1 Week Later

So, am I the most awful blogger or what?!  I let everyone know that this is the way to keep up with me, but little did I know that my internet access in the days to come would be severely limited at the Hotel Poseidon in Crete...I had to steal a weak signal from somewhere near by, and it couldn't handle my blogging talents, which is why I had to wait until I got back to Athens in the reliable Hotel Carolina.  I'm in the same room as my last visit, which is pretty awesome since this room has a sweet wrap-around balcony.  Top notch.

But, you people don't want to hear about weak signals and balconies!  You want photographic evidence of what I'm doing here (or, that's what you're going to get, rather).  I have taken so many pictures it is seriously ridiculous!!  And, I think they're pretty good, too.  MSU has a photo contest for all of the study abroad programs, and the winners get money (cash, I hope..because a scholarship wouldn't really help me at this point).  And, I hate to have to call it early, but I'm pretty much going to dominate this contest.  :)

I promised an Acropolis post, and I decided to post pictures from the group trip since I spent more time up there then.  Going up on a Wednesday and going up on a Saturday are completely different!  Saturday was packed with people, both individuals and big tour groups.  It made taking good pictures and getting around a little challenging, but it was still great!  I wore better shoes this time, and they made a huge difference because I was practically flying up the hills in my Nikes (which is a company based on Nike of Greek mythology and it was started right here in Greece).

That's me as we were walking up the steps to the Parthenon, and the girl on the left is my first roommate Yi, who is from Beijing.  She is awesome and super sweet.

Here are more pics from us walking around the Acropolis...

Ericka (my new hilarious friend) and I in front of the Parthenon.  They're repairing some of the damage to the columns so just overlook the scaffolding.  Just as a side note, Ericka and I have the same Kavu bag, and once we noticed that, we both knew we were going to be buddies.  Ha.  :)

The Parthenon--now with 60% less scaffolding!

I would like to post more pictures, but apparently, my statement about the Hotel Carolina having reliable internet was just proved false.  I hope that isn't too disappointing, but please know that I will post lots of pictures as soon as I can, even if I have to pay to use the internet!  You people are worth it!!

We're leaving in an hour to catch the ferry to Lesvos, and I think it's going to be something I enjoy because we're going to tour a water treatment plant.  I'm seriously so excited about it, which shows how much of a nerd I am!  I hope you all are doing great!!  :)

Athens So Far

I set up this blog because I thought it would be the easiest way for me to let everyone know what I'm up to on this particular trip, and I thought it would be easier for all of my followers [ :) ] since I know how busy everyone is.  This way people can check out my updates at their own pace.

So, to get started with my very first blog post...I am still in Athens, spending some of my free time at a biocafe near my hotel.  That's right, a biocafe.  What kind of trip would it be for me if I didn't seek out the nearest organic cafe and hang out?  This place is amazing!  I seriously could spend all day in here (and maybe I should because there are so many things on the menu that I want to try).  The cafe is Pure Biss Biocafe, and it serves as both a cafe and somewhat of a learning center for 'seminars and sessions'.  Their website is www.purebliss.gr, if you'd like to check it out for yourself.  I can't believe I stumbled upon this place while I was walking around today.  The decorations are everything I love about places like these!  The light fixtures have these metal rings of intertwined artsy green 'leaves' around them, and you all know how much I love green!  The walls are painted a very pretty sea foam color and have giant gold vinyl graphics on them, which looks like something Simply Stated Walls could do for everyone back home.  (Find their page on Facebook...I hear the owner is quite lovely and very talented)  The tables, seats, and floors are all made of wood, with the seats being softened by very brightly colored cushions.  The seats resemble the square rolling storage ottomans we have in the States, and all of the tables, both outside and inside, have potted, fresh flowers.  This place is very cheerful and eclectic, and I'm so glad I found it since we'll be coming back to Athens in a few days.  I'm seriously lucky that I found somewhere like this because lots of cafes and shops are closed today since it's Sunday, and as I was walking around, I was getting worried that I wouldn't find anywhere to eat.  And, don't you want to know what I had to eat??  I started out with a double Greek coffee, which as far as I can tell is very similar to Turkish coffee, and it was soooo good!  I followed this thick, strong, and dark coffee with the baked pie of the day, which happened to be carrot, peppers, goat cheese, and herbs topped with sesame seeds.  It was delicious!  Everything about this place is so great (if you couldn't tell already how much I adore it), even the menus...which are decorated with drawings done by school children.  So cute!

Here's the menu.  If it's possible, I hope you can zoom in and read their values and other ideals.  I think their ideas are great and wish more places would employ environmentally sound thoughts like these.

After I leave here, I plan on walking around to parts of the area that I haven't seen yet.  We all have to meet back at our hotel at 6p.m. to head as a group to the docks to catch the overnight ferry to Crete.  We've already checked out of our hotel at noon and had them stow our luggage until we return to collect it.  Most of the students went down to the beach, and since I didn't feel comfortable leaving my laptop and other valuables stowed with lots of random luggage, I decided to walk around Athens and save the beach trip for when we come back in a few days.

I'm super excited about the overnight ferry because we have cabins to hang out and sleep in while we're onboard.  What a fun adventure!  I'm on a boat!!  I wish I had one of those nautical captain's hats because I would seriously wear that mess, but rest assured one thing I will NOT be doing is talking like a pirate.  That's ridiculous.

Yesterday, we went to the local fish market since it was a Saturday.  In addition to having a fish market, there is also a meat market (an actual meat market--not a club*wink) and an outdoor market for vendors to sell fruits and nuts (ironic to my previous statement, no?).  After touring (and smelling) that place, I'm seriously considering cutting out fish AND seafood!  It was crazy how fresh most of the seafood was.  As in, the clams and mussels were still moving!  I took lots of pictures, and it was so outrageous to see these mollusks throwing out their muscular feet, trying to grab at what they thought were prey.  I have never seen that before!  Like I said, most of the seafood and fish were fresh, but some was actually frozen (but not like packaged-style frozen) because they have to have it shipped in since those fish (like tuna) aren't indigenous here.  They still will take the whole frozen fish and slap it onto the ice, just like the fresh fish.  They had everything you could possibly want to eat in the seafood area..clams, mussels, crab, lobsters, shrimp, oysters, squid, octopi, scallops, and loads of fish (which I would name if I knew all of the species they offered there).  The squid and octopi were really cool because all of them were just hanging out on ice (the good kind) covered in their own ink.

And more still...

I have lots more pictures of the markets, and I'll post them later, along with an Acropolis post.  

Thanks for checking out my blog, and be on the lookout for more posts!