Nafpaktos

Athens

Galaxidi

Mykonos

(yep, that’s my Dad posing in the archway!)

Mykonos

Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to visit Greece. I wanted to see the place where my Grandfather (my Papou) grew up. I wanted to see the crystal clear water and white washed houses for my self. And in college I was finally able to go by means of a  summer study abroad program. I was even more fortunate by the fact that my Dad’s Aunt (my Papou’s sister) and Uncle were there in Greece and welcomed me to come a week early and stay with them in my Papou’s home town of Galaxidi.

After a rough trip of delayed planes, missed connections, 12 hours in the Frankfurt airport and a three hour drive from Athens to Galaxidi at 2am I fell into bed. I am positive I was asleep before my head hit the pillow! That next morning I woke up, opened the wooden shutters and saw what is in that photo of Galaxidi above. A sea side village with a towering mountain in the background and cypress and olive trees dappled here and there. I was completely overwhelmed and fell instantly in love.

Almost exactly three years ago I was able to go on a trip to Greece for a second time with my Dad, who for reasons completely beyond my comprehension, had never been before. It was an amazing two week long trip! We travelled from Athens to Galaxidi, a day trip to Nafpaktos, and then a five day jaunt to Mykonos. We had planned to split that five day trip with another nearby island but the wind had other plans. One of the problems with travelling by boat to the islands! But be forewarned, you will get no sympathy from friends when you tell them you were stranded on a Greek island for a few days!

And now I am craving that warm breeze and inexplicable light that makes you feel as though you are seeing things clearly for the first time. I feel home sick for a place that has never been my home. I think Greece has become my vice and I am past due for a fix!

In the mean time I will have to come up with some Greek style projects so I can at least pretend I am there And here is just a fun photo of my Dad and I contemplating the sea while eating Greek fast food of spanakopita and tiropita.

Outdoor city bins

It was really nice to see a city that has trash, recycling and compost bins readily available around the city. On my trip to Europe both Paris and Barcelona had these bins all over the city. Now, I love Baltimore but I find that on most days I can’t even find a regular trash can let alone a recycling can! I thought these bins were very nicely designed, using simple internationally recognizable symbols and in many cases having multiple languages.

Indoor public tourist spot

Indoor office area

Outdoor park area

Five days in Paris just wasn’t really enough. The city was beautiful but I wish that I had the opportunity to go to the countryside. I love going to cities but I always feel like going to smaller towns is what gives you a realistic view of that culture. Right off the bat one of the things I noticed was that Parisians are beautiful, fit, and know how to dress! I wish I had the courage to photograph some of the amazing outfits I saw.

As cliche as it sounds my favorite activity was climbing up the Eiffel tower. It was really impressive and the view was amazing! My second favorite thing we did in Paris was laying on the grass in the gardens by the Louvre (but not the Tuileries… I’m not sure what the ones we were in were called). We bought paninis from a near by stand and laid in the grass snacking and napping for a few hours.

If I could sum up Paris in one word it would be “impeccable”.

I’m in love! We have been in Barcelona now for six days and I am completely sold. I love it here! We have seen so much in six days and even had a couple days of rest when it rained. We have seen the Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, the Gaudi apartment building, the Picasso Museum, and the Dali Museum and the Tour de France! But more than that I love the city. The people here are kind and casual and ready to have fun. It’s got a real NYC vibe with all the people and little cafes and restaurants but has the laid back attitude of a beach side town.

We arrived in Paris yesterday evening. We spent a few hours trying to figure out where our luggage was. Unfortunately there was a “system error” and half of the plane’s luggage never made it on when we changed planes in England. We made it onto the RER (metro) and walked to our apartment with relative ease and then went out to explore the city. We went to Notre Dame and a cafe where I had quiche. The we walked around a bit and saw some guys break dancing on the street and we ate crepes… I’m feeling a bit cliche but it’s fun! We are off to a giant flea market now. Bonjour!

Almost done packing! I think that every time I go somewhere I end up packing less and less. I like to just focus on bringing a variety of clothing as opposed to the quantity. So here is my little carry-on suitcase! I packed clothes that are all pretty much neutral and then a jacket, belts and two scarfs that are more colorful to spice things up. Oh and I can’t forget my sun hat!

Bon Voyage!

In just a few short days I will be travelling to Europe! Senior year of college I was fortunate enough to become friends with an amazing group of people. We have stayed close friends ever since and really have become like family to each other. We even take “family vacations”! Hence the Euro Trip 2009!

My dear friends Gabe and Thryn have now been in the Peace Corps in Cameroon for one year (read their blog here!). They only have a few weeks vacation so travelling back to the States would be difficult which is why we are meeting up in Europe. Also travelling some distance is my friend Kevin who has been teaching and living down in Costa Rica (read his blog here!). And to round out the group are my lovely and talented local men; my roomie Angelo and my boyfriend Nathan.

We will be meeting up in Paris for one week and then fly to Barcelona and spend another week there. We decided to rent apartments instead of hotels because 1. they are cheaper and 2. all of us really appreciate getting a realistic view of a place; not the watered down tourist attractions. Both apartments have washer and dryers (so I will be packing light) and inter-net (Yay, international blogging!).

I am unbelievably excited to go to two countries I have never been to before and also to see my friends I miss so much! Now to finish packing and practicing “where is the bathroom?” in french…

(Image: Found on Tomojazz… obviously this site is talking about Jazz. I like Jazz. But I just picked the image because it says Paris and Barcelona )