This post is doubling as a homework assignment for my writer's notebook, so sorry if some of the language is kind of formal. Also, it is really long, but hopefully not boring. So, finally here are the highlights of my amaaazing trip!
Greece and Turkey Trip:
My Top 10
Nafplio – Our third day in Greece was spent on the road. After a long day of touring and traveling, we ended the day in Nafplio, a smaller town by the sea. The minute we arrived I fell in love. We had been in Athens the past two days, which is a city of between 5 and 6 million people in a country of 11 million people. The city was bustling with bodies and cars with crazy drivers. I sense of calm washed over me in Nafplio, with the lapping of the waves nearby and the quaint buildings lining narrow streets. A group of me and four other people decided to explore the town after visiting the little shops and making a couple small purchases. We climbed stairway after stairway off the path where there was a gorgeous view of the ancient castle by the town. Peering down, a hidden beach came into view that we decided we had to go see. Making our way down, we climbed over boulders to the pebble covered beach. This was my first time at the beach, but unfortunately the water was too cold to swim in. I made due with wiggling my fingertips in the water and running away laughing every time the waves got too close. As we made our way down the beach, we found a couple of crabs hiding in puddles of dark water. When we tried to catch them, they would scuttle away, but eventually, one of the boys was successful in capturing one of the little rascals for us to touch. Further down the beach, the waves crashed into the rocks, spraying water like a geyser high into the air after which it came raining back down. To end our little adventure, we scrambled up the hill and followed the path back around to the harbor. Along the way we saw multiple night time hangouts used during the summer months. They looked pretty dead, since it was winter, but I am sure during the summer, music can be heard from all around as people swarm to eat, drink, and dance.
Architecture and Artwork – Both Greece and Turkey were rich with ancient architecture and artwork. The sculptures of Greek gods were imposing in their marble glory. Much of the jewelry and decorations were made of elaborately carved gold. The buildings were massive structures, which made it hard for my mind to fathom how they were constructed in such primitive times. I was much more impressed with the architecture found in Greece. I am not sure if it was because it was more impressive or because by the time we got to Turkey, we were tired of seeing ruins after ruins after ruins.
Olympia – Seeing where the ancient Olympics took place was incredible. My favorite location within the grounds was the stadium. The entrance arched above us like a tunnel and opened up into a vast expanse of dirt. This was not just any dirt, though. This was the dirt where ancient Olympians ran. J.L. (my professor who was one of the sponsors and who I babysit for) insisted we reenact a competition complete with a high priestess, judges, and runners. The boys were volunteered as the runners, which made for a comical sight. The only runner who crossed the finish line without huffing and puffing was Chris, who is a soccer player. After we left the stadium, we walked across to where the crowning took place in ancient times. As we listened to our tour guide, we noticed two security guards huddled together conspiring. Soon, they began walking over, a crown in hand made of olive branches from an olive tree. We were then able to have a mock crowning ceremony of our champion.
Delphi – Delphi was a smaller town located high in the mountains, so we were not sure what kind of entertainment we would find for the night. Tyler (a guy on the trip who I kind of hit it off with and now we are kind of seeing each other) had read in his book about a club called The Downtown and he suggested a group of us should check it out. Before we left we had a few beers at the hotel where we were staying. There was also a group of college students from California staying there, but from the looks of their old, prestigious professor we did not think they would be able to have much fun, so we didn’t think much of it. When we arrived at The Downtown, the music immediately began thumping our eardrums. Much to our surprise, the Californians were there…but they were about the only people who were. We weren’t ready to dance yet, so we ordered some drinks and chilled in the corner. After a couple of drinks, we decided it was time to test out our dance moves and show those California people what was up! Not more than a few minutes after we got on the dance floor, a California boy came up to us with this watermelon fishbowl. He tells us it’s for his U.S. friends to share with him. We agree and begin slurping away. Immediately after taking the fishbowl, I say, “That was amaaazing!” We continue dancing, and pretty soon Tammi and I are really getting into it. We’re getting so low that a couple of Greek guys begin whooping and clapping and telling us to dance by them. We ignore them and continue doing our thang with the help of another watermelon fishbowl. The next morning, as we are climbing up the ruins of Delphi, my knee really begins to bother me and I can’t figure out why. When I mention this, Tyler immediately replies, “Well, I can tell you why. It’s from you and Tammi dancing last night.” Oops! I spent the rest of the trip with knee pain, which is finally starting to feel better.
2004 Olympic Stadium – After touring the Peloponnese region of Greece, we returned to Athens to stay two more nights. Our first night back we were free to do whatever we pleased, so a group of us decided to venture to the 2004 Olympic Stadium. We took the metro the whole way there, and when we arrived there was a basketball game going on between Athens and a rival team. We were able to catch the end of the fourth quarter, which ended up being a close game. While we were there, a section of the stands began rushing out of the complex. Right away, J.L. starts freaking out and telling us to stick together and move down. I did not understand what was going on. I just thought people were getting up to go to their cars so they would not get stuck in the parking lot. It turns out, though, that these people were rushing out to go fight because the people there are so into their sports teams. We were fine because our section did not rush out, but J.L. thought that was for sure what would happen and he did not want us to get separated. After the game, we walked around the different complexes outside. It was sunset and everything looked beautiful with the sun glowing off the white structures.
Greek Island Cruise – On our last day in Greece, we went on a cruise to three islands: Hydra, Poros, and Aegina. On each island we had time to explore and shop, but some of the most memorable moments came from time spent on the boat. I spent the whole way to the first island on the top deck, taking the experience all in from the sun trying to peek through the clouds and glint off the dark blue sea to the dozens of islands poking out of the wavy water. The first island was by far the best. The buildings were exactly what you think of when you think of Greece, light colored with bright colored doors and shutters. Donkeys to rent lined the street, and boats sat in a row on the water by the dock. Highlights on the boat included the Greek piano player who served as live entertainment during lunch. He sang and played the whole time with a smarmy smirk plastered on his face. Behind him was a Japanese lady translating for the Japanese tourists who sounded like a man and continued keeping beat by singing, “Shh. Shh-shh. Shh. Shh-shh,” much to the singer’s chagrin. To top off the experience, none of the Japanese tourists could keep their balance on the boat, so they kept hopping from pole to pole while attempting to walk to the back of the boat. Upstairs, one lady bounced off the tables like a ping-pong ball, never once keeping her balance. This resulted in uncontrollable giggles from Tyler and I. By the time we got to the last island, we had seen all we needed to see, so we went to a café to get a drink. I had been drinking beer all day and wanted to try something new, so I asked Tyler if I would like a Kamikaze. He said I would definitely enjoy one, so I ordered one. The first sip made my eyes pop wide open as the alcohol hit my tongue. After that, it went down nice and smooth. Well, with five minutes left to get back to the boat, I still had 2/3 of my drink left, so I had to chug it. The multiple beers I had previously topped off with the kamikaze caused me to play Pitch horribly on the boat ride back, which turns out didn’t matter since I didn’t remember any of the boat ride back. Yikes!
Pamukale – Pamukale was a calcium deposit formation in Turkey. The calcium deposits have been left from the hot springs that run through it. The formation is huge, stretching on for yards and dropping down a great distance. Pamukale translates to “Cotton Castle,” which is exactly what it looks like. The deposits look like puffy clouds rolling down the hill. The hot spring water runs across the top, eventually falling down the side in a waterfall. The water was hot and steamy over my feet as I felt my way across the slippery rocks. I would love to go back in the summer sometime when the air temperature is hot like the water.
Turkish Hotels – The first three hotels we stayed at in Turkey before we got to Istanbul were all located in remote areas. Since it was the off-season, we were able to get our hotels cheap, which meant we were staying in four and five star hotels. These were the nicest hotels we stayed in the whole entire trip. The first one had a spa, pool, and sauna, which was the first we had seen in any of the hotels we had stayed in until that point. The next hotel was located near Pamukale. Since it was so close to the hot springs, it had a thermal pool fed by the nearby hot springs. The thermal pool started out inside. Toward the outer wall was a bridge. Going underneath the bridge led you outside. The combination of the steaming hot water and cool, crisp air was perfect. The third five-star hotel was located near a beach. Later that night, Tyler and I went to check out the beach. We even took off our shoes and socks, so we could wade our feet in the cool water.
Food – The food in both Greece and Turkey was phenomenal. Every night at our hotels in Greece, we were served five course meals. Each meal was served with bread and started out with a bowl of hot soup followed by an appetizer. Next we were served a salad along with our huge portioned entrée. To top the meal off was a scrumptious dessert. There was always waaay too much food to eat, but I tried everything in front of me and enjoyed experiencing new tastes. In Turkey, we were served a lot of shish kabobs, which were delicious. All three nights in Istanbul, a group of us walked down to a street vendor selling what they called kabobs, which were like a huge pita filled with meat, your choice of veggies, and sprinkled with a seasoning salt. They were jumbo, cheap, and yummy!
Taxim – Taxim was an area of Istanbul that J.L. compared to Times Square. This was not necessarily my favorite place, but the experience of getting there and being there was wild. A group of nine was going to go to Taxim the second to last night we were in Turkey, so we had to take a taxi. So that we could all ride together, we took a taxi van. The ride was crazy! Our taxi driver drove like a maniac and was constantly yelling out the window at people he knew and laying on the horn when he got angry at other drivers. We wove in and out of cars, never staying in our lane. Once, we slammed on the brakes and came within a hair of the car in front of us. Our bodies jerked back in forth into each other as if we were on a roller coaster ride. By the time we arrived in the Taxim area, we were all ready to get out of the van, away from our insane driver. After stepping out of the vehicle, we were immediately surrounded by people moving in every direction. So we wouldn’t lose each other, we had to keep walking, keeping up with the flow of traffic. Along the main drag were stores lined up on both sides. Name brand stores like Billabong, Nike, Puma, etc. Every now and then there would be a club. Smaller side streets trailed off the main street where bars and cafes could be found. The first club we went into had been built into an old alley, so it had an edgy atmosphere, but they couldn’t make a cocktail to save their lives. After they bombed my first two orders and I ended up with a nasty margarita, we left to find a new local. We ended the night in an Irish Pub called the James Joyce, which had a tavern feel with alternative rock music. This was the perfect place to chill out and end the night.
There you have it. There is so much more I could tell you about and explain in a much funnier way, but this is already a ginormous post, so I won't go into any more detail!
