Month: April 2015

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getting old in greece

Because I know you could all really care less about my month long trip through Europe, I’ll go ahead and tell you anyways. Just be prepared for me to get side tracked or go off on a rant.

Ok then. First stop was Greece. I was really expecting to have like a total sisterhood of the traveling pants moment but Athens is way different in comparison to the islands. Athens is huge and it’s very middle eastern and Mediterranean inspired, or a least I think so…but I loved all of the gardens on the rooftops and just the plants that covered every balcony block after block.


Photos: rooftop/balcony gardens

Day 1: Since the only thing we really knew about the city was…well actually we didn’t know anything about the city we decided to a free walking tour. Walter our tour guide was just great, the city has such a rich history and Walter gave us all the insights. Also HUGE shout out because he told us we would be able to go the acropolis for FREE. I’m still in a state of disbelief that we didn’t have to pay.

Photos: the acropolis

Naturally, after the tour we headed to the acropolis and its was unbelievable, we took the back way up and met this for once adorable couple that was on a 4 month long tour through Europe. #lifegoals But, more importantly we got to see the Parthenon and a bunch of other cool column things. Also apparently there are these signs that say not to touch anything and somehow i managed to not see them and decided to touch one of the columns. Don’t worry I got yelled at. But actually it didn’t feel smooth like it thought it would, it was actually quite rough unlike the stairs that were smooth and slippery…I almost fell like 12 times.


                

Photos: parthenon/acropolis, view from the top

Of course on the way down we took some shady back alley road and saw a bunch of cats on the way. Greece was seriously just full of stray cats and dogs….but mostly cats. It was also full of people trying to get you to eat at their restaurants, it was literally like getting cat called every time you passed a place. And without fail they always send out the token English speaker to try and get us to sit down. After picking a place we enjoyed some delicious chicken gyros but before a million and one gypsy people tried to sell us roses and string bracelets.


Photos: dogs, the top one joined out tour group

Day 2: Well timed, cause it happened to be Greek independence day. I should say here that we did see the changing of the guards and let me tell it’s weird a.f…..like first they wear dresses and pom pom shoes and then they kick/swing their legs like a bull in a bull fight. Just so weird. It was like you wanted to stop watching but at the same time couldn’t turn away. Whatever.


      

Photos: changing of the guards and really cute greek boy in tradition greek outfit

Anyways it was raining and rain and parades don’t make for a good combo, especially when you have the super proud Greeks trying to push through to the front to see what was happening. The Greeks are like really proud of their culture in case you didn’t know. So needless to say we didn’t last long. We got some shelter from the rain at Mickey D’s and then went and got lunch. By then the rain had stopped so we walked over to the 1st modern Olympic stadium which was massive and really humbling. Real sad my career as an Olympian didn’t work out, still might get a tattoo of the rings though….lol jkjk


Photos: the stadium

Then we walked through the gardens and found what looked to be like a zoo and saw this goat give birth….we didn’t actually see the birth but you could tell it had just happened. We stood there for like 20 mins debating if there was another baby goat coming or not. Then nothing happened so I enjoyed the bunnies and the pretty birdies, the goats were cool just creepy looking. Being in the gardens just after the rain was nice too because it had that after rain smell and it was quite tropical.


    

Photos: the gardens

Day 3: My birthday. Whoa, 1st off I can’t believe I’m actually 21. It still doesn’t fell quite real, but I do feel much older. Anyways, I may not have been able to celebrate in typical American fashion but who can say they spent their 21st traveling to 3 different islands in Greece. Now I’d say that’s pretty lucky. Even in the rain the islands were beautiful. Incredible views all around. And even from miles and miles away, I was showered with love and wonderful messages from friends and family. Don’t worry we will properly celebrate when I return to the states…. But I loved being on the water. Anyone that knows me, will tell you I love the water, even though I’m deathly afraid of fish…the water is my home. No, I’m not a mermaid….or wait maybe I am? Whoa.


                

Photos: the islands, don’t ask which is which

But actually the islands were perfect, there were donkeys and huge shout outs to Cathy and Allison for treating me all day and helping me celebrate. You are gems.


Cheers.

~meesh

P.S. I did have a Greek salad and it was perfect.

Greece pics…not in order…

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the list

A complete list of all the cities and countries visited in order from start to finish:

1. Athens, Greece

2. Hydra, Greece

3. Poros, Greece

4. Aegina, Greece

5. Paris, France

6. Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

7. Brussels, Beligum

8. Amsterdam, Netherlands

9. Berlin, Germany

10. Oranienburg, Germany

11. Prague, Czech Republic

12. Vienna, Austria

13. Salzburg, Austria

14. Mondsee, Austria

15. Zurich, Switzerland

16. Milan, Italy

17. Venice, Italy

18. Florence, Italy

19. Pisa, Italy

20. Monterosso (Cinque Terre), Italy

21. Vernazza (Cinque Terre), Italy

22. Rome, Italy

23. Vatican City

…Hopefully I’ll have a post up about Greece in the next few days. x

~meesh

 

 

 

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one for the books

It’s been exactly one month since I left for my eurotrip around Europe. And, don’t worry I’ve been writing everyday so that I can share my experiences and some funny stories that happened along the way. But, before I do that I wanted to take some time to reflect on what it was like living out of one bag for a month and always having to go go go.

I’m not quite sure how long the longest vacation I’ve taken was, but I know for sure I never been gone from my home, in this case Leeds, for an entire month. There was much anticipation for this trip as to what it would be like, what we would do, what we would wear, where we’d stay, how we’d get there and if there would be any issues along the way. I’m glad to report that we had no major problems or issues along the way. No missed trains, no stolen passports, and relatively few major injuries aside from an allergy to Italy, a lost toe nail, a smokers cough and a muscle spasm that lead to a fall.

Of course there were many things I learned along the way. Living out of one bag you start to care less about your appearance or the slight smell that just sort of stays with you. You begin to wear a slight variation of the same outfit everyday because you realized you weren’t realistic in your packing and you develop a makeup routine that takes less than 5 mins to put on even though you brought your entire makeup bag. There were also a few things that had to get left behind in the end including my beloved combat boots, my hot chocolate stained scarf, a pair of leggings and 3 tank tops because having enough space in my bag was a luxury I could not afford

Let me tell you, traveling for a month straight is hard…it’s no Sunday morning stroll in the park. And, yes there were many times when I wanted to just get on a plane and fly back to Leeds because I was so exhausted. But, I know I’m strong and I just had to keep telling myself (and my mom had to keep telling me) that not only did I/do I have the strength to see it through but also that it’s a trip of a lifetime. And, it really was.

It was a month full of adventures, surprises and the excitement that came from going one place to the next. Yes, there were times when I felt weak and discouraged…. but together, the four of us, we carried each other through….whether it be from laughing uncontrollably for minutes over nothing in particular or having a dance party in our train car, it was these moments of relief that kept us, or at least me, going.

I can’t wait to begin to share my experiences from each place with you all & check in later to see a list of all the places I visited on my month long eurotrip. x

Cheers.

~meesh

And bonus, I finally figured out the whole flickr situation so my Ireland photos are finally up see them here and here.

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