Greece: Part 2

We took a high speed ferry from Mykonos to Santorini, passing other gorgeous islands in the quick 2 hour ride. When we arrived, we were picked up by our host (I highly recommend using AirBnB for traveling) and headed to our private traditional Greek apartment in Fira. Fira is the center of the island with lots of touristy shops, restaurants and of course, the beautiful Caldera (picturesque cliffside). Our first day, we explored by walking around the different shops, taking in the view and having an incredible authentic homemade Greek dinner. Greek food quite possibly may be my favorite type of cuisine after this trip. Some of my favorites: gyros, dolmas, greek salad, moussaka, grilled eggplant, pava, tzatziki, loukammades, and tomatokeftedes. YUM

The next day, we rented ATVs and drove alllll over the island. Our first stop was Oia, the northern point of Santorini, known for its spectacular view of the caldera and sunset. We then rode all the way down to the Perissa beach, Melgachori and around the southern part of the island, only stopping for fuel (gyros). My ATV had a bit of a problem going over 4 mph when going uphill but other than that, it was such a rush to just drive around with no plan. We got to see a lot of the island that way and I released my inner speed demon so it was great fun all around. The following day, we decided to take a more historical approach to our exploration. We went to the Akrotiri ruins, a 3,000 year old settlement from the Bronze Age. It was pretty unreal seeing something so old and rich with history. We then walked down to the red beach which was pretty secluded and unique looking (pic somewhere below) then headed back in time for another beautiful sunset.

The rest of our time in Santorini was filled with tanning at Kamari beach, more gyros, more sunsets and having our fare share of cocktails at a local bar. Again, there weren't too many tourists so we got to know the owner and had tons of fun talking to locals and dancing it up. We met up with the two girls we met in Mykonos one night to watch the sunset from Oia and it really made me so thankful for the people you meet while traveling. It's weird getting to know someone briefly and then parting ways, not knowing if you'll ever meet again, but it's also really magical. Part 3 of my trip in Athens coming soon...

Arrived in Santorini and headed straight for Greek froyo & a view

Looking out to other tiny Greek islands

Donkey rides!

The gorgeous Caldera

Gettin' ready to ride around the island!

SO fun

Minh & me in Oia

Akrotiri Ruins

The Red Beach

Kamari Beach. I got a shade tanner!

Just after sunset in Oia

Last sunset before heading back to Athens

Greece: Part 1

Going to Greece was probably the coolest thing I have done since being in Europe. I have been referring to it as my "inception vacation" because it was a vacation inside a vacation, being that I am already so lucky to be in Paris. I was in Greece for a total of 11 days, traveling around through Athens, Mykonos and Santorini. Santorini takes the cake for favorite but each place had a uniqueness I fell in love with. My first stop was a 2am solo arrival in Athens. I haven't traveled alone too much in my life so this was an exhilarating moment for me. Greece felt so foreign and so incredibly adventurous to me in that moment - a feeling of independence and fearlessness that I will always remember.

The next morning I caught an early flight to Mykonos where I met up with my roommate Minh's friend Sylvain. The three of us stayed on top of a 24 hour gelato/crepe/waffle/froyo place where we indulged daily. The streets of Mykonos are incredibly charming and almost impossible to get lost in even though you have no idea where you're going at any given moment. I guess the Greek don't believe in street signs? We did a lot of wandering and exploring the island, finding a small beach with tons of flying parasurfers and a super cute/very Greek/delicious bakery. To our surprise, the Greek islands kind of shut down for winter so we caught the end of the hype and witnessed the death of tourist season. Not many of the widely known crazy clubs in Mykonos were open so we resorted to local bars. It was definitely unexpected but still very cool to witness more of how the locals live... But I'm really curious and definitely want to go back in the summer to get the other experience.

Mykonos was a lot of gyro-eating, walking, gelato/waffle-eating and taking in the beauty. Nothing to complain about there :) Next we hit up Santorini and I will have another blog post for that asap!

The cute narrow streets of Mykonos

"Little Venice" 

An example of the diet I was on in Greece. I <3 comment-3--="" european="" waffles="">

Another typical meal in Greece

Cats.... EVERYWHERE!

Week 1 of Fall Break

Helloooo! This first week without school has been oh-so wonderful. I took full advantage of my days free by sightseeing and trying new things in Paris. One day I went to the Centre Pompidou which has a far better modern art museum than the one I went to last week. Big score. I also visited Père Lachaise, the huge, well-known cemetery where people like Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde and Edith Piaf were buried. It was super creepy but very cool to see. I kept busy during the week by running along the river near my house, indulging in the best food possible and doing spontaneous things with friends at night.

The coolest thing I did this week (by far) was visit Versailles. It's the most extravagant establishment/area I've ever seen and the gardens are beyond gorgeous. The history is unlike anything we have in America so it was kind of mind blowing. Me and my friends spent 7 hours there wandering the ginormous gardens (it officially made me feel like it's fall), eating French food and exploring the palace. It was a really fun day. Now I'm off to Greece for 11 days - Athens, Santorini and Mykonos here I come!

My running route

Modern Art at Pompidou

Awesome Roy Lichtenstein exhibit

Père Lachaise

Jim Morrison

Oscar Wilde

VERSAILLES!

Where the peasants lived

My favorite.

Fall Break!

I survived the week of Parisian midterms and they were way less intense than expected. There was more hype around the school because of it... and because we are now on vacation for two weeks! We only get a week off for Thanksgiving at SF State so this is definitely a treat. Unfortunately, I had one asshole professor (who I have two classes with) push back his tests till after the break - but I intend to forget about advertising and international marketing while I'm on vacation. Speaking of, I'm headed to Greece on Friday for 11 days with my roommate Minh. We have a short stay in Athens but are mostly spending our time on the islands of Mykonos (party) and Santorini (pretty). My great-grandparents on my dad's side are from Astros, Greece so I'm really looking forward to spending some quality time in the land of my peeps.

My weekend here in Paris was packed with touristy outings, fun stuff and warm-ish weather. I saw Jay Z in concert on Thursday which was absolutely insane. Parisians LOVE him, he's a great performer with sooo many classics and he gets to touch Beyoncé regularly... so he's basically the best. On Friday, I finally went to the Museé d'Orsay with my friends Mikaela and Shelby. I loved seeing all the impressionist art and work from super famous artists like Monet, Manet and Van Gogh. We then ventured to over to Chipotle which was just as good as home but almost better cause I hadn't had it so long and Mexican food is such a rarity in Paris. Later that night, we headed to an Australian bar with lots of dancing and had a super fun evening, only completed by ham and cheese crepes at 4am. Did I mention I like it here? Saturday I went to the Museé d'Art Modern with Mikaela. It was pretty underwhelming but modern art is my favorite so I was happy to see a handful of cool pieces. We then walked over to the Notre Dame area, checked out the famous Shakespeare & Co. bookstore (which was totally magical) and then wandered along the river to check out the street art and book vendors. We took our time across the bridge and headed to La Marais to get some massive falafels and check out a few stores. In case you were wondering, I'm not starving myself here. Here are some pics from the week:

view from le museé d'art moderne

museé d'art moderne

loved this color combo

TV robot @ museé d'art moderne

the famous bookstore!

the one and only Jay Z

inside the museé d'orsay

one of many cool bridges in paris

tuileries garden

me doing my favorite thing