Mykonos is 'croikie amazin'

This is going to be a longggg blog post…. About 3 days worth!

We had a ferry ride around 7am on the 15th so we left the ship around 615am… It was so early!! When we got onto the ferry, there were assigned seats. It basically looked like a huge cruise ship from the outside, and a huge airplane from the inside. There were assigned seats but Shea and I quickly found a table by the café (yes, it was so big it had several cafes and a shop) and we sat there with Jerome. The entire ferry ride (3 hours) we played cards and mainly Indian poker, where you stick a card on your forehead and bet who you think has the higher card. People walking by would stare for a few seconds each time they walked by, haha. I won a few coffee drinks/gum and Shea won some food too. Poor Jerome kept losing his bets and kept buying us snacks! It was pretty amusing and we finally made it to Mykonos!

When we got off, it was chaos. I had to find the sign of the hotel I was staying in and Shea was put in a different one. My hotel was pretty far, about 30 minutes on the bus, in the middle of nowhere! It was a beautiful drive along the coast and on the opposite side were white square houses with blue shutters and doors, very picturesque. We pulled up to our 5 star scenic hotel. When I think ‘hotel’, I think of the high rise ones in cities in America. Here, it’s 1 story, with more behind it going up the mountain, overlooking the incredible pool and the coast of Mykonos! You could see the golden sand that everyone always talks about, and the water was a shade of blue that I don’t think I’ve ever seen anywhere. The roommate selection was random, but luckily I was paired with a girl I already knew! You had to put the key into a slot in the wall to start the electricity, and you couldn’t leave the air on while you were gone to keep it cool. We had a huge room with two big beds, a nice shower/bath incredibly, 2 couches, and AIR CONDITIONING!! Sad news is… I didn’t stay at this hotel! It was so far from the town and it was dead, like a ghost town. On the other hand, Shea’s hotel was right up the hill from town and everyone was staying there. Her roommate left to stay with friends so I made my journey to the other side to go stay with Shea for the night. I took a taxi with some girls to where I thought would be the right destination…. I ended up getting dropped off at the wrong place (driver spoke no English at all, and I had no address, just the name), paid way too much, and I was feeling a little nervous and lost! We waited for another taxi on the side of the rode. At least we got a great view of the ocean for 45 minutes! There are only about 35 taxis on the island so it can be hard to find one, and if you do- they have a minimum amount of miles they drive, so we walked EVERYWHERE. I finally made my way to town, 3 hours later, and then began trying to ask around for where Shea’s hotel was. 2 hours later, I kid you not, I made it to her hotel!! I was on a corner with a map and I was trying to figure out where to go, when the owner of the restaurant came out and gave me perfect directions. When I got situated in the tiny room with 2 miniature beds, I put on my swimsuit, walked out to the pool, and just fell in. I had to relieve stress from getting 20 miles in 4 hours and getting ripped off and lost!! I was a little shaken up but now looking back, it was quite the journey and I actually think it was a mini-growing experience.

After calming down from the stressfulness of getting lost (worst feeling ever), we headed to Paradise Beach. We walked to town and hoped on a bus that goes to Paradise Beach every 30 minutes for 1,40 Euro (they use commas instead of decimals for cents). This is like the main beach of Mykonos where all of the students go. There are bars and tables lined up along the coast and then palm tree-ish umbrellas and chairs covering every inch. You would think that it would be annoying and crowded, but that’s what made it so fun, the atmosphere. Music is blaring in front of every bar and people are dancing everywhere, just hanging out. We got there around 4 and our friends were leaving because they had been there all day. If we hadn’t have gotten lost, we would’ve been there way earlier. Since they left, we hung out with some other SAS kids that were still there. As soon as the sun started setting, the entire night’s ambiance changed. More ‘night time’ music was playing, people were becoming more social, everyone started dancing a little, and it just became really fun! We met so many people from all over the world. One thing to note- Mykonos is FULL of Australians. There are more Aussies there than Americans or Greeks.

Once we hung out there and had one of the best nights ever, we headed back to town on the bus to get ready for the night- to head back to Paradise for the club scene! When we got back to town, Shea and I went to a little gyro place called Unity. It was the best chicken gyro I’ve ever had, and we had it for lunch and dinner the ENTIRE time we were in Mykonos, for 3 days. I still want one right now. It was huge, fresh, and 2 Euros! Then, the most amazing discovery ever- a giant bottle of water, like the massive ones, for 1 Euro!! Everywhere else we have been, water is about 3 Euro, and 5 for a big one. This is probably why we went to Unity every chance we were hungry. We went back to the room and got ready, walked to town again (2 miles each time), and then hoped on the crazy, fun, loud packed bus to Paradise.

We got there, waited in line for a club (forgot the name, the only one on Paradise Beach), and paid 25 Euro just to get in. I think for what everyone talked it up to be, it was way over-priced and I didn’t have that great of a time. It was full of people, but they were creepy. We left after a while, bought a crepe, hoped on the bus back and slept the whole way, then had to walk up hill (2 miles..) to Petinaros, the hotel. The beds in that place were so uncomfortable but it didn’t matter, my feet were so worn out. Regardless, the hotel was lovely and so cute!!

We had no plans the next day except to sit on Paradise Beach, so we wanted to take this opportunity to sleep in. Little did we forget, check out time was 11am.. The front desk lady wasn’t the nicest and was banging on our door to wake us up. It was a great alarm… We sat on the patio outside the lobby with all of our stuff and kept trying to call taxis to pick us up and take us to the second hotel where we were staying, called Voutinious Pension. In the lobby, they had these delicious lemon and orange gummy candies. I ate about 20. The lobby people didn’t know where this hotel was, the taxis never came, and one lady pointed us in the direction she thought it was. Shea and I had no choice but to walk… I think it was 3 miles. I’m telling you- we walked endless amounts of miles this weekend in Mykonos, and I’m amazed that we did what we did. We had our luggage (which was not on wheels, big mistake), a backpack, and we had hardcore sleepyness that didn’t help the journey. Luckily, the directions were right and we ended up at Voutinious Pension!! Jackie, Rachel, Serene, and Megan were staying there so we walked in and chilled for a while because we were so exhausted from the 90 degree weather walk we had just accomplished; yes, it was an accomplishment. The owner came over and was so nice! He said there wasn’t room here and that our room was up the hill. Is this a joke? We have to walk MORE? Yep. We walked for another 10 minutes to our place. It was so cute and small, about 8 rooms. It was more like a mini-apartment than it was a ‘hotel’. There were cats with kittens, a fish pond, flowers and bird cages, and several small dogs that were the owners. The room was really nice, very colorful, and it was beautiful. It was quiet, and the view was amazing! I can’t describe it very well, but it was a really nice place- Thank you mom!! We got ready for the beach, walked to town, got on the bus to Paradise, and met our friends and stayed until about 8. When we bused back to town then walked again (see how much walking we did?), we napped. Shea and I got ready for the night, and walked (of course) to the other girl’s villa and met some Australians that were staying there too. Can I just tell you that I love Australians? Every single one that we have met have been so nice and talkative, and I wish I had their awesome accent. We all hung out there for a few hours then went to town. First, we went to a bar called Scandinavian Bar. There were narrow streets filled with people and bars/music everywhere. The entire atmosphere was so fun! After that place, we went to another one down the alley called Skybar. It was in an area called ‘Little Venice’, because it looked like… little Venice… I guess. It was dark so I couldn’t really see the way it all looked, but I could see the beach with the moon reflecting off the ocean! It was so much fun hanging out with everyone and just having a great time! In the future, we are going to visit our new Australian friends! It was an easy and quick decision for a place to have a SAS reunion! On the walk back, I got a Nutella crepe. This was AMAZING and it was my first one on this whole trip! It was so good and I was still hungry, so I got a Greek crepe. Again, it was amazing. Everyone else saw mine and decided to get one! Ouzo is disgusting by the way- it tastes like licorice mixed with nail polish remover.

Side note- So my feet are the target for injury and everyone makes fun of me for it- I got some blisters in Spain, they got infected, and they are still healing. Then, I opened the cabin door on my toe, my toenail came off (first time in my life), and my skin was missing on the end.. (sorry if this is too much detail, I have to share for the memories). Next… while cliff jumping, I smashed my heel on a rock and had to pull out some pebbles from the wound. This was in Croatia and my heel is still pretty sore. So we were walking along the alley in Mykonos the other night, and what happens? I accidentally kick a broken glass bottle and get a pretty big chunk of glass stuck in my toe. I pulled it out and it started bleeding everywhere, so a girl came up and gave me a Piglette band aid. I started talking to her and she is from Dallas, Highland Park, and we have a lot of mutual friends! Funny how things work out. AND THEN… yesterday, on the ferry back to Piraeus, Jackie set her roller bag ON MY FOOT and it is badly bruised. My feet were swollen from so much walking this weekend, so Shea came up with the lovely idea of calling them Shrek feet, haha. I can’t believe I just wrote this much about my foot, but I cant wait to see what injury happens next in Turkey!! It’s almost like a game, I’m starting to guess where on my foot the next injury will take place.

Ok back to my night- I hobbled back to the villa with everyone and we went to sleep around 7am, after watching the sunrise and listening to really cool Aussie accents! We woke up around 12 and headed to the ferry to go back to Piraeus.

Mykonos was so much fun, one of the best times, and I would definitely go back!! A popular thing to do in Mykonos was to yell, “MYKONOSSS” when you are in a large crowd. It was entertaining and funny every time! I will never forget this weekend and all of the fun stories we have! It wasn’t the culture shock that you look for when you travel, but it was definitely all that it is talked up to be- the whole party social scene.
On the ferry back, we sat on the deck outside and it was 5 hours since it was the slow ferry. We wanted to stay another night in Mykonos but we didn’t know if the ferry people would go on strike or not and then we would get stuck there and miss the ship. This has happened to SAS students several times so we didn’t want to risk anything!

We got back to Piraeus around 6pm and got ready to go out for our first ‘real night out’ in Athens. We took the train to Athens and went to really fun outdoor restaurant. When you walk by places, waiters or owners stand out in front trying to get you in. They will hand you menus, bribe you, and keep talking to you even when you shake your head and walk away. We walked up to one that looked busy and cute, and the waiter from the restaurant from across the walkway snuck up and said, “Girls, you come here and get free wine, free Ouzo, and free dessert.” This made our decision much easier all of the sudden! :) I ordered chicken kabob skewers with pita and a Greek salad. I could sit and eat their feta cheese all day long with a fork, same with the olives. Everywhere we have been has been incredible, I just cant get over that! We have yet to be dissatisfied with a meal- this applies to the whole trip in general! The waiter lived up to the ‘free’ stuff he promised us, and we didn’t pay any extra! I was going to order yogurt with honey for dessert, but they brought it to us for free! It worked out pretty well :). The yogurt was a different texture, thicker and tart, and the honey mixed in made it so good! There were pieces of peaches in mine, other fruits in others’! YUM. After that, a few girls caught the last train back to Piraeus around midnight and a few of us headed out to find something fun to do for our last full night in Greece. We found some bars and clubs (all for free, unlike Mykonos). The first bar we went to was on the roof of a pretty tall building. We had a clear view of the Acropolis that was brightly lit! It was such a fun place- meeting people and hanging out, looking straight at the Acropolis! It was beautiful. In all of the places in Athens and Mykonos, they play that song ‘hotel motel holiday inn’ and Memories by Kid Cudi- EVERYWHERE. In Croatia we heard a song being played everywhere called Stereo Love by Edward Maya. Then, it was played everywhere in Greece! I found out that this is a popular song for the summer in all of Europe. When I hear it, I instantly think of nights in Croatia- a great memory! It just makes me dance in place and think of all the fun that I’ve been having. At every place we went last night, we would request this song and go crazy when it was played. It defines this summer!

We headed back to Piraeus in a Prius, haha. Since the train stopped at midnight, and we weren’t sure which bus to take back, we caught a cab. You have to negotiate with them and get a price before you get in the taxi or they will charge a lot. We got our deal down to 5 Euros a piece for a ride from Athens to Piraeus! What a great price! Since we had been taking the train every time, it was nice riding in a car back because we got to see a totally different part of Athens than what you see on the train. It was a really fun, jam-packed day and it felt like it had been 2 days, because of the ferry ride- made my sense of time a little off.

Anyways, that was Mykonos and a night in Athens- in a blog-nutshell.

I’m eating hazelnut cookies that I bought from the farm in Tarquinia, Italy right now while writing this. Mmm, delicious!!