Dreamer, artist, student of life. Appreciating the simple things.
On my final day, I resolved not to spend any money except for food and souvenirs. So I went museum touring, which are all free thanks to the graciousness of the city.
First stop, the British Museum. I was duly impressed. The outside was like the typical columned façade white-stone type like the Met and all the other very large museums. The inside…was gorgeous.
I apologize in advance for the length of this post. I did a lot on that day.
This day was basically Shirley on touring bloodlust. That is the only way I can explain how I managed to go everywhere. In summary, I went to the Monument, Tower Hill, Tower Bridge Experience, Design Museum, London Bridge, London Bridge horror tour or whatever that’s called, Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Jewel Tower, St. Paul’s, and Shakespeare’s Globe. I bought this London Pass which promised access to all the major attractions, which is A LIE because there’s a spending limit to the places I could visit which I found out at the last minute. Still, a good bargain overall.
This post was made possible by McDonalds, British Museum and the Tate Modern in order for pictures to slowly upload and content to be written meticulously on my iPod. Thank you, free wifi services. I’m leaving London tomorrow morning, however, and will be in the hands of even more unreliable web connections of China. Oh internet, I am so addicted to you.
Obligatory picture from plane
When I (safely) arrived in Heathrow Airport, it really hit me that I was here. In England. I was particularly impressed by how nice everyone was. The man at the airport was extremely patient even when I was being ridiculous and very confused in asking for directions. (His accent may have made me lose my concentration a bit…)
To my surprise, I experienced a culture shock. Stupid of me, of course, London being in a completely different country and all, but being suddenly addressed as “miss” in a British accent made me feel like I was in a movie. Then walking out and finding the buses red and the skies rainy gray made me think wow, am I in a movie? I felt like the girl in Parent Trap, when she goes into London for the first time. The song There She Goes was totally playing in the background at the same time.
In London now, but have really spotty Internet so I can’t update properly, with the ten gazillion pictures I’ve already taken. So here’s a fun story, about how I got from Athens to London.
My favorite Chinese proverb goes like this: it’s about an old man who lost his whole herd of horses. What seemed like an awful thing turned out to be okay, because the horses returned with a pack of wild stallions and it increased his herd. My leaving Greece was full of strange coincidences like this, which reinforces my belief that everything just always turns out okay.
Today is the last day of work. My LAST DAY of working in Greece. This still has yet to sink in. I’ve finalized the website, proofread with my partner, Efi, and written a final report. I have my last Greek class today. I still have one weekend, and off to London next.
Looking back, I’ve eaten a lot of good food.
Hi! I'm a delicious pita giro with chicken and tomatoes and lettuce and fries and mayo, all wrapped in a nice hot pita.
Chicken giro. What would I do without this. The cheapest of them all, this €2.30 ~ €2.50 meal has sustained me through many lunches and dinners. The first night we were in Greece, I was introduced to giros and it’s been a loyal friend ever since.
My friend Lizzy came to visit me Saturday. I got to see Nafplion again through the eyes of a newcomer. It really made me realize that I’ve been here for four weeks already…and only have one week to go.
Like me, Lizzy is an adventurous heights climber. We spent our time together walking up various sets of stairs and looking down from heights. When she arrived, we climbed half-lit paths to find a gorgeous view of Nafplion at night.
City lights
More of the Greek cerulean blue.
On Saturday we went to Poros, another Greek island though bigger than Hydras and had actual SAND beaches. The water was nice and cold, and salty enough to make floating super easy as always.
On the final day in Athens, our group went to the Archaelogical Museum and made a short stop in Corinth before finally returning to Nafplion. There was a fun coin exhibit that showed the incidences of myth in old coins, but what everything liked best was probably this giant Zeus head that was there introducing the gods.
I am Zeus, god of gods!
People keep asking me how the economy is doing here. Well, today was some sort of general strike, so none of the interns went to work. One of them is stuck in the hospital, despite being quite recovered now, because the specialist is on strike and won’t be in the hospital to check him out. There is so much discontent here.
Well, more time to blog.
We woke up bright and early on the second day in Athens to climb the Acropolis. In Athens, there are a great many dogs, more so than Nafplion. One followed us alone the way to the basee of the Acropolis until one of the interns told it to go away, in Greek. While waiting in line to get into the Acropolis, there was a huge dog fight that scared half our group from sitting patiently listening to Mata, our teacher-tour guide.
Dear Mom, all the dogs here in Greece are HUGE. Half bear, I think. Beware.
Thankfully, most seemed too tired to do anything but sit.