Greek Islands: Naxos & Santorini (Days 17-19)

A little different style of post since we did 3 total days in the Greek islands. 1 day on Naxos, 1.5 days on Santorini, and .5 days traveling on the ferry to each island.

Naxos

We boarded our ferry at 7am to head to Naxos. The ferry was kind of like a mini-cruise ship and was pretty relaxing since I had spent most of the past week running around Rome and Athens.

A ferry a little smaller than ours that we passed heading to Naxos

It took a little over 4.5 hours to get from Athens to Naxos. We got stuck on the deck for the first 3 hours which made the journey a little miserable since it was chilly and windy. Once we arrived in Naxos we were picked up at the port by our hotel. After unpacking, we grabbed a traditional Greek lunch (gyros!) and headed out to do some site seeing.

Naxos is famous for its beaches and for Apollo's arch so we spent most of our time on the island at those two places. We also got crazy with our cuisine, trying some stingray and octopus!

Arch during the day

Arch at sunset

A view of the island, Naxos Town

Fresh octopus

Our stingray salad, actually pretty good

Review:

Aspen: 7.5, 50%

Katie: 7, 50%

Santorini

The weather ruined it for us. It was raining all day, the wind was howling, and there was no sunshine. Luckily, we decided to rent a car when we arrived which made the day a little more bearable.

Our smart car

Me and the car

On our first day we decided to drive to Oia (we were told to bring our cameras and be ready to take postcardesque pictures at every moment). Oia did not disappoint but we wish we would have gotten a little more sunshine.

I was also able to complete my trip goal of getting a "fish pedicure" in Oia! During a fish pedicure the fish "kiss" your feet, removing any dead skin that is on them. My feet felt exceptionally smooth and my circulation a little better after the treatment.

It tickles SO much, especially on the tops of my feet and between my toes.

For those wondering, Aspen did not partake

For dinner we ate at this incredible yet tiny restaurant called Melitini. I devoured baked vegetables with red sauce and yogurt.

The next day we went on a drive around the island stopping at the red beach, Kamari beach, Ancient Thira, and a winery! So much stuff, but we were done by 3 because the weather was AWFUL (we were pelted by hail, sand, and some of us by 6x6 boards of plywood) and we were drenched and unable to enjoy anything outside.

Boutari winery tasting

Kamari beach

The road up to ancient Thera. Yes. It was very steep and windy. Not a fun drive in the weather.

Review:

Aspen: 6, 75%

Katie: 7, 75%

Closing Thoughts:

1. Make sure to travel to the islands in the summertime, when there is warmth and sunshine

2. Stay in Fira or Oia. Oia because it's beautiful, Fira because it's central

3. Don't hesitate to rent a car. If I can drive here, you can to

Also, I've officially booked my flight home. Returning to the US on May 5th and probably to Evanston on the 16th or 17th depending on how long it takes me to see all my friends from home/spend time with my family. I'll be spending my last ten days in Europe exploring Northern Europe (Copenhagen, Malmö, Lillehammer, and Oslo)! Yay traveling and seeing the world :)

Athens (Days 15-16)

And we're off the Athens!

Soaked. At the metro station. Thought: it's going to be a long night.

My parents have left, and now it's just Aspen and I (soon to be joined by Cristina!). Greece was the first place we decided to go (partially due to proximity) and there were a couple super cheap flights on RyanAir. We selected the one that left at 6:15 in the morning. Yay. This meant that we got to the airport around 10PM the night before our flight and spent the night on the floor of the airport with about 60 other people leaving early the next morning. My thought: Great minds think alike. Aspen's thought: I'd rather sleep on a bed of nails than on the floor of the airport again. Direct quote. Luckily, we shouldn't have to do that again for the rest of the trip.

I want to preface this post with two things. 1. Everything is pretty cheap in Greece (see food section) 2. I understand 0 Greek, actually I think negative Greek is where I'm at.

Site Highlights:

Acropolis (and Museum): the Acropolis is basically a giant hill in the middle of Athens that the ancient Greeks built their temples on. The main temple is the Parthenon (which is currently undergoing restoration). It is HUGE! It measures 8•17 pillars and there actually is a life size model of it on the third floor of the Acropolis museum. There are additional temples on the Acropolis that pay tribute to other gods, however the main Goddess of Athens is Athena. You cannot take photos in the museum, so you'll just have to trust me when I say it was the best museum I've ever gotten in to for three euro.

Us at the Acropolis...it was very very very windy

Parthenon

Another temple

One of the theaters on the Acropolis

Temple of Zeus/Agora: Basically just another temple that's been pretty well preserved and the gathering place of the Ancients. They are on opposite sides of the Acropolis but I'm putting them in the same site because once you walk to them there really isn't that much more to see.

Temple of Zeus

One of the temples in the agora. This is actually the most well mainted ancient building in Athens and was used as a church for various religions until the 1830s.

Mount Lycabettus: A lengthy and completely uphill walk but totally worth the incredible view of the entire city.  At the top there is a church and a cafe where we stopped. I had a Greek version of proseco (I'm now a wine connoisseur) and Aspen had a beer (his goal: a beer in every country he visits).

This is what the mountain looks like from the Acropolis.

Food Highlights:

So much good food! I'm a little shocked at how much I've enjoyed the Greek cuisine, but lucky for me I have a couple more days to enjoy it.

Gyros: Traditional Greek gyros have lettuce, tomato, French fry like potatoes, meat, and some sort of sauce. Here are some pics of us enjoying our first gyros in Athens at Souvlaki!

Greek name of the place we had our first gyros at

MahnMahn: Recomended by the lady who owned the apartment we stayed at, it was a little fancier but cost us only 42 euros for two main meals, bread, water, dessert, and two glasses of wine. Would definitely go here again!

Toni: We found this place after scouring TripAdvisor for food recommendations near our housing. This was the closest top rated choice, so we decided to give it a try! It was amazing, and cost us 22 euros for 5 small plates, bread, water, a glass of wine, and a beer. Definitely make a reservation because we got stuck on the smoking side.

Coffee Joint: Recomended by the lady who showed us our apartment as a place to get a good breakfast, little did I know how good it would be. The fruit and yogurt parfait was INCREDIBLE. Never have I had such delicious Greek yogurt, strawberries, and pears. 

Fage in Greek, literal Greek yogurt

 

Food was good, sites were entertaining, I'm glad I got to spend a couple days in this beautiful city.

From here on out I'm going to end each post with my rating of the city on a scale of 1-10, and my likelihood of returning.

Athens:

Rating: 7.5/10 (Katie), 8/10 (Aspen)

Likelihood of Returning: 60% (K), 50% (A)

Thoughts behind: I really liked how clean and walkable Athens was, however I don't know if I could spend more time there since there are a limited number of sights and they all give off the same kind of vibe. I would like to see the 2004 Olympic stadium if I ever return to the city.

Rome (Days 11-14)

Whoa. 14 days already?!? Where has the time gone? Next up on my trip was Rome (also the last stop in Italy). The "Eternal City" is known for the large amount of historical sites and for its really good food. After an incredible stay in Florence, Rome was going to have to up its game to get onto my "to return to" list.

Site Highlights:

The Vatican (Museum/Experience): I was really really really lucky to get tickets to a service at the Vatican. As our tour guide on our first night said, "You have to know someone to get tickets to that" (my mom's high school friend's son actually). So we woke up at 5:30 am (on my birthday which was not ideal) to get to the Vatican by 6:30 for the 9:30 am chrism mass. For those of you who aren't catholic, the holy chrism is used during baptism, confirmation, and at the anointing of the sick. It is blessed at the Vatican annually and sent out across the world. The mass was packed but we got there early enough to get decent seats on the aisle and were less than 3 feet away from the pope when he entered the basilica. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience. We also toured the Vatican museum and the Sistine chapel.

The ticket!

The Basillica 

And there's the Pope!

The Vatican guards

Trevi Fountain: Under construction. Which meant that I didn't get my Lizzy McGuire moment :( 

Bummed that it want be done until November

Pantheon: Originally a temple for the pagan gods, the Pantheon is now home to the tombs of both the first and second kings of Italy, the first queen and namesake for margarita pizza, and Raphael. The ceiling was one of the coolest architectural things that I've seen so far. It has square cutouts and an oculus in the center which actually allows rain to fall in when the weather isn't lovely.

Oculus and cool geometric ceiling

Colosseum: One of the most iconic structures in the world. The colosseum was used by the ancient Romans for gladiator games. My favorite fact about the gladiators is that their average life expectancy was 30 years, and they were burned by an iron stake to make sure they were actually dead if they were killed during the games. We did an audio guide tour at the stadium, which also overlooks the Roman Forum (civic center of Ancient Rome), and the arch of Constantine.

Emily and I at the colosseum 

(I took pics of the forum and arch on my regular camera so those will have to be posted later)

Spanish steps: Not actually related to the Spanish (built by the French and named after the Spanish embassy near their base), they are a common hang out for Roman youth and have a sinking boat fountain at the bottom. All of the water in the fountain is safe to drink, as long as you get it right when it is being poured out. There are tons of water fountains around the city that serve some of the best free water in the world!

Bottom of the steps

View from the top of the steps

Dad filling up his water bottle at the fountain. Don't worry, my mom got a pic of me filling mine up.

Food Highlights:

After Florence excelled I knew Rome would probably be a let down. And it kind of was. 

Eleanora d'Arborea: Recomended by our hotel concierge for my birthday dinner. We had AMAZING risotto and almond dessert (my favorite).

Antico Arco: Really really good with unique flavors. My family loves to share our food and they brought out a little sample of everyone else's dishes for us! The desserts were great and overall the meal was an incredible way to end Rome.

I had the duck/pecorino pasta with my sister

Conclusion

Italy was great! I have to say that Florence was my favorite city while Rome and Venice didn't quite meet my expectations. My parents left early this morning and now Aspen and I (and eventually Cristina) will be continuing our journey....to Athens, Greece!

Tchaio for now.