Greek Island/Birthday celebration!!

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We left the calm serenity of the western Peleponese for our overnight in Piraeus awaiting our island experience. Getting into Piraeus was about as fun as driving into Paris...not so much. We were shocked by the numbers -and the persistence- of the beggars on the streets. We were bombarded by squeegee adults -and children- and amputees banging on our windows for money. Between that and the apparent lack of available maps for the area, we were lost. Thankfully we found a man in a garage with no English who grid his best to get us in the right direction! We found our way and happily got rid of the rental car and continued to our hotel on foot. It took most of an hour to get there, but we were happy for a safe place to crash and drop our bags before exploring Athens.
On our way into Athens we were immediately diverted around construction...on the subway...in Greek. Ever heard the expression, "it's all Greek to me"? Well that's with good reason!! We followed some people heading in the same direction and finally found our way to the acropolis.
Once we were in the right area, we grabbed the first source of tourist information possible: a train through the ruins. This would have been significantly more helpful if the guide was remotely understable...unfortunately his English was as Greek as his Greek!! we got off the no-help train and headed to the acropolis on our own. What an amazing experience! The ruins were beautifully maintained and provided a phenomenal look into the past. Following our site seeing, we hit up a cafe for dinner before returning to our hotel...did we ever find a great place!! An entrepreneur with a great deal of pride in his work gave us a great meal for a more than reasonable price! A very welcome relief from the stress of a big city...which was only accentuated by poverty, frustration, and an apparent mistrustof government.
By 7am we were island bound and relieved to be away from the urban temoil. We arrived to Milos in awe. The Greek isles were even more impressive than we had anticipated! We were in lots of time to get a full day of exploration in. Initially, we thought we would rent a 4-wheeler and explore the island. We were deterred from this on the basis that boat was a much better way to explore, and decided to check out the tours. After getting information on the tours, we decided tomorrow would be a better day for that, and opted for beach trips for the day. On our way to catch the bus to the beach, we were distracted by our own beach and stayed for a swim. We missed the bus but had no idea as we were having such an amazing time dealing with no time constraints or worries to think of. We floated in the salt water, drank some wine, and ate crackers and cheese...rinse and repeat!!! (literally!)
We walked through "town", did some shopping, picked up some Ouzo to take home, and then had an AMAZING birthday dessert!!! We went to a dessert cafe, asked for an incredible looking waffle for my birthday desert and the waiter said no. Apparently he had a better idea. Consequently, a genius idea!!!! First, we had to fight for a table with a little coaching from the server who told us we needed to be more aggressive...apparently our Canada was showing!! We got a table, shortly after he brought us dessert...we had to close our eyes before he presented it!! Chocolate fruit fondue on one side, one scoop of each flavor of ice cream on the other...at least 20 different kinds!!! O.m.G!!!!! Absolutely genius!! Happy birthday to me!!! We gave our waiter a Canadian flag pin, promptly making the other waiter jealous, who also wanted one!!! What a night 😊
So tomorrow we head off for a full island tour, as well as an intro to the neighboring island! Once we get back, we jump on another boat back to Piraeus for the night...then we're homeward bound! Five and a half weeks later, we're heading home!
Our backpacks our heavier than when we arrived in Europe, but not nearly comparable to the experiences we have grained along the way!! We're looking forward to sharing all our pictures, videos, and stories when we're back!! See you all soon...in a slightly different time zone!

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