Day 21 & 22 Chalkidiki

So Thursday night we went for Italian food which was amazing!! After that we just hung out at Alex's beach house playing this game that gets super confusing really quick, but was a lot of fun.

Friday we got up around noon and went to the beach for the day. Instead of packing up and just going to an open beach like I am used to, in Greece you go to a beach bar where they have umbrellas and chairs all set up and you buy a drink to get a chair. You can buy the cheapest drink they have and the chair is yours for the whole day. And with your drink (I got a Frape which is like a cold coffee but much more scrumptious) they bring you a water, and snacks. They gave us fruits, including kiwi which is my favorite. The water was great but you had to get past the rocky shallow water area to get to the soft sand. I spent the whole day laying out reading and swimming when I started to get to hot. I ate a gyro, or half a gyro to be more accurate.

Around midnight we went out to a bar for about an hour or so, then headed to Club Pearl. Pearl was by far the coolest club I have ever been to. The ceiling opened in the center so it was an open air club, but would close every once in a while for a laser light show that accompanied the music. It was amazing to watch, although slightly dizzying with all the flashing and darting of the lights and lasers.

Saturday we got up around one, which seems late except we didn't get home until 5 and didn't go to bed until after 6. Alex and Gogos (Guys from the program that take us out to experience the city and nightlife) took Heather and I to a seafood restaurant to try some new foods. I ate (and actually enjoyed) calamari, mussels, and octopus. It was the strangest meal I have ever had full of the most unusual textures I have ever tasted, but it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed every minute of it, and I cannot wait for my next food adventure.

Days 17-20

Okay so I wasn't being lazy, I just didn't have anything to talk about. I had an exam on Monday in Art History and an exam on Wednesday in Greek so I spent Sunday through Tuesday studying like crazy. Wednesday (4th of July) we celebrated by going to a Mexican restaurant, El Burrito, then onto a Reggae boat ride where we played with sparklers, which we were all excited for until we realized they lost their appeal back when we were 10.

Thursday we left for Chalkidiki for the weekend. We crammed four of us into Alex's car and drove for an hour to his beach house. Not fun.. but the beach was worth it. 

Days 14-16: Trip to Corfu!!!

Day 14: Travelling to Corfu

So most of Friday was spent in the bus on the way to Corfu. After 3.5 hours on the bus, we boarded a ferry that would take us to the island. And by boarding the ferry, I don't mean getting out of the bus and walking on like normal. Oh no, our bus driver drove us straight onto the boat. Even for the cargo ferries, this is not usual. It was both terrifying and exciting at the same moment. The food on the ferry was really expensive, and the sub I got was stale and gross...won't make that mistake again.

So we get to the hotel, which looked pretty sketchy from the outside. The Corfu Holiday Palace is the definition of "don't judge a book by its cover." It was a really nice establishment. We were assigned a bungalow, which scared me to death. A bungalow? I was picturing a tiny wooden shack with a thatched roof that leaked even when there was no rain. Boy was I wrong. Way wrong. It was gorgeous. There was an upstairs and a downstairs, both floors had a full walk in closet and bathroom with a large tub that my mom would kill for. I stayed on the top floor and had a king size bed to myself, and an air conditioner that made my room so cold I could barely get out of bed I was so cold. It was amazing.



After settling in I went swimming in the Ionian Sea. Our hotel had an elevator type thing that would take you down the drop off to the beach. There was a jetty a ways out and a platform that jutted out into the water that we jumped off of to get in. We decided to jump off the rocks in the jetty for fun. We kept egging the others to jump and drew attention from the    Europeans who were enjoying the beach at a much lower decibel than we were.

At 9 pm we went downtown to explore and shop. Casey decided we (yes, we not just her) were going to get a fish spa treatment done. For those of you wondering what that is, we willingly stick our feet into a take of minnows and willingly let them eat us alive. Okay, a bit on the dramatic side, but seriously, they "nibble" at your feet and eat the dead skin. It is also supposedly good for circulation and other health related things. Anywhoo.. I allowed fish to eat me. It was horrible. If you know me you know I don't like fish, and I don't like anything touching my feet. Guess what I did... put the two concepts I don't like together! Why did I think that was a good idea? Oh yeah, I didn't. I just allowed myself to be roped in. Never again.



Day 15

Saturday we went to the Achilles Castle, home of Elisabeth, Empress of Hungary. The castle was beautiful, and I am sure I would enjoy it if it wasn't so unbearably hot. Elisabeth was very interested in Greek mythology, so her house was decorated with many traditional and mythological pieces from the Greek culture she was immersed in.

The streets coming down from the castle were terrifying. Most Americans couldn't tackle these tight U's in the road in small cars, let alone a tour bus like we were in. Our bus driver was a champ. He navigated the smallest of roads and the tightest turns I have ever seen without breaking a sweat.

We went shopping downtown again, and this time I managed to buy almost all of my gifts to take home, along with a dress for myself. It was a great day. I also haggled with a cab driver for the first time!! I was so proud of myself. Although, he didn't put up much of a fight, but I still did it.



Day 16

Full day of travel.. such a long day.  That is all. 

Day 12

There are a few very important things I have learned in class so far:
 1) Nobody likes Athens except Athenians. Everyone I have talked to talks about Athens as if they were      talking about something disgusting and unmentionable. According to the locals here in Thessaloniki that I have talked to, Athens believes itself to be better than other Greeks because of the rich history, just as the Ancient Athenians believed they were superior.
 2) Christianity ruined everything. Artifacts, buildings, ideas, practices, lifestyles. Bottom line, Christianity destroyed Greece.
 3) And lastly, Greeks really did start everything. Art, language, architecture... ask any Greek and they can tell you about its Greek origin. This isn't really impressive until you take courses that shows you proof of the Greek origin.

After school I went to the market to get a few groceries. I found what I needed which was really cool because I could read the containers, not that I understood them. I got in line after this older woman who was obviously on her own time clock. She had bought her groceries, and by the time I bought mine and the woman behind me bought hers, she still hadn't finished bagging. In Greece, you bag your own stuff at the register, and the counter is very small so you need to work fast so your stuff isn't in the way for the next person's food. (The cashier will continue with their order even if your stuff is still sitting there.) SO this woman didn't finish bagging until the woman after me paid, so I as stuck awkwardly between the two, waiting to have room to bag my groceries. Everyone was staring, which I am used to since I am quite obviously an American. Long story short,  awkward moment in the grocery store.

We went to Pulp again tonight. It was a lot of fun, and is definitely my favorite place to hang out. Tomorrow Kostos is taking me to get my phone. This should be interesting... I am riding the bus from school all the way downtown to meet him. He told me the stop to get off at, but from prior experience I have come to realize that Greeks do not give very detail instructions, which can make this confusing super quickly. Hopefully I make it!!

Day 11

This morning we decided to get up super early to go to the open air market down the street from us. I ended up with 4 hours of sleep and we walked all the way down there to find out that "open at 7" doesn't mean the market is open at 7.. It means the vendors get there at 7 and are not ready to sell anything until after 7:30. Since I had to be back to get ready for class, I didn't actually get to shop, but it was really cool to see the set up. 

I am starting to understand the time table of Thessaloniki and am loosening up. I am so used to being punctual back in the States, so living in a city where time isn't much of a factor has been a huge challenge for me. The stores open and close as they please, and the city is dead from 3-5 pm everyday for siesta, or rest. At first this go with the flow vibe from the whole city was a turn off, but now I can't imagine life any other way. 

After school, Casey and I decided to catch the bus to Kentro, which is the center of downtown. Yesterday we were told the bus from school takes us to the stop in the center that we already know, but just like the rest of the luck I have had so far it did not. We ended up way past the center of town, and had to find our way back to the area we knew. We were hungry, so along the way we were also trying to find food. Of course the one time we are looking for food we cannot find anywhere to eat...in a city known for its food. Finally we found Goody's, which is Greek's version of "American fast food." It was really funny.. they had an American style Greek Gyro, which everyone seemed to be eating. It seems absurd that being within walking distance of multiple Gyro places at all times in the city anyone would choose to eat the poorly made gyro we eat in the states. Safe to say I will never eat at Goody's again. I am surrounded by the best food I have ever tried..There is no way I will waste another meal on American food. 

After walking a while, we finally figured out where we were and made it to the main pedestrian walk downtown. Right in the middle of the town there is a huge walkway lined with little stores and eateries. Everywhere you look there are ruins of old temples and castles, and beautifully built byzantine churches that are still in use or have been converted into museums. It is such a change from the cities we have back home.   

Day 10

So today was pretty normal... went to school, got off on the wrong bus and ended up at a different bus depot than last time, and then ended up downtown from 8 until 1:30. I tried Greek Pitza (Pizza) which was so much better than what is served in the US. 

After dinner we went to a small bar called Pulp Bar. Casey and I decided to try Ouzo. Bad life decision. It was horrible.

 But our new friend Konstos helped us find a different drink we would like better. I ended up with a Strongbow Cider, and our entire group had a shot called a little cappuccino. It was a great night!

Day 9

IT RAINED!!! It hasn't rained here in three months, so this is actually pretty great news. Today was pretty chill, but we went to the movies. I have decided that next time I want to go to the movies I might as well just fly here to see it. It would probably be cheaper than going to my local theater. For the price of one ticket back home I paid for my taxi fare, movie ticket, a small popcorn that rivals the large bucket back home and a pop. Crazy.

I decided (just now, about midnight here) to do some laundry. The washing machine here looks like the little toy washing machine I had as a kid as part of my play house. So to save time and money, I decided to try washing them the old fashion way in the sink. I now know why the washing machine was invented. I should probably clean up the puddle of water in my bathroom...