"we're in Paradise even if the weather's not!" [spring break, part 3 of 3]

Paradise Beach in Mykonos

After Santorini, we had a bumpy ride on a small boat to Mykonos. The sky was grey once again, but we were determined to make the best of it. We stayed at the Paradise Beach Resort, made up of many types of lodging and including a mini-mart, bar, club, and food stand. Of course, being that the weather wasn't too great and we arrived just before tourist season was starting, everything was closed except the mini-mart, gyro stand and pizza stand. Our first night everything at the resort closed early so we were forced to go into town to find dinner. Then we returned to our beach cabin, a very simple room with just two beds, a nightstand and a roof over our heads. It was cold so we ran to the reception desk for extra blankets and got some rest.

Little Venice, in Mykonos Town

The next day was equally grey and cold. We took the bus into town and were highly entertained with the Corona-sponsored public bus. We walked around town, found some cheap food, checked out some stores, found an internet cafe and then headed back to Paradise beach, set on going to the beach, rain or shine. We only had a few days there, and needed some fresh air. So we put on our unlikely beach outfits: yoga pants, running shoes, North Faces and blankets wrapped around us. It was chilly and windy but I pulled out a book and enjoyed the view, which was still beautiful despite the unfortunate weather. We grabbed some hot food from the gyro stand, took hot showers, and headed back to sleep for the night.

How to Enjoy the Beach in Bad Weather 101

The next day, the sun finally came out! It was windy on the beach, but otherwise very warm. We still needed boat tickets for Athens, and I still had postcards from Paris to send (I was a little behind and needed to get them out before the WSU semester was up and everyone moved home!) so we took the Corona bus to town, found a post office, travel agency and some cold beverages for an afternoon at the beach. Back at Paradise Beach we threw on our swimsuits, some SPF 15 and settled in at the beach with iPods, books and cookies. It was exactly the afternoon we had been looking forward too, and although we got chilly as the evening moved in, we toughed it out. Being a California girl in my bones, I'll do anything for a tan. Plus, I couldn't come back from Spring Break the same shade of pale ;) Two pizzas and a shower later we made our way back to the beach cabin for a final day of travel.

A real beach day

The following morning we sat on the beach for a few minutes during breakfast until we had to catch the resort shuttle back to the Mykonos Town port and go back to Athens for the end of our trip (which I talked about in part 1) Needless to say, the trip was very eventful, but we had so much fun and saw so many beautiful sights. The islands were extremely photogenic, and although we were disappointed by grungy Athens, we don't regret a minute of the trip. I think I took about 900 photos (no exaggeration!) during the week, so I think that speaks for itself.

The infamous Corona bus...keep it classy Myknonos

Sorry it took me so long to update you guys on this trip! I've been swamped with schoolwork and had another trip last weekend to Munich. Later this week I should be updating about that trip (probably my favorite of the semester). This week I have a final, a research paper due and two presentations, and I have just as much work for next week. Its impossible to believe I only have two and a half weeks left in Paris! I hate that I have so much work to do, all I want to do is soak up everything around me. Anyway, I think these last two weeks will give me a lot of blogging material: a few reviews of places I've been since I've been here, a day trip with my program to Giverny (where Monet's house and gardens are), and visiting all the places I haven't seen yet in the final stretch until I'm home bound. Its going to be a stressful few weeks but I'm ready!

Mykonos Town....do I have to leave?

Mykonos Town port

the beginning and the end: athens [spring break part 1 of 3]

So many olives, everywhere.

Last week was the CEA spring break, which meant I was headed to Greece. I was joined by one of my roommates, Sami, from Wisconsin, early Friday morning as we headed to Charles de Gaulle airport for what was about to be one hell of a week. I'm splitting my posts about Greece into three parts; first, because it makes it easier for me; second, because I can include more pictures; and third, because I don't want to make you guys scroll through endless paragraphs detailing the ins and outs of my trip. My eyes get tired looking at a computer screen too long too, and I want to give you guys a break.

Sami & I spent our first and last day in Athens. We were so excited when we first flew into Athens--we were finally in Greece, the only conversation topic in the apartment for weeks. After a long metro ride from the airport we surfaced in Monastiraki Square, in central Athens. Immediately we could tell we were not going to like the city too much: it was dirty, crowded and loud. Horns honked, men yelled, small children gathered around us asking for money, and the sidewalks were covered with dirt, trash, and other unidentifiable substances. After a long and confusing walk we arrived at our hostel, freshened up, and went searching for food.

Prosciutto, mozzerella and pesto sandwich at Rooster

The restaurant we found, Rooster, served us delicious bruschetta and sandwiches. Despite non-smoking signs on every table, the typical Europeans surrounding us filled the room with the stench of tobacco and nicotine. After noticing a somewhat unique crowd we realized that Rooster was, in fact, a gay bar. Eh, c'est la vie! After another rest and freshening up at the hostel, we walked around the surrounding city blocks in search of food for the next day's boat ride, some iced tea, and dinner. We ate some lamb gyros in Monastiraki, ducked into Starbucks for a break from the dirt, and made our way toward Brettos.



Brettos is a 100+ year old bar in a somewhat cuter part of the city (then again, it was night, so maybe the darkness masked the grime). They distill their own brandy in the bar, and the walls are covered with every flavor liqueur imaginable. The place had a very cool vibe, so we pulled up a stool and ordered the Greek classic: ouzo. I have to say, ouzo is pretty gross. It tastes like black licorice and is very strong. We drank what we could of it, and then ordered a glass of wine. A delicious Peloponnese Syrah is exactly what I needed to wash the flavor out.

The next morning we left our hostel early, bid farewell to our Chinese roommate and hopped on a Blue Star Ferries boat to Santorini. Fast forward to the next Friday...

After a long ferry ride from Mykonos we arrived back in Athens. Our economy tickets allowed us a seat outside on the deck or inside around one of the cafes or restaurants. We chose the deck, because of the beautiful weather, but we did hit some grey patches where the forceful winds blew salty sea spray all over me and everything I owned. I hid my nose in My Life in France by Julia Child and dreamed of being back in Paris...

The Acropolis

Upon our return to Athens we found some dinner, a place for a good drink and then rested up for the following day. After checking out of our hostel, we made the trek up to the Acropolis. In my opinion, this is the only reason to go to Athens. After just two full days in the city, I found very few redeeming qualities about it, unless one is interested in Greek history. As someone who repeatedly fell asleep on her freshman year history book (hey, I love history, but the Greeks and Romans were a little too far from my mind's grasp), I looked at the ancient structures, was impressed by the plethora of pristine marble, took some photos, and made my way back to the airport, and thus back to Paris. It feels so fabulous to be back.

Later today I'll update again with a post on Santorini and Mykonos islands, where the true Greek beauty is!