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Published: October 5th 2011
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Okay so better late than never, right? We are home, well in the city we call home, calling on favors to be returned and currently sleeping on the floor at Erik's (brother's) home. Here is what happened after Turkey and up until this point....
First, I want to say a huge thank you to the lovely folks (Erika,David, Giulio) whom we met while traveling and were so kind to extend their above and beyond hospitality to our travel weary selves... you guys are amazing.
After Turkey we flew to Athens. Athens was a little surprise, a little down and out these days, lots of graffiti and lots of folks on the streets, not the Athens I remember, but the gyro pita was still delicious and the historic sites still in tact. Upon arrival we ate some delicious food and headed to the port. We boarded a ferry to Paros island where our amazing hosts for the following week picked us up and whisked us off to a bbq with their island friends. Perfect!
The following week was spent on beaches and in lovely typical island villages during the days followed by dinner, sunsets and great conversations with our
lovely hosts from their amazing home overlooking the port town of Parikia. One special beach in particular featured a natural supply of therapeutic mud that one is intended to cover the body with, let it bake in the sun and then jump in the sea for a rinse - totally amazing.
After a week of paradise on Paros we thought we should attempt paradise on the island of Naxos. Also a wonderful week. This time we "camped" about a 2 minute walk from a 3 kilometer long white sand beach. Every day was spent on the beach and basically doing nothing. We could not even be bothered to take the free 10 minute ride to town for groceries, we simply made do with what was available at the small local beach market. White sand, crystal clear turquoise waters and fresh local produce and beverages, can't ask for much more.
We returned to Paros for 2 final island nights and made sure we got in a final mud bath and then left our lovely island life for a couple of days in Athens for site seeing. We saw all the "must-see" stuff, the Acropolis and Parthenon, the Ancient Agora,
the flea market near Monastiriki ... It was lovely and well Greek food is amazing, so we ate a lot.
Next thing we knew, we were on our way to the airport and suddenly arriving in Rome. And it really hit home - our trip was pretty much over. That being said we made the best of our last 2 days and luckily had an amazing host to help us do just that.
We saw the must sees; the Vatican (this time I was allowed in), the Colosseum, the Ancient City, the Trevi Fountain, I mean you name it we saw it. We walked a lot and fueled ourselves with amazing gelato, much espresso and some fabulous home cooked meals by our host, Giulio. Then as quickly as we arrived, our scheduled departure came and we were off to New York.
I guess New York deserves a sentence or two...
We had an amazing if not culture chocking time in New York. From Bachelor Party to Broadway Shows, slices of pizza and bagels with schmear, we did it all. And to top it off we attended a beautiful wedding, thanks Andy and Julia for getting married, it
was fun... A week later and with no remaining funds to speak of, Andrew flew home to have a couple weeks of rest before starting work full-time and I flew to Paris.
Spent three days in Paris with Mother and Ray - did some walking, relaxing and saw the main sites. And finally 3 days all to myself in Madrid! What a beautiful city. The weather was perfect, the parks were plentiful and I even found my new favorite art museum. If you are ever in Madrid you must visit the Reina Sofia Museum - great collection, great curator, interesting architecturally and even an interesting temporary exhibit.
So now back to the real world. We've been busy looking for apartments and may have found one. Keep your fingers crossed, now if only I could find a job.....
Next trip, coming soon.
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Welcome Home
Welcom home Alyssa and Andrew! I'm glad you had such a fun and safe trip. And I really like the muddy pictures!