Greece and Italy

I think all of you know that Liz and I went to Greece and Italy for a month. We spent more than just 2 weeks there. We spent a lot of money. It's not like we spoiled ourselves (though we did have lots of delicious gelato), it's more that you end up spending a lot of money on food when you vacation for one month and stay in places that don't have kitchens. Anyway, let's go over the trip:

We started out in Athens. What a strange city. I've been to most major cities in the US. I've also been to Sydney, Madrid, Barcelona, Florence, and Venice. I have never been in a city like Athens. It was nothing like what I expected. I was expecting, as I'm sure you all would, a city that contained lots of fascinating history around every corner. I was definitely expecting to see some evidence that Socrates, Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, and Euclid had been there. What I didn't know until I got back was that Athens had only 100,000 people in 1900, and now it has over 3 million. Basically, my first impression of Athens was horrible. People were peeing everywhere, I couldn't understand Greek, and the whole city just felt rushed and cheap. However, the Acropolis and Ancient Agora were amazing. The pictures of the Parthenon really don't do it justice. It is magnificent. There are several nice museums in Athens too, but seeing more than 2 would just be redundant. If any of ya'll go to Athens, make sure you don't stay there too long. Seriously, see the acropolis, the surrounding ruins, a museum, and then leave.

Our next destination was Crete, which is where Zues was supposedly born and where the Minotaur is said to have lived. The only way to get there (besides flying) is to take an overnight 9-hour ferry ride. The ferry was nice and everything, but we were too cheap to get a private cabin ticket, so we slept on the floor once we realized that all the other passengers had started sleeping on all the couches. It was super uncomfortable and only Liz managed to fall asleep. It's a good thing I stole the blanket from the airline... In Crete, we stayed in the island capital, Iraklion. It was a wonderful city and I swear it must have the highest number of pastry shops per area. While we were there we visited the palace of Knossos, where the minotaur lived. It was cool to see, but there really isn't much there anymore. The frescos were pretty though! When we left Crete, we almost missed our ferry to Santorini! I have never ran so hard in my entire life. Liz was wearing flipflops, so she couldn't run and carry her suitcase at the same time. I basically ran about 800 meters straight carrying a backpack and our 2 suitcases. Liz was laughing at how tired I was...how hilarious.

Santorini was also great. It's the most stereotypical Greek island you can imagine. Its got the black sand beaches, the blue and white buildings, and the tiny churches. The first day we are there, we go to the beach. That picture is literally right where we were. An amazing view! Anyway, we get there and within 30 minutes these 3 Bri'ish girls that are probably about my age show up and sit right next to us. 2 of them are very very hot. These same 2 decided to take off their tops! Santorini was giving me a wonderful impression. I soon learned that nearly every woman was topless; however, I couldn't get Liz to "blend in." On one of the days there, Liz and I had a romantic dinner while the sun was setting. The only thing prettier than the sunset was Liz of course!

Then we went to an island called Naxos. It was a great place and we had some good food there. It was very relaxing. Each place we went to is very different from the others. Naxos was a bigger island than Santorini, and we went inside to a small, charming village that was totally old fashioned. The desserts in Naxos were especially good.

From Naxos we went back to Athens and caught a plane the next day to Florence. It's late though, so I'll tell you about Italy tomorrow.

Some things I didn't mention that are just generalities are:
1) The Greek food. Greeks serve pretty big portions. It wasn't unusual for Liz and I to each order our own dish and end up not finishing our food. We could even split just a simple Greek salad and be completely full. Greek food wasn't anything special, but maybe I'm just saying that because I've had it at family reunions. I got the impression that there isn't a difference between Greek food in Greece and in America like there is with Chinese food in China versus in America. But like I said, the food was delicious. The ingredients were always fresh too. Greek breakfasts are not good. I love a big breakfast, so being served just French bread, tomatos, and maybe deli meat is not my type of thing. I yearned for eggs, bacon, and pancakes the entire trip.
2) The Greek people. They are ridiculous! Every Greek needs to have the last word in an argument. And, boy do they argue. Two strangers on the street would find something to yell about and they'd continue yelling at each other as they walked away. Once, a bus driver didn't stop when a lady pushed the button, and they wents nuts on each other. It was strange.