Day 24 - Milan/Bern/Geneve/Lyon/Arles/Montpellier

2 posts at the same time again... sorry. 

Yes, we went to all of those places today.  

You know, it was all going very smoothly, and we thought we couldn't be touched.  Every train we wanted had open seats, and they all were running on time.  I guess all it takes is one Italian rail strike to make us feel like a couple of amateur travelers.  So I will take it from the top and give you the quick rundown of why we went to 6 cities in 3 different countries today.

It started off pretty nicely actually.  We got to the train station in time to board the train for Bern.  Once in route, we confirmed with the train attendant that we could, in fact, take a night train from Bern to Barcelona.  So, we thought we would spend a day in Bern and see an extra city that wasn't on our original itinerary.  

Once we got to Bern, though, it was a much different story.  The ticket guy told us that the night trains only run on Mon, Wed, Fri (it's Tuesday) and that even if we wanted to take a night train it was going to be $150 USD even with our eurail passes.  So, we decided to take option 2 - free trains with tons of stops. Basically we would have to make a bunch of stops and switch trains 3 times.  This would only get us as far as Montpellier for the day, though.  We would need to grab the 7:20am train from Montpellier to Barcelona the next morning...

We decided this was our only option, so we got on the first train to Geneve around 2:00pm.  After making stops in Geneve, Lyon, and Arles we ended up in Montpellier at 9:10pm.  We found a quick, reasonably priced hotel (with free WIFI), headed out for a bite (which ended up being a nutella crepe for Josh and fries and a coke for me), and came back to the hotel.   We watched CNN for a while and read some information on the internet about the running of the bulls and then crashed around 1:00am after a long day of traveling.  Hopefully soon, we will actually be back on schedule. 

Day 23 - Athens/Milan

We arrived at the Athens airport around midnight, so that's where I will pick up...

After a 6 hour boat ride, a 30 minute walk to the metro/buses, and the hour bus ride over to the airport, we were getting pretty tired... I guess I should start by telling you that we decided to just stay in the airport since we only had 9 hours from the time we arrived until check-in...  Ok, so the athens airport is pretty much your typical airport, except it's extremely clean.  I am not sure if they remodeled it for the 2004 olympics and have just done a great job of keeping it up or what, but it's really clean and really nice.  The only problem with airports, however, is that they don't have beds.  So, for the first 30 minutes or so we hunted for a spot to sleep.  Finally we found a pace upstairs near the airport chapel away from all the noise, and decided that the cool tile floors would suffice for one night.

We all did different things...  

Josh went to sleep and watched the bags.  Blake used the free internet to get some stuff done.  I couldn't sleep, so I made a hodgepodge of phone calls to my parents, my sister Emily (sorry Barrett, I didn't have your number on me), David, and Matt (my best friend from college).  Around 3 o'clock when I finally got tired, I headed up to the sleeping spot we had picked out.  I fell asleep in about 2 seconds, and the next thing I knew (about an hour later), airport staff was waking all of us up.  In addition to us, there were at least 20 other people or so that were also told to "get up".  So, it's 4 in the morning and we are still super tired, with 5 hours before check-in.  Long story short, we ended up in 2 different restaurants and finally out in to the main airport terminal area... we slept awkwardly in all these places.  I would say that I got about 1 hour of actual sleep.  Josh and Blake fared a little better.

Finally... 9:10 am rolled around and we are able to check in.  The whole process was pretty seamless until we got to Milan...

We arrived at the Milan Malpensa airport which is northwest of city center.  Since Blake doesn't have Eurail, so he had to book a flight to our next destination, Barcelona.  He booked on another airline, though, so he had to get over to another airport.  Either way, all of us had to get to central station, so we made our way over to the train terminal at the airport.  This is where we found out that the Italian rail system was on strike for the day... Are you kidding me???  Alright, so all we have to do is get back to central station.  We grabbed a direct bus (5 Euro each) and headed that way, only to find out that all the trains out of the city were also on strike.  

We couldn't find wireless internet, so we headed in to an overprices internet cafe.  Here, we found out that to fly it would be super expensive.  So, we just check email and headed back over across the street to the train station.  Blake took off on a bus for his flight and Josh and I just stood in seperate ticket lines, hoping to get a good answer as to what we should do...  After standing in 4 different lines and talking to a bunch of idiots, we were no further along than when we started.  We kept getting pushed over to information, and those guys were the worst of all.  I seriously wanted to reach through the glass and choke one of the dudes.  Anyway, information told us to head outside because there was a bus headed for Barcelona as a replacement.  Perfect right?  Well, not if the guy tells you to go to one spot and the bus goes to another!  So, we missed the bus (freaking information guy!) and the train was canceled...

...after another hour or so of asking around and reading our eurail timetable, we found out that we could connect in Bern, Switzerland the next day and then take a night train from Bern to Barcelona.  So, with no other options, we found a somewhat affordable hotel near the train station, hit the internet cafe again to email Blake the updates, grabbed gelato for dinner, and crashed.

Day 22 - Paros/Athens

Once again, 2 posts at once.  Day 21 & 22 have been posted at the same time, so scroll on down...

Around 9am we woke up and took off to board a boat to Paros.  Paros isn't quite as large as Naxos, but it's also one of the larger islands.  It is actually made up of two different islands, Paros and Antiparos.  Antiparos is just a few minutes away by boat, and is where a lot of celebrities big wigs have homes and also is home to some really exclusive hotels and beaches that must be booked months in advance. 

Since we had hotels on the other two islands, Paros was a little bit different experience.  We actually didn't even go to Antiparos.  I guess I just wanted to share that information because I thought it was a cool side note.  We got to the port and had a decision to make.  We knew we were only going to be on the island for 6 hours or so.  We were either going to just stay in town and chill, find a beach and maybe swim, or try again to rent 4-wheelers from someone who doesn't care about minor details like having a drivers license. 

We decided to take a small boat over to a beach called Krios.  It's a little beach but not crowded at all.  We then had to decide whether we were going to succumb to the temptation of getting in the water.  It was so hot outside and the water is so cold and refreshing, so it was hard not to get in, but we didn't.  The only reason this was even a decision is because we knew that we were going to be spending the next 6 hours on a boat back to Athens, and then spending the night in Athens Airport (I will explain this in my next post).  So, we just found a cool little restaurant on the water, had a few beers (Heineken and Mythos, which is a greek beer) and huge slice of watermelon and just camped out for 3 hours or so.  It turned out to be a great decision.

After the beach, we grabbed a quick ferry back to the main port in Paros, and found an awesome bakery, where we grabbed what would be dinner on the boat later.  I got a piece of chocolate cake and a ham & cheese pie (can you tell I love ham & cheese yet?), Josh got the best baklava any of us have ever tasted & some cheese bread, and Blake got a veggie sandwich that is bigger than my head (which is saying something, because I have a massive head).  With an hour or so to kill we decided to grab a waffle complete with chocolate sauce, fresh banana, vanilla ice cream, and fresh whipped cream.  It was incredible.  After the sugar rush, we boarded the boat and headed back to Athens...

...Once we arrived, it was just late enough to miss the metro - awesome.  So, we grabbed the 24hr bus and took the 1 hour+ ride to the Athens Airport, on a hot, muggy bus (I think this was a foreshadowing of the next 24 hours or so)  Once here, it was time to find a place to sleep.  I will cut it short here because the next day is absolutely exhausting, and I will need to discuss sleeping in the airport, the flight back to Milan, and the Italian rail strike that almost made me lose my mind...

Day 21 - Naxos

Naxos is the second island on our little Greek island hopping adventure.  I am writing on the boat to Nexos actually, listening to Shane Barnard - "Prodigal Me".  It's by far my favorite song of his.  I feel like I really identify with it.  Check it out if you have never heard it.

This part of the trip has proven so far to be a vacation inside a vacation.  Sometimes, while backpacking, it gets really tiring.  The hostels have been pretty clean so far, but just the constant moving around and having to wear shower shoes and all the other little things that go along with hosteling can wear on you.  So, this leg of the journey has been perfect, as we have been able to just chill out and lay on the beach or by the pool and have some relaxing time.  Today should be more of the same, as our hotel is on the beach this time!  I will write more later tonight...

...Ok, so now I am sitting on the plane leaving Greece, and headed back to Milan.  I didn't have time to write in Naxos.  I will be writing the next two entries at the same time, so they will be in past tense.  I am not really sure why that is relevant, or why you need to know that.  It helps me when writing I guess.

Back to Naxos...  It was amazing.  The largest of the three islands we visited, and the most family friendly for sure.  It was different than Santorini, as are most of the other islands, because all the buildings and structures sit lower on the hill.  In Santorini, the buildings all sit up top.  So, when we pulled in to the port, it was a different look since the city was right there.  We were greeted by a mob of people trying to get us to stay in their apartments, homes, condos, etc. - super annoying.  More of a rant on that in my next entry.

Our goal for the day was to rent some mopeds or 4-wheelers and take them around the island.  When we got the the place we found out that they needed drivers licenses for each vehicle.  Since Blake was the only one who actually brought his license, that plan was shot.  I guess I didn't think I would need the Texas drivers license in Europe, but I guess I was wrong.  So, we just grabbed some lunch at a little place nearby, and then took the bus to our hotel.  I had a ham, cheese, and tomato croissant with a latte.  Josh did a cheese omelet.  Blake had a crepe with chicken and veggies. 

This hotel might have trumped the last one, which means it was greatness.  It sat right on the beach.  All we had to do was cross a little street and we were 10 meters from the water.  Since we had no mode of transportation, we decided to just grab a few beach chairs and chill for the rest of the day... Sometimes it's hard for me to just sit and relax, because I always have a million things on my mind, and today was one of those days, so I went and bought some snorkel gear.  Only problem - it was youth size.  I had to put it on the largest setting to get it to fit, but once I did, I spent the next hour or so in the crystal blue water.  I really can't explain how clear and beautiful the water is.  And to top it off, we were on a white sandy beach.  Really amazing stuff!  While I did that, Josh and Blake just chilled out in some chairs that we somehow didn't end up paying for.

After a good 5 hours or so just chilling on the beach, we headed back to town for dinner.  This night was a bit of a gamble.  We saw in the lonely planet guide that the hot spot in town was a mexican place - Tex-Mex to be exact.  In some places in the US, Mexican food is risky.  So, Mexican food in Greece... probably the worst idea ever...  Turned out to be a great gamble though!  The place was really great.  I mean, it's no Pappasito's or La Fogata (my San Antonio people know what I am talking about) but it was really good.  Very fresh and very light, which you normally don't expect in a Tex-Mex place.  Actually, that's really why we eat Mexican food isn't it?  Because it's the greasiest, most horribly delicious option.  Anyway, I had chicken fajitas, Blake had a burrito, and Josh opted for the veggie version of fajitas which basically used refried beans instead of meat. 

After dinner we headed to the center of town to use someone's internet connection and grab some gelato.  The place is called Waffle House.  It doesn't have bright yellow and black with old ladies shouting "smothered and covered", but it did have an amazing home made waffle cone with really great ice cream!  I had strawberry cheesecake, and it was very solid.  By the way, sorry if you don't like all the food talk.  It's one of my passions so you have to deal with it.  

That's it for this day.  Paros is the next island...

Day 20 - Santorini

Two blogs posted at the same time again.  Start with Day 19...

The overnight boat ride is where I believe I left off on my last post.....  We pulled out on time and headed out for the 11 hour trip...  I will back up just for a second.  We had an option when dealing with Marios to get a sleeper, or just a seat on the boat.  The difference was about 22 Euro, which is about $35.  So, being the cheap backpackers we are (who go shopping in Milan), we decided to just get the seat.  I am not sure if I would have done it any differently, but it was not the most pleasant experience.  Imagine an airplane seat (with maybe just a little more leg room), all lights on, the TV blaring the whole night, and the only laying down option being a dirty floor.  That's what we were up against.  I tried the seat but just could not get comfortable.  So, I grabbed my sleep sack and hit the cement floor.  Blake did the same.  Josh decided to stick with the seat, and as he explained later, he was "in about 100 different positions in a span of 7 hours or so".

11 hours later... very little sleep and super hungry we pulled in to Santorini.  By the way, it's the 4th of July for those of you not keeping track - God Bless America!

Breakfast was a quick stop at a little place in the port.  Blake and I did the "special omelet" which was cheese, ham and bacon (not sure what's so special there and I probably don't want to know).  Josh did a banana crepe with Nutella.  It was all surprisingly excellent.

Ok, to the good stuff... All I can really say is that Santorini is unreal.  It's picture perfect.  Super white buildings accented with bright, vibrant colors.  Then behind the buildings is a backdrop of bright blue water.  I really can't describe how beautiful it is, so you will just have to take a trip here if you have not been.  I will let you all stay in my vacation home here, which I will be buying just as soon as I can sell enough coffee to do so.  

Our activities for the day consisted of walking through the narrow streets of the city, and then heading off on a 15 minute bus ride to one of the black sand beaches (we chose ???). We soaked up some cosmic rays, and just chilled out for a few hours on the beach.  We headed back to the hotel, chilled by the pool, changed clothes and headed off the the northernmost part of the island, ???.  Here is where the sunset is at it's prime.  Around 8:30 we watched the most incredible sunset I have ever seen (over a beer of course) from a random perch above one of the many unique, small hotels.  No fireworks though... I guess they don't care too much about our independence.  Pictures of this will be posted in the gallery, so please check them out.  There will be a good collection of green doors in this gallery also.  I am not sure if I have talked about this yet, but we are taking pictures of every green door we see this whole trip.  Green Door Coffee opens soon!!!

Sorry to ramble on this post, but it was such a great day...  I will wrap it up.  We finished the day with a good, hearty dinner.  Hamburger stuffed with Cheese and a side of fries for me.  Blake and Josh both had pasta.  Heiniken was the beer of choice for this meal.  After spending 30 mintues trying to find a cab, we finally got back to the hotel, opened up all the doors and windows, and crashed hard.  

Day 19 - Athens

4:15 comes fast in the morning.  Especially when you don't get to sleep until 12:00 or so.  I honestly hate waking up that early.  For some reason it just throws me off completely for the next half day or so.  I guess my body is so used to getting a somewhat normal amount of sleep.  It probably sounds like I am whining, and I may be just a little, but it's so freaking early.  

By 4:45 we were off to the airport.  What a process this easyJet airline is!  First we had to check in.  Then we had to go drop our bags.  Then we had to go to another window and pay for the bags we dropped off (15 Euro each).  Then we went back over to the original counter to pick up our boarding passes.  Such a run-around.  I am not sure why they do it that way, but whatever.  

9:50am or so... We arrive in to Athens and find Blake waiting on us right outside customs.  Real quick, for those of you that don't know Blake - He is our extremely fun, random, super cool, ADD (way more than me) friend.  We were in the same class at Baylor, and he is one of mine and Josh's best friends.  I lived with him for our last semester - yes, I was a 5th year, no big deal.  So, with our new travel friend in tow, we headed out to find the only thing we really cared to see in the city - The Parthenon.  

Friends and family of all 3 of us told us that really we should focus more on the islands and just see the Parthenon and be done with Athens.  So, that's exactly what we did today.  Before we headed up, though, we had to plan the rest of Greece.  To make a long story short, we found a random local travel agent named Marios.  Not a mis-spelling.  It's Mario with an S.  Anyway, Marios (who was quite the Greek character I might add) hooked us up with a 3 island tour over the next 4 days.  With hotels, boat rides, trams, etc we are doing the whole thing for around 150 Euro a piece.  This is pretty good considering we have hotels on the beach and all the transportation taken care of.  We will see how the hotels turn out, but right now I am actually writing from the boat on the way to Santorini and so far so good.

Our schedule over the next few days will take us through Santorini, Nexos, and Paros.  Should be a good time.  I am most excited about Santorini.  From what I hear, it's absolutley amazing.  

Sorry... I almost forgot.  We saw the Parthenon, and it was awesome.  Totally surreal to actually be in such a famous place high above the city. That's about it for now.  We are going to be sleeping overnight, and then arriving in to Santorini in the morning around 8am.  It's an 11 hour trip.  Dinner tonight is PB and bread.  We might get crazy and mix in some Nutella, who knows!  

Day 17 - Budapest

Note:  I have posted 2 blog entries at the same time again.  Read Day 16 first...

Right now, I am sitting... or I guess I should say laying on a train.  We are taking a night train from Vienna to Milan, so we can get to Athens.  Why?  Well, the only night train to Milan that is close to Budapest is from Vienna.  And, the cheapest airfare we could find is on EasyJet.  This flies out of Milan to Athens.  So, this explains our crazy roundabout way of getting to Greece.  Don't worry though... this isn't the most out of the way we are going.  Soon, we will travel from Greece to Spain and then back to Italy.  I will explain more when that time comes, but it's basically so we can run with the bulls in Pamplona.  Sorry, back to the task at hand...

We spent the morning in Buda.  Yesterday we were in Pest.  Honestly, we only spent a few hours in Budapest today, because we had to grab a train to Vienna.  Today is pretty much just a travel day.  Ok, honestly this morning was just hot and boring.  It might sound like Budapest kinda sucks, but it's pretty cool.  We just don't have enough time to figure it all out.  Also, we really wanted to go to one of the baths (kinda like hot springs) but there was no time for that either.

I will just skip to the train ride.  After another grocery store lunch (yogurt, banana, potato chips, twix - the usual suspects) we got to the Budapest train station just in time to miss our train to Vienna.  I shouted an obscenity and then we waited 2 more hours.  We made it to Vienna just in time for a ginormous slice of pizza and then boarded the 13 hour train to Milan.  We are in a sleeper car, but not like the more private one before.  This one is made for 4 people.  So far it is the two of us, and one other girl from Serbia.  Her name is Bilja.  I just asked her how to spell it, and she spelled it in German, so the spelling is an educated guess.  By the way, I feel pretty stupid because we asked her how many languages she spoke and it added up to over 10.  

Anyway, we have spent the last 2 hours or so talking about politics (George Bush & Hillary v. Obama), architecture & urban design (she is getting her PhD in architecture), and business (she wants to be a famous artist and sell her stuff all over the world).  Needless to say, it's been fun getting to know someone different.  We literally spent an hour with a map of Europe and just talked about which countries hate each other and why.  We also discussed religion, entrepreneurship, and where babies come from.

Alright, bed time.  I am going to finish up a movie and get some sleep.  I am watching "This is England".  It's an independent film I downloaded on iTunes yesterday.  Hopefully it lives up to the recommendations.  Peace!