Advertisement
I've been back home for about 36 hours now and have had a few people ask me if I'm glad to be home. My answer? Not really! I was thrilled to see my family, especially my nephews & niece, but my head and my heart are still somewhere on the other side of the world . . . I'm not ready to be here yet!! But with that said, my five weeks were fabulous and varied and full of memories and great stories.
When I last left you I think I was on my way to Thessaloniki in northern Greece. Not before, though, a visit to a foreign doctor! While in Karditsa I was fighting off a cold, and my uncle would have none of it and ordered me to visit a doctor (and also called me stubborn like my dad in the process!!) So I go to the doctor, who, by the way, knows my parents (of course he does!) and tells me straight off that I have a slight case of influenza, but nothing to worry about. Nonetheless, because I'm there, he will check me out . . . so he takes his little stethoscope thing, checks
my breathing and asks, "Do you smoke?" I answer "No." Doctor: "Good girl, because it's bad for you!" As he finishes his quick checkup of me, Doctor walks over to his desk, sits down, tells me I have influenza and need some rest and fluids, and proceeds to reach for his pack of Karelias and light up a nice, big, cigarette!! How classic!!!! It took everything in me not to burst out laughing! Lesson learned? Next time I go to a foreign doctor, I will bring him a pack of cigarettes as payment!
So Thessaloniki . . . what a beautiful city!! If anyone is in Greece and has a few extra days to kill, I highly recommend taking a detour to visit this great place; it has a very cool, laid back vibe, and reminded me a lot of Barcelona. It was great to reconnect with my family there, and get to know my cousin, Georgia (what a fab name!), who was only 4 years old the last time I saw her! Did the museum/coffee/walking the boardwalk thing in my short time there, and also had some time to research where I may be going next . .
Ooooooh, sexy!!
Alexander the Great rides to my rescue in Thessaloniki!.
Up until the day before I left Thessaloniki I was set on going to the island of Syros, but as most of you know about me, I'm not one to stick religiously to a "plan" and can change my mind on the turn of a dime . . . hence, Mykonos! I think I made a fine choice, and I absolutely fell in love with the island and its gorgeous beaches! At first I found myself a bit annoyed with all the "tourists" that seemed to be everywhere talking/screaming/demanding in English, but then I quickly readjusted myself and was reminded . . . Georgia, you're a tourist, too!! Even when I tried to speak Greek to the Greeks, they often switched over to English, so as not to offend the "non-Greeks" around us!!
My first night in Mykonos reminded me that I am indeed 30 years old and not 20 . . . I met some girls from Vancouver (you know, us Canadians look out for one another!) who were definitely 20-something; they dragged me from club to club, some that were reminiscent of Cancun (a place I visited when I was 20-something), and I realized it
Boardwalk in Thessaloniki
So muggy that day . . . on my third outfit by 2:00 in the afternoon :) was time to go (at 5:30 in the morning!) when the drunk 18 year old from Italy was trying to convince me that he was the man ("man" is used loosely) I've always been waiting for! The next day when I told the owner of my hotel that I stayed out until 5:30 in the morning, he told me that it was still early, and once I start coming home after 7:00 a.m., then I've REALLY had a night out in Mykonos . . . God help me!!
My days consisted of lying on the beach being served by buff men in army shorts and hats (hard life, I know), except for the one day I woke up and was soooooo excited to visit, as it's so commonly called, "The Ancient Island of Delos." Everybody, along with my trusty Lonely Planet guide, were telling me to take the half-hour boat ride to Delos, which was full of ancient ruins and has an unbelievable view from the top of the small mountain there if it’s a clear, sunny day (which it was). I’m in! What people and my book failed to mention, though, is that this island is in its
Mykonos by day
I miss it already!! :( most natural state, never been touched, and therefore, is completely overrun by locals . . . lizards & snakes!!! As I confidently stepped off the boat ready to take in this ancient island and all it has to offer, I saw my first little lizard cross my path and thought, “oh, a little lizard or two, I can handle that!” One or two lizards quickly turned into 30 or 40 lizards, which quickly turned into me holding tightly onto my legs to make sure they weren’t going to buckle underneath me. As I looked around I saw that everybody else (including 85-year-old grannies and the like) was moving around the site seamlessly, so I thought that I could at least make it to the top of the mountain, where the most amazing ruins were, apparently, and see “the view" that everybody had been raving about. Before I could make it there, though, I had to pass through a field . . . I started moving through, lizard or two jumping out . . . okay, I’m fine. But once I heard a rustling sound and saw the grass move in the distance, my body literally froze!! My brain was screaming
at me to turn around, and I was also backtracking in my mind to all the episodes I may have seen of Crocodile Hunter in my time of what to do when you come across a snake . . . do I run, play dead, make lots of noise, or cry?!! I think I stood there for about three minutes completely stunned because my body was not listening to my brain and I could NOT move!! When I finally turned to make my way back, I forced myself to go to my happy place full of cabana boys serving me mojitos and feeding me grapes in the blazing sun, while Eddie Vedder serenaded me and David Suzuki was Prime Minister, as I knew this is the only way I’d make my way back down the hill with lizards darting across my path. So all told, a visit that should have lasted about three hours took me a whole 20 minutes . . . I was done and back on that boat in a matter of minutes!! Somehow I still managed to take some pictures, but not before I tried to take a picture of myself with the timer and placed
Blue, blue, blue!
View from my beach chair on Paranga Beach in Mykonos my camera on a ledge where, of course, a lizard leapt out from inside the ledge!
My last night in Mykonos I made it to the elusive "7:00 a.m" but definitely paid for it the next day by being dog tired on the ferry ride back to Athens. Getting on the ferry in Mykonos it seemed like it would be a quiet, relaxing trip back to Athens and thought I could squeeze in a snooze during that time . . . not to be!! While I didn't get my soccer team from Argentina that I so wished for, I got a ship full of Greek soccer players who were in Syros for a weekend soccer tournament and were in party mode for the entire trip back . . . so if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!!
I arrived in Athens late Sunday night and awoke Monday to get an early start and try to "beat the crowds" at the Acropolis . . . good luck!! I knew it would be crowded, but I was not prepared for the mad rush of humanity! The Acropolis was amazing, and the Parthenon itself is quite the site . . .
Lizards nipping at my feet!!
I did actually manage to get some pictures at Delos . . . right before I cried like a little baby massive and extraordinary up close; unfortunately, there was tons of construction being done on it, and there seemed to be more cranes and metal supports surrounding it than there actually were marble columns. Nonetheless, it was definitely a forty-foot Fred moment for me; awe-inspiring and one of those "I can't believe I'm actually here" experiences. From the Acropolis I went to see the changing of the guards at Parliament . . . an absolute must-see if you're in Athens! It's quite the ceremony, and it takes place every hour on the hour. Since I never got the chance to make out with a guard in London, I thought I'd try my luck in Greece! So I stood in front of one of the guards for about five minutes straight and just stared at him (playing the "who will blink first" game!), but kudos to him and, I'm sure, his ultra-disciplined training, because he didn't even flinch! I'm sure if I danced a jig for him he would have at least cracked a smile, but I think his handler may have kicked my ass or forced me to drink a bottle of ouzo and smoke two packs of cigarettes as punishment!!
The "hill" I was supposed to climb!
Took this picture while waiting for the boat to come back and save me from Delos! I'm sure there's lots I'm leaving out, but being home now, it's almost painful to think back on things because I still want to be there!! Not to whine, though, because I know how fortunate I am to have been able to take this trip in the first place and count my blessings daily. If anything, I hope my stories have inspired some of you to step out of your routine once in a while and go explore the world, even if it's in your own backyard (Canada, U.S., Greece, or wherever this finds you!) I've attached a bunch more pics to this, my last blog, from my entire trip, so hope you enjoy the extra pages! Thanks again to everybody along the way who housed me, fed me, got me home safely, and opened your homes so graciously to me!
Next travel destination for me? Perhaps Peru & Chile . . . perhaps a day spa instead!! At least I have the White Stripes concert to look forward to and, of course, making out madly with Jack White . . . he'll be such a lucky guy!!
Cheers,
Georgia
Advertisement
Tot: 0.089s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 9; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0544s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
MK
non-member comment
:(
I am so sad that this is your very last dispatch. Every blog has left me with pains in my sides because they are that funny!!! Ah, Karelia Lights...they produce the deadliest second hand smoke. No other cigarette in the world can possibly be that caustic and acrid. Like Night Train is to booze (maybe you don't have Night Train in Canada?), the Karelia brand is to smokes.