Santorini, Greece

May 4th
After our shenanigans at the airport, we finally arrived in Santorini around 8:30pm, with a busted suitcase handle as a souvenir from Olympic Airlines. I sorta kinda hate them. Since the place is tiny, we were one of two flights for the night, and were greeted at the airport by our hotel's owner, who shuttled us to our adorable hotel located right inside of Fira, the island's main town. Our warm welcome continued with a description of the island and a glass of wine...the only drawback to this point (besides my new hatred for Olympic Airlines) was the weather: it was cold and rainy when we arrived, and reports called for a gloomy Tuesday before a barely-clearer Wednesday. Hmphf.

As recommended by our hotel, we checked out Nikolaus for dinner...delish. Probably the best tzatziki I've ever eaten. Ever. Pair that with shrimp, veal and local wine for less than 30Euro total, and I'm set.

May 5th
We slept in late-ish on Tuesday, and headed out on foot. It had been recommended to rent a car, moped or ATV to explore the island. We surely thought that we could get a half-day rate on a car, given that it was nearly noon when we left the hotel. Wrong. Since it was likely to rain, an ATV was out of the question and we were hesitant to start a trek to Oia, a "forty minute hike". Since we had nothing else to do (really) we intended to start wandering and play it by ear...
Two and a half hours later, the hike ended in the picturesque little town of Oia. Signage was either inaccurate or nonexistent, and the 'obvious' paths weren't so obvious. Apparently, we'd misunderstood the scale of the map, and the nearest little town was a 40 minute hike...oops. On top of that, the wind was tremendous. Tremendous. The kind of wind that chokes you if you open your mouth to talk. Walking on the side of a cliff in extreme winds = an awesome idea.





Needless to say, we took the bus back. It took 20 minutes.

We were thoroughly whooped after our hike, so we laid low for a bit before venturing out to check out the shops and restaurants nearby. We scoped out a rad place to watch the sunset later that evening:



May 6th
Intent on getting our butts on an ATV, we got moving early on Wednesday morning. 13Euro got us an ATV with gas, and we took off to the opposite side of the island for some beaches. We hauled ass along the roads alongside buses, cars and mopeds to a black sand beach:


Then, we braved the roadways again and headed to a red rock beach:





It was my turn to drive next, and I think I surprised Rob with my speedy skills : ]
We checked out a lighthouse and then drove back toward Fira. The views were gorgeous, the sun was shining, and the day was excellent.

Instead of spending boatloads on dinner, we snagged Souvlaki (which is basically what we think of when we say 'kebab' in the States) for dinner before having a few glasses of wine with some folks from our hotel.

May 7th
Our flight was due to depart at 1:45pm, which in Greek means 3pm. We took off around 2:15pm, and landed in Athens without in incident. Yay!

Overall opinion: Even without fantastic weather, I heart Santorini. Gorgeous, relaxing, delicious. End of story.

Istanbul, Turkey

May 2nd

After arriving in Istanbul, we did what we typically do when landing in a new place: find our hostel. This time, however, was more of a shitshow than the place deserved. The directions provided by the hostel were piecemeal at best, and didn't mention that you needed to walk several blocks past the Metro station to find the tram, nor did it give accurate directions from there. After asking many Turkish folks how to get to XYZ street, we were roughly told 'go that way, make a right, then a left, then your next right'. Ohhhh-kaaaay. Street signs in Istanbul = literally nonexistent. The place was a dump, but well-located near the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia, so we busied ourselves enough to avoid it at all costs.

hagia sofia

In an effort to get out from under the skeezy hostel manager's too-friendly-for-my-liking eye, we immediately ditched our (locked) luggage and headed for the Grand Bazaar. Wow. Flea market meets Chinatown? Not even close. The place was massive and packed. They offered things like shoes, girdles, pashminas (to replace my ruined previous one...), lamps, candies, hookahs, knockoff purses and luggage (Summer: I didn't buy any!), ceramics, carpets (of course), food, everything. And you're supposed to haggle. So I tried.



On our way out of the Bazaar, we came across a man selling fruit from a cart. I had no idea what it was, yet he seemed kind and approachable. I peered curiously at the fruit, and he told me the name (in Turkish, of course), which I think was something like Eika (?). He then generously offered me one to sample...it was like a supersupertart green apple. I didn't care much for it, said my thanks yous, and wandered off. Rob then wisely convinced me to live in the now and go back for these shots:

(we did end up buying a little bag of the fruit, and totally chowed down on it...)

Try to find me in this crowd, just outside the Grand Bazaar. I'm in there, really:



Street food rocks, and my inner Anthony Bourdain was kicking in, so we tracked down some roasted corn and a kebab before wandering through the castle grounds:





May 3rd
We'd tried to procure a decent tour of the Asian side of Istanbul (the city sits on both sides of the Bosphorus river, and its the only city to span two continents!), and locked one in for Sunday. Before departure, we hustled over to the Spice Bazaar, which was rumored to smell like a dream come true. It did. Saffron and cinnamon and henna and cumin and curry...swoon.

yup, those are leeches being sold right next to chicks and fertilizer

Next, we hit the Blue Mosque, and even went inside. Since we had to remove our shoes before entering, the place reeked of feet. Ick. It was gorgeous, though. The lamps hang low, since in ancient times, they burned oil, which doesn't put off much light. So, rather than pump up the amount of oil burned, they put the oil closer to the eyeballs. Smart.





Our afternoon tour took us on a bus ride to PierreLotti hill, named after a famous French poet who lived in Istanbul. The cafe situated at the top has an amazing view, and Rob bought a gooey sugary concoction that tasted like melted gummy bears on a stick:



Then, a tour by boat took us up and down the Bosphorus River and along the Golden Horn. Although our "English-speaking guide" told us all about the palaces and bridges, I couldn't understand a word he said. All I caught was that there are two sides, on two continents...cool.

Last stop of the day was a rad underground cistern, used in ancient days to hold the city's water supply. A few of the support columns included parts of sculptures in (I need to look this up...sorry) that were Medusa heads.


May 4th
We woke bright and early for our flight to Athens, then Santorini, and encountered no incidents getting to the airport. I'd been suuuuuper anxious all morning, but couldn't place my feelings. I had an icky spot in the pit of my stomach as we got breakfast. Still, couldn't figure it out. I felt a bit jittery sitting at the gate waiting for our flight. I figured it out when the signage mentioned our delayed plane. I further figured it out when I realized that we would miss our connecting flight to Santorini due to said delay. A two hour trip turned into a twelve hour trip. Great, and screw you too, Olympic Airlines.

Overall opinion: To this moment, I still am completely unsure about how I feel about Istanbul. Some parts and some people were beautiful, genuinely friendly, and happy. Other parts and other people were smug, deceptive, and conniving. Will I miss being hollered at from every direction to sample a menu or buy something? Nope. Will I miss the scent of the Spice Bazaar? Yeah. Will I miss the kind folks who sold us street food? Yes. I just can't get a true feel for the place...

How much would I love it if I could find a strong enough internet connection to load pics onto Blogger?! TONS. Still working on it...there are three posts in the chamber, awaiting photos...

I'm trying!

Okay, so I've written up the post for Istanbul, and am currently working on the verbage for Santorini. I'd LOVE to post our scoop from Istanbul, but can't seem to get Blogger to cooperate with the 20 pics I'd like to embed in it.

With that, please know that we're alive, we're safe, and we're loving Santorini. We head for Athens tomorrow afternoon (Thursday), and I hope to have a strong enough internet connection to do some serious posting damage of the last five days.

Munich, Germany

April 30th
After a late night of celebrating the end of the semester, Rob and I groggily left our gorgeous apartment in Prague and headed for our train with three heavy suitcases and two full backpacks in tow. Our train ride was blissfully uneventful, and we arrived in Munich in the afternoon...

yaaay - the right train!

After hucking our stuff into the hostel, we foraged for food, and found solace in the arms of Burger King. Ick, I know. Sometimes, I've found, nothing says "yeah, you're in a foreign land, but you're still an American," like a burger and fries. It's comforting, really. We then hopped on a tram with one of the monster suitcases to go see my Mom and Brian. As previously mentioned -and a favor for which I am perpetually grateful- they schleped our bag back to the US of A. Our next stop was the HaufBrau House. I've been hearing about this place for YEARS, and while touristy, it definitely exceeded my expectations. Ah-mah-zhing. Rob's buddy Hanno met up with us, and gave us the German lowdown on the place, and a kick-ass restaurant for dinner, because "no one really eats at the Haufbrau House." Proof that I was there:

I ended up on stage with the leiderhosen-clad band...it was Rob's doing...act shocked.

I learned that there are 'drinking teams' that meet biweekly (for YEARS...like fifty years) at the HB, and they have specific seats at specific tables. this is one of their crests.

(note to Mom & Brian: if you got any good group shots of our evening at the HaufBrau, especially one with Hanno, I'd LOVE to post them...mine=not so good.)

May 1
Day two started off much more slowly than day one...we emerged around 11am, and didn't have an itinerary. Goals for the day: the surfer wave, the English Garden, a liter o' beer (or three), and relaxation.

Up first was the surfer wave, which was actually in the English Garden. There's a looooong canal that runs through Munich, and shortly after a bridge is a wave of sorts. I couldn't tell you what was under the surface of the water to create it, and frankly, I don't need to know. I do know, however, that these guys are nuts! They'll ride for a minute or so, then dive back into the foam and float down the river for a bit before swimming like hell for the edge, only to do it all over again...


We wandered through the rest of the Garden, and eventually found our way to a beir garten at the Chinese Tower. Among the Garden's highlights was a nude "beach", a huge patch of grass in the middle of the park where it's apparently okay to be naked. We didn't know about it until we stumbled upon it. Yay.


We also found these crazy ass ducks that ate grass. They were quite particular about just what grass they ate, and would rip it from the ground before chewing it up (I didn't know ducks chewed...now I do):


The giant beer mugs featured in these next shots will soon be seen in a home near you...ours. Seriously.


After a nap and Indian food for dinner (verrrrry German), we met up with Hanno again for beers before calling it a night. Day three was set to start with a mad dash to the airport...

a placeholder...

...until I can wrangle enough time with Mr. Internet to actually post some of the adventures of the last four days. We've hit Munich and Istanbul so far, and its safe to say that they could not be more different.

We're currently in the airport waiting to leave Istanbul for Santorini, and I'm confident that I've spent plenty of time in Turkey for now. Plenty. This place is odd. I can't decide whether I love or hate the people, the culture or the country. More details to come...

Annnnd I apologize for the insane lack of photos of recent posts, all the pics are locked in my cameras (again, waiting for some quality time with the computer to load 'em). Here's an oldie but goodie to hold you over:

I'm certain I've posted this one before, but it is pretty awesome

***UPDATE***
I wrote the above post at 9am this morning in Istanbul. It is currently 5:45pm in Greece, and we're STILL not on Santorini. Thanks to a delay on Olympic Airlines in Istanbul, we missed our connecting flight in Athens. Pleased. Especially when I asked employees MULTIPLE times if we would make our connecting flight, with each reassuring me that we'd be fine. We literally ran through passport control (seriously, like cutting in front of people...always makes ya feel good) and flying through customs only to arrive upstairs to recheck our bags and find that they'd left without us. Thanks. We're now lucky enough to be "compensated" with 12Euro each for meals and a 6 hour wait. Nice. "Well," we thought, "lets make the best of it and get some stuff done on the internet..." We then discovered that Athens Airport only offers 45 free minutes of internet. Awesome. An awesome way to start the Grecian leg of our tour.

Fingers crossed that things go more smoothly moving forward, eh?!

we're on tour...

...yet it doesn't have a name. I've been wracking my brain for an awesome name for Rob and Nicole's 2009 World Tour, but nothing's hit me yet. So far, my fave is Bottoms Up Tour 2009. I'm still waiting for the bolt of lightning that tells me 'this is the name o' your tour...'

We've spent the last few days in Munich, Germany, and leave early tomorrow morning for Istabul, Turkey. I'm excited for Rob to visit a new country, since many of those we've seen together have been repeats for Mr. World Traveler. : ]

More pics and posts as we go...although they'll probably be less frequent than before...