A Big Fat Greek PartyApr 3, 2006
|
|
The coffee drinking/dark glasses phenomenon in Greece
Drinking coffee with Vaso's friends.
Vaso and her family plus Nadia, Vaso's boyfriend, and Vaso's best friend
| Let me begin by saying I'm sorry for writing long journal entries so frequently... I guess at this point I am writing for myself (to keep track of this trip) as well as for my mom.... she likes to read these things! For anyone else who is keeping track of my travels, I have a couple revelations. #1 - I am not tough... in fact I'm a wuss and #2 - I'm possibly a little crazy because I honestly think I'm tough and then when situations like traveling alone arise, I realize how wussy I really am and how crazy I must be for attempting these adventures alone. With that said, it was so great to be with Vaso and her family, and it made me very emotional to leave and start this part of my trip alone. Vaso's family is terrific.... they are so warm and family is obviously very important to them. Saturday was a wonderful "Greek" experience. We slept in (by my standards) and made it to the city around 1 in the afternoon. I can not even describe how crazy it was. Literally almost all of Greece is covered with cafes. They drink coffee like nobody I've ever seen. It was a beautiful day, and THOUSANDS (not exaggerating) of people were sitting outside (with big glasses on) drinking coffee. We met Vaso's friends and joined in the festivities. Later we went shopping. Another peculiar thing about Greece is the abudance of pastry shops. Again, it's indescribable. Almost every corner has a pastry shop... with beautiful desserts. It's like heaven on earth! So, in between shopping stops, we would look in the pastry shops.... seriously, they were that pretty... I just wanted to take pictures of them! We got home and ate LUNCH at 5:00 p.m.... then took a nap. Vaso said her friends would come over later in the afternoon. I don't know about you, but I always considered afternoon between 1-5.... not 7-9! It's just a different lifestyle! As promised, a lot of friends came over that "afternoon" and we had coffee and sweets. And, the best news.... I'm coming back to Greece hopefully next summer. I made Vaso and her boyfriend promise they would get married in the summer so I can come to a big Greek wedding and go visit the islands! I took the overnight train back to Athens on Saturday night. I spent Sunday doing more strolling in Athens and then arrived in Patras to catch my ferry to Italy (where I am now). I don't know what I was thinking, but I assumed it would be a little "ferry boat".... all cute and tiny. Wrong... it's like a massive mini-cruise ship. There are about 100 semi trucks in the bottom of the ferry. There is a casino, a club, several restaurants and shops. It's making the day go quickly! That brings me back to my being tough story. Patras (the port town) is one of the scariest places I've ever been. Even in midday with the sunshine, I was afraid I wouldn't survive in one piece. I had a strong desire to curl up in a little ball and hide in a corner until it was time for my ferry to leave! If I sat down in town, scary guys would come sit by me... if I walked around town, scary guys would come walk with me. It was a no win situation! (One of the not as scary guys asked if I wanted to learn the Greek kiss.... I passed up that opportunity!) Anyway, I survived the town and boarded the ferry and will be in Venice, Italy on Tuesday morning! Oh, last time I revealed my desire to join the monestary... now I have a new desire. This girl was riding a moped around town in jeans and heels with her big dark glasses. It just looked very chic. I think I might try that sometime! Ha ha. Thanks for reading this... it's nice to have someone to tell my random stories to. Now I think I'll go work on my tan! "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" Phil 4:13. So God will give me the strength to survive both traveling alone and baring my white legs to the world! Love you all! |
Advertisement 
|
