Europe at First Site

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Here is the journal of my first real travel away from home unaccompanied by my family. I have decided to enter it here, the first of many, for safe keeping. I was born and raised in a small town in Michigan, having only left for camping trips, horse shows, and a few cruises with my parents. I was 20 years old when I decided I should stop dreaming about traveling and make it happen. Since I was about to enter the summer between my sophomore and junior year at Uni, I decided to plan a study abroad trip sandwiched into a backpacking excursion throughout Europe. My friend, Rob, accompanied me on this experience.

I left for this trip thinking it may settle my mind from travelling for at least a little while. However, it only fueled me to want to see more. See everything-the good and bad. To get lost in the winding roads of new cities. But to be on my own. Independent. Following only my own desired pace, not pressured to do anything outside my own desires for each individual passing moment. But also to meet people along the way whom I would never want to say goodbye to only to part and meet others that would make me feel the same way. A melody of experiences both on my own and shared with those who I would encounter. It is selfish sounding to say, but when I am traveling with others I often am too polite to not do/see everything they want. This sometimes leads to new and exciting experiences that I would have never otherwise thought to try. But it also often leads me to leave a location unsettled and wishing I had more time to stay. Therefore, it seems like a mix of company and alone time is the best future option for me... ...

I started my "flashpacking" in Athens, Greece. I expected jet-lag and culture shock, but I didn't experience either.

Day 1:

Arrived in the evening. Took a taxi to the hostel with a driver named George (nice but expensive). The hallway of the hostel is roof-less and beautiful. It is hard to believe that we are really in Greece. We wondered through the town a bit to get a feel for the city. Everything is more relaxed and carefree here. There are small gas-stations type stands on every corner. We had no direction and weren't really sure where to go. The worst part of it all was that we ended up eating McDonald's for our first meal -_- No other place we came across was open.

Day 2:

Walked to the historical district to see the sites. Still unsure on which structure was which, but they were all breath-taking. My favorite was ancient Agora-which was smaller than the rest but more detailed. The buildings were huge though, and I still can't fathom how long they have been there for. While touring one of the ancient libraries, we met an older Canadian man named Grant. Our encounter started with him asking to take our picture, stating that our posture as we half-sat-half-laid on this bench looked to resemble two book-ends. He was travelling alone, having lost his wife to breast cancer 6 months prior. He told us his story of how they were great travel companions who lived a nomadic life living around the world. The way he talked inspired me, as I could see myself desiring to live my life in a similar way. We continued to explore the ancient ruins with him, and he was kind enough to buy us tickets to the acropolis museum (a must see) and later treated us to a few beers over dinner. We ate a a beautiful little restaurant with outdoor seating that he had heard of.


• Recipe: Dip for fresh bread (very fresh tasting, very simple): plain yogurt, cucumber, +red onion/green pepper/chives


After dinner and a few delicious beers, we wondered towards some Greek music we heard playing. It turned out to be a private party of 6th grade students with their teachers and a few parents. They were all very cheerful and joyous ^_^ and they insisted that Rob and I dance along to the Greek music with them. Looking back, I am happy they did :-) They also kept buying us lots and lots of white wine (by the pitcher!). It soon turned into a blur or toasting and laughing and lots of dancing. Eventually they left, leaving us to sit outside in the warm air to finish our last pitcher of wine. We shared really great conversation with Grant about his lifestyle and our shared dreams and outlooks on the world. On our exploration back home, Rob brought up a topic that we usually try to avoid regarding his feelings for me. It is unfortunate that I can never and probably will never return them considering he really is a good guy and a wonderful friend... I am sad to remember and share this, however, it is part of my memory of that night so it must be told >_> Lost in our drunken stupor, we ended up hitchhiking back to our hostel.

Day 3:

Took a bus to Patras to catch our ferry to Ancona. Rob was very hungover. It is strange to remember not be hungover myself considering how much we drank. Either way, I really enjoyed the bus ride and view whilst he slept. (We needed some quiet time to move past the previous night anyways.) There were lots of mountains and villages built onto/within them. I could see myself going back at another time to explore them. Patros, on the other hand, was very dirty and there not much to see/enjoy. As we took the overnight ferry, we said goodbye to Greece and looked forward to Italy (study abroad location).

note: In the future, I will book a room to sleep in on the ferry. It gets very cold and uncomfortable sleeping on the deck floor and leads to cranky self.

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Photos

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How we met Grant: "book-ends"

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As I call him "Turtle Turtle", I often take pictures of him with turtles...