Greece: Sunsets, Beauty, and LOTS of hills

We arrived in Athens and were greeted by our host, Eleni thru Airbnb.com.  Her apartment was lovely and spacious and she made us feel most at home.  Ater unpacking and getting organized, we met up with Jasmine, my dear friend Sonia's sister.  Since she had a car and knew we were going to be traveling only by foot and metro, she decided to take us outside the city for a drive along Athen's coastline to see  the sea.  It was a beautiful drive and she pointed out famous spots on the island, the beaches she frequents, etc while we were going pass.

We travelled to see the Temple of Athena and it was nice because it was our first historic site in Greece and there was hardly any crowds there since it's in such a remote part of the island.  After the Temple, Jasmine took us to a favorite restaurant of  her's that she said had excellent seafood.  The place did not disappoint!  It was absolutely delish!  We feasted on a greek salads platter, steamed mussels with feta cheese (to die) and topped it off with a sampling of yogurt, honey and fruit and a chocolate biscuit/cake dish.

 It was all so good and no other meal we ate in Greece compared to that one.  The rest were still quite good but THAT meal, was amazing!  After dinner we drove back into town and Jasmine took us to her gorgeous apartment for a nightcap.  We really enjoyed our time with her and are so grateful that she took time out of her schedule to show us her beautiful city and home.

The following day we strapped our walking shoes on and trekked all over Athens to see the famous Greek ruins like the Acropolis, Temple of Agora, Parthenon, Temple of Zeus, and Theater of Dionysus to name a few.  We walked a total of 7.5 miles and much of it was up and down hills.  I discovered Greece is very hilly and I definitely got my workout while we were there!  It was amazing to me that the Greeks lugged these enormous pieces of marble stone to build these incredible structures on top of high hills without modern day machinery, truly a wonder.  Now I know why those Greek gods were so fit and buff!

It was very hot in Athens and stupid me forgot to wear sunscreen and so I got burned and now have a funny scoop neck tan line on my chest.  Greece also had a bit of Florida's humidity which Jasmine said was unusual but Bill and I recognized it right away.  Evil humidity!  That evening Eleni let us use stuff in her fridge to make dinner and we had a lovely chat out on her terrace.  She recently went to the US for a month and was telling us all about her trip and asking us why they don't just include sales tax with the sticker price of the merchandise so there's no suprises when you get to the register.  In Europe everything is included in the cost of the item (including tip at restaurants) and it does make things easier.  I simply agreed with her and said the US was behind the times on that point.


The next day we left for Athens for Santorini and were greeted with our first strike.  The Metro was closed and so we were forced to take a cab to our destination.  I reallyl don't understand the point of strikes.  They don't seem to hurt anyone but the people who have to use public transport.  As I'm typing this blog, I'm sitting in the Athens airport on my third hour of delay due to another strike.  This one with the airlines.  Very frustrating.  We were supposed to leave at 1:45 and it's now 4pm and we still haven't left yet and they don't know when it will end.... :(

Anyhow, back to Santorini.  We arrived in Santorini and everything truly looked just like the postcards, gorgeous!  The hotel we stayed at was beautiful as well and we had a nice pool deck, room with a view of the pool, AC (a first since we've been in Europe), and a mini-fridge (which was nice to be able to eat on the cheap from the grocery store, those Euros hurt after a while).  Our first day in Santorini I relaxed by the pool and got some R&R.  We've been going non-stop  so it was nice to take a break and do nothing for a day.  Bill of course could not sit and do nothing so he went hiking all around town.  We were staying just outside of Fira Town so it was about a mile walk (15 mins) into town and a lot of that was up hill.  I wanted some wine to drink for the time we were there and popped into this store and the guy was like you wan to try the house wine, it's 3.50 Euros.  I was like sure!  He takes a water bottle, dumps the remaining water into his plants and then fills up the bottle from a spout in the wall.  Being the budget drinker I am, I loved it and it was actually good wine too!

Later that evening we went into town together and Bill showed me a great view he had found of the Caldera earlier.  Seeing Fira at night nestled in the cliffs was really beautiful.  There was lots going on in Fira, the place was hoppin till the wee hours.  We were amazed at how late everything stayed open, even the grocery stores were open till midnight.  We mainly just walked around and looked at stuff in the shops and I picked up a few souvenirs for my girlfriends back home.  It's a good thing I am on a budget, because I could have done some serious damage in Greece, I wanted to buy everything!

The next day we booked a boat tour to the visit the volcano and swim at the thermal springs.  Apparently Santorini is a very dangerous place because the volcano is still active and just never know when it could wake up.  Our guide was very passionate about explaining all he knew about the volcano and said a little something happens about every 50 years or so but the last time it erupted was 3,500 years ago, still the strongest eruption on record in the world.  He said you see so many churches on Santorini (and there were a LOT) because everyone prays the volcano doesn't erupt!  The hike was cool, very dry and rocky.  It was definitely a workout for me but of course for Bill, he loved it and barely broke a sweat.  It was really windy at the top though but I thought it was nice after all the sweating I did to GET to the top.  After the volcano, we got back on the boat and sailed over the thermal springs for a dip.  You had to jump off the boat (the water was cold too) and swim about 30 meters to get to thermal part of the sea.   Because the thermal springs are a part of the Aegean, the cold water mixes with the warm so it actually wasn't that hot.  I was hoping for hot tub temps but was a little disappointed.  The water was this yellow color too because of the sulfur.  The water that day was a little choppy too so swimming in the ocean to get to the springs, we both got more than a mouthful of salt water along the way.  But all in all, an experience.

At the port in Fira, you have to go down about 575 steps to get there and they have a few options: You can take the cable car (for which there is a long line), walk it, or ride a donkey.  I was okay going down the steps (with the exception of all the donkey droppings you have to endure and sidestep) but I was not about to walk UP.  Plus I wanted to ride the donkeys anyhow :)  So Bill walked up and I rode a donkey.   It was fun!  You have to hold on tight because it's going stairs the whole way and so you're bouncing around.   When we got back to our hotel afterwards, Bill discovered that his credit card must have fallen out of his pocket on the way up the stairs so he had to go back and look for it.  He didn't find it and so he had to cancel and have a new one sent to our next location in a few days, Rome.  So that was a bit of a bump in the road.  Poor Bill he had all the bad luck in Santorini....

One thing I really loved about Greece though  is the food.  It's a cheese lovers dream!   Feta on everything, fried cheese, cheese crouquettes, cheese and bread, I ate it ALL.  I loved all the greek salads and dips too.  Bill however has been having trouble finding beans (his source of protein) in the dishes of the coutries we've been in lately so he's had to have some meat to get his protein intake with all the exercise he's been doing.  Luckily, he's been a good sport about it.  I kept thinking of the scene in My Big Fat Greek Wedding where they're at the engagement party and her fiance say's he's a vegetarian and the whole room stops to look at him and then the mom says "Don't worry, we have lamb!"  LOL

Our last day in Santorini I wanted to take it easy by the pool again because our travel to Italy was going to be go-go-go again.  Bill went hiking up to one of the moutains near town (of course).   Later in the afternoon we took the bus to the famous town of Oia (that you see in all the postcards) to watch the sunset.  It's just like the pictures, very idyllic, but I'm glad we only went for a few hours because there wasn't a lot to do there once you had walked thru town once, not a lot going on.  The sunset and there were a TON of people lining the steps and sidewalk to watch.  It's a must-see sunset while your in Santorini.

We got the bus back to Fira, got some gelato cones for our walk back to the hotel and Bill started walking much faster than normal.  He got back before me and when I got in, he was in terrible pain in the bathroom.  Apparently you're supposed to peel the skin of fruit in any foreign country, even Greece because they don't treat their produce the same as ours.  We think Bill got a bout of food poisoning from the fruit.  We drank bottled water the whole time and I had eaten almost everything he had but the fruit.  I got on Skype with my mom, who is a nurse and she was able to tell us what was going on based on his symptoms and give us the name of the antibotic we needed to get to stop the pain and speed up the healing.  By this time it's 11pm and I have to walk into town to go to the pharmacy and luckily in they had the antibiotic he needed over the counter (without a prescription).  But again, it's a mile walk into town and a mile back so walking 2 miles to get medicine for my love while he was in crisis, I really missed the speed of my car.  I also was able to find powered to help rehydrate him.  The night was a little rough needless to say but thankfully, whatever was causing this cleared his system and he was able to make a speedy recovery.  The medicine really helped the recovery process too.

The next day we packed it up and said goodbye to the beautiful islands of Greece.  We hope to return again as it was the favorite leg of our journey so far.

Istanbul: Gateway to Asia AND Europe

So when we landed in Istanbul, we landed on the 'Asian Side'.  I didn't know what this meant until our host explained that Istanbul is the only city on two continents.  One side is on Asia and you can drive all the way to Thailand.  The other on Europe.  So little did I know, but we got a stop in to Asia while on our European Adventure (so now we can say we've been to Asia too) ;)

We had a little trouble finding the right spot that our host was meeting us to take us to her apartment.  There's the whole area called Askaray and we were supposed to go to Askaray METRO Station.  However, our cab driver didn't know where this was (we later found out) and just dropped us in the middle of Askaray the area.  We found our way to Askaray Tram Stop thinking this was the metro but it wasn't so we asked for directions and everyone just told us to keep going.  After almost a mile of walking, we finally came to the Askaray Metro Station where we were greeted by our lovely host, Verity and her big furry chow, Gus (who we fell in love with).

Verity is British so it was great to be able to learn about the area from a native English speaker.  She has been in Istanbul for 4 years teaching English at the Leeds Language Academy and married a Turkish man.  They're a super fun couple and especially Verity.  She has traveled and lived all over the place so she had loads of stories to tell and was hilarious.

So after we arrived and got acclimated, we went to the Blue Mosque and Eye of Sophia and just walked around the square.  It happened to be Ramadan while we were there so lots of people at the Mosque praying.  To enter the Blue Mosque you have to take off your shoes and make sure you are covered for the women.  I was wearing a sundress so they gave me a wrap skirt and head scarf to all the females to borrow while inside the Mosque.  It was stunning architecture and really cool inside (however, with all those people walking around barefoot, it did smell a little like feet).  Next we went to Hagia Sophia (Eye of Sophia).  We didn't go inside as it was closing and you have to pay an admission fee.  It's like a museum inside now and the outside is really the beautiful thing to look at.

 After that we wandered down the cobblestone streets to find some dinner and found this lovely rooftop terrace with a beautiful view of the Bosphorus ( The strait connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara).  We had this delicious yogurt dip and mushroom casserole.   Some thing we found hilarious was when we got our rice to go with the casserole, it was garnished with french fries, cucumber, and tomatoes!  We LOLed, how bizarre!

We walked back to the main square to catch the tram back to our base and the Mosque and Sophia at night were really beautiful!  

The next day we went to Spice Market where I got some Saffron for my friend back home, Cathy (she loves to cook and apparently saffron is really expensive in the US).  Next we went to the Grand Bazaar where I haggled for some silver earrings and a cashmere pashmina.  I didn't really like haggling all that much because they wouldn't always stop you from walking away and I was never sure if I negotiated a good price or not.  The earrings I got were 8 grams of pure silver and I paid $30 for them.  The Pashmina, I got for $6.50 and the saffron for $17.  I loved the markets because there were so many beautiful things to look at and colors popping everywhere!  Bill and I really liked the hanging lamps and wanted to get some but we're on a budget and shipping them back would be too much.  We did see contemporary Turkish Rugs and those we actually considered for a hot second.    

After the market we went to the Underground Cistern and saw the heads of Medusa where legend has it, if you look at, you will turn to stone!  Luckily Bill survived ;)  The Cistern was really beautiful though, we couldn't stop snapping pictures (go see more in our FB album)

After that we stopped for some lunch and go these great turkish wraps (Doners, SP?) that were only $1.75 each.  I had chicken and Bill had vegetarian (although, the next day my vegetarian husband broke down and tried the chicken off the stick and loved it! Shhh don't tell PETA).  We went home and took a little nap because let me tell you, being a tourist is exhausting!  It's a like your job to make sure you go see all the major attractions during your short time there so your running around trying to see everything otherwise you'll feel like a failure lol.  Later on that night, our hosts took us out to dinner and hookah and we had a great time with them and stayed out till almost 3AM (Which Bill and I haven't done in ages).  Our hosts liked to party and showed us a good time.

The following day was our last day in Istanbul and so we went in search of this particular Hamam (Turkish Bath) that I had found online that was a 'local' spot and much cheaper than the tourist spots.  However, this Bath we later found out was deep within a maze of streets and after walking for almost a 1.5 miles and not being able to find it, we hailed a taxi and gave him the address and even HE couldn't find it and had to stop and ask someone for directions.  FINALLY we get there only to find out that #1 They don't speak English and #2 They service men and women on different days and that day it was only the men.  I was so disappointed because of everything, I really wanted to do the Turkish Bath while in Turkey.  It was pretty late in the day at that point though and so I just gave up and decided to for-go my Hamam experience.  I intend to make up for it when we get to Budapest and soak in the Thermal Hot Springs there.  For our last night we wandered around historic Istanbul and tried Turkish Ice Cream (which was like this interesting marshmallow-like texture and not super sweet) while taking a stroll along the Bosphrous, had some Turkish Delight (the rose flavor was my favorite) and Bill bite the bullet and tried the chicken doner.  

All and all we had a great time in Istanbul but were glad we were only staying a couple days because we pretty much got to see and do everything on our list in that time frame.  The next morning, it was up, up and away to Greece, but not without a goodbye kiss first, from our new favorite Chow, Gussy :)

Mind the Gap...

After a wonderful flying experience on Virgin Atlantic (their economy is like business class on other airlines, free drinks and all!) we arrived in London.  The weather was a bit chilly and rainy but since we barely slept on the plan and were jet-lagged, it made for a great first day to catch up on our Zzzz's.  After a nap we went to see the Queen at Buckingham palace and took a stroll in Green Park.  By that point the skies had cleared and the crisp weather felt like Fall.  In London, I noticed, it's all about the layers and people rock boots and leather jackets year-round.

We rented a great little flat in the Highbury and Islington area of Central London.  It was well located on a cute, quiet little street and surrounded by lots of great Thai and Indian restaurants.  If you know anything about Bill and I, you know we love ethnic food and as Curry is the national dish of England, we were in heaven!  We ate Indian food every night, screw fish and chips!

We also went to the Tate Modern and Bill and I really enjoy going to Contemporary Art Museums and adding our own commentary to the bizarre displays sometimes there.  However, we also got to see some truly great artists and take in the work of Andy Warhol, Matisse, Picasso, Diana Arbus, Monet, Pollack, and my all time favorite sculpture "The Kiss" by Auguste Rodin.  It was brillant! 

  

Two friends of mine also live in London, Titus and Seyi, so it was great meeting up with them to catch up.  Titus took us to a delicious Indian Restaurant (per our request) and Seyi took us to a fabulous 'see and be seen' trendy spot in London, The Huxton Grill, later on that night for drinks.  We had a lovely time and it was especially great seeing Seyi (we were roomies in NYC and go way back to our college days in Gainesville together).

The next day we went on the double decker sight-seeing tour to visit all the attractions like Big Ben, Westmeinster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, Tower Bridge, etc.  Then we took a cruise down the Thames River to see the sights from a different perspective.  It was a great day and we had a wonderful time in London despite the rainy weather (it rained everday).

Then it was back to the flat to hit the hay early as trains in London don't run past 12:30am and so we had to get up at 3AM to catch 3 buses to the airport for our 7AM flight to Istanbul. Ya, I'm not a morning person but I managed to do it anyway and it did sort of add to our adventures navigating the streets of London and seeing them all quiet and empty at that hour.  It was hilarious watching all the drunk people getting on and off the bus at that hour, lol!

We made our flight and arrived in Istanbul to stay with our next airbnb host, Verity.  More on Istanbul in the next blog :)  Cheers!