Greece!

Athens was the first stop. It took a whole day of travelling to make it there; first flew to London with a six hour layover, then 1497 miles onto Greece with Aegean Airlines (probably the best airline ever). The hostel was great. Right in the middle of the city and had an amazing view from the terrace on the roof of Acropolis at night. Our lovely European student cards got us in for free to Acropolis, which is an amazing site. Once you make it up there it is breathtaking. It is built on this huge hill which can be seen from all over Athens rising above the city. One night we even watched the sunset from up near Acropolis. The view was amazing and the city of Athens is looked endless. Went to the Olympic Stadium and the Temple of Zeus too. I was a bit disappointed not to see Zeus sitting in his chair, Disney movies raised my expectations a bit too much. Who knew that Zeus was long gone! I think I tried all the famous Greek food. I lived on gyros all week. They were really cheap and delicious. It is a choice of meat, tomatoes, onion and tzatziki sauces wrapped in pita bread. Of course I had spinach pie, lots of Greek salads, tried Moussaka and all sorts of Greek deserts like baklava, kadafi, profiteroll and ravani.

In front of the Temple of Zeus.

Acropolis

We took a five hour ferry to Ios, one of the Greek islands. It is known for the younger crowd and backpackers but the season hadn’t quite started and the island was pretty empty. Everyone seemed to be painting and opening up for the season. We stayed at Far Our Beach Club which was right across the street from the beach. When they picked us up at the port they told us we would never want to leave. The owner kept trying to talk us into an upgrade. Telling us our rooms would be pretty cold at night this time of year, and the upgrade for 5 more Euros not only has a TV but also an air conditioner. He was making a lot of sense. Haha. We stuck it out for our ten euro a night “double room with a shared bath.” They walked us over to our rooms and showed us to two bungalows. They were white washed circular rooms with straw roofs. The inside had two beds, a table and chairs. I loved it. My friends were a bit unsure. The whole Beach club is more of a camp ground. We were one of the few guests and everything was still being prepped for the season. Therefore the bathrooms hadn’t been cleaned since probably last November. We headed straight to the beach and spent the whole day swimming and enjoying the sun. We had the whole beach to ourselves. That night we went into town which is about two miles away. There is a shortcut from the beach which involves walking up this huge hill to the top. It was quite the adventure walking to the only bar Flames. But we had a great time once we got there. The next day our noon ferry was cancelled. So we spent another day on the beach before taking the ferry to Santorini around five.

The beach in Ios

Bungalows!

Santorini was beautiful. We stayed at an amazing hostel, a great deal and with our own room including a bathroom and kitchen! It was right across from the black sand beach, Perissa beach. In the morning we hiked up a “hill” to see Ancient Thira. It was full of ruins of the ancient city and had an amazing view of the beach and island below. Later we went into Fira, the main city. It is full of shops and restaurants with an amazing view of the caldera. We took a cable car down to the port, and turned right back around taking the donkeys back up. It was about 1588 steps and a blast; one of my favorite adventures of the trip. That night we missed the bus back to Perissa beach but it worked out perfectly as we met up with some Ireland/Qu friends and caught up on our travels. The next day was Easter and Kristina’s birthday. We celebrated by going out to the volcano then swimming in the hot springs. Not so hot this time of year as it was only 15 degrees Celsius. Plus we had to jump off the boat, swimming through the freezing ocean to reach the Iron and sulfur hot springs. We ended the day watching the sunset from Oia, on the other end of the island and I wasn’t ready to leave Greece.

Hike up to Ancient Fira


Donkeys!

Up on top of the volcano!

26 Days, 10 cities, 5 countries, and 1 backpack...

Phew.

I finally made it back to Cork yesterday night, after a long day of the walking, the metro, multiple buses, and a plane. As I was sitting next to the Eiffel Tower yesterday morning, I wasn’t ready to end my travels. I was ready to pack up my bag and move on to the next stop- maybe Prague, Amsterdam or Berlin. But my funds were low, my clothes were dirty, I had a flight already booked back to Ireland and two exams looming in the future to study for. It wasn’t until I heard the Irish accent pronunciation of “C-ark” that I realized how much I missed everything back in Cork. I woke up this morning disoriented in my own bed. It was strange not to wake up at 7am to a hostel room full of roommates. Taking a long shower in my own bathroom without flip-flops was fantastic. I had an amazing time traveling Europe, but am glad to be back.  

For my month of traveling, I started off in Athens and took a ferry to the Greek islands Ios and Santorini. From there I flew to Rome, and made my way up Italy onto Florence and Venice. I took a train over to Nice on the French Riviera and a day trip to Monaco. I flew to Barcelona then ended my trip in Paris.

I met up with friends in Santorini, Rome, Florence, and Barcelona catching up with stories as it seemed like we had been away forever. I met tons of new friends on the roads, as our paths crossed at hostels.

I saw all the amazing sights; the Acropolis, the Colosseum, the Eiffel Tower, ancient ruins, St. Peters Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Sagrada Family, Notre Dame and the Palace of Versaille. I walked on a volcano, rode donkeys, saw Michelangelo’s sculptures, took a gondola ride, spent a few days on the Mediterranean beaches, and wondered through the Louvre. I tried all sorts of Greek, Italian, Spanish and French foods; from spinach pie and paella to crepes and gelato.

I have mastered metro systems, maps, planes, train timetables and the bus system. There are so many ways to get from here to there. I am going to enjoy the next couple days of sticking around Cork with no place to go.

We were really lucky, and had a great trip with no setbacks. A canceled ferry here and a delayed flight there, but other than that traveling went smoothly compared to lots of stories we heard.

I am back in Cork for a few days, lots of odds and ends to get done, but when I get a chance I will write some posts about all my travels and adventures. My camera broke in Ios :( but when I bum the photos off of my three traveling buddies I will be sure to upload some! Time to get back to reality and go grocery shopping and start some much needed loads of laundry.