Aging in the Aegean Sea: 10 Days in Greece
Santorini, 04/27 - 04/29
After studying abroad in Rome for the semester, I made it a priority to visit GREECE. I had to squeeze my entire wardrobe into a carryon luggage and a small backpack I will be lugging around for the next 3 months in Europe RIP. Four of my friends (Monica, Hailey, Allie, & Jill) & I booked a midnight flight to Santorini for the day after our apartment lease ended in Rome. The island of Santorini is ridiculously small. The airport we landed in was on the east side of the island & the taxi drive we took to get to our hostel on the completely otherside took 8 minutes LOL. Monica, Hailey, & I stayed in Thira at Fira Backpackers Hostel for a couple nights and Allie & Jill stayed at a place a couple minutes down the road.
Greece’s economy is terrible, so everything was super CHEAP. The only form of public transportation on the island was bus, ferry, or taxi. The buses ran from Thira to every town on the island (literally there was only 5 lol.) They were so LUXURIOUS!! Like it was crazy. I’m talking air conditioned, cup holders, fricken cushioned seats!! Like wow. However, the food was pretty expensive (like I’m talking €15-€20 for a single meal), but I managed to get a bopping gyro for €2.00!!
On our first morning, we took a 20 minute bus to the southern tip of the island called Akrotiri. We hiked to a part called Red Beach, where the cliffs were covered in red volcanic rock. The water was literally crystal clear. Breathe taking. We sunbathed for a couple hours and then caught a ferry to two other popular beaches called White Beach & Black Beach. Jill & I swam into a pitch-black cave that opened up onto the other side of the beach, LITERALLY THE COOLEST SHIT EVER!! We caught the bus back to Thira & then walked around for a bit. Greek Orthodox Easter was the following day, so at midnight the ENTIRE island blew off fireworks, it was so cool.
The following day, we rented a 16 person yacht for the afternoon (€95 per person for unlimited BOOZE & a Greek lunch) that took us from a popular beach called Perisssa to a couple nearby volcanos on the west side of the island. The water was freezing, but a group of California girls & I swam for a little lol RIP. We were warned not to wear white because the salt and metal content of the water was extremely potent, lol. She was a bit salty when I tasted her. The crew fed us with a traditional Greek cuisine (rice dolmas, spaghetti, a greek salad, tzatziki, labneh, & a chicken breast.) LITERALLY amaze balls.
We got back to the hostel to get ready and then went to the cliffs for a photoshoot!!! We walked to a fairly cheap priced restaurant that overlooked a volcano and then watched the sunset as we drank our local beers and martinis like classy white bitches. We shared fresh calamari as an appetizer, & then I had a a fungi risotto. Afterwards, we barhopped and then walked to the cliffs to see the entire city lit up.
On April 29th, we rented ATVs and zipped around the island. Literally the best fucking time. We drove to Katharos Beach and then to a popular town called Oia. I finally bought my first water bottle since being here!! (Santerini’s water is unsafe, so I stuck drinking cheap fruit drinks and eating pita bread lol). Our ferry to Athens arrived at 1 am the following day, RIP.
Athens, 04/30 - 05/02
Hailey’s flight back the USA left Greece at 3pm that day, so she wanted to to see the Parthenon. We dropped our luggage off at Zeus Hostel and headed to the Acropolis. We said our goodbyes to Hailey, and then Monica and I PASSED OUT. We haven’t slept in 25 hours and haven’t eaten in 10 lol RIP. Afterwards, I met up with my friend Jake who was celebrating his 23rd birthday with his friends (Richelle, Jake, and Pat). I checked out their GORGEOUS Airbnb that had a view of the Acropolis and then we grabbed drinks and food. The food was surprisingly cheap (I had 4 huge pork chops for €9 and a €10 octopus). We stayed out until 4am at this latino bar where Pat and Jake gambled our drink prices down lol. People were crazzzzyy. There was a stripper pole and this acrobat hoop on the ceiling people would swing off of lol.
So, apparently May 1st is Greece’s Labor Day. Everything was closed. LITERALLY. All of the ruins and museums we had planned for the day were shut down (we bought a €15 ticket the day before hoping to use it lol). Most of the stores and restaurants were closed. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION WASN’T EVEN WORKING. Monica & I walked around for a bit and then we spontaneously ran into Allie and Jill lol. We grabbed chicken and pork gyros (€2!!!) and then went shopping for rings. We met up with them a couple hours later and had a picnic at the National Garden. I accidentally picked up a liter of cooking wine (still drinkable!!) instead of regular wine lol. LITERALLY as soon as we sat down in the grass, it started to rain :) Afterwards, we grabbed drinks and appetizers at a local restaurant (€3 beers!!). Monica and I headed back to the hostel to pack. She was heading back to the USA while Jake, Richelle, Pat, Jake, & I headed to Mykonos for a couple days!!! We had to get up at 5am to make our 7am fast-track ferry (it was only 2 hours and was so luxurious!!!) Cushioned seats, snack-bar, and air conditioning!!! Heck yes.
Athens, 05/02 - 05/05
We took a cab to the Ilio Maris Hotel where we discovered that Jake and I couldn’t stay because the hotel was only reserved for three people LOL. We meant to stay outside the hotel and then sneak up into the room after we checked in, but we forgot OOOPS. We booked an airbnb a couple minutes down the street so it was no biggie. We lounged by the pool for a couple hours and then walked to the beach to meet up with my friend Anne. Afterwards, we walked around the town of Mykonos and grabbed dinner at Nice N Easy. I had a typical Greek dish called Pastitsio. So Good!!! We were DRAINED from the day, so we said “we were going to take it easy.” LOL NOT. We went to a bar on the water and split a tequila shaker, LITERALLY 15 shots of tequila. The waitress said “this is the most dangerous shaker I’ve ever served” HAHAHA
The next day we took a taxi to Paradise Beach, a high-class resort on the South part of the island. The next 18 hours was a complete blur lmao. We drank on the beach for the afternoon and then went to the Tropicana Club. LITERALLY INSANE. We were dancing on the bar and the stage, throwing back shots, and then Anne showed up!! We were constantly drinking until 9 o’clock that night. So my European phone number requires me to put in a passcode sometimes, and of course Drunk me forgot it. I WAS LOCKED OUT OF MY PHONE FOR THE ENTIRE NIGHT LOL. We went to the the same bar from the night before to to get another tequila shaker lmao. The waitress knew our order right away. lmao. Afterwards, we we went to the seasoning opening of Scandinavian Bar. Literally insane.
That morning we went to breakfast at Nice N easy where I had pancakes with honey and fruit. I fixed my phone finally lol, and then we took a fat ass nap. We walked to dinner near the Old Port of Mykonos where we ordered a Greek liquor called Ouzo (FUCKING GROSS.) When it was poured over ice, it changed to a milky-white color (which was pretty cool), but still gross. I ordered a pork gyro and then we walked around the town for a bit. We went to a bar where we literally went down the list and ordered every shot on the menu lmao. Then we ordered another tequila shaker at the other bar and then went to a club. Idk how we were still alive at this point lmao. We literally were consuming no food or water. Only alcohol.
We woke up that morning freaking the fuck out. Our ferry back to athens was CANCELLED because of high winds lol. We were literally trapped on the island and needed to get back to Athens ASAP. We all had flights booked for the following day, so we had to book a last minute flight from Mykonos to Athens for €180!!!! :) The flight was delayed for +3 hours, and the airport was the mintiest thing ever lol. The EU has a law the if a flight is delayed for a certain amount of time with no given reason, then there’s a huge reimbursement (we were hoping to get back €250.) I emailed the airline and a 3rd party firm that typically deals with these kinds of situations, and they said that “the airline rejected all delayed claims.” I literally went balls to the wall and wrote the angriest email to the company, and of course nothing came out from it :) However, our ferry tickets were reimbursed.
We finally arrived in Athens and stayed at the Pan Hotel. Richelle, Jake, & Pat checked in first, and then Jake & I had to sneak up into the room in order to avoid the extra fees of 5 people staying in a room. The receptionist at the front desk was literally yelling and screaming at us as we ran up the 6 floors to the room. It spooked us lmao. We couldn’t leave the room and risk being charged, so Jake & Pat went out and brought back Mcdonald’s for us. A blessing!!! At this point, it was 1am & Jake and I had to leave for the airport at 6:30am to catch a flight to Milan. We had the Sunday Scaries big time!!! Everyone felt like shit and we haven’t slept in forever. Yeah, so that was how I spent my 10 days in Greece.