With so many changes going on in my life, I decided to go to Greece. There’s just been a lot of transitional things happening, and with my 30th birthday happening during my time there, it just seemed like the optimal time to go. I was excited to be going over my birthday, but I was sort of terrified to go alone. Not because I was afraid of getting lost, but because I worried that it might be lonely spending two weeks abroad without anyone that I knew.
Keep on reading for my day-by-day adventures!
Day 0, October 6: Travel Day
My parents drove me up to Chicago so that I would be ready for my 10:00am flight to Montreal. My flight from Montreal left around 7:00pm and I was on my way to Athens! I ate the provided dinner (which was all from spectacular) and then went to sleep. It was an 8 hour flight and Athens is 8 hours ahead of us. So I would be arriving in Athens around 11:00am the next day!
Day 1, October 7: Athens
I arrived in Athens and made it to my airbnb by using the metro. I unpacked my stuff, did some laundry, and then headed down to the Acropolis to see what was around there. I saw the Parthenon from afar, and walked by all of the shops. I didn’t want to buy anything at the beginning of my trip, and I knew I didn’t have a lot of time before the sites closed for the night. So I stopped at this restaurant and had my first meal of souvlaki. It was delicious, although I was hungry. As it was getting dark, I headed back to my apartment. I had to dry my clothes on the clothes line and then went to bed. I had to be up early the next day to make my flight to Milos!
Day 2, October 8: Travel to Milos
I was up at 5:00am and getting ready to head to the airport. I had careful directions on how to get to the metro… only I got lost again and paid for a cab to take me to the metro station which only cost me €3! I checked in and went through security and let’s just say security is way more lax than the US and our plane was just fine! It was tiny, but the 30 minute flight was smooth as ever. The airport however was tiny too. I’m not sure what to compaire it to, but I think the Amtrak station in Springfield, IL is actually bigger than this airport.
The guy from the Airbnb picks me up at the airport and shows me around. The place I rented is a little more isolated than I had hoped for, and I start to google what’s around me when I decided that a nap was more in order. Besides, who wants to talk 30 minutes into town when they could have a nap? So a 3 hour nap is great, but when you wake up later, there’s the issue of NO FOOD! I walk 30 minutes down the road when a restaurant owner starts talking to me. He offers me free water and starts chatting me up.
So I order a huge plate of food and end up getting food, bread, 2 bottles of water and a free dessert for €10! We talked for a while and exchanged WhatsApp numbers to stay in touch. And he even introduced me to his friend who owns a boating company and is going on a boating tour tomorrow! I’m so excited! Talking to locals really is helpful!
Milos is really pretty by the way! I can’t wait until I can see more of the island plus some of the other islands too!
So for those of you who know me, you’ll probably laugh, but I made spaghetti for dinner. I was planning on just watching the sun set over the sea from my patio… but then the clouds decided to block the view. Oh well, at least I didn’t walk 30 minutes to the beach to see clouds. What’s the plan for tonight? Probably just read a bit, maybe do some journally, and get more sleep in! But for now, I’m just hanging out on my little patio!
Day 3, October 9: Milos Boat Tour
Today was a busy busy day! I was up at 7:00 am and on the road at 8:00am in order to get to Adamas port by 8:45am (since I have to walk there). I made it in time and the lady who helped book my boating trip knew this couple who was willing to take me to the southern part of the island where the boat was. Basically their son was going on the boat tour as well as a personal invite to the captain/tour guide, so they were already on their way down (aka I wasn’t a terrible inconvenience). When we got to shore, we had to get into this smaller boat to get into the larger boat. It wasn’t a huge boat but it was very comfortable for 11 people, the captain/tour guide, the cook, and the boy helper (maybe 10 years old, he’s the one whose family drove me down)! Everyone on the boat was from somewhere else: France, Lebanon, Germany, Brazil, and the US… and thankfully everyone spoke English!
The captain/tour guide was very knowledgeable (and spoke English in an accent that I could understand). He talked to us about all the different areas we passed, what the different beaches were called, and different stores and tales that originated about Milos. It was chilly though. The sun wasn’t fully up yet, there were clouds, there was a breeze, and the boat always creates more wind as it moves. The boat was so prepared though and handed out jackets to have of the people who didn’t have enough clothes with them, including me. Even before we got started, everything was so pretty. The blue waters against the open blue sky!
We passed by all these different arches and rock formations and we were told that Milos is a big mining island, and relied only on mining prior to tourism becoming more popular in recent years. He even mentioned that the big oil spill by BP a few years ago was managed by the help of mining companies in Milos.
Finally we got to Kleftiko, which was so beautiful. The was is so turquoise and when I say I didn’t do anything to the pictures above, it’s true! The water really was that color, and it is so clear! Kleftiko is actually the old pirates cove and we saw where the pirate ships used to dock their boats. We all ended up getting into the small boat and the captain/tour guide drove us in and around the caves, telling us the tales of different pirates who had come to Milos.
After we got back to the big boat, we all jumped in and had the opportunity to swim around Kleftiko and were able to swim into some of the coves. The water was so warm, at 74 degrees. We were told that in June, July, and August, you can’t even see the horizon because there are so many boats. There are people swimming all over and climbing over all the rocks that it’s hard to get a good picture and everyone is blaring their music louder than the boat next to them. It was so peaceful for us and we were the only ones out! I forgot where we swam the second time, which was just as amazing as Kleftiko. The water was just as clear and turquoise and we got to go inside these little caves! I almost thought I wouldn’t fit in this one but I squeezed through and came out on the other side! Did I mention we got snorkeling equipment during our swims!? They also had a few pool noodles for us to use, which I immediately volunteered myself for one since I’m not the strongest swimmer. I’m not sure pool noodles would pass for the “required” flotation devices here in the US… but they worked!
We were definitely fed on this boat!! To start with, we got juice/coffee and pastries for breakfast and then after our first swim we got sandwiches and fruit. I thought this was our lunch, but after our second swim we got bread and wine (Greek made), a Greek salad, and spaghetti with shrimp! They were huge shrimp, like 6 inches with their heads and their feet! I’m not a big fan of dissecting my food before I eat it, especially crustaceans because I don’t like seeing their veins and guts and POOP! Anyways, you could throw their heads and guts overboard and watch the fist come up to the surface and eat the shrimp! That was pretty fun to do!
After lunch we went to another beach that is only accessible by boat. We were given the opportunity to swim but most of us just wanted to look for these little white rocks (that apparently can spark if you hit them together, but I haven’t tried that yet). We all just sat on the beach until they motioned for us to come back (aka the captain/tour guide came to the shore with the little boat to take us to the big boat). The reason why? The BBQ was ready! The chef had grilled octopus, and there was bread with tomato sauce, red tomatoes, cucumbers, and dolmathakias! (Dolmathakias are rice wrapped grape leaves which I actually enjoyed and that’s saying something because I won’t touch them when I’m in the US!) We then celebrated with some very Greek music (while we had been listening to music on and off throughout the day, now was the time to dance to Tzatziki, Zorba’s Dance) and Ouza! Opa!! Although Ouza and Opa are usually saved for celebrations and dancing, we broke out the Ouza and said Opa! Ouza is the Greek drink, although I wasn’t a fan. It’s made of anise (what flavors black licorice) and I just didn’t like it.
It was finally time to head on back. It was a long day and I was tired. I wasn’t particularly hungry and just snacked on some leftovers when I got back to my apartment. And now I’m in bed and getting ready to sleep!
Day 4, October 10: Milos (Tripiti and Firiplaka)
So I went to bed about 10:30pm and I didn’t wake up until 11:30am!!! My room is pretty dark but still! That’s so late! Although there is much to be desired in regards to my bed. So I get dressed and head downt o Adamas (the port town, 2 miles away). I’m there about 30 minutes later and I get pizza! It is some of the best pizza I’ve ever had! I stuff my face with it until I can’t eat anymore, and believe me, I wanted to keep eating it. I was about to go when the restaurant gave me dessert, saying that it is on the restaurant. This is not the first restaurant who has done this, and it puts me in this weird spot. I’m not sure what to do, so I usually tip a few euros because I feel like I should, if I’m getting free dessert. Anyways, even though I’m full, the dessert is light and fluffy and goes down pretty well. So now I need to figure out what to do in regards to getting to the airport tomorrow morning. Since I’m isolated from the town by 2 miles, I can’t just walk to the taxi stand. And the airport is too long of a walk with all of my stuff. And the travel agencies don’t do any transfers. So I walk into a car rental place that also has a location at the airport and say “what do I need to rent a car?” The man behind the desk says “a license and a credit card!” Oh thank goodness because I have both of those! 10 minutes later, I’m driving a car!
So driving here in Milos (since I can’t speak for all of Greece...) is well, interesting. Aside from the mostly one lane roads that they have, Greeks tend to drive in the middle, on the left, on the right... they park on both sides of the road, they pull over on both sides of the road, they stop whenever they want. It’s a mess! But it’s not like anyone enforces anything. There’s no police here. There’s basically no government workers at all on most islands because it’s too expensive for Greece to pay for someone to come to the islands to do government work. That’s why I didn’t mind that I probably illegally parked my car just now for dinner! Oh, but the short answer is: they drive on the right side of the road!
So I drive to Tripiti, somewhere I really wanted to see. It’s where the Venus de Milo was originally found (if you don’t know about this, please google this...)! It’s also known as the statue of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, and is one of the most famous pieces of art! It’s currently housed at the Louvre in Paris, which I’ve been to and have seen! Tripiti is also known for its Roman theatre. Yes, I get that I was visiting a ROMAN theatre in Greece, but it was still really neat to see. According to the signs, it’s actually a Greek theatre that has Romanised features, which actually formed the prototype of Greek theatres. This theatre is actually one of the best ancient theatres on the Cycladic islands!
There was also some church on top of this huge hill. I didn’t know what it was, so I decided to climb the hill. It turned out to be nothing special, and I had to climb forever to get up there, but the views were really spectacular. It was so windy, and I felt like I would be blown away! Then I decided to visit the catacombs which were in the same area. That was a big disappointment actually. I mean, I’ve been to the catacombs in France which is pretty extensive so the 5 minutes that they spent giving the tour of the catacombs was very lackluster. In total, it took about 20 minutes. 5 minutes to walk down the 100+ steps down to the catacombs, 5 minutes for the tour, and 10 minutes to climb back up all those stairs hah!
I decided to drive south and visit Firiplaka. It was so pretty! I got in and swam and little, although I didn’t go underwater today. The water is so warm! I got out and finally finished reading Eat, Pray, Love (by Elizabeth Gilbert) so now I can officially start my own Eat, Pray, Love adventure, now that I know what people are talking about when they say that. It was the perfect backdrop to finish that book. I left the beach to see the sunset at Klima but those clouds got in the way again. I’m thinking maybe it would have been better to stay at the beach, but I wanted to be on the west part of the island instead of south... but whatever, I still have 7 more nights of beach sunsets to see and I heard sunsets in Santorini are some of the best.
I tried to visit Plaka but ended up in Adamas again. Which is fine, I’d rather be lost in the town I’m supposed to be in than lost in a town I’m not supposed to be in. I order spaghetti bolognese and a glass of moscato (they probably don’t go together but I really like spaghetti, and I really like moscato)! After dinner I treated myself to a scoop of ice cream before heading home! Well that’s all for tonight! It’s time to sleep so I can be up for the next adventure tomorrow: Santorini!
Day 5, October 11: Travel to Santorini
Today was rough. But first, let me tell you about these Greek airports. Milos, in particular is so small it only has one gate. And one security check point. And one police officer. And one check in counter. And one baggage roller. And you walk to the plane. That’s right... you just walk on up to the plane! At least in Athens, you get on a bus from the airport terminal and they shuttle you to the plane! I just find this so amusing! Anyways, back to my day... It started out fine enough. I got to the Milos airport fine, flew to Athens just fine (30 minute flight), made my transfer and finally got to Santorini (a 40 minute flight). At 1pm. I landed at 1pm. And now it’s 4pm and I just got to my room. First I couldn’t find Perssia. Santorini is a lot bitter than Milos! I kept driving around in circles, literally. I knew it when I passed the same intersection for the 3rd time. Finally I made it to Perissa! Did I mention it should have only taken 20 minutes? Great! I found Perissa! But then I couldn’t find the hotel. Apple Maps AND Hotels.com kept putting it in a weird place. I finally asked someone who vaguely explained it to me. When I got to the hotel, I was so happy to see it. And it was so cute! The lady who owns it was just the nicest and gave me the “girl room” for a “girl” like me ha! The bed is pink and the curtains are teal! And the balcony has an amazing view of the sea! I want to move in!
I didn’t do much this evening. I drove over to Akrotiri’s lighthouse to see the sunset, only there wasn’t much of a sunset to see. Prior to that, I stopped at a nearby restaurant near the lighthouse just to get some much needed food. I ordered some meatballs, grilled peppers, and pita bread. At a seafood restaurant hah! But it was close by and I didn’t want to miss the sunset, and I hadn’t eaten all day and it was almost 5pm! I went back to the lighthouse and it was freezing out. And the wind and dust that blew in your eyes was rather aggressive. And for what? Nothing. No sunset. Just clouds. We are having terrible weather here! In the words of a local: “bad weather. Clouds. Winds from the north.” On my way home I stopped at the market to get some water and soda, and a bakery for some baked goods. I got back to my apartment and found out stuff with my divorce is moving forward, which put my in a bad spot for the night. But alas, I’m here and I shouldn’t be bothered by it for now (so says my friends anyways) so that’s it for today. Tomorrow will be a full day of exploration on the island!
Day 6, October 12: Santorini (South)
I had a lazy morning. I slept in a bit and did some laundry. Aka I took some laundry soap, my clothes, the sink, and my hands and washed my clothes and then put them out to dry on the balcony. Only I have 7 clothes pins, so I can only do 7 items at a time. And socks count as 2 items at a time! The booking said there was laundry, and the lady was like “oh I’ll do all your laundry for you, just not your underwear!” Well that’s what needs to be done the most!! After I did a load of laundry, I FaceTimed my mom, who gets really confused with the time change! I FaceTimed her before bed last night and when I called her this morning, she asked me what I did today. Nothing, mom, because I slept! But now it’s your turn to sleep while I go out to explore today!! I’m not exactly sure where I’m going to go, so I’ll just write as a go, to make sure I don’t miss out on any place that I might go! I can only do this because my car has a USB port and I can charge my phone throughout the day! No more conserving my battery!
The first place I stopped was right by my place: the beach of Perivolos, known for its black sand. Perissa and Kamari are also famous for its black sand beaches as well, and while I was staying in Perissa, the beach of Perivolos was closer to me than the beach of Perissa. But onto the ancient town of Akrotiri and the red beach!
I’m on the red beach right now. It was a little bit of a hike up a cliff and down a cliff to get to the red beach. Flip flops were probably not the best idea but I thought, beach! Flip flops! I’m not swimming today... too much to see and do. Not that this beach seems like the best to swim in. It’s pretty rocky. The red comes from a lot of rocks. There’s some fine sand, but most of it is really rocky. It’s pretty though, and I’m just sitting here watching the waves. It’s getting warm with the sun out. All I can say is the sun better stay out for the sunset tonight! I passed Akrotiri on the way here so I think I will do that and then grab lunch somewhere. I just poured out all of my Coca Cola Light to fill it up with some sand to take home with me. So there goes my caffeine for the morning. It’s almost 12. Guess I can’t stay here all day. I want to see most of the sites today so I can get the Oia to Fira hike in tomorrow. It’s supposed to be one of the best hikes so I really want to do that... but I also don’t want to sacrifice any of the sites. So I best be on my way!
So the ancient city of Akrotiri... according to the pamphlet we got, it was abandoned in the 17th century BC due to earthquakes and a volcanic eruption that followed. The volcanic material apparently covered the entire city and provided protection for the building and their contents. It really looked like a half excavated town, but it was really neat to see either way.
I then went to Pyros. I can’t really tell you much about this town, because I really don’t know much about it. The pamphlet says that the old parts of the village is worth exploring, as it is the only way to experience Santorini as it used to be a long time ago. I stopped by a cafe for lunch and had some shrimp again! I just really love shrimp and wanted to give it another chance! I’m glad I did because this time, their heads came off super easily! But I’m still not a fan of de-veining my food. But it was tasty either way! I tried to go to another old village but ended up going to ancient Thira. I don’t know how because I wasn’t even on that road. But I remember thinking “this road seems dangerous”. Yeah, when I got to ancient Thira, I remembered reading in the pamphlet not to drive because it’s considered dangerous. Oops. There was a small monastery but really, we were at the top of the island! We were so high up!! The pictures don’t even do justice to what I saw!
Then I went to Fira for the sunset. It’s a busy touristy place. I stopped in a few shops and then decided to stop at a restaurant for dinner and drinks. I first ordered moscato. A lot of it. And then I realized I probably needed food. And because they only had sandwiches or pizza, I ordered a pizza. Not my first choice of food, but I probably shouldn’t have drank 4 glasses of moscato (in reality, it was only 2 mini bottles...) Again though, I DIDN’T SEE THE SUN SET. This terrible weather we are having is driving me crazy! I head on home (it only takes me 2 hours to get home!) and struggle with the WiFi before giving up and deciding that I’m just going to bed instead.
Day 7, October 13: Santorini (North)
So I wake up at 7 to see the sunrise but nope, it’s still cloudy. So I go back to sleep and spend another morning sleeping in. I think all this walking is making me exhausted and needing the extra sleep!
I wanted to go to the Archaeological Museum of Thira (which I couldn’t find no matter how hard I looked) and the Museum of Prehistoric Thira, which I did manage to go to (Honestly I’m not sure what the difference would be between them). Basically, Akrotiri, the ancient city I went to yesterday, had a bunch of artifacts and items taken out of it when it was excavated, and now those items are housed in that museum. So that was neat to be able to see the ancient city AND the stuff that was supposed to be inside of it. Did I mention I got a gyro for €2.90? And that it was delicious? It wasn’t a sit down restaurant, more like a cafe on the go with tables outside but I was happy with it!
And I bought Harry Potter. Yeah, it’s in Greek, but it’s Harry Potter!!
After Fira I took a road trip on the northeastern part of the island to get to the northwestern part of the island to Oia (that was not intentional but it was was different to see the waters on that part of the island!). Oia was so pretty, and just like what one would “expect” to see when one says “Greek isles.” Blue domes and white buildings, bells inside of arches, and windmills. I sat for a while until I realized I was really hot, and really hungry. I ordered Pastitccio, a traditional Greek pasta dish that’s sort of like Greek lasagna! It was delish!
So I’m really excited for this Oia sunset! But of course I miss the sunset again due to the clouds! It’s so close, like 20-30 minutes from the actual sunset and then it just disappears! I’m sure seeing it through to the end would be gorgeous because it’s gorgeous on its way down! I stayed to take a few pictures of Oia as it was getting dark and contemplated eating again. But it’s expensive there and decided to either make something at my place or grab something near where I’m staying. I drive on back down south, and my 45 minute drive only takes me 60 minutes!!! (Unlike the first day when my 20 min ride took 3 hours, hah!) I grab a chicken plate at a nearby restaurant (grilled chicken, pita bread, salad, Greek yogurt sauce, French fries) and then head on home. WiFi sucks but I’m leaving tomorrow! Goodbye Santorini!
Day 8, October 14: Travel to Naxos
Can I say this day has been so uneventful? I left my apartment, filled my car up with gas (it’s full service by the way), and got to the airport just fine. I flew to Athens just fine and now I’m waiting at the airport. I still have another hour before we board and then I land in Naxos about 530pm. My host from Airbnb said she would be there by 6pm to take me to my place. So I get to Naxos just fine. My host, Juliana, is so sweet! She picked me up, drove me around the town to show me where everything was, showed me the place and left me some fruit, homemade cookies and a sandwich! I didn’t do much except walk to a small convenience store (grocery stores are closed on Sundays) to get a few things and then headed back. I don’t even have any pictures today!! Hopefully you’ll have a more exciting journal tomorrow!
Day 9, October 15: Around Naxos Part I
It was about noon when I decided to get up and do something. Oh wait... it’s my birthday!!! On this side of the world, it’s morning already and it’s October 15th! Thirty years old, here I come! My Airbnb hostess is so sweet! She baked me cake for my birthday! When she picked me up yesterday, she told me I looked young and I told her tomorrow (which is today) was my birthday. And today I have cake! I was just going to explore Naxos town but realized that the museum was closed today, so decided to get a car and start my road trip. Twenty One Pilots’ new album came out the day before I flew out, so I’ve been listening to that pretty much nonstop. So road trip with that new album? On my birthday? Sightseeing in Greece? With no one else to please but myself? And cake for breakfast?
The first thing I accidentally pass is the Tower of Agia. I thought it was cool. You could go inside and there were archways and even a stove. Turns out, it’s just a summer house for some wealthy family named Kokkoi.
Finally I get to the town of Apollonas to see the statute of Dionysus (or Kronos of Apollonas). There was some debate if it’s Apollo or Dionysus, but consensus nowadays says it’s Dionysus. It’s 35 feet tall and weighs 80 tons! (Says the internet, I didn’t try to pick it up!)
I then went to the church Panagia Drossiani. I get to the church and this little old Greek lady who only speaks Greek and dressed in a black shawl points to a sign about dressing appropriate as this is a place of worship. Whoops. Today was not my most modest outfit. Aka I was in shorts and a tank top! I forgot to dress for church! Then she points to a sign that says donations are accepted. I just gave her €2 and she let me in. It’s the church of the Virgin Mary and it has a lot of significance. It translates into Dewey Mary and can mean that the church weeps every time it is in danger. Or it is just located near a place called Drossiani! It’s apparently part of a monastery and has very old and important architecture or something that I really don’t know anything about. All I can say is it was very small and very old looking!
My last stop of the day was Flerio. The first picture is a Kronos from the 7th century and is almost 20 feet long! It placement is exactly how it was found by archeologists. No one is sure if this is Apollo or Dionysus or some other god. The second picture is from 520BC and is about the same size... I’m not sure why all of these statues are laying down for some reason... This statue is assumed to be a special order statue by a wealthy family and was abandoned during the creation stage due to damage sustained then.
I got back into town and had to get dinner somewhere. But what was I going to get for my birthday? I went somewhere my Airbnb hostess suggested I definitely go. It was a seafood restaurant and I opted for stuffed calamari! Never have I ever gotten a whole calamari!! It was so good! And it was stuffed with mushrooms and peppers and eggplants and tomatoes. Calamari is squid, which is smooth and muscular, and has that distinctive fish taste to it. But it was good! Then I bought some rice pudding at a bakery for dessert. THEY DIDN’T HAVE BAKLAVA! Oh well, the rice pudding was delicious too.
Here’s to being 30! Opa!
Day 10, October 16: Around Naxos Part II
I decide to get an early head start on my day to see the rest of the island, given how long it took me to drive around just some of it yesterday. I first start by trying to find these different places of interest. Only I come to find out THERE’S NO ROAD TO GET TO THEM. Okay so scratch that idea.
I am able to get to the Temple of Demeter, built around 530BC, finally! It’s actually one of the most iconic temples built of Naxian marble. In the 6th century BC, this temple was turned into a Christian basilica. There was a small museum on site, which I went into for €4 just to see some additional pieces of the temple and some pieces of statues that were found inside of the temple.
I also hiked a little of Zeus’ mountain, but wasn’t going to spend 4-5 hours of my day hiking straight up a mountain, especially when there were goats in my way fighting for the same small pathway that I was. I get that they may be harmless, but they can stand on the edges of mountains way better than I can! It’s a 5k hike up, and apparently you can see multiple islands from the top of it. However it was cloudy, and just another way to justify not climbing the mountain for me. It’s actually the highest peak in all the Cyclades! So for those who don’t know, the Cyclades is just a name for the group of Greek islands southeast of the mainland in the Aegean Sea. Cyclades means circle, and it refers to the circle the islands makes around the uninhabited Delos (birthplaces of Apollo). These islands are basically submerged mountains, except for Milos and Santorini, which are volcanic islands.
Since I gave up searching for more things to see, and decided not to hike straight up a mountain, I had time to spend my afternoon at the beach. The water was crystal clear and turquoise blue. The water was warm, but the temperature outside was cool with the breeze. The sun, however felt good! I’m still in shorts and a tank top, although I hear everyone in the Midwest is in their winter coats already! I journaled a bit and finished a book I was reading. I went into Naxos town before the sunset and sat down to eat. I ordered a huge plate of food for €10 and scarfed that down since that was my only meal today. Then I went to watch the sun set (as much as I could anyways). It was an early night but I was exhausted! I did some laundry and was out early!
Day 11, October 17: Naxos Town
I had a really slow and lazy morning. I finally left my place about 11:30am to return the car even though I woke up at 9! So everywhere I’ve eaten is at the recommendation of my Airbnb hostesses. So I tried this cafe for coffee and an omelette (with cheese, bacon, mushroom, and green peppers) this morning. The omelet was really different than omelets in the US but I liked it enough (for being eggs, I’m just not a huge fan of eggs). And I tried Greek coffee. Which is actually really good. But so weird. It’s in a miniature mug, like an espresso mug, and then all the grinds sink to the bottom and you drink the coffee off the top.
After brunch, I find the archeological museum of Naxos. One thing about living right in the city, is I would hate to climb up a million steps everyday just to get to my house! But I make my way up and see all these statues, pottery, and other artifacts that the people on Naxos used to use back in the day. Naxos is actually the largest island of the Cyclades and it’s located inside the Kastro (castle) which is at the top and in the middle of Naxos town (built right into the hilltop!)
I finally went to see Apollo’s temple! It’s magnificent! In 530BC, this guy named Lygdamis wanted to build the largest temple in all of Greece, and started to... but when Naxos found itself fighting a war, the building of the temple stopped and all that had been built was this “Portara” (great door). While the assumption is that this temple was built for Apollo as the door opens to Delos, the birthplace of Apollo, there is some debate it was being built for Dionysus, the patron god of Naxos. It’s about 20 feet tall and 11.5 feet wide. I wish I could have been able to see it with the sun setting behind it, because I’ve heard that is a site to see.
After that, it was about 3:00pm and all the little shops were already closing up! But that was okay, I decided to go to the beach instead. It’s my last afternoon on the island after all! Today’s winds (from the north of course ha!) were actually really strong! At some points, I really thought I was going to be blown away! It’s a good thing I wasn’t going on a boat tour today! I saw the closest thing to a sunset today... clear skies! But instead of the sun disappearing behind clouds, it disappeared behind the island next door (thank you Paros!)
I decide to sit down to dinner at a nearby restaurant since it’s my last night here and had Moussaka, a traditional specialty! It reminded me of lasagna but instead of noodles it was made with zucchini and eggplant! But it was so good. There was also potato in it, but I don’t know where! And mincemeat and bechame sauce. After dinner, I came home and took a shower because I had sand all over me, and caught up on sending my emails out! Better get packing... I leave Naxos, and all the Greek Isles, tomorrow morning!
Day 12, October 18: Travel to Athens
I’m headed to Athens today. My time on the islands is over. So I’m sitting in this tiny airport and I’m just so amused that there are all these cats running around the airport! Oh how these larger airports would feel about cats in THEIR airports. But one thing about these smaller airlines is that they are always on time!! (Shout out to Aegean/Olympic Air!). Like seriously we are on the runway and speeding down a minute before scheduled takeoff and then literally taking off right at scheduled time. It’s amazing. And it was like that for all of the flights I’ve had! I wish all my flights were like that. Then again, getting a max of 46 people on a plane is way different than a plane of 350+ people.
I land in Athens just fine and then I actually figure out the metro just fine too (believe me, it’s tricky, because it’s all Greek to me! Ha! But really, there is so much Greek here!! So there’s all these Greek words in Greek. And then they have the English lettered version of the Greek lettered words which is of no help to me. And then the English version of the word. If that doesn’t confuse you, then I don’t think I can use that phrase!!) but I do make it to my place and just want to crash! But no! It’s only 2:30! I rest for about an hour and then head out, grab some food, and head on over to the Acropolis before it closes at 6pm (about a 30 min walk). The first place I go to is the Temple of Olympus Zeus. This was massive and took my breath away! This was part of a ticket package that lets you get into all of the ancient sites in Athens (including the Acropolis/Parthenon). Maybe it was impressive because it was the first one I walked up to. Maybe it was impressive because it really was just amazing work. I walk around the site for about a half an hour and then head over to the Acropolis and its slopes. I still have an hour!
Why I ever thought going up another hill was a good idea, I’m not sure, but what I was greeted with was worth the climb. So the pictures from top to bottom are: the stone theatre of Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the Erechtheion (temple north of the Parthenon) and then the last two are of the Parthenon. I’m just going to say that the Parthenon, dedicated to the goddess Athena, is considered one of the world’s greatest monuments. I’m not going to say anything else because there isn’t anything else to say. Actually there’s a ton of history on the Acropolis and the Parthenon itself but really, now is not the time for history. I stood up there for a while just looking at it in amazement while the sun was going down. Of course, we all had to be out before the sun set, but it was pretty while the sun was slowly going down. Since I wasn’t hungry, I didn’t eat dinner that night (I snacked on some baklava later though, which you get a huge slice for just over €1. In the states, a quarter of the size of baklava would run you about $3-4 dollars!! I’m going to miss that!) So instead of dinner, I took some time to finally do some shopping. I had been holding off for the most part, mainly because I didn’t want to drag around the extra weight. I had done a little shopping on Santorini but the other islands weren’t even touristy enough to have many shops. I’m not a big souvenir person, but my go to souvenirs are an ornament for the Christmas tree and a charm for my necklace, both of which I found!! Success! I then found my way back to my place and decided I should go to bed since tomorrow will be a busy day of sightseeing!
Day 13, October 19: Athens
Today is my last day in Greece and I’m spending it sightseeing all the sights in Athens. Only I decide to sleep in since tomorrow is going to be a LONG day flying home, especially with the time change. I finally get up and leave the apartment about noon.
I want to see more of the ancient sights, but the first thing I pass on my way to the Acropolis is the first modern Olympic stadium used in the first Olympic Games in 1896! It’s the only stadium in the world made of all marble! I decided I haven’t climbed up enough stairs lately and climbed up the 107 stairs up (and the 107 back down) before heading back on my way to see the rest of the sights... and feeling like champion for just climbing all those stairs!!!
So I was on my way to the ancient sights when I passed by a series of cafes. I thought, I don’t need to eat right now. There’s too much to see and too much to do and it’s already 1pm. But my stomach, and my nose, got the better of me. It was 1pm after all and I hadn’t eaten. So I stopped at this cafe and got a pork Souvlaki plate with a view of the Acropolis!! It was my last sit down meal, so while it was pricer than going down a few blocks, I got an amazing view. I then went to the Acropolis Museum. Basically the museum houses all the artifacts found at the Acropolis. I wasn’t “allowed” to take any photos. Plus they had like 8 security guards per floor yelling at people to not take pictures. I snuck a few but they aren’t very good. While there, I watched a short video on the Acropolis, which was a nice and condensed version of everything I wanted to know in 15 minutes. And I bought this amazing book. It’s by Greek archaeologists and it talks about the ancient sites in Greece, what they looked like then and what they look like now (with layover sheets so you can see the transformation), which is so helpful to me because seeing a bunch of ruins doesn’t really help me envision what was supposed to be there. This was just the book I was looking for but didn’t know it existed until I found it!
After the museum, I took a walk to Socrates’ Prison (debatable if that was really where he was kept or not). It’s basically a carved out cave inside of a hill. I continued up the hill to the top of Filopappou Hill, and had this amazing view of the Acropolis!
So I decide I want to go to ancient agora, or the marketplace where everyone would gather. Well, I think I missed this and ended up at the Roman agora. Apparently these are different!! Well, the same concept at least. So the Roman agora is marked by the Gate of Athena Archegetis and was basically built during the Roman period under Julius Caesar and Caesar Augustus. I also tried to go to Hadrian’s Library (it was legit a library!) nearby but it closed around 2 which was so weird considering everything else closes around 6pm. But I walked around it and was able to see it all.
My last stop that I was actually really excited for, held up to my expectations! Say hello to Kerameikos! It’s the area where the potters’ lived and fun fact: the English word “ceramic” is actually derived from Kerameikos! Basically it’s like a city of ruins that you could walk around in. And most of it isn’t blocked off, so you could walk up to, around, and on the ruins that were there. It took me a solid hour there, so I’m glad I saved that til the end. Although it was a mile away from the Acropolis (and of course in the opposite direction of my place!) so it is well off the beaten track. And hardly anyone was there. I saw maybe less than 10 other people total? It definitely took my through the more eccentric part of Athens! I debated about taking a cab or walking back and ended up deciding to walk back, on the basis that I didn’t have anything to do for 2 hours until it was time to FaceTime my parents. I also stopped by Aristotle’s Lyceum. While I didn’t get to walk through, I saw the whole thing. It was only about a block large (and these blocks in Athens are tiny!) and I was able to see it through the fence. Of course it would have been better if I could have gone inside but at least I saw it! On my 2 hour trek back, I was exhausted. It seriously took me 90 minutes to walk 2 miles. That’s how tired I was. In the end I walked 10 miles today. I don’t think I ever want to walk again! For dinner, I stopped at a grill (Greek fast food basically) and got a huge gyro for €2! This is the one thing I will definitely miss! Cheap and delicious and authentic gyros! I mean, their menu isn’t even in English! I don’t even know what else the place has, so I could be missing out on a lot! And I’m pretty sure the older Greek gentleman who works/owns it doesn’t speak any English. We just smiled at each other the last time I had been in there too and he handed me my change when I just gave him a pocket full of euros... (yes, I’m aware I just got into Athens yesterday!) Okay, I think it’s time to go to bed! I’m finally heading home tomorrow!
Day 14, October 20: Going Home
I woke up at 6:30 after a restless night of sleep (or lack thereof). I’m just so ready to be back in America. I miss fabric softener, my own bed, Americanized food, and Americanized English. I head out of my apartment and flag down a taxi pretty quickly. I tell him which metro stop I want to go to and he keeps telling me something, but he doesn’t speak any English. I’m like okay, I know the metro is open because I checked the website and the train schedule and talked to the man behind the counter and already bought my ticket! So I don’t know what this man is rambling on about but he is so persistent!! So he calls his wife, who was still asleep! She sounded so sweet, and I apologized for waking her up, but she was like there’s a strike going on, no metro this morning. Okay sir, take me to the airport. Of course, I only have a little bit of money left and I use everything but €5! Which I use to tip the man! I would have probably tipped him even more had I had more, since he was so helpful! I get my boarding pass, check my bag, go through passport control, go through security control, find my gate and go through that checkpoint and then phew. I made it with 90 minutes to spare!
The plane ride was ugh, just long. Ten hours. TEN HOURS! That’s longer than a normal work day. So we left at 11:30am and we arrive in Montreal at 9:30pm. Only the jokes on me because it’s only 2:30pm (1:30pm central time). It’s not like I wanted to go to bed or anything. So I grab some food (after spending over an hour in line at customs, and wait three hours until it’s time board. Needless to say, everything goes well and my parents are in Chicago waiting to pick me up.
I just wanted to let everyone know I made it back safely to St. Louis! It was definitely a journey and I’m glad you all wanted to share this time with me. I feel so accomplished being able to say I went to another country, flew on 10 different airplanes, went to Athens, went to three different Greek Islands, went back to Athens, explored Ancient Greece, and figured out how to navigate in a country that predominantly uses the Greek alphabet and the Greek language. I never felt alone on the trip and being able to send these emails, your replies, and some of your constant messaging when I was in range of WiFi really helped me feel connected to home. Thank you all for being there for me. I can’t wait to see you all soon!
All good trips have an end, and my time in Greece had come to an end. I was excited to come back home since I was starting to miss things like non-Greek food and clothes dried in a dryer. It was wonderful to be able to spend my time on three different islands and be able to explore the ancient city of Athens!