Here's a summary of my trip:
Total miles travelled: 12,015 (By Plane: 10,575, Train: 802, Bus 298, Automobile: 134, Ferry: 206 (nautical miles) - miles travelled only includes trips where I changed where I was staying or day trips like CinqueTerra not going to the grocery store 30 minutes away
The route: Philly -> Rome -> Pompeii -> Amalfi -> Ravello -> Naples -> Cosenza -> Rogliano -> Falerno -> Bologna -> Imola -> Dozza -> Florence -> Arezzo -> Monterchi -> Florence -> CinqueTerra region -> Florence -> Arezzo -> Monterchi -> Sansepulcro -> Anghiari -> Monterchi -> Arezzo -> Rome -> Athens -> Naxos ->Athens -> Rome -> Philly
2 Countries - Italy, Greece
70 Days
Chores Completed
Walls/Fences painted: 14
Walnuts shelled: ~300
Weeds pulled: ~400x400 sq ft worth
Rooms cleaned: 10
Wireless routers installed: 2
Cars cleaned: 1
Dishes done: Thousands
Rabbits fed: 2
Sheep fed: 5
Goats fed: 7
Dogs fed: 7
Pigs fed: 2
Horses fed: 3
Chickens fed: 17
Cats fed: 19
Meals made:
Funny cake, Cauliflower fritters, French fries, Fish tacos, Chicken fajitas, Apple pie, Bolognese sauce, Coffee cake, Pasta with Pesto sauce, Tagillini with Tomato Sauce, Spinach/Kale quiche, Phrogaritas, Mimosas, Wheat bread, Raisin bread, Nutella brownies, Lentil soup, Tomato soup, Kale chips
Miscellaneous:
Oceans swum in: 2 - Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea
Books read: The Alchemist, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Naked, ROOM, A Scattered Life, Eat/Pray/Love, 5 Romantic Comedies I will never admit to reading
Favorite Italian Word: Andiamo - "Let's Go"
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Ciao, Bella
This is my last post from Italy as I am at the airport about to board.
Laying in my hostel bed for what will be final night abroad brings mixed feelings. Yes, I am totally excited to come home and I wouldn't delay it for anything. But going home means going back to reality. Getting back into a groove of life that I'm not entirely sure I want to get back into. There is a part of me that could have stayed in Rogliano and never left. There is a part of me that could have stayed in Monterchi and never left. But my home has always been Philadelphia. And now Austin as well. My main hope is that I keep my perspective. I have a new found respect for a bunch of things we take for granted everyday: heat, water pressure, friends, loved ones, a good nights sleep, a feline companion, waking around and feeling safe. I'm so thankful for all of these things. This Thursday is Thanksgiving and I can't imagine the long litany I will able to recite when asked what I am thankful for.
70 days has been the perfect amount of time to be away. Any more and I think I would have started to lose it a little bit. Any less and I would have been cursing having to come home so early. And as cliche as it sounds, I think this trip happened for a reason. Doors opened for me before and during in a way I couldn't have imagined. I mean think about it, I found a replacement for my job at work with a vetern who was just coming off of his own leave and needed a job, a friend of a friend happened to be moving down to Austin from Chicago and was looking to lease an condo, I was over my three years at my company and was eligibile for this unpaid time off, my friends offered to look after my cat and they all actually got along, I applied to ten farms in Italy and three wrote back - the three I am stayed with, I got a new job I have been wanting for months while being abroad, and my company did well enough this year that my bonus can actually cover this trip I have taken. I don't know what you call that, but that isn't just luck. This stuff doesn't just fall into your lap. Believe what you want, but I feel well nudged in the right direction.
The thing is, all of this may have fallen into place for me, but I also think it can fall in place for anyone. It all depends on your risk and tolerence level. Anyone can do what I did, it's just a matter of manuevering in a way that sets you up to succeed. While I do feel a lot of doors opened for me, I also did a fair amount of prep work and organzing before I went. I think if you want it bad enough, almost anything is possible. And in the end, you find you can do things you were never pushed to do before. You can handle situations you never knew you could. You get introduced to a side of yourself that had been a complete stranger up until now. And between the two sides, you realize you can do amazing things.
Ciao, Italia.
Laying in my hostel bed for what will be final night abroad brings mixed feelings. Yes, I am totally excited to come home and I wouldn't delay it for anything. But going home means going back to reality. Getting back into a groove of life that I'm not entirely sure I want to get back into. There is a part of me that could have stayed in Rogliano and never left. There is a part of me that could have stayed in Monterchi and never left. But my home has always been Philadelphia. And now Austin as well. My main hope is that I keep my perspective. I have a new found respect for a bunch of things we take for granted everyday: heat, water pressure, friends, loved ones, a good nights sleep, a feline companion, waking around and feeling safe. I'm so thankful for all of these things. This Thursday is Thanksgiving and I can't imagine the long litany I will able to recite when asked what I am thankful for.
70 days has been the perfect amount of time to be away. Any more and I think I would have started to lose it a little bit. Any less and I would have been cursing having to come home so early. And as cliche as it sounds, I think this trip happened for a reason. Doors opened for me before and during in a way I couldn't have imagined. I mean think about it, I found a replacement for my job at work with a vetern who was just coming off of his own leave and needed a job, a friend of a friend happened to be moving down to Austin from Chicago and was looking to lease an condo, I was over my three years at my company and was eligibile for this unpaid time off, my friends offered to look after my cat and they all actually got along, I applied to ten farms in Italy and three wrote back - the three I am stayed with, I got a new job I have been wanting for months while being abroad, and my company did well enough this year that my bonus can actually cover this trip I have taken. I don't know what you call that, but that isn't just luck. This stuff doesn't just fall into your lap. Believe what you want, but I feel well nudged in the right direction.
The thing is, all of this may have fallen into place for me, but I also think it can fall in place for anyone. It all depends on your risk and tolerence level. Anyone can do what I did, it's just a matter of manuevering in a way that sets you up to succeed. While I do feel a lot of doors opened for me, I also did a fair amount of prep work and organzing before I went. I think if you want it bad enough, almost anything is possible. And in the end, you find you can do things you were never pushed to do before. You can handle situations you never knew you could. You get introduced to a side of yourself that had been a complete stranger up until now. And between the two sides, you realize you can do amazing things.
Ciao, Italia.
Soundtrack
This is a quick and dirty list of the songs that I noticed or were played at certain locations (not played by me). My Italian soundtrack:
Creep by Radiohead but covered by an Italian - Suggested to me by the hotel clerk as a way to start to understand Italian.
Love the Way You Lie by Eminem - Plays at dinner in Pompeii (I also heard it Rogliano, Florence and Sansepulcro. It was by far the most played American song I heard)
All I Want is You by U2 - Pogerno
Don't Stop Till You Get Enough by Michael Jackson - Drinking wine, 'reading' Italian paper in Amalfi
At Last by Etta James - Eating lunch looking over Amalfi coast in Ravello
Maria and Keith's - Sitting by the Dock of the Bay; anything Tarentella
Graduation party Maria took me to - The Macarena
Dozza - Phantom of the Opera. Sally whistling it all the time.
Daytime Friends by Kenny Rogers - Stuck in my head from Keith and Maria's
The Scientist by Coldplay - Dinner in Florence that was three hours. They played this song repeatedly.
You've Got a Friend by James Taylor - Peter plays it.
Drive by REM (Automatic For the People) - My favorite CD in Peter's collection.
Massive Attack's Protection album - Also at Lucie and Peters.
Standard staples that I listened to pretty much the entire time I was travelling on my own iPod:
Sweet Disposition by Temper Trap
Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine (also Dog Days are Over)
Let the Drummer Kick by Citizan Cope
Anything on the 34th and 8th album by OAR but especially Black Rock and I Feel Home
Skinny Love by Bon Iver
One Red Thread by Blind Pilot
She's My Drive Home by Blue October
Watermark album by Enya - always blared it when trying to block out noise in a hostel
Viva la Vida by Coldplay
All in all, the music was much more mellow than I usually listen to on a consistent basis. The songs and artists I usually listened to back home to get myself in a better mood or to go along with my high energy just didn't seem appropriate at all. I would look at those songs and playlists on the iPod and scrunch my nose up at them. I don't know what I'm going to listen to when I get back home - whether this slight change in taste is another permanent result of my trip abroad.
Creep by Radiohead but covered by an Italian - Suggested to me by the hotel clerk as a way to start to understand Italian.
Love the Way You Lie by Eminem - Plays at dinner in Pompeii (I also heard it Rogliano, Florence and Sansepulcro. It was by far the most played American song I heard)
All I Want is You by U2 - Pogerno
Don't Stop Till You Get Enough by Michael Jackson - Drinking wine, 'reading' Italian paper in Amalfi
At Last by Etta James - Eating lunch looking over Amalfi coast in Ravello
Maria and Keith's - Sitting by the Dock of the Bay; anything Tarentella
Graduation party Maria took me to - The Macarena
Dozza - Phantom of the Opera. Sally whistling it all the time.
Daytime Friends by Kenny Rogers - Stuck in my head from Keith and Maria's
The Scientist by Coldplay - Dinner in Florence that was three hours. They played this song repeatedly.
You've Got a Friend by James Taylor - Peter plays it.
Drive by REM (Automatic For the People) - My favorite CD in Peter's collection.
Massive Attack's Protection album - Also at Lucie and Peters.
Standard staples that I listened to pretty much the entire time I was travelling on my own iPod:
Sweet Disposition by Temper Trap
Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine (also Dog Days are Over)
Let the Drummer Kick by Citizan Cope
Anything on the 34th and 8th album by OAR but especially Black Rock and I Feel Home
Skinny Love by Bon Iver
One Red Thread by Blind Pilot
She's My Drive Home by Blue October
Watermark album by Enya - always blared it when trying to block out noise in a hostel
Viva la Vida by Coldplay
All in all, the music was much more mellow than I usually listen to on a consistent basis. The songs and artists I usually listened to back home to get myself in a better mood or to go along with my high energy just didn't seem appropriate at all. I would look at those songs and playlists on the iPod and scrunch my nose up at them. I don't know what I'm going to listen to when I get back home - whether this slight change in taste is another permanent result of my trip abroad.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Waving the White Flag
AfteSfter two and a half days in Naxos, I am ready to leave. Not because i haven't enjoyed my time there, but more because all I have done is relax and be lazy. At Keith and Marias or Lucie and Peters, I would relax for awhile during the day and then be productive in some way by either doing dishes or sweeping the floor. I simply can not stand to do nothing - not activate - for long periods of time. It's actually impressive Naxos got me to sit idle for as long as it did, but now it's time to go.
At 6pm, under a full moon, the ferry pulls into the harbor of the island and cars, trucks and people swarm onto it. I can't imagine the absolute chaos this process must be during high tourist season, but they do this day in and day out, so they must have everything down pat by now. After I board, I grab a beer from the roof deck bar and watch as they pull the massive gate up while the "caution" music plays it's flutter of nursery rhyme chimes. I toast Naxos as it fades away and thank it for being what I needed it to be. Then I settle into a seat and delve into the latest girlie rom-com book I have downloaded.
Arriving in Athens close to midnight after the six hour trip, I notice that half of the people disembarking are young and dressed to go out - black pants, halter top and all. While I am exhausted and just want a bed, these people are about to go out for a night on the town, which, if they live on the islands, I can understand. Everyone knows everyone on the island and your ability to be anonymous and do things slightly out of character are nil. I can see how Athens would appeal to these people in that way and I envy their energy. After catching the metro from the port to the station nearest my hotel, I walk out from the subway and into the square where everyone appears to be partying and having a grand time. And again, all I want is my hotel and a bed. Man, I'm getting old.
In the morning, I wake not having had much sleep because the hotel walls are so thin you could have a conversation with the person in the next room without leaving your own. I heard someone sneeze somewhere and I said "bless you" out loud in reply - I'm pretty sure they heard me. I check out and head to the metro, again, to go to the airport. The Athens metro itself is incredibly clean. Compared to DC or Rome, the thing is downright spotless. So is the airport. Both are incredibly well kept and contrast so completely with the rest of the city that they seem like two different worlds.
Another confusing aspect of my travels, is Athens (and Italian for that matter) airport security. While they check your boarding pass to make sure you actually have one to let you into the initial area of the airport, they at no time check your identification until after you are through security and boarding the plane. The security screening process is more thorough that any other so far. They make me take my camera out and detach the lens. They check that my iPad is actually an iPad. But my identify? Nah, not interested.
The flight itself is completely without incident and because this is an EU flight, we exit the airport without passing through customs or additional security. There will be no Greece stamp in my passport, I realize now. But I'm going back someday - and next time WITH someone. There are so only so many sunsets you can watch by yourself before you want to stab yourself repeatedly in the eye with a dull spoon. There were three splendid ones in Naxos and I although it was somewhat lonely, loneliness and I seem to have called a truce for now. 67 days into my trip and I'm finally coming to grips with being alone. Great timing. But being at the Temple of Apollo on Naxos, one of the oldest remnants left standing on the island, I couldn't help but notice it's romantic pull. Because it is low season, I had the entire area to myself, the entire sunset, to myself. I thought about all of the engagements that had probably taken place where I was sitting. How many anxiety ridden men had put their heart on the line and how many ecstatic women had their hearts leap out of their chest with the question. But like I said, loneliness and I have waived the white flag, so I think about all of these imaginary couples and am happy for them. Bitterness and I have also apparently buried the hatchet. For now.
Back in Rome, I find myself in familiar territory. I'm staying at the same hostel as last week, so I know exactly where I am going and what I am doing. There's a first time for everything. In the week that I have been gone, the Christmas decorations have been put up and the air seems to have gotten a bit crisper. With the thought of the holidays creeping up all I can think of is my friends and family and how much I can not wait to be landing in Philadelphia. It's time to come home.
At 6pm, under a full moon, the ferry pulls into the harbor of the island and cars, trucks and people swarm onto it. I can't imagine the absolute chaos this process must be during high tourist season, but they do this day in and day out, so they must have everything down pat by now. After I board, I grab a beer from the roof deck bar and watch as they pull the massive gate up while the "caution" music plays it's flutter of nursery rhyme chimes. I toast Naxos as it fades away and thank it for being what I needed it to be. Then I settle into a seat and delve into the latest girlie rom-com book I have downloaded.
Arriving in Athens close to midnight after the six hour trip, I notice that half of the people disembarking are young and dressed to go out - black pants, halter top and all. While I am exhausted and just want a bed, these people are about to go out for a night on the town, which, if they live on the islands, I can understand. Everyone knows everyone on the island and your ability to be anonymous and do things slightly out of character are nil. I can see how Athens would appeal to these people in that way and I envy their energy. After catching the metro from the port to the station nearest my hotel, I walk out from the subway and into the square where everyone appears to be partying and having a grand time. And again, all I want is my hotel and a bed. Man, I'm getting old.
In the morning, I wake not having had much sleep because the hotel walls are so thin you could have a conversation with the person in the next room without leaving your own. I heard someone sneeze somewhere and I said "bless you" out loud in reply - I'm pretty sure they heard me. I check out and head to the metro, again, to go to the airport. The Athens metro itself is incredibly clean. Compared to DC or Rome, the thing is downright spotless. So is the airport. Both are incredibly well kept and contrast so completely with the rest of the city that they seem like two different worlds.
Another confusing aspect of my travels, is Athens (and Italian for that matter) airport security. While they check your boarding pass to make sure you actually have one to let you into the initial area of the airport, they at no time check your identification until after you are through security and boarding the plane. The security screening process is more thorough that any other so far. They make me take my camera out and detach the lens. They check that my iPad is actually an iPad. But my identify? Nah, not interested.
The flight itself is completely without incident and because this is an EU flight, we exit the airport without passing through customs or additional security. There will be no Greece stamp in my passport, I realize now. But I'm going back someday - and next time WITH someone. There are so only so many sunsets you can watch by yourself before you want to stab yourself repeatedly in the eye with a dull spoon. There were three splendid ones in Naxos and I although it was somewhat lonely, loneliness and I seem to have called a truce for now. 67 days into my trip and I'm finally coming to grips with being alone. Great timing. But being at the Temple of Apollo on Naxos, one of the oldest remnants left standing on the island, I couldn't help but notice it's romantic pull. Because it is low season, I had the entire area to myself, the entire sunset, to myself. I thought about all of the engagements that had probably taken place where I was sitting. How many anxiety ridden men had put their heart on the line and how many ecstatic women had their hearts leap out of their chest with the question. But like I said, loneliness and I have waived the white flag, so I think about all of these imaginary couples and am happy for them. Bitterness and I have also apparently buried the hatchet. For now.
Back in Rome, I find myself in familiar territory. I'm staying at the same hostel as last week, so I know exactly where I am going and what I am doing. There's a first time for everything. In the week that I have been gone, the Christmas decorations have been put up and the air seems to have gotten a bit crisper. With the thought of the holidays creeping up all I can think of is my friends and family and how much I can not wait to be landing in Philadelphia. It's time to come home.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
My Kind of Paradise
As soon as I walk down the first street of Naxos, I know I am not leaving tomorrow. No way, no how. I have found the Greece, and the relaxation, I was looking for. I wander around for a good thirty minutes trying to find my hotel and as soon as I locate the beautiful resort my first order of business to get in touch with my travel agent and transfer my hotel and ferry reservations from Santorini to Naxos. As soon as that is settled, I don a huge giddy grin on my face and walk around one of my new favorite places in the world.
Being low season the island is deserted, by their standards. A few people roam the streets, but mostly I have a lot of the city to myself. I wander around the small side streets, wanting to take pictures of everything I see. Naxos is not postcard beautiful, meaning it isn't combed beaches with manecured palm trees and umbrella drinks. It is still very much Greece, but it is calm, relaxed, friendly and tropical - everything I was looking for. This is my kind of paradise. My kind of wonderful. It is the permanent home of 15,000 people and is the largest island in the Cyclades group. It has a rich history dating back to before 500 BC and is featured in many Greek myths. Now, their main form of income is tourism which means everyone speaks English and all signs are made so I can actually understand them (as well as in Greek).
By now it is probably very obvious that I am not going to Crete despite my earlier conviction that no matter what I was. While it would have incredibly time consuming to make the trip, I found that even beyond that, it was going to be incredibly expensive. To take the ferry to Crete, then fly to Rhodes and then fly back to Athens was going to cost me 355 euros ($500 USD) and that wasn't including hotels or meals. In contrast, to go to Santorini and Naxos, plus stay at hotels was going to cost me a total of 175 euros. The choice was obvious. And now that I am on Naxos, I am glad I made the choice I did. I was having a really hard time coming to grips with spending a lot of money this last week of my trip. While this has been one big timeout from my life, it has not, as we would think of it, been a vacation. I would say this has been more of an experiment and exploration than anything else, but I have given myself permission, rather stubornly, to pamper myself for the time in Greece. This is why going to Athens was such a disappointment. I was hoping to have that pure "I'm on vacation" feeling you get but instead I was given just the opposite - a good dose of anxiety and depression. On Naxos though, this is all erased and I find myself strolling. Or reading. Having a mimosa at 11:30 in the morning. I have fallen in love with this place not only because it is breathtaking to me, but also because of the lulling effect its atmosphere has had.
I don't know how it's possible, but Saturday brings an even more beautiful day than Friday. There is not a cloud in the sky and the temperature would make most people wear shorts. But not the Greeks. The locals remind me of Austinites in that sense. As soon as the temperature drops below 70 degrees in Austin, people break out the winter clothing desperate to push the season out of the sweltering summer and into the cooler fall and winter. It appears to be the same here.
Since it is such a lovely day, I wander down to St. George's beach being as it is so close to the hotel and I haven't gotten a chance to see it yet. The view is simply amazing. The Aegean stretches out before you with the horizon dotted with islands and their mountain peaks. The water itself is brisk, but absolutely crystal clear. Rolling up my jeans, I wade in and looking down the beach to the only two women swimming, an idea comes to mind. Wouldn't a swim be nice?
My main problem is that I have no bathing suit. The weather forecast did not predict the tempertaures to be this high, so the closest thing I have to an acceptable swimming outfit is my Under Armour dry wick t-shirt and a pair of running shorts. But I'm a tourist who no one will ever see again, so this will do just fine. Armed with my hotel towel, I set back to the beach and with less than a week before Thanksgiving, I slip into the ocean.
Being low season the island is deserted, by their standards. A few people roam the streets, but mostly I have a lot of the city to myself. I wander around the small side streets, wanting to take pictures of everything I see. Naxos is not postcard beautiful, meaning it isn't combed beaches with manecured palm trees and umbrella drinks. It is still very much Greece, but it is calm, relaxed, friendly and tropical - everything I was looking for. This is my kind of paradise. My kind of wonderful. It is the permanent home of 15,000 people and is the largest island in the Cyclades group. It has a rich history dating back to before 500 BC and is featured in many Greek myths. Now, their main form of income is tourism which means everyone speaks English and all signs are made so I can actually understand them (as well as in Greek).
By now it is probably very obvious that I am not going to Crete despite my earlier conviction that no matter what I was. While it would have incredibly time consuming to make the trip, I found that even beyond that, it was going to be incredibly expensive. To take the ferry to Crete, then fly to Rhodes and then fly back to Athens was going to cost me 355 euros ($500 USD) and that wasn't including hotels or meals. In contrast, to go to Santorini and Naxos, plus stay at hotels was going to cost me a total of 175 euros. The choice was obvious. And now that I am on Naxos, I am glad I made the choice I did. I was having a really hard time coming to grips with spending a lot of money this last week of my trip. While this has been one big timeout from my life, it has not, as we would think of it, been a vacation. I would say this has been more of an experiment and exploration than anything else, but I have given myself permission, rather stubornly, to pamper myself for the time in Greece. This is why going to Athens was such a disappointment. I was hoping to have that pure "I'm on vacation" feeling you get but instead I was given just the opposite - a good dose of anxiety and depression. On Naxos though, this is all erased and I find myself strolling. Or reading. Having a mimosa at 11:30 in the morning. I have fallen in love with this place not only because it is breathtaking to me, but also because of the lulling effect its atmosphere has had.
I don't know how it's possible, but Saturday brings an even more beautiful day than Friday. There is not a cloud in the sky and the temperature would make most people wear shorts. But not the Greeks. The locals remind me of Austinites in that sense. As soon as the temperature drops below 70 degrees in Austin, people break out the winter clothing desperate to push the season out of the sweltering summer and into the cooler fall and winter. It appears to be the same here.
Since it is such a lovely day, I wander down to St. George's beach being as it is so close to the hotel and I haven't gotten a chance to see it yet. The view is simply amazing. The Aegean stretches out before you with the horizon dotted with islands and their mountain peaks. The water itself is brisk, but absolutely crystal clear. Rolling up my jeans, I wade in and looking down the beach to the only two women swimming, an idea comes to mind. Wouldn't a swim be nice?
My main problem is that I have no bathing suit. The weather forecast did not predict the tempertaures to be this high, so the closest thing I have to an acceptable swimming outfit is my Under Armour dry wick t-shirt and a pair of running shorts. But I'm a tourist who no one will ever see again, so this will do just fine. Armed with my hotel towel, I set back to the beach and with less than a week before Thanksgiving, I slip into the ocean.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Photos - Latest Batch
From Monterchi to Greece:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=297028&id=580744304&l=9d9eb324e2
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=299210&id=580744304&l=452207e55a
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=302267&id=580744304&l=02cb98c684
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=302793&id=580744304&l=b4518618dc
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=297028&id=580744304&l=9d9eb324e2
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=299210&id=580744304&l=452207e55a
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=302267&id=580744304&l=02cb98c684
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=302793&id=580744304&l=b4518618dc
Thursday, November 18, 2010
I'm On a Boat!
The Parthenon is a marvel. There is no other way to put it. Despite undergoimg constant renovations of patch work that involves cranes and other construction equipment, the site is amazing. 400 BC. Now THAT is old. And actually, very quickly created - it took them a measly 15 years to build this icon but still has a design to it that baffles mathmeticians. The perfect temple, as the Greeks found out and demostrated, is built by taking the number of columns on the short side, doubling it, and adding one more for the long side. No one knows why they devised this equation but it works brilliantly. Additionally, none of the columns of the Pantheon are straight, it's all one big optical illusion. Everything actually arches in, even the horizontal pieces. The result is a concave temple, but to the naked eye, it stands perfectly erect.
The organized tour ends with the Parthenon and I head east to stop by the travel agency that has booked the next three days of my Greece trip. They hand over to me three ferry tickets, two hotel vouchers and a partridge in a pear tree. The next morning is going to be an early one, earlier than today. I have a 7:25am ferry which is 30 minutes away by train and I need to be there by 7am so they don't leave without me. Thursday I leave for Naxos, then Friday to Santorini then back to Athens Saturday night before I fly back to Rome on Sunday. Going to be a busy couple of days.
This is what I miss about Lucie and Peter's. Things were so slow there and everything deliberate. You worked when you needed to work, you relaxed when you needed to relax. This whole itinerary of moving about so much and feeling unsafe in Athens has me wanting to pack it all in and head back to the states. But, just as I thought about packing it all in four days into getting to Italy over two months ago, I remind myself that something new, seeing the islands, is just around the corner. I also remember Plaka, the old city of Athens, which I had lunch in my second day. Now that was what I expected Greece to be. Full of quaint roads and shops, people sitting outside enjoying the weather, a generally jolly atmosphere. If I were ever to go back to Athens, I would only stay in Plaka. It has a safe feeling, has lots of options for food and shopping and the merchants there are used to and welcoming to tourists, unlike the area imediately surrounding my hotel.
In preperation for my ferry rides, I make sure to download two new girlie books and one new movie to my iPad. The trip to and from Athens and the islands is easily five or six hours. There are cafès on board, but you are on your own for entertainment.
At 5:45am, well before my alarm is set to go off, I awake (mostly due to going to bed at 9pm again) and set off for the port. It is still pitch black outside and city movement is few and far between. Arriving at the port is completely different though. There are over twenty docks all with commercial ferries going one place or another. My dock is E7 and as I walk up to it, I can't help but feeling like I'm walking up to the Titanic. Now in the "we're all going to die" sense but in the "holy cow" sense. The thing is massive. Again, I don't know what I expected, but this is pretty cool. On board, there are two cafeterias and deck upon deck of cabins and comfy chairs. This is, of course, for first class only, but I'm more than fine sitting out in the open air, huddling into my jacket against the wind. I seem to be growing some of my old Pbiladelphia skin back. As the ferry, which seems like a most inappropriate word to use given it's size, pulls away from the dock, the sun rises over downtown Athens. Today is going to be a good day, I can just feel it.
The organized tour ends with the Parthenon and I head east to stop by the travel agency that has booked the next three days of my Greece trip. They hand over to me three ferry tickets, two hotel vouchers and a partridge in a pear tree. The next morning is going to be an early one, earlier than today. I have a 7:25am ferry which is 30 minutes away by train and I need to be there by 7am so they don't leave without me. Thursday I leave for Naxos, then Friday to Santorini then back to Athens Saturday night before I fly back to Rome on Sunday. Going to be a busy couple of days.
This is what I miss about Lucie and Peter's. Things were so slow there and everything deliberate. You worked when you needed to work, you relaxed when you needed to relax. This whole itinerary of moving about so much and feeling unsafe in Athens has me wanting to pack it all in and head back to the states. But, just as I thought about packing it all in four days into getting to Italy over two months ago, I remind myself that something new, seeing the islands, is just around the corner. I also remember Plaka, the old city of Athens, which I had lunch in my second day. Now that was what I expected Greece to be. Full of quaint roads and shops, people sitting outside enjoying the weather, a generally jolly atmosphere. If I were ever to go back to Athens, I would only stay in Plaka. It has a safe feeling, has lots of options for food and shopping and the merchants there are used to and welcoming to tourists, unlike the area imediately surrounding my hotel.
In preperation for my ferry rides, I make sure to download two new girlie books and one new movie to my iPad. The trip to and from Athens and the islands is easily five or six hours. There are cafès on board, but you are on your own for entertainment.
At 5:45am, well before my alarm is set to go off, I awake (mostly due to going to bed at 9pm again) and set off for the port. It is still pitch black outside and city movement is few and far between. Arriving at the port is completely different though. There are over twenty docks all with commercial ferries going one place or another. My dock is E7 and as I walk up to it, I can't help but feeling like I'm walking up to the Titanic. Now in the "we're all going to die" sense but in the "holy cow" sense. The thing is massive. Again, I don't know what I expected, but this is pretty cool. On board, there are two cafeterias and deck upon deck of cabins and comfy chairs. This is, of course, for first class only, but I'm more than fine sitting out in the open air, huddling into my jacket against the wind. I seem to be growing some of my old Pbiladelphia skin back. As the ferry, which seems like a most inappropriate word to use given it's size, pulls away from the dock, the sun rises over downtown Athens. Today is going to be a good day, I can just feel it.
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