Later on in the evening we had karaoke at George's for the last time. I sat and talked with George's wife and his daughter for a while. I learned so much about Greek culture and they are really fun to talk to.
Today was kind of awful. I got absolutely no sleep but it was still totally worth it. After class I slept until out exam.
Later on in the evening we had karaoke at George's for the last time. I sat and talked with George's wife and his daughter for a while. I learned so much about Greek culture and they are really fun to talk to.
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This morning we woke up and got our rental car. I was really excited about this because driving in greece is crazy and I was excited to conquer it (don't worry we didn't have any problems). The guy we rented the car from kept making fun of the Chinese driving and it was hilarious.
We left for Oia and we were all so excited to start the day. We dressed up so Danielle could take our pictures with her nice camera. On our way into Oia we ran into the guy that saw Danielle pee on the roof the day prior. This was SO funny! He wanted to talk to us so bad but when he came over he couldn't even talk about it because he was laughing so hard. We walked around Oia taking pictures and doing a little shopping. Then we were set to find a winery. Santorini is known for its wine and hey have many different winery's. The one we went to sat right on a black sand beach. We learned how the wine was made then got to taste four different vines and vinegar for bread. I'm not the biggest wine person but they were all so good!! And the vinegar was the best. I wish I could have brought some with us but since we didn't check bags I couldn't have it on the plane. After that we got gyros and drove up the worlds steepest mountain trying to get to the other side. When we got to the top it was just a dead end. It wasn't what we were hoping for but it was really funny. We drove back down and walk through Fira for a bit which is the center town. We did a little bit of shopping and got chill boxes. Chill boxes are frozen yogurt where you can put your own stuff inside. I got kinder in mine. The USA really needs to adopt kinder! It's so good!! After that we drove to Ammoudi Bay which is exactly where The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was filmed. There was a fun restaurant where the servers were talking to us on our way back from the bay and they let us try sundried octopus. It was sooo good! I have calamari for almost every meal here because it is so good!! We got to the bay and saw some people cliff jumping so of course we had to do it. It didn't look too tall until we climbed to the top then it was terrifying!! The water was so clear that you could see the rocks at the bottom. I went second and my heart was beating so fast I felt like I was in the air forever. When I came up from the water I was so liberated. It was so exciting. Once we were all in the water off of the cliff Danielle said "I didn't tell you guys before because I knew you'd be scared but there are sea erchants all over" great. So needless to say we all booked it back to shore. We drove back to the hostel after that to get some wifi for a bit and return our car. The man we rented the car from took us to the airport at 9:30. On our way to the airport we saw a drunk lady get hit by a car and arrested. MYTH DEBUNKED: some people say that Greeks never get drunk. That's totally not true. They are actually always drunk lol. After our first flight we again had to sleep in the airport until our 5:00 am plane back to corfu. Sleeping in an airport is impossible. I would compare it to being homeless. It's just awful. So with no sleep we got to corfu at 6:30 am and were expected to be in class at 9:00am. But it was all so worth it. When our plane landed in Santorini we got there just in time to start out trip with the Santorini sunrise. It was gorgeous. we got to our hostel around 6:30am. Not to sound like a brat but I have never stayed in a hostel before and I was kind of nervous about it. When we got there is was sooooo pleasantly surprised. It was so pretty!! The man that owned the hostel was an older Greek man and him and his family ran it for 12 years. He was SO wonderful. He was so helpful and full of love and kindness. Greek people are some of the most genuine people I have ever met. He fed us (free) breakfast and gave us some insight around the island.
At first we decided that a boat tour would be cool to do but then we read some reviews and changed our minds. Once we regrouped we decided to to go Oia for the day. Oia is incredible. When you think of "typical greece" you think of Oia. While houses laced along mountain sides dressed in colors of white and blue. During this time Danielle really had to pee and so we went to a roof top where no one was looking and she went there. There was a hotel right across from us and one of the workers and his friends started laughing so hard at us! Then we left and he came running after us. We thought we were in trouble so we started running too but he just wanted to talk to us to tell us it was ok. I've never laughed so hard in my life. It was awesome. After walking around there for a bit we went to a black sand beach and ate some snacks and hung out for a bit. I really love spending time with Maddie and Danielle! We laugh so much together and we can literally talk about anything. It's so fun!! There is a walking trail that we had read about in a blog about Santorini. We found the walking trail which took you from one end of the island to the other (Oia to Fira). We were REALLLLY tired and it was really hot but we heard it has beautiful views and was a must-do in Santorini. The reviews were not wrong! After about an hour and a half of up-hill hiking I was witnessing the most breath taking view of the world I have ever seen. Eventually we took a cab back to the hostel though. When we got back to the hostel we showered and rested a little then went to dinner to watch the infamous sunset. At dinner I had the best calamari I have ever had!!! The sun was SO big! Bright red sun intermixed with shades of purples and yellows covered the sky. It was absolutely a one of a kind experience. I wish I could fully describe this with words but there are literally no words that can adequately justify it. After dinner we walked through some shops and went back into the hostel. I have never slept so good in my life. Today after class we went to a beach called Ibsos. It was really hot today so the cool water was nice. The water is all ice cold here, they say the water doesn't get warm until August. It was a beautiful beach though and we got some good pictures.
ALSOOOOOO: I'm going to Santorini tonight! Yay!!! I'm so excited. I'm going with my friends Danielle and Maddie Tonight Erika, Abby, Gabbi, Kyra, Kristen and I went to Natalus for dinner and the sunset was absolutely stunning. It sets so fast here but we don’t see the moon very often.
ALSO- My best friend Monica got engaged today!! That was super exciting! Her and Graham are in South Africa, they climbed eight hours to the top of a mountain and then he popped the question. I am so happy for them!! I also did yoga and meditation tonight with Maddie and Danielle. I was feeling a little homesick today and it really helped me feel better and get my emotions in check. Tonight we played card games in Maddie and Danielle’s room. I have not laughed that hard in a while. I have so much fun with this group!
Today we woke up and traveled some more to a monestary that was built in the 14 century. We took a ferry to a small island. The island was beautiful, I can’t believe some people wake up to the beautiful view of the mountains and the sea. We got to the monestary and it was incredibly impressive. The picutres were so detailed and the colors were still very vibrant. It was neat going with Demitrius, the director of the Ionian University, because he knew the history behind every picture.
When we were their the same kid who stole the beers from Theos boat cruise was picking the paint off the walls. I was beside myself when I saw him doing this. Another girl saw him too and was closer than I saw to him and slapped his arm. This was probably one of the most disrespectful acts I have ever seen. After we got done looking at the monestary we walked around the island for a while. I love talking to the people who work in the little businesses. They are all so warm and friendly. We took some pictures and then were off to more traveling. We went to the Dodona which was the oracle of Zeus at one time. We saw the first theater ever made. I cant believe how well the sncient Greeks knew how to preserve the stuff they made. It’s also really cool to think about how many people have been to that place before. After that we traveled about three more hours to a beach to get lunch (at 5:00pm lol). When we got there I had my meal with Maddie and Gabbi, we had a really yummy salad and a crepe! I will really miss the salads and crepes from Greece! Then we walked around the beautiful area for a while. I was ready to be back to Corfu by this point in time. It had been a long weekend of traveling. We got back on the bus to get back on the ferry. Once we were on the ferry we played some card games to pass the time. There were soooo many kids on the ferry boat that it kind of made it miserable. We finally got home around 10:30 pm and I fell asleep fast! This weekend we had an excursion to Vergina and Dodona we woke up at 8 am and took a two-hour ferry to mainland Greece. I really enjoy hanging out with everyone here and the view was beautiful so I didn’t mind the ferry ride. Then we had a four-hour bus ride to the tomb of King Phillip and Alexander the Great’s son. On our way there we stopped at a gas station for lunch. The gas station eating areas are NOTHING like the ones in America. There were chandeliers and a big banquet table. It was very modern looking. There was a swimming pool and an actual restaurant. I got a ham and cheese croissant and it was really good. Then we got back on the bus and continued our travels to these tombs.
When we got there we had a guided tour and our tour guide was so funny. He was so dynamic and rehearsed that we couldn’t help but laugh at him. It was really cool seeing all of the original artifacts that were found in the tomb. These tombs were laid in the 1400’s and just recently found in 2004. The actual crowns of King Phillip and his wife were still there and fully in tact. They were beautiful and extremely exquisite. Their original armor was found too and I was so surprised how short the people where, their shin guards were smaller than my shins. When I think about ancient Greeks I think about large fighting men, this proved that my image was false. They are small fighting men. After the tour we got back on the bus for another four hours. We finally got to our Hotel in Ioanina for the night and it as probably the worst hotel I have ever stayed in. The room smelled like smoke and the beds weren’t very nice. It was over all very dirty. One thing that I will not miss about Europe is the smoking. It is everywhere and it’s disgusting. The town was really cute though; it kind of had an Italy feel to it. We ate at 9:00pm (that’s the usual time that Greeks have dinner, crazy huh?). The restaurant was very fancy and beautiful. We had five courses, some of the best food I’ve had here. After dinner we came back to the hotel and all suffered through the night. Today was a holiday in Corfu so we didn’t have school today. Today is when they celebrate all seven of the Ionian Islands becoming apart of mainland Greece. There was festivities downtown today so we got there around 11:00am to check out the scene. A Greek festival is different than an American festival. When they reference a parade they mean different marching bands marching down the streets of Corfu. This was really cool; there were about seven different bands that I saw and the band members were comprised of all ages.
My friend Maddie is a certified yoga instructor and we have been doing yoga frequently throughout the trip. Tonight a few of us went down to the beach across from our hotel and did yoga under the stars on the beach. This was one of the most relaxing things that I have done in a while. I used to hate yoga and think it was boring but now I’m growing to really like it. I was talking to Maddie about how she got into yoga and she told me how her freshman year things of the world and the people she was surrounded by weren’t giving her the support she needed so she found that when she found peace within herself she knew that she could give herself the things she was looking for to fill her up from the outside world. I am greatly appreciative that she told me this story. It really hit home for me in many circumstances. When we do yoga at the end of our time she always says “stay in this peace and know that just by being you everything is ok”. I really love this and want to apply it to my life when I go back home and life gets going again. Today I got a little shopping done with my friend Kyla. When we came back we went on a run. Running here is a totally new ball game; there are so many steep hills. But it’s a good work out.
Kyla, Gabbi and I went to a place called Ma Cocotte for dinner tonight. They serve mainly American style dishes. IT WAS AMAZING. I needed a good club sandwich and fries so bad it was reviving. So good! We went out to a bar called The Bar later on in the evening. It was fun being with everyone but the bar scene here really confuses me. When we went to the club there was incredibly loud music so you can’t talk to one another and no dancing, everyone kind of just stands around. Then when we went to this bar and there was still really loud music so you would have to scream at the person next to you if you wanted to talk to them. It’s kind of like how Americans have coffee during the day, but you cant hear each other. |
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June 2015
AuthorMy name is Leah Franklin, I am a junior at The Ohio State University. Follow me on my journey to new places! Share all your thoughts, advice, and experiences. Categories |