Greece

I left London on Saturday night and then I got to Santorini on Sunday. When I first got to Santorini, I thought it was absolutely beautiful and though I was exhausted because my flight there had been overnight, I really felt rejuvenated. HOWEVER that good mood ended really quickly. After I paid 20 Euro to get a cab to my hotel, I couldn't find anyone at my hotel!!!! I walked around, knocking on all of the doors for about an hour. Then the man who owned the hotel next door helped me look for someone and he was really nice about it all. But I was freaking out because the ATM at the airport had run out of money and I couldn't find one that was working near the hotel. And it looked like the building was under construction. There was no one there! Since I was there 3 days earlier than everyone else, I had to get a hotel room. But the place we were all staying at was full, so I had to book a room somewhere else on the island. Luckily, I found a hotel really close to where we stayed. But because I couldn't find anyone, I ended up walking down the beach to Stelio's Place, where we would all be staying. But the rooms there were all booked, so I just walked back to my hotel and hoped that there would be someone there. After being in Santorini for about 3 1/2 hours, I finally got into my hotel room. As it turns out, the hotel I booked a room in actually was under construction and I stayed in the hotel across the street. However, how was I supposed to know that? It was a really stressful morning. I left the airport around 7 and I got into my room at 11. I slept all afternoon and woke up at 5:00. Outside, I heard gunshots and people screaming. Of course, I was freaking out. So I just stayed locked up in my room all night. I didn't eat anything all day; it was horrible!

We sat in these chairs while we were on the beach! (Notice the black sand!!)

Stephanie and I eating our delicious lunch of tuna, bread and Greek yogurt!

The next morning I went and found an ATM that was working. Then I found a really cool 24hour bakery. The owner was behind the counter when I got there and he gave me all these free samples. I bought some food and then I went to the beach. I spent almost all day on the beach, reading Atlas Shrugged. It was a lot of fun, but I got a burn on my back. While I was laying there, I realized that there was this guy behind me watching me. I wasn't the only person on the beach- so I didn't exactly feel unsafe, but I also didn't want to roll over. It was an awkward situation. I was going to reapply sunscreen either. After about 90 minutes, he left. But yeah...it was awkward.

Anu, Ana, Beth Buehler, Beth Cash, Stephanie, and myself at a restaurant in Santorini

Beth Cash, Beth Buehler, Stephanie, and myself at our favorite Santorini bar!

My third day in Santorini was boring. I woke up, got breakfast and then went back to my room. My burn was pretty bad, so I wanted to stay out of the sun. So I just sat around reading AS. I really wanted to finish the book, so it wasn't too bad. Plus, I didn't want to wander too far from my hotel room because of the sketchy Greek men. Around 3:00, 2 of my friends, Stephanie and Anu, showed up! I didn't think that they were getting in until really late that night, so it was definitely a surprise when they walked in the courtyard and called my name! We went to the grocery store about 4 km up the road and bought groceries. Then we went to the beach for a little while. We went out to dinner at the cutest Greek tapas place! It was really good food. We actually went back the next night for dinner as well! The woman who owns the restaurant is actually from Chicago. She met a boy from Santorini and they fell in love. Then they moved to the island like 5 years ago. After dinner, our friend Ana got in. It was Stephanie's birthday, so then we went out to a bar after. It was a lot of fun.

This was our hotel, Stelio's Place

The next day we all went to the beach. Early that morning, the other 2 girls arrived. Beth and Beth had been with me in London and they were the ones I was supposed to travel to Italy with. We all hung out at the beach for the day. Of course, we went out after dinner again.

View of the other islands from Santorini

The following day, we went to Fira. That is the port city of the island. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't as beautiful as I thought it was going to be. But there was a lot more stuff to do there than on the side of the island that we were staying on. But it was still a fun experience. I think I just expected to see more color on the buildings. We went to the top of the hill where most of the pictures are taken from and looked down on the scenery. Then we compared what we saw to the postcards and photos for sale. They just photo-shopped the pictures!!!! I was in shock. I don't know why they couldn't just paint the actual buildings themselves!!

View of Fira, the port city on the island

I took the ferry on Friday afternoon to Athens. We thought it was supposed to be about 6 hours, but the ferry ended up taking 8! When we finally got to the hotel, we were just so exhausted that we went to sleep. Then we woke up and explored Athens for a couple hours before taking the metro back to the airport. Athens was such a dirty city!! I mean, yeah it was cool to see really old ruins, but everything was covered in graffiti!! It was neat seeing the city, but I honestly don't know if I will go back. I think my favorite thing about Athens was the donut that I bought right outside the metro. It was the biggest donut I'd ever seen and it was covered in cinnamon sugar--all for 50 Euro cents!!

View of Athens

Me, in front of some old tower. :)

Overall, I was glad that I had the chance to go to Greece, but I'm not sure if I will spend the money to go back any time soon.