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| leaving Kavala |
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| visiting Philippi |
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| Lydia Creek at Philippi |
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| our view in Thessaloniki |
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Day 12- April 21- Philippi and Thessaloniki
Day 11- welcome to Greece!
Today we left Turkey :( it was sad leaving Macit and the rest of the Turkish people, not to mention our wake-up call was at 5:45! It took about five hours to get through all the customs and transfers and such. We left the hotel at seven am and got to lunch (which was right after the border) at noon. We got to take a ferry across the Dardanelles (a strait) early in the morning, so we watch the sun rise over the water! After the ferry we drove for about half an hour to get to our transfer bus- where we had to unload everything from our Turkey bus onto a smelly dirty smaller bus. It was sad saying goodbye to Macit, but he gave us all his email address!
We drove through the Turkish border and had to climb out of the bus and go through passport control to get a stamp saying we'd officially left their country. Awkward moment of the day- the passport control officer winked at me when he handed my passport back... I quickly walked back on the bus :) we spent about ten minutes in no man's land until we got to the Greek border- which took forever to get through! We literally spent an hour there. For a while we thought they weren't going to give us our passports back but they eventually did and it wasn't an issue. Our bus got locked in on all sides for awhile by other big trucks waiting to be checked over- so we say in that stinky bus for way too long! We actually switched over to our Greek bus at the border, it's bright blue! And our Greek guide (her name is Voula) is hilarious and really sweet :)
After about an hour in the bus after we left the border station, we pulled up to a cute little town for our first Greek meal! I had a Gyro- it was the most amazingly delicious thing... So so good. Grandpa and I walked around the town for awhile after we finished eating- we had an adventure at the ATMs and then found a cute bakery shop :) I got homemade strawberry ice cream and grandpa got some chocolate cake- both were shared and greatly enjoyed! Our hotel was another hour away from our lunch stop, but once we got there I realized how much I love Greece :) it's absolutely gorgeous. The sky here is about ten times bigger than back home! I'm not quite sure what makes it seem that large but everywhere you go the sky seems huge. It's perfect for pictures :)
I really liked our hotel, it was a newly renovated high rise right on the water, and it seemed like home- the rooms and hallways were very bright and open and just looked like a hotel you'd stay in at home. We had about three hours before dinner once we settled into our room, so grandpa and I walked by the water on the boardwalk area and took some pictures of the old fishermen :) I had a nice long hot shower (with safe water I don't have to keep out of my eyes!) and actually dressed up for dinner! It felt really good to have a little extra mirror time after almost two weeks of dirty hair and clothes. Dinner was delicious and up in another 'rooftop' restaurant, it had the most amazing views of the sunset!
After dinner I joined all the girls once again for another almost sleepover- it was incredibly fun to just giggle and almost felt like I was with Jenna or Maddie or one of my other good friends :) almost though- I still miss everyone from home and can believe I'll be back in five days!
Picture 1- shopping inside the border control :)
Picture 2- sunset at dinner!
Picture 3- our Greek bus
Picture 4- chocolate cake from lunch
Picture 5- dinner spot!
Picture 6-the icky transfer bus :(
Picture 7-our last turkish purchase
Picture 8- yummy
Picture 9- yummmmmy
Picture 10-yum yum yum
Picture 11- Kavala port!
Picture 12- I'm in love
Picture 13- all dressed up
Picture 14- the blue bus!
Picture 15- Gyro, you're my hero
Picture 16- Greek flags are everywhere!
Picture 17- the ferry!
Picture 18- not really sure what this was all about...
Picture 19-breakfast- such a healthy way to start my day eh?
Picture 20- sunrise!
Picture 21-they drink so much redbull here
Picture 22- standing above all the busses on the ferry!
We drove through the Turkish border and had to climb out of the bus and go through passport control to get a stamp saying we'd officially left their country. Awkward moment of the day- the passport control officer winked at me when he handed my passport back... I quickly walked back on the bus :) we spent about ten minutes in no man's land until we got to the Greek border- which took forever to get through! We literally spent an hour there. For a while we thought they weren't going to give us our passports back but they eventually did and it wasn't an issue. Our bus got locked in on all sides for awhile by other big trucks waiting to be checked over- so we say in that stinky bus for way too long! We actually switched over to our Greek bus at the border, it's bright blue! And our Greek guide (her name is Voula) is hilarious and really sweet :)
After about an hour in the bus after we left the border station, we pulled up to a cute little town for our first Greek meal! I had a Gyro- it was the most amazingly delicious thing... So so good. Grandpa and I walked around the town for awhile after we finished eating- we had an adventure at the ATMs and then found a cute bakery shop :) I got homemade strawberry ice cream and grandpa got some chocolate cake- both were shared and greatly enjoyed! Our hotel was another hour away from our lunch stop, but once we got there I realized how much I love Greece :) it's absolutely gorgeous. The sky here is about ten times bigger than back home! I'm not quite sure what makes it seem that large but everywhere you go the sky seems huge. It's perfect for pictures :)
I really liked our hotel, it was a newly renovated high rise right on the water, and it seemed like home- the rooms and hallways were very bright and open and just looked like a hotel you'd stay in at home. We had about three hours before dinner once we settled into our room, so grandpa and I walked by the water on the boardwalk area and took some pictures of the old fishermen :) I had a nice long hot shower (with safe water I don't have to keep out of my eyes!) and actually dressed up for dinner! It felt really good to have a little extra mirror time after almost two weeks of dirty hair and clothes. Dinner was delicious and up in another 'rooftop' restaurant, it had the most amazing views of the sunset!
After dinner I joined all the girls once again for another almost sleepover- it was incredibly fun to just giggle and almost felt like I was with Jenna or Maddie or one of my other good friends :) almost though- I still miss everyone from home and can believe I'll be back in five days!
Picture 1- shopping inside the border control :)
Picture 2- sunset at dinner!
Picture 3- our Greek bus
Picture 4- chocolate cake from lunch
Picture 5- dinner spot!
Picture 6-the icky transfer bus :(
Picture 7-our last turkish purchase
Picture 8- yummy
Picture 9- yummmmmy
Picture 10-yum yum yum
Picture 11- Kavala port!
Picture 12- I'm in love
Picture 13- all dressed up
Picture 14- the blue bus!
Picture 15- Gyro, you're my hero
Picture 16- Greek flags are everywhere!
Picture 17- the ferry!
Picture 18- not really sure what this was all about...
Picture 19-breakfast- such a healthy way to start my day eh?
Picture 20- sunrise!
Picture 21-they drink so much redbull here
Picture 22- standing above all the busses on the ferry!
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| the ferry |
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| dinner spot- Kavala |
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| Kavala port |
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| shopping inside the border control |
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| sunrise |
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| they drink so much Red Bull here |
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| all dressed up for dinner |
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| breakfast- such a healthy way to start my day, eh? |
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| the blue bus! |
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| the icky smelly transfer bus |
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| is it honey or toothpaste? not quite sure |
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| last purchase with Turkish lira- yum! |
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| Add caption |
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| our Greek bus |
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| gyro you're my hero |
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| yummmmmmy |
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| yum yum yum |
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| weird standing above all the busses on the ferry |
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| Greek flags are everywhere |
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| sunset at dinner- Kavala |
Friday, April 20, 2012
Day 11 Travel to Kavala, Greece
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| long travel day- bus, ferry, and more buses! |
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| my 1st gyro- delicious! |
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| lighthouse in Alexandroupoli |
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| another lovely view of the Aegean in Kavala |
Day 10
I feel so bad I'm a day late with this one as well! Once we get to our hotels in the late afternoon we usually explore a little and then clean up for dinner- and once dinner's over we really are so tired there's just time to set an outfit out for the morning and do a little facebooking or skyping :) which has been a great way to end our day- just no time for blogging! So I usually try to work on these posts in the bus rides and then just upload them at night.
Anyways, we had a really good day- it was so warm and sunny! Which is good because Macit had told us the forecast was calling for rain again. we hiked up a hill just to get to our bus on the morning- and we had a full day of mountainous roads! Our first site of the day was Assos- the ancient city where Aristotle lived. There wasn't much left to see but we climbed around the theater there and got to see some of the ancient roman road that Paul walked to get down to the coast. I really enjoyed that bit :) obviously the donkeys/goats did too, because there were piles of poop everywhere. Our driver made all of us wash our shoes with wet wipes before we were allowed to climb back on the bus!
After that adventure, we drove a ways to Alexandria Troas (not to be confused with Troy) and on the way there I actually felt really motion sick- which is weird because we've been sitting bear the back of the bus this whole trip and up until then I hadn't struggled with it! But anyways- I made it without actually being sick (thank goodness) and we had the most amazing time at that stop. There's not many ruins excavated yet at Troas, but there's a gorgeous sandy beach and huge beachy grasses growing everywhere! So we whipped our shoes off and waded in the Aegean sea for about half an hour ;) I found the most gorgeous rocks on that beach- stuff I've never seen the likes of- I'm super excited to add these to my collection at home! Walking on the beach really helped with my stomach- and the ride down the mountain after we spent some time in the water was a lot easier. We visited the temple to Athena (another one!) in Alexandria Troas afterwards- they said it was the first Doric style temple in the Greek civilization! There were a bunch if shops lining the little road leading up to the site- so grandpa and I did a little more shopping! I found some cute beads and earrings and a really pretty scarf :)
We had another long drive to get to Troy, which really wasn't as exciting as we had expected, but I still enjoyed the spot! I got to climb inside a replica of the Trojan horse and we saw the layers of the city from over the years- they rebuilt it nine times throughout the course of however many years... I cant remember :)
Our hotel last night was pretty nice, we were right by the beach so grandpa and I took a walk before dinner and found some amazing shells. It was a little strange though because we had a petting zoo right outside our window! Not entirely sure why they let the roosters run around squawking all night- but I was really wanting to go make that thing stop! It also smelled like a petting zoo on our room- just another adventure I guess! Dinner was pretty good- lunch was even better, I had this amazing tomato soup :) but dinner I had fish and lentil soup and carrots- I've had shredded carrots at almost every meal so far! We also got baklava for dessert, I'm in love ;) this was our last day in Turkey- which was sad because I really have fallen in love with the country and the people and the culture- but also exciting because we get a whole second trip in Greece now!
Picture 1- my bag, I brought it from home, but it looks just like the stuff they sell here!
Picture 2- gorgeous sunrise
Picture 3- dinner!
Picture 4- cute little flower at Assos
Picture 5-more pretty views
Picture 6- Aegean sea
Picture 7- the beach at Alexandria Troas
Picture 8- Roman road travelled by Paul and me!
Picture 9- modern city of Assos
Picture 10- beach!
Picture 11- our morning view
Picture 12- Macit our guide
Picture 13- temple at Alexandria Troas
Picture 14- beach :)
Picture 15-theater in Assos
Picture 16- my favorite rock on the beach- but too big to take home :(
Picture 17- my haul!
Picture 18- dessert- mmmm
Anyways, we had a really good day- it was so warm and sunny! Which is good because Macit had told us the forecast was calling for rain again. we hiked up a hill just to get to our bus on the morning- and we had a full day of mountainous roads! Our first site of the day was Assos- the ancient city where Aristotle lived. There wasn't much left to see but we climbed around the theater there and got to see some of the ancient roman road that Paul walked to get down to the coast. I really enjoyed that bit :) obviously the donkeys/goats did too, because there were piles of poop everywhere. Our driver made all of us wash our shoes with wet wipes before we were allowed to climb back on the bus!
After that adventure, we drove a ways to Alexandria Troas (not to be confused with Troy) and on the way there I actually felt really motion sick- which is weird because we've been sitting bear the back of the bus this whole trip and up until then I hadn't struggled with it! But anyways- I made it without actually being sick (thank goodness) and we had the most amazing time at that stop. There's not many ruins excavated yet at Troas, but there's a gorgeous sandy beach and huge beachy grasses growing everywhere! So we whipped our shoes off and waded in the Aegean sea for about half an hour ;) I found the most gorgeous rocks on that beach- stuff I've never seen the likes of- I'm super excited to add these to my collection at home! Walking on the beach really helped with my stomach- and the ride down the mountain after we spent some time in the water was a lot easier. We visited the temple to Athena (another one!) in Alexandria Troas afterwards- they said it was the first Doric style temple in the Greek civilization! There were a bunch if shops lining the little road leading up to the site- so grandpa and I did a little more shopping! I found some cute beads and earrings and a really pretty scarf :)
We had another long drive to get to Troy, which really wasn't as exciting as we had expected, but I still enjoyed the spot! I got to climb inside a replica of the Trojan horse and we saw the layers of the city from over the years- they rebuilt it nine times throughout the course of however many years... I cant remember :)
Our hotel last night was pretty nice, we were right by the beach so grandpa and I took a walk before dinner and found some amazing shells. It was a little strange though because we had a petting zoo right outside our window! Not entirely sure why they let the roosters run around squawking all night- but I was really wanting to go make that thing stop! It also smelled like a petting zoo on our room- just another adventure I guess! Dinner was pretty good- lunch was even better, I had this amazing tomato soup :) but dinner I had fish and lentil soup and carrots- I've had shredded carrots at almost every meal so far! We also got baklava for dessert, I'm in love ;) this was our last day in Turkey- which was sad because I really have fallen in love with the country and the people and the culture- but also exciting because we get a whole second trip in Greece now!
Picture 1- my bag, I brought it from home, but it looks just like the stuff they sell here!
Picture 2- gorgeous sunrise
Picture 3- dinner!
Picture 4- cute little flower at Assos
Picture 5-more pretty views
Picture 6- Aegean sea
Picture 7- the beach at Alexandria Troas
Picture 8- Roman road travelled by Paul and me!
Picture 9- modern city of Assos
Picture 10- beach!
Picture 11- our morning view
Picture 12- Macit our guide
Picture 13- temple at Alexandria Troas
Picture 14- beach :)
Picture 15-theater in Assos
Picture 16- my favorite rock on the beach- but too big to take home :(
Picture 17- my haul!
Picture 18- dessert- mmmm
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| views from Assos |
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| beach at Alexandria Troas |
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| Roman road |
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| Assos |
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| our guide Macit |
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| temple at Alexandria Troas |
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| theater in Assos |
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| lovely rock I wish I had room for |
Day 9
We're at the halfway point here on day nine- crazy to think! I miss everyone at home more now but it's been so nice getting to know our group better :) last night (which was actually the night of day nine, I'm just late in writing this!) all the girls of our group (there are six of us under twenty) got together and chatted for a couple hrs before bed. It was so nice- felt like our very own sleepover!
Our day was full of adventures- we went to Pergamum and within an hour of being there huge winds started up and caused almost a wind tunnel that literally blew me away! Once the wind started the rain picked up too- pretty soon we had sheets of icy rain blowing sideways. I think I forgot to mention that we had to take a big gondola ride to get up to this site, which was up on this huge mountain (gorgeous views!) but with the storm there was no way we could take the gondola (or cable car) down. So we crammed about fifty people on the little loading area 'waiting out the storm' that never held up.
Our amazing guide Macit called taxis for us though so we were the first group outta there- but taking a crowded taxi down a slippery muddy switchback mountain road in a storm is not my idea of fun :) We made it back to our bus though, and wrung out our hair and coats pretty quickly. Thankfully the rain let up later in the afternoon so we could visit the asclepion- an ancient healing center from Pergamum.
Our day was pretty uneventful after that- we had a long drive to get to the coast where our hotel for the night was. We took a long stop for lunch and then another shorter rest stop to use the WCs and I bought some of the most amazing ice cream :) our hotel was just about the cutest thing! A little seaside villa almost in the water it was so close- our room was tiny but so cute- with exposed brick on the wall and a little window opening onto the water :) I didn't want to leave! Our group was the only one there- we filled up the dinner room! The power went out after dinner for a few hours- which is why us girls got together to chat :) I fell asleep listening to the ocean, soooooo lovely!
Picture 1- our bed for the night
Picture2- exploring the pier!
Picture 3- there are so many funny signs here :)
Picture 4- my shopping score!
Picture 5- walking through a healing tunnel in the asclepion
Picture 6- cute bathrooms :)
Picture 7- pretty views
Picture 8- I lovvvved this town!
Picture 9- cute boats
Picture 10- lunch spot!
Picture 11- fishing boat
Picture 12- not sure if I can remember what this one is :)
Picture 13- the only sun of our day!
Picture 14- such pretty views
Picture 15- dinner
Picture 16- the cutest wall in the cutest room
Picture 17- pide with cheese and tomatoes- so good
Picture 18- more prettiness
Picture 19- and more :)
Picture 20- aaaand more!
Picture 21- Ice cream- so delicious
Picture 22- before the storm
Picture 23- watching the storm roll in off the mountain!
Picture 24- dinner :)
Picture 25- tiny showers!
Our day was full of adventures- we went to Pergamum and within an hour of being there huge winds started up and caused almost a wind tunnel that literally blew me away! Once the wind started the rain picked up too- pretty soon we had sheets of icy rain blowing sideways. I think I forgot to mention that we had to take a big gondola ride to get up to this site, which was up on this huge mountain (gorgeous views!) but with the storm there was no way we could take the gondola (or cable car) down. So we crammed about fifty people on the little loading area 'waiting out the storm' that never held up.
Our amazing guide Macit called taxis for us though so we were the first group outta there- but taking a crowded taxi down a slippery muddy switchback mountain road in a storm is not my idea of fun :) We made it back to our bus though, and wrung out our hair and coats pretty quickly. Thankfully the rain let up later in the afternoon so we could visit the asclepion- an ancient healing center from Pergamum.
Our day was pretty uneventful after that- we had a long drive to get to the coast where our hotel for the night was. We took a long stop for lunch and then another shorter rest stop to use the WCs and I bought some of the most amazing ice cream :) our hotel was just about the cutest thing! A little seaside villa almost in the water it was so close- our room was tiny but so cute- with exposed brick on the wall and a little window opening onto the water :) I didn't want to leave! Our group was the only one there- we filled up the dinner room! The power went out after dinner for a few hours- which is why us girls got together to chat :) I fell asleep listening to the ocean, soooooo lovely!
Picture 1- our bed for the night
Picture2- exploring the pier!
Picture 3- there are so many funny signs here :)
Picture 4- my shopping score!
Picture 5- walking through a healing tunnel in the asclepion
Picture 6- cute bathrooms :)
Picture 7- pretty views
Picture 8- I lovvvved this town!
Picture 9- cute boats
Picture 10- lunch spot!
Picture 11- fishing boat
Picture 12- not sure if I can remember what this one is :)
Picture 13- the only sun of our day!
Picture 14- such pretty views
Picture 15- dinner
Picture 16- the cutest wall in the cutest room
Picture 17- pide with cheese and tomatoes- so good
Picture 18- more prettiness
Picture 19- and more :)
Picture 20- aaaand more!
Picture 21- Ice cream- so delicious
Picture 22- before the storm
Picture 23- watching the storm roll in off the mountain!
Picture 24- dinner :)
Picture 25- tiny showers!
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| exploring the pier |
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| hotel RIGHT on the water |
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| my bed for the night |
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| cute bathrooms |
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| the cutest wall in the cutest room |
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| tiny showers! |
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| ice cream bar with raspberry- so delicious! |
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| I loved this town! |
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| salt fields |
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| watching the storm roll in off the mountains over the water basin used in Pergamum |
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| "chicken" -did not get eaten! |
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| cute boats |
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| walking through a healing tunnel in the asclepion |
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| pide with cheese and tomatoes- so good! |
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| there are so many funny signs here :) |
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| Pergamum |
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