It's been a bit since I've written because I've been busy with school and travel. When I got home from Paris I did an expert pack/unpack simultaneously job because I had to get ready to go to Greece for the rest of the week. The original plan was to stay in Athens for a few days but with all the riots and protests currently going on we decided one day was enough and then off to an island. The political climate actually wasn't bad at all though. The street next to parliament was barricaded and protected by police vans but other than that there was no indication of unrest.
When we got in we walked around the streets a bit. And because we were in Greece we had to stop for gyros! They were so good, much better than the kebabs in Turin. We saw the Acropolis from afar but it closes early during off season so we had to go back another day. A lot of the streets have random ruins gated off so its similar to Rome in the sense that history and modernity live among the city. The area we walked around was called Monastercian. It has a bunch of little souvenir shops that sold leather sandals and bracelets and worry bead with the eye to ward off evil. It was a fun area to walk around and the weather was a balmy 60 degrees. There was some good shopping too, I bought a summer outfit in a shop on one of the main roads. We soon stopped for dinner. I was determined to get a traditional Greek Salad and it was delicious.
In the morning we woke up really early to catch the ferry from the port of Piraeus (Athens) to the island of Mykonos. I was really excited to go visit the island but not too thrilled about the means of transportation. I hate boats so much and to top it off I wasn't feeling 100%. I slept most of the 4 hour ride and when we arrived I woke to the green mountains and crystal blue seas of Mykonos. The woman from our hostel greeted us at the port and drove us up to our little apartment style hostel. It was an ideal Greek building with the white walls. It overlooked the beach and the port. We were right in the St. Stefano's beach area and it took 2 minutes to walk down to our own “private” beach. All the beaches were deserted because it was the off season so we had almost the whole island to ourselves. We laid on the (very windy) beach for an hour or two and soaked in the atmosphere. It was so relaxing being there and enjoying the island. The colors that surrounded the island were breathtaking and never failed to mystify me. After the beach we walked into town and stopped at a convenience store. We loaded up on junk food from Oreos to Pesto Chips. Overlooking the water we enjoyed our Mythos beers and cheers-ed to spring break 2010. Soon it was sunset and we found ourselves at the famous windmills of Mykonos enjoying the view on the rocks. Afterward we stopped for giant, delicious baklava and then headed home for gyros. One of the funny purchases of the day were Katie's Ancient Lovers playing cards. They had some hilarious scenes on them and we couldn't stop laughing as we played go fish. We are such a wild bunch hahahaha.
The next morning I woke up and ate my baklava on the balcony and enjoyed the breeze from the sea. I really enjoyed the no rush no plan feeling of this whole trip. We walked into town and rented ATV's so we could ride around the island easily. Our first stop was the grocery store for some fresh bread and meats for a beach picnic lunch. Then we followed signs to Super Paradise Beach. The beaches, while beautiful, were littered with plastic bottles and a lot of garbage. I was really surprised by that, in some places it was worse than the Jersey Shore! Super Paradise beach was really pretty and was situated in a rocky area of Mykonos. Then we headed to Agori beach which was also really rocky. Each beach we went to was prettier than the last. Taking silly pictures was a really fun part of this trip. It made me miss my goofy friends at home. For dinner we went to a restaurant in the town on Mykonos, which was really crowded the night before with Greeks so we saw it as a good place to go and taste what the locals like. I had swordfish svovlaki which was really fresh and yum. We went back to the same baklava place and I decided to try their hazelnut cream and apple pie baklava AMAZING! We then rode back up to our hostel and went to bed.
We were really sad to have to return our ATVs and leave the island on Saturday. The weather warmed up to a full 70 degrees so we went full out bathing suits and enjoyed the sand beneath our toes. I had so much fun running around the beach with Drew. We took a few more pictures and then boarded the ferry back to Athens. We sat on the top deck and enjoyed the sun and the breeze. I wrote a few postcards and then slept until our arrival back in Athens.
Sunday morning after we packed up we went to the Acropolis which is free on Sundays! We hiked to the top and it was another gorgeous day. I loved seeing all the ruins and different mythological sculptures. My favorite was the women holding up the temple with their heads as their eternal punishment. It was fun to pose and just enjoy the view of the city from the top. Athens was not somewhere I'd stay for a while but it was definitely fun to see.
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