Santorini, Greece

Our next stop was to the most popular island, Santorini.  Our journey there was a little choppy, let’s just say I was very thankful for my IPod!  Stacy did not fare as well and even though she popped two Dramamine she was a little worse for the ware upon our arrival.  I, on the other hand, was energized from my nap and ready to go.  We stayed in the city of Perissa, which was at the opposite end of the Island about 20 minutes from Fira, along the famous Black Beach.  Our room was small, but lovely, with a balcony that looked out onto the sea.  I spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on reading and e-mailing, while Stacy lay in bed waiting for the Dramamine to wear off.  That evening we headed to the grocery store that was just across the street to stock up on breakfast and dinner items.  We ended up having most our meals on our balcony, which was a nice break from constantly eating out.

 
















On our first full day we were up early and made our way to Oia.  Oia sits at the Northern most edge of the crescent shaped Santorini.  This is probably the next most famous city, after Athens, when people think of Greece.  With numerous churches and breath-taking views any which way you look, we were able to spend the whole day in Oia and never got bored.  Most of the buildings are white, which gives a beautiful contrast to the deep blue sea and scattered blue domes of most of the churches.  There are actually close to 300 hundred churches on Santorini; this is because, way back when, it was common for each family to have its own church.  Most of the churches remain closed and are only opened for special occasions.  As we winded our way over the cobble stone streets of Oia, both Stacy and I couldn’t stop taking pictures.  Each turn brought about a new and more beautiful view than the last.  To avoid the cruise ship sheep we stopped off at one of the cliff side tavernas for lunch/dinner.  We wanted to stay until sunset, so we had plenty of time.  We then made our way back through the village stopping in many of the shops along the way.  We ended up with a few purchases, but probably the most memorable was Stacy’s donkey Malaka (asshole)!  She had been eying the donkeys most of the day, after a few glasses of wine, she realized he was a necessity!   As we sat waiting for the sun to go down near the famous windmills, we both decided that we will have to come back to Greece just for another visit to Oia.

The next morning we woke up to the fact that it was almost twelve and we had slept a good bit of the day away.  Obviously it was needed so we meandered around, eating breakfast and then made our way to Perissa Beach, which is one of the Black Sand Beaches.  Formed from when the volcano struck the island it is one of a kind.  It is extremely painful to walk on so there were wooden pathways leading from the beach to the water.  We shelled out 2.5 euro apiece for our thick cushioned lounges and set up camp under a straw umbrella.   When I decided to venture out for a dip it was shocking how deep the water levels got so soon after entering the water.  I could not have been more than 10 to 12 feet out and already couldn’t touch.  This was a little disconcerting as the last time I was in the ocean I was stung by a jellyfish.  After taking in the sun for a few hours we headed back to our room for dinner and Retsina.  Retsina, a Greek wine, is very cheap and not too bad, especially while watching the sunset overlooking the ocean.  We decided on a pool day for our next afternoon and made sure to set an alarm this time.  We had a lovely day just soaking up the sun and lounging by the pool.  We were the only ones there so it was nice to have the area to ourselves.  We also had a repeat of the evening before on our balcony.

For our last full day we chose to go on a tour.  A few of the highlights were the Profit Illia Monastery, Mt. Profitis Illias, Santo Wines, and the excavation site of Ancient Village of Akrotiri.  One of our favorite stops was the Akrotiri excavations.  Unfortunately the excavations are at a standstill at the moment due to lack of funding from the government.  It is too bad that excavations cannot continue because Akrotiri is one of the most well preserved ancient cities.  Due to its collapse when the city was covered with volcanic ash and pumice sediments, the structure of the city was preserved.  The excavation team was even able to recover  a life size painting in pristine condition.  Another of our favorite stops was the winery where we toured the winery and sampled some local wines.  Santorini is actually home to many wineries and produces most of the island’s wine.  My favorite stop was Mt. Profitis Illias, due to the beautiful panoramic view of the entire island.  Santorini was our favorite stop by far and our next jaunt is to the island of Paros.

  ~ Randi

Crete, Greece

After an overnight ferry from Athens, we reached Chania, Crete. We stayed in a lovely, traditional Greek pension near the harbor. It was a struggle to get our large, heavy suitcases up the narrow stairs and through the dainty hallway, but we managed to do it without breaking anything! We went shopping, walked along the romantic old harbor, and dined at numerous tavernas. We love Greek salads, and the desserts and small bottles of ouzo that arrive after you ask for the check. We spent our 2nd day in Chania at the beach. Randi discovered that sunbathing in glasses = raccoon eyes. I discovered that spf 50 doesn’t get you any color.

On our final day in Chania, we hiked 11 miles through the Samaria Gorge. It was my 2^nd time and this time I came more prepared with spf, tennis shoes, shorts, and a baseball cap. Last time on spring break with friends, I was in linen pants and moccasins. The views were spectacular! It’s an intense hike with rocky, rugged trails. Once we left the gorge, after throwing out our tennis shoes, we went straight to the black, rock beach and jumped into the clearest blue water. We were exhausted and proud to have finished the hike in 5 hours.

We spent our last 2 days in Crete in Iraklio, Greece’s 3^rd largest city. At a taverna near the Lion’s Fountain, we enjoyed Greek salads, rose wine, melons, and ouzo while watching gypsy children play in the fountain. Afterwards, we engaged in some post-wine consumption shopping, a favorite pastime of ours. On our final day in Crete, we spent the afternoon at a very windy beach and our bodies collected more sand than sunlight.

Have I mentioned how much we’re loving Greece?! We can lie in the sun, show some skin, drink some vino and ouzo, look at men in the eyes, shake a man's hand, smile at strangers in the street, wear short dresses, etc,etc…! Thank you Greece, one of my favorite countries in the world, for a much needed holiday!

~ Stacy

Thessaloniki, Greece

Our first stop in Greece: Thessaloniki! It’s been 6 years since I lived and studied for a semester in Thess, and I was happy to find my favorite Greek city relatively unchanged. Thessaloniki looked the same, but the people looked different. There were more tourists (even a hop on/off bus!) and more African street vendors. The Greek women were no longer dressed to the nines in black and instead wore neon colors and jean shorts! The men have ditched their tight jeans, punk boots and spiked hair. Now, they’re all dressed out of an H&M catalog, just like Randi and I.

I enjoyed playing tour guide to Randi and revisiting my old haunts. We visited the city market, Aristotle Square, the Agia Sophia Church, the Rotunda, and the White Tower. We, also, visited my favorite food stands and enjoyed some Greek pizza, spinach & feta pastries, and crepas. Sitting along the sea each afternoon, we enjoyed countless iced coffees and Mythos beers.










On our 2^nd night in Thess, after dining on tzadiki and mussels, we went to a bouzoukia.  A bouzoukia is a Greek nightclub with a stage, where Greek singers, dancers, and musicians perform all night. It’s always been one of my favorite ways to occupy an evening and Randi enjoyed it, as well. We didn’t make it on stage, but we did enjoy dancing around our table! We stayed until dawn. I was happy to see that some things haven't changed in Thessaloniki. Everyone still sits around talking while smoking and drinking coffee all afternoon, and they still go out until sun up each morning. They still dance on chairs and tables. It's a city that still values fun and leisure and the company of friends.

~ Stacy

Canakkale, Troy, Galipoli, ANZAC Cove, Turkey

Randi, Rose, and I visited the lovely seaside city of Canakkale. After one day spent drinking beers along the seaside, we did a Galipoli day tour.  A joint British and French tried to capture the Ottoman capital of Constantinople and secure a sea route to Russia. The attempt failed, with heavy casualties on both sides.  The Galipoli Campaign was the first major battle undertaken by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), and is often considered to mark the birth of national consciousness in both of these countries. Anzac Day, April 25, remains the most significant commemoration of military casualties and veterans in Australia and New Zealand. We were quite pleased to have our own kiwi, Rose, with us :)

We, also, did a day tour of Troy. Troy is best known for being the setting of the Trojan War described in the Iliad, one of the epic poems attributed to Homer. The ruins were not well preserved, but it was easy to imagine the ships landing ashore...or, perhaps, we may have  been imagining a scene from the movie with Brad Pitt in his prime ;) Randi and I, along with the local school children, enjoyed climbing into the replica of the Trojan horse.  It was a lovely weekend away. Just what we all needed to maintain our sanity and gear up for our last month of teaching Turkish children!                       ~ Stacy

Izmir, Ephesus, and Pamukkale, Turkey

For our first long weekend / time off in Turkey Stacy and I traveled with our friend Amy to the eastern coast.  We began our journey by taking what was supposed to be a 12 hour train ride, that turned into 15 hours of us moving at the pace of a snail.  We finally arrived in Izmir and hopped right onto a bus that would take us the rest of the way to Selcuk.  Upon arrival we dumped our stuff in our room, at a quaint cozy guesthouse, and set off to explore.  Our first stop was the Basilica of St John.  Located on the top of a hill that gave a great view of the city; we explored the numerous ruins.  It is said the Basilica was built on top of the apostle’s tomb, we documented with many photos.  We then made our way to the city center were the local Saturday market was in full swing.  We meandered around until 7pm and then headed back to our guesthouse for the complementary evening glass of wine on the roof.  We enjoyed our free drink while watching a spectacular sunset and listening to the call to prayer.

The next morning we were up bright and early for our tour to Pamukkale.  It's about a three hour drive from the city of Selcuk so we had plenty of time to catch up on our sleep.  Upon arrival we learned that most of the town was visiting Pamukkale because the government had granted free admission to all residents on behalf of Children’s Day.  Though this was a lovely gesture it did make our visit a little less enjoyable.  We had all brought our swim suits in hopes of relaxing in the mud baths, but did not feel comfortable shedding our clothes when surrounded by so many Muslims.  There were a few foreigners who braved this, but the looks they received were enough for us to not want to participate.  It was still really awesome to walk around on the giant calcified rock.  Apparently it is one of two, the other is located in China, but this is the only one visitors are allowed to touch.  Though the crowds did not diminish much we were able to catch the air show put on by the Turkish Air Force, which was pretty cool.

On our last full day we headed to Ephesus.  An amazing depiction of the Roman era, Ephesus was one of our must sees while living here in Turkey.  All the ruins were beautiful, but our favorite by far was the Library of Celsus.  It was the most well restored structure and was once one of the largest libraries in the world.  Therefore, we made numerous return trips to make sure we got photos at every angle.  From Ephesus we made our way to Mary’s House.  It is said that this is where The Virgin Mary came after the Crucifixion of Christ.  Though it cannot be fully proven, there were many testimonies leading to the fact.  

 

As we had to travel back to Izmir before catching our night train we had a little time to explore the city of Izmir.  Izmir is the third largest city in Turkey and according to some the most progressive.  It lies on the eastern coast and is the hub for many ferries that travel to Greece, as well as, a port for cruise ships.  Though we only got to spend a short time here it was a beautiful city and a nice break from Ankara.

~ Randi