Greece: Kalamata (day 1-11) Santorini (Day 1-3) Athens (Day 1)

WRITER'S EDIT: I've added pictures to this entry, sorry for the wait!

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Okay, I'm bad, I havent updated in eternity, but with good reason, I've been living it up in Greece and just havent had a chance. I didnt want to update without pictures, but it looks like i have no choice yet again.

So, anyways, I took the boat from Ancona in italy and landed in Patras, and then took what was meant to be a 2.5 hour bus ride that lasted 4.5 hours in reality into athens, sat next to a crazy man who talked to himself very very loudly on a bus that was otherwise quiet. Ick.

Met up with John's friend Grigolirios, who drove us to Kalamata and put us up in a lovely bedsit. Spent the next 11 days in Kalamata on the beach and seeing the sights, including the church where the independence battle of greece kicked off..
Itchy feet sent us on a trek to Olympia, which really was just a pile of rocks, very anticlimatic.
I've eaten loads and loads of greek salad, which has more tomato than I'm used to, and no vinegar, but still so tasty. Along with the dolmades, and souvlaki, and all the other greek goodies. They're big into their iced coffees.. so i'm permanantly wired, which doesnt combine well with the 35degree heat!!!

Anyways, the greeks that John knows seem to be an anomole, they're unbelievably kind
and helpful, we couldnt get them to let us pay for even one single meal! They really wanted to show us all the wonderful things of greece, so they took good care of us. The other greeks I've met on the other hand, the strangers, seem to be incredibly unhelpful, and pretty much resentful of tourists.. most are very rude.. i wasnt particularly impressed considering that they're the first country i've come across who have been so rude! Even the french were kinder.

Here's the pics from Kalamata:

John and Me with Greg to the left


Aristea, Greg and John eating Empanada's that I made for them to say thanks for the hospitality..

squid, which i just plain would not try.. ewww.. look at it!

Olympia day trip:

Lets explore the ruins!!!

More ruins in Olympia..

there is a method to my madness, this isnt just another typical me shot being an idiot.. this is the racetrack in olympia, and i'm crossing the finishline.. of the first olympic track ever, just like all those flashy athletes, i now am also an OLYMPIAN!! MAHAHA

ok, now i have no excuses, this really is just me being an idiot... but if you had half the chance, you'd do it too.


Santorini:
Headed to the island of Santorini in the Cyclades which was the cliched grecian dream i was hoping for, all the buildings were white, and there was even a beach below the volcano that was made of red sand because of the volcanic rocks! Spent a few days there, riding on mopeds and escaping evil spiders in hotel rooms, and then had a bit of drama getting home. Lost the tickets somehow (still not sure how!) and the eversoniceman wouldnt issue new ones, because they have crap customer service, so I had to buy new tickets for a slower boat that took a painful 9hours to get back to the mainland. By which time it was 1am and the public transport was dead, so we had to spend MORE money on a taxi to get to the hotel, HURRAH.


this is on the way to the red beach.. gorgeous!

At the red beach, so called because its at the base of the volcano, so all the rocks are volcanic, and red. I took a few for my collection.

the beautiful white buildings of santorini's capital..

More of me being an idiot.. but haha, im there and you're not so you cant stop me.. you're more than welcome to wish you could.


Donkey's "parked" for transport.. soooo cute!


the famous santorini sunset..

No, i didnt do any editing, none of the photos on this blog are edited.. i wish my camera managed to capture more of how absolutely RED the sun was.. sooooo beautiful.

santorini's capital by night thanks to the wonders of long exposure.


Hey mom and dad, LOOK WHAT I DID TO MY BODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (kidding! its henna, and it barely lasted a week though the woman said it would last three months! hmph!, I hope you guys were at least a little nervous!)


And if the previous didnt worry you, look Mom and Dad!!! Okay, it was just a scooter, and i'm obviously in one piece so please no "organ donor" jokes..


Athens:
Today I went to see the acropolis, again anti climatic- the grecians dont take good care of their ruins.. The italians have everything so nicely preserved and beautiful, I get that theirs are a lot younger than the greek civilization that came before christ, but what's the point of displaying a bunch of rocks that are just thrown together in a pile without so much as an explanation, picture or idea of what the hell they used to be?
And then they have random parts that are reconstructed from back in the 60s and stand out like a sore thumb.. I'm not impressed.


dionysus's theatre in the acropolis


The anticlimatic Parthenon..


that's me taking pictures of the ruins.. hurrah!

Anyways, That's greece in a total unbelievable nutshell, the food is good, most of the people suck, the weather is hot, and the ruins arent what I was hoping for.. letdown affect.. ugh.

After athens I'm hoping to hit meteora and delphi, then taking the boat back across to Venice because flights are costing more than 300 euro just to get over to the other side of europe!
I plan to take the train to Nice, and head down the french coast, spanish coast, and eventually morrocco.

Hope that keeps you all entertained, sorry for lack of pictures :(