My Big, Fat Greek Vacation

Yay, the day is finally here! I swear to myself that this vacation would be different. I refuse to get sick this time. I don't know if it was the excitement, anticipation or foreign foods, but I always end up getting sick on previous vacations! This time, I would not even think about it.

Don't start to pack 'til Friday. That way, won't think about vacation, won't think about sicky-sicky times, won't forget anything that I yank back out of my luggage to use during the week. Seems to be working.

Head out to Eric's retirement party at Mexican restaurant. Remind self not to drink too many margarita's. Break first rule. In bed by 11 pm.

It's here, it's finally here! The day we leave for Greece! Ok, ok, calmmmmm, calmmmm, no puking this time....ssshhh. ok.

Ding, I look really cute! Black mini dress, silver sandals, Louis messenger bag, Louis carry-on (too much? Nah, it's Europe)...

Our business class tickets get us into the Crown Room Club! Move out, momma needs a Bloody Mary!

Ok, here we go - get settled in, quick flight to Atlanta, then onto the Plane To Greece! Wow, this is really nice.

Only 11 hours to go and we'll be landing in the most gorgeous spot I can imagine...After all the research, all the emails with the Greek travel agent, all the worry about a dog sitter, it's almost here...(Greece was actually our last choice - originally thought of South Africa (oops, it's their winter now), Dubai (too far!), Shanghai (no, Andy, we are NOT going there just so you can ride on Delta's new 777), and Italy (couldn't decide which Provence - they all looked fabulous). We end up deciding on Greece simply because it's gorgeous, it's on the beach and it has all the elements of a romantic vacation we want. I proceed to memorize as much information as I can from Matt Barrett's guide to Greece (http://www.greecetravel.com/).

After dinner, 4 glasses of wine (don't judge!) and 1/2 of the Narnia movie, I wake up to the smell of breakfast being served and Andy saying "My watch must have stopped, why are they serving breakfast at 3 am?" It actually WAS 3 am in Texas, but it was TIME TO GET UP AND AT 'EM in Greece! Yay, we're here!

OMG look at that! The view from the plane coming into Athens is gorgeous! The sea is that fabulous green-blue color you always see in Conde Nast magazine...

Ok, we're supposed to be looking for the lady from Fantasy Travel. There she is, with a fat envelope full of our hotel vouchers, ferry tickets and taxi transfers...that was easy!

Jump in the taxi to head into Athens...WT Freak?! Dude, slow down! Man, this guy drives like a maniac! Apparently he was just keeping time with the other Greek Drivers With Death Wishes (hey, that sounds like the title of a cool band, huh?). I just look down as much as possible so I won't scream like a girl whenever I see him going over 100...Andy told me, that's 100 km, not mph, but whatever, when you can't even read the billboards for Greek ouzo, you're going fast no matter WHAT math you're using! (this would not be the last crazy drive in Greece).

Man, there is a TON of graffiti everywhere! I bet if they force everyone to stop spray painting walls and buildings from this day forward, it would still take them at least 10 years to remove all that's been done so far. Sad, really sad.

Get to our hotel, it's steps away from the Plaka, a cool neighborhood in Athens with tons of shops, tavernas and of course, right there next to the Acropolis. So THIS is where they showed their Athena love?! Nice! Our hotel (The Attolos, which I recommend very much) has a roof top bar that is unbelievable! We go up there for a Mythos (Greek beer, I know, isn't that a cool name?) and sit in awe of the view. Start talking to the two girls at the table next to us after we take their picture for the, and find out they're from Jacksonville! Nuh UH! My hometown! I swear, me and Andy have either seen someone we know or met someone from Dallas everywhere we travel, from Niagara Falls to Jamaica and back - now Greece! How cool is that? Oh, and they order an ouzo, the traditional Greek shot/drink/aperitif/jet fuel. They take a sip, screw up their face, and offer it to us. We take a sip, screw up our face and hand it back. It's basically liquid licorice infused with liquor. Yuk! Need a Mythos chaser!

Walk around the Plaka for a while then go to sleep. Gotta get up early for our Athens city tour.

Seven a.m. and we're downstairs meeting the bus for our city tour. Stop at a few places to pick up more people (including the changing-of- the-bus stop...weird)...then our first stop - the site of the 2004 Athens Olympics...wow...now THAT is amazing! It's huge! The tour guide (who is also repeating everything he says in Italian) says it held something like 60,000 people who came to watch the runners...amazing...Florida Field only held 35,000 people and I SURE never wanted to get lost at one of those football games!

Anyhoo...Off to the next stop...Temple of Olympian Zeus. Ok, WOW!!!! Now THAT is what I think of when I think of Greek mythology! At one time, this was the largest temple in Greece and it held a gold and ivory statue of Zeus in the middle - it's gone now, of course, as are most of the fabulous marble columns that once held the Greeks in as much awe as I am currently in, I'm sure...The tour guide says they had a terrible gale in the 1950's which knocked one of the columns down, and it's still there on the ground, which I think just adds to the intrigue. Out of all the places we would see for the next week, this place to me felt the most magical. It is extremely quiet and surreal here.

Now off to the Acropolis and the Parthenon. This is the temple to Athena. The most recognized architectural landmark next to McDonald's golden arches in the world. And here we are, standing in it's shadows...It's super super windy here. It seems almost like we're on top of the world...We climb the numerous marble steps to the top, fight the crowd and look at the monument. It's really big. And crowded. And Matt Barrett (the author from the link above) mentioned that the steps were indeed marble, but he should have really driven home the fact that they are slippery marble! If I had one drachma for every time I slipped, slid or stubbed my toe on the Acropolis, their construction time would be cut in half! Oh, and thank you Mr. Unknown Tourist for allowing me to grab onto you the 95th time I did slippy slippy times down the steps. Yes, Andy I can hear you asking me again if I brought any tennis shoes with me. I did not. (Did you try Home Depot? I did not!)

We're close to our hotel so we ditch the tour and start looking for a taverna for some Mythos (that's under 2 euros) and a nice souvlaki. Wait, Andy has a great idea that we really need to be sure we know where the hotel is in relation to where we are and then, only then, should we reward ourselves with Mythos. Yes, we are now officially lost. Well, we are NOT lost, Andy says, as long as you can see the Acropolis. Hello, you can see the Acropolis from the island of Crete, that doesn't mean I want to walk there! After getting up an appetite from our 30 minute Plaka "tour" (and 50 more slips and trips by the no-tennis shoe-wearing girl) we figure out where we are and sit down at a taverna.

It's time to check out of the hotel, get into the Cab of Death and head to the port for our high speed ferry ride to Mykonos. Never been on a ferry that big before. It was like one of those clown cars you see at the circus, where tons of stuff keeps going in and you're thinking, where are they all gonna fit??? I mean, cars, trucks, people, bikes, moped, motorcycles, more people, more cars, a few dogs and all that luggage just kept going on! Ding!

Three short hours later we arrive at the port of Mykonos. It's pretty!!!! Forget to look for Petros, the famous mascot of Mykonos. I'll find him later...Ok, so all I've heard about Mykonos is how much of a party island it is. It's windy here too, getting dark and chilly. Wish our original taxi driver was here. This new one surely has a death wish not only for himself but it seems us and anyone on this one-way road. What? It's not one way? It only seems that way cause it's so narrow? Oh, got it. (Note to self: be careful walking back this way later). We check into our beachfront hotel (Mykonos Beach Hotel) and head over to Niko's tavern for some Greek food. Three hours of sitting on a ferry can make one very hungry! We have Mythos (there's a trend here) and Greek style pizza. Yum! I wake up to the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen.

We rent a four-wheeler and head off. The locals can recognize the tourists on mopeds and go around you so we felt good about driving around the island on our new-found transportation. Not very green. Still very windy. My hair is getting dried out and I could use a deep conditioner. See funny things along the way like octopus drying in the air for lunch, a scruffy Greek fisherman and lots and lots of churches. Take pictures of the famous Mykonos windmills. If those things really work we could solve the world's energy crisis. My hair is all over the place. Head over to Super Paradise Beach (nude and gay...saw a little of both) to pay 14 euros for 2 chairs and an umbrella. Stick one toe in the water. I get repressed false memories of being on the Titanic.
We make our way back to the hotel and sit on the beach with a six pack (yes, of Mythos). Andy dares Poseidon to splash us. He doesn't disappoint.

After touring the island we walk into Mykonos town and people watch. We see lots of young Europeans walking around together- Mykonos is an island that is very tolerant of all persuasions, including us married folk, and we just take it all in. The wharf area is beautiful, with a million little winding alleys selling gorgeous jewelry, scarves (oh, snap, Cindy wanted a Greek scarf, gotta remember to get her one), beautiful people showing their menus filled with delicious sounding Greek dishes. We settle on a huge taverna and sit outside eating fried calamari (probably one of the poor octopus we saw hanging earlier) and drinking retsina. I'm in love and life is good.

We (carefully) walk home down the the winding one-way looking road and dream about our first beautiful Greek island. I try to sleep with the shutters open but the sound of the rowdy partyers honking their moped horns force me to close them.

Wake up to another gorgeous sunset. I remember that I still haven't seen Petros (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petros_the_Pelican) and leave Andy to pack up while I head back into town to find him. I dodge the taxis and mopeds, wind my way down an alley that looks like the last ten alleys I've just been down, and I hear a British couple laughing and taking pictures. There he is! Petros! I've been looking for you, you bad pelican! Get over here and get your picture taken so I can get outta here! Now, how do I get back to the main road! (Note to self: leave bread crumbs or Mythos bottle tops or something next time - all these cute alleys look the same!!!)

Another high speed ferry: Next stop - Santorini! Site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions the world has ever seen, as well as one of the top honeymoon destinations...I'm phyched! We pull into the port and I'm amazed. I can't decide whether to keep looking out towards the ocean at the two large volcanoes protruding up or at the side of the mountain that somehow they've carved a road into. If the taxi drivers haven't killed us yet, this is probably gonna be the time. I had already read about this drive and knew there were 7 hairpin turns involved, so I counted them in my head while saying WOW! out loud to the driver, Andy and the other couple in the taxi every time we turned into one. My ears are popping.

We pull into the heavenly Volcano View Villas and check in. (Note to self: there is MUCH polished marble pretending to be flooring here, be careful, you didn't bring any tennis shoes). The sun is just starting to go down. We run across the street to the 7-11 (ok, it's not a 7-11, but I call all convenience stores the 7-11) for snacks, wine and what? Mythos? YES!!!! Run back to our balcony just in time to see OH FOR THE LOVE OF SPEEDOS the guy on the balcony next to us has panties on! Oh, wait, he must be European...ok, it's just his speedos. He smiles at me and says, "It's beautiful, no?" and points to the sun gliding down behind the caldera. Yes, it's beautiful. It could make you cry it's so beautiful. We start talking and find out he and his partner vacation in Greece every year for the past 20 years. They own a Greek taverna in the Netherlands and are planning on retiring to the Greek island of Paros in four years. I hope Andy and I can come to Greece 19 more times.

Next day we pack our backpack full of water and granola bars and attempt to walk to Pyrgos. Not happening. Not only is the wind in full gale force, but it's hot and we eventually run out of sidewalk. Oh, did I mention the drivers? Head back to the hotel, rent a four wheeler and try again. Pyrgos is a beautiful village with a panoramic view of the whole island. It has tons of churches (no surprise there) and all the little houses are built around a Venetian castle. If I felt magic in Athens at the Temple of Zeus, this place was my magical island spot.

Move on to Black Beach in Perissa. Sandy white Florida beach this ain't. Even with sandals, the rocky texture hurts my feet. What is this, volcanic rock? Well we are on a volcano, so maybe it is. Let's check out Red Beach, honey, it's just down the road! Ok, this is not excatly what I had in mind either. Red Beach, located in Akrotiri, should be called Devil's Falls. Cause you need either a donkey or a sherpa guide to get you there, neither of which we had readily available! After walking a bit through the very crowded parking lot, we get to the point where you leave any recognizable road and climb the side of a very high mountain, winding down a rocky windy path (over some boulders, no doubt) to the beach. NO THANK YOU! I've been to the beach many times in my life and I don't have a death wish. Will not be going there. What? No, Andy I did NOT bring any tennis shoes!

Head back to the hotel and fall in heap by the pool. This is the life. Just laying here enjoying the view of the ocean and hoping Andy wasn't too mad that I didn't want to play mountain climbing games...Hey, there's our Dutch neighbors! They sit with us by the pool and tell us they have a car and would we like to join them in Oia (http://www.travel-to-santorini.com/place.php?place_id=24) for the sunset and dinner later? Uh, YEAH! We head out along a gorgeous winding road through Thera and start looking for a parking spot. Hey, there's a donkey! We start walking through the beautiful cobblestone roads and head to the edge of the island. This is where the world's most beautiful sunsets come to rest at the end of the day. It's hot as Hades and we down some cold Mythos as we listen to our new friends tell funny tales of what they think Texas is all about - they've only watched "Dallas" on TV and think everyone looks like J.R. Ewing and lives miles away from their nearest neighbor...hilariousness!

The massive crowd starts getting quiet and turn towards the sunset. It's red, pink, light blue...it's fantastic. I think of all the people who have never seen this. It's truly awesome. As it slides down into the horizon, the lady next to us whispers that she was here yesterday and it was even more colorful. Hard to imagine. It takes a final bow into the the ocean, and the crown applauds. We start to look for a dinner spot.

We end up back by our hotel at a fantastic taverna our friends had been eating at the past few nights...Andy and I just laugh as they ordered Tzatzikí (my favorite, a yogurt, garlic and cucumber dip), Loukánika Mezés (a kind of Greek style pork sausage), Greek salads, spinach pies, tyrokafteri (a spicy warm feta cheese dip), and oh no, here comes the ouzo! I was stuffed before I realized how good my entree was going to be! Mousaká, how I love thee! It's like a beefy, saucy yummy bowl of happiness! OMG I'm full! (note to self: one bite of each appetizer makes it easier to eat more bites of mousaka!)

Roll back to the hotel, exchange phone numbers, addresses and emails...I hope they remember us in four years when they move to Paros, we would love to visit (shout out!)

Wake up to another glorious sunrise in paradise...lazy last day just packing and relaxing and getting ready to go back down the winding road to the port. Not looking forward to the extra long ferry ride, but at least they have the Olympics opening ceremony on the big screen, so it's not too bad. Get back to Athens around midnight, one last quick walk around the Plaka and off to bed. My last night in Greece.

Up early to go back to the Plaka for the gifts for friends and family I hadn't yet bought, and one last look up at the Acropolis. Thank you Greece, it's been a most memorable trip.