Leaving Soon

The time is coming very soon when I’ll be heading back home to Canada. Tony and Sofia leave on Sunday. I leave Paros in about 2 weeks, on the 9th. I’ll then fly to Prague for 5 days and then London. Finally, I’ll fly back to Victoria on the 20th. I had to fit one last trip in before I came home of course!!

I’m starting to go through all my stuff and sort out what I want to take back and leave here. Luckily, Tony is able to take some stuff back for me. I can’t believe I came over to Europe with just a backpack and a laptop bag; now I have a ton of clothes and shoes and knickknacks that I really want to bring back but it has to somehow fit into the same backpack and the extra into Tony’s bag. I’ll have to part ways with a lot of stuff! I’ve also weaned my kitty out of my place and he is now used to being an outside kitty. Tony’s parent’s feed him so when I leave he won’t be in shock. He’ll be fine.

I’m getting excited about coming home. A month or two ago, I had mixed feelings but I think I’m ready now. I’m looking forward to starting a new phase of life. In this new phase, I want to grow up and focus more on preparing for the future. I want to kick start my career, save and invest, move out, and start a more adult life. Before moving away to Europe, I didn’t think too much about the future, I just had no clue as to what I wanted to do. Mainly, I just wanted an adventure and to move away and do something out of the ordinary. Now that I’ve done that, it seems to be out of my system and I now have a better idea of what I want in the future. No doubt, I’ll still travel; but actually getting up and moving away is a different story.

Fires: I haven’t mentioned the horrible fires that are going on here. I didn’t really realize how bad it had gotten until recently (it’s on almost every channel here all the time but I can’t understand the News, you see) and I think that you all have probably heard about it. It’s been declared a state of emergency and has been the worst fires in decades. Over 50 people have died so far. It’s on the mainland so the islands are safe thank goodness. Pray for it to stop and for the people it’s affecting.

M

Road Rash

Yesterday, Tony and I got in a bit of an accident and don’t worry, it wasn’t a bad one! We were on my motorbike and someone in a car backed up right in front of us into the middle of the road. We weren’t going fast, actually the opposite, but there wasn’t enough time to stop and no room to go around the car. The bike fell and we fell with it. We got a few scrapes but other than that, we’re fine. The bike is ok too and still runs fine; nothing was broken on it, the front light just got pushed in a little. So we consider ourselves lucky! It could’ve been a lot worse if we were going fast. Anywho, the guy driving the car is to blame and he knows it and my bike will get fixed today. I’m a little sore from the scrapes but that’s about it!

What else? On Friday night a bunch of people came over for dinner. It was like a “bye Tony and Sofia” evening since they are both leaving in less than a week to go back to Victoria. We had a lot to eat like roasted lamb, chicken, and my favorite, kokoretsi! We also went out for some dancing on Saturday night. Some of Tony’s friends and cousins were there so it was nice to go out one last time before we head back to Canada!

M

Syros

On Tues, Tony had to leave in the evening for Syros. He had go to the hospital there and get doctor signatures to say that he was in good health in order to finish getting a certificate which lets him teach English. We planned to go together for another mini-trip.

On Tuesday afternoon though, Tony got something in his eye that wouldn’t go away. We tried eye drops and splashing water in it; nothing worked and I couldn’t see anything in there. He went to the hospital and they poured more stuff in his eye which seemed to work but in a few hours it was as painful as ever. He went back but they said that his eye just thought it had something in it when it really didn’t. Tony was not amused.

We went to Syros anyways that evening hoping it would get better but it didn't. We found our little pension and the next day woke up early to head to the hospital. We had to go to many different departments to collect 9 signatures. It took about 4 hours. Tony was able to get in to see an eye doctor during that time. They numbed his eye and dug the sucker out, whatever it was. So he had to wear a patch for the rest of the day. When the numbing wore off it was very painful so I was his seeing-eye girlfriend for most of the day.

We stopped at Mykonos on the way back but just stayed in the port and had a snack since we were both exhausted. It’s all better now though and the patch is off!


M

Santorini

Tony and I had a great time in Santorini a few days ago. We stayed for 4 days near the town of Fira. Here are some pics from my camera but unfortunately, Tony’s camera is acting up so we can’t get any pics off of it yet.

On our second day there (Sat.), we did a full-day boat cruise which took us to the volcano, hot springs, and nearby island of Thirassia, and dropped us off at the town of Oia to see the famous sunset.

Walking up the volcano almost killed us because it was sooo hot. The hot springs were strange. We all jumped off the boat into the water and swam towards the hot spring. As you get closer to it, the water turns a yellowy-green color, gets warmer, and smells funny. The mud on the bottom is supposed to be really good for your skin. The water along the edges of the hot spring was bright green, almost fluorescent! It looked like we were swimming in toxin waste! It was nice, lol.

Next, we stopped at the little island of Thirassia and had a nice lunch right on the water near the port. I love fried octupus! Especially off the grill with a ton of lemon juice.

At the port of Oia, we took mules up the steep windy path to the top because it was soooo hot and I didn’t want to walk. It was fun but I felt bad for the mules having to walk up in the heat everyday. There were no reins though, so they just did their own thing and took breaks when they needed them. They knew exactly where to go and when to stop.

We stayed in Oia for the sunset and saw it from the best vantage point – the castle. It was nice but I think it would be way better with a few clouds to pick up more colors. After the sunset finished (people actually gave applause!) we headed to where we thought we’d catch the tour bus back to our hotel, but we ended up missing it! Instead, we had to take a normal bus that was packed with people and we had to stand the whole way in a crowd, not fun.

The next day, we rented a little scooter. It took a few tries to find a place to rent to us because they were either out of bikes or they didn’t want to rent to people for only 1-day. Finally we found a place and got an old, crappy scooter. The breaks barely worked, the back lights were busted out – no turn signals, and it kinda leaned to one side when it was driven. It was fun though, it had character! Everyone passed us because it was just soooo slow.

We took the scooter around the island and checked out a few beaches on the east coast and decided to stay at Perissa. We had a yummy lunch and had a frappe at a cafe/bar/pool place. You go there to order a drink and/or snack and just lounge by the pool; really nice. We stayed there instead of going to the beach (it’s what the Greeks do, instead of going to the tourist loaded beaches).

What else did we do? We looked around the main town of Fira many times and we couldn’t believe all the jewelry stores!! Most of the shops sold jewelry and we wondered how they all stayed in business with so much competition! We also found this pizza joint that sold huge pieces of pizza for 2euro, so we went there a few times for some greasy good eats. In the last photo, you can see the marked off area where the cruise ship sank and few months ago; it's right near the new port where most of the ferries dock.

Tony and I just got back from Syros and Mykonos yesterday but that’s a different trip and story, I’ll post tomorrow. Let’s just say, Tony came back with a patch on his eye, "AAARRRR!"

M

Aug

Tony came home on the 10th from the Army for the last time; he's finished and never has to do it again! This week we've been going to the beach, hanging out with friends and having a good time. I've been sick the past few days with a cold which isn't fun but I think it's almost over now.

We're leaving for Santorini tomorrow for 4 days so I've gotta get home and pack. Here are some random pics from the past few days:



M

Barcelona Trip Pics

Here are a few pics for my Trip...

Changing of the guards in Athens.

BARCELONA
La Rambla

La Boqueria market


Temple de la Sagrada Familia


Both made out of chocolate!


The magic Fountain


A loooooong metro hallway

In front of Casa Batllo

Different Alleys


At the Picasso Museum

The Waterfront

Park Guell


Dali Museum in Figueres

I'm working like a maniac right now trying to finish updating a website for my boss ASAP. I want to finish it soon because my boss will be away next week and I can come and go as I please as long as the website is finished when he gets back. Tony arrives tonight (!!!!!) SO, if I finish this today or very soon, I'll have all next week to hang out!

M