Our journey to Greece began on the Superfast VI cruise ferry. Words cannot express how much I love this ferry... so I'm not even going to try. Except to say that it was Heaven on water and I cannot think of a better place to be stuck for 22 hours. That is all. Oh and it really was superfast!
We got to stay in bunk beds which was unusual for us. Nobody in Europe has bunk beds right? False. Look at our little Couchettes. I wish I could take them home as a souvenir.
Our couchettes were like a dorm style... but apparently that wasn't necessary. 75% of the boat were squatters. Every corner we turned had an air mattress or bedroll laid out claiming someone's "territory". It was so bizarre. It looked like a cruise ship... felt like a cruise ship... but turns out it was a refugee boat or something with the random Greek truckers passed out in all the stairways.
We spent the daylight of our glorious 21 hours on the deck gazing upon the semi trucks below us. Every once in a while we would glance over at the Italian coastline in the distance. Then we averted our eyes back to the glorious big rigs below. A little taste of I-35 in the middle of the Adriatic Sea.
After our first ferry and bus ride we were supposed to have an hour before jumping on our final ferry to Santorini island. We were informed upon our arrival that the ferries were not running that night because apparently it is Easter. I'm confused Easter was last week Greece! Not Orthodox Easter. That's how we roll in Greekland. So we were stranded in Athens for Easter 2: of the Orthodox sort. Recap: As far as I can tell old men with beards jump up in a boxing ring and chant until midnight when the fireworks go off. Let me be the first to wish you and your family the happiest Orthodox Easter!
If you're gonna be stranded somewhere, might I suggest Athens. Maybe the best place I've ever been stuck. Did you know that Athens happens to be a pretty big venue for the Olympics? That's right my friends... Athens... Home to not only one but two Olympic games. So much Olympic fanfare... so little time. We began our Olympic tour at the Panathinaiko home to Olympiad I.
Next we trammed on over to our second Olympic stadium where the 2004 games were held. Thats them right behind me. I think I found where I'm getting married. It holds 74,000 people... that should do. Gah I love me some Olympics.
Rumor has it, Michael Phelps swam in this pool. He is pretty famous. I love famous people and the water they touch. Sadly, the natatorium was all closed for Orthodox Easter. Bahaha... you think your locks will slow me down? The natatorium was 3 stories high with roughly 12 doors on each side. If my math is correct that is a grand total of 144 doors. I tried every single handle... and some windows. It appeared to be a fruitless effort until door number 132 came through for me! Somehow Mr. Chain-the-door guy forgot about 132... and I swooped right on in... and Hello Michael Phelps pool!
We wandered around the abandoned Olympic pool looking for a gold medal that was lost below the bleachers... or a program under a trash can. We took turns diving off the starting blocks pretending we were racing Michael Phelps. I won EVERY TIME. He's not as fast as he looks on TV.
On our way out we passed some "reflecting ponds"... I don't know... all I saw being reflected was slime. There was a 500 euro bill at the bottom of the slime pond. Somehow Miranda tricked me to retrieve it for her. She was convinced it was authentic. Of course I obliged... and reached my hand into that disease infested stagnant swamp pond. My hand still feels dirty. I don't even have words to explain how repulsive that "euro bill" felt. Warm fuzzy slime... that's all I got. PS it was not a real 500 euro bill. Shocker.
We also wandered around to see some ruins in the Athens area... This one is my favorite. It looks like a sliced banana. Apparently whatever ancient giant man sliced this baby up had the same sentiments toward bananas that I do. Disgusting.
After 2 days of solid traveling, we finally made it to Santorini island . Good thing it is the prettiest place I've ever seen. Seriously... they should film a movie here. I'm thinking we get Alexis Bledel from Gilmore Girls and a pair of blue jeans. I don't know... I'm just throwing stuff out here, but I think this could be a hit!
We rented 4 wheelers and drove to the other side of the island. We rode around in packs... it was soo Harley Davidson. If only I had brought my leather!
This island was where the traveling pants movie was filmed. That's the house like riiight behind me. Probably my proudest moment... walking the same steps as Alexis Bledel! Which is pretty much along the same lines as meeting her right? Of course.
Sadly this is where our journey had to end. It's probably for the best though. What do you do after you meet a Gilmore Girl? How do you top that? How about a smoke filled ferry back to our continent? If you could get the black lung from smoke inhalation I was definitely a contender. This was no Superfast VI ferry. This was the stupid Mapina. We slept on the floor of the lobby and got lung cancer.
The next day our train pulled into Maastricht and it was time to pack up and say goodbye to Europe. Goodbye Europe. Thanks for all the memories. In Omnia Paratus!
How was traffic in Athens? It was terrible when I went.
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