Blogitty Blog

Something New...

2011-02-11T19:06:00.006+02:00

Ok, so this blog wasn't resurrected like I thought it might be. I think it's time to put it to sleep.

I'll be starting a fancy new blog featuring my art in the near future. I have recently been inspired to start working on my drawing skills with intensity. And I have some goals in my head that I'm excited about. This is going to be a bit of a process and I have to be patient but stay tuned!

Also, I should mention our wedding. Some people have been asking about where/when it is and all that. It'll be in Paros, Greece on July 30. It's going to be a Greek Orthodox wedding; in other words, there will be no English. It's a beautiful ceremony though and it'll be fun. You'll get to chuck rice at us too! Anyways, when the invites go out (hopefully soon) I'll put up a website where I'll put more info about the island.

Have a great weekend!

-M

Blog Resurrection?

2010-04-30T22:13:00.010+03:00

I kind of feel like blogging again. This blog died a while ago but maybe I'll resurrect it. Not sure what I'll write about, maybe just random stuff on my mind or activities I get up to. It's always fun to look back on posts that were written years before even though, at the time, it may not be as interesting.

Since the last post, I'm still living and working at the same places. Tony and I are together going on 4.5 years now. We've actually just booked a trip back to Greece for a month and leave at the end of August; excitement! We haven't been back since the big trip a few years ago. SO looking forward to it. I'm also looking forward to the actual flights - British Airways, my fave airline and the plane food - I'm weird like that. And we'll stop in London for a day of shopping on the way back, squee!

For the past few months I've been doing a lot of freelance graphic/web design work so it's been busy and a little stressful. I'm learning new ways of creating sites though (using CSS and certain CMS's). Once I fully learn these new techniques, I may focus more on web design since that seems to be most of the freelance work that I get. My personal website needs to be updated badly but I'll do that once I get a few more CSS sites under my belt.

Running is my new passion. This time last year, I started to run to and from work (to save on bus money and get some exercise). I could barely run 1k without stopping; but slowly I progressed. In Oct 2009 I did a Run for the Cure 5k race with some of my gal cousins; so much fun! The whole racing atmosphere kinda sucked me in and I started to get motivated to do more races and to run further. I ended up signing up for a 10km race on Jan1, 2010 and trained on my own through the winter. I ran it in 1hr 8mins.

Next, I decided to join a 3 month 10k clinic. The clinic just ended last week and we all did our goal race which was the Times Colonist 10k. What fun it was to run with over 13,000 people! Tony and I ran the whole thing together and our time was 58min 39sec (I beat my Jan 1 time by almost 10 mins!). I also signed up for a half marathon clinic starting in June which Tony is also signing up for - I got him addicted to running too! The goal race for that is the Royal Victoria Marathon (but the half) on Oct 10. Can't wait! We'll have to continue to train while we're in Greece since the race happens less than 2 weeks after we get back 0.0 I find I've been eating a lot more since I started running. You have to make sure you eat a lot of carbs for energy and protein for your muscles. Even though I pig out now, I guess the running keeps the metabolism going so it's all good.

Also, a couple of my good friends are having babies. My friend Cherry just had a boy and my best friend is preggers. This is interesting for me. I've never really been a kid person and not sure if I see myself having a kid at all. But I'm curious if seeing my friends with babies will change my point of view? I think Tony would like me to have more of an open mind when it comes to this, we'll see.

I'm heading to the salon tomorrow and may come out with a lighter shade; I feel like a change from my dark brown hair but I'm too scared to do it myself (I actually want to keep my hair on my head and not fry it off with some over-the-counter bleaching product).

It's Snow Time!

2008-12-30T23:31:00.003+02:00

Well, the snow is gone now but I thought I'd put up a couple pics that I took from my window at night. They turned out kinda neat!

Fall

2008-10-12T05:36:00.005+03:00

In Sept, I moved into a little attic suite. It's great having my own place and being able to decorate however I want. The walls were a depressing gray/blue when I moved in so I painted it white and caramel. I can't really have people over though because it's a bachelor and I don't have room or even a table! But it's perfect for me plus my big kitty; he likes to go out onto the patio or look out the window to see the pigeons in the trees. Here's a couple pics: The office section and the kitchen with door out onto a little patio.

The nice thing about living there is the location; just a couple blocks away from Dallas Rd. A few weeks ago, the SnowBirds were doing an air show so I walked to the water and took some pics of all the people gathering around to watch.

Tony and I went to a Home Show and saw Colin and Justin from "Home Heist." They were entertaining and hilarious! Aren't they cute?

My parents and I went to see Rick Steves do a talk about his travels and tips; now I want to go to Europe even more! I can hardly wait to go again! Probably not till summer 2010 though :(. Next trip on my list is Hawaii - hopefully this Spring?

That's it for now!

M

New Art Blog

2008-07-23T22:49:00.002+03:00

I started a new blog specifically to post some of my drawings and graphic art. So if you're interested, take a look! http://artofmichelle.blogspot.com/

So far there isn't much but hopefully I'll be posting more regularly, we'll see how that goes!

M

Summer Already!?

2008-05-11T06:45:00.016+03:00

Oops! Haven't posted in a while. Life just isn't as exciting as it was the last couple years.

In the last post, I mentioned about buying a condo - ya, no. I did my research and found that Victoria and many other Canadian cities are in a real estate bubble and I believe the prices will come down in the next couple years, so that's on the back burner. I've been looking for a place to rent instead. I was browsing Craigslist about a month ago and saw a place for rent in a great location which was very affordable so I went for a viewing and ended up getting it! It's a cute little attic suite in a big character house; perfect for one person and it's just a block away from Gonzales Beach. I move there Sept 1. I'm sooooo looking forward to it! I ordered a bike too (a beach cruiser) ; I'll bike to work on good days and bus it in the bad weather (I'm sick of driving to and from work everyday).

Capoeira is no more. We took lessons for about 3 months and found that we just couldn't commit the time. Most of the Capoeiristas went AT LEAST 3 days a week for lessons and it was a way of life for them. We just weren't into it enough.

Tony just finished his Network Technician program and applied to a few Co-op jobs for the summer to gain experience. He ended up getting a real job (ei: not Co-op) with a small growing IT company. They set up computer networks and digital telephony systems for various companies. This is great because they'll be training him all summer and then when he goes back to school, he'll be working there part-time. He has about 2 or so more years of school left. Below is my dad and Tony working on his final project. My dad created the casing for it and helped drill holes and things and Tony put all the circuitry, wires, bits and bobs, and programming altogether to create a ridiculously powerful amp. It even has neon lights in and it looks sooo good. The teacher kept wanting to buy it from him so he could show it to future classes.

I'm still animating and creating art for various video games at work and I love it. It's been extra busy the last month and will be all summer. There are a few titles on the go. There's one game for the Nintendo DS that came out in May called Teenage Zombies (below) that our studio did. It was kind of exciting when it came out because every aspect of the game was thought up and created in our studio (Usually we get outsourced work from other companies). Anywho, check it out if you have a DS it's pretty fun (a puzzle type game).

This weekend has been sooooo hot! I love it!! FINALLY!!!! What horrible weather it had been in June (or "Juneuary"). Tones and I had to get some much needed rays so we had a picnic on the rocks near Gonzales Beach. I am now sunburnt and sore but it was great and worth the redness! I have been missing Greece soooo much lately and this weather slightly makes up for not being there.

M

Poor Neglected Blog

2008-01-19T11:21:00.000+02:00

I haven't been updating my poor blog at all lately. I look at it once in a while to see what I was up to last year but that's about it. Well here's an update on how life is now:

I'm still with Tony of course and he is in full-on study/homework mode for a Networking Technician program this year and then he'll go into Computer Engineering for about 4 more years, that's the plan anywho.

I'm still at the animation studio and recently got hired permanently! I'm happy because I've been freelancing since I graduated, so now, having a permanent job takes away the stress of always having to find the next contract. (Well, I guess in Greece, it was permanent but I had to come home eventually!)

Since I have some job security now, I've been toying with the idea of buying my first condo this summer! I'm saving up big time and hope I'll have enough for something, although Victoria is a freakin expensive city to get started in. I may do halfers with my bro too, that's another idea. We'll see!

Tony and I have been taking Capoeira classes 2 or 3 times a week and they are deadly! It's a crazy workout but it can be frustrating at times. We are still some of the newest members so we have to really work our butts off to get the moves down.

I take Greek lessons on Wednesdays and it's coming along well. I've learned so much from the class and Tony helps me with my homework. I try to get him to talk to me more in Greek but I seem to do more Greek talking than he does (he always has to repeat or slow his speech down so I can understand - which must get annoying!)

That's about it for now!

M

Victoria, BC

2007-10-21T03:03:00.000+03:00

Here are a few random pic's of good ol' Victoria (for those readers who don't live here):

Below is the "heart" of Victoria - the Inner Harbour with the vine covered Empress Hotel on the left and the Legislature Building in the center.

Bastion Square

Below are some pics of one of my favorite areas to go for a walk, along Dallas Road.

There was an amazing sunrise one morning. I stepped out the door and everything was pink! My bro came home around that time from a long night shift.

Tony and I had our 2 year anniversary last week and went to one of my fave restaurants called Rathskellers. It's a German schnitzel house and I LOVE the food! There was a long wait though because we didn't make reservations and it's Oktoberfest time.

We started our Capoeira lessons and we really like it so far! It's such great exercise, so great in fact that after the first lesson I couldn't walk properly for days afterwards because my leg and butt were so sore!! We are pretty pathetic at it though compared to the others in our class because we are the newest members. We're hoping for some other people to start so we aren't the only newbies!

Tomorrow, I'm going to a rehearsal for a fashion show for the Watoto Ladies Gala next weekend. My friend Sarah asked me to be in it after a model cancelled. It should be fun! I did this kinda thing before I moved away but haven't had time to get back into it yet. The fittings were during the week so it was quite busy running to the shops either during my lunch break or after work.

Tonight we are heading to 2 birthday celebrations for friends; not sure if we'll be able to make it to both!

M

Settled

2007-10-06T21:46:00.000+03:00

I knew I’d get horrible at posting as soon as I got back. Since the last post, I’ve jumped right back into work as a Flash animator/artist at a studio and I’ve been there for about two week now. There are some new faces and some people that aren’t there anymore but it’s still very familiar (I worked there before I moved away). That keeps me busy. I get up at 6:30, I drive into town in the rush hour traffic, and then have a 20 min walk to work. By the time I get home at the end of the day, it’s 6ish and then I hang out with Tony or friends so I’m barely ever home.

I’m going to try out a Capoeira class on Wednesday. I’m excited! Tony and I definitely wanted to take some kind of martial arts class and looked for this particular kind. It’s a Brazilian fight-dance. It’s a lot different from karate; there are more gymnastic moves involved. We wanted something fun that’ll get us into shape so we’ll see what this will be like. It’s a little pricey though! Here's a cool example below:

What else is new? I want to get more into creating art. I never seem to have the time to do it outside of work but I want to try to make it more of a priority. The job that I’m at right now is a contract position, which means in a few months I’ll be looking for another job and I want to be ready with an updated portfolio. Sometimes I wish I could just find a permanent job at a studio so I don’t have to keep job hunting. But doing contract work forces me to brush up on my art, stay motivated, and learn new skills all the time, so it’s a good thing. My dad is making me a light table right now; I’ve wanted one of those for a while but for the size that I want, they cost hundreds of dollars. He’ll be able to make it for less than that.

I may start a new art blog where I post up some of the art I’ve been working on. A lot of my friends in the industry have one and I think it’s a good idea, not just to show off art but to network and stay motivated which is sooooooo important when you’re a contractor! I’ll make sure to post my new art blog address if I start it up.

I’m pretty used to everything now. The “wow” factor of seeing everything as new again has pretty much worn off. I’m hoping to move out with my brother after Christmas sometime; so I want to save, save, save for that. He’s a paramedic and works A LOT of weird hours so what a great roommate he’ll be! He’ll never be home, lol! I also want to take Greek lessons and I think they start up next month, so that’ll be fun. It was frustrating not being able to take lessons when I was actually living in Greece, now I can.

Tony is back at school doing Computer Engineering stuff. He’s so glad that his year of being in the army is over. Now we can hang out when ever we want and he’s only a 10 min drive away! It’ll be our 2-year anniversary on Oct 11 so that’s a biggy!

I wanted to take some pics of Victoria for those of you readers who don’t live here. I never bring my camera to work though. I’ll try to post a few up in the near future. I may take some this weekend since it’s the (Canadian) Thanksgiving long weekend. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

M

Adjusting

2007-09-24T04:24:00.000+03:00

I’ve been back for a few days now and I really like being home. I’ve had fun seeing Tony, friends, family, and new babies in the last few days. It’s great to see everyone again!

On Friday, my first day back, I got insurance for my car and took it to get tuned up and ready to drive again. I knew it wasn’t good for the car to just sit for a long time but I didn’t think things would deteriorate. I got a bunch of fluid changed (oil and another kind), a new battery, and the brakes needed to be fixed. It was a costly day! At least it’s all taken care of now.

Also on Friday, I had to dye my hair. I was so sick of the bronzy color the sun bleached it and I wanted my natural color back (brunette) so here’s the before and after. Quite a difference!

I’ve noticed a few things that I didn’t think of before. Such as, how friendly and helpful everyone who works in the stores are. I went with Tony to do some grocery shopping and started to bag our food at the till; I just assumed we had to bag it ourselves but the girl at the till said it’s her job and thanked me for the help, lol.

Tomorrow is my first day back at work at an animation studio. I’m looking forward to seeing old co-workers, meeting new ones, and to finding out what project I’ll be working on. Should be interesting!

M

Home Sweet Home!

2007-09-21T15:56:00.000+03:00

I just arrived home last night and it’s strange. Everything is familiar yet different. I woke up at 5am this morning and just looked through old photos and set up my desktop computer.

I had a looooong, delayed, 12-hour flight yesterday (it stopped to pick up more people in Manchester). When we were about to land in Vancouver, I could see the Pacific Ocean and some islands out the window and a wave of patriotism hit me and I was proud to be back in Canada, “my home and native land,” lol. The Vancouver Airport was really nice too; It must’ve gotten a facelift in preparation for the Olympics. I had a Tim Horton’s coffee while waiting around; oh how I missed it, it’s so classically Canadian!

I was planning on taking a shuttle bus to the ferry terminal to catch the 9pm ferry but I missed it. I had been waiting for it for over an hour too! I didn’t pay enough attention to the time I guess (I’m going to blame it on the lack of sleep, ya, that’s it, lack of sleep). Anywho, I grabbed a taxi instead and 20mins and $60 later I got to the terminal with plenty of time to spare.

My daddy and brother met me at Swartz Bay (my mom couldn’t, she’s in Seattle and Tony had to get up super early for school). When I got home, it was so fun to see it again and to see my car and cat! He is so huge compared to my Greek kitty. Before the trip, I thought he was big but in a good way, now, I see that he is just plain obese (Tony was right) and I want to put him on a diet!

It kind of feels like luxury having a bunch of TV channels and internet right at my fingertips. I’m also loving my nice, big, warm, comfy bed. I’ll be living at home for a while to save some money and wait for my bro to finish a bunch of Paramedic’s tests; then we’ll move out together.

Today, I have to do a bunch of practical things like getting my car insured and tuned up, unpacking, buying things that I need, getting over jetlag, and just driving around and getting used to everything again. I'm happy to be home!

M

Going Home

2007-09-19T22:06:00.001+03:00

I leave London tomorrow for Victoria and I’m excited! I’ve had such a great time away but I think I’m ready to go home now.

I’m not looking forward to my 11 hour budget flight though. I know they serve a meal (but how good? I don’t know) and I’m not sure if there’ll be a movie on or not. Oh well, I’ll get what I paid for – it was cheap! I’ve stocked up on magazines and I have a book that I’m reading, so that’ll help.

The last few days in London have been good. I’ve been going for long walks and doing a bit of shopping. Yesterday, I went to the National Portrait Gallery; it’s jam packed with such beautiful paintings! Today was pretty uneventful; I went for a long walk through Primrose Hill, Maida Vale, and Little Venice but I forgot my Oyster Card (my pass for the buses and Tube) so I walked alllllll the way back home. By the time I got home in the late afternoon, my legs were soooo tired, I just stayed in the rest of the day and vegged. I might as well relax now since I won’t be doing much of that at home. Below: Trafalgar Square with a photography exhibition and art piece in front and Little Venice.

I start work on Monday (not Friday like I posted previously) and the weekend will be full of unpacking, getting car insurance, getting organized, and over the jet lag.

I didn’t really plan to keep this blog going when I got home. I think I will for a bit though, at least until it’s all back to normal. Once work starts though, I’m not sure how much I’ll be posting.

To all you family and friends in Victoria, we’ll have to meet up! See you all soon!

M

London

2007-09-18T00:29:00.000+03:00

Oh, how I love London! Shopping in countless great stores, seeing fashionable people everywhere, going for a walk through the beautiful areas, staying in my cute ex-flat, and to top it off, the weather is quite nice and warmer than Prague. I’m glad I got to stay here for the last part of my time away!

I got caught up with Gareth and met his new flatmate, Andy. They are both so easy to get along with. It’s been nice to watch TV in English too. I almost forgot about those home decorating shows; It was fun watching the House Doctor!

Yesterday and today have been mainly shopping days. Yes, it’s sad, I haven’t done any sight seeing, except if you count Oxford Street and the inside of Top Shop, H&M, Selfridges, and many other great stores... I wanted to buy a few last things before I head home since it’s a more fun to shop over here than back home in Victoria.

Yesterday, I browsed along Oxford Street and went to a 5:30 Hillsong Church service. It was nice to be back there again; Hillsong is a lot of fun!

Today, I bought a few things: a cute and unique aqua-blue peacoat, nice black leather boots, a belt, and little black sweater. I had my favorite tomato and motza breadless sandwich at Pret for lunch. And, after a long day of running around the shops, I had a latte and walked through Primrose Hill on the way home right as the sun was going down; So beautiful! I love walking through Primrose Hill and Belsize Park; such a nice area.

I haven’t taken many photos so far of London, just of Primrose Hill above. Below, are some photos from Prague of some of the cool architecture. I love how whimsical and different the buildings are.

Only a few days till I go home; I’m looking forward to many things: seeing family and friends, starting up work, not being in a long distance relationship, seeing Victoria again, driving my car (I hope I remember how to, lol!)…

Pretty Prague 2 - Kutna Hora

2007-09-13T20:17:00.000+03:00

On Wednesday night, I walked around the old town and the Old Town Square was packed with a ton of Irish all dressed up in green, orange, and white. They were drinking up a storm and chanting on their way to see the football game. The aftermath was not so pretty!

On the way back to the hostel, I walked by the scene below; I think it was a Cartier store opening and it was so over the top. There was a red carpet, butlers on either side, bouncers, and models, freezing, in little black dresses at computers to sign-in the guests. I think it was mainly executives that went in; I didn’t stay very long but it looked like a big film premiere.

Yesterday, I hopped on a train for a 2 hour ride to Kutna Hora (to a suburb called Sedlec) where there was an ossuary in the Chapel of All Saints. It was full of human bones which were arranged into art in 1870 to decorate the church. The chandelier was made from every single bone in the human body. It was strangely, very beautiful. Below: the church and train stop.

In the evening, I went to the Krizik Fountain show. It was incredible!!! It’s a very old, huge fountain where they put on water shows in the evening. The show I saw incorporated live balet, and light/water show and music. It was sooooo well done and I didn’t want it to stop! I have a bunch of video footage which I’ll put up when I have time to edit it. I highly recommend it!!

Today is my last full-day here. I looked around Josefov, the former Jewish ghetto and I think I’ll just relax today and go for one last walk around the cobbled streets.

Here are a few more photos: a sunset from Charles Bridge and a helicopter I saw dropping something off onto that building.

Pretty Prague

2007-09-12T18:27:00.000+03:00

Prague is so beautiful and I’ve had a great few days so far. The first two days were cloudy and a little rainy but today the sun peaked out and it looks like tomorrow will be sunny all day.
I’ve hit up quite a few sights such as: the Mucha Museum, Decorative Arts Museum, the Prague Castle, Medieval Torture Museum, St.Vitus Cathedral, and Charles Bridge…

There is a café chain called Coffee Heaven which I’ve been to a few times to give my legs a rest – I love their yummy, foamy lattes! There are a ton of shops selling Bohemian Crystal, paintings, jewelry, puppets… I’ve tried to control myself but I had to buy a few Mucha souvenirs. I’m starting to get used to the currency (Czech Korna or Crown); 1 euro is about 25 Crowns, so it feels weird paying 100 Crowns for a latte and a snack - feels like it’s sooo expensive when it’s really not.

Tonight, there's a soccer game on between the Czechs and the Irish happening here in Prague; so, for the fans that couldn’t get into the stadium, they are putting up a big screen outside in the Old Town Square. There are a ton of Irish people all dressed in Green and police crowding around already. I may check out the mayhem a little later.

Here are some pics.

Old Town Square at night and day:

The Astronomical Clock:

Charles Bridge and the statue of St. John of Nepomuk (if you rub the bronze plaque, you'll come back to Prague one day; so it looks like I'll be back!)

St. Vitus Cathedral in the Prague Castle:

Part of a stained glass window created by Mucha in the cathedral:

Veiw from one of the cathedral towers:

Some other random shots:

Prague

2007-09-10T10:20:00.000+03:00

This is just a very short note to let you all know I made it to Prague safely. I had a great last day in Paros; I went for a nice morning walk along the water and market streets, went to Punda Beach and vegged in the sun with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, finished cleaning and packing, and helped make pizza upstairs with Linda and Markos in the evening. The day was sooo clear too, you could see all the surrounding islands and there were little white fluffy clouds that made the day look so beautiful.

Yesterday, I looked around Athens for a bit. And then I tried to sleep in the airport but it didn't work. I arrived in Prague early this morning and I just dropped my luggage off at the hostel and will walk around and explore. There are so many things I want to see here but for now, I want to get my bearings. It's a lot cooler here and pretty cloudy; no rain though, for now. It's kinda refreshing! I think I may pick up a little scarf though. I have no proper jacket (I sent it home with Tony), just layers so hopefully that'll be ok.

I'm off to walk around! Cya!
M

Bye Paros!

2007-09-08T09:40:00.000+03:00

This is my last full-day here on Paros. I’m excited to travel a little more and then head home but there are so many things I’m going to miss here and it’ll be sad to leave!

In the last few days, I’ve been heading to the beaches after work and trying to soak up the last bit of hot sunshine that I’ll feel for a while. I also drove up to the highest mountain yesterday for one last beautiful view of the island. It’s kinda silly but whenever I go anywhere now, I think: “oh, this could be the last time I look around in this store, ride down this road, or swim at this beach”…etc. I know I’ll be back but probably not for a few years, at least.

My boss, Yiannis and his family invited me over for dinner last night; that was nice! Yiannis has two girls who are so cute! They would all like to come to Canada for a visit one day so I hope it happens; even if it is a few years away, it would be fun to see them all again!

I’ve pretty much organized all my stuff and have most of it packed, I’ll finish it all today. I think I’ll head to Punda Beach now, rent a chair, and have a frappe in the sun one last time. I leave on the ferry tomorrow morning then hang out in Athens and have a nice sleep on the airport bench till my early morning flight.

The next post will come from Prague, I arrive there on the 10th. I checked the weather and it looks like I’ll need an umbrella. That’s ok, I’m just looking forward to seeing the city and museums (especially the Mucha museum – one of my all time favorite artists). My hostel is right in the middle of the Old Town too which is great because I can walk to all of the main sights instead of taking buses or the metro.

Here are a few last random shots of Paros (and my little kitty):

Bye Paros!
M

A Job Back Home

2007-09-02T15:17:00.000+03:00

I found out recently that I have a job lined up in Victoria when I get home. I start work the day after I arrive! Luckily it’s a Friday so if I barely make it through the day, I can recover on the weekend (from the jet lag).

It’s a 6-8 week contract (with a possible extension) at a local animation studio. I was working there before I left for my little adventure so it’ll be nice to see everyone again. I won’t even have time to insure my car so I’ll have to figure out another way of getting there. I’m happy to be thrown right into work though; I’ve had a pretty slack summer (and year for that matter)!

Tony and Sofia left last night for Canada. Tony, most likely, won’t be coming back here for a visit for about 2 years!

I’m going to start looking up Prague info and figure out what I want to check out there. I also want to look-up the hostel I booked. It was so long ago that I booked it; I can’t remember anything about it except the name!

This week will be full of: cleaning, getting organized, and packing for my departure on Sunday.

M

Leaving Soon

2007-08-28T11:48:00.000+03:00

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

2007-08-27T11:23:00.001+03:00

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

2007-08-24T15:37:00.000+03:00

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

2007-08-23T16:28:00.000+03:00

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

2007-08-16T14:17:00.000+03:00

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

2007-08-10T09:37:00.001+03:00

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!

Back in Greece

2007-08-08T10:20:00.000+03:00

I arrived back in Greece very early this morning. I had about 1-2 hours of sleep last night so I'm very tired today! I'm in Athens now and have most of the day here till I catch the ferry at 5:30 for Paros.

My trip to Barcelona in a nutshell was: tiring, lol! The city is very large and everything is quite spread out. I did a ton of walking and it didn't help having my foot stepped on by a lady on the metro (by mistake of course but it hurt quite a bit afterwards!) I'm not going to recap day by day like I usually do because it would take toooo long!

I saw most of the attractions that I wanted to, it's easiest to do a list:

Gaudi creations:
- Sagrada Familia Church which was very beautiful from the outside. I paid to see the inside but it wasn't worth it; the lift to the top wasn't working and there was scaffolding everywhere because of the ongoing construction.
- La Pedrera and the Casa Batllo were right down the street from my hostel but I didn't go inside those, just admired the outside.
- Park Güell was really cool and had a great view over all of Barcelona. Gaudi created a bunch of interesting sculptures and architecture all around the park including the longest park bench in the world made of mosaic tiles.

Other sights:
- Picasso Museum which was interesting and in a really beautiful building.
- Montjuïc Hill is a park on a hill overlooking Barcelona which has a few museums on it. I wanted to go to the Miro Museum but when I got there, it had just closed. Near there, at the bottom of the hill is what's called the Magic Fountain and at 9pm, it starts up and the huge fountain turns different colors and shapes in time to music - really cool!
- The water front was a nice area to walk along. The day I wanted to go to the beach though, it ended up being cloudy so I skipped it and went to a spa pool instead...
- Poliesportiu Marítim - Centre de Talassoteràpia was the spa pool I went to. It consisted of 4 salt water pools and a few freshwater pools, waterfalls, bubble jets, steam room, sauna, warm marble area, lap pools.... basically, it was sooo relaxing! I went from pool to pool and just vegged in them till my limbs turned to raisins. A swimming cap was mandatory, so I had to buy one to go in. I also got reamed out (in Spanish) by a lady in the locker room and didn't understand a word she was saying but I think it was because I accidentally took her locker (even though she had nothing in it!) anyways...
- I did a ton of shopping and bought some much needed clothes. I barely ever bought clothes the past year so I thought I deserved a few new things. It'll also nice to bring back European clothing back home because they'll be more unique.
- La Boqueria market was right off of La Rambla and sold tons of fresh produce. You could get a plate of a variety of fresh fruit pieces for less than 2 euro and pure fruit smoothies, mmmmm!
- I walked a lot in the Las Ramblas, Passieg de Gracia, and Barri Gotic areas which are full of shops and cafes.

On my last day, I took a train to the town of Figueres where Salvador Dalí was born. He later converted a theatre into a museum to house his work called Teatre-Museu Dalí. This museum is one of the most visited in Spain and I can see why. I was so surreal! There were weird sculptures, paintings, holograms, visual illusions everywhere. The thing that's so interesting about this place was that Dali created not just the art work inside but also the whole look and feel of the building and rooms which display his art. So the whole museum is an art piece in itself and a very strange one!

I'll post pics in the next couple days when I get back home and sort through them all.

Army Update: Tony has only 2 days left in the Army so you can imagine he and I are sooooo excited! He'll be a free man finally! He won't be told when to get up, what to do, where to go, what to eat, or what to wear anymore; he'll be able to make his own decisions! He's really looking forward to getting back to Canada and returning to college. He's doing Computer Engineering so there are a lot of things he'll have to brush up on and get back into after being away from it for a whole year.

I guess that's all the news for now, I must go and have a bite to eat.

M

Barcelona

2007-08-04T16:05:00.000+03:00

This is my second day in Barcelona and there is soo much to see! I didn't realize it is one of the most visited cities in Europe besides Paris (atleast that's what someone told me).

The last 2 days were a bit of a blur. On Thurs, I caught the ferry to Athens and had half a day to look around before my flight. I mainly did some shopping since I really needed sandals. I completely wore out my favorite pair which I loved. They were so comfy! But these new ones I found will be a good replacement, they feel good.

After the shopping, I went for a walk to the Royal Palace and saw the changing of the guards and then headed to the airport. I had to kill a few hours till my 03:55 flight so in the airport, I read and tried to sleep a bit.

Finally, after the flight, I got to Barcelona and took a train into town and found my hostel. It's very nice!! In a great area: Passeig de Gracia. It's a very nice old building that has been renovated recently and is very clean and secure.

After getting settled, I headed out and walked around Las Ramblas area and did some shopping. After hours of walking and exploring my feet were so sore and I was tired from having barely any sleep the night before so I had an early night.

Today, I checked out a few museums and sights and I might do a little more shopping. I can't really elaborate right now because others want to use the internet. I'll post pics when I get home.

M

Driving Around

2007-08-01T08:44:00.000+03:00

It’s been a busy week working mornings and evenings. My boss Yiannis and I have been driving around the island handing out island directories to all the businesses. It’s nice to see towns and inside cafes and shops I haven’t been to before but it’s quite hot so it’s hard work lugging all the books around. We usually stop for a few hours during the day because it’s too hot. Yiannis’ wife Maria sometimes helps and he also has a friend from Athens to help too. Here are a few pics from different areas around the island:

I had a second kiteboarding lesson a few days ago and went for others but it ended up not being windy enough or too busy. I like it though and I hope to take more lessons and actually get on the board one day.

On Monday, I went for a kite lesson but there was no wind, so instead, I ended up going for a swim with a friend. We decided to swim from Paros to the neighboring island of Antiparos! People though we were crazy but it was fun and we did it without drowning. It took about 45mins and is about 2miles. We didn’t want to swim back so we walked from the beach to the port and took the ferry back with the 10 euro bill I had stuck in my bikini top just in case, lol! It was funny walking onto the ferry with bare feet and in our bathing suits; either people figured out that we had swum there and were heading back or they just though we were nut jobs (probably the latter). Here are two pics of the kiteboarding place with Antiparos in the background.

Yesterday was my 26th birthday and didn’t do too much. I didn’t care about it this year at all. I’m looking too forward to my Barcelona trip (leaving tomorrow) and Tony’s homecoming from the Army. It was nice though; we handed out books on Antiparos and stopped to have a nice lunch on the water. Yiannis gave me the evening off so I headed to the beach and relaxed. In the evening, I hung out upstairs for a bit with Linda and Markos and I also rented a movie and bought a Mars bar – can’t beat chocolate, tea, and a movie! It was a good day.

I leave on the 10:45am ferry for Athens tomorrow and catch the plane for Barcelona very late at night so I’ll hang out in Athens for most of the day. This’ll be my last post till I’m in Barcelona. I’m really looking forward to it and the plane ride (I really like them for some reason). Anywho, I’ll most likely post pics after I come back but I’ll try to let everyone know what's going on there in the next week.

July2

2007-07-25T16:01:00.000+03:00

I’ve been lazy at posting lately. I haven’t taken many pics either – oops! Here are few that I took: Punda Beach, the waves at Parasporos, and a view toward Parikia.

At work, we are waiting for the island directory books that we made to arrive from the printers in Athens. Once they arrive, my boss Yiannis and I will spend a few days driving around the island and dropping them off in every cafe and company on the island! That’ll be a nice change from sitting at the computer.

I think there is another heat wave going on. It’s soooooo hot!!! The beach is the only place to go after work because it’s too hot to do anything else. There are forest fires all over Greece right now too. I’m actually looking forward to rain and cold in Vic now (and once I’m in the rain and cold I’ll regret ever saying that!)

I’ve been hitting the gym a lot lately. It feels good afterwards. Although today, I’m not going; the air-conditioning isn’t on very high there so it gets very hot and not very fun to workout in.

The family that lives in the suite next to mine found a little kitten in the motor of a tractor and brought it home a little while ago. It was so tiny – about 4 weeks old. Now, it’s an outside kitten and my cat plays with it. There is another strange black cat that visits mine at night and they always fight. Sometimes I wake up to cats screeching so loud that it freaks me out! Pretty soon, I’ll have to start weaning my kitty to be a full-time outside cat because, when I’m gone, he’ll be outside all the time.

I’m looking forward to my Barcelona trip next week! I leave on the ferry on Aug 2 and come back Aug 8. Tony has only 16 more days left on the Army too! I remember us saying earlier in the year “can you imagine when there are only a few week’s left?” We couldn’t imagine it and now the end is almost here and he’ll be free again!

July

2007-07-16T09:50:00.000+03:00

The last week or so has been pretty low key. I’ve been going to the beach a lot after work. I tried a kite boarding lesson last week and it seems like a lot of fun. I just learned how to fly the huge kite without the board so far. My boss’s friend Giorgios gave me a free lesson since I’ve created a bunch of advertising for his company. I joined a gym a few days ago too because karate is over for the year and I wanted some way of getting exercise besides swimming. That keeps me busy in the evenings.

I went to Punda Beach Club yesterday and on the way back, it was so windy that it was difficult to ride my motorbike. The gusts of wind nearly knocked the bike over so I had to ride very slowly and thought about just pulling over till it died down (which would’ve taken hours, so I didn’t). By the way, Punda Beach is a very touristy beach with a complex full of shops, a few bars, cafes, and a pool. I like to go there once in a while for a day to rent a beach chair (4 euro) under an umbrella and just read, swim, have a frappe, and relax. It feels like I’m on vacation at a resort, instead of on the island that I live at.

“Pirates of the Caribbean 3” is on tonight at the outdoor cinema so I think I’ll see it even though I’ve heard some bad reviews (I just like Captain Jack Sparrow!)

I’m looking forward to hopping on a plane and going to Barcelona in a few weeks and when I get back, Tony will almost be done the Army! I’m also starting to think about returning home and what I’m going to do when I get there. It’s about 2 months away, yikes! I sometimes look up job listings and apartment/suite prices just to get an idea. I hope I find a good job in multimedia and I sometimes stress about not finding one. It’s silly to think that way though; I’ll just have to figure it all out when I get there.

M

Trips Coming Out of My Ears

2007-07-06T14:37:00.000+03:00

First off, Tony left yesterday so I have “missing my Tones shock" syndrome which I suffer from for a few days after he leaves for the Army - everytime. That was the last send off though! Next time I see him, he’ll be done for good! Here are a few silly pics from a visit to Molos beach where you can cover yourself with a full body mudmask. We took it a step further by adding a layer of pebbles and lying on the warm sand. Can’t tell where the sand ends and the person begins.

Now these pics are special. Tony decided to become a hairdresser for a while. What beautiful hair creations he can make! Hee hee…uuh..

OK, now, in other news, I finally figured out and booked flights for my remaining trips, which is nice so I won’t have to worry about doing it later. So this is what I’ll be up to the next few months till I come home in Sept:
- Aug 3-7: Barcelona
- Aug 10: Tony’s finished the Army (whoot!)
- Aug 17 – 20: Santorini with Tony and maybe friends Manolis and Annie
- Sept10: leave my Greek home for Prague
- Sept 15: leave Prague for London
- Sept 20: leave London and arrive back home in good ol’ Vic.

Sounds like a plan to me! I’m excited but time seems to be flying by. I can’t believe it’s July already. I have mixed feelings about going back home; I’ll be happy to see everyone again and be in the same city as Tony and get my own place, a new job, and start a new phase of life but I’ll miss so many things from here like my kitty, Tony’s family, the weather and lifestyle…and lots more… It’ll be an interesting couple of months that’s for sure!

M

My Greek Anniversary

2007-07-02T12:47:00.000+03:00

Today is the one year anniversary of being in Greece. Who knew that last year when I first arrived at Paros that I’d end up staying here this whole year! I’m glad I did.

The heat wave is finally over; Yesterday was the first time it actually felt refreshing outside because there was a nice cool breeze.

I had the whole weekend off and we did a lot. On Friday night Tony and I went out dancing with Manolis and Annie in Naoussa and had a good time till almost 5am. On Saturday, we went to a baptism (one of Markos’ work friends). On Sunday, we went to Parosporos (a beach known for its big waves when the wind picks up – so fun!) and then to Tony’s grandparent’s for dinner.

Tony leaves on Wed and his sister Sofia arrives from Canada on Tues or Wed for the summer. Linda has been in London the past week with some of her students and she comes home on Tues too.

Here are a few pics of Tony and I having coffee after the baptism and Markos and Tony checking out a homemade wind generator which Markos wants to make.

M

It’s Still Hot

2007-06-28T13:54:00.000+03:00

Here are a few observations on the heat lately. It’s ridiculously hot but I’d rather have it like this than rainy or cold so I can’t complain (too much!)

-Right now I’m at work and my back and butt are sticking to my chair
-I have a piece of cardboard on my desk to use as a fan
-I burn my butt every time I sit on my black motorbike seat
-riding the motorbike is like riding into a blowtorch flame
-you break into a sweat even when standing in the shade
-inside the house is about 35 degrees
-outside, it’s reached into the 40’s
-people have died in Athens because of the heat
-you can’t do anything to feel cool or refreshed besides swimming
- cold showers are a must (or at least lukewarm because I have no cold water)
-can’t sleep with anything on top, sheets are too hot
-I have to keep my hair up all the time because it’ll just stick to my neck (nice)

What else? I’ve been working from 8-2 and then about 6-9 so it’s been pretty busy. In-between the 2 shifts, Tones and I head to the beaches. Too bad I have to work double shifts while Tony is here. He leaves on Wed and I think next week my work will be back to normal hours

….oh I just found out I only have to work till 2 today and that’s it! My bosses are the best! More “Tony time” for me, lol!

M

Heat Wave

2007-06-25T08:23:00.000+03:00

We are experiencing a heat wave right now and I’m soooo not used to it! Yesterday, Tony and I went to the island of Antiparos for the day and it was one of the hottest days so far; it was about 38-40 degrees and on the bike it seriously felt like being in front of a huge blow dryer! It was a fun trip though. We went to a huge cave on the island which was so cool! You go down these little steep stairs all through it and there are mineral formations and the odd graffiti from others who’ve visited it including a former King of Greece. Christmas Mass was held there in 1673. It’s a pretty well know cave and I can see why. It was refreshing too, a lot cooler than outside. After the cave we headed to a beach and later, had coffee at a cafe in the harbour then headed home.

Last week I worked my butt off and had to come into work in the evenings and for a while on Saturday. I hope this week won’t be as busy, we’ll see.

Oh and here are some pics of when we went to Hohlaka for a swim on Saturday. There is a small water cave there which is kinda cool. We also went “hunting” for “chinese hats” (I don’t know their real name!)

Summer is Definitely Here

2007-06-19T18:49:00.000+03:00

I’ll try to make this quick because I’m so busy at work right now. This week is the deadline for an island business directory that our company makes every year, so I’m busy working on a ton of ads for it.

I haven’t seen Tony in almost 2 months since around Easter (well there was that one short visit on Samos for a few hours but that doesn’t count – too short). Well, last night, I was talking to Tony on the phone and told him I was going to bed soon and he said “What? You’re not picking me up in 2 hours?” It took a moment to register but yes, was on his way over!!! I didn’t think I’d see him till sometime in July! So I picked him up at around 1am last night.

Today, I worked till 2 then had a few hours off to go with Tones to Martzelo Beach and bake in the sun and swim. Now I’m back at work for who knows how long.

The weather has been amazing the last 2 weeks! Summer is definitely here (high 20’s/low 30’s). On the weekend, I lazed around the whole time at the beaches at Monastiraki Beach Club and Punda Beach Club; both fun places to people watch.

I’ve gotta go, too much to do! Oh and Tony is here for a record 17 days so I’ll be seeing lots of him even though work is really busy. This is the last time off he gets till he’s out but once this visit is over, he only has about a month left. Not bad at all!

M

Everyone's Wearing Helmets

2007-06-12T11:09:00.001+03:00

Pretty recently, there have been new laws passed about helmet usage here. Now, if you get caught without a helmet, you get a fine of over 300euro and the second time it happens, you get your license suspended; yikes! This past week, I have never seen so many people wearing helmets as they are now; which is a good thing especially since it’s getting busier. I mainly wore my helmet to keep me warm in winter but now I wear it most of the time. I’m not looking forward to when it gets ridiculously hot out though and having to bring it to the beach and carry it around; annoying! Oh well, I’d rather do that, than get a hefty fine I guess.

M

Work and Beach

2007-06-11T08:51:00.001+03:00

Paul left last week on Wednesday. He went to Santorini for two nights and loved it. He should be in London now. My parents are in San Remo right now and are heading to their England part of the trip soon. I’ve cleaned-up my place and it’s back to normal here again. It seemed like their visit just flew by! I’ll see them again in a few months though when I come home.

Lately it’s been very busy at work; I have a ton of jobs to do! I didn’t get a full weekend, I worked most of Sat. But yesterday was a great day full of relaxation, sun, and sea.

My boss Michalis invited me to come on his boat with his wife, daughter, and sister (visiting from Athens). I met them around noon at a port in town and we hopped on their little boat and headed to a beach called Krios. A new cafe was built their which just opened and they know the owner, so they wanted to see it. It was very nice! There were tables and chairs on the little concrete dock and it was covered in a straw roof.

We lazed around on the beach chairs and went swimming – soooo refreshing! We played some volleyball in the water and I got a nice tan! After a few hours of the beach, we had lunch at the cafe. It was really good food; it just took awhile because it was only the second day the kitchen was open.

When we were about to leave, a huge sail boat came into the harbour, so we did a circle around it to see it up close and headed back. Below: one of my bosses (Michalis) with his sister on the left and wife Natasha on the right, me and their daughter checking out the sailboat.

I really want to see Tony. It’s been over a month and a half since he’s been here and it may be another month till he can come! :( Today, he has exactly 2 months left, though, not too bad! He’s still based on Samos and last week he was transferred to a different town to work in an Army restaurant. Everyone wants to work there because it’s slack and you get good food, your own room, and lots of time off. He likes it better than the base but it gets boring. It’ll be soooooo great when he’s done and finished with it!

Oh, one last little thing. I took a pic of my fridge because I thought it was kinda funny. Markos has given me a bunch of fresh produce from the garden and a ton of eggs! (there is also a bucket of potatoes not pictured). So I'm eating really healthy right now and notice that I have a bunch of energy too! I'm going to keep eating a ton of veggies, energy is good.

Mykonos Weekend

2007-06-04T13:43:00.000+03:00

Our weekend trip to Mykonos seemed longer than just one night and it was fun! When we arrived at Paradise Beach Hotel, we checked in and were shown to our little wooden beach hut or shack. The area is like a big commune with huts, tents, rooms, camping space, cafes, bars, and a market. It was a perfect cheap place to stay for a night. Our hut was very small with two little beds and a night stand in-between. There was a communal bathroom with showers a short walk away.

As soon as we dropped our stuff off, we walked the 100m to the beach. Soooooo, nice! We spent the day just sun tanning, swimming, people watching, and we ordered frappes and gyros. Along the beach are a few cafes, bars, and a beach shop. Part of the beach seemed to be dedicated to naked people who happened to all be over 60, so we tried to not look in that direction! There were jet skis and things like that to rent but they were expensive; about €30 for 15 mins, no thanks!

Later in the day, we took a bus into Mykonos Town and looked around the market streets and stopped in a little cafe for a drink and some yummy crepes.

In the evening we wanted to go out and see what the night life was like so we had a nap, woke up at 1ish and walked 10mins to a nearby club right on a cliff overlooking the water. When we got there, it was pretty dead. We stayed till about 3:30am and there were more people but no one was dancing so we left. When I woke up, I could still hear the music pumping till about 8am! We talked to some others and apparently, it did get busy but the peak time was at about 6am, not exactly what we’re used to! We’ll know better for next time!

Oh also, at night when I was trying to sleep, I could hear the buzzing of mosquitoes around my head so I had to pull the sheet completely over my head. There was a space between the door and the floor so that's probably how they got in.

On Sunday, we had our free breakfast at one of the beachfront cafes and relaxed on the beach till we had to catch the bus back into town and to the port. We met a bunch of Canadians on the way back who were on the same ferry as us. Some were even from Naniamo and Vancouver (usually the Canadians I meet are from the east side of Canada).

And that was that! Short but sweet. Mykonos is definitely a nice island and a lot of fun. I’m back at work now and Paul just left for Santorini this morning. He’ll be back probably Wednesday sometime. I can hardly wait to go home today and CLEAN! It’s so messy in there! My place isn’t made for more than one person, it’s just too small and there isn’t much storage space. Also, Markos gave me a whole bag-full of veggies (tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini), a bucket of potatoes, and a ton of eggs all from the property so I’m going to make some good eats. I’ve eaten like a pig the past week because Paul buys chips and things that I don’t usually have around and we’ve gone out for crepes and souvlaki - no more, now I'll try to finish the bag of veggies before they go bad.

I guess that’s it for now. I haven’t heard from my parents about their trip; they won’t email till they get home. I think they are probably near San Remo?

M

Week with my Bro and Next Trip

2007-06-02T08:48:00.001+03:00

This week flew by! Today (Sat), I’m at work because it’s crazy busy but Paul and I are leaving on the 12 noon ferry for Mykonos, so I’ll just work for a few hours then leave.

Paul has been hitting up the beaches all week and I'm not sure if he knows what sunscreen is because he’s ridiculously dark! After I’m finished work, we usually meet up and either go out for coffee, to another beach, watch a movie, and I took him to the Marathi Caves and we went all through them with one of Markos’ lanterns.

Next week, Paul plans to go to Santorini on Monday and maybe from there, he’ll go to Ios and then back. He’ll have to leave for Athens on Thurs to catch his flight to London.

Yesterday, I booked my next flight and it was a very spur of the moment decision. I was planning on going to Poland but decided on Barcelona, Spain instead! I didn’t want to go at first because it’ll be in Aug and really hot, but I’m sure it’ll be cooler than here and there are beaches nearby just in case. It was also one of the cheapest flights I could get for high season (€ 160.00) without going to cities I’ve already been to. I’ve also booked accommodation at a cool new hostel right in the Passeig de Gracia area. So, I’m looking forward to that (Aug 3 -7)!

Paul and I will stay the night in Mykonos tonight right near Paradise Beach in wooden beach huts, so it should be interesting!

M

Weekend with the Fam

2007-05-30T09:52:00.000+03:00

My fam arrived Friday afternoon and I thought they had missed the ferry because all these people were piling off and no family in sight. They kept trailing off for about 5-10 mins before I finally saw them (the ferry was completely packed). It was so weird to see them! Linda was with me to pick them up and she drove them to our place and I followed on my bike.

Over the weekend and Monday we did many things! Unfortunately, for 2 of the 4 days, it was pretty cloudy and there were a few showers but the other days were hot and sunny and I think all 3 of them got very dark in a short time.

The first day was a little rainy so we rented a small car and just drove around the island, stopping at points of interest like Lefkes, Naoussa, Piso Livadi, and my workplace. In Lefkes, the rain stopped so we went for a nice walk around the village. Next was Naoussa where we stoped and I had them all try a Greek frappe (you have to if you’re over here!). It was relaxing just sitting and chatting on the patio of the cafe over looking the harbour. The sun came out at that time too which was great. For dinner we stopped at the little town of Piso Livadi on the south side of the island. We ate at a little restaurant with a table right on the water. The portions were huge and the food was delicious!!! We had Greek salads, souvlakis, veal, fried eggplant, and red wine.

After all that we also had time to drive up a pointed hill that has a great view over a lot of the island and a church at the top. There were a few sharp hairpin turns but with the little car, they were doable. We took a bunch of pics and explored. In the evening, we walked around the market streets of Paroikia and soon they were getting tired from jetlag, so we headed home.

On Sat, we had some pastries and Nescafe for breakie in the AM. We traded the car in for 2 scooters instead since the weather was hot and sunny now. We split up for a bit because I had to go into work and they took off for a ride on the scooters. In a few hours they popped by my work and we all decided to meet at Haniotis for lunch (a great place for burgers) because I still had a few things to finish up.

We had lunch and headed home to change for the beach. Mom ended up staying home and relaxing while I took Paul and dad to Kolimbithres Beach. I wanted to take them to the most striking beach and this one is pretty cool with interesting rock formations along the beach and in the water. The water was very nice and wasn’t hard to get into at all; it was noticeably warmer than a few weeks ago when I first tried it out.

In the evening, Tony’s parent’s invited us all up for dinner. It’s always a little nerve racking when your parents and boyfriend’s parents meet and hangout for the first time but everyone got along well! Markos and Linda made great food as usual and we all tried a few Greek drinks including my “foot wine” that I helped make in Sept, Metaxa, and ouzo. We ate roasted chicken, stuffed tomatoes and peppers, Greek salad, baby potatoes, homemade tzatziki, pita, homemade cream cheese, and dessert. We were all stuffed by the time we headed to bed at around midnight.

On Sunday, we went on a one-day cruise to Delos and Mykonos which I had booked earlier in the week. It was a hot sunny day and the ferry ride over was so relaxing. Once we arrived at Delos we wandered around for 3 hours. Delos is uninhabited and is full of ruins that are thousands of years old. There are paths you can take around the old cities and a little museum too. In the center of the island is a small mountain that you can climb up and get a great view of the whole island and surrounding islands. Dad, Paul, and I headed up it in the boiling sun while mom stayed below.

Next was Mykonos (right next to Delos). What a cool island! It’s known as the “party island” and I could definitely see why. It was full of people and most of them seemed to be under 30. It was a fun place to people watch.

We just stayed in Mykonos Town and wandered around the pretty market streets and had lunch near the water. It’s definitely pricier then the other islands, I guess because it’s so touristy. Paul really liked it (hot girls everywhere, lol).

On the way back we pretty much fell asleep on the ferry. We walked so much and it was soooooooo hot and sunny all day. Back at home we had a relaxing night and watched a movie.

Monday was a bit of a let down. We were planning on going to the beach for a swim but it ended up being cloudy and there was rain on and off for most of the day. We all went to Hotel Nikolas to use the internet on my comp for a bit and had coffee. Afterwards, I took them to the main church on the island, called the Church of 100 Doors and we looked around while it poured. Once the rain stopped a little we headed to Zorba’s near the port for some souvlakis (my favorite place to get those, sooo good!).

In the afternoon, Paul and dad took off for a long ride and I stayed home with mom to watch a movie, drink tea and just relax. We both hate going out in bad weather.

In the evening, mom and dad packed and we all went upstairs to have dinner with Markos and Linda again. They made moussaka this time and it was soooo good! My stomach hurt after because it was soo full of food. We hung out up there until it was time for mom and dad to catch their midnight ferry to Athens. We all said our good-byes and headed home to sleep.

They flew out yesterday from Athens to Venice and will continue around Italy and up to England. My bro is still here and will leave around June 7. We are going to go to Mykonos again next weekend and stay the night, so that should be fun!

My Family Arrives Today!

2007-05-25T08:28:00.000+03:00

Only 3 more hours till I see my fam get off the ferry!! I haven't seen them since I left Canada in March 2006. They've been in Rome the past few days and in Athen's yesterday, so I bet they've had a great time already! My parents will stay till Monday evening and then continue on to Italy and England and my bro will stay for a few weeks, till June 8.

Unfortunately, I'm super busy at work right now (the busiest work time of year). So I'll have to come in on the weekend sometime. Monday is a holiday but my bosses wanted me to come in; instead, since they are sooo cool and know my fam will be here, they'll give me all the work I have to do and I can come in anytime over the weekend to do it. Last night I was at work till a little after 11pm printing out menus and binding them, creating a logo for a hotel, and printing and cutting business cards. My bosses ordered souvlakis and beer though, so I didn't mind staying!

The weather also leaves something to be desired. During my Turkey trip, it poured here and since then it's been a little cooler and partly cloudy with a few showers. Today looks very cloudy and it rained last night. I'm kinda disappointed because I wanted my fam to have a really good impression of Paros, not a rainy one. Hopefully it'll pick up a bit.

I booked a one-day cruise for us on Sunday. We'll all go to Delos and Mykonos for the day. That'll be fun; I just hope it doesn't rain!

Well, I most likely won't update till next week when I'm back at work so have a good weekend everyone!

Turkey Trip Pics - Day 1

2007-05-22T09:22:00.000+03:00

At Syros and a cute kitten in Vathi, Samos.

The ferry to Kusadasi, Turkey.

Kusadasi coast.

In the carpet store with Mumer.

Turkish tea at Avlu.

Kusadasi

M

Turkey Trip Pics - Day 2

2007-05-22T09:08:00.001+03:00

Rooftop patio at the pension where I had breakfast everyday.

Ephesus

Turkish tea store.

The owner of Avlu and me.

At another carpet store. One of my favorite little rugs which was pure silk and cost over 10,000 euro! (the blackish one)

Smoking the Shisha with Sam and Veronique.

Turkey Trip Pics - Day 3

2007-05-22T08:57:00.000+03:00

Pammukale

The Sacred Pool

Another hotel hotspring with mud baths.

The silver ring I bought.

Lanterns in the trees in Kusadasi.

M

Turkey Trip Pics - Day 4

2007-05-22T08:39:00.000+03:00

Steep alley on the way from my pension on the hill.

Leaving Kusadasi for Samos.

Karlovassi, Samos with my Tones!

M

Going Home - Day 4

2007-05-21T14:08:00.001+03:00

I'm at work now and arrived this morning on the ferry. I spent the night on Syros. I fixed the grammar mistakes in the Turkey posts (I created them so fast, I didn’t really proofread!)

Yesterday was a very nice trek home! I left Kusadasi on the morning ferry and on the way, I ended up chatting to a girl named Julie. She’s about my age, from L.A., and works for World Vision. She was travelling with a friend whom I met a little later. We decided to share a cab on Samos because I wanted to go to Karlovassi to meet up with Tony and Julie and her friend wanted to go to a town on the way.

Once we got to Samos, we grabbed a taxi and headed to the other side of the island. Julie and her friend got out and I continued to Karlovassi. The taxi driver was really nice and we talked half Greek half English the whole way. He taught me some new words and told me a little about the island. The island is very green; full of trees and beautiful mountains. In the army, Samos is known as “the jungle” because of all the trees. Most of the other islands have barely any trees at all.

After about a 40 min drive we arrived in Karlovassi and I finally met up with my Tones! We went for something to eat and headed to the harbour. There isn’t much to do in Karlovassi at all and since it was Sunday, all the shops were closed too. We had a really good time though; we went for a walk along the breakwater and went for coffee and then dessert. It was neat seeing were he hangs out all the time when he’s not in the base. I didn’t see the base itself as it’s not right by the town; you have to take a taxi to get there.

We had about 6 hours to hang out before the ferry came to take me away. It wasn’t long enough! I need more “Tones time”!!! He’s hoping he can come for a visit at the beginning of June.

Once on the ferry, I ran into Julie and her friend again (darn, I forget her name). So I sat with them the whole time and we exchanged emails at the end. They got off at Mykonos and I stayed on till Syros. I arrived at about 1am and found my hotel with little difficulty and went to bed.

This morning I got up early, grabbed a ferry to Paros and came to work. I’ll go through my photos tonight and post a whole bunch tomorrow. I have so many!

Oh! My family also left for their trip over here! At the moment they must be on the plane to London. They’ll then fly to Rome for a few days, then Athens and catch a ferry to Paros on Friday. I can hardly wait! I haven’t seen them since March 2006!!! This week will be busy as I have to clean my place from top to bottom and set up an extra bed.

M

Turkey - Day 3

2007-05-19T23:12:00.001+03:00

I just posted Day 2 below so read that fırst. Well today was another great day! Everyday here has been soo interesting and awesome. I booked a one-day tour of Pammukale for today so I met the little bus at 8am and we picked up a few others and headed on the 3 hour trek to the hot springs. I sat up front between the driver and tour guide to make room for others in the back and it was a great spot! The driver only spoke Turkish but the tour guide guy spoke Turkish, Dutch, French, German, and English! They were both really nice.

We went through a little village that still holds a tradition of putting a bottle on the roof of the houses which have virgin girls of marriage age living in them; each girl gets a bottle. And when a guy is interested and wants to marry one of the girls, he breaks the bottle of the girl he likes and that’s the same as asking permission to marry her! Interesting! Also, farm boys can go through a village and see how many available girls there are just by looking for the bottles.

Anyways, we arrived at Pammukale and it was surreal! The terrain is all white from the minerals in the hot springs so the hill looks like a "cotton castle" (that’s what Pammukale means). There were a few pools of warm mineral water that we waded around in. Close by, is a hotel which houses the "sacred pool"; it's a natural swimming pool with old ruins and columns in the water. I didn’t go swimming there because our group left and headed to another hotel with a hot spring. This one was 55 degrees and had mud pools too! The mud pools were my favourite! There were different levels of pools and the higher you go, the hotter it gets. The mud is at the bottom so you dig it up and put it all over your body. It had a funny smell to it but you get used to it. It was so relaxing to float in the warm mineral water and suntan. My skin is so soft now!

What next? Yes, then we headed to a silver workshop where they make jewellery. I ended up treating myself to remind me of this great trip. I bought a silver ring with an opal and other small silvery gems in it. It is really pretty and different looking!

Once we finally got back at 9, I went back to the pension.

Tomorrow, I take a morning ferry back to Samos and will hopefully meet up with Tony for the day before I take the ferry to Syros and then back to Paros.

M

Turkey - Day 2

2007-05-19T22:36:00.000+03:00

OK, so I’ll quickly recap yesterday which was so awsome; I did a bunch of stuff! My voice has come back so it’s fine now too.

In the morning, I took a minibus to Ephesus, about 30 mins away. It was so beautiful! The weather was a little cloudy which was perfect because there's no shade on the paths. I walked around all the old ruins including a large arena. While I was sitting on the arena's old rock benches, a group of Asian tourists started to sing hymns from the stage. The sound travelled really well and everyone clapped when they finished. I stayed there for about 2 hours and after, I walked the 1km back to the highway to catch the minibus back.

I wanted to try out the Turkish baths because I didn’t know what they were and I was curious. When I got back to the pension there were 2 others that also wanted to try the baths so we went together. Sam and Veronique are brother and sister in their 20’s from Quebec and we all got along well. When we arrived, we had to put on these red wraps around our bodies (I brought my bathing suit too for underneath). Then we went into this big steam room with low sinks on the walls and a raised marble block in the middle which was heated. We used bowls to pour water from the sinks over us and laid on the heated marble block. It was so relaxing. Next, we got exfoliation, massages, and hair washing. After the three of us were done they gave us white robes and took our red ones away and that was that. I’m so glad I tried it out it was so so nice!

We then went for something to eat at a little restaurant and decided to meet up later at the pension to hang out. I took off and bought a few souvenirs and said hi to my friends from yesterday as I walked by.

I headed back to the pension and met Sam and Veronique on the rooftop patio. We wanted to try the shisha which is a large pipe that you put flavoured tobacco stuff in and smoke it. It was yummy, just like flavoured air; we had peach. Then I went to bed.

M

Turkey - Day 1

2007-05-17T21:17:00.000+03:00

Hi from Kusadasi, Turkey! I've been here most of the day and I have to say, I love it!!!!!! My whole trip so far has been better than expected! Pics will have to wait till I get home. Oh, also, on Monday I had no voice at all! I lost it completely so it’s slowly coming back, tomorrow it should be ok.

I left on the ferry yesterday to Syros. Syros (main town) was beautiful and has Italian and Greek architecture cascading down it's hills. Then I took the night ferry to Vathi, Samos and it arrived late thank goodness or else I would have arrived at 4:40am but instead, it was at a manageable 6am. Vathi was surprisingly beautiful too, also with some Italian architecture. I explored and hung out for a few hours and caught the 1.5 hour ferry to Kusadasi. The ride was so nice, the ferry is very small and has a rooftop deck, so we all suntanned the whole way there.

When I got to Kusadasi, it was a little overwhelming. It was bigger than I expected and the man that was supposed to meet me from my pension wasn't around so I decided to walk there and try to find it. As I was walking, I heard my name being yelled across the street and it was him. He put me in a paid taxi which dropped me off near the pension but not close enough for me to see it so I was a little freaked when the taxi left and I had no clue where I was (the taxi driver didn’t speak English). I found it though because I ended up seeing signs pointing in it's direction.

The owners of this place (Anzac Golden Bed Pension) are a married couple; he's Turkish, she's Australian and they are both really nice and helpful. When I arrived, I had booked a 3 person dorm but since I was the only one in the dorm, they gave me my own room! It has a great view over all of Kusadası (the pension’s on a hill).

After I got settled and had a nap, I headed out with a map and got orientated. There are a ton of shops, bazaars, and restaurants. People tried to get me to buy from their store but not obnoxiously. They are quite polite. I ended up talking with 2 guys who worked in adjoining stores and they offered me Turkish and apple tea and we all had a seat and just talked. I've read about Turkish people doıng thıs (offering tea and just wanting to talk without expecting you to buy anythıng from them) so I dıdn't thınk ıt was too weird. There names were Bülent and Mumer.

Mumer showed me his carpet store and told me about some of them. They were very expensive! There were some made from pure sılk and even one, the sıze of a face towel, was about 8000 euro!! It was interesting! Next, I checked out Bülent's store and ended up finding the cutest pair designer knock-off jeans and a zıp up sweater (thıngs I really needed) . It's interesting though because he dıdn't force me ınto buying anything whıch you'd thınk would happen after you get offered something lıke tea. That's just how they are, very generous and frıendly.

I had a bıte to eat next at a place called Avlu and the owner was very friendly and chatted to me while I ate and gave me some Turkish tea at the end. The Turkish tea (which is black tea) and the apple tea comes in these little pear shaped glasses wıth a mını spoon and 2 sugar cubs on the sıde. It's yummy.

Later, I walked to Pigeon Island and then back to the pension where I am now and I'll go to bed soon and go to Ephesus tomorrow.

M

Quickie

2007-05-15T20:44:00.000+03:00

This has to be a very brief yet informative post because my laptop power is low and I'm at the cafe and forgot the cord. Oh, and it doesn't help that the internet is still down at work (the guy fixing it must be taking his sweet time).

I leave for Turkey tomorrow afternoon and won't be on the internet till I get back on Monday (unless I go to an internet cafe but It's a bit of a crazy trip - lots of ferries and island hopping to get there and back). I get to meet up with Tony on the way back on Samos, so that's a bonus!

The past weekend was not good. I won't get into it but I had the same flu thing I got 2 weeks ago (exactly 2 weeks, it seems to start on Fridays). Anywho, I feel a lot better now, just have a bit of a cough and half a voice, fine by me, as long as I can get out of bed and move around now!

So, today, since I finally feel almost normal, I had to run around and do a bunch of stuff before I leave. It's 9pm and I still have to go home and pack. I work tomorrow but I'll get off a little early to catch my ferries: Paros - Syros - Samos - Kusadasi, Turkey! And repeat in opposite order.

I must go, or this won't get posted! I promise, I'll post pretty pictures and things when I get back, hopefully by then work will have internet!

M -Actually, that wasn't too brief, was it?

Flight Home

2007-05-08T19:25:00.000+03:00

Well, I just booked my flight home and it's for Sept 20/07. I got a great deal (looks like you can get budget flights across the Atlantic now). It was about 250 euro for a flight from London to Vancouver! Not bad at all!

In other news, I'll probably book my ferry tickets to Turkey very soon. I leave next Wed, so it's not that far away!

On Sunday, it was so nice and warm! It was the first time I rode the motorbike in a tanktop. I did a clockwise loop around the island and stopped at Lefkes for a walk (pics below):

After Lefkes, I beach hopped; I stopped at Golden Beach (pictured) which was quite empty, so I tanned in peace and quiet and tried out the water too! Next I headed to Parasporos, one of my faves. It's an awesome beach to come to when it's a little windy because the waves get pretty big and it's so much fun to play in them! There were no wave this time though. the last pic is of a little church yard I stopped at.

Swimming!

2007-05-05T17:30:00.000+03:00

I've been very lazy with my blog updates the last few weeks. It didn't help that the internet was down at work most of last week. Well I have a few updates...

I'm totally over whatever I had, thank goodness! I was in a bad mood for a while because I was feeling crappy and had to stay in all weekend and miss all the good weather. I was excited for May1 ( day off work) so I could go out and enjoy the sun since I was starting to feel better BUT it ended up pouring that day and I was so mad. I've also been stressing about what to do in Sept (have to make a decision soon!). Anyways, after that day, I felt a lot better, the sun came out again and I figured out what I'm going to do in Sept!

After a lot of thought I've finally decided that I'll be coming back a little earlier than I thought. My plan was always to move back to the UK in Sept after Tony leaves to go back to Canada. I'd stay there for a while and then come back home a few months later. Long story short, I just don't have the mullah saved up to make another move without being a stress-case. I'd rather do one last trip in Sept and come home with money left over. So I'll be home mid/late September. I will buy tickets soon and when that happens, it'll be concrete, for now I'm pretty sure that's what I'll do. I've already thought of where I want to go too. I want to fly to Budapest from here and take a train to Prague, and then I'll fly to London and take a flight home from there. So that's my plan for the moment! I'm happy with it even if I'm coming home a few months early.

Today was a great day. I went swimming for the first time this year! I suntanned for a few hours but I didn't think I'd get in the water, it's still very cold; colder than Sooke Pot Holes (some of you will know what I'm talking about). But I just stepped in it and decided to wade along the beach and just kept going deeper and deeper till I was all the way in. It was nice! It was also in the 20's today and really felt like summer. Most of the time, I can't tell what it's like outside because it's pretty cold all the time in the office at work. But, I think from now on, it'll be nice out (fingers crossed!)

I'm using the internet right now at The Veiw Cafe and I just took 2 pics. I've mentioned this cafe before, it's in Hotel Nicholas and It's one of my faves. It's really nice to come here and sit in the sun, order a frappe, and use the free wireless internet. There is a great balcony with awsome veiws too, it's right on the water.

M

Symptoms

2007-04-30T15:24:00.000+03:00

Ok, so since Thurs evening, I’ve been sick with something that left me bed/couch ridden the whole weekend. I can’t figure out what it is. Today is the first day that I feel semi-normal. Maybe one of you can help me out and tell me what was wrong with me because I’m curious. Here are the symptoms:

1. An ongoing headache from Thursday night till Sunday night.

2. Becoming so cold that shivering and teeth clattering occur even though one is wearing a fleecy, wrapped in both a fleecy and wool blanket, and has a free-standing heater about a foot away.

3. After being freezing for a time, one’s body starts to feel the exact opposite and sweating occurs and one can feel the heat emanating from one’s face.

4. A sore neck (not throat) …neck, in which case one can’t move one’s head in any direction other than straight. (this happened for 2 days).

5. Loss of appetite.

6. Slight case of nausea

…..I don’t get it. If I had a cold or cough to go along with it, it might make more sense but I didn’t. If any of you know what this is or what it’s caused by….etc. Fill me in!

What other news? Tony is back at Samos and is waiting to hear if he’ll be switched to a different base (he really want’s to go to one near Athens) so we’ll see!

I’m planning my trip to Turkey and it’ll happen in the middle of May a week before my fam arrives!

Tomorrow, I have the day off because of the May 1 holiday but I think I’ll come into work for a bit to make-up for my upcoming trip.

It looks like they’re setting up some kind of circus near the beach so I’ll have to check it out when it’s ready.

I think that’s it for now… Oh, one more thing, apparently they are calling for the hottest summer here in 150 years!!! I can’t really imagine what that would be like. Yikes…

M

Fun Weekend!

2007-04-23T16:08:00.000+03:00

This will be a quicky! I was too busy at work today to write my post but I want to throw some stuff up even if I have to stay a little later.

On Sunday Tones and I had such a nice day! We went to Naoussa in the morning for crepes and frappes in the harbour. Later, we walked around and ate gelatos. Here are some pics from Naoussa:

Later in the day it was sooo nice and warm that we decided to go to the beach and suntan. I tried the water, but it's still quite cold.

After the beach I wanted to pick flowers for my place because there are tons of wild flowers everywhere right now. Tones helped and gave me a beautiful big bouquet complete with whole flower bushes including the roots....how romantic!!

Tomorrow will be a sad, sad day. Tony leaves in the evening to go back. I've gotten so used to him being here (12 days is a long time since the usual visits are about 3 days or so). I think I'll skip karate tonight so we can hang out - last week my sensei was saying what a good student I was because I still came to the lessons while Tony was visiting. Well, I was a good student up until today!

M

The Baptism

2007-04-16T11:09:00.000+03:00

Over the weekend the baptism took place of Tony’s cousin’s baby girl. On Saturday, we went to the church at around 6ish to see the baptism. I didn’t realize it was such a big deal. It’s almost like a wedding. There were a ton of people all dressed up, a professional photographer and videographer, decorations, and party favors.

The baby finally got her name, “Margarita” – roll the “r”. Before then, she didn’t technically have a name so everyone called her “baby”.

Above, the proud parents with Margarita (Vassilis and Flora - we stayed with them when we went to Milos in the summer). The next photo is of them with Tony's grandparents - so cute!

After the ceremony, we all headed to a restaurant in Marathi for the reception. We had a bunch to eat and everyone started dancing. It went on till the early morning but Tony and I left early – at 3am. I have some videos too that I might put up but they are kinda long. We’ll see!

Oh! And on Sunday, Tony and I decided to hit the beach since it’s warm enough now (most days). We went in the early evening and just laid on the beach till 7:00, sooooo nice!

M

Yay!

2007-04-13T08:27:00.000+03:00

Tony arrived last night! He gets 12 days off which is the longest amount of time off since he's been in the Army. One of the Sergents found out Tony had to take someone's place on the ship and miss his Easter break so, since he likes Tony, he gave him an extra 6 days!

Tomorrow is the baptism too and in the evening everyone will go out to a restaurant for some good food, music, and dancing. I'm looking forward to it!

Have a good weekend.
M

Easter Movies

2007-04-10T08:58:00.000+03:00

Here are 3 movies that go along with my Easter post below.
Click Here

M

Greek Easter

2007-04-09T13:01:00.000+03:00

This is going to be one looooong post! Before I get into the Easter happenings, I’ve gotta mention what’s all over the news right now. I’m not sure if it was shown on North American news or not but a cruise ship sank at Santorini. It hit a rock in the water on Thursday and luckily most of the passengers got off (I think all but 2). Then it fully sank during the night. Anyways, when the ship started sinking, the boat Tony is on was sent over there (1 of 2 Special Forces boats that were sent). So they sped over there but it took 2.5 hours so by the time they got there, the passengers had been taken off the ship already. It was kinda exciting though because I was watching the news with Linda and we were trying to see his boat arrive. He had no connection on his cell, so he couldn’t tell us where he was. Anyways, they ended up going back to Leros when they found out there wasn’t much they could do.

Ok, now Easter. It was full of church, ceremonies, symbolism, and good food. I took a few movies too that I'll try to post this week. I’ll break the post down by the days:

Thurs: This is when you are supposed to dye eggs red before the sun goes down. This represents Jesus dying on the cross. I did that upstairs with Markos and Linda (I was pretty much upstairs with them most of the weekend). After you dye them (they are hard boiled) you have to shine them up with a polish. We did about 35 eggs!

Fri: Friday consisted of 2 outings to the church. For the first one, we went in the early afternoon and the church was packed! We stood upstairs in the balconies where we ran into a bunch of Tony’s relatives. It was a nice service (which had started very early in the morning) and at the end of it they took this wooden Jesus off a cross and wrapped him in a white cloth and put him in what’s called a epitaph (kinda like a fancy coffin with no walls and decorated with flowers). Then they paraded it around the church and set it in the middle on a little stage.

The second celebration is at midnight and takes place at 3 churches and throughout the city. We headed down around 11ish and got a good spot near the windmill at the port. The 3 churches each have services and at the same time they take their epitaph, with Jesus in it, out of the church and walk with it to the port where the 3 convoys meet. After they get organized, they all head together on a walk around the town.

Sat: Saturday was very busy! During the day Linda and I cleaned and cleaned to get ready for Sunday when everyone comes over for the roast. While we were cleaning, Markos got the lamb ready for the roast and other interesting food items ready. Tony’s cousin Vassilis and uncle Yiorgios came to help Markos. I have to explain what they were doing because it’s interesting and I have pics that might make you queasy.

They got the lamb ready to roast by sticking the bar through it and stuffing its stomach with onion, peppers, and tomato, then they sewed it up with wire. Along with the lamb, there is also something else that gets roasted too called kokoretsi; it’s a very large skewer of assorted meats (livers, hearts, and not sure what else) and it gets wrapped in intestine! The skewer gets turned around by a motor and you have to guide the intestines along the meat as it gets wrapped around. I tried it for a bit: slippery!

Before midnight, we headed back down to the church with candles and one dyed egg each. There were too many people to fit in the church so a lot of people stood outside. At around midnight, everyone lit their candles using fire from the church that got passed from candle to candle. This fire was originally from Jerusalem and was flown to Athens and then all around Greece! Once everyone’s candles were lit, it was time to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. It’s kinda like New Years; everyone does the double cheek kiss and you crack your egg with someone else’s. There are also a ton of very loud fire crackers. I brought my candle home still burning and used it to burn a cross above my door (Linda says that's another thing some people do to protect their homes).

Once that was finished, we headed home to eat a special soup called mairitsa, which is only eaten once a year. It's made with liver, heart, dill, and lettuce. It was very good!! Makos showed me how to make it earlier that day. Mmmmmmm!

Sun: This was a fun day! It pretty much consisted of food, drink, dancing, sun, loud music, firecrackers, and gunfire. It was such a nice day, about 20 degrees. I came upstairs about 11 and by that time the lamb had been roasting for 3 hours already. People started to show up soon after and some were already there. It was mainly Tony’s relatives and some friends came later in the day.

Markos set up speakers outside and they put on loud Greek music. We picked at the lamb when it was finished and the guys let off firecrackers. Markos brought his gun out too and was shooting it off and he let me try; it jerked me back when I shot it! This is a very loud day as you can tell; I’m surprised I can hear today!

At lunch time we had a meal at a table outside. The kokoretsi was sooooo good by the way; I think it was my favorite. But it was all so good because it had been roasting for so long. The surface was crispy and the inside was tender. In the evening, the dancing started. It was so much fun and it helped to work off the pigging out we all did! I got my practice in for next weekend when the baptism happens.

We were so full and tired by the end of the day! At about 11 most people left and we cleaned up a bit. And that’s the end of Easter. I’m glad I got to be here for Easter, it was an experience!

M

Working and Shopping

2007-04-05T13:14:00.000+03:00

This week has been crazy at work! I have so many projects to work on. At the moment I’m working on a big brochure for a scuba divin/kite boarding/boat tour company; It’s a fun one because I get to start from scratch and be as creative as I want. I’ve also been printing and cutting and designing tons of business cards and menus. I’ll be working extra hours next week and will probably go in on Mon just to finish up some things. I’m a bit of a work-a-holic so I like it when it’s busy like this; the time flys and it’s a fun job that I like. The only part I don’t like is when the client is here when I’m working on something of theirs, like a business card, and they literally stand behind me and watch. It doesn’t happen often but when it does, it’s soooo annoying!

Anyways, besides working like crazy, in the evenings I’ve headed out to the clothing shops with Linda. We were in search of some frocks to wear for Easter and the baptism. Last night we went shopping with Linda’s friend Gillian. After searching since Monday we finally bought a dress each. Linda got a nice black dress with a diamond pendant in the front of it and I got a cute silky minidress for the baptism dinner. I probably won’t wear it to the church as it’s a little short for that but it’s soooo cute with black leggings and these vintage suede boots I bought in London.

Today is the start of the Easter celebrations and on this day you are supposed to dye eggs red before the sun goes down. So after work, I’ll head upstairs and we’ll dye the eggs. After that, we’ll head back into town in search of accessories/jackets to wear over our dresses. It’s kinda fun going on a shopping mission. I’ve never shopped for clothes here because it’s quite pricey but why not! I got a little Easter bonus, might as well treat myself to something a little more fancy than the old jeans and black fleecy that I wear to work everyday.

I won’t be near the internet till after the weekend so have a good Easter everyone! And I’ll try to get photos of all the Easter celebrations here and post them next week. I definitely want to get a couple of the lamb roast. Yesterday, while we were walking along the market street, a man had a skinned lamb in a see-through back over his shoulder. It scared me because he turned all of a sudden and the lambs eyes were looking right at me. Yikes! Poor lambs but I bet they'll be good eats on Sunday!

M

Hiking and Walking Around

2007-04-02T11:31:00.000+03:00

On the weekend I ventured out to the Marathi caves. I followed the zigzag path up one of the mountains to the top. At the top are a few little churches and more mountains and a valley (pictured below). There are a few caves on the way up too.

On the way back to my bike, I stopped at one of the biggest caves. It looked nice with all the green growing around it. I went down into it and once your eye gets adjusted to the darkness you can see quite far. It’s steep inside and goes in a straight line down and at the bottom there is a labyrinth of smaller caves you can go into but you definitely need a flashlight!

There were a few goats and a pony hanging out around there too (ignore the goat peeing in the background). The pony has a rope connecting one of it’s front feet with one in the back so that it won’t get very far if it runs away. A lot of goats and cows get a rope like that one their legs too.

A few days before, I went for another walk close to home. There is a mountain with a great view of Paroikia. At the top, it’s called the Delion Sanctuary of Apollo and there are some old rock walls and what look like old rock houses? Here are some pics from that - I look scary in the last one!

Also, this week is a short week because I get Friday off (and next Monday so it's a 4 day weekend)! I'm going to shop for a dress or skirt to wear for Easter and the baptism coming up the next weekend. Tony is on the boat mission and is at Leros right now and will probably be there through Easter.

Darnit!

2007-03-30T12:58:00.000+03:00

I found out yesterday that Tony can't come for Easter like he was told :( At the last minute he had to take someone's place on a boat mission (the same thing he did a few months ago). He'll come home a week later in time for his cousin's baby's baptism on the 14th. That'll be fun because there will be a ton of people visiting for that event.

I wanted to see him at Easter but what can you do? That's the army, nothing is ever for sure! So Tony leaves today on the boat for about 2 weeks. He had only a few hours last night to get all his laundry done, ferry tickets switched, and to get some things for the boat, poor guy. He doesn't mind the actual time on the boat though, it can be pretty slack compared to being at the base.

M

My Next Trip!

2007-03-27T12:30:00.000+03:00

Over the last week or so I've been starting to look around at flights and cities to visit for my next trip in mid May. And I think I've decided; It looks like I'll be heading for sunny and exotic Turkey!

I'll take the ferry from here to Samos (Tony may have moved to a different base by then but if not, I'll get to meet up with him and he can show me around!). From Samos, I take a one and a half hour ferry to Kusadasi, Turkey. That'll be my base and from there, I can take the bus to some really cool sites like Ephesus, the House of Virgin Mary, many great beaches, and I'd like to take a 3 hour journey to Pamukkale which is a beautiful hot spring with pure white terrain.

So this is my plan for now, I haven't booked anything and don't know the dates yet but I'll be researching the next little while to figure things out. It also helps that my boss just told me I get a Easter bonus this month! Yay!

M

One Year

2007-03-26T08:32:00.000+03:00

Today is exactly one year since I left home in Canada! It seems longer though, I guess because I’ve done a lot since then. So last year on this day I was sitting in the Victoria airport with tears in my eyes having just said bye to my parents and brother at the gate. I knew I was leaving everything that was familiar and safe and didn’t know what I was in for; but I was definitely excited about having an adventure, that’s for sure!

I’m very used to living over here now. When I go on my little trips, it always feels comforting and familiar landing back in the Athens airport and hearing people speak Greek. London too is very familiar because I know where things are and how to get around. It’s kinda neat!

Now, I’m slowly getting ideas about what I’ll do in Sept when Tony goes back to Canada for school. My plan was always to move back to the UK for a while before coming back to Canada. That’s what I want to do (if money permits, of course). I’ll have to decide which city to move too. I was assuming I’d move back to London but I’m not sure now. I’m thinking Scotland or Northern Ireland might be kinda cool too and different since I haven’t been there before. If any of you have suggestions, let me know!

Well this weekend was like the beginning of summer! It was very sunny and warm. On Sunday, there was a holiday that celebrated Greek independence from the Turks. They had a little parade (below) in town which I almost missed because I forgot the time sprung ahead one hour on Saturday night. Now it’ll be nice and light out for longer, love it!

I also went to the cafe in Hotel Nicholas and this is one of the veiws from the balcony.

I started a bit of spring cleaning too. I did some yard work and cleaned the door, windows, walk-way, and motorbike. I think I’ll get a little table and chair to put outside to have my breakfast or a coffee at.

Army Food

2007-03-23T14:32:00.000+02:00

Well this week frickin flew by. Yesterday, I was trying to figure out what day it was and I thought for sure it was Tuesday. Anyways, that’s good because it’s getting closer to Easter and another Tony visit.

Yesterday was sooooo windy! A man had an accident because his motorbike was blown over while he was on it. After work, my bosses followed me in a car to make sure I got home alright, it was that bad. I was going to try out a yoga class in the evening but passed since I didn’t want to risk my life to get there, lol! Next week. I’ve been so busy at work, it’s really picked up. I’m going in tomorrow for a few hours too.

I’m so sore today because in karate on Wed we learned how to fall properly. It was quite funny! We all had to fall to our front, back, sides, and had to roll onto our backs; so we were constantly getting up and throwing ourselves on the ground again. It was fun – I’m not sure why it was though.

I don’t have any pics from this week but I’ve decided to show you the gourmet food Tony gets to eat in the Army. He’s one lucky guy! Check out the succulent dishes he gets to dine on everyday.

M

Athens long weekend

2007-03-19T10:13:00.000+02:00

I got back late last night from Athens and it was fun! We did a bunch of things and met up with friends so I’ll try to pack it all into one post. The weather was sunny and warm too which was the icing on the cake. I didn't take too many pics though.

On Friday we took a morning ferry over (above: on the ferry leaving Paros and a panorama of the port in Paroikia) and got there just in time for the first of two English tests Tony had to take. Alekos met up with us there so he and I went for coffee while Tony did his test.

Once Tony was done the three of us headed to an area near Omonia that is full of computer stores. We wanted to look at external hard drives. After lugging our bags around and checking out a million stores, Tony bought a hard drive, and Alekos and I bought flash drives. We headed over to Antonis’ next (where we stayed).

I don't know what's going on here lol.

We all wanted to see the movie “300” so we bought tickets at a near by cinema and had some time to kill untill it started at 11pm. We met up with Kostas who is car crazy and the 5 of us all packed into his car and he took us to a spot that he hangs out with other car crazy people. It’s a huge parking lot (I think it’s at a mall?) and it’s like “The Fast and the Furious”. There are cars and people everywhere (and motorcycles) and they just hang out and do crazy tricks and show off their sounds systems. There were tires screeching and guys doing pop wheelies everywhere. Apparently, it was dead when we were there, there are usually thousands of cars and they all have their own sections (some for sound systems, custom work, motorcycles, tricks...). Accidents happen every night.

Anyways, we headed back to the cinema and saw “300”. I really liked it! It’s a bit gory but it’s a war movie, so it happens. The effects were really cool. The guys seemed to like it. There was some applause when it finished.

On Saturday, Tony had another longer test to do so we went together. The test was about 4 hours so I wished him luck and headed out of Athens on the metro to “The Mall”. It’s a huge… well… mall. I checked that out for a few hours. It had a bunch of clothing shops and home decorating shops. The whole ceiling was a sun roof so it was very bright and it was shaped in a huge loop (below is a pic of part of it). I bought a long, green, sweater, tank top/dress thing (it’s cute).

We met up again after the test was over and headed back to Antonis’. We were thinking of going out dancing but ended up just hanging out at “home” and stuffed ourselves with yummy pizza that Antonis’ girlfriend made.

Sunday was our last day in Athens. The three of us headed out and we bought our ferry tickets and went to Monastiraki to look around. That area is full of cafés, shops, and right near the Acropolis which means it’s full of people. Even now in March it was packed! We had a bite to eat and looked in a few shops then headed back to pick up our bags.

We went to Pireaus to catch our ferries. Tony’s left first so we sat at a café near his ferry until it left and we had to say our good bye’s. :( And then Antonis and I walked to where mine took off so I said bye to him and got on.

Waiting for the ferries (Antonis, Antonis, me).

My ferry was only 5 hours but Tony’s took 12 to get back to Samos. Once he got there (this morning), he found out the time slot he gets off for Easter and it’s a good one! April 4-11. That means he’ll be here for some of the festivities leading up to Easter and Easter day itself when they roast the lamb on the spit and it’ll all happen at his house this year. So that’s going to be a lot of fun and it’s less than 3 weeks away!

On the ferry home and a pic of the port on Syros.

Ok, well I’ve gotta go, I’m back to work now!

M

Athens Tomorrow

2007-03-15T16:17:00.000+02:00

Tony came over on the ferry late Monday night so I’m a happy girl! I’m getting tomorrow off work so we can catch the morning ferry together to Athens. We’ll stay at his cousin Antonios’ place, like last time. Tony has to write 2 English proficiency tests; one tomorrow and one on Saturday. The rest of the time is free time to do what we want. We’re thinking of seeing the movie “300” tomorrow night and we’ll most likely go out for coffee with some friends and just have fun.

The last few days have been like winter; really cold and windy (so much for that nice spring weather at the beginning of March). The ferries have been cancelled a lot so we’re hoping that they are even running tomorrow.

I guess that’s it for now. Have a good weekend!

M

Next Week

2007-03-09T12:12:00.000+02:00

This week has been pretty low-key. I’m excited about next week though. I found out Tony is coming on Monday night and he’ll be here all week. Next Friday and Saturday, he has to do English tests in Athens, so I’m going with him. We’ll hang out in Athens and stay at his cousin’s till we take separate ferries back to our respective islands on Sunday. I’m looking forward to it!! Oh ya, and today is the 7 month point for Tony being in the Army – 5 more months to go (not that I’m keeping track or anything ;))

What else? Not much. I’ve noticed a few tourists starting to come around. I can tell because I sometimes overhear English, French, or German. And in the supermarkets, they are wandering around trying to find things. I remember when I first came, I didn’t know what kind of milk to get so I used the same kind Tony’s parents use. It comes in little cans and doesn’t have to be refrigerated until it’s opened, I wouldn’t have guessed that was milk!

M

First Day at the Beach

2007-03-06T08:44:00.000+02:00

Since March it’s been pretty warm and very sunny. It reminds me of Victoria summer days. On Sunday I went to the closest beach in the main harbour and put on my capris, sandals, and tank top and suntanned on a beach towel for a while. The water is still cold but there were some people in it. The beach has debris in the sand from the trees but I’m assuming the sand gets groomed eventually because in the summer it wasn’t like that.

Here are some pics of the wild animals I spied the other day! Those goats are 1 day old and they’re twins.

Spring Day

2007-03-01T14:24:00.000+02:00

Today is beautiful out! That past few days have been pretty cold and cloudy but today, right on the first day of March, the sun came out and it’s nice and warm. Apparently, March can still be cool but it’s nice to know the hot beach days are slowly on their way. There is also a café near the port called “Zorbas” that sells really good souvlaki and it opened today, after being closed for the winter; that’s a good sign. That means other shops and cafés will start to open soon to get ready for the busy time of year. I’ve been getting busier at work too. Since all the shops will start to open, they’ll need advertising. From now on it’ll get busier until Aug when the work will die down.

Here are some recent Army pics. Tony was very sick yesterday with a bad flu and had to stay in bed all day. Luckily, he’s feeling a bit better today. He may be coming here again in over a week so I hope that works out!

M

Movie

2007-02-28T15:07:00.000+02:00

Here's a link to a silly movie of me on Clean Monday at Tony's grandparent's trying to play the drum and dancing with Markos. It's about 6 mins long and make sure your speakers aren't too high at the beginning as it only has a mute button and no volume control.

Follow the link: Click Here

Athens

2007-02-27T10:14:00.000+02:00

I'm back at home now. I got back last night and had a good time in Athens yesterday. Where did I leave off last time? Saturday in London. On Sunday I didn't have much time to see anything; I had to leave for the airport around 12, so I just bought some snacks for the rest of the trip and cleaned up and packed. By the way, I posted London pics in the previous post.

I caught my flight and landed in Athens at around 9:30pm. For some reason I thought I was going to land at 11:30. I was glad it was earlier because instead of sleeping in the airport like I thought, I had enough time to book a bed at Athens Backpackers (where I've stayed before). I was sooooo tired once I got there I just slipped into my bed and fell asleep.

On Monday I had the free breakfast and checked out. I wanted to go to the National Archaeological Museum but it didn't open till 1, so I took my time and walked around the National Gardens where I saw a bunch of Army guys practicing their marching. They reminded me of Tones.

I stopped at a cafe near the Museum too and had a frappe and people watched. It was right at an intersection and it was crazy watching the traffic and the scooters weaving through it.

The museum was interesting. Here are some pics: I feel bad for the horses that had to where bits like that in their mouths!

After the museum, I took the long way back to the hostel to pickup my bag. Around the University and National Library, the students were putting on a protest with big signs and a stage with a band singing. The police were all there too just in case. The university students haven't been in school since Christmas and there have been riots in the past couple months over new education reforms.

Once I picked up my bag, I took the metro to Pireaus and hopped onto the ferry. The ferry ride took less time than I thought because it didn't stop at Syros so I was on Paros at 10 and got on my bike and drove home. It felt good to be on my bike again and to breath the nice clean air. And of course my kitty was there ready to greet me when I came home. Here are a few more random Athens pics:

London Pics

2007-02-27T10:03:00.000+02:00

I didn't take too many pics, I guess because I have sooo many from before.
Gareth and I:

Hyde Park: the protesters in the distance and The Serpentine Lake

Fashion Week tent:

Victoria and Albert Museum:

Odeon Movie theatre:

M

London Town 2

2007-02-25T09:58:00.000+02:00

On Sat I was able to get out and explore London. In the morning I said bye to Gareth since he was going to be going away for the rest of the weekend. And I took off on the tube to Oxford street to do a little shopping. I found a very cute bathing suit for just £16! That's mainly what I was looking for. I kept walking towards Hyde Park where a huge protest was going on with hundreds or thousands of people walking along with signs and flags, yelling. The police were all there and they had to close down some major streets too! They were protesting about the war in Iraq and Tony Blair.

I kept walking across the park to the Natural History Museum and saw the London Fashion Week tent. They had a big sale on inside with all the new designer stuff on discount. I didn't go in because I would've just browsed and didn't want to pay for that. The Victoria and Albert museum is right beside that, so I went in there for a look around. They had a fashion section and a highlight on 60's fashion. It was interesting but my favorite part was the Medieval section where they had these big beautiful statues, columns, and arches in this huge room with very tall ceilings. It was sooo neat! I didn't see the whole museum of course; mainly just the first floor because I was starting to get rubber legs from walking so much and I wanted to head to Leicester Square to buy a ticket to the cinema and stop for a latte.

I caught a bus that I would take for a few stops and change onto a different one (because I was too tired to walk) but the traffic was soooo horrible. So I ended up having a relaxing 30mins on the bus just to go a few blocks down the road. Once I got off at Hyde Park Corner, I decided to walk the rest of the way. Lots of streets were shutdown for the protest you see. Everywhere seemed to be really crowded with people. I wasn't expecting so many people because it's not exactly high season. Maybe because it was a Saturday and the protest may have attracted some people? Luckily, since the roads were blocked off and pedestrian friendly, people just walked on those.

I bought my ticket to see "Music and Lyrics" at 6:00 and tried to find a place to sit with a latte. (had an hour or two to kill) I tried 4 different Starbucks and Cafe Neros before I found a place to sit down because they were all full of people.

Then I went back to the Odeon cinema which cost £12.50 - almost as much as my bathing suit! It's a cool cinema though. You have a choice of downstairs or the balcony (which is close to £20). And the chairs are all leopard print and the screen has pink drapes - sounds tacky but it's actually really cool. The movie was a cute, light, romantic comedy and of course I had to get stuck between 2 couples. I want my Tones!

Now it's Sunday morning and I have to leave to the airport in a few hours. Tonight I'll sleep in the airport and tomorrow I'll most likely hang out in Athens for the day (unless my sore throat gets really bad, then I'll head home earlier).

I'll be home Tues and post some pics. Cya!

M

London Town

2007-02-24T09:58:00.000+02:00

I'm in London now (arrived last night). On Thursday night, I arrived at Athens Airport at around 2am and luckily I found a good spot on a bench to sleep. I didn't sleep much, but it was better than I thought. I think since the bench was pretty hard, it helped my back and since then my back has been feeling about 95% better. I caught my flight on Friday at noonish. When I finally arrived at Gareth's flat at 6pm, all I wanted to do was have a nap. I planned on having about a 1 hour nap then go out to a cinema but when I woke up it was midnight!! I completely fell asleep, I must've needed it!

Gareth came home around the same time so we caught up and watched some late night Eddie Murphy stand-up from the 80's for a little while. I went back to sleep and now I'm up at 8 today and I feel refreshed. I still have a sore throat and a headache but I've been pounding back the OJ and I took some Advil.

Today, I'm looking forward to checking out the V & A museum, the Fashion Week tents, a little shopping, and maybe the National Portrait Gallery if I have time. Tonight I'll go see a movie, maybe "Music and Lyrics" (all the girls at Gareth's work liked it).

Cheers,
M

Leaving Today

2007-02-22T15:10:00.000+02:00

I’m catching the 7pm ferry tonight and heading on my short trip to London. I should be excited but I’m a bit of a wreck right now which has put a damper on this trip.

Yesterday, my back started hurting; I went to karate anyways and could only do about half an hour of the lesson before it hurt too much, so I had to just lay down. I couldn’t sleep because every position was uncomfortable. And today, it still hurts and I’m not looking forward to carrying my backpack and sitting on the ferry for 5 hours then sleeping at the airport too! It may be due to the dampness of the air here; I thought it would be fine since I’m from an island in Canada but I’ve heard others have the same problem. Who knows! On top of that, I’m feeling stiffness in my neck which usually means a sore throat is coming on too. Darn it!! Pray that I get better or I may be in bed while I’m in London.

I have a few plans of what I want to do once I’m there (I only have 1 full day on Sat and 2 halfish days). London Fashion Week is happening and you can get tickets for the Fashion Weekend when they put all of the crazy designer stuff on discount. I might look into that, but I’d just be browsing. I also want to catch a movie at a real cinema with plush seats and a roof! What a treat! The theatres here are outdoor so they are closed for the winter. And I want to check out the Victoria and Albert museum, there are some neat exhibitions including Style of the 60’s.

On Monday I’ll get most of the day to hang out in Athens too which is nice. I think I’ll hit up a museum or two since I haven’t been to any there yet.

Wish me luck!
M

Clean Monday

2007-02-20T10:08:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, it was the holiday known as Clean Monday which is the first day of fasting. On that day, you can’t eat or cook with certain food like: dairy, eggs, meat, fish with backbones, or oil. So people eat a lot of veggies, lentils, crustaceans, flat bread, and this cake type thing made of crushed sesame seeds (it has a mild peanut butter taste to it). It's also really popular to fly kites.

In the morning, I went upstairs and helped Markos and Linda make food for lunch. Markos made a bunch of seafood dishes and showed me what to do. We made dishes with squid, octopus, big prawns, mussels, and little fish eggs. Here’s a pic of the octopus:

We brought all this food over to Tony’s grandparent’s and added it to the other food his yia yia made. There were all kinds of veggies, homemade pickles, olives, more octopus and prawns and flat bread. We had wine with it too of course; we usually have 2 main kinds of wine: a white wine and a sweet red wine. We brought over the white wine that we made in Sept (I call it foot wine since we stepped on the grapes to make it!). The food was really interesting, there were things I've never tried before.

Pandelis and his daughter Maria came over too (uncle and cousin of Tony) so there were 7 of us all together. Papoose started playing the tsabouna and yia yia played a little drum made of goat skin. We took turns playing the drum, it was a lot of fun and some of us got up and started doing some Greek dancing too! It was quite hilarious, I have some funny videos. I’m working on getting one of them up on the net but I’m not sure it’ll work. I’ll put a link to it if I figure it out.

Anyways, after hours of eating, drinking wine, dancing, and music, we were so full and ready to have a nap! We went home in the evening and Linda and I watched a movie and had an early night.

M

Tony Visit!

2007-02-18T17:55:00.000+02:00

Well, lots has happened in the last few days! Tony has come and gone and we had a great time as usual. Tony came very late on Wed night and it was his birthday on Thurs. He’s now the big 22! Yes, he’s getting up there all right! Linda and I made a cake and we had it Thursday night. Here’s a pic: I decorated it and it turned out really ugly! I tried to spell “Happy Bday” in M&Ms but I ran out and then I put sprinkles on so the M&Ms became unreadable, oh well, it tasted reeeeeaaalllly good!

On Friday, I had the day off because my bosses went to Syros and they knew Tones would be here so they let me have more time with him (yay)! So we had a relaxing day just hanging out. We walked out to a lighthouse on the Northern side of the island. It was a really nice hike! There was a great view from the cliffs.

I had Karate, so Tones watched for a while and took a few pics: Only about half the class showed up because it’s a holiday weekend (everyone gets Monday off).

Later that night, Linda, Markos, Tones, and I went to Naoussa for a dinner put on my Markos’ work. It was at a restaurant in the harbor and there were many people sitting at long tables. There were all different types of food too; They’d put about 3 of each dish on the tables and you take what you want from the dish onto your plate like a buffet (but right in front of you). It was really good food! Different dishes kept coming and coming so it was filling. There was also live music and dancing later on. Here’s a pic of Linda and Markos dancing, too bad that guy’s head is in the way!

On Saturday, we went to Tony’s grandparent’s for dinner and had some great food. Tony’s papoose (grandpa) can play the Tsabouna which is made of goat skin and is kinda like a bagpipe but sounds different. He played if for us for a while; it was really neat! Tony should learn how to play to pass down the tradition!

In the evening, we went out with Manolis, Annie, and Flora for some dancing. We all dressed up in costumes because this whole week is known as Carnival. People tend to dress-up during the week and celebrate because this coming Monday is a holiday called “Clean Monday” which is the start of 40days of fasting. So me and Tones dressed up as vampires and the others had hilarious costumes! We went to a club in Naoussa and had a great time dancing till about 3ish.

This morning, we had to get up and pack because Tones had to catch the ferry at 10:30. It was a short but sweet visit as usual but he’ll be back in about 3-4 weeks, so it’s not that long! I have it easy this week, Monday is a holiday and next weekend will be a long weekend for me because I go to London! I’m looking forward to it.

M

Wave Hunt

2007-02-14T11:08:00.000+02:00

Tonight, I pick Tones up from the ferry at about 1am. I can hardly wait! I just hope the ferries aren’t cancelled, it’s been really windy lately and they weren’t running on Sunday. So that’s what I’m waiting for right now…Tony! He’ll get to stay till Sunday I think. Update: Just talked to Tony and the ferries aren’t running at the moment, but hopefully in a few hours they will, he’s going to be late (hopefully not too too late!)

I’ll recap the weekend a little. On Saturday I had a weird dream that I was in a cliffside building looking out the window at humongous waves washing over the cliff; they were so huge and dangerous but really cool to watch. So when I woke up I wanted to find big waves (don’t ask me why, I just wanted to). So I went to Houhlakas, a secluded beach we used to go to in the summer. It can be dangerous because the waves can get pretty big and the coast is really rocky. Anyways, it was very windy so I thought for sure there’d be huge waves but when I got there, there were only ripples! The wind was going in the other direction. I took a few pics and hiked around a little though. At one point the wind was so strong, it almost threw me over a cliff and I had to sit down very quickly so it wouldn’t push me further! The third pic is from the road between Houhlakas and home with Paroikia in the background by the water.

After I left, I was going to head to the another beach on the opposite side but it started raining so I turned back. Oh well, some other time!

Here are some random pics. The first is of one of the main ferry lines that come here, Blue Star. There are about 2 or so ferries per day now but during the summer they are constantly coming and going. The next is of an old man and his donkey; it’s pretty common to see a donkey walking down the road with supplies on it’s back.

I also dyed my hair darker. The sun bleaches it so quickly to this sick, coppery, gross color that I hate (on me anyways, I can't pull it off). So I feel much better now with my “honey chestnut” color! Ignore the face – bad face day.

M

Yellow Belt and Half Way

2007-02-09T12:21:00.000+02:00

Last night I had my testing in Karate for the next level. There were 3 categories :
Kihon - you preform stances, kicks, and punches in a group; the Sensei tells you which ones to do.
Kata - a memorized set of movements that you preform on your own.
Sanbon Kumite - with a partner, you do 5 attack and defense combinations.

I'm a dangerous, highly skilled, yellow belt now! It was neat getting the belt and certificate during the little ceremony. Once we all got our new belt colors, we knelt and had to take our old belts off and replace them with the new ones. I felt bad for my white belt, like I was moving on without it, lol! I'll keep it though. Who would've thought I'd be taking karate this year? Definitely didn't see that coming (I wasn't planning on living in Greece either) - interesting things happen sometimes. I'm glad I started karate because I really do love it!

Today is also a big day because Tony is exactly half way through his Army duty! Now he has 6 more months and we are both eagerly counting down. It'll probably be easier in the last half because it'll be all downhill from now on and the weather will be getting nicer too!

Scorpions

2007-02-07T09:36:00.000+02:00

I just talked to Tones and apparently there are scorpions everywhere at their camp! They are finding them in boots, helmets, and tents. Tony was empting out his tent while on the phone because he heard the "click click" of a scorpion in there. Yikes! I thought they would hibernate or something in the winter; I guess not. They probably just want a warm place to sleep.

In the summer Tony and I found one (I don't think I blogged about that). We were on our motorbikes going down the driveway at night and I saw the shadow of something walking in the headlights. Tony brought it back to the house on a stick. It was killed because they aren't nice to have around. There are 2 main types that I've heard about: a black kind and a yellow kind. The black ones are pretty harmless and their bite doesn't hurt too much; the yellow ones are very painful and you need medical attention right away!

M

This n That

2007-02-06T08:10:00.000+02:00

Lately we’ve had a cold spell and it’s very very windy!! On my motorbike, I feel like I’m going to blow over sometimes. It’s so cozy being inside though when you can hear the crazy wind outside but you don’t have to be in it.

Since it’s been cold, I had a lazy weekend watching movies and mainly staying in. Here’s a pic from my front yard of the dark clouds rolling in.

Makos and Linda let me have a goose egg. I had it for dinner the next day and it was like having 3 chicken eggs! It scared me when I cracked it open because the yolk was the size of a baseball! Ok, maybe not that big…

There are no hard feelings between my cat and me even after the gross half eaten mouse incident (which happened a second time the next day on my couch – different mouse)! Here are some cuddly pics. My cat is more like a dog, he follows me everywhere and Markos says when he hears my motorbike coming up the driveway, he bolts to my front door to meet me. He also has to sleep right next to me or on me, like the pics show.

Tones is coming for a visit next week! Wed night he’ll come for 2 or 3 days, so I’m counting down. Poor Tones just started a camping mission yesterday for the next 8 days (until he comes here). It’s the same mission he did when he first came to Samos where they set up tents in the wilderness. He must be sooooo cold! It’s supposed to rain too. I won’t hear very much from him since he can’t charge his phone and he’s not even supposed to bring it in the first place! I did talk to him last night for a few minutes and he’s in charge of everyone, even the Sergents (they take turns being in charge once in a while). Which means everyone comes to him to ask questions, he tells people what to do and where to go, he has to make sure everyone is accounted for. Sounds like a lot of work! He’ll be glad to come home and relax that’s for sure!!!

M

Army Update

2007-02-01T13:41:00.000+02:00

Tony is back at his base on Samos now. There are a bunch of new people at the base so Tony is higher up in the food chain. The new guys have been in the army for 3 months and Tony is coming up to his 6th month.

Here are some pics he sent me from his time on the ship. Below is the ship they were on, Tony on duty in the bridge, him in the room that the guys all shared, and one of the hallways.

Here are a few more: A boat they used to go on a water mission to smaller islands, a soldier after he was thrown in the water by a Sergent (luckily Tony didn't have that happen to him), an old Italian style building on Leros like the ones they use as mental institutions, and the last two are from Kos, I believe.

Tony may come for a visit next week (just found out today)! So I hope it works out!

M

Disgusting Brat Cat

2007-01-30T07:52:00.000+02:00

Last night I went in my bed to go to sleep and I wanted my kitty on the bed too so I called him. The lights were off so I couldn't see anything but I heard him jump on the bed for a little while and it sounded like he was licking himself (cat bath). Then he jumped beside the bed and it sounded like he was eating his catfood which is on the other side of my suite. So I kind of wondered what he was eating...

I turned on the light and saw that he was chewing on a half eaten mouse! Sick!! He had brought it on my bed and now it was on this little rug I have near my bed. There was blood on the floor, the bed, all over the rug, and my slippers... it was disgusting! So I had to get up, throw the rug and the mouse still on it out the door, scrub the floor, and take off my top blanket. I'll have to do a big wash today. My cat got punished and had to stay out the rest of the night. Yuck!

M

Greek Frappe Experience

2007-01-29T11:54:00.000+02:00

I had a pretty good weekend. There was a big drop in the temperature over night; so on Saturday it was very mild and Sunday was freezing! We may get some winter weather for a while now.

I went to the View Cafe in Hotel Nikolas again on Sunday (it's becoming my favorite place to hangout). I got my usual frappe and used the free internet. I've decided that I should talk about the Greek Frappe. I'm totally addicted to them and have about one per day. It's a cold coffee drink with foam and it's really popular in the summer. Yes, there are frappes in other countries too but they aren't the same. For example in Starbucks, the Frappuccinos are kinda like coffee slushies with crushed iced, Greek Frappes are different. I get my frappe "μέτριος με γάλα" (metrios meh gala) - medium sweet with milk. You can also have it: "γλυκός" (glikos) - sweet, "σκέτος" (sketos) - no sugar, and you don't have to have milk. You have to have one if you come here! It's so nice in the summer, going to an outside cafe in the evening with friends and having a frappe...classic! Here's additional info if you want to research it a little more, lol: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frappe

Army Update: Tony is doing pretty well. He's still on the boat and they are at Kos right now which is a really nice island. When he's on duty (3 hour shifts) he has to keep an eye on the radar and radio in every half an hour. He's one of two guys trained in communications on the boat.

He'll be back in Samos on Wed or Thurs. He's getting pretty sick of being in such close quarters with the other guys. About 15 of them share a little room with rows of bunk beds very close to each other. They usually have a DVD or two going during the day or evening for whoever has free time and they are allowed out pretty often which is nice. This is a similar boat to the one Tony's on, he'll send me pictures of the real one once he's at Samos.

Travel Map

2007-01-25T08:32:00.000+02:00

Here is a cool little map where I put place marks of where I've been, lived, and want to go one day. It was fun to make! If you want to make one, just click on the map and make an account.

M

Walk to Naoussa

2007-01-22T08:58:00.000+02:00

The weekend was beautiful! Sunday was even tank top weather and there were a few people swimming.

On Saturday, I went for a walk in the northern most harbour; from Kolimbithres to Naoussa. It was a nice walk along the water but it was very very windy! The sun was out though, so it wasn’t cold. On my way I passed a resort, right on the water, and ended up walking through the grounds to get onto the road from the beach. It had a heli-pad and a big pool right on the beachfront. Must be a nice place to stay.

When I made it to Naoussa, I explored the town a bit. It’s different than in the summer that’s for sure. Below is a pic of an area that, in the summer, is full of little tables and chairs and people everywhere! At night, it’s even crazier and you can barely even walk through the crowds. On the right, is a little but popular bar we went to for some fun dancing in the summer. Now it’s completely shut down and there is no one anywhere around.

Here are a few more pics of Naoussa.

I brought a few movies to watch upstairs in the evenings and both were really good and very intense: United 93 and Beyond Borders. I recommend both as they get your emotions going and Beyond Borders can really open your eyes.

Tony is still on Leros. They were planning on leaving the island for Kos on Friday but they had to keep their eye on a Turkish boat so he doesn’t know when they’ll leave. It looks like I won’t see him till after my trip in Feb, so over a month to go. That’ll be 2 months without my Tones! :-( He found out also that they used to ship mentally unwell people to Leros during the war and there are about 600 of them on the island. A lot of the people that live there work in the local institutions. Interesting.

M

Name Day for Antonios

2007-01-18T08:10:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was the Name Day for all of the Antonios's (is that right? Antonios' or Antonios's?) Anyways, for those of you who don't know what Name Days are, they are celebrated like birthdays here. Each day of the year celebrates a different name, the female and male version of the name (like Antonios and Antonia). And usually the kids get named after their grandparents therefore Tony is named after is grandpa and he has a few cousins with the same name too.

After Karate, Markos told me to come over to his parent's (Tony's grandparent's) house for dinner. So that was nice, there were a bunch of people over and a lot of good food to eat. It was fun! Tony took a picture of his grandpa on one of his visits (below). They got it framed and gave it to him. He's so cute! He feeds those animals behind and Markos built the rock building in the back.

I had a interesting convo with Tony on the phone too! He is still at Leros (until Friday) and while we were talking, he decided to go for a walk from the boat into town (Lakkis) ; they usually take a taxi. While he was walking along, he saw some really neat, big, old buildings and he kept walking and he saw a guy staring at him, then another, and another. He wondered why they looked kinda wierd and why were they staring? There were also plastic chairs set out around these big old buildings which looked odd. Finally a fourth guy came up to him and tried to say something but couldn't talk properly. He tried to ignore those guys and kept walking till he went through a gate and saw that he had walked through the grounds of a mental institution! Haha!! It was quite hilarious once he figured that out!

M

Coffee at Hotel Nikolas

2007-01-15T14:23:00.000+02:00

On Saturday the weather was windy and grey. I didn't want to get on my bike at all because it looked like it could rain at anytime. Sunday was a different story. There wasn't a cloud in the sky! It's funny, I'm getting really spoilt with all the sun. When there is a day that is cloudy, it's kinda shocking and I think "oh what a crap day" when really, one day of cloudiness or a bit of rain is NOT that bad! I can't imagine what it'll be like next winter when I'm back in the UK or Canada. Yikes...

I went to a cafe in Hotel Nikolas on Sunday because I felt like going somewhere social. It is a very popular hangout and it's situated on the edge of a cliff over looking the water and has a big patio with a great view. I brought my laptop because there is free wireless internet. I had a frappe, surfed the net, and talked to Tones on the phone, it was so relaxing. Once my laptop battery died and Tones had to go, my bosses and a few other people I know came in. So I ended up sitting with them on the patio in the sun. It was so nice to just close my eyes and feel the sun on my face.

I also practiced my Greek a little with Mikhalis' daughter. She is about 13 years old and very sweet. We tried to make a bit of conversation. I feel very "slow" when I try to speak Greek because I really have to think about what I'm going to say, first in English, then translate it to Greek (if I can), then say it properly with the right word endings and emphasis on the right syllable. Tricky. And tyring to understand it when being spoken to is another story because I'm a visual learner, not auditory. Oh well, I'll just have to practice, practice, practice.

I get along with my bosses very well (I have 2, Mikhalis and Yiannis) They are in my karate class also (at a higher level) and so are their wives whom I also get along with. They are also good friends with our sensei Manolis who comes in our work place all the time to chat. Manolis is fun and has the craziest, loudest laugh! I laugh when he does eventhough I don't know exactly what they are saying because it's contagious. They also have other friends that pop by who I know now, because I see them all the time at work. Another friend, Yiorgios, gives kiteboarding and diving lessons, so I might look into that when the water warms up.

I guess that's it for now. Tony left on a boat this morning, so I'll find out soon how he's doing and where they are off to. Update: I just talked to him and they are at the island of Leros right now. He is on gaurd for 3 hours then he has some free time to check out the island.

M

Army Update

2007-01-12T11:17:00.000+02:00

Today Tony found out he was 1 of 14 guys chosen to go on a boat for 15 days. They’ll have to keep an eye on the water and watch for illegal ships coming in from Turkey or other countries. They get to stop at 4 different islands too. He’s looking forward to it and hopefully he’ll have a little more free time too. Lately he seems to get only 2-3 hours sleep and barely any free time! So it’ll be a nice change.

M

Next Trip

2007-01-11T10:22:00.000+02:00

I just booked my flights for my next “mandatory” trip. It’ll be at the end of Feb and I’ll go to London for a mini visit. I want this trip to be very cheap and short while the weather is bad and then save my money for a longer trip somewhere different next time (I have a few places in mind!). I’m only taking 2 days off work and going for a weekend. Gareth will let me stay at his place which is great! Since I know the city, I’ll just museum hop if the weather is wet and cold; there are still lots of museums I didn’t get to while I lived there.

Markos comes back today from Victoria (Canada). I bet he missed the sun! I think he had a really nice time from what I’ve heard. Hopefully he has some pictures to show.

M

The Highest Mountain

2007-01-08T14:42:00.000+02:00

I had an interesting weekend! On Saturday was the “blessing of the waters” ceremony. It’s celebrated as the anniversary of the baptism of Jesus. In the morning, Linda and I went to the main church where they had a service. After the service, everyone headed to the dock and the Holy Icons were paraded while the priests and alter boys followed.

When everyone arrived at the dock we watched as the priest threw a cross into the water three times (the first two times the cross is tied with a ribbon so it could be pulled back out) and pigeons are released each time too. On the third throw, some brave guys jumped into the water and raced to get it. The one who gets the cross has good luck for the year and he also gets a cross necklace. There were only 3 guys who decided to take the jump; it was windy and quite cold!

In the evening I made maki sushi for the first time. Sushi isn’t popular here so you can’t find it anywhere but I found a store that sold most of the ingredients for it. I started off without the raw fish (my fav) and made a california roll instead. I couldn’t find crab, so I used lobster and it was goooood!

Sunday was mostly sunny and got quite warm during the day. It was a clear day so I decided to ride up the highest mountain on the Island (called Mount Pandes, I believe) A lot of the time it’s covered with clouds and I’ve even seen snow on it (in Nov I think). It gets really cold up there.

I took Markos’ bike since it has to be ridden while he’s away. It was a very nice ride to the top! I wasn’t exactly sure how to get there but I knew I had to take a road from behind Lefkes village. I took a detour and ended up at a monastary so I had to turn around. It was a windy rode with concrete and unpaved patches. Sometimes the road would wind along a very steep mountain side and there are no guards, so you have to pay attention! The first pic below is the mountain from about half way up. See the antenea things on top? That's my target.

When I got to the top, my hands were freezing eventhough I had big gloves on; it was cold. There was such a great veiw! I could see a bunch of other islands too, like Syros, Delos, Antiparos, and Naxos… It was kinda isolate because there was no one up there but me for a while – one car came later. I assumed there’d be people manning the station but I didn’t see anyone. And there are no other buildings or things around, just the long windy road and rocky terrain.

The way back went a lot faster because I new where I was going. Here’s a great view of Lefkes and Naxos in the background (second pic).

I stopped at Lefkes to look around for a bit. I went for a nice walk and here are some pics:

Later in the day, I went for a walk along the water in Paroikia. Here are some pics from that:

M

One More Celebration

2007-01-05T14:38:00.000+02:00

This week has been quiet at work since everyone is still in holiday mode and on vacation. Next week things will be back to normal and I'll start karate again. Tomorrow, there is a celebration for the anniversary of the baptism of Jesus. A cross is thrown into the water and some brave people will jump off of the dock and race to retreive it! Who ever gets it will have a good year. It should be interesting!

I updated my poor neglected website today; here it is if you want to take a look: www.michellehenkel.com - it's a portfolio of some of the stuff I like to do. Let me know if there are any glitches.

M

Happy New Year!

2007-01-02T13:38:00.000+02:00

I’m back at work today and I had a great New Years!

On Friday night, Linda and I got ingredients for tacos which isn’t a popular food here so hard taco shells are difficult to find. We ate a bunch and it reminded me of Canada for some reason (I guess cuz I haven’t had them since then) and Linda hadn’t had a taco in years, so it was a nice treat. I also found ingredients to make sushi, so I want to have a Japanese night sometime.

On Sunday, I attempted to drive the jeep! It’s a standard and I don’t do standard – I’ve tried before but I always stalled. So I was surprised when I was able to drive with out anything going wrong (maybe because I deal with gears on my motorbike?). We also went hunting for potatoes. We had these hoe type things and dug around in one of the gardens for about 20 mins and uncovered about 3 potatoes lol! So we gave up. I don’t know if we were in the wrong spot or just had bad luck? Linda below. I also tried to chop some fire wood but I spent about 45 mins out there and had one piece chopped! Yikes. I was doing it the wrong way and the wood feels like it’s petrified (very dense like rock) Excuses excuses!

On New Years Eve evening, we went over to Gillian’s (Linda’s friend that was over for Christmas). There were a few people over and we played Trivial Pursuit, Rummy, and ate a ton of food and drank wine. We counted down and saw the fireworks in Athens on the TV.

On Monday I had the day off and we were quite busy! We went to Tony’s grandparent’s (yia yia and papous) for lunch. Tony’s uncle Pandelis was there too. Their house is so cute and is very old school Greek. We had a really filling lunch with rabbit, salads, rice wrapped in grape leaves (dolmathakia), homemade fries, cake, etc…..

After that meal we went for a walk with our neighbour Michelle around a nearby mountain. It was really nice and warm during the day but it started to cool down in the evening.

At around 9ish we headed to Tony’s aunt and uncle’s (Maria and Yiorgios) again for dinner. Oh my goodness! I can’t believe how much food Maria prepared! There were 13 people there and there were 13 different dishes! Some were in two platters for both ends of the table, so the table was packed full of food and so were we by the end of the night. We left at around midnight.

Now I’m back at work and I’m looking forward to 2007. It should be interesting! I get to experience Easter in Greece (it’s a bigger deal than Christmas here), my parents and brother will visit in May, Tony will finish the army in the summer, I’ll move back to the UK in Sept for a while before coming back to Canada…

Have a great year in 2007 everyone!!

PS: we made short bread cookies and I made a Tony cookie! Yep, I’m a dork. It has his pouty lips and greenish eyes!

M

Get Together

2006-12-29T08:24:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, after work, Linda and I popped over to one of Tony's aunt and uncle's house to drop off some presents for the baby (their son Vasilis and his wife had a baby in Aug and since they live on Milos and were visiting here, we got to see her for the first time this Christmas). We went to their place a few days ago too when Tony was here - mentioned in my last post. Anyway... We were just going to stay for an hour or so but ended up stay for a couple extra hours on top of that!

It's interesting listening to the Greek conversations going on and trying to figure out what they are talking about. I can pick out some words and can sometimes make out the subject of the convo but it's difficult. I wish there was a class to take over here!

When 9:00 came there were about 14 people (friends and family) in the house and even more food was flying out of the kitchen to the table (I was stuffed aready from snacks, not knowing we'd be staying for dinner too) so we ate more and left at around 10:00 even more stuffed! Tony's aunt Maria said that this wasn't much and that we'd have a full out dinner on New Years. I can't imagine how much food will be there that day then! I have to start eating healthier soon so when I start up Karate again in a little over a week, I won't be totally useless.

Vasili's took a pic of me and the baby on his phone. I know her name starts with "M" but I forget it. Technically, she doesn't have a name yet; not until she gets baptised, which will happen around Easter on Paros.

Some of my cousins back home have brand new babies or will have babies while I'm over here and I can't hold them. So instead, I got to hold a baby here!

My Big Fat Greek Christmas

2006-12-28T09:00:00.000+02:00

I’m back at work now and Tony left last night. Linda, Tones, and I had a really nice Christmas with lots of relaxing and pigging out on good food!

When Tony came on the 23rd in the morning, he had been on 2 ferries for over 20 hours, so he was very tired. We watched movies and relaxed all day. He helped me feed the animals and it took no time at all with Tony’s help! Here are some of the goats and the path to the food shed.

On Christmas Eve, we met up with Manolis and Annie for coffee. The four of us hadn’t hung out since the summer! Later in the day, Tony BBQ’d some lamb chops (below) for dinner. And in the evening we made cookies with Smarties in them and I tried to make egg nog from scratch and it actually turned out!

On Christmas day, the three of us opened some presents by the fire in the morning and ate lots of chocolate; It was really nice! Linda found and bought some marshmellows for our cocao too, which is a treat because you can't buy marshmellows here usually. Later in the day, Linda’s friend and her two boys came over and we had home made chicken soup for lunch. It was perfect on a cold day. And it was (and is) cold! It seems like the weather has gotten cold very quickly. Yesterday, it even snowed in Athens and I'd probably get frostbite of the head if I didn't have my helmet for my motorbike! So it was perfect being inside, with the fire going and good food, watching movies, and just chillaxing. My cat loves hanging out by the heater too. In the evening, we went out dancing with Manolis and Annie.

The day after (not called Boxing Day here) Linda made some yummy rice pudding and you guest it! - more relaxing and movie watching. In the evening we went over to Tony’s aunt and uncle’s house. Tony’s cousins were there: Antonios (who we stayed with in Athens) and Vasilis and his wife Flora (who we stayed with on Milos in the summer) We saw their new baby too. So cute!

Tony had to leave in the morning the next day (27th) but we found out the ferries had been cancelled all night because of the wind so he didn’t have to leave till the evening at 10:30! He pretty much got an extra day here! So that was a nice surprise. Yesterday was my first day back at work, but they said I could leave after only a few hours so I could hang out with Tony (My bosses are cool!). Tony was also able to add a bunch of music, pictures, and games to his phone (his phone does everything) and he was all organised with the packing and there was no rushing around to get ready like there sometimes is.

It was a really nice Christmas!

M

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-22T08:31:00.000+02:00

Well, it's my last day of work until the 27th, Tony's arriving tomorrow (!!!), and Christmas is in a few days... It really doesn't seem like Christmas at all though! I'm not with my fam and there's no usual hustle & bustle - I don't really miss the hustle & bustle part though. It'll be a quiet and relaxing Christmas. I just want to make cookies, drink hot chocolate, and watch movies by the fire with Tony and Linda.

I won't be near the internet until Wed so have a Great Christmas everyone and take care! And what better way to celebrate, than posting a cheesy Christmas card... I had fun making it anyways!

PS: The Greek in the card above is pronounced: "Kala Hristooyenna" and literally means: "Good Christmas"

M

Cats and Raisins

2006-12-19T12:51:00.000+02:00

Ok, this is weird post so bare with me. The other day my cat ate a raisin that dropped on the floor at home (I put raisins in my porridge for breakfast). I thought he ate it out of curiosity like some cats do and wouldn't like it.

Then yesterday, I brought a brand new bag of raisins home from the store and he jumped on the counter, grabbed the whole bag in his mouth and tried to take off with it (it was too big and heavy for him to run with though). So I gave him a few and he went nuts over them! It was like he was eating catnip. He kept meowing for more and more raisins! And when I put the bag away, he tried to get at it again so I ended up putting them in the fridge so he couldn't smell them.

Is this normal? I think he's just weird but it beats giving him the pricier cat treats! Anyways, that's all for today folks! lol

M

Christmas time in Paros

2006-12-18T08:09:00.000+02:00

Last week was pretty routine but on Wednesday evening Linda put on a Christmas play with all her students. I was the “official photographer” but my camera doesn’t seem to work too well indoors, so some pics turned out blurry. The performance was cute! And Santa came for a visit and handed out chocolate and presents for the kids. Near the end, Linda handed out certificates and then we cleaned up the little theatre.

The last few days, I’ve been helmet shopping. Usually, they don’t enforce the use of helmets much but around Christmas they bring in 8 extra police officers to set up road blocks. They travel around to different islands every 4 days. If I get a helmet now, I won’t have to worry about a ticket and it’ll keep me warm too! (I also don’t have a motorcycle license so that’s another reason not to get pulled over! Ssshhhh! lol)

On Sunday it was nice and sunny so I decided to go to Dryos, a little town at the opposite side of the island (south side). It took about 25mins to get there. There is a market that sells things you can’t get anywhere else on the island like: different teas, Asian and Indian cooking ingredients, and chutney. I bought some tea, instant noodles (like Mr. Noodles), and sweet chili sauce. I walked around Dryos a little too but it’s pretty small so it didn’t take long. Below, part of Dryos from the coast.

In the evening I took a few pics of the Christmas lights in town. It’s neat how they wind the lights around the palm trees. Pretty!

When I got home, Linda and I made some fried rice and spring rolls and watched a movie. I don’t know the last time I had Chinese food, probably in Canada! It was really good and filling!

On Sunday, I went for a nice walk along the waterfront and through Paroikia. The weather has been great this month! I think it’s rained only once in Dec so far. Unlike October which was quite rainy. I feel bad for everyone back home in Victoria. I heard it’s really horrible weather. Come over here for a visit then! Here are some pics around Paroikia and a funny café sign.

Tony comes home in less than a week! At first he was told he’d get out on the 20th then the 22nd. So who knows when he’ll know for sure. It’ll take over 20 hours on 2 ferries to get here too since some ferries seem to stop running in winter so he has to take the long way home. Hopefully by the 23rd, he’ll be in Paros. Below, Tones with some friends on Samos.

M

Sunny and Warm

2006-12-11T08:20:00.000+02:00

The weather was ridiculously beautiful on the weekend. I don’t want to make any of you jealous but I can’t help it; I had to take pictures of me in my tank top and sandals in Dec! It’s such a novelty and I think it feels abnormal to have warmth outside when you’re counting down to Christmas. It was even warmer outside than inside. The evenings do get cold though.

Linda and I brought Markos to the ferry on Sat evening. He has a very long trip to Victoria ahead of him. So for now it’s just us girls. Tony found out when he gets to come home too. I think it’ll be Dec 20 till 26 but nothing’s for sure yet. It’s not too far away though!

Yesterday, I went for a nice walk along the coast around the main harbor. It was so warm I wish I had brought my bathing suit to suntan and see what the water was like. I saw someone swimming. On my walk I watched 2 of the big ferries come and go. There’s something about those ferries that make me feel excited and sad to see them. It’s because when I’m waiting for Tony to come of one of them, I can hardly wait to see it come around the corner into the harbor and when he leaves, I hate the ferries because they take him away.

When I got home, it was too nice to be inside so I grabbed a mandarin orange and ate it outside. My silly kitty was playing around and I got a few cute pics. This kitty thinks I’m it’s mom and he always wants attention. Sometimes he’ll be the biggest brat and knock things down and play with anything he can find. Other times he can be so cuddly and crawl up onto me and fall asleep. I also took some pics of my front yard area. It's so green now! A few months ago, there was no green, just dirt and yellow dead grass (and Louie the dog - our neighbour's).

Later in the day, I went upstairs and helped Linda wrap about 40 little presents for the kids at her school. They are putting on a Christmas Play this Wed. Then we watched a movie by the fire and drank hot chocolate! So Christmassy!

M

December Already?

2006-12-07T12:57:00.000+02:00

I'm back into my routine and keeping quite busy. I have a ton of jobs to do at work like making business cards, wine lables, ads, and I've been printing out a ton of report cards for some local schools. I created some Christmas play invitations for Linda's school too and I might make a program for it as well.

The other day I was feeling Christmassy and wanted to decorate. I bought a string of mini lights and a tiny fake tree for 4 euro! When I got home to put the lights up in my place I realised that I couldn't really put them where I wanted to because the walls are plaster and you can't just stick in a little tack; it has to be a nail or nothing. So I hung them where I could and it looks so pathetic lol! It's just draped over my armoire and then over the window which has two little hooks for my non existant curtains. And when I plug them in, the wire has to go right infront of the door. That’s one thing I miss – wooden walls and tacks.

Tony’s dad, Markos, is leaving this weekend for a month in Victoria, Canada. He’s going to visit Sophia (for those of you who don’t know - Tony’s sister). So it’s my duty to feed the animals while he’s gone. There are chickens/geese, goats, 3 hunting dogs, and a puppy. I’m used to this though, I lived on a farm in Metchosin for 5 years and had to feed a ton of animals morning and night.

Karate is going good and we learned something new yesterday which was fun. The only way I can describe it is “Karate Chop!”. I forget the Japanese word for it but that roughly explains it. I’m still a white belt but I think in Feb, we’ll be able to test for the next level: yellow!

Tony did his 5-day mission last week and here are a few pics. Tony in some of his gear and the other is of a the type of shelter that they had to make and sleep in for those 5 days (very stealthy!). They were in the middle of nowhere and food got dropped from a helicopter and they had to find it. They also had to do some major hiking and raid two bases. After the mission was over, Tony and one other guy were declared to be the best soldiers on the mission and he was given 3 extra days off! So he gets an extra trip home!

It’s starting to feel more like winter here. It’s definitely not as cold as back home (it’s in the teens) and it has been really sunny lately but it gets really cold in the evenings. I find that on the motorbike in the evenings, my ears freeze off and I have to were a scarf or it’s way too cold to ride. I’m thinking of getting a helmet just to keep my head warm. Ya, that’s right, I don’t wear a helmet on my motorbike. If I was in Canada, I’d insist on wearing one, but here it’s just not as big of a deal. There are no highways or street lights because the roads aren’t busy enough (usually). And in the summer, you’d die with a helmet on from the heat!

I guess that’s it for now!

M

Internet Finally!

2006-12-04T09:40:00.000+02:00

I’ve been home since Thursday night but had no internet until now. Finally I can post my trip. I started work again on Friday but when I got there they were painting the place and all the desks were moved and I had a new computer but with no internet.

The last 6 posts are from my recent trip, so go down to the first one and work your way up. Warning: Some of them are ridiculously long!

M