Sorry for the delay on the post. My iPod could not host this site, so I was unable to post. Luckily, my friends have a computer that I am able to use. So let's start from the beginning.
I arrived to Athens on the 5th, 9 hours after driving up to Montreal with my mom. It was a direct flight which was nice on a big plane. Exhausted and tired, I found Giannis (John) pretty easily after the flight at the airport. After catching a train to his sister's apartment, where we met her cute puppy Ginger, a maltese. After dropping my stuff off, we ended up walking around the city. We went to Ermou, Kolonaki and Monastiraki. Monastiraki is the tourist trap location, with flea markets, bargain prices and silly souvenirs. We were going to go to the Parthenon/Akropolis, but it had closed at 3 and it was 2:45, not nearly enough time for us to reach the top and enjoy our time there. So we went to the Akropolis Museum, where the original parts of the Parthenon are, but since I was so tired, I ended up almost falling asleep. We decided it was best to head back and I could take a nap and be ready for the evening. After getting some food, we headed up towards the university section of Athens, to see what the night life was like. If we had arrived an hour earlier, we would have heard the Red Hot Chili Peppers play, but we arrived when everyone was leaving the show. Being as it was, the streets were filled with people, as were the bars. unable to decide on which loud, smokey bar to go to, we decided to buy some beers and drink them at home. Well unfortunately, the trains all stopped at 15 past midnight. We were trying to leave at 12:20. So we decided to walk part way and then get a taxi home, to decrease the price. After walking around for 30-40 minutes, beers gone or mostly gone, (it's legal to drink in public), we finally got a taxi home and promptly went asleep.
The next day, we woke up late as I was still jet lagged, and got ready to go to the Akropolis. And yes, I know I am spelling it with a K as that is how the Greek spell it. We ended up taking the back root up, and after the long-ish hike (I wore my comfy shoes, Giannis did not) we finally arrived. And well, the views are amazing, but the structures themselves are ok. They are trying to put it back together, using marble and original pieces still on site. Mind you, most of the buildings have been scattered (mainly the British Museum). Giannis told me it has only been within the last 2 centuries that the Parthenon has been destroyed, and it was actually blown up. It was where the Greeks kept their ammunition and gun powder and one night a Turkish man came and blew it up! So if you ever go or if you ever see a piece and it has a round fragment missing, it was actually from cannon balls. After hiking down and taking a bus into the city, we met up with Giannis' friend Nikos. We sat down at a cafe and had some drinks. I had a Freddo, which is an iced cappachino, which was quite nice. Dad keeps telling me that the Greeks don't have good coffee, but obviously that has changed in the last 40 years.
We headed back early, as we were catching a ferry to Chios at 9 in the evening. Now when I think of ferries, I think of small, dirty ships that carry cars and people; they are relatively small, and not more than 2 stories. Well, I almost shat myself when I saw this one. It was a cruise ship sized ship, 3 levels for cars with the bottom floor being for cargo trucks, 2 floors of airplane seats, and the top floor was the deck. Now we had airplane seats, which are nice, leather seats in 2 rows of 3. There were a few TVs, but the shows were in Greek and Turkish, so I couldn't understand them, but Giannis had his computer so we watched a movie. From there, it was trying to sleep that was the problem. I am usually pretty good at falling asleep on planes, but with not tray table, I couldn't fold over like I normally do, so falling asleep was a challenge. Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well.
We arrived at the Chios (pronounced He-ose) at 4 in the morning. Giannis got a snack, while I just wanted to sleep, we found my room (which was right on the port), Giannis went home and I fell asleep. 7 hours later I woke and we started on my second part of Greece, which I will describe more later, along with pictures. Giannis parents got the room for me, as their house was "messy" and the room I was to stay in was"unfit" for a guest. Which was untrue, but they were kind enough to get me a room with the view of the port, a full sized bed, and a restroom. So it was perfect. But I must go. We're going out, Vinia (Giannis' sister).
Alright must love! Joya
I arrived to Athens on the 5th, 9 hours after driving up to Montreal with my mom. It was a direct flight which was nice on a big plane. Exhausted and tired, I found Giannis (John) pretty easily after the flight at the airport. After catching a train to his sister's apartment, where we met her cute puppy Ginger, a maltese. After dropping my stuff off, we ended up walking around the city. We went to Ermou, Kolonaki and Monastiraki. Monastiraki is the tourist trap location, with flea markets, bargain prices and silly souvenirs. We were going to go to the Parthenon/Akropolis, but it had closed at 3 and it was 2:45, not nearly enough time for us to reach the top and enjoy our time there. So we went to the Akropolis Museum, where the original parts of the Parthenon are, but since I was so tired, I ended up almost falling asleep. We decided it was best to head back and I could take a nap and be ready for the evening. After getting some food, we headed up towards the university section of Athens, to see what the night life was like. If we had arrived an hour earlier, we would have heard the Red Hot Chili Peppers play, but we arrived when everyone was leaving the show. Being as it was, the streets were filled with people, as were the bars. unable to decide on which loud, smokey bar to go to, we decided to buy some beers and drink them at home. Well unfortunately, the trains all stopped at 15 past midnight. We were trying to leave at 12:20. So we decided to walk part way and then get a taxi home, to decrease the price. After walking around for 30-40 minutes, beers gone or mostly gone, (it's legal to drink in public), we finally got a taxi home and promptly went asleep.
The next day, we woke up late as I was still jet lagged, and got ready to go to the Akropolis. And yes, I know I am spelling it with a K as that is how the Greek spell it. We ended up taking the back root up, and after the long-ish hike (I wore my comfy shoes, Giannis did not) we finally arrived. And well, the views are amazing, but the structures themselves are ok. They are trying to put it back together, using marble and original pieces still on site. Mind you, most of the buildings have been scattered (mainly the British Museum). Giannis told me it has only been within the last 2 centuries that the Parthenon has been destroyed, and it was actually blown up. It was where the Greeks kept their ammunition and gun powder and one night a Turkish man came and blew it up! So if you ever go or if you ever see a piece and it has a round fragment missing, it was actually from cannon balls. After hiking down and taking a bus into the city, we met up with Giannis' friend Nikos. We sat down at a cafe and had some drinks. I had a Freddo, which is an iced cappachino, which was quite nice. Dad keeps telling me that the Greeks don't have good coffee, but obviously that has changed in the last 40 years.
We headed back early, as we were catching a ferry to Chios at 9 in the evening. Now when I think of ferries, I think of small, dirty ships that carry cars and people; they are relatively small, and not more than 2 stories. Well, I almost shat myself when I saw this one. It was a cruise ship sized ship, 3 levels for cars with the bottom floor being for cargo trucks, 2 floors of airplane seats, and the top floor was the deck. Now we had airplane seats, which are nice, leather seats in 2 rows of 3. There were a few TVs, but the shows were in Greek and Turkish, so I couldn't understand them, but Giannis had his computer so we watched a movie. From there, it was trying to sleep that was the problem. I am usually pretty good at falling asleep on planes, but with not tray table, I couldn't fold over like I normally do, so falling asleep was a challenge. Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well.
We arrived at the Chios (pronounced He-ose) at 4 in the morning. Giannis got a snack, while I just wanted to sleep, we found my room (which was right on the port), Giannis went home and I fell asleep. 7 hours later I woke and we started on my second part of Greece, which I will describe more later, along with pictures. Giannis parents got the room for me, as their house was "messy" and the room I was to stay in was"unfit" for a guest. Which was untrue, but they were kind enough to get me a room with the view of the port, a full sized bed, and a restroom. So it was perfect. But I must go. We're going out, Vinia (Giannis' sister).
Alright must love! Joya
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