Ioannina + Presentation + Back to Belgium

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Monday (28-11-’11)

In the morning I went to Celine’s place to make an assignment about Walt Disney, we worked pretty hard on it throughout the morning so I was glad we finished it in a couple of hours.

Afterwards I passed the store to get some food and cleaned the apartment.

In the evening ESN organised the eurodinner, they invited all the Erasmus students to come and bring a typical dish from your country. I didn’t know what to make but Elien and Laetitia already made a chocolate cake so I just went with them. When we arrived we were surprised to see that most people really made an effort to cook something. I regretted that I already ate because I wasn’t that hungry anymore. We stuffed ourselves with all the food we could eat, a lot of delicious stuff I never tried before. Harald brought some Belgian beers so we drank a Duvel and a triple Karmeliet (mmmm I miss Belgian beers!)

The eurodinner ended pretty soon so we went to Exarchia afterwards to smoke a waterpipe and drink some tea.

Tuesday (29-11-’11)

I went to classes in the morning but really didn’t feel good, I thought it was strange because I normally don’t need a lot of sleep. I went home to take a nap but soon realised I was really sick so I stayed in my bed/apartment until Friday. On Wednesday some girls were going to watch then new twilight movie so I was really motivated to go, but after a shower and being completely ready I realised I still was feeling pretty bad and decided it wasn’t a good idea to go. So somebody has to go with me when I’m coming home for Christmas! :p

Friday (02-12-’11)

In the morning I still didn’t feel very good but this was the day we were leaving on a trip organised by ESN to Ioannina and Meteora and I really didn’t want to miss it! After motivating myself and taking a shower I slowly started to feel better and better so I could go😊

It was a 7hour drive and our bus stopped 4 times, yes I’m not kidding, 4 freaking times! The first stop was after an hour driving at the canal of Corinth, we already went there but it was nice to see it again😊

In the evening around 11o’clock, we arrived at our 5 star hotel (yep two nights in a five star hotel for 75 euro which included the bus drive and all the tourist stuff!). It looked so beautiful, decorated very Christmassy with a lot of lights in the trees. I shared a room with Helene and Lora, we didn’t have much time to rest because we were leaving at 12o’clock to go out. We went to a party organised by the ESN of ioannina and it was in the gym of the university, I have to say they had some strange wall decoration :p There was nice music and cheap beers but it was a little too crowded.

Saturday (03-12-’11)

In the morning we ate breakfast at the hotel and left with the first bus (a lot of people were late due to a hangover) to go the archaeological site of Ioannina. There wasn’t really much to see, just some rocks that used to be temples and a small stadium.

Afterwards we went to the Cave of Perama, a 5km long cave with a lot of stalagmites and stalactites. this was pretty impressive to see and walk through.

We also went to the museum of Ioannina, it was interesting to see what the site used to look like but there wasn’t much to see.

Around noon we arrived in the city centre where we could go for dinner somewhere, I ate a pasta carbonara. They used a lot of cheese in their dishes, everybody was still completely full in the evening.

In the afternoon, we took a boat to the little island, it was pretty to see but very touristy. Apparently there is also a monastery on the island but we didn’t have enough time to visit it.

On the way back to the hotel our bus stopped at the Carrefour so everybody could get some drinks and food. Of course we went out that night as well, this time to a decent bar, you could see that it was more of a sitting down bar but with Erasmus people that obviously doesn’t happen😊

Sunday (04-12-’11)

Aah the ESN schedule, our paper said to check out at the latest at 10 o’clock but we had learned by now that everybody is always late so we didn’t hurry too much. Being half an hour late, we were still too early and had to wait for the rest so we could leave.

The bus drove to Meteora first before going back to Athens. This city is so beautiful! There are high rocks sticking out the ground and on top there are a lot of monasteries build. We visited one monastery and it was very beautiful inside with an amazing view, we didn’t see any fathers (paters) though, they stay inside during tourist hours. The plan was to visit another one where they filmed the james bond film “for your eyes only” but it was closed due to reconstruction.

The bus back to Athens started with everybody sleeping, but during the second half everybody was partying with music and the alcohol leftovers.

Monday (05-12-’11)

I didn’t do too much, just relaxed after the tiring weekend.

In the evening we went to Elies’ place, it was her birthday and she invited us for drinks and some bites to eat. It was a very cosy evening with good food😉

Tuesday (06-12-’11)

Saint Nicolas! In the morning I had classes and in the evening I skyped with Dorien and Didier. We organised a Belgian night to celebrate saint Nicolas day, we went from apartment to apartment with Belgian beer and jenever. We also brought some candy to put in each other’s shoes, it was a very fun evening!

Friday (09-12-’11)

During the day, I was supposed to study but I started watching a new series called Terra Nova.

In the evening, there was a pre-party in the Sporgilou house and afterwards the Christmas party organised by ESN. We also wanted to visit the guards at night so we went there and made a pitstop to eat Mcdonalds of course. Normally, the guards aren’t allowed to talk but there was nobody there so the supervisor gave them permission.

Monday (12-12-’11)

I went to the market at omonia again with Tanais, Laetitia and Victoire. We did some big shopping so ended up with heavy bags to carry back home. In the evening I made the fish with some soup vegetables and potatoes, mmm😊

Wednesday (14-12-’11)

In the morning I had classes, a lot of presentations are starting so we just had to listen. In the evening ate at Sharmaine’s apartment and went to the movies afterwards. We went to see new years eve, it’s a pretty cliché movie but it was still nice to see😊



The rest of the week and weekend I went to classes and we had to finish a text and presentation for ‘theory and practice of economic integration’. Of course, I watched a lot of series too (bad Anne), I started and finished Entourage.

Tuesday (20-12-’11)

In the morning I had classes and during the second class we had to present our presentation. The teacher said it was good so we were happy about that😉

In the afternoon I went Christmas shopping, wooohooow! Obviously, I can’t say what I bought because it has to be a suprise😊

In the evening we went to eat something with the Belgian and French people. The food was ok and we had a lot of fun!

Wednesday (21-12-’11)

I had to work on an assignment for business strategy all day. In the evening I went to drink something with Lora, Laura and Elies in a nice cocktail bar at Monastiraki. It was raining very hard so we ran to the bar. Iit was on the roof so we could see the Acropolis and the city, the perfect way to say goodbye😊

Thursday (22-12-’11)

I woke up early because I’m so nervous to go home! I cleaned the apartment and did some laundry, I called the landlord because the toilet won’t flush anymore and the window won’t close. I also went to print and hand in my assignment for business strategy and now, I’m writing this blog. I’m soooo excited to go home! Finally back to Belgium and seeing everybody again😊 There are strikes in Belgium though so hopefully we won’t have too much delay. Typical, I’m coming home from Greece and now there are strikes in Belgium! Of course, the metro to the airport is striking too so we have to take the bus.

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