Passportfolio: June 2015

Last I signed off, Witt and I had spent one day on the Isle of Paros. It is now the sixth day of our journey, and we are sitting on the ferry on our way back to Athens. I have picked up two things from Paros that I am bringing back to the mainland with me: mosquito bites and a sunburn. Although I am currently uncomfortable, the time on the island was well worth it and the happy memories will long surpass the discomfort of the moment.

The food, people and beauty of the island were all exquisite. The food in Greece really is to die for. I could sustain myself with the food prepared on that island for the rest of my life without any complaints. From the traditional plates (eggplant dip, clay pot beef dishes, gyros, greek salads, etc.) to the classics like pizza, everything we had was so good, and I even had a couple of meals twice just to maximize my ability to try more new dishes. The drinks, too, were rather good. I had two of the best cocktails of my life at two different bars throughout my time there. I wonder how my bartending skills would improve if I were to move out to an island.

Beyond the food, we also really enjoyed the people in Paros. We made good friends with the staff at our “hostel,” enjoyed the hospitality of everyone at the restaurants and bars, and met some locals for a fun night out. One of my favorite moments was meeting an owner of a restaurant in Leftkes, a small village in the interior of the island. She was incredibly kind, and as we left she took my hand in both of hers and kissed both of my cheeks and said “thank you” in Greek. It wasn’t so much the action as the tenderness with which she did it that made the impression on me. I hope that I can be so kind to strangers one day.

We found a number of beaches that were just gorgeous around the island. My favorite was one that was tucked into a cove with crystal clear waters that overlooked the bay and the mountains of a distant island. We also took the chance to go scuba diving, where we were able to take a little dingy out towards some rock outcroppings in the middle of the ocean. The dive was really fun. Visibility was poor, but I just love the meditative feel of breathing underwater. We were able to go through a number of different caverns too, which made for a fun swim.

We ended our last day on the island with drinks on a rooftop bar to watch the sunset, and then an unexpected adventure – a fish pedicure! It was SO uncomfortable at first, but it was kind of fun pushing myself to try something so different. The fish bite all of the dead skin off of your feet, and they swim and nibble so quickly that the water feels like it is vibrating. The first 30 seconds Witt and I were laughing uncontrollably, and the next minute I was just trying to collect myself to get through the 10 minutes we had purchased. By the time the initial shock passed, however, I was able to slightly enjoy the process. Afterwards my feet looked and felt great, so at least it was an effective process!

One last day in Greece before Bain World Cup! Stay tuned.

Witt, my brother, and I decided that a Eurotrip was in order now that summer has rolled around. I will be travelling to Germany next weekend for the Bain World Cup, a soccer tournament held by my company every year, and since I was going to be flying over to Europe anyways, I decided to take some of my precious vacation days and explore a new part of the continent - Greece!

I've been to the surrounding countries - Italy, Croatia, and Turkey, but have never made it to Greece despite my childhood adoration of the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. After countless hours sitting in the office staring out the window at the sunny Dallas days but being trapped indoors until after sunset, I decided that my precious vacation time was going to be spent absorbing up the thing that I love most - the sun. There was really only one real combination between Europe, new, and beach that worked out, and viola, I made it to Greece!

If you've read any of my previous blog posts, you'll know that my travel style has progressed significantly from when I was a teenager. My first international trips were with my family, and the first times I went abroad alone was under a strict itinerary for a leadership conference or school trip. When I studied abroad in college I gained more independence, but still travelled with a large group and planned out most moves in advanced. This time, I decided to take a BIG chance, and not plan ANYTHING. I booked myself a flight into Athens, a hostel for the first night, and a flight out. What I would do and see was a complete mystery to me.

My flight over was a breeze - I slept through almost all of it. When I arrived in Athens I made it to the metro, bought a ticket for my destination, and after some serious confusion about which train I was supposed to board (shared by all of the other Americans and Europeans who were also looking for the Metro Line 3 when only 1 and 2 were listed...), I made it on and began my long ride to the center of Athens. The language is actually very hard to adjust to, much more so than any of the romance languages in Western Europe. And, unlike a lot of places in the middle east where English is often listed alongside the local language, in Greece the English version of Greek words are still very foreign and difficult to read and pronounce. Luckily, I was sitting next to a masters student who goes to Brown and has been studying classics in Athens all summer. He was able to give me some good pointers and help me navigate my route to the hostel from the metro station.

Despite the help that I had received, I made a couple of wrong turns leaving the metro station, so it took me a couple of loops before getting on the right track to the hostel. Luckily it didn't take me too long, and before I knew it I was meeting up with Witt, who had flown in from Austin earlier that day. On the city map I picked up in the airport I saw an international jazz festival advertised, and so our first stop was to head out that way! As we left the hostel we picked up two girls who were also staying there, and the four of us took the metro two stops to Techropolis. The festival was awesome, and we were all shocked by the 3 euro beer at an event like that (the Train/Fray concert I went to in Dallas 2 weeks ago charged $11 for a beer...). We topped of the night with some gyros from the street carts - they even had french fries on them!

The next morning we slept in until 10. Since we didn't have a plan, we thought that we would spend the day in Athens and stay at the hostel one more night before making moves to one of the islands or somewhere in land. That plan quickly failed. I went to talk to the receptionist as soon as I woke up to see if we could stay for one more night, and she responded that the hostel was completely booked. Womp. We did some quick thinking on our feet, however, and found a ferry out that night to the islands. The ferries ranged from 4 hours to 10 hours, so we decided that we would limit our island search to the closest ones. Based on convenience of ferries (sometimes its just easier to do it this way...) we picked to go to Paros Island. The ferry didn't depart until 5:30 p.m., so Witt and I had plenty of time to go explore Athens. We went to the Acropolis, saw the Parthenon, and walked through many of the different markets. We stopped for a while at one square where there was a band playing Spanish hits, and we admired all of the different dancers in the crowd.

On the way home we walked past a man selling selfie sticks, and I just couldn't resist (despite the fact that everyone I hang out with has told me not to get one...). It's pink, and we've nicknamed it the "I haz" because in my excitement of buying it, I exclaimed "I HAZ THE SELFIE STICK" (Madeline, my roommate, can appreciate the apartment dialect). It was the perfect addition to our travels, and will made all pictures here on out even more epic.

We made it back to our hostel in time to grab our bags, check the Internet, and catch the metro to the port. Boarding the ferry was super easy, which was nice because we weren't sure if we would be able to find it. Once on board we grabbed a spot outside, which was epic for about an hour and a half before the wind and mist started making it uncomfortable. The remaining 3 and a half hours we spent inside, reading and napping, and trying to ignore the screaming kids drawing a couple of tables away from us.

We arrived in Paros around 10:30 p.m. and walked along the seashore for a while before finding our "hostel." We booked the "dorm" on hostelworld.com for 15 euro a night a piece, but when we arrived, we learned that we had our own studio (with a kitchen, balcony and ensuite) all for the same price. Pretty epic upgrade. The only thing that I miss about the typical hostel environment are all of the travellers our age. This Island is BEAUTIFUL, but since it is still off season, most of the visitors are older Europeans. The age and language barriers make it challenging to find a lot of friends.

That being said, the food has been INCREDIBLE, and we rented a moped today to go explore around the island. We went to "Water Ski Zone" and met one of the island's best wakeboarders, and spent some time paddle boarding and kayaking. They also had 2 dogs, a cat, and two parrots on property that were a joy to hang out with. Afterwards we went to the town of Noussous, which was so picturesque. Exploring was a blast. We're back at the studio now before heading back out for the night. I imagine that the next three days will be filled with more beach, some fun hiking, and perhaps even some sailing. It's difficult for me to adjust to a slower and less stimulating pace, but there really isn't a more beautiful place to slow down in to appreciate the smaller things in life.