Day 2

So here is another long post....Seriously, it's like one day is one week. It doesn't help that I'm obsessed with pictures. So hopefully whoever is reading this likes pictures.

Our second morning started out leisurely. We woke up around 9am, then we stopped at a grocery store near our hotel, and then ate at a Starbucks-type place near the subway station. We decided to be adventurous and get some crazy flavors of yogurt. This one is apple-pomegranate. It was really good! So Greek yogurt is definitely something you should eat if you ever go there...and if you like yogurt...

Then we went to Piraeus and got on a ferry to Aegina. Pronounced Ay-eena. Not like a certain part of the female anatomy. We were going to try and go to Hydra, but the ferry was booked. So the travel agent lady told us to go here. I'm really glad we did. My travel book said that this island doesn't get a lot of tourists, I don't know why. It was great! Here is the harbor...

Another view of the harbor. I really loved this place. I guess Aegina was the old capitol of Greece back a few thousand years ago...This is Aegina town. It was really cute...

This was our first view of the famous white buildings of the Greek Islands...I love the contrast of the white buildings and blue water. This was only a hint of how beautiful Santorini would be...

It was SOOOO hot on Aegina. Even more so than in Athens. It was insane. We decided to celebrate us melting by toasting with some nice, cold, refreshing lemon fanta. The stuff was everywhere.

This is Angela and I at the bus station. We were waiting, and waiting, and waiting for it to leave so we could go to the temple of Aphaea. It was so hot that I rolled up my pants. That coupled with my sexy 5 euro hat (I needed something bad, I was sweating to death), made me one smoking lady...kind of like the lady in our picture...

The bus showed no sign of leaving and since we only had 3 hours until our ferry came back, we rented a car. It was like 20 euros. So worth it. It was awesome and little and European. It was great. We got the teenager who took us to our car to take our picture. I'm sure he thought we were insane. But luckily Greek people are awesome and nice, so they aren't too mean about it. Mostly, they just laugh at us.

Angela and I in the car. This was staged. I was in the back seat, and Dawn drove. But we had to get a picture.

I loved the blue water, and I LOVE this picture. I don't even know why. I mean it's mopeds and a parking sign. Goes to show there is no accounting for taste.

We drove along the coast on the way to the Temple of Aphaea, and I basically hung my head out the window and took pictures. I was really jealous of this woman. She was swimming all by herself in crystal clear water. JEALOUS!!!

Here is another picture of a harbor. If you look closely, there are some people swimming here too...

We stopped at this intersection to look at the sign, but still couldn't really figure things out. Then this taxi pulled up next to us with a stereotypical looking Greek man driving it. I have to admit he was a little intimidating with his hairy chest and gold chain. He was like "Where you go?", we told him and he responded, "Follow road, to end!" Say this in a Greek accent, then you will understand how awesome it was!

This is a view of the back half of the island on top of the hill where the Temple of Aphaea is. It was so beautiful. I love the Islands. I think I need to go back and see more of them. Like Rhodes, Naxos, Crete, and Hydra.

Here it is! The Temple of Aphaea! It was so cool! It was beautifully preserved, which was even more amazing because it's made out of limestone, not marble. And there was hardly any tourists, so we mostly had it for ourselves. We spent about an hour just walking around, taking pictures, and just looking at it.

This is me at the back of the temple. I'm hiding behind the rock so you can't see my rolled up pants, white socks, and hiking shoes. Again the stark contrast of the colors just blew me away.

A different view...me being artsy. Deal with it, lol.

A view of the back end of the temple, without me. I just love pillars. It's so interesting to see these pillars and then to come back to the states, or when we were in Paris and see the Greek influence all over. Very interesting.

Here is a view of the back end of the temple and the ocean. This temple was built on a hill/mountain that had an amazing view of the ocean and island.

This is the inside of the temple. The way the light was hitting everything was beautiful. Don't worry, not everything in Greece was beautiful. I just didn't take pictures of it, lol.

Dawn took a picture of me, taking pictures. She had a lot of these. I had to wear my hat backwards all the time, so I wouldn't get the brim in the way. And I couldn't not wear a hat because I was sweating like a mother.

After we left the temple, we just decided to drive back to Aegina town, but the back way. We passed this awesome Greek cemetery. It's so colorful and almost cheerful. I liked that. It wasn't so somber to me.

We passed this monastery. I think it's Agios Nikolaus, or something like that. It's not listed in my book, and I can't find the paper that had it written down on it. It was really pretty and interesting. It was my first experience in a Greek Orthodox church. The inside had all kinds of scaffolding, though. That was disappointing.

These pink flowers are ALL over the Islands. I loved them. I wish they were here. But I'm sure Utah gets too cold during the winter.

I also loved the mosaics. They were all over the churches and monasteries in Greece. I've always loved mosaics, so I took a lot of pictures of them. I also really liked the Greek Orthodox iconography. Just the aesthetic of their religious pictures were cool to me.

This was inside the church. It was full of these intricate carvings and pictures. Birds, flowers, and all kinds of things were carved into this altar.

This is me buying pistachios. Aegina is known for their pistachios. They were really good! They tasted different than the ones you buy from the store. I bought some for my dad, too. I didn't know what else to get him, lol.

Our ferry was a little late, so we just hung out in the square in Aegina town until it got there. This was before I was sick of pigeons. Gross story, so that fountain right there, I'm fairly sure that it's not potable water. Well this tourist came over and filled up her water bottle out of it. It was all cloudy and stuff. Blech. All she had to do was walk a few feet over to the shops across the street and spend a euro on a bottle of water.

I loved the fishing boats and nets. I wanted to go on a ride and go fishing on one. If I had known how awesome the fish were, I might have just taken it and gone!

After we got back to Athens, we went back to what we thought was the Plaka and ate dinner underneath the Acropolis. This restaurant was at the top of all these stairs. It was kind of corny. They had dancers and singers, but they had an awesome Greek Salad! And we were starving, so we didn't really care.

This is our waiter, Angela, and Flat Theresa (Dawn's thing for her friends, I'll explain later). He was awesome! We called him our Greek Grandpa. When we showed him Flat Theresa he laughed so hard! He was really great and taught us how to say thank you in Greek. Ef Kharisto!

This is the stairs up to the restaurant. It was cute.

As we were walking around, we found Hadrian's Library. Unfortunately, we never got to go back during the day when it was open. But we did buy our Santorini skirts from a store across the street. It was a great day. It already felt like we had been traveling for two weeks! Stay tuned for day three! Santorini!

Greece, part I

So I'm finally posting about my trip on my blog. I've meant to do it for awhile, and I've put pictures on Facebook, but I just keep on putting it off. Plus, I've gotten sick, but mostly, I've been lazy. So here it is! My big fat Greek Vacation!

I don't have any pictures of on the way there. The flights were okay. But the food on the way from Atlanta to Paris was NASTY! We had chicken and mashed potatoes (that had the consistency and taste of glue) and a freezer burned roll. So gross. And that morning a egg biscuit that dissolved in my mouth. Not in the good way. We had a banana that I thought would be okay, but it was worse than the biscuit. I took a bite and spit it out. Blech. We touched down in Paris and met up with Dawn (Angela's aunt) and then got on our plane to Athens. I sat next to a really nice Greek man who was a professor. He tried talking to me the entire flight, and we didn't really understand each other. But he was very nice. The AirFrance definitely knows how to feed you. We had this cheese wrapped in prosciutto. It was so rich. I got a little sick from it.

When we landed, we just left the airport! Since we got our passport stamped in France, we didn't get a stamp in Greece. I was a little disappointed about that. Oh well. We got on the metro and sat next to these gay guys who just got back from Santorini. I named them Denver Dave and Ft. Lauderdale Fred. They were awesome. And gave us some great advice about Santorini. It was a great way to start out our time in Athens. Though, they told us the Parthenon wasn't that great, and I beg to differ.

This is my hotel. We stayed at Centrotel in Athens. We got off the subway at our stop, and we had NO idea where we were. Athens generally looks the same all over. Concrete buildings, graffiti, and signs in Greek. Fun times. So we stopped at another hotel, and this really nice guy helped us, but we still ended up walking all over the neighborhood with our rolly bags going clunk, clunk, clunk. We got stared at a lot. And that was before I knew that most of Athens looks sketchy. So I thought we were in a sketchy neighborhood. Finally, we found our hotel. It was worth it. Big tub, nice lobby, and great courtyard view! So great. I loved it.

While we were looking for our hotel, we found a bakery nearby. They had tons of yummy looking stuff for sale. So after we checked in, we came back and got a bunch of goodies. We also stopped by a small food shop and got the most amazing gyro. It was so great. This was a good thing because all of the above treats were very underwhelming. Only the white puff ball was good. It was coconut.

The next morning was great. We were so excited! We wanted to get to the Acropolis as soon as we could, so that we would miss the tour groups. We got there around 10 am, right when all the tour groups did. Oh well, it was still awesome. I don't even know how to describe what I felt when I saw the Acropolis the first time. I was so excited, but it was a little surreal. I've read about this place. Studied it in tons of classes. It was weird.

The Theatre of Dionysos. This was my first official Greek ruin. I walked all over it and sat on it. Geeked out isn't even close to what I felt.

Dawn's camera broke before the trip, and since I brought my point and shoot, I let her use that one while I handled my nikon. She got a bunch of fun pictures. Mostly of us. I'm really glad about that because I was able to concentrate on what I like to do best. Take pictures of things WITHOUT me in them. Here is us at the theatre. Dawn, Angela, and me.

When we got to the Propylaia and it was amazing. So grand, even with all the tourists. One thing I loved about Greece was all the dogs and cats everywhere. They just hung out all over the place. They had collars on and everything. This one was hanging out by the temple of Athena Nike. We didn't really get to see it because it was covered in scaffolding. When we walked by it, we thought it was just part of the Propylaia. Too bad...

Here is a view of the Propylaia without all the tourists. It was so cool. We wanted to go back before we left Greece, but we weren't able to do it.

Here is me in front of the Parthenon. So awesome and everything I thought it would be and more. Even with all the scaffolding, I can't even explain it. One of the reasons why I've wanted to travel the world, is so I can see everything that I've read about. And was finally able to!

Here is the three of us in front of the Parthenon. I totally get why babies can't go to sleep when they are brand new. They just can't shut off their brains because of sensory overload. I totally relate. It was only the first 24 hours of my trip, and my brain was in overload. It was crazy...I love Forrest Gump standing next to me.

Here is a view without people. So cool.

Here is the back of the Parthenon. A view without as much scaffolding.

Here is another picture of the three of us. A nice couple from Texas? took it. They asked us if we would take a picture of them, and then they returned the favor. I love how my camera is always around my neck. Dudes, by the end of the trip, I was OVER my camera. It's heavy.

I thought this part of the Acropolis was cool. It's solid rock. And to the right is a little shack that had a "whistle lady", whenever someone did something wrong, like lean over the edge too far, they whistled at you. It was hilarious. (yes, we got whistled at).

This is the porch of the Caryatids. It was really cool. It's connected to the Erecthion. We saw the originals in the Museum of the Acropolis, except for the one stolen by Lord Elgin. It's in the British Museum.

Me and the Caryatids. I think my pink sunglasses are awesome...I think they are lost. Guess I'll have to get some new ones for Thailand.

This is an awesome picture. We are looking over the edge of the Acropolis. We ate dinner our second night in Athens down on that side.

This is the exit of the Propylaia. Look at the doorway. Awesomeness. How do things this old even survive?

This is the Museum of the Acropolis. If you ever go to Athens, go here. It's right near the Acropolis and it's new and shiny, and only 3 euros. It's built on an archaeological dig of a town. You can see the streets, houses, wells, and everything. REALLY cool. I wanted to go down there and explore. There are see through floors all through the museum so you can see below you. Angela did not like that.

This is the one picture I snuck in the museum. You aren't allowed to take pictures, and they have people all over the museum to yell at you if you try. But I was waiting for Dawn and Angela while they used the restroom, so I risked it. The top floor of the museum is so cool. They have recreated the top of the Parthenon. All of the sculptures that were on the top are set up like you are walking around the Parthenon. It was a very modern idea. Loved it.

After we left the museum we decided to go find Mars Hill. We ended up going the back way, which was really cool and scenic. You can see the Agora in the back ground. Actually, we had no idea where we were. We just guessed, thankfully we guessed right.

This is the steps leading up to Mars Hill (Aeropagus Hill). What's cool about this, is Paul the apostle preached to the Athenians on this hill. It's his sermon about the unknown God. It's crazy that this place is old in the Biblical sense.

Dawn took this butt shot. Her first one was REALLY unflattering. We made her delete it. It was awful. I think my rear end looked bigger than the stairs, and it didn't help that by perspective, Angela's looked a lot smaller. I mean it is, but the perspective made it look more so. Horrible.

Here I am! On the hill, and you can see the Acropolis in the background. It's a view of the Propylaia.

A view without me or anyone besides random people...

This is me in the Agora, in front of the temple of Hephaestus. The light was incredible. So warm and bright. I loved it. And it was hot! I also loved that, especially since we left cold, wet Utah.

Here is me across from the temple. You can see the Acropolis and the Agora in the background. We tried to position me in front of the old lady in the background. She was just chilling and didn't care that everyone was trying to take pictures, lol. It was pretty funny.

This is the back of the temple of Hephaestus. We chilled out here for a few minutes on a bench. We were kind of beat around this time. Hungry, thirsty, and worn out.

On our way out of the Agora, we saw this tortoise! How random? I had to take a picture. I should make a calendar. The animals of Greece. Would you buy it? I need money now, after this trip I am poor.

This is the entrance to the gymnasium in the Agora. By this time the whistle ladies were back and kicking people out. So hilarious. I mean I've never seen something like that before, but it was efficent!

This is the resteraunt we ate at after we were kicked out of the Agora. We were starving. It was dinner time for us (5:30ish), but not for Greek people (7ish), but we decided to eat anyways. We thought we were in the Plaka. Turns out we were near the Flea Market. Kind of hilarious. But we had a view of the Acropolis and a cool ditch, or so we thought...

My first Greek Salad! Not as good as some of the ones I had, but I was still pretty stoked. Also because I've been making them the right way this whole time. Also, you can see our Lemon Fanta. We drank that stuff all the time. We got some comments about that from waiters. Mostly kids drink it, and adults drink wine. It was kind of hilarious after awhile.

I got stuffed eggplant and potatoes. It was okay. Turns out the best Greek food is on the islands and outside of Athens. But it was still pretty good.

So while we were sitting there eating, this cat kept walking by. It kind of annoyed me at first, until I heard a rustling by the tree we were sitting by. I looked down and saw a rat's little nose sticking out of a pile of leaves and it's beady eyes looking at me. It's a good thing I saw it, because Angela about jumped out of her chair just hearing it. She didn't see it, lucky her. Turns out this was just the beginning of my relationship with European rats. Anyways, the cat came back and we bribed her with chicken to stay and keep the rat at bay. It worked. We named her Athena aka Xena warrior kitty. She saved us from the rat.

This is what the Acropolis looked like at night. It was so cool looking. I wish I knew how to take better night pictures with my camera, but I don't. Oh well. We walked around the Plaka (really the flea market, we hadn't figured it out yet), bought some worry beads. Saw Hadrians library and the Roman Agora, which was cool, even though they were closed. And then we went home. It was a great day. I hope you liked my long post about day 1. Keep checking back for day 2!