Friends, you can also follow Michelle’s blog for more fun stories & pictures from our journey: http://ardentadventurer.blogspot.com
For the first time on this trip, we got more than 5 hours of sleep during the night!It was a-ma-zing! And, our hostel actually has AC!Showers were a little shady though.As you shower, there are definitely people in the stalls next to you taking care of their “business.”Ew!
Our first order of business this morning - STARBUCKS!!!!I have to say, we were all SO excited to finally have a Starbucks.An iced, soy, latte with sugar-free vanilla never tasted so good!
With of the success of our caffeine fix, we were anxiously headed to ACROPOLIS! As we arrived at the ticket gate, we were hoping to pass for college students, I mean come one give us a break! Sadly, reality set in when they told us you had to be born after 1991! Guess the Greeks don’t give into our American Charm. As we hiked up the Acropolis we desperately searching for signs to help explain this monumental city, however by much surprise they informed us on the renovations and nothing in regards to the history of these ancient ruins! So, it’s sad to admit…but we’re kinda fuzzy on what went down in this city! We do know that in Greek God world, Athena ruled the throne!
Now’s the part where our day gets interesting. After several failed attempts we catch a taxi to take us to the “Church on the Hill”. From the first day, this impressive hill has captured my attention and I won’t leave till I conquer it. Fortunately, the girls were up for an adventure. First off, the cab driver has NO idea what we are talking about when we tell him where we want to go (mind you, it’s a GINORMOUS hill in the middle of Athens with a prominent church on top). Frustrating. We end up driving around and stopping to ask not one, or two, but more like 8 people how to get there. I’m pretty fed up with him at this point because he is driving in circles like a maniac running up our fare. Finally, upon passing another taxi driver a second time I take the initiative to yell to him and see if he can help. He tells us that our destination can be reached by a set of stairs only feet away from where we are and we decide to get out of the taxi. I open my door and am trying to figure out the cost as our driver rudely tries to drive off! I tell him to stop and that we are getting out and he tells me no and tries to pull off again while my door is open. I am livid at this point and tell him to stop and that we are getting out. I tell the girls to get out and we do so at once. He’s lucky we paid him at all! That was undoubtedly the worst cab experience I’ve ever had and I was glad for the hike we had ahead of ourselves to let off some steam! It was a pretty long jaunt, but so worth it! Not only did we get an incredible 360 view of Athens, but also got ourselves into a little pickle…and by us I mean Ashley and Lindsay! They decided it was a good idea to sneak into one of the back rooms at the church and put on the robes they found and take funny pictures. It was all fun and games until a loud crashing metal object alerted the church attendant who frantically runs over shouting who knows what in Greek at them. The girls shimmied out of their robes at lightning speed - I’ve never seen them or an old man move so fast! And we all bolted for the door and down the steps with the fear of God, and man, close on our heels.
It was probably best that this was our last stop of the day. By the time we plowed down the hill we were the epitome of weary travelers. Nothing a little gelato couldn’t take care of. J An hour or so later we are in yet another crazy cab headed to Piraeus, the port of Athens for our 9:30pm ferry departure for Mykonos. We are excited to spend 2 nights on this crazy beautiful island!
Things we LOVE about Athens:
- Black market shopping!
- Restaurants are desperate for customers! We were offered free wine & desserts!
Alarm goes off at 6:00 AM. We leave for the airport at 8:00 AM to catch our flight to Athens. For one last hoo-rah, we decided to snag a chocolate croissant from our favorite bakery. Normally, nothing special would have happened here. We would have grabbed our croissant and been on our merry little way to the taxi stop. However, nothing “normal” seems to happen when we are involved. As we walk in the bakery, Valentino (a person, not the designer) meets us with a VERY warm, a little too warm for our taste, welcome. Valentino is exactly the way you would think a young Italian man would react to three young American girls. One would have thought we were long-lost loves, separated by war, seeing each other for the first time in decades. But no. We were strangers. He not only hugged, and I mean huuuuged us, but also kissed us, squeezed us and wanted pictures with us. He actually wanted to kiss on the lips and also gave Haley his number! It was a tough goodbye for Valentino as he gave us one last Italian farewell, kissing each of us on the cheek and trying whisper sweet nothings in Haley’s ear and plead for just one kiss. Um, NO. Sorry Valentino. You and your three front teeth are not my type! As we check into our flight, barely passing the luggage weight limit, we find that there is a STRIKE in Athens so our flight has been delayed for one hour. Not a huge deal until we got on our plane (via a bus - interesting by the way) and it was again delayed for yet another hour. By now, anytime we get a chance to sit, we basically fall asleep. Shortly after we take off for Athens, the flight crew bring by a meal. A meal for a two-hour flight people! Hello, America, why don’t we do this?? Peanuts?...no thank you American Airlines. We were pretty pumped about this meal…until we saw it. People, this thing consisted of noodles, random brown round shaped balls, and this sorry excuse for “chicken.” However, this sadly wasn’t the most disappointing element on the plate. The worst, by far, was this thing that looked like some two-year old shot it in a diaper. Ashley was talked into trying it and after about 2 seconds in her mouth, she had to spit it out. Appalling. The airport we landed in Athens was a good indication of how communicating in this country was going to go. FAIL. Not only is it not a Latin language (related to Spanish, Italian & French), they also don’t use the Alphabet. Hmmm… I mean, I know we were in a sorority and all, but who really remembers the Greek Alphabet or what sounds they make? Collectively, we knew the letters Chi, Omega, Gamma, Phi, and Beta. This could be a problem. Additionally, as opposed to Italy were most people spoke a little bit of English, hardly anyone in Athens speaks English. We couldn’t even guess because their words sound something like this, “kinthindonenissis.” What? Exactly. So, because of this strike that is going on in Athens, no public transportation was available to take us from the airport to the city. We step outside to find a long line of patrons waiting for taxis. At least 200 people long! Luck was on our side and we wound up sharing the cab with a lady from New York who had a map, was heading to the same neighborhood as us, and also was mildly successful in communicating with our cab driver. I’ll take time skip the part where our cab driver tried to find our hostel. Let’s just say, we got there. Later that night we met up with our fourth friend, Michelle, grabbed a bite to eat, watched a dog sing along with a man and a trumpet, ate dessert on a rooftop that overlooked Athens, and called it a night.
3:00 in the AM: We make it home from sightseeing at the Fontain de Treve with Flavio and friends.
3:10 in the AM: Heads hit the pillow because we have a 6am train. At this moment Haley and Lindsay start getting their rail passes out for the Cinque Terra...Ashley pops up and asks if we need some sort of ticket. Haley says ... "You're kidding right?" Ashley- "What? You're kidding." We soon realize that Ashley has no actual ticket for our train that leaves in 3 hrs.This would not be a big deal in the U.S….however with no internet access…too early for an internet café…and the lack of a ticket should mean no entry not to mention the disclaimer for “no refund for lost or stolen tickets”…let’s just say we were up a creek!We set the alarm for 45 min of sleep to get up and figure things out.
4:00 in the AM: After 45 min of sleeping we wake up and get ready to figure things out.We go to the neighbor hotel and knock on the door to beg (and by beg we mean “pay-off”) the desk clerk to let us use his internet bc we have an emergency.We get the confirmation and try to take it to the train station… and oh by the way Lindsay had to spend most of the time trying to figure out if we’re even at the right train station while Haley and I are on a mission to get to the office and beg for a ticket.The next hiccup is that the office doesn’t open until 6am when our train leaves.As this story should go…we had a homeless man that showed us the right “bin” for our train and she also has the bright idea that I should just be a “stowaway” on the train bc they don’t check tickets until we’ve already departed.At this point it’s do or die…we don’t know if being on without a real ticket could result in getting kicked off or arrested….but we’re all in this together!Needless to say we worked our charm with the Italian men…and made it to the Cinque Terra.Keep in mind this is our third day on 5 hrs of sleep so far.
10:00 am:We deliriously arrive in the Cinque Terra after having to “canoodle” on the train ride bc apparently the Eurotrain challenges a good game of “freeze out!”At one point Haley looks back and Ashley was playing big spoon to Lindsay to try to keep warm!Upon arrival we are ashamed to admit that we were overly ecstatic to find a “MacDonalds” … the idea of having something “American” had never sounded so good!We take a train village to village and let’s just say the beauty was indescribable!The Mediterranean was the most beautiful body of water we had ever seen…completely turquoise with the perfect combination of a Hawaiian terrain and European splendor!We were so preoccupied with our train situation we totally forgot to bring a swimsuit….but we were bound and determined to get in the water.You ask our solution?A paddleboat of course!We get out on the water and lesson of the day … let’s just say Europeans definitely consider the human body a “work of art!”
As you all know we are quite the outdoorsmen… so naturally we attempt to hike from one village to the next.This seemed to be a leisurely scenic tour but quickly shaped up to be designed to teach us how out of shape we are.No water, one blister, and twenty minutes later we realize we have just started a 2 hr hike according to other hikers.We can imagine your surprise to realize we weren’t quite the outdoorsmen we thought we were!
The third village we go to we spend a total of 12 minutes playing “Magellan” and discovering the new village…we are on a quest for one solitary restaurant with air conditioning so we can eat (and by eat we mean order so we can sleep at a table). If you haven’t picked up on the fact that air conditioning is a commodity in certain spots of Italy…let me take the opportunity to reiterate this.After asking locals, American tourists and trying out most of the town we decide that we will settle for some hot steps on one of the main streets.Bc we were on 1 hr of sleep we collectively and simultaneously fell asleep.When you’re this tired we learned that a water bottle tends to make a pretty nice pillow…I hope that illustrates how deliriously tired we were.After a cat nap we decide to go to dinner and instinctively sit at a table served by a waiter that has Haley and Ashley mesmerized.Apparently being swept off your feet can lead to yet ANOTHER instance of running to catch our train that connects to our train going to Rome.After barely making the first train we made our connection with only 5 minutes to spare.Keep in mind missing this train would have ruined the trip… we not only would have missed getting back to Rome that night but also our flight for Greece the next day.Low and behold adrenaline rush of being late still led to us successfully making the train and an extra 3 hr ride to try to catch up on sleep…have I mentioned this too is a commodity?!We made it home safely at midnight … everything was so worth seeing such a remarkable series of villages!
Sorry we're just now updating, we've seriously been backpacking Europe which means running on 5 hours of sleep within 3 days!!! We're basically running off adrenalin!
So, after returning to our hostel at 2:00 AM on Monday, we woke up early at 7:00 AM to get ready to go to the Vatican. We met up with our tour guide, Jeremiah, from the previous day when we saw the Colosseum at 9:30. Jeremiah is from California so he was a great contact to have while we were there. He helped us find a good tour so we didn't have to wait hours in the line or pay a ton of money. The only hiccup on this whole ordeal is that we were told by our 60-some-odd old hostel granny that in order to be able to see the Vatican, we had to cover our shoulders, knees and feet - wouldn't want the Pope to lust after us! Keep in mind that it is HOT in Rome. So here we are, in our mom jeans, mom sneakers, and tops! We were a site for sore eyes and we looked HOT! Kidding of course, we looked like nerdy tourists but it was funny!
The Vatican we breathtaking. We learned about each room and the art and history each. Of course, the Sistine Chapel was incredible. We finished up the tour of the Vatican and, as luck would have it, Saint Peter's was closed. Y'all, I just don't know how to put into words how hot we were in jeans and sneakers!
By this time it was late afternoon so we walked around a little - trying to find an iPhone store so Ashley could buy another phone - then we wound up heading back to our hostel so we could get ready to meet up with our Italian friends! Long story short - we got back to our hostel, updated our blog, got ready and Flavio and friends picked us up for dinner at fashionable hot spot. We had such an awesome evening with Flavio! He was Lindsay's sister's foreign exchange student. He brought his girlfriend and two of this friends. They bought us dinner and took us to see St. Angeles' Palace and the Treve Fountain. These wound up being two of our favorite places in Rome. St. Angeles' Palace is where the Pope, cardinals, and other dignitaries would flee to if Rome was under attack. It was protected by a moat and you had to take the Bridge of Angels to get there. The bridges of Angels was beautiful too and it was in the movie Angels and Demons which was kind of cool! After that, we made our way to the Treve Fountain, tossed in our pennies and finally headed home...at 2 in the morning!! All in all, we saw so many amazing things and had an awesome time. People were so surprised that we'd covered so much ground in our two days in Rome!
Key learnings today: - DO NOT WEAR JEANS WHEN TOURING ROME. You will sweat one million pounds of water. - You DO NOT need to wear closed-toe shoes to the Vatican. The Pope doesn't care! - There are NO Apple stores in Rome, no matter how hard to look or ask people - Metro is the best way to travel, do not take the buses - Italians are SO nice and hospitable - Hair dryers have the same effect as does one blowing air on your hair with your mouth. If you have more than 5 strands of hair, prepare to sweat, get frustrated and and have your hair look like you stuck your finger in an electrical outlet. - AC is a commodity that we all take for granted in the states. Just wait until you walk all over Rome, come back to a hot hostel room and then try to sleep. Doesn't happen.
Check in for the next time we blog, we've got a real interesting story from our travels to Cinque Terre :) -Haley, Lindsay and Ashley
Sooo...it's been quite the adventure so far from almost missing our flight, to chatting with the police, and jumping into monumental fountains, which results in Ashley ruining her precious iPhone! We are soaking up every second here, which means running on 4 hours of sleep. One thing we've noticed...Italian men LOVE American girls!
Tonight we're meeting up with Flavio & Friends, time to chill with the locals!
Sites We've Seen Thus Far: - Colleseum - Palestine Hill - Vatican - St. Peter's Basilica - Piazza Novona - Roman empire ruins - Sistine Chapel
Things we LOVE: - GELATO - Jumping into fountains ( Not to worry, no arrest this far)
Key Learnings: - Police are policemen at night and criminals by day! - Metro not bus (We've definitely failed on the bus) - Air condition hostel is a must (2 fans just don't cut it) - Don't lock your keys to your suitcase lock inside your suitcase - No need to wear closed toe shoes to the Vatican - Covered you shoulders and knees is all you need! Don't worry we work our Mom sneakers with jeans and also covered every inch of our shoulders....we probably lost about 20 lbs in water weight. Consequently, we haven't exactly figured out the mathematics, but we seem to be retaining water, at an exponential rate. - Look over the menu prices before committing to a table and ordering a glass a wine to avoid the temptation to up and leave your Albanian waiter.
Sunday, July 4th at 10:46am Haley, Ashley & I will be on our way to ROME! European Adventure -- July 5-6th - Rome, Italy July 7th - Cinque Terra July 8-9th - Athens, Greece July 9-10th - Paros, Greece July 10-12th - Mykonos/Crete July 12th - Santorini July 14th - Home
