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!)

Rockin Robin

Yamas, from Paros!

I am in a region of the Greek island Paros called Naoussa. My ferry arrived yesterday around noon, and the owners of the hostel I am at (a lovely couple from Germany) picked me up. We had to wait for another ferry to come in so I had some time to explore the capital of the island. I was instantly pleased. This island (unlike what I saw in Corfu last summer) is the postcard-perfect white-washed buildings and blue waters. The next ferry brought in three friends for me! Two girls from Australia and one from New Zealand. They all know each other from living and working in London. Their room is right beside mine and we've pretty much spent our entire time together so far!

So yesterday we checked out our town, got groceries, and spent some time at the beach. The town is so so so cute and white and pretty and there are so many little nooks and crannies. I'll have no trouble at all spending the next couple days here! Even though it's quite tiny, I still got lost in the maze of the streets trying to find this internet cafe! I don't mind at all though. Last evening we met some guys from our hostel - two from Sheffield and one from Alberta (my roomie). We hung out around the harbour drinking a little, then (oh my goodness it rained a little) so we headed to toga bar. We got there quite early, 9ish, but didn't end up getting home until 3!! The music was fantastic and we befriended the bartender (I saw him on my way here and chatted with him some), and danced the night away. Lots of fun oldies (hence, "Rockin Robin"...I do love that song). There were two older English couples (among others) that we talked with too. One of the men said I have an aura about me and said that I will make someone a very happy wife someday! The other said I'm his favourite Polish teacher. haha Those comments amused me. Anyways, it was a very fun night out.

Unfortunately today it is very overcast!! I caught some sun and a cat nap this morning on the roof of our hostel, luckily. The hostel owners said this is extremely unusual for this time of year. Us girls were going to rent quads to explore the island, but it's really not a nice day for it! They leave tomorrow...I'll definitely miss them! They are lots of fun and really great girls. We will definitely be in touch.

Wednesday evening at my hostel in Athens I met some more cool people. An especially awesome Canadian gal from Alberta who's been working in London the past year. Oh I can't get over all the amazing people I meet! It really makes a difference to the travelling.

Well, I think that's all I've got to report at the moment! Much love...

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

Living in a palace

Oh how I would love to go on about the history of Split right now, but I only have a short time on the computer. More on it later. It's fascinating, really.

I've really enjoyed my time here. I met some nice people at the beach Thursday and Friday that I chatted with during the days (one from London, Ontario!), and I've made some good friends at my hostel - a couple Aussies and a couple Kiwis. I have a train this afternoon to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, en route to Greece. I opted for the train after all, versus the ferry. Much quicker, and I have yet to travel by train over here this summer, and I love the train.

I promise to give a more detailed post about my time in Split, but just checking in right now to say hey and that I am in fact moving on today. Hope all is lovely. xoxox

Time to Split...!

Guess where I am? Haha. Split, Croatia!

Yesterday morning I flew to Pula, where I spent the day. Gorgeous little fishing village with a marina (you'd think I like the coast or something...). I was able to share a taxi with 3 others into the town center. From there I got a map and found accomodations. I had a quaint little private room right in the middle of the action. I toured myself around with my map and saw lots of sites - the Temple of Augustus right beside the town hall, chruches, and a few different arches/gateways throughout the town. What caught me by surprise was the huge and stunning amphitheatre. It's the 6th largest in the world! I read on a park bench for a little and there were two little old ladies beside me. One could speak English. When I told her I was from Canada, she told me her son lives in Kitchener. Look at that! Small world...it never ends. (Speaking of small world...in London while roaming, Jodi and I saw a gal, Laryssa, who goes to Bikram Yoga KW and who had about a month ago moved to London...wild!) I totally crashed last night at about 7:30, as I had been up since about 4:30 in the morning to get my flight!

Today I got up at 6 to catch the ferry to Zadar. It was one of those "fast"ferries and therefore all the seating was indoor. It's like an airplane, but really wide - 12 seats across (2, 4, 4, and 2). The woman sitting behind me shared some of her grapes with me. It was so sweet!

So I had kind of decided before getting to Zadar that I wasn't going to stay there. I did want to see (rather, HEAR) the sea organ though. That itself is worth the stop in Zadar. I think it's the most amazing thing I've ever heard. You can't really see it, but there are these man-made marble pipes in the water, such that the wind and the water create a constant organ sound/song that plays. I was so in awe of it. I could have listened all day! You can also go swimming right up to it (and see it). That was my purpose in Zadar. Yup. I did wander some through the town for a couple hours - another really quaint village on the water with a marina; winding cobblestone streets and colourful old buildings. I enjoyed a deliciously flaky cheese burek and got some uber cheap produce at a market. (P.S. There are huge produce/flower markets EVERYWHERE I go in Croatia. It's marvelous.) I made my way to the bus station and caught the next bus to Split. It was the most enjoyable bus ride I've ever been on. I was so loving the scenic drive along the Dalmatian coast - going through all the towns on the water. Heaven. I'm beginning to forget what clouds are...such a concept seems to be non-existent in these coastal locations. Perhaps that is my draw....

I arrived in Split this evening, found a hostel, and found some dinner. I have another hostel booked for the next three nights, something a little less expensive, so after I make the switch tomorrow, my plan is to hit the beach! Yey! And my luggage is officially being picked up from Marc's on Friday (for those of you interested) where it will be kept in storage until it gets delivered to me in Poland, mid-September. Fabulous.

Croatia is beautiful! I'm definitely a water/coast girl. Definitely. Ahh the life...xoxox

So I never did get the hang of...

...which way to look while crossing the street. Solution? Always look both ways.

I'm flying to Pula, Croatia tomorrow morning! I am soooooooo excited. From there I will journey to Zadar, and then spend a majority of my time in Split (well, these things CAN change...but that's the idea).

Today has been very nice, warm and sunny in fact! We went to the Notting Hill Carnival, which was INSANE. Just sooooo many people. About 6 million I was told? Wild. Jerk chicken and Red Stripe and loud music. Yey! Marc and I had a yummy Vietnemese dinner out last night too. And now to organize for tomorrow...until next time! xo