Last day of holiday...

I can't believe I will be arriving in Poland tomorrow evening...! I am so very excited to be learning about my job and getting into a routine. I'M GOING TO BE A TEACHER!!! (I'm not sure this has fully hit me yet.)

The rest of my time in Paros was enjoyable. Friday after blogging I ran into the two English couples we had met at Toga bar the night before, so they invited me to join them for coffee (and they treated, very generous), which was very thoughtful. They couldn't get over the fact that I was travelling alone. Went out for dinner that evening with the girls from my hostel. It actually rained! So because of that, we had a cozy girls night in and watched two movies (one of the girls had her laptop): Madagascar 2, and Role Models. They left the next morning, and I had a new roommate; a Greek American girl from Seattle. She had been working at a hospital in Athens all summer and was taking her last week off to travel to some islands. We got along very well. We had a half beach day Saturday (it was still cool and overcast), we did our own thing for a little, then we went out for crepes for dinner. We sat there long enough that we had room to get dessert too. I forget what they are called but they are these balls of dough, fried, and served saturated and dripping in honey. Mmmmm. I am going to miss Greek pastries! We stopped in at Toga bar to say hi to the bartender, and we ended up staying for a few drinks (he was spoiling us and kept pouring...). Sunday was finally hot and sunny again! Yey! So I had a full beach day, my last on the island. Then I took myself out for a romantic dinner for one. I had moussaka. Someone at the restaurant had a nice slice of watermelon sent to me for dessert. That put a big smile on my face. It's the simple things. At the town church there was Greek dancing last night so I watched that. Then I headed to where I was now a regular, back to Toga bar. It was a quiet evening there so I chatted with my friend/the bartender. Later on some girls from my hostel that I'd seen but hadn't chatted with before showed up, so I joined them. They were from South Africa, and one from Sweden. They left and I stayed on a little more, to chat more with Toga man. It was my last night, after all.

Today I had a ferry back to Athens, and that's where I am now. Back to Aphrodite hostel. It's my third time here now: last summer, last week, and now! Get this, I've had the SAME ROOM all three times! The guy at the front desk knows me and knows what key to give me every time. Haha. Who knew you could be a regular at a hostel?? So one night here then flight to Warsaw tomorrow! So hard to believe....

I'm on my fourth book since leaving mid-August. I'm all showered and feeling fresh, ready for my new challenge. And now I must take advantage of my last moments in Greece. I need gyros. And one more ooey gooey honey soaked pastry. Next stop, Poland!

Oh! And my luggage will arrive Friday! (I packed some of my "teaching attire" in my backpack that I have with me. So I am not concerned!)

Quickie!

Hello from (drizzly) Athens!

Just wanted to say that I am ferrying to Paros island tomorrow, and will be returning to Athens Monday afternoon. The hostel I am staying at in Paros is picking me up from the port! Yey! And everything is arranged for my arrival/pick-up in Warsaw next Tuesday. Whoa. I can't believe how soon it's coming up...!

I hung out with Anthony yesterday, yey! It's so great to know people who are all over. We wandered around near the flea market and had lunch in the afternoon (with his cousin too) and then climbed up near the Acropolis at night, to see it and the city all lit up. It was very pretty. I hung out at the hostel bar last night, and chatted with some really cool people from all around the world! Today I got my ferry ticket, did a little shopping, went to the National Gardens and back to the flea market area. Wandering is what I do best. I had a most delicious gyro...mmmm. I think Greek food is my favourite. I think I will head to bed early this evening as I am still tired from my train journey and have a very early morning tomorrow! That's the short version, I suppose! I may or may not be in touch in Paros...so until next time!

41 hours later...

...I've made it to Athens! I'm at the hostel that Catrina and I stayed at last year (right at this time actually!). Yey for free internet!

So. I should explain the "living in a palace". In Split, the old town is actually within the walls of Diocletian's Palace...built in 305 AD, get this, as a RETIREMENT home! At the north wall is the golden gate, and there is a large statue of a bishop (Grgur Ninski). He looks like an angry wizard, but in fact it is depicting him arguing with the pope to introduce the national language into the church...this was in the 4th century. Latin was still the language of the church up until the 1960s! Pretty progressive guy, eh? Outside the west wall is a fish market. It's located there because it's near where the sulphur baths used to be, and the smell of the sulphur keeps the flies away! Clever! The south wall used to be right at the water, but now there is a huge promenade with shops and restaurants and benches and palms, all making for a nice view of the Adriatic. The west wall is pretty much non-existent, and is instead lots and lots of shops. Some people still live within the walls of the palace. If they do, they must keep their place restored. Archaeologists have to go into the home first and check things out. One place had some artifacts that were dug up displayed in their front garden! So that's my little points of interest that I learned on the walking tour Thursday...

After the tour I hit the beach. That's when I met some people to chat with - 3 guys (one Canadian and two Aussies, I think), and a girl from California. I saw the guys again on Friday at the beach. The water is really shallow for a really long time. It's very clear, and the bottom was sandy smooth. Very refreshing. On Friday I checked out some other beaches, but they were rocky so I went back to the sandy spot. Thursday for dinner I ate at the same sandwich shop I had found Wednesday. It was just too good not to go back. My hostel seemed pretty quiet. I was wandering the streets and kept popping back in to see if anyone was around to do anything. At last I met a guy from London (England), staying at my hostel so we went out for a drink. After the beach Friday is when I met two Aussies, two Kiwis (more Oktoberfest company?), and a Ukrainian gal at my hostel, so we spent a social evening together. Saturday morning there was a huge thunderstorm. It didn't last too long though, and it was early enough that it did not affect my day. After booking my train to Zagreb for the following day, I ended up at an Irish pub to watch the Australian/South Africa rugby game (as my hostel friends were there). It amuses me greatly how into rubgy all these folks are. I suppose it's like Canadians and hockey - everyone reacting at the same time. When the game was over we stayed behind and chatted some, then I took another stroll around the palace. It really is like a maze. The streets are so so so narrow and it's fun to try and get lost...

Saturday evening involved hanging out with the same group, minus a few, plus a lot of English boys, at the hostel. It was lots of fun. (Guess who was convinced to do the splits in Split? haha) Sunday I packed up, had lunch with Veronica (one of the Aussies), and hopped on my 3pm train to Zagreb!

From Zagreb I caught an overnight train to Belgrade (and slept pretty well), and then from Belgrade, I didn't have to switch trains until Thessaloniki, Greece. So I got to see lots of Serbia and Macedonia. The train people got to know me. I think I am the only one who did the 14.5 hour stretch. At one point there was a pretty sketchy character sitting in the same compartment as me...but two of the train workers sat in the next compartment over and were constantly checking in on me (and him?) to make sure I was ok. Serbia and Macedonia are significantly run down from what I am used to seeing. The houses are all shades of yellows, oranges, browns, and creams. The countryside is very lush. From Skopje for about an hour or two, three Macedonian people around my age sat with me. One particularly liked chatting with me to practice his English, so that was nice for a little (I had finished my book Monday afternoon). The train was late picking them up and he seemed especially concerned that I would be alone in Thessaloniki and wouldn't make my train to Athens (the last one I knew of was at 11:30pm, and I was supposed to get in at 10pm. Didn't get in until 11:40pm but turns out there was a 1:40am train to Athens. Yey!). It was sweet of him. He said he wants to see me again, but we didn't swap any information so I guess we'll have to leave that one up to fate...!

Ok. Now I must nap, or something. Then I'll call Anthony! My bed will be available shortly at the hostel, as I didn't sleep very well on last night's train! I got lucky on my previous trains with the compartment-style seating...it allowed me to easily stretch out and sleep! Athens today, and potentially Paros tomorrow. That's the plan for now anyways! Thanks to all those posts out there! I love getting them!!! xo