Greek Islands

Sifnos

July 13th 2008

Sifnos is a mountainious island with much to explore.

Day 9
The last day of the cruise had come and Victoria and I had lost steam. We didn’t feel like renting a scooter or really exploring the island. The island wasn’t as inviting as the others had been. It was one big mountain and we were nestled in a cove. Sifnos was less windy than the others because the mountains blocked a lot of wind, which in return made the island seem smaller. After breakfast, we took our time to get to the beach, which was a hop-skip away from the ship. We weren’t really outside for that long because we were tired of the sun. We hung out on the ship a lot, reading, playing cards, and talking. We ate lunch on the ship too, because we planned to eat dinner on the island. We watched Fun With Dick and Jane after lunch and then I took a nap. By the time I woke up it was time for dinner on the island. So we changed and wore our black and white dresses for the occasion. We went to this cute little restaurant, not too far for the ship, and had traditional Greek food. We took our time eating, savoring our last day in the isles. After dinner we went for a walk, bought some souvenirs, and post cards. We headed back to the ship, took some pictures, packed our bags and went to bed. And that was the end of our Greek Isles cruise.



Sifnos was a 3. A lot less windy than the other two islands, but also a lot smaller.

Paros

July 12th 2008

Pretty day and night!

Day 8
This island is smaller than Mykonos, and flatter but just as windy and pretty. Once again we ported at around 11:30am. Vitoria and I were determined to get a scooter on this island, so that we could be in control of our own transportation. In order to do that we thought it best to be ready to disembark the boat as soon as it ported. This was not a problem since we hadn’t slept past 9 since the cruise started. We were showered, dressed and breakfasted with time to spare! We were among the first to set foot on land and we bolted for the nearest scooter stand. Disappointment came quickly. The first place was out, and the second, the third didn’t even have scooters. We searched for a while to no anvil. Instead we headed back to one guy and ask if they had 4 wheelers and he told us to go down the street. We did and lo and behold they had a plethora of scooters! We secured one with little difficulty, only a little harassment from the owner who said “are you sure you GIRLS can handle this, if not you can take a 4 wheeler it’s safer.” He continued with “I don’t want to have to charge you if you get in an accident it will be expensive, you can still change your mind.” I just wanted to smack that guy. He was making me doubt myself and I had driven one before, although briefly, and done fine. It just takes some getting used to, that’s all, practice makes perfect. We left with our blue scooter named Sasha Jr. (Sasha Sr. is back in Interlaken, Switzerland) and headed to fill her up at the gas station. Sasha Jr. wasn’t glamours, but she was sturdy and had spunk and we had a blast on her. We found our own beach on the other side of the island and hung out there for a while. We got hungry quickly and quitted the beach in search of food. We parked the scooter near the ship, ate chicken pitta’s at a little café, again, then rested on the ship. After our quick R&R we headed in the opposite direction to an unknown destination on the island. We found the wind surfing site, where we watched and Victoria tired driving the scooter. After she had enough we went on further and found a nice secluded beach. We took some pictures, played cards and relaxed. It was getting late so we headed back, watched the sun set at a beach near our ship, and then returned Sasha Jr. in perfect condition. Dinner and bed came shortly after sunset.




Paros was a 4. A perfect place to rent scooters, lay on the beach and enjoy great food.

Mykonos

July 11th 2008

The Windy Island

Day 7
Mykonos is a fairly large Greek Island, with beautiful beaches, lots of tourist and relentless strong winds. We ported the windy island at around 11:30, after an exciting safety drill, breakfast and a brief tanning session. Victoria and I caught the first shuttle bus to the main part of the island; as our ship ported away from the main town. The shuttle bus only rain every 30 mins until 2pm, then it didn’t run again until 7pm. (As if no one would want to do anything on the ship for 5 hours!) Annoyed by this aspect, but charmed by the island, we set out in search of a beach for some serious tanning. It was a long journey with no real reward at the end! After finding a dirt covered mound with dead grass to tan on, we realized why everyone took the other shuttle to paradise beach. There were no real beaches on the side that we were on; there were only small nooks around where few people could place a towel. That didn’t really bother us, the wind and he heat did more than anything. We made due with what we had though. We tanned and played on the rocks for a few hours then headed for food. We ate traditional Greek food at a small whole-in-the-wall joint in the center of town. After our, not too filling, chicken pitta’s we decided we had had enough of the sun and wanted shade and R&R. None of that come for the next hour and a half, because we decided to walk back to the boat! It was a long hot walk, but for some reason it was highly satisfying when we accomplished it. You could look back from the ship and see where we had come from and wonder “what the hell were we thinking.” Back on the ship we relaxed, ate dinner then took the bus back into town at around 8pm. We bought apple juice, got a crepe and walked back to the bus. We only took the shuttle again, because we were pissed that we would have paid 7 Euros to use it once. So we did our best to get our money’s worth and took it 3 times! After our quick in-town-adventure, we watch a move and fell asleep around 11pm.

Mykonos was a 3. Very pretty, but it is almost too windy to enjoy yourself.

Aegina

July 10th 2008

Day 6 cont..
We landed on Aegean at 8:30pm. We walked around, bought apple juice, took some pictures, got a post card, and then headed back to the ship. We went to bed around 10pm, falling asleep to Rush Hour 3!



Aigena was a 3. We weren't there long enough to really tell.

Athens, Greece

Athens

July 10th and 14th 2008

Honestly I'm not sure what this building was, but I thought it was cool!

Day 6 cont.
After arriving on time to Athens I proceeded to the metro station. I paid 6 Euros to get into the city center/the port. I went the metro stop Monastiraki, locked my bag up, and killed time before Victoria was due to meet me. I walked around looking at all the cool shops and ruins mixed together. I was getting hungry and decided that the best way to kill time would be in an AC restaurant easting good food! I was there for an hour, then called Victoria who said that there was a strike so she couldn’t take the metro (that I just took) and had to take the bus. After about 30 mins she finally met me at my metro station and we headed for the port.

Day 10
We arrived back in Athens at around 11:30am. I didn't want to walk around the same area that I had been a few days ago, so I decided to head straight for the airport. Victoria walked around. I took the metro as before to the airport and arrived a few hours early. I attempted to catch an earlier flight straight to Dusseldorf but it would have cost a lot of money. Instead I decided to just get something to eat and wait for my flight. The airport in Athens is really crazy. There were so many people all over the place, I'm surprised I didn't feel more uneasy about my stuff. Anyway my flight left as planned and I got home at around 7pm.





Athens was a 4. I didn't see that much but what I did see I enjoyed. Athens has an amazing history and I still need to explore it.

Bulgaria

Sofia

July 8-10th 2008

Sofia is surrounded by mountains and is

Day 4 cont

I landed around 5:40pm, ten minutes late, to Sofia. I got some local currency out of the ATM, (I love that in Europe they give you small money, not just 20’s) and attempted to find my mini bus. I soon learned that the mini-bus and normal bus only come go to the hold airport terminal; which doesn’t make a whole lot of since. Instead I took a cab. It was only about 5 Euros, which was worth it. I went into the hostel and they told me that my reservation was for the other hostel down the street. So the nice old lady walked me over to the other hostel and I checked in to the new place. I was in a room with about a dozen other people and I don’t remember signing up for a room that large, but oh well. I went out after checking in, just to get some fresh air because they allow smoking in the common room, and I was dying. I bought some water, tissues, apple juice, flip flops, an Ice cream cone, and took some pictures! Such random stuff! Then I went back to the hostel and watched TV for a while before going to bed.

Day 5

Once again I didn’t see a lot of sights. After breakfast and some morning TV, decided to head out with no map. I didn’t have a destination but I was in the mood to shop, I wanted a new dress for Greece. I probably went into every store, regardless of whether I could afford the clothing or not! I spent the entire afternoon checking out stores in search of a dress. It turned out to be the greatest idea, because I happened to see a lot of the city, and get a feel for the culture. I was not expecting to find so many shops in Sofia, but what they lack in sights, they have replace with shops. For lunch I had an American style hotdog, which was freaking good. It was so good I made a point to go back and have another. After the shopping I grew a little tired and in need of R&R, so I returned to the hostel. I hung out in the common room for a while, then went to read in the bed room, where luckily no one was. I read for an hour then took a nap; and what a glorious nap it was! After the nap I was ready to go back out and see some more of the city. I walked and took some pictures, growing hungrier by the minute. I stopped at Subway to add more Americanism to my day! I ate my sandwich in the park while watching some kids play. When I finished the sun had set and it was time for me to go back. At the hostel, I packed and prepared to leave the next day. I watched some TV then went to bed.

Day 6

I didn’t hear my alarm go off, because the night before I had put earplugs in, due to this annoying guy’s snoring. But fortunately for me I had woke up on my own, and started to get ready. This guy came in shortly after I woke up and said that he was going to wake me up because he hard my alarm go off. I thought that was really nice, and If I hadn’t woken up he would have saved my ass! Anyway, I fixed myself some breakfast since the hostel people were still sleeping. I had to wake them up though to call a cab and she didn’t seem too happy about that! I went down stairs to meet my cab and found it waiting for me. We encountered little traffic and arrived at the airport within 10mins. I checked in and was in the air at around 10am. I arrived in Athens at 11:45am… read about the rest of the trip on the next blog about the Greek Islands!

Bulgaria is a 3. Sofia has a lot of shopping but not many sights, those lie outside the city!

Romania

Bucharest

July 7-8th 2008

The "Central Park" of Bucharest.

Day 3 cont
I arrived in Romania and instantly liked it better than Moldova. It was a much more developed and there public transportation proved to be more trustworthy. I did as instructed by the hostel and took the bus the correct stop. I found the street that the hostel was on, but I didn’t know which way to start walking. Right or Left? I chose Right, which to my luck was the correct direction. While walking to my hostel I saw several movie theaters, and made a mental note to inquire whether or not they have original versions; aka in English! I was ecstatic to learn that in all of Romania all their films are in English with only subtitles. HAZA!! I loved Romania instantly! Don’t think me wrong for seeing movies while on a trip to Romania. It was my vacation and as such I am free to do as I please. That and I had time to sight see later. I was tired, hungry and needed a little relaxation so I decided to grab food and see the 11am showing of Wanted. After the movie I took a little nap, ate lunch and then went to see the 14:45 showing of Hancock. I wasn’t tried and had energy so I went for the sightseeing. I walked for about 2hours, taking pictures, stumbling upon the central park of Romania, the house of parliament and national opera house. I went back to the hostel for some RR and to escape the heat; didn’t work the hostel was so hot. Anyway, I inquired about another huge movie theater that had more OV moves. After learning that the location was not that far or hard to get to I made plans to go. While waiting to leave I met a girl from the US who ended up going to the movies with me. We saw Prince Caspian. We caught the last bus to the hostel and I was in bed by 1am! What a good, long day!



Day 4
I vowed not to get out of bed until after 10am, I held strong and read until after 10! I got dressed and to my delight found that breakfast was supplied and free. The strangest thing happened and all of the sudden had a head cold. I thought it better to stay inside before I had to leave for the airport. I left for the bus at 1:30 and arrived at the airport at 3pm. I checked in and then waited for the flight. I really liked the bus ride to the airport, because it gave me a chance to see a lot of the city that I hadn’t. There was this amazing row of houses lined perfectly along the main road. They were of Vanderbilt style with as much Grandeur as the ones in Road Island. You could see the ball rooms form the road and the massive chandeliers that hung in them; quite unexpected for Romania. I suspect very rich or important people live there. Anyway, I was in the air by 4pm and on my way to Sofia, where the adventure continues.

Romania was a 4. Cheap, pretty and they have a lot of movie theaters with original versions!