Trekkie-Bookie's Travel Diary: Blogging Greece, Part 2

By Contributor

January 5, 2011

trekkie-bookie continues her epic Grecian quest—and we're happy just to be along for the ride!—Sparkitors

We didn't intend for our first day in Athens to go like this:

1. Arrive
2. Check bags
3. See Parthenon
4. Get hopelessly lost

But apparently, that was the plan fate had in store for us. The plane ride was exhausting—11 hours long, and I only slept for four!—and by the time we arrived in Athens at 10:30 AM, I wanted to do nothing but relax. Unfortunately, peaceful slumber was not on the itinerary. According to our trip schedule, we were supposed to go see the Parthenon, but lo and behold, the metro was on strike, so we had to figure out how to use the public bus. Awesome. After an hour, we finally got there, and it was well worth the ride. We climbed up the slope pausing to squee over the view of Athens (hi, mountain-in-the-middle-of-the-city, no big deal!) and the ancient wall. When we reached the top (gorgeous, by the way) I enlightened my older sister as to the reason why Athens was named Athens. Afterwards, we were supposed to wander around the agora (marketplace/forum) but my mom, brother and I went one way and my dad and sisters went the other and we soon ended up completely lost, prompting my little brother Isaac to share a true gem of wisdom:

Isaac Fact #1: Men don’t get lost. We go exploring.

Eventually, we all reunited, and soon boarded a plane to Santorini, a little island off the mainland. Checking our bags prompted my brother to enlighten us further:

Isaac Fact #2: The conveyor belt that you put your checked bags onto doesn’t lead to the plane; it leads underground to your destination. There’s a whole network of belts under the ground… like in Toy Story!

For reference, here is a map of Santorini, complete with all the things that made it awesome: rainbows, fish, and smiles!

We spent two days in Santorini exploring Oia and Pirgos, watching sunsets, and generally being awed by the views. My sisters and I lay on rooftops and took pictures, stood on walls and stared at the ocean, and wandered tiny little pathways hoping to find a view and always being rewarded. It was amazing to see all the beautiful houses and churches; everything in Santorini is breathtaking! Here's proof: a picture of my sisters exploring Pirgos.

That night we drove out to the very edge of the island to the lighthouse and watched the sun go down.

The second day we explored Ia, spending a good fifteen minutes just lying on a rooftop and admiring the ocean and the little houses. Later, while watching Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, we realized that we’d been staring at the place where the Greece scenes were filmed! We also ate lunch overlooking the sea and an old Greek man, convinced my dad could speak Greek, hung out with us for a while. The second night we explored a black-sand beach and headed back to Fira (where our hotel was) for dinner.

We spent yesterday in Athens again; we drove and drove and drove until we got to Sounion, the southernmost point of Attica (the northern section of Greece) where we saw the temple of Poseidon, a gorgeous ruin from a loooooong time ago. Supposedly the temple of Poseidon was where Jason’s dad waited for him. It’s a great story. Then we drove back to the airport, but happened to randomly see an IKEA (yes, those exist all over the world!) and what do you think was in its parking lot?

An ice-skating rink. With plastic orange seals. Of course. Well, we couldn’t resist the temptation, so for three euros apiece we rented ice skates and spun around. (And fell. A lot.) Finally we got to the airport and flew to Crete, which is where I’m sitting whilst writing this blog. So that, my dear Sparklers (or as you would say in Greece, ΣΨΑΡΚΛΡΣ) is where I am right now! Don’t be too jealous, though—you can still say you’ve seen Greece!