Greece

Greece was a haul. The ferry from Brindisi to Patras took 20 hours each way, and then there was a 6-hour train ride from Patras to Athens. There was a herd of clueless Americans who ended up at the Hostel Aphrodite; these places send recruiters on certain ferries and trains to prey on people like us. The hostel-guy was half drunk, and served us welcome drinks (I think he had already had quite a few himself). It was past midnight, and we were tired. He lit a drink on fire, stuck it to his hand, shook it in someone's face, and drank it from the side of his mouth. "Ghostbusters" was playing in the background, so we decided to hit the hay, wake up, and find another hostel. ferry

Athens

4/9/97: "Athens has such a different feel--the usual buildings aren't trying to be beautiful (Paris) or old (Rome). There are ruins, and then there are loud, coughing buses with black tailpipes, and thick air. Everything is in Greek! OK, I'm quick. But I never really thought about how the alphabet is different."

parthenon I wish that I could have remembered a little bit more Greek Art and Myth. Sorry, Guy. We saw the Thession, a little Doric temple, the Agora, climbed the Acropolis to see the Parthenon, the Propylea, the Temple of Athena Nike, the Erectheon, the the Porch of the Maidens. To one side was the Odeon, the Theater of Dionysus, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Only 13 of the original 114 columns still stand.

We wandered around the Plaka, a marketplace, looking for food, as usual. Chicken gyros, and pastries filled with spinach, chocolate, and potato. Baklava, dripping in syrup. Dinner at Ouzeri Kouklas, up the hill from the city...big beans, stuffed grape leaves, fried eggplant, calamari, and Greek salad. Then across the street for a chocolate, banana and cream crepe and a few cappucinos. Yummm. athens

athens2

The Islands

We took a ferry to Santorini, which was an eleven-hour ride. We were getting used to being on the water, and I took advantage of the time to write in my journal a lot. 4/10/97: "Last night, when we were talking in the cafe, smelling the vanilla candle and the fresh crepes, vigorous hums of conversation around us, I was so happy. I don't know why. Sure, I'm in Greece, with two awesome people. But maybe it's just this point in my life, too. I have done so many things, but I have so much to do. What is behind is over, what is ahead is looming, ugly, boring....It is right now that I love experiencing, looking out of the salted ferry window onto the ocean eaves, feeling contemplative and nostalgic..."

In Santorini, we got sucked into staying at the Perissa Beach Hostel, for only 1000 dr a night (four bucks). We were recruited by a nasty hostel man, but I guess we couldn't resist. Here is the motto:
"On the beach, in the sun,
Enjoy vacation with a lot of sun."

We were stuck at the quiet end of the island, near the black sand beach. 4/12/97: "We tried sitting outside, but it was ass cold. I was bored. There was no place to go at all. We came back to the room from a walk and sat there under our sleeping bags. I just wanted to sleep. We were all hoping that it would be warm in Greece, but I haven't been this cold in a long time."
The next day, we took the bus to Thira, the main town, and stayed at the Thira Youth Hostel. "We ended up with two Australian guys who were hung over, but luckily they didn't have a pet rat." I'm not sure what that means.

We explored Oia, one of the towns--I think that town was what I had in mind when I thought of the islands. White houses with blue doors, piled on top of each other, hanging on the cliffs. oia

sunset We watched the sunset from the edge of a hillside, close to the open door of a store. We could hear Mozart's Requiem playing inside. "It was beautiful, and we tool turns photographing the progression of blue to yellow to pink to freezing our butts off." We went to a restaurant called Nikolas, then to the Blue Note Bar for a few hours of dancing. We only got three hours of sleep because we had to wake up and catch the ferry to our next destination, the island of Ios.

4/12/97: "I stood on the edge of a cliff and felt the wind in my hair and on my face. I listened to the waves smashing against the rocks, and nothing else. Nothing around me but blue and breeze and a kind of self-conscious contemplation. I turned Jules into Pebble-Man--he is at one with the earth. He is the earth. He fueled my big creative spirit." artwork

ferry Yes, here is the picture of the ferry again. How we love the ferry! We also stopped at Naxos, but the weather led us to make the big decision to move on. 4/14/97: "I am bored and I don't feel like writing, but I have already exhausted my options--sleeping, listening to music, eating cookies, drinking tea, feeling sick from eating too much thick yoghurt, playing tic-tac-toe and hangman, choosing Ash's courses, listening to Bach Cello Suites, and playing solitaire." We purchased a room on the ferry this time, instead of seats, and slept a lot better. We woke up to eat lunch, felt sick, and went back downstairs. We didn't stir again until a crew member pounded on the door to kick us out. A solid 20 hours of sleep! And we woke up in our favorite place, Brindisi!

More information about Greece from the WWW...

I invite you to continue to Austria...

Back to the Beginning...

	I wish that I could have remembered a little bit more Greek Art and Myth. Sorry, Guy. We saw the Thession, a little Doric temple, the Agora, climbed the Acropolis to see the Parthenon, the Propylea, the Temple of Athena Nike, the Erectheon, the the Porch of the Maidens. To one side was the Odeon, the Theater of Dionysus, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Only 13 of the original 114 columns still stand.
We wandered around the Plaka, a marketplace, looking for food, as usual. Chicken gyros, and pastries filled with spinach, chocolate, and potato. Baklava, dripping in syrup. Dinner at Ouzeri Kouklas, up the hill from the city...big beans, stuffed grape leaves, fried eggplant, calamari, and Greek salad. Then across the street for a chocolate, banana and cream crepe and a few cappucinos. Yummm.

In Santorini, we got sucked into staying at the Perissa Beach Hostel, for only 1000 dr a night (four bucks). We were recruited by a nasty hostel man, but I guess we couldn't resist. Here is the motto: "On the beach, in the sun, Enjoy vacation with a lot of sun." We were stuck at the quiet end of the island, near the black sand beach. 4/12/97: "We tried sitting outside, but it was ass cold. I was bored. There was no place to go at all. We came back to the room from a walk and sat there under our sleeping bags. I just wanted to sleep. We were all hoping that it would be warm in Greece, but I haven't been this cold in a long time." The next day, we took the bus to Thira, the main town, and stayed at the Thira Youth Hostel. "We ended up with two Australian guys who were hung over, but luckily they didn't have a pet rat." I'm not sure what that means. We explored Oia, one of the towns--I think that town was what I had in mind when I thought of the islands. White houses with blue doors, piled on top of each other, hanging on the cliffs.
		We watched the sunset from the edge of a hillside, close to the open door of a store. We could hear Mozart's Requiem playing inside. "It was beautiful, and we tool turns photographing the progression of blue to yellow to pink to freezing our butts off." We went to a restaurant called Nikolas, then to the Blue Note Bar for a few hours of dancing. We only got three hours of sleep because we had to wake up and catch the ferry to our next destination, the island of Ios.
4/12/97: "I stood on the edge of a cliff and felt the wind in my hair and on my face. I listened to the waves smashing against the rocks, and nothing else. Nothing around me but blue and breeze and a kind of self-conscious contemplation. I turned Jules into Pebble-Man--he is at one with the earth. He is the earth. He fueled my big creative spirit."