cheryl goes global: Greece Part 1

So, I probably should have started this a while ago but I guess I wan procrastinating. I just knew it would take a while, haha. But I think I am going to do Greece in installments since I was there so long and we did a lot. So here we go with part 1, let's see how much I can knock out...

March 27th: Leaving Prague
After putting finishing touches on our packing (which I probably did too well...), Kayla and I left for the airport around 10am, for our 12:30 flight. We figured the timing would be as close to perfect as possible. Little did we know our flight was going to be delayed 2 hours... but no big, we just pulled out cards and played ERS and read our books and talked with the QU girls (Lindsay, Katie, and Katie) and Chris and Megan who were to accompany us for a couple nights in Santorini. Since we were occupied time didn't drag too much. Then, 2:30pm, we're on our flight! I was so ready to get to Athens!

We arrived around 6:30 after the three hour flight (Athens is an hour ahead of Prague) and followed our vague directions (take public transportation to Syntagma then take a cab) and finally made it to our hostel around 8:45. So far I'm not a big fan of Athens transportation, especially since it robbed us of more of our precious little time in Athens that night. But have no fear.

After getting settled in at the hostel we took the metro (which was right by our hostel which they might have mentioned to save us from our 18 euro cab ride. But I'm not bitter) to the Minostiraki station where the big market is and tried to get a good night view of the Acropolis (we succeeded) and get dinner. While there, we somehow, miraculously, ran into the QU girls so we ate with them.

We had our first take of Greek food and hospitality. I had kebabs which I think was lamb, but I'm not sure, and fries and a pita, all for a reasonable price. While sitting there we also had the added gift of a roaming mariachi band, or the equivalent, to serenade us and many wandering vendors. Greece is a crazy place!

But Kayla and I finished our food then headed back to the hostel to get some good sleep before our EARLY ferry the next morning.

March 28th: Ferry to Santorini
Kayla and I woke up bright and early at 5:30am to catch the metro to the port, Pireaus. Again, Athens transportation left a little to be desired. The line we were on takes you straight to the port but apparently that day there was a detour. The line terminated early (although people were allowed to get on after the whole train emptied and went on towards the port. Does this make sense? I think not.) so we had to catch a bus to take us to a stop further on down the line. After doing this, we were then allowed to get back on the metro and continue on our way to Pireaus without any other issues.

We bought our tickets and boarded and rejoiced being on our way to Santorini! It wasn't a bad little ferry either, we had good seats inside with plenty of leg room (A+++) and we were able to go outside and take lots of pictures of the sea and the islands we stopped at on the way to the Island of Santorini. We even had some Greek fast food, Goody's which was pretty good. I played it safe with a club sandwich, but Megan had a seafood salad that came with shrimp and octopus. I wasn't quite brave enough to try some octopus. Maybe one day...

Eventually we made it to Santorini and George, the owner of the place we were staying, Dina's Place, picked us up and took us to the hostel. It was a crazy winding road up the side of the cliffs. Somewhat scary in a huge van, especially when there are cars coming down as well, but obviously we survived =)

Upon reaching our digs, we were pleasantly suprised at the niceness of it all. I had a double bed which I offered to switch off with Kayla and her single but she declined. We also had our own balcony, a nice bathroom, decent closet space, a TV, a mini-fridge, and drawers to put our stuff away in. It was like being in the lap of luxury! So we settled in then went to explore.

We traveled throughout Fira, the main town in Santorini and transversed the cliffs and souvenir shops along the inside of the ring, trying to find our bearings and figure things out. One thing we figured out, animals are everywhere! We made a friend of a stray dog, who Chris named pivo (the Czech word for beer); he followed us all over the cliffs as we walked around. We eventually made it back to Dina's Place and then decided to get some food at the highly recommended Lucky's Souvlaki, apparently the best on the island. And let me tell you, it was the best I've ever had. And the price was definitely right at 2 euro. I think we ate at this place at least once a day if not more... which I guess is kind of embarassing to admit, but you know, it's that good.

So after that we just went back and watched some Greek television. Even though it was in Greek, we havent had a chance to watch TV since we've been here, except our short time in Karlovy Vary so Kayla and I found ourselves just watching without comprehending. Then we went to sample the night scene in Santorini and bring in my birthday!

We went to this Irish pub called Murphy's Bar which is supposed to be pretty good and claims to be the first Irish pub in Greece, which may or may not be true. But it was nice to just chill. Then we went to a place called the Koo Club to dance, so it was a fun night. Then we came back and went to bed to get ready for a fun day on Sunday!

I'll end here since this seems to be pretty long so far and take this opportunity to put in some pictures. I'll get to a post with Sunday through Tuesday soon, hopefully. But for now, here are some pictures of the fabulous Greece!