Greece - The Recap - Continued

Day 5 - Okay, so really, this is our 6th day of traveling, but we lost a day on the way to Greece from the US. Anyway, I think I lied earlier when I said Delphi made the deepest impression on me. I can't really make this statement because everywhere we went was so amazing... Especially our destination today... the monasteries of Meteora.

After a few hours on the bus, we stopped for lunch at the base of the cliffs. I don't know where it came from, but Kyle was running around with one of the torches from the Olympics...so how could we not take a picture?

And then here we are with the cliffs in the background, right before we hopped in the coach to head up to the monasteries at the top!

When they built these monasteries, there were no roads, there were only ropes! They built them at the top of these cliffs for safety. I guess it worked because they were in pristine condition. Actually, some of them are still functioning today. The second location we visited is still an operating nunnery.

I should take this moment to tell you how amazing the views were from these monasteries, but alas, I feel as though the skirts that Kristine and I had to wear in order to properly cover our knees out of respect is a much more important topic...oh...the hotness....

Really though, it's impossible to describe the sheer size of the cliffs. I still can't wrap my head around how they managed to construct these buildings here with nothing but a pulley system to get to the top!

Overwhelmed by our visit, we headed to the hotel in Kalambaka for dinner and an early bedtime for some much needed rest.

Day 6 - Today was our long journey to Mykonos. I can't remember exactly, but I think we left around 8:30 AM and arrived at the island resort around 11:00 PM.

On our way, we stopped briefly to take a photo of the monument to Leonidas and his Spartans at Thermopylae. There is an epic tale behind this monument that I don't really have enough space to relay in this entry...but you can read it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae

(Of course, reading it off a computer screen won't be nearly as much fun as hearing it from an Aussie tour manager over the PA system of a coach.)

More driving brought us to our ferry, where we would reside for the next 5, yes FIVE, hours.

But, the time passed relatively quickly and we found ourselves on a bus, headed to the Contiki resort, where we stayed for the next 3 nights.

http://www.contiki.com/en-US/Resorts/Mykonos

Here we ate, danced, beached, shopped, kayaked and everything else you'd want to do on a Greek island.

(And I even got to see the inside of the island hospital for about 7 hours when I accompanied a new Aussie friend, Paul, to get treatment after a spill by the pool. We all had tons of fun at the Cocktail Mixology course, and things got a little wild. I was joined by Kyle 3 hours into the hospital visit and we left Paul to rest around 1:30 AM. Luckily, there is a happy ending...Paul was a bit worse for wear come morning, but he was still able to make it in time for the return ferry with the group. Go Paul!)

So...on with the island madness...

We had a blast, and we could have really used a few more days on Mykonos. But all good things must come to an end and early on the morning of Day 9, we found ourselves back on the ferry for another 5 hour trip, this time in reverse, returning us to Athens.

Our Farewell Dinner - We celebrated our last night together with a big dinner out at the Plaka. I think it was a 9 course dinner or something gross like that. I upheld my reputation as the human vacuum cleaner by finishing off 6 people's dessert. Whenever someone commented on my eating abilities during the trip, I always replied with "I'm on vacation". It became a running joke and I've already received an e-mail with that as the title.

Anyway, it was a great way to finish off the trip. We met so many wonderful new friends, it was nice to have some time to let the trip settle in and enjoy each other's company one last time. This trip itinerary was phenomenal, but it was the people we traveled with who took this trip to the next level (for me anyway) and made it a once in a lifetime experience.

Day 10 - USA here we come. Luckily we had a flight that didn't depart until noon, so we had a pretty relaxed morning. We had breakfast, packed and said a few more goodbyes. And then even managed to make it to the airport without getting ripped off by the cab. Woohoo!

My Final Thought - Wow! There really aren't words to sum up what this trip meant to me. I was so lucky to share this with Christy and Kristine. And really, all three of us are so blessed to even have had the opportunity to go on this kind of adventure. We experienced so many amazing people and places. I sit in bed at night trying to go back through the trip in my mind, because it went by so fast, it feels like it was a dream.

Really, this recap barely scratches the surface. I look forward to passing on the "good" stories to you all in person.

I would recommend a visit to Greece to anyone. The living history there will blow your mind, and the island life takes a close second...or maybe it's a tie. =) If you have the opportunity to get there...GO! You won't regret it. I promise!

I went on this trip with the hopes of shaking off some dust and forgetting about the chaos in the present day, by slipping into the history of centuries ago. I came home with a greater respect for the history of the world, as well as a renewed thankfulness for the people in my life and also that I live in this time, in this place. (I mean, 10 days of not being able to flush toilet paper down the toilet will give that perspective to anyone who normally lives with modern plumming. Ha ha ha! For all of you looking at your computer screen with a funny look on your face, no, you can't flush toilet paper in Greece. The pipes are too old.)

For The Future - Well, I've always had the travel itch, one look at my passport will tell you that. But it had been 3 years since I had traveled outside of the country. What was I thinking?

That said, if I can save enough over the next few months, I am thinking of booking a trip to Australia for late March. I know...I have lost my mind. But, I really think this may be one of the biggest and best decisions I'll ever make. I've always wanted to go to Australia and I have let excuses talk me out of it every time. Not this time.

If you are interested, I think this may be the tour for me:

http://www.contiki.com/en-US/Tours/Australia/Contrast.Reef.and.Rock/Itinerary.htm

So stay tuned for updates on that topic. If there is anyone out there interested in going, I can provide you with budgeting info and all that. But solo or with friends, I'm headed down under soon...

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Thanks for reading! I'll be back to my normal blabber of random outings with friends and television recaps soon, so stay tuned!