe Arrival on Santorini!

This morning I went and took the Metro to the Port Pieraus. Where I boarded the ferry and I am now waiting for it to depart- Hopefully I am on the right one! I have asked several people and it appears to be the correct one! Ha ha- I didn't sleep at all last night- my cold was really a pain and I couldn't breath- and I was paranoid that I would miss the ferry and have to spend another night in the hostel! NOOOOOO! So I am sitting on the ferry deck-and I have already met some nice middle aged couples from Michigan who seem really nice! I like the hostels in the way that they have kids more around my age range (I did meet some cool friends at the hostel- but there are a lot of CRAZY people there as well) -however, I like the stability and maturity of the older people that I am around on the ferry! ( I have never been so happy to be sitting surrounded by a bunch of people in their 40s talking about mortgages and jobs and their kids!) After I met the middle aged couple I met some kids around my age (see picture); two girls from Germany- one is in the red coat in the picture- the other one was taking the picture. The guy is from Pakistan- but has family on Santorini- it was interesting to talk to them- they were a cool group and made the time pass faster!

Riding the Metro was nerve racking but was fine! Penny can you believe I didn't get lost at all! I did ask a car full of people if I was going the right way- and they gave me a priceless blank stare which was really wonderful! :) But here I am waiting for my ferry to depart! The ferry first goes to Naxos and then Santorini- We leave at 7:25 am and get there at ~3:00pm- so I will be on the boat all day! Then the hotel shuttle is supposed to pick me up at the port. It is then a 30 min car ride up to the hotel- the entire city is built along the cliff! Once I check in I am going to grab a bite to eat and then sleep a bit if I can- and then do some evening exploration!

Finally we landed in Athens around 4 o'clock- remember the boat took off at 7:25 from the port- so it has been a long day of traveling! Once you get of the boat there are swarms of tour groups meeting the people and hotel drivers everywhere holding up signs of people's last names it is quite tricky trying to find your group! Once I was in the shuttle van heading up the cliff to the hotel I could really relax. The drive up from the port is amazing- I took several pictures from the bus to try to capture the zig-zag of the road- the turns are so so sharp. The buildings here are boxy and white! I checked into my hotel- took a shower and then went for a short walk where I had dinner- gyros and went into a mini market type store to buy some snacks for my room- it has a little fridge in it- I got some fruit and some yogurt and bottled water of course (everyone says don't drink the water in Greece!)

On a mini exploration around the hotel- I saw a cool church- the type that you see in the standard photos of Santorini! Then I saw 3 guys briging a donkey train down the middle of the street! That was really cool!! The odd thing about Santorini right now is how vacant it is because it is not high season!- it really feels like a ghost town. I love my quaint little room that only cost me 35 E a night! It is perfect- compared to a hostel it is LUXURY! The bathroom is a bit like the hotel in Paris- maybe a bit smaller- but it seems lest dingy! I am going to bed here soon- I need to get up and see if I can get a bus to the red or black sand beaches. Then I need to catch a bus to Oia- (I think that is how you spell it) it is famous for its sunsets!

It is nice to be here 4 nights I can relax! and move at my own pace! I also can catch up on my sleep!

Picture notes: 1: looking down while drinving up from the port. 2. donkey train- in Fira (where my hotel is on Santorini) 3. Church behind my hotel. 4. Random cool building in Fira 5. My hotel- my room is on the 1st floor- and the very left hand room 6. Ferry I took 7-8 Winding road up from the port! 9. Arrival at port- tourists are met by what seems like an overwhelming number of hotel staff and tour guides. 10. Pulling into the Santorini port. 11. New friends from ferry- 2 german girls and guy from Pakistan (I think?) I don't remember their names- the girl in the red coat is Veronica and all of them were very nice and intelligent!

Well I am off to bed to see what another day of exploration brings!

Acropolis +

Today was a relatively normal touristy type day. It started out with a trek around the Acropolis area with 2 friends from the Hostel- Alex and Lindsey. We marched around looking at ruins for several hours. We saw the Parthenon: see link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon This was pretty incredible. We also saw the theater of Dionysus= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_Dionysus this theater was the 1st stone theater EVER built. We saw the Tower of the Winds- which was a very complex water clock and wind vane! (see picture)

Then we went exploring a bit further into Athens- we had heard about a small- almost separate village out close by- It is still in Athens but the buildings are bit different- more quaint! After that we were starving and stopped to get some gyros- which were delicious! A little stand where you can get a chicken gyro for 1.8E. they were the best meal I have had in Greece so far- way better than the sit down places! For dessert we had fruit- strawberries, oranges and bananas! We headed back to our hostel...

The hostel is fairly nice- very large- it serves a very minimal breakfast every morning but for 24 E what can you expect! I had been meeting with a travel agent yesterday in preparation for my island touring, and I went back today to finalize my plans. The travel agent was amazing! So incredible! Penny we are never doing another trip again anywhere without one! I have my whole Greece itinerary planed out. Tomorrow I leave super early in the morning- by taxi to go to the port- where I catch a ferry out to Santorini! I stay there in a hotel for 4 nights. Then I take a ferry out to Naxos- where I stay for 3 nights. and then a ferry off to Paros for 2 nights. I return back to the mainland on the 12th- where I will be staying in a hotel right on the coast there- and will catch an airport express bus on the morning of the 13th to get to the airport to fly out to Prague! I am excited to have my own room in the hotels- In Prague I am in a hostel the whole time except for the very last night- where I have a hotel right close to the airport.

After booking the remainder of my stay I could really really relax!!! Oh I did see some of the protesters- it was a very calm organized march today- around Parliament. the police were out in droves and many of the major streets were shut down. It was nice because there was less traffic and it made it much easier crossing the streets!

After a long day I headed back to the hostel- pretty much everyone was taking naps- I decided a good sleep would do me a world of good! I slept from 3:30 to 7:30 it was wonderful! After that I went and got a bite to eat at a restaurant called God's Restaurant- the food was good and it was close to the hostel. After that we went and had some ice cream and returned back to the hostel where I just finished packing for tomorrow's excursion!

I have posted some pictures- Order of pictures- from top to bottom(left to right): 1: Tower of the Winds Protesters- close to Parliament building 2: Protesters- close to Parliament building 3. Lindsey and Alex and I at the Acropolis 4. Looking down from the Acropolis 5. Graffitii w/ my initials! :) 6 and 7: me at the Acropolis! I was trying a Zeus pose for one of them! 8. Flag of Greece The Parthenon 9. The Parthenon 10. Larger theater- that is still in use today! 11. Picture on left- smaller theater= Theater of Dionysus.

Public Transportation Strike- A real look at Athens

Today I toured the Archaeological Museum. It was amazing! I didn't have the energy to go to the Acropolis ( I have a bad cold now)- hopefully tomorrow- if it is open- things here are very volatile- with all the strikes. When I came back from the Museum today- on the white board it informed us that all public transportation tomorrow will be closed due to union strikes. (some of us thought it was an April fools joke- it being the 1st an all! but unfortunately it was not so) So far all ferries, buses and trains are shut down tomorrow. Also- some of the air control tower operators are going on strike for a limited time period tomorrow- shutting down part of the airport for several hours. The strike is making getting to the airport for people here- an absolute nightmare. Because the buses stop ruining at 5 in the morning- and the routes are not direct at all- because of all the protesters camped out in streets blocking off the intersections. This is crazy to witness. People are so angry here because they haven't been paid for months. The government has no money to pay its workers.

I went to a travel agent today to book a ferry to an island. I plan on going to Santorini- and maybe 2 other islands- I have to return tomorrow to meet and go over the final plans- They have to locate lodging for me. Hopefully I won't get stranded on an island- hopefully there will be no more public strikes!!! That wouldn't be good!

It is a shock to see international flights actually cancelled out and a bit scary- but I guess it happens here all the time because of the strikes? I am not flying out till the 13th of this month. and I am sure things will be up and running- the strike is only supposed to be a "typical" 24 hr strike :)
I am going to try to get some sleep- although I can't breath-stupid cold! Ohh one thing hilarious about Greece is even though it is about 70 and humid- people are wearing wool coats- because it is their winter here! I am walking around in a T-shirt and jeans and sandals! Greece is very humid- and I would NOT come here in the summer! It would be stifling! And the air quality in Athens is very very very poor! Clean air in OR will be very welcome when I return! Well I am going to try to sleep a bit- 2 of my roommates are packing and leaving to the airport here to try to beat the shut down of the transportation system it is 12:30 AM here and they are hoping to leave by 3:30 am to make it to the airport. The airport is so far away from the city center where the hostel is located which makes things more difficult. Taxis are a possibility but it is expensive and the demand for them tomorrow morning is going to be huge.

Here is a link to the US Sect. of State info regarding the demonstration tomorrow! Exciting!!! I don' t think they are close to where I am.....But one of the demonstration I thought was near the Acropolis which is right next to where I am..... who knows!
http://athens.usembassy.gov/demonstrations_ann.html

X-men, confusing hotels, ancient ruins, dying men!

Well today was my first official day in Athens- it was quite interesting! I made it to the hostel- after a very confusing taxi ride there. The taxi driver was luckily amazing and although she didn't know where the hostel was- she had to park and walk me to it- because the road we had to take was under construction at last we found it though! I gave her a huge tip for her help! She had to talk the police into even parking in that area because cars weren't supposed to drive on that road- right next to the Acropolis- After checking into the hostel I went on a walk with a new buddy Nikos, that I met while checking into the hostel. We went to the National Gardens, Plaka, areas around the Acropolis, and had a wonderful lunch. Lunch was the most amazing part of the whole day. We are sitting there- eating-Exohikoo- which is pork stuffed w/ tomatoes,green pepper and feta cheese and then the man at the table next to me suddenly completely fell off his chair- his head landing on my backpack which was resting at my feet. He fell like a sack of bricks!!! He had been drinking a pitcher of wine. There was no movement- either before or after he hit the ground- he just laid there completely still. I seriously thought he was dead! He laid there for several seconds- I was just stunned- thinking oh no- this guy is completely dead! But alas after what felt like several minutes- and with the help of the waiters and restaurant help he was awakened- and ok. You see his head was saved by landing on my backpack! otherwise his skull would have hit the cobblestones and it wouldn't have been a pretty sight. Maybe he had narcolepsy- who knows- once awakened he continued smoking and was drinking a new glass of wine! It was incredible- I guess life goes on- welcome to Athens!!!I posted a picture of the almost dead man- he is the one with his hand to his nose! Sidenote- there are lots of stray dogs in Athens- I met Quasi- (short for Quasimoto) which is a gimpy dog which is dating a rather nice looking white dog. I don't have pictures of Quasi but maybe tomorrow our paths will meet again! After lunch we journeyed to the flea market- where hundreds of people tried to get us to enter their shops to buy their goods they were selling. Then we saw a turtle- which I am positive was touring the city of Athens on a small train tour around the city. The turtle- who is yet unnamed is pictured above. We came back the hostel- only to be greeted by some neanderthals from the Midwest. One was proud of his collection of a 1500 lb pig and certain unmentionable parts on his phone- and the conversation quickly got more crude from there. Needless to say I was not impressed by the intellect of my fellow Americans. One (aka Mr. Sizzler- see below)kept insisting that he needed to use my computer to access porn. I extracted myself from the situation by saying I was hungry! We left them to their beer and X-man 3. Dinner was good. After dinner- I wanted to see part of the city at night-which is my favorite time to tour around..... well I heard voices and they were students marching with candles protesting something- marching the Acropolis- I have no clue what they were saying-police were surrounding them it was quite exciting!! We decided we wanted a picture of the rally so we started following them- dodging police cars and trying not to look to conspicuous - and hiding behind bushes. Don't worry all it was a peaceful rally all was quite tame! All this for no good pictures that turned out- just blurry shapes :( After that I wanted a bit of ice cream so we found a shop that was still open around midnight. After sitting down peacefully eating my ice cream- we witnessed a motorcyclist crash into a outdoor restaurant table. After all this action I was excited to return to the hostel and relax. Unfortunately the cowboys/neanderthals- had never left and had continued drinking during all the time we were gone. The one- who I can't stand- informed me we "he and I had to celebrate and sizzle" ICK! He proceeded to wedge his rear in next to where I was sitting- I had to once again relocate. I was not impressed! His new nickname is Mr. Sizzle- Which is not a favorable nickname! He and his buddies have gone out drunk looking for a Big Mac and have yet to return. Tomorrow I will go to the Archaeological Museum and then the Acropolis! I then have to book the remaining part of my trip. PS. Does anyone know if a turtle would eat a gimpy beetle- if it could catch it?

Munich Germany

I left LA at 9:15 P.M. and arrived in Munich Germany- around 5:40 P.M. (time in Europe). The flight was wonderful- because of my new found love Dramamine! This pill is magic- and is now a must have for any travelling. I slept for about 6 hrs at least of the flight- and watched Australia- which was long- but relatively entertaining. This wing of the airport is relatively abandoned- there was absolutely no line- to go through the security check...... so hopefully I didn't take a wrong turn somewhere! It seems almost every airport I have been in is under some sort of construction. But the sign at the gate says Athens- so I believe I am in the right area! :)

Lufthansa is a fairly good airline from what I can tell- I liked it better than Air France and KLM. The food was good- serving fresh fruit with every meal which I enjoyed. I traded seats with a women in front of me so she could sit with her husband- which meant I had a window seat!! Even though it was dark for most of the flight- I still love to watch taking of and landing! It is my favorite.

I like the German airport- it is very clean and wonderfully marked as to where you need to go. It eliminates the level of confusion and I greatly appreciate it- being the lost, bewildered traveller I am! So far so good- we will see if my bag makes it to Greece later this evening. I should start boarding here in about 1/2 hr for Greece. I feel so good having actually slept some!

Chris did you do the expirement with the Cranberry Juice and the Ice Cream?? I want to know the results!

Final Travel Plans! Prague and Greece

I am returning to Europe next Sun March 29- I fly out to Athens, Greece from LAX at 9:15 P.M. I will be in Greece until April 13- when I leave to go to Prague until April 19th when I return to OR. This week I am spending in Santa Ana, CA with Chris and Dang- my step brother and his wife. Last week Penny and I returned from Rome- into LAX and then faced a 10+ hr drive to Reno NV and back- to arrange things for my step sister's funeral. We returned late Thursday back to Santa Ana, I am staying in CA until I fly out on the 29th of this month! I am not looking forward to the long flight again to head back to Europe- but I am excited to see Greece. Prague should be fun but expensive :( .... More wonderful entries will come in the coming days! It will just be me traveling alone- Penny is not returning to Europe.

Back to the US- LAX

This morning- we got a call from Chris- my step bro- that Suzannah- Penny's daughter, my step sister had passed away Friday morning. So we went to the airport in Rome- and got the quickest flight out possible- After approximately 14 hours of straight flying and being up for 25 hrs straight we arrived in LA where Chris picked us up. We are probably going to fly to Reno NV where Suzannah and her husband lived tomorrow. I have a return flight booked to Rome leaving LAX on March 21 that I will most likely take- Oh but I don't look forward to that long flight again! But that way I could see some more of Rome and Italy and then fly out to Greece. I have to see how exhausted I am over the next couple of days. Penny is doing alright- but it is such a shock to all of us. So my adventures are postponed for approximately a week or so- until I return back to Europe.