Monday, July 26, 2010

Such sadness- go big or go home has been blocked again at work! This weekend was probably too epic to be real- so big that really now I must go home.

Soundtrack of the weekend (in no particular order)

Memories- by the genius david guetta

I got a feeling- by the beloved black eyed peas

Baby I want you like last summer- by nicko (this has been my jam for the summer…and a sign that I’m basically part greek now)

Starting from the beginning. This post will be super long and descriptive since it’s one of my last and so epic. Also- pictures to be posted but can’t until friends upload them since I am sadly camera-less:

Friday July 23rd 2010

Day one of epicness. We hoped onto our 11 am flight- for once, we’re flying at a semi-normal time. On the flight over we met four friendly Aussies. We took this as a good sign bc of their names. So John for some reason has been a very popular name for us- Johns tend to be very friendly towards us…it’s odd. Marj had to try very hard not to laugh when he introduced himself. One of the Aussies was called John. Another two who were besties were called Andrew and Simon (which is ironic since two of my friends at yale are Andrew/simon). Anywho- as we were at baggage claim they got our number and we met up later in the day. Yay for making friends!

Santorini- though beautiful- wasn’t what we expected. It was actually less developed and much more decentralized then we expected. Certainly the main spots were very crowded with tourists but unlike Mykonos it is very spread out. The actual developed areas are very small and dispersed- and transportation (as we found out) is a GIANT pain)

We went to our hostel- it lied when it said it was 800 meters from Fira (the main town). Rather it was 800 meters from Fira’s outskirts and a 15 minute walk from the actual town. The walk really wasn’t that bad though. We passed by some hilarious stores/restaurants including a penguin spa dry cleaners and an ice cream shop with a smurf on it’s sign. We checked in, then we went to Fira for lunch. Marj/I were the only ones who came early Friday. For lunch we had DELICIOUS spicy meatballs. The meat was cooked very well and well flavored. It was served in a spicy tomato sauce with onions and yogurt on top and pita on the side. We were able to recommend it to some American tourists at the same restaurant. We also split saganaki as an appetizer. Then we wandered around Fira for a bit- got the lay of the land. Found a travel agent and booked a tour of the nearby volcano and hot springs (only for 18 euros..which is pretty good bc you have to get out there on a boat and this is pretty much the only way).

After the meatballs we went to a winery/wine museum. Santorini is famous (or infamous) for their wines- they have a ton of wineries and vineyards. The grapes are supposed to taste different because of the volcanic ash in the soil. Anyway- the museum was insane. They basically had automatons acting out the history/steps of wine making. They were motion activated so they’d just suddenly start moving (there was an audio guide to go with them). One scene was of the initial harvesting and had a robot dog that wagged it’s tail and rabbit that popped out of the bushes. It was ridiculous. Then we tried three wines. They were interesting- the last one was really weird. It was a desert wine that they only sell at the winery. It tasted like liquid raisons- it was insanely sweet (by the way, the best ways to describe the weekend are insane, ridiculous, epic, and big- so sorry if they get repetitive). Afterwards we took some pictures with the grapes…and may have eaten a few as well. It’s an interesting juxtaposition/conundrum because Santorini is a very dry island (they have no source of fresh water) but the soil is very rich and fertile because of all the volcanic ash. So like they should be able to grow a lot but it’s hard to irrigate (they’re also famous for the tomatoes, white eggplant, saganaki and fava beans in terms of foodage). We had to walk back from the winery which was TERRIBLE- we waited for the bus for 20 minutes and when it came it was too crowded to get on. So in the heat, lugging our beach bags, we walked back for 30 minutes to our hostel.

Quick shower/change and then we got on the bus to Oia for the sunset. The bus was really packed and actually left early because there were already too many passengers. Our Aussie friends had texted us during the day to meet up and we decided to meet in Oia. In Oia we actually ran across them and then found a good perch for the sunset. While there we met another 6 aussies who were touring together- there are a ridiculous number of Australians vacationing in Greece (not just santorini). Marj and I went on a detour because on the walk over I got a blister/cut (unclear) on my foot right under my sandal strap and it hurt. So I got bandaids to go over it. While on our walk we found THE CHURCH. This is the white church with the blue dome that’s usually in every picture of Santorini. We also saw a floor that had a dolphin mosaic in it similar to the one in Mama Mia (will do research to see…). Got back. We popped champagne (literally we split a small bottle and the cork flew out without us even pulling at it) and watched the sunset. It was gorgeous- also really fun to watch with so many people. A nice change of pace to have lots of English speakers to talk to. Then Marj and I wandered Oia a bit more. We peeked into shops (tried and successfully restrained ourselves). Then we grabbed dinner around nine (shared babaganoush, greek salad, and spaghetti puttanesca)all of which was quite scrummy though the service wasn’t very nice. Then we waited for our bus (which was 20 minutes late). Putting us back at the hostel around 11:30. We then took a nap (plus or minus an hour and a half).

Around 2 we headed out to Fira to meet up with all of our Aussie friends. On our way we guessed who was American by seeing how stupidly they acted. One guy put a bucket on his head- he was definitely American. At a kiosk in fira we found the best thing ever. Some Swiss company makes marijuana ice tea and an energy drink…the drink is called chillo so it’s weird that it’s an energy drink. We were also surprised they were selling it since marijuana is highly illegal in Greece but the ice tea had a super tiny percentage (basically enough to flavor but not do anything). Of course Marj/I had to try it- it actually tasted pretty good. After wandering (the Greeks give TERRIBLE) directions, we met one Aussie couple outside the club that we were supposed to meet at (Enigma) and they said people had gone to another club (Koo). So we went to Koo. Our friends weren’t there but we chatted with the couple and then marj and I had fun dancing. I saw my soul mate there (this guy was ridiculous, he was tall, very awkward looking, had glasses, kind of looked like a dinosaur) and he would just go insane dancing- but in a crazy happy techno way not a normal way. I admired him from afar haha. We also were able to see the sea and stars which were gorgeous (Koo is right at the top of fira so you can see all the way down). After we met all our aussie friends who were in Enigma. At the bar at Enigma was an abandoned Vodafone red baseball hat which I took to add to my collection (I have two blue ones). Ended up coming back around 5 and met up with Ray (who had arrived later that night and gone clubbing with some Portuguese friends he made).

Saturday July 24th 2010

Day two. We woke up at nine because we had to make it for our volcano tour at 11. Liz and Angela came in on one of those terrible 6 am flights. I grabbed a delightful sausage pies (Greeks really do wonders with various flakey, phyllo pies) for breakfast. We went to buy tickets for the tour for Ray/Angela/Liz (the office was in Fira). Then we went down to the port (we wanted to go early to check out if our ferry reservations for Ios had gone through). Marj and I decided to burn the many calories we’ve consumed (I’ve definitely gained weight…ahhhhhhhhhh) and walk down (it’s recommended you take a donkey or cable car to the port). Unfortunately we had to walk down the donkey path. So in the terrible heat we had to walk about 15 minutes down a cliff dodging donkeys and their excrements. I hate donkeys. At the top and bottom all the donkeys were crowded together. At the top we had to slide by one that suddenly turned and kicked and caused quite the disturbance. There’s no donkey overseer so hightailed (pun intended) out of there to avoid getting kicked. At the bottom I had to push one out of my way- donkeys are stubborn and hard to pull in the correct direction- especially Santorini donkeys. Finally we made it down to the port only to find out that there’s a different port for the ferries. Nick and Sam (who came in on an 11 o’clock flight that day) kindly took care of getting the tickets.

The boat for our tour was awesome- looked like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean. First we went to Nea Kameni. It’s a volcanic Island in the caldera of Santorini. It has 4 major craters that we visited and two active volcanoes (there are three active volcanoes in santorini). So we climbed up to the most recent crater (named after King George, it was created in 1950 and is still active). The view from the top was amazing- you could see the entire Santorini caldera. The island itself was also very interesting and in an odd way beautiful (it was…of course…all black volcanic rock with some red lava thrown in). Some parts were also smoking and smelled stinky (sulfur). The tour guide was also very helpful- she explained the history/creation of santorini. I never realized the Santorini caldera referred to the submerged part.

EXPLANATION OF CALDERA: Hopefully this picture from online/description helps explain it. So santorini used to be this big round island. Then due to the volcanic activity- a giant caldera was created- meaning the middle parts of the island became submerged under water thereby creating the effect of having multiple little islands. The middle water that you look out onto, therefore, isn’t the Aegean but the Santorini Caldera (you can actually see the line that separates the Santorini caldera water and Aegean). A fun effect of the volcano was creating several black beaches (tiny black sand pebbles of volcanic rock) and one red and one white beach. The biggest/most famous eruption is the Minoan Eruption. Thought to occur around 1500 BC it’s one of the biggest eruptions in the world. Some believe the tsunami it created destroyed the Minoan civilization on Crete and also caused the Atlantis legend (if Atlantis did exist it probably is modeled of Santorini Minoans and Santorini is one of the most likely locations of the legend of Atlantis). The Egyptian biblical plagues may also have been caused by fallout from this volcanic eruption.

There have been a few eruptions in the 20th century (three or four I think). Currently there are three active volcanoes in Santorini (a fact which made me happy to leave haha). The most volatile one is a submerged one which tends to cause sudden earthquakes…and I learned about this while on top of a volcanic island…great. The view from the highest crater is spectacular. You can see the entire Caldera/Santorini. My favorite island supposedly looks like a cupcake. It’s entirely made out of pomus and the tour guide described it as a cupcake (rocky bottom with giant white layer aka frosting on top). Apparently it was recently bought for 10 million euros. The view from the top though is absolutely gorgeous- you can see the caldera, the Aegean, santorini, and various other islands. After we wandered around the volcanoes, took some pictures of course (by took I mean others took them for me), and got back on the boat.

The next stop was Palea Kameni or the hot springs (supposed to be good for the skin etc). It’s a smaller, newer volcanic island next to Nea Kameni and on the side has hot springs. We jumped off the boat (Marj tried to dive, changed her mind, and ended up belly flopping hilariously in front of most of the boat). Ray had his own snafu- while swimming back he was doing the backstroke and ended up swimming the wrong direction for a while- marj’s swimming/diving error probably was funnier though. We swam over the hot springs and fooled around. We played with the mud and ray got his first and last moustache (made out of mud). Some of the water is green (sulfur) but most is orange from the copper. All of our swim suites/towels/clothes are now orange. Marj’s elbows are still orange today. And we stank. But it was so much fun! On the boat ride back we of course sang I’m on a boat and took orange sulfur pictures- including titanic ones. We took the cable car up (the donkey walk was hell and is supposed to be a terrible 45 minute hike uphill on the way back). The view from the cable car of the buildings in Fira (the classic blue and white) and Caldera was gorgeous. Greece really is one of the most beautiful and geographically unique countries.

When we got back (tour ended at 2) we reeked but didn’t have time to shower. Instead we met up with the Sam/Nick and tried to get a cab to the port for ferries (the bus had already left). We tried to get a cab but it was IMPOSSIBLE. We started looking at 2:45 and barely made it for our 4:20 ferry. It actually took over an hour because Santorini has so few cabs and we needed two. One of the most frustrating experiences ever. Finally we made it to the port and got on our ferry.

Ios was awesome. It was much more what we expected Santorini to look like. The classic Cycladic blue/white houses but in a concentrated area. There was also much more pedestrian activity rather than concentrated tourist activity in a few spread out areas. Our hostel was great. It’s called Princess Sissy and a sign proclaimed it to be the Princess Sissy Pansion. I have always wanted to live in a Pansion of course…even though I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean. There was a great balcony view though and a pretty good restaurant there too. It’s nicely located midway up the hill from the beach and main town (about 5 minutes either way).

After we settled in we went to the beach. The beach is a beautiful white sand beach and the water was really warm and perfectly clean. We didn’t go to the main beach (there’s a party beach like in Mykonos) but ours was very nice and peaceful. We also got chairs towards the end for free. We went swimming (shockingly angela’s first time in the Aegean- she hasn’t swam on past beach trips). Marj also procured a cosmo so we read the Red Hot Reads out loud (a ridiculous excerpt from a trashy romance novel). Of course we read quite dramatically complete with voices. We saw the sunset on the beach. The best part actually was watching the moon rise after. I’ve never consciously watched the moon rise the way you watch the sun rise or set. It was almost prettier because the sky was still lit a light blue and the moon rose over the hills and little houses.

We went back to our pansion and grabbed dinner there (they have a restaurant/bar attached). I had a shish kebab (pork souvlaki with baked tomatoes, peppers, and onions, pita and tzatziki). Then we took showers and again a plus or minus 1.5 hour nap. Our room was super hot (we decided not to pay for the AC- Angela and I toughed it out) so we left the door open. But that meant we could hear all the other happy guests on their Saturday night…so napping was difficult. We regrouped downstairs around midnight. Got some drinks, chatted. Played thumper (each person has an animal noise and you have to make yours and then say calling and then make another person’s noise. You can’t show your teeth meaning no smiling or laughing). I of course chose to be an angry ibex. After we played the game where people write down famous people and you put it on your forehead and have to guess who it with yes/no questions. I was trying to guess mine and my only clues at that point was that it was a person in the asian/middle eastern area who kids loved…my guess was mother Teresa. Turned out to be the Disney princess jasmine haha.

Around 2 we went to the town of Ios. The first square was packed with people just chilling. Ios feels like a cross between Mykonos/a college campus/a fraternity. Most people in Ios are under 25. The only things to do in Ios are beach and party- it’s known as the party island. So at night all these college aged students run around and party- making it feel a lot like a college campus/frat. But the partying is done greek style (12-6 am with a break for souvlaki/crepes/greek coffee in clubs with electronic/greek music). First we went to a club where the bouncer was a friend (another Aussie) Sam made while in Santorini with the archaeology group. That was fun. Then we went to a club (69) which was written up in all the tour books. It was super fun. The guys ended up leaving for food/another club but Angela/Marj/I stayed and danced till 4:30 (after which we wandered till 5:30 when we finally got back to our Pansion). The music was a great mix (all the soundtrack songs were of course played). They also had a couple rounds of confetti and sparklers (the firework hand held type). We also ran into a girl we met in Athens who had just finished her summer study abroad program in Ios too- crazy. Headed back home.

Sunday July 25th 2010.

Day three. Woke up around 9 again (I’m impressed with myself and my new sleeping schedule). We had a great English breakfast (fried egg, bacon, toast, tea, orange juice) for 5 euros at our hostel. They were playing Scooby Doo in Greek while we ate. Then we walked to the port. Got on our boat- again watched Doug and Hercules (I may have recognized the episode…) on the boat (the sound was off sadly). Got back to Santorini. We wandered around Fira- did some shopping. Angela really wanted a stuffed toy Santorini donkey (marj and I of course disapproved of this encouragement of the donkey trade but he was quite cute and we named him John Kostas Leonidas IV). I finally found a pair of sandals to replace my dying/dead ones- yay! And it is fairly similar to them while being slightly different and meets all my requirements- successss. Also got another something for the house- I’m determined to hold out though and not tell everyone what all I’ve gotten them. I think I can last a week. It really scares me sometimes how much I channel mom while shopping. After that we found a creperia. We had to stop there because of the variety of crepes. I got an Indian one which was lentils, garlic, ginger, tomaters, cabbage, bell peppers, and yogurt. Basically it was daal and raitha stuffed in a crepe- deliciousssssssss.

After Fira we went to Perivolos (one of the black beaches). I splurged and for the first time bought a chair/umbrella combo (3 euros for a group discount haha). The black beach was a bit hot to sit on plus I wanted to sleep and really only do that in a chair. And sleep I did- one of the best naps ever. Ever ever. I think I also evened out my foot tan…a little. I have a ridiculous shoe tan in the shape of my nike sneaker flats. Marj flew a kite with some success (it wasn’t that windy) which was cool. We then called a cab to take us to the airport (actually cheaper bc Liz/Marj/Angela/I split it). While waiting for the cab we chilled in a bar- I sat in a suspended papasan chair sippin my peach ice tea- they played very chill reggae music there. And a two year old took a fancy to me (Maria) and so we rocked in my papasan together. All in all quite fun and relaxing.

Got to the airport around 6:30 for our 8:15 flight (early but we wanted to be safe). Got airport pizza greek which was surprisingly decent. As it turned out- there was a strike. Earlier there was a possibility of an airport strike on Sunday but the courts ruled it illegal. I guess the did it anyways. So we had to wait till about 9 to see if there was space for us on the flights (there were two flights which were pushed back to 11ish). We’re flying on space available so we were praying we’d make it. Fortunately we did. We then had to wait another few hours for our flight. Did some reading (finished Me talk pretty by Sedaris- hilarious). Ate a kinder joy (no where near as satisfying as the kinder surprise, my toy was this weird airplane that required way too much assembly for me/marj- angela succeeded though). Also wandered the tiny duty free smelling perfumes. I miss home so I sprayed mom’s enzo perfume (I also still smelled slightly sulfury). I texted mom twice…and she still hasn’t responded…which made me sad.

Got back home around 1 am. Showered (because I was disgusting). And went to sleep. Now at work. I had a freak out moment on the trolley because I realized I left my bus pass at home and thought they were checking tickets. Fortunately they weren’t. I would have been so mad at myself if had to pay a 30 euro fine for forgetting my pass. The trolley also kept stopping which was really weird- it took twice as long (an hour) to get here. So I was late. Fortunately no one was really here…so it was fine.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

7/21- work

my tummy just growled quite loudly
i have work, but thought i should let you (you being my parents haha) know
food upates:
monday- shrimp stirfry, finished watching troy. it's great watching it in greece
tuesday- marj was gone so it was an veggies marj doesn't like day- meatballs, eggplant, peas, rosemary, garlic, onions, capers, pepper, balsamic- yummster- can't wait to eat the leftovers for lunch!

Monday, July 19, 2010

7/19- another work day

Another work day. It's funny- I finally got my own card to swipe in (I've had to get a visitor's card). Kind of silly because I only have 2 weeks left.
I can't believe it's only 2 weeks!
Yesterday Angela and I were walking through plaka and it was like coming full circle. We went there our first full day together- saw the same stores, sign for an art gallery, same guy who we went to have lunch at the first day

Saturday, July 17, 2010

7/16-7/18 Weekend in Athens

Friday 7/16

Dinner was spectacular. Angela went to another play at Epidarus, so Marj/I cooked. We made chicken (dijon/horseradish mustard, rosemary, balsamic) with garlic mashed potatoes (instant mash, dijon/horseradish mustard, garlic). Then we did a spinach/onion/garlic saute. We also made a white sangria (turned pink) with grapefruit, apricots, cherries, wine, peach champagne. Excellent dinner. Had a nice chit chat with mommy- miss you guys! Masti is looking super cute!

Then our group met up and a Yale 2012 Athens person joined us. We went to a club in Glyfada where we met Zheela's friends (from worlds debate in hs). It was a lot of fun- it was amazing because we could be like i'm tired want to go into the water? And then just go and wade/dance in the water (my feet were very sandy).

7/17 Saturday

Giant sales started in Greece on the 15th- nationwide. So Marj/I went to Ermou (big shopping street through Monistiraki/Syntagma). First we went on a bit of a hunt to buy tickets for Aida (yay! you can't be student ones online). On our way we saw the changing of the guard- it was cool. They have ridiculous shoes. Then we went shopping! I got a dress (high wasted band, gray tank top, blue floral print bottom) on sale at Zara. There was also a black shirt dress I was tempted by at H&M- but didn't get (don't really want one in black, but it was only 10 euros...). Got lunch- I had a Caesar salad. Then we did shoe shopping (I really want a pair of sandals). There were several almost pairs that I really liked but weren't perfect. In particular there was a brown leather with a orange brown braided strap around the ankle, a strip going down the foot and two piece of leather across- it also had a back. It didn't have the t-strap between your toes though and my foot didn't slide that much but enough to make it annoying. Sadness. There was also a nice pair of Geox- brown with copper studs and the horseshoe shape strap. It had a back and really thick sole. It was also like 50% off. Sadly the ankle strap was too big for me and more holes couldn't be added due to the design.

Then went to chocolate heaven- a row of chocolate shops. Most were closed though. So we stopped by a bakery in Syntagma and got pistachio baklava which was quite delightful! Then Marj/I went grocery shopping. We were going to get the fresh salmon that looked really good (sweet chili salmon, soy ginger rice, saute green beans with garlic and onions), but it was expensive-ish. So we opted to go for the stuffed peppers route. Ground turkey meat (garlic, onion, banana peppers, mushrooms, cheese, paprika flakes, black pepper, salt, cumin, oregano) mixed with tomatoes and spinach (the pack we got accidentally had some rice, dill, onion, celery in it which was actually fantastic). Mixed it with rice (finally got basmati, oh how i miss it). Just stuffed the peppers and are currently waiting for them to be done! So excited. The peppers were better than last time...YUMMMM.

All of us were then way too tired to go out (we got back at 6 am the previous day)- so we watched tv/random videos/talked. I tend to make a lot of random noises- and angela sent this to me saying I reminded her of the ibex. Sadly or awesomely I really do sound like it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TugslL45aXk&feature=popt00us08

7/18

Woke up- went for the 11 o'clock sunday changing of the guard. This one is the big one- they have a band, giant group of people marching, and wear the formal outfits (400 pleats in a skirt for the 400 years of oppression). Then went shopping in Monistaraki/Plaka- such a success. Got perfect gifts for everyone! I'm super excited found a pandora store and found an athenian owl charm and then found a knock off with an evil eye charm! Perfect! because the pandora evil eye was 50 dollars...way too much. Had souvlaki on souvlaki row in monistiraki, did some grocery shopping, and now nap! I think we're going to do stuffed tomatoes (we have left over stuffing) and then some veggies on the side (we got eggplant- marj doesn't like eggplant but she's out today). Also meeting the group/pre-frosh for drinks I think at 9.

False on all accounts! Marj did get back pretty early! So around 6 we all left for the Agora- which was really cool. Agora was like downtown ancient athens- they had government buildings, temples, monuments, places where shoe stalls used to be (this really spoke to me given my recent quest for shoes). By the time we were done it was eight- we wandered around that area (monistiraki) for a bit. We were all too tired to meet up with the group/go out. So instead we went to noodle bar and got take out (we all got delicious sweet chili cashew noodles) and watched Troy at home (we got Troy, mean girls, and the prestige at a flea market). It was great! We were too tired to finish troy- so we paused it half way. All those dinners/partying/shopping are definitely catching up- so it was awesome to be able to sleep.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

REPRESENT! reppin the rupee

check it
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/business/global/16rupee.html?ref=global-home

that is all since I actually have work now

lifeeee

So i have some spare time on my hands at work... on days like these I obsessively read the nyt...partly bc it's one of the few sites that seems legit to read (along with wikipedia) at work and isn't blocked

today's a good day to have nothing bc the style section just came out

great article/quote
from the article: Françoise Sagan once wrote, “There is a certain age when a woman must be beautiful to be loved, and then there comes a time when she must be loved to be beautiful.” - LEGIT...this makes me wonder though if i'm screwed...like if i'm not beautiful now then i wont' be loved which means that i won't be beautiful later- what a vicious cycle
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/fashion/15French.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=global-home

lots of good articles today- I had a list going but you should just read the newspaper instead
my absolute favorite though READ THIS IF NOTHING ELSE IN THE POST (which is perfectly reasonble since this is ridiculously rambling): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/garden/15remodel.html?pagewanted=3&src=un&feedurl=http://json8.nytimes.com/pages/garden/index.jsonp

If you want a legitimate picture/understanding of the places i've been to read angela's blog (http://angeinathens.blogspot.com). This is what I said of our two blogs:
"comparing our posts is hilarious yours is very well organized and informative. i'm like a little kid hyped up on ouzo, baklava, and greek coffee. You include interesting, historical details and i just talk about food all the time...bahh" hahaha

you can definitely see where my mind is
i also love reading the nyt food section and epicurious- this is actually terrible bc then i get ridiculously hungry

LIFE UPDATE: Athens/Epidaurus have a film festival june-august (oedipus was part of it). The ancient theater attached to the Acropolis is showing Aida (the opera...i love the musical, one of my favs). So Marj/I are thinking of going our last Wednesday. This also means I can spend today investigating tickets, the theater, and reading the libretto in english/wikipedia article. Solid...that'a legit pastime and none of those sites are blocked. Read the libretto! so excited!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Updates: Pedro and my camera

So- looks like my friend Pedro (that's the name I've given the dog) is ok! He was back at the top of the stairs (yesterday he was at the bottom and not walking on his back leg). He even gave me a playful bark and wagged his tail! Also I think maybe he belongs to someone? He's a little scrawny but as Marj pointed out his hair is probably shorter than it should be naturally- meaning someone cuts it...Also a guy walked by and snapped and whistled at the dog and then said hello to someone. So maybe he just gets let loose to do his business same time I go to work everyday?

On the downside- since Pedro's my friend I wanted a picture of him. After charging my camera for two days straight I brought it out with me hoping to get a pic of Pedro. BUT IT WON'T TURN ON. It's a brand new battery...I think my camera has died. Rest in peace camera. Maybe it died of temperature shock and abuse? Going from Dallas to New Haven to Greece can't have been an easy adjustment. And I try to be nice to it...but....This is extremely upsetting bc I won't be able to document on this weekend's shenanigans or Santorini so I'll have to rely on Marj/Angela. Maybe I'll wikipedia/google camera troubleshooting suggestions...

Dinners with family friends

Dinners with family friends- dad's paranoid i'm including names so i'll refer to them as X, Y, and Z- i feel like those recently discovered spies

X- met X after work one day (forgot when exactly). We talked- mommy is such a gossip! Somehow X already knew WAY too much about taarini/my personal life. And then I called mom from there and she gave X more ‘things’ to ask me- haha. Thanks mom- love you. We went to this excellent tavern. Most of the tavernas have been good but usually it’s just plain meats, French fries, and greek salads. X did the ordering- just several appetizers. We had a delicious summer salad (actual lettuce! fruit, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a nice yogurt dressing). We had an eggplant/yogurt dip, fried zucchini and fried tomato patties (hard to describe but again yummy!). And kebabs. All in all quite delightful foodage.

Y- met Y at his office. He then invited me home. People were watching the world cup semis game (Spain’s). He has a 16 and 17 year old daughter at home and 6 year old son. I hung out with the daughters, the 16 year old’s friend, and a cousin. It was nice- we went swimming (their house is gorgeous and huge, it’s on the coast with a pool in the backyard, three floors, and an elevator). They ordered burgers which were also giant. So we just talked till about midnight and then I went home. I took the tram there- which is really easy except super long (1.5 hours).


Z: their house is nice, they live in Kifissia. They have a patio in the front and garden in the back. The back garden walls are covered with a vine- mommy would be jealous. I arrived a little late (the metro line didn't go all the way bc of construction). Then the taxi driver spoke ZERO english and ended up taking me to a different Chimaras (their street name) which was really sketch. These trips to visit dad's friends are expensive bc a) have to get a gift b) the nice family areas of town are much farther out- getting there is a pain/pricey.

Anywho- so I got there. Their cousins from Australia were in town to celebrate the mom's 50th birthday (mother, father, 2 sons, daughter, daughter's bf). They had just come back from celebrating her birthday on an island (here's the crazy part). They partied for five nights straight, a big group of 28 of them including the parents, staying out till 6 am some nights. Even the parents danced on bars...I couldn't handle doing either party of that now much less at fifty. Definitely a uniquely greek/australian/french/generally european thing. Z has 4 kids. One son graduated cornell I think he's still in the US. Another will be a junior in Georgetown (math/music major) and is spending the summer dj-ing in Ios (popular greek island- CRAZAY). Then he has two tiny kids- one 8 year old and one 2 year old. The wife is 46..so she had the 2 year old at 44! Crazaaaay.

So first sat, talked, had appetizers (cheese puff rolls and spring rolls). Then Z grilling dinner. Z speaks very fondly of dad. Said his office was next to dad's and he remembered once seeing a handwritten sign on my dad's door- do not disturb brains are storming. I can just see dad writing that and thinking he's very clever. Cheesy dad....cheesy.

The most important part- FOOD. This parent's friend's dinner definitely wins on the food front. All home cooked. So Z pork and chicken souvlaki. They also made greek hamburgers (the patty basically but it's much softer and more flavorful). Greek salad. Pita. Home-made bread. Stuffed tomatoes and stuffed bell peppers. Note- these are all separated by periods because really they're all stand alone in their awesomeness. The grandmother made the stuffed tomatoes and peppers. Then for desert (this was the epic-est part if that's even possible) the grandmother made an ice cream cake. But this is not your usual ice cream cake. The inner core (think like the earth's core) was a beautiful chocolate ice cream- very rich, almost tasted nutella like. The upper layer (it was a rounded cake, a dome of pure deliciousness) was vanilla. On top there were almonds, hazelnuts, and toffee pieces. There was also a 'sauce' of the toffee, nuts, and melted ice cream that they put on top of each of the slices. I can't even begin to describe my happiness. The meal was followed by schnapps. They drink SO MUCH. A beer or glass of wine with appetizers. A glass of wine with the main course. And then one or two shots. How are they not drunk at this point? They kept looking at me like I'm crazy for not wanting the stuff (yes mom and dad, I only had part of a glass of wine with the meal). Honestly though, I'd rather finish a meal like that with a shot of true southern, brewed sweet tea than jagermeister or lemoncello. Even the granny and 8 year old had some (the 8 year old had half a shot)! crazaaay. Overall nice evening though- the food alone made it worth it. It was nice to also meet the cousins (the kids ranged from 20-27). It's cool- I've been here long enough that I could answer where I am, recommend museums (archaeological v acropolis), other sites, places for youngsters to party. I'm becoming greek! not really, but sort of

DISCLAIMER/APOLOGY

I have some emails home about later weekends that I'll post now. And then I'll post about yesterday. And then I'll get back to backblogging. So sorry- things are going to be a bit out of order now.

Also- I'm a total goose and just realized that you can change the post date...making back blogging much better and things chronological. So some things about dates will be a bit confusing but whatevs.

final apology- I'm trying to figure out the formatting...i have no idea why all the fonts are different

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

7/13- Tuesday Eclipse

Work was fine. I've managed to finish the training design doc and all the processes that there's any info on for the workshops. Hence today (when they're in meetings all day) I have very little to do and am therefore blogging.

My camera battery died in rhodes (so sad! i don't have pictures of Lindos or the sunset so I'll just steal angela/marj's). So yesterday from work I ran to Syntagma where there's a giant multi-story technology store. They only had a tiny wall of camera batteries and no kodak ones. I asked the guy where else I could go and he was like well I think there's a camera store behind us to the left. He didn't know the name/any more precise directions. So I wandered in the heat with my laptop for 20 minutes and finally found it. They had the needed battery but it was made by a company other than Kodak- it's the kodak battery but produced by someone else. Hope it works at least till I get back to Dallas. I charged it after getting home and this morning my camera seems happier.

Got home- we (angela/marj/i) were discussing what to cook when future plans came up. Marj wanted to see Eclipse in an open air movie theater near Pagrati tomorrow (ie today). But tonight I have dinner with one of dad's friends. So instead we decided to go then (yesterday).
I love it when we just make impromptu decisions like that. We brought our old (it was kind of bad but whatever) 1.5 L white wine bottle (again 4 euros...so much cheaper than actual food) and went to Grill and Pita and got delicious ginormous gyros (wow- ginormous is recognized as a legit word...as is legit...legit). Anyway there we met 2 girls (we could tell they were american from the english obviously haha). They 're here on the College Year in Athens program. They seemed really nice- one is indian and goes to penn. The other goes to Michigan and knows one of Marj's friends at Yale. It's really sad though because they leave on Saturday! They're going out Thursday and invited us along- we were going to do chinese food, changing of the guard, and late night at the Benaki museum (they have thursday late nights till midnight). But we think we might do that next thursday now instead. It's sad because there are American students living in two of the apartments other Yalies are in but not ours (only greek nona's). It would be nice to live in those apartments...make more friends.

Went to see Eclipse. It was funny because we ran into two people from our gr
oup on a date there....haha awksssss on so many levels. It's sad though because our group overall isn't very cohesive- I LOVE my suite though so it works out. The entire experience was wonderful- gyros, wine, taylor lautner's abs, stars overhead. Great. Was a very fun, spontaneous evening.

Monday, July 12, 2010

7/11-7/12 Weekend in Epidaurus and Rhodes

weekend as remembered in an email to the fam

7/12 super tired at work. bahhhhhhhhhh

7/11 (Sunday)

Woke up at 7, showered, grabbed breakfast, and got the bus to lindos. Lindos is on Rhodes and is about 56 km away…Turkey was 10 km from the beach outside our hotel (I wanted to paddle boat there…we had our passports).

The bus ride to Lindos was nice- amazingly all the commuting/bus rides which usually are 30 min-2 hours never seem long. It’s actually really nice to just plug in my ipod, look at the amazing views, maybe nap a little, reflect on the trip so far etc. The views are always awesome on these bus rides bc usually we end up going along the coast at some point.

Got to Lindos- climbed to the Acropolis there. The climb was nice- there were more ramps than stairs so more horizontal distance. Rhodes was generally much more European/Easter (Italian/Byzantine) than Greek. Lindos was more like a traditional Greek island in that it has the white houses etc. Lots of bougainvilleas everywhere. It was surprising there seemed to have been a lot of Swedes/Scandinavians- much more so than in any other place- so many blonds! it's like i was hallucinating draco malfoy's, also like i was hallucinating out of tiredness.

The view from the Acropolis in Lindos was gorgeous. There was a secluded cove and then of course the ocean. The ocean is so pretty! It’s really sad that it never comes out in pictures because part of the beauty of the ocean is that it’s always moving/reflecting light but because it’s so big it the changes seem really small. It’s cool. Anyway also a nice view out onto the town. Rhodes in general (including Lindos) had a lot of medieval ruins. Around the Acropolis was a medieval wall. The Acropolis was a nice walk/view and the medieval walls were cool but the acropolis itself was not well preserved at all (most of it is a reconstruction).

We stayed on the Acropolis for a while, then we went down to get lunch. We were going to beach but we decided to do a long lunch instead, enjoy the view, conversation, food, etc. We went to a roof restaurant on the third floor which had a nice view. They had a great set menu of salad, vegetable platter/lamb chops (marj/I each ordered one and split), and ice cream for 9 euros. It was yummy. We had fun chilling/chatting. Then we went back on the 1o’clock bus to Rhodes town. From there to the airport.

At the airport it sucked bc the 4:4 5 flight only had 3 seat s (there are 5 of us). We knew there was a chance not all of us were going to make it bc we have to fly standby basically since we’re going for free. Marj had to be at port at 8 so she went. And it was Ray’s friend (naz’s) last night in Athens so they went. So angela and I had to stay till the 11 o’clock flight. We went back to our hotel thinking we’d take a nap by the pool. We got there and thought it would be fun to see a movie so we walked 30 minutes to the movie theater but the only movie we wanted to see (sex and the city 2) started at 7:45 meaning we wouldn’t make our flight. Instead we had a really long/yummy Chinese dinner. I got yummy garlic prawns and demanded they add veggies (in particular bamboo/shrooms of course). We were nervous about making our flight bc the bus to the airport only left at 10 and took way longer than expected. Then at the airport we had some problems bc we didn’t get transferred to the flight and ray never gave us our ticket information/he wasn’t picking up his phone. Barely made it on, made it to Athens, took the bus, walked, made it home by 1 am. Really sad I missed the world cup finals though. Also really sad that I got minimal/non-existent sleep. It was a really fun weekend though- so it was definitely worth it.

7/10 (Saturday)

Saturday/Friday are sort of one giant day in my mind. We left at 5:20 am for Rhodes. Got to Rhodes/our hotel at 7. The trip was a little last minute so at 3 am Saturday we booked it right before we left- which obviously is cutting it close. We got there and they were like the availabilities on line weren’t right- she would have to talk to her manager at 9:30 to check. So we went to get breakfast (since I never slept and was super hungry I got a tuna crepe…so more like lunch for me). Angela/Marj/I went to sort things out at the hotel.

'

Then angela napped by the pool, marj/I wandered new town and looked at stores. Around 12 we went down to the beach. Swam, joked around. I tried somersaulting in the water and asked marj if it worked. She said it looked more like a sideways hamburger or rotisserie chicken haha. We were also discussing our various tans. Marj described herself as a sugar cookie- gold on the edges and white in the middle (she's impressed she tanned at all). I described myself as "a hash brown, straight up golden." I think it's indicative that when trying to compare ourselves to something both of us pick delicious, fatty foods. Then we went back to grab lunch bc we wanted to go beaching in lindos instead that day. Lunch was delicious. I had smoked salmon on a poppy seed baguette with yogurt-dill spread, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and pickles. Delicious. Food in Rhodes was MUCH cheaper than Athens/elsewhere in Greece.

Then we went to old town which was really cool. It’s an excellently preserved castle from 7 century AD I think. It's really gorgeous and fun to wander around. They had some nice exhibits on the history of Rhodes (ancient greek, medieval, crusaders, byzantine, Italian). I really love seals/crests etc. There were various crests built into the walls and they had a display on the crests that they knew who they belonged to. It's nice getting specific details about the people of a time (Krames probs is the reason I enjoy this so much, he always focused on primary materials and random people for us to learn about a period). Also coins are really cool- Liz is really into them which is nice because she can explain stuff. They survive really well and tell you about current events/what's going on at the time. The colossus of Rhodes is so sad bc it was only up for 66 years and no one is sure of what it looks like- it's one of the ancient wonders of the world.

After old town we wandered around then headed back. Had a really nice 3.5 hour dinner. Our restaurant was basically on the water. We saw the sun set over the coast of turkey from our restaurant- it was amazing, unbelievably gorgeous. We also had a really good conversation. We discussed our favorite Disney princesses, movies, lord of the rings, and harry potter- basically all of my favorite subjects. By this time I was legitimately falling asleep (whenever we sat down/were waiting I actually fell asleep. even on the bus from the airport to the hotel which was 20 minutes i slept...i started regaining consciousness and was like why is my mouth wide open...oh i fell asleep...haha). So though we had wanted to go out in rhodes a) I physically couldn’t b) we had to wake up for the 8 am bus to lindos. So I went to sleep at 11.

Friday blends into Saturday bc I didn’t sleep. Went to work. It’s both good and bad because work has really picked up with the client workshops so I haven’t really had much time for my daily NYT readings. So sad. Went to work, did lots of work. I felt bad because to make it to Epidaurus I had to leave at 4:15. But Maria was super nice about it. She even took my laptop home so I wouldn’t have to carry it to the theater. Rushed to get a cab- almost got run over (the car stopped less than a foot way). It was my green to walk and I was halfway through the road when this car just turned. So terrifying. Anyway 2 cabs were like don’t know where the bus station is/wont’ take you there. Finally a third guy took me there. The bus station is the biggest one in Athens so don’t know why they wouldn’t know. Also it’s annoying bc the address is 100 kiffisou and there are about 4 of those in Athens…so just knowing the address didn’t really help. Anyway got to the station- the last bus left at 5:15. Angela almost didn’t make it- we had to hold the bus for her. Liz/Angela/I went to Epidaurus (2/2.5 hour bus ride). The bus took us right to the theater.


The theater was gorgeous. They don’t have random touristy stuff around it like you would expect- so it’s just open fields, a museum, cafĂ©, and snack stand. We got there and got hot dogs for dinner which were really good. It was funny they took a baguette- put it on this sharp metal stick basically to create a hole. Squirted mustard/ketchup down the hole and jammed a hot dog in there. Creative and effective. Went to get seats. It’s free seating in the upper tier and tickets for the play there for students were only 10 euros (in the upper tier). We had a really good view though- right in the center. And the acoustics are AMAZING. The theater is giant- according to Wikipedia it seats up to 15,000 people. And it was built in 4th century bc (expanded a bit in roman times). What’s amazing is that from the upper tier we can hear every word, crystal clear. There aren’t any microphones either. It’s interesting how the acoustics work- when the guys backs turned obviously we couldn’t hear as well. Also the woman spoke in a really low voice and I think that’s bc since the plays were all male in the past the acoustics were designed for male voices. Even low her voice wasn’t as loud (bc it’s both harder to project for her/still wasn’t as low as a guys). I was proud of this theory haha. What’s crazy is despite the seats being a little run down/aged they were still great and they still served the acoustical functions. We sat in front of a group of kids from England who just graduated high school/were going to college. One was going to oxford for classics- she and liz got along. One of the guys was really nice/funny- he’s pre-med/wants to do doctors without borders in Africa next summer. Also a little Indian girl but she was into theater- SHOCK. Anyway, encounters like these are always fun because you just get to chat/meet people/swap stories etc.

The play was cool too- I’m very proud of myself for being able to follow/remember Oedipus fairly well. Even the major dialogues I remembered vaguely. The setting was nice- they had two white piece of wood for people to walk through (also the original arches/entryways on the side), a white raise platform, and several chairs for the chorus. I didn’t’ like some of the decisions (the costumes were definitely not correct) and the chorus sang (scholars don’t agree on whether they did), and they made the chorus a bit too dramatic. They’re supposed to be elderly/respectable statespeople but they had dramatic music and poses/scrambled around the stage and moved the blocks. I didn’t quite like it- thought it took away from the play. But it was really cool still. Also the stars overhead were perfect and gorgeous- recognized the dippers, orion (i've always been good at this because taarini ie snuppy once told me she could always only find orion because of the three stars in his belt...ever since i've had the same problem haha), and various other constellations. We think we've been able to see what we've concluded is Venus most weekends here (we saw it in Mykonos, Rhodes, at the theater etc) At one point we heard a plane which was really sad but otherwise the theater is far enough removed that we didn’t hear cars/anything modern basically.



Got back from the theater at 2 am, packed, and then left at 3 am for the airport. Hence I was falling asleep all Saturday bc I didn’t sleep at all. So far I’ve had five nights of 3 hours of sleep or less. So sad. It’s having to take these /6 am flights that kills me. Oh well definitely fun- because I can sleep in dallas if I want but can’t see Oedipus in Epidaurus there! GO BIG OR GO HOME. A lack of sleep is a sign that I'm truly going big

Friday, July 9, 2010

7/9 Baltazar dinner

I am shamelessly using angela's blog to steal pictures for this post- so thanks angela. lots of credit must go to her. So- Thursday night we had a dinner for all of us, dionysus, 3 yale alums, and one prefrosh (there are actually five who got in and are going...they all turned down other colleges take that harvard). Oddly there's also an American prefrosh working at the Agora with the archaeology group. So we met them at Baltazar- a very nice bar/restaurant. At the table next to us was a major Greek TV anchor and behind us some greek models (these juicy tidbits of course came from dionysus).

I ended up sitting next to/talking to this guy Alex. I want to be Alex when I grow up. He graduated Yale, went to Yale law and Harvard business school, worked at Goldman, came back to Greece to run his family company and founded the Yale in Athens club and the bulldog program. He serves on several boards and wants to go into politics. I had a fantastic time talking to him. It was cool- he also did AIESEC at yale (that was one of his main activities) and was a econ/poli sci major...basically we're besties now. He advised us on secret societies/which ones to go in to. He also advised me on various law firms I should intern in next summer if I'm interested. We also talked about politics and how I may want to do it eventually as my way of giving back (that's when he mentioned he might want to go in politics). Alex also gave us lots of advise- basically to go big or go home and give back. Since he's so cute/actually done all that it was very sincere coming from him. He reminded me of Daddy (paddington- don't get a big head about this part). Kind of chubsy, pulled out the glasses towards the end. Lots of cool stories and advice...very personable. A great presence and very good at making conversation but being genuine. Also he wore a pale orange v-neck sweater and orange and blue checkered shirt- somehow pulling it off. This too reminded me of dad- in particular his light yellow cable sweater and orange/purple striped shirt. It takes special people to pull off that sort of fashion. Hilarious- he asked us various things (what we've learned, what we would have on our tombstone) but most awesomely how we would approach someone at a bar/pick someone up. All the girls were like well they should come to us/we'd go introduce ourselves say...remark on something that's going on around us. I specifically mentioned strategizing since at Yale one of your friends probably knows said person they can scope it out and introduce you (Alex applauded my approach). The hilarious part was Alex thought all the guys approaches were iffy because they either didn't know or their approach wasn't good enough for Alex. Basically Alex is a boss...such a baller that my description of Alex will probs be longer than my description about food.

FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD- so important. So, Dionysus ordered us white wine, meatballs and french fries (just plain meatballs no sauce or pasta is very common here), and delicious grilled veggies. We then ordered main course (options were chicken, ravioli with goat cheese, or salmon). Alex, myself, and most of the table got the salmon. It was quite good- in a sweet and sour sauce with wild rice. After they brought out a desert platter- molten chocolate cake, a quince cake (we think), something sort of like milfe (layers of phyllo with custard in between), and coffee ice cream. Also brought out a delicious fresh fruit platter. Overall quite scrumptious and satisfying. Dionysus (of course) wanted us to stay out later for some drinks at the bar but it was 1 and we wanted to go to sleep for work the next day. Tonight (wednesday july 14th) dionysus again invited us for drinks (i have to go see dad's friend). At least Dionysus has been a very involved sponsor.
We dressed up which is nice. Here are the pics stolen from Angela's blog. One goofy one, one prom style haha. In the prom pic from bottom to top are Angela, me, Marj, and Liz.


I'm also super dooper sad (how do you spell dooper? also I have the vocabulary of a 5 year old...i really enjoy saying cool beans and shnikies! again...spelling is debatable). So everyday on my way to work there's this cute smallish dog that I see. He's my friend. He's a little taller than masti (maybe 1.5 ft? I don't i'm terrible at these things). He has dark grey/black hair- medium length and wavy/curly. I'll try to get a picture of him. Anyway- I usually smile, sometimes wave or say hi to him (yes i talk to animals...). He's always there and usually pauses to look at me/comes close. So I like to think we're friends. But today he wasn't walking on his back leg/his paw looked bent! I hope he didn't get hurt...I don't know if I can help him but I want to. Maybe tomorrow I'll go early to work and find him and try to wrap his foot? Can it heal? I really hope so otherwise I'll cry if I don't see my friend anymore. Like actually.

Monday, July 5, 2010

7/1-7/5 Gazi, Nafplion, beach, Chopsticks, and Starbucks

as emailed home the next week

7/1
It was the day Vodafone was founded so to celebrate their ‘birthday’ they had free ben and jerry’s- unlimited scoops. They had cookie dough, chocolate fudge brownie, fairly nuts (nuts and caramel), and strawberry. I had fairly nuts and chocolate chip cookie dough. Then I went to the Accenture main office. I was driven over in a Vodafone car (very nice) but it was 25 euros! Fortunately I got reimbursed. I expected 700 euros for my first month’s salary but got 1,000- not sure if this means I’ll get paid an extra 600 euros for my two months here but that would be awesome! Met with mr. doukas- he was very warm. Gave me a book in greek of greek philosophy, offered me the keys to his second house in Mykonos, wanted me to have dinner/go to an art show with him that night etc.That night we all went out for drinks with Dionysus in Gazi. We went to the Why Sleep bar with the giant Smirnoff North bottle model (marj/liz/i had discovered this a previous weekend and were excited to finally learn what nordic berries looked like- they look like a cross between blue berries and black olives). It was fun. Had a delightful drink called passion mint- strawberries, lime, and mint. Then we went to another club which was a salsa club- Marj, Zheela, and I had fun dancing.


Super productive day at work (followed by today, super unproductive). Drafted several flows that don’t really have processes outlined, so I get to create them which is cool! After I got home Marj and I went grocery shopping/wandered- we found this awesome place that sold giant gyros for 1.80 euros (Grill and Pita). Marj and I wanted to go out with everyone else but it was almost 2 when the metro closes and we wanted to actually do something. This ruined our plan to go to the salsa club bc it was too late. So we went to Gazi. Before going out we had fun watching various youtube vids (midd kid, boys will be girls, california gays, potter puppet pals, and a lot of eurovision 2010). We wandered Gazi- danced in various places. Met some guys from Cyprus at Socialista- chatted with them for a bit. We decided it was getting late then so we left. As we were leaving though we heard YMCA playing in a club- so we just had to go in and dance to it. Then we left. Went to sleep around 5.

This night inspired Marj/I to create a code. Since we watched the potter puppet pals we decided to come up with signals (granted...these aren't subtle but they're hilarious). harry potter for a cute guy, ron weasley for the wingman, hermione for an annoying girl, dumbledore for a creepy older man, severus for a generally creepy person/fail. we're torn between making voldemort an awesome person v a super creepy person. Add characters as necessary. This code has already come in handy.

Woke up at 8 to go to Nafplion. On the bus ride there we saw a giant group of mountain goats on the side of the road and the rocks which was awesome. In Nafplion we wandered. We had an amazing lunch of a whole sea bass with grilled veggies- I had to debone/remove the fish’s head which was quite the adventure. The restaurant was right on the water with a gorgeous view. Also a young boy was playing his violin and played the chicken dance which was hilarious. We got some gelato and wandered- I had lemon, it came with a cute teddy bear cookie. Then we climbed up to a castle (palamidi)- great view…intense hike because it was stairs so all vertical (pictures to come). Came down missed the 5:30 bus so we went on a baklava hunt. Stopped by a cafĂ© to watch the germany argentina world cup game (4-0) which was embarrassing for argentina. There was a giant thunderstorm (what's up with the weather greece)- thought we would have to get drenched to get to the bus but just got a wee wet. That night we went to the Athens sports bar for the spain Paraguay game. It’s near the acropolis and attached to the youth hostel so we thought we might meet some youngsters. People spoke English but most were non-americans and older. The guy next to us was a Canadian med student traveling Europe. He was really nice/chill. We were exhausted from the day- so after the game/chatting we went home. HILARIOUS- there was a table of Spaniards with a Spanish flag behind them. Apparently they were relatives of Franco/Spanish celebrities (not sure if the two facts are related). So they were being filmed and kept singing etc. So I think I'll be in the background of probs a Spanish TV reality show!

Sunday July 4th
Went to the national archaeological museum with liz. It was really cool- it’s crazy how much ancient stuff that was so cool/imposing we’ve lost. I really enjoyed looking at the signet rings and seals- it's crazy to think that they used them to seal their correspondences thousands of years ago. I also (of course) loved the jewelry selection. It's gorgeous- crazy amounts of gold- weird how everyone somehow agreed that gold was valuable a really long time ago...those things are always trippy to think about. Also crazy is the importance of jewelry. People have always been wearing it (yea human vanity...i like to think of it as humans always having good fashion sense). So even though they were in a completely foreign time there's still so much in common. Many of the pieces would look totally normal worn today (you might get some weird looks for wearing gold olive branch circlets). Pictures of all of this to follow!

Then we went to the beach for the fourth of july celebrations the democrats abroad hosted. It was pretty small- all older people with young kids or no kids. Chatted with the older people. Met a yale alumn who is a news correspondent based here for the past four years. Had burgers and bud…American beer is so much sweeter. We had Guinness at the sports bar which was disgusting. We walked down the beach which was gorgeous and sandy. We also built a sand castle with some of the younger kids- mostly we just wanted to build a sand castle. It was awesome- two walls, a central square piece, three towers, and a walkway. The outer wall, walkway, and top of the central square building were all lined with pebbles (picked with the help of this cute little girl, we tried picking mostly red ones bc that's her favorite color). The fireworks were really good considering the democrats had to raise all the money to fund it with not a big ex-pat community. It was gorgeous seeing them reflected over the water. Another late night though so today at work I’m exhausted!

July 5th

Work was tiring. Mr. Doukas invited me to his house Wednesday to meet his daughters. Tonight Marj/I (angela had a work dinner) went to a Chinese/Thai/Indian restaurant called Chopsticks in Syntagma. We were looking for a different restaurant but stumbled across a china town type area. OMG IT'S 11:11 AS I'M TYPING THIS- just made a wish. I won't say what I wished for...but my theory is that if I consistently wish for something fairly broad this magical 11:11 wish force will eventually hear it and has enough leeway to make the wish come true and surprise me. Since my wishes are pretty broad they usually come true. In the past I've wished for specific things before major events (getting into yale, toc, nats, exams)- pretty decent success rate with the 11:11 wishes haha. Back to the actual post- sorry. We went to this restaurant and split samosas. They were wrapped in phyllo and served with a mint yogurt sauce. Complimentary shrimp chips too with a sweet sauce- yummy. We both had the sizzling thai chicken for dinner which was delicious. We want to take Angela there (I think i'll order the red curry next time and just demand veggies).

After we walked around Syntagma. Lots of cute shops- I'm impressed I haven't really done much shopping here (i really want a jumpsuit/romper...everyone here wears them/we decided they'd be super comfy for travel. i tried one on at rhodes...i looked like a golden snitch...don't think it's my best look). After we stopped in Starbucks. Starbucks is oddly comforting because it's the same everyone- even the decor- yay for US cultural imperialism haha. And there's so much english! the menu, then napkins, bags, etc. Also coffee here is very different- lots of frappes, espressos, greek coffee, and cappuccinos- not so much on the lattes.I got a chai latte and some tazo chai tea bags for home. Also smuggled some sweet and low and straws for home. Overall very nice- Marj and I just wandered/ate from 7 to 10.

I think the first weeks we had such an adjustment shock. The language, fending for ourselves (surprisingly difficult), for the first time absolutely no safety net or supervision. Really we just have each other and within our group mostly our suite (liz is basically adopted into it). So we didn't really explore as much. We would sleep, go to work, cook, chill, and sleep during the week. Now we're exploring/have events a lot more during the week. It means much less sleep but going big.