When it Rains, it Pours…..
With a budding spare tire, a suitcase full of dirty clothes, a full stomach, and a larger than life smile, I came home from Greece on Friday, and am just starting to come down off of the highest high I’ve ever known. Greece was breathtaking in everyway. The antiquity, architecture, hospitality, beaches, and it’s ability to somehow stay quaint, beautiful and true to its Greek identity, despite being a popular tourist destination, has left me only wanting to go back.
I’ll spare you what would be the 9 page day by day itinerary, and give you the wow moments; there were more than enough of them. First of all, people continue to surprise and amaze me with their unbelievable hospitality and welcome over here. We were staying in Athens for only 2 nights, arriving at around 11:30 pm to our hostel the first night, and my girlfriend Teresa who was studying in Athens but was leaving at 8am the next morning for a field trip— sent me directions on how to get from the airport to the city center, met us at the bus stop with a bottle of wine, showed us to our hostel, and then took us out to all the places that she frequented in Athens. I have never been more grateful, the next night we looked like locals, except for the not being able to speak Greek part—Ohi was about the extent of Greek I learned—although I would put the word “no” right up there on the need to know scale.
After cruising around Athens, seeing the Acropolis, Agora, Parthenon, the Keramikos Cemetary, Olympic Stadium & Temple of Zeus by day, and enjoying a solid diet of Greek salad, tzatiki dip, pita, and moussaka by night, we were grateful to meet up with a few other BC girls, and celebrate the end of housing, registration, and overall the only 3 days we had been even slightly stressed in the last 2 and a half months. (all news is good news, I GOT A MOD!!!) We waved goodbye to the girls, who we would see in our hometown in a breezy week, and puddle jumped over to the Cyclades with the first stop in Santorini.
Since we arrived at night the amazing sights we had seen in movies and on postcards didn’t quite jump at us, but we were welcomed with an upgrade to a suite and greeted with a beautiful empty-pool side villa. That was a blessing in disguise because unfortunately we had torrential rain for all of the 3 days we were in Santorini. So we did spend more time than we would have in our hotel room. We made it to the beautiful little village of Oia, just north of the capital Fira, where we were staying. Despite the pouring rain & clouds, we went to where you’re supposed to watch the sunset on a sunny day in Oia, shopped in the traditional jewelry boutiques, and lunched on a terrace overlooking the cliffs that give Santorini its awe-filled reputation. Ambitious the next morning, we tried for a volcano hike at the nearby volcanic island. After taking the cable car down to the port and finding the pirate ship that would bring us on our tour, it promptly started to pour once again. I have to say the pouring rain and 40 mph gusts made what would have probably been an amazing day in any other conditions, hardly bearable. As a result, we stopped by our favorite “Toast Club” joint and picked up our everyday-diet of greek salad, tzatiki and Heineken, before heading back to our hotel, showering and climbing into bed.
Happy to say goodbye to the bad weather and move on to warmer & dryer things, we were ready when the Blue Star Ferry shipped out of the Santorini port to Paros on Tuesday afternoon. Just as we pushed off the dock, the sun came out and we were already off to a better start on our Greek island journey…..
The most memorable part of Paros was the sunset right after we got off the ferry & Lou Ann Loveday. Lou Ann Loveday, was a Texas native who spent 25 years in Canada, and then casually decided to buy a villa on Paros and move there with her husband a little over a year ago. The reason we were fortunate enough to meet Lou Ann was because she pulled over on the side of the road after seeing the four of us dragging about 60 lbs of luggage along the boardwalk on the walk to our hotel, and offered to give us a ride. Although we were at first skeptical of this incredibly nice gesture, after she mentioned that she was from Texas, we realized that it was just an example of that good old southern hospitality. She said “Ask me anything!” and of course it was a 20-question frenzy about restaurants, bars, clubs, the town, anything we could think of. She also revealed that we conveniently arrived a day after 2 Greek Soccer teams had been there. Typical. Nevertheless, Lou Ann’s unprompted, random act of kindness aligned with the beautiful sunset choked me up, it had been the nicest thing that anyone had done for me since I’d arrived in Greece, maybe even Europe. As Lou Ann chatted us up, we got a glimpse of the first sunset that we were able to see in Greece; it was out of a movie. Someone spilled a pastel paint palette across the sky and delicately finger painted, it was something I can’t describe, and that pictures won’t do justice. I’ve always been a sunset kind of girl, because with the end to every day, you are left with a hope for tomorrow to be another new, better and more beautiful day. And Wednesday was.
After a quick 40 minute ferry ride, we stepped off in Mykonos to beautiful sunshine and Dmitri who worked at the villa we were staying in. As we settled into our little apartment that would be our home for the next 2 nights, we knew that Mykonos would be a great end to our amazing week. Highlights of Mykonos included renting ATVs from Hercules, lying on the beach for 2 days, seeing Nicole- my best friend from home, cooking a big pasta dinner with Greek salad, tzatiki and eggplant dip, and finally getting the relaxing, beachy spring break we were looking for. We had two beautiful sunsets in Mykonos that we watched on the boardwalk in Mykonos town, and by our empty pool at the Villa that overlooked the harbor, and when Friday was upon us we wished we had one more day in beautiful Mykonos before we had to say goodbye…..
When it rains, it pours…. We had unbelievable luck with weather up until Greece, and if nothing else, I’ve come to take out of this trip that things aren’t always what you expect. Although Santorini was definitely not how we expected, and there were little things about the entire week that didn’t work out exactly how we had planned, we had an unbelievable time. I definitely think it’s extremely important to be flexible in life, not stress the small things, and know the things you can’t change, and work with them. With the week in Greece falling right after senior housing and fall class registration, I’m almost officially a senior in college. I think the thought of that shocks me more than anything I’ve experienced since I’ve been abroad. Along with my fleeting time abroad, there is one wildly ticking clock right behind it-on my college career. And for the first time, there is no set “what comes next.” Although undoubtedly frightening & unknown, there is one thing I’m sure of, I’m starting to embrace that fact that the ten year plan I made for myself when I was 18, is almost 100% untelling of the next (now) 7 or 8 years of my life. Why rush? (Must be the Spain in me…..) After conquering the uncertainty of these past 3 months, I’ve discovered that writing your own story as you go is way more fun than having a plan, and the spontaneity is completely liberating & what makes life so interesting and fun. Plus why waste time worrying about what most likely work out the way you want it to anyway? I wouldn’t have it any other way. So don’t blink, don’t rush, don’t look away, don’t lose your faith & don’t run away, for, it’s only life.
Just for laughs, here’s the 10 year plan I made in High School:
- Go to Boston College and leave with a Secondary Ed and Mathematics Degree in 4 years
- Go Abroad to Latin America
- Work in an Public School in New York City
- Take Masters Classes at Night
- Live in an apartment in Manhattan with 4 of my friends— that one was based in the Vanessa Carlton “White Houses” song
- Fall in Love and get married by 27 (that’s not looking so good at the moment….)
- make a lot of money & move to the suburbs
- Start my family by 30
So far I’m 0 for 2……
