Greece: Part 3

When I got back to Athens, I took the liberty of exploring on my own a bit more before my roommate was to arrive the next day. I strolled the streets of Plaka, the tourist center of Athens plus one of the oldest parts of the city, looking at souvenirs and of course getting a gyro and gelato for dinner. At that point, I felt that if I consumed one more gyro I would actually explode but I pushed through, for the better of myself and everyone looking at me.

Super early the next morning, Minh joined me in Athens and we started right away our fun filled day. First, we headed to the Monastiraki flea market which was super packed with people and random treasures, old and new. It was definitely the weirdest flea market I've ever been to - as if everyone just brought the stuff they were over (a broken hair brush, a used toothpick, a typewriter with no space bar) and tried to sell it. I'm obviously just being harsh - it was really awesome to see cause it's a really big weekly event but I didn't find anything worthy of haggling with an old Greek lady for. Minh and I made our way over to the Acropolis after the bazaar to check out the most beautiful part of Athens.

The Acropolis was seriously incredible. The view was amazing, the weather was perfect and the history there is more than you could ever fully understand. We got pretty lucky cause for whatever reason it was "you-get-into-everything-for-free" day so we didn't have to pay to see the Acropolis, Ancient Agora or Temple of Zeus. More money for gyros! After enriching ourselves with historical landmarks, we walked around downtown more, checking out a super lux fashiony area (what economic recession??) and getting dinner on a nice hillside. My favorite part of the day was going to a rooftop bar after dinner just after sunset and watching the Acropolis light up. It was truly magical and the bar had an awesome ambiance.

The rest of my time in Athens just consisted of walking around, taking in everything going on in the busy, old, awesome, dirty city. Greece was unforgettable, not only because the beauty was so captivating but because of all the awesome people I met along the way. (Oh, and the food, if I haven't mentioned that yet). Everyone we stayed with (again, huge fan of Airbnb) was sooo generous and helpful, making our trip worry-free. I can't wait to go back to Greece one day!

Walking down to Monastiraki Square

So much...... stuff..... at the Monastiraki Flea Market

PANOS! My Greek great-grandfather's name :)

Acropolis!

View from Acropolis down to Temple of Zeus

happy happy happy!

Athens

Coliseum 

Ancient Agora

Temple of Zeus 

View of the Acropolis from an awesome rooftop bar

The Alice Inn!

Last moments in Athens spent on the balcony of my room

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.