Thursday, June 19, 2008
Celebrity Detective
I like detective type work. I love researching and finding something out – especially when it is about a person and especially when it is a celebrity! So, whenever I see pics of celebrities coming out of their NYC homes, I like to try to figure out where they are. Usually, there’s not enough clues. However, from this picture of Lance & Kate that came out yesterday, I was able to figure out exactly where Lance’s Manhattan apartment is located - 40 Central Park South, right next door to Sarabeths. The awning at Sarabeths gave it away – even with only the first 2-3 letters visible, I recognized the font. But, there are about 4 Sarabeths in the city, so I needed the number “40” you see them walking over. I was able to look up the addresses of the various Sarabeths location and found there was one located at 40 Central Park South! You know I’ll be scoping it out soon! Lance must have a super nice apartment with that location and incredible CP views!
Treats Truck!
My new favorite find in the city is the Treats Truck! The Treats Truck roams the city with delicious baked goods in tow. She has a website so you can see where she’s going to be parked each day and about once a week she sits around the corner from my office. I treated 2 of our staff to the Treats Truck this week for one of their birthdays. We loved it. The oatmeal jammey was delish!
This is Sugar. There’s also a truck named Dot, but I haven’t met her yet.
This is Sugar. There’s also a truck named Dot, but I haven’t met her yet.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Athens
I am thankful I got to see the city of Athens, but I think we all agreed that it was our least favorite city of the trip. It was a big city. It was hot and it was difficult to get around. Street signs and maps were hard to use and finding someone who spoke English was less likely. I was excited to see all the historical spots there, but I don’t think anyone on this trip is a huge history buff. I think we were right in scheduling the least amount of time here. Here’s what we saw:
Day 1, Saturday
We flew from Santorini to Athens on Saturday afternoon. A very quick flight. Driving into the city, we were all pretty amazed at the vastness of Athens. It looks very flat, so you can see quite a distance and it is completely covered in buildings. We arrived at our hotel – The Marriott (thanks to Sean, PWC and Marriott points) and were pleased with our accommodations and the free happy hour that was about to start! We hit-up the free food and drinks then set out to explore Athens as Elizabeth only had 24 hours in the city. We took the subway to see our first glimpses of the Acropolis. We also spent some time hanging out on Mars Hill – this is the rock where Paul gave the sermon that is recorded in Acts 17. Paul is probably my most favorite bible character – I love the books he wrote. So, to stand where he once stood and imagine him preaching to the masses was pretty exciting! Plus, climbing around the rock was pretty fun – and a little scary as it was completely made of marble and quite slippery!
We explored the area below the Acropolis which was full of cafes that were full of people. I had been recommended a restaurant and we had an address and a map, but it took us FORever to find the place. We almost gave up several times, but managed to press on and Elizabeth pulled through when she discovered the street we were looking for curved in a different direction. The restaurant was non-touristy and all locals eating there, which I love. All the seating was outside and it was a great evening for that. The food was good, too! Afterwards, we walked back towards the Acropolis to see it lit up at night – so pretty!
Day 2, Sunday
Our big day to see the sights of Athens. We explored the stadium where the very first Olympics occurred in 1896, the Temple of Zeus, and Hadrian’s Arch. Next it was on to the Acropolis. It took some time to see the ancient city – there are 2 theatres and many old buildings. The views of Athens from up there were great…you can see the city with the mountains in the background on one side and the ocean on the other. Afterwards, we walked down to one of the little cafes to have Elizabeth’s very last lunch. We were confused this entire trip about the tipping customs and sometimes tipped and sometimes did not. At this restaurant, we tipped. Next thing we knew, they brought out a massive chocolate/ice cream dessert. Nice! After lunch, Elizabeth had to leave us to head back to the USA. We were sad to lose our 4th travel partner.
Tonya, Sean and I pressed on. We first went to see the "smaller Parthenon". I liked this a lot because it really looked old (not restored) and was still pretty well put together.
Later, we went shopping in the Plaka…Tonya and I had been looking to buy olive oil the entire trip and found tons of it in the Plaka! I also bought a rug from a Greek lady who had lived in Manhattan for a while and treated me to some free Santorini wine!
After being on our feet in the heat all day, we were ready to head back to the hotel. We took it pretty easy that night and once again enjoyed the free food and drinks at the hotel happy hour!
Day 3, Monday
We got up on Monday super early, hoping to go to Corinth for ½ the day. I wanted to see a little more of the land where Paul once walked. Unfortunately, our tour never showed up. I’m still not exactly sure what happened with that. But, we made the most of the day anyway. We went back to bed for 2 hours! Then, we headed towards the shore. We had heard that the communities along there were nicer and less-touristy, but I don’t think any of us were impressed. We did eat lunch at a restaurant on the water, which was nice. We also had fun watching all the old people who were swimming way out into the ocean – the water was so clear and calm, I was jealous!
After the ocean, we headed towards Kolonaki. This is an area that I had been told was more upscale and less touristy. We happened to pass by Parliament on the way and were there just in time to see the Changing of the Guards. It was fun to watch! Kolonaki was a nice neighborhood with good shops. Unfortunately, many shops close super early on Mondays! We did get to go in Zara Home – didn’t even know it existed. We need one in the states!! They had some great home décor and it wasn’t too pricey. I could go nuts in there. I enjoyed walking through this nicer neighborhood where locals live, eat and shop.
Next, it was back to our hotel to pick up our bags to head to the airport once again!
See my Athens pics HERE!
Next blog: Dublin!
Day 1, Saturday
We flew from Santorini to Athens on Saturday afternoon. A very quick flight. Driving into the city, we were all pretty amazed at the vastness of Athens. It looks very flat, so you can see quite a distance and it is completely covered in buildings. We arrived at our hotel – The Marriott (thanks to Sean, PWC and Marriott points) and were pleased with our accommodations and the free happy hour that was about to start! We hit-up the free food and drinks then set out to explore Athens as Elizabeth only had 24 hours in the city. We took the subway to see our first glimpses of the Acropolis. We also spent some time hanging out on Mars Hill – this is the rock where Paul gave the sermon that is recorded in Acts 17. Paul is probably my most favorite bible character – I love the books he wrote. So, to stand where he once stood and imagine him preaching to the masses was pretty exciting! Plus, climbing around the rock was pretty fun – and a little scary as it was completely made of marble and quite slippery!
We explored the area below the Acropolis which was full of cafes that were full of people. I had been recommended a restaurant and we had an address and a map, but it took us FORever to find the place. We almost gave up several times, but managed to press on and Elizabeth pulled through when she discovered the street we were looking for curved in a different direction. The restaurant was non-touristy and all locals eating there, which I love. All the seating was outside and it was a great evening for that. The food was good, too! Afterwards, we walked back towards the Acropolis to see it lit up at night – so pretty!
Day 2, Sunday
Our big day to see the sights of Athens. We explored the stadium where the very first Olympics occurred in 1896, the Temple of Zeus, and Hadrian’s Arch. Next it was on to the Acropolis. It took some time to see the ancient city – there are 2 theatres and many old buildings. The views of Athens from up there were great…you can see the city with the mountains in the background on one side and the ocean on the other. Afterwards, we walked down to one of the little cafes to have Elizabeth’s very last lunch. We were confused this entire trip about the tipping customs and sometimes tipped and sometimes did not. At this restaurant, we tipped. Next thing we knew, they brought out a massive chocolate/ice cream dessert. Nice! After lunch, Elizabeth had to leave us to head back to the USA. We were sad to lose our 4th travel partner.
Tonya, Sean and I pressed on. We first went to see the "smaller Parthenon". I liked this a lot because it really looked old (not restored) and was still pretty well put together.
Later, we went shopping in the Plaka…Tonya and I had been looking to buy olive oil the entire trip and found tons of it in the Plaka! I also bought a rug from a Greek lady who had lived in Manhattan for a while and treated me to some free Santorini wine!
After being on our feet in the heat all day, we were ready to head back to the hotel. We took it pretty easy that night and once again enjoyed the free food and drinks at the hotel happy hour!
Day 3, Monday
We got up on Monday super early, hoping to go to Corinth for ½ the day. I wanted to see a little more of the land where Paul once walked. Unfortunately, our tour never showed up. I’m still not exactly sure what happened with that. But, we made the most of the day anyway. We went back to bed for 2 hours! Then, we headed towards the shore. We had heard that the communities along there were nicer and less-touristy, but I don’t think any of us were impressed. We did eat lunch at a restaurant on the water, which was nice. We also had fun watching all the old people who were swimming way out into the ocean – the water was so clear and calm, I was jealous!
After the ocean, we headed towards Kolonaki. This is an area that I had been told was more upscale and less touristy. We happened to pass by Parliament on the way and were there just in time to see the Changing of the Guards. It was fun to watch! Kolonaki was a nice neighborhood with good shops. Unfortunately, many shops close super early on Mondays! We did get to go in Zara Home – didn’t even know it existed. We need one in the states!! They had some great home décor and it wasn’t too pricey. I could go nuts in there. I enjoyed walking through this nicer neighborhood where locals live, eat and shop.
Next, it was back to our hotel to pick up our bags to head to the airport once again!
See my Athens pics HERE!
Next blog: Dublin!
Friday, June 13, 2008
SANTORINI
I don't think that anything I could say about Santorini would do it justice. I loved this place. We ALL loved this place. Here's what we did:
DAY 1, Wednesday
We arrived to Santorini Wednesday evening after our very disorganized and chaotic ferry ride from Mykonos. It wasn't horrible, but not great either. But, it was the fastest and cheapest way to get between these two islands. We went straight to the village of Oia and our condo, Oia's Sunset. We were very warmly greeted by Panos, the owner. He had a bottle of wine chilled for us and insisted we sit down and enjoy the sunset from the patio before taking our luggage to our room. Panos was definitely a great host and great addition to our three days in Santorini.
After the sunset, we headed out to see Oia and find dinner. Santorini was very different from Mykonos and we were awestruck by the dramatic scenery. The cities are all perched at the tops of cliffs, formed by a volcano. Almost all the buildings are white. We ended up at a restaurant called Skala, mainly because of it's great patio with views. Dinners in Greece are very long. The service is slow and they do not bring you your bill until you ask - even if it's been an hour. And, if you wait long enough, they often bring you something free. After dinner, we went to a bakery and had the best Baklava! We also sat long enough to be treated to Santorini's famous sweet wine. Loved it!
Day 2, Thursday
We spent Thursday exploring Oia. We split up some and went our separate ways and also enjoyed time together. The shops in Oia were great - lots of vintage/antique shops! Tonya and I separately wandered to the Oia Castle and ended up there together! We enjoyed great views from there. The four of us went to lunch on a patio with a view. This is the restaurant where we had our first tzatziki (a cucumber/yogurt dip) in Greece. It was excellent! I enjoyed my first Greek salad of the trip as well - yum! We all spent some time lounging around the pool at our condo that afternoon. I also managed to fit in a hike down to Ammoudi Bay, a fishing village located below Oia. It was pretty down there and I enjoyed the exercise!
We made Thursday night our nice dinner night. We went to a highly recommended restaurant, Ambrosia & Nectar. It was very cute and the food was so good. They've been highlighted on the Food Network for their Baked Feta. It's feta wrapped in phyllo, baked and drizzled with honey. It was amazing. I tried the Greek dish Moussaka. It's an eggplant dish that looks like lasagna. I generally don't like eggplant, but wanted to try this and figured this was the place to do so. It was okay. We enjoyed sitting on their patio for a long time, which resulted in more free sweet wine!
Day 3, Friday
Sean's Birthday! Panos helped us start the day off right by giving us a bottle of champagne for Sean's birthday. We then jetted off in a rented Jeep to explore the island. We visited a red rock beach then later had lunch and laid out on a black rock beach. I enjoyed my first, very quick, dip in the Mediterranean Sea - it was still a bit cold and no one else was in at the time. I get freaked out when I'm in the ocean by myself! We also visited the Santorini lighthouse and enjoyed hiking around the cliffs there. We stopped at a couple of random road-side food stands and picked up Greek treats to bring home with us. We also visited 3 wineries. So fun doing the tastings! First was Boutari winery, where I purchased 2 bottles of their Santorini sweet wine - I love that stuff! Galvanas Vineyards was next - it was a very cute place and the owner took us on a fun tour. I also think they had the best wines of the 3 we visited. Finally, it was Santos Winery where we enjoyed more wine tasting, cheese plates, and an incredible sunset! On our way back to Oia that evening, Tonya and I convinced Elizabeth & Sean to let us stop in the city of Fira to shop. We negotiated to 30 minutes. It took Tonya and I a little longer than that and we could have shopped much more! But, we were very efficient and both got new European leather purses!
Dinner our final night in Santorini was back in Oia at Roka - another great Greek restaurant! It was home-style Greek food and it felt like we were eating in someone's house! I can't remember what I ate here, but I do remember it was good!
Day 4, Saturday
Only 1/2 of Saturday was spent in Santorini, so I woke up early to enjoy my final hours there. I decided to take a walk on the "path to Fira". I thought it was just a walk on the path along the top of the cliff. Before I knew it, I was at the top of the mountain. It ended up being quite a hike! But, the exercise and views were worth it!
After my hike, I ran to a couple of more shops, grabbed a baked omelet for breakfast on a cafe patio, then met back up with the group for our ride to the airport.
Santorini was incredible! See my pics HERE!
NEXT UP: Athens!
DAY 1, Wednesday
We arrived to Santorini Wednesday evening after our very disorganized and chaotic ferry ride from Mykonos. It wasn't horrible, but not great either. But, it was the fastest and cheapest way to get between these two islands. We went straight to the village of Oia and our condo, Oia's Sunset. We were very warmly greeted by Panos, the owner. He had a bottle of wine chilled for us and insisted we sit down and enjoy the sunset from the patio before taking our luggage to our room. Panos was definitely a great host and great addition to our three days in Santorini.
After the sunset, we headed out to see Oia and find dinner. Santorini was very different from Mykonos and we were awestruck by the dramatic scenery. The cities are all perched at the tops of cliffs, formed by a volcano. Almost all the buildings are white. We ended up at a restaurant called Skala, mainly because of it's great patio with views. Dinners in Greece are very long. The service is slow and they do not bring you your bill until you ask - even if it's been an hour. And, if you wait long enough, they often bring you something free. After dinner, we went to a bakery and had the best Baklava! We also sat long enough to be treated to Santorini's famous sweet wine. Loved it!
Day 2, Thursday
We spent Thursday exploring Oia. We split up some and went our separate ways and also enjoyed time together. The shops in Oia were great - lots of vintage/antique shops! Tonya and I separately wandered to the Oia Castle and ended up there together! We enjoyed great views from there. The four of us went to lunch on a patio with a view. This is the restaurant where we had our first tzatziki (a cucumber/yogurt dip) in Greece. It was excellent! I enjoyed my first Greek salad of the trip as well - yum! We all spent some time lounging around the pool at our condo that afternoon. I also managed to fit in a hike down to Ammoudi Bay, a fishing village located below Oia. It was pretty down there and I enjoyed the exercise!
We made Thursday night our nice dinner night. We went to a highly recommended restaurant, Ambrosia & Nectar. It was very cute and the food was so good. They've been highlighted on the Food Network for their Baked Feta. It's feta wrapped in phyllo, baked and drizzled with honey. It was amazing. I tried the Greek dish Moussaka. It's an eggplant dish that looks like lasagna. I generally don't like eggplant, but wanted to try this and figured this was the place to do so. It was okay. We enjoyed sitting on their patio for a long time, which resulted in more free sweet wine!
Day 3, Friday
Sean's Birthday! Panos helped us start the day off right by giving us a bottle of champagne for Sean's birthday. We then jetted off in a rented Jeep to explore the island. We visited a red rock beach then later had lunch and laid out on a black rock beach. I enjoyed my first, very quick, dip in the Mediterranean Sea - it was still a bit cold and no one else was in at the time. I get freaked out when I'm in the ocean by myself! We also visited the Santorini lighthouse and enjoyed hiking around the cliffs there. We stopped at a couple of random road-side food stands and picked up Greek treats to bring home with us. We also visited 3 wineries. So fun doing the tastings! First was Boutari winery, where I purchased 2 bottles of their Santorini sweet wine - I love that stuff! Galvanas Vineyards was next - it was a very cute place and the owner took us on a fun tour. I also think they had the best wines of the 3 we visited. Finally, it was Santos Winery where we enjoyed more wine tasting, cheese plates, and an incredible sunset! On our way back to Oia that evening, Tonya and I convinced Elizabeth & Sean to let us stop in the city of Fira to shop. We negotiated to 30 minutes. It took Tonya and I a little longer than that and we could have shopped much more! But, we were very efficient and both got new European leather purses!
Dinner our final night in Santorini was back in Oia at Roka - another great Greek restaurant! It was home-style Greek food and it felt like we were eating in someone's house! I can't remember what I ate here, but I do remember it was good!
Day 4, Saturday
Only 1/2 of Saturday was spent in Santorini, so I woke up early to enjoy my final hours there. I decided to take a walk on the "path to Fira". I thought it was just a walk on the path along the top of the cliff. Before I knew it, I was at the top of the mountain. It ended up being quite a hike! But, the exercise and views were worth it!
After my hike, I ran to a couple of more shops, grabbed a baked omelet for breakfast on a cafe patio, then met back up with the group for our ride to the airport.
Santorini was incredible! See my pics HERE!
NEXT UP: Athens!
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Mykonos
Finally, a blog about my trip!
Mykonos was our first stop. We got there very late Sunday night and honestly couldn't see too much on our drive from the airport to our hotel. We did know upon our arrival to the hotel that it was going to be fantastic. Thanks to Tonya, PWC, and Starwood Points, we were very well off with our accommodations at the Starwood Santa Marina hotel. We, however, were dying to go to bed!
DAY 1, Monday
After less than 5 hours of sleep, I woke up at 4:30AM. Uh, oh. Jet Lag! I was wide awake and there was nothing I could do about it (I'd even taken sleeping pills the night before). Once the clock hit 5:30, I decided I couldn't waste time in Greece just lying in bed so I pulled on running clothes and set out for my first views of Greece. It was gorgeous as the sun was just rising. I fell in love immediately. It was so quiet and there was hardly anyone out (the hotel staff thought I was crazy for going running so early, but ensured me it was quite safe). I took my camera and had a blast capturing my first images of Mykonos Island.
I got back to the hotel and took a shower then grabbed my Bible and headed to a pool-side lounge chair overlooking the ocean. I'm pretty sure that there's not a better place to have your DAWG (daily appointment w/ God....c'mon, it's youth-group slang). I was able to head back up to the room and sleep for an hour before Sean knocked and we all got up and went down for a pool-side breakfast. We then spent the bulk of our day right there on our hotel's private beach. It was fabulous. We read/slept/listened to our ipods, talked, and got great sun.
After cleaning up, we walked over to check out the little village that was near our hotel. There wasn't a whole lot there, but we did find some snacks to tide us over until dinner. We caught the hotel shuttle into Mykonos town-the largest village on the island. It is a pedestrian only village and was great fun to explore! Lots of restaurants, cafes, shops, and bars.
We first stopped to see the windmills that Mykonos is famous for. Then, we got drinks at Caprice-we'd heard the sunset from there was great, but unfortunately, the sunset was not so great that night. Too overcast.
Dinner was at an Italian restaurant in Mykonos' "Little Venice" area. Might sound weird to have Italian food on our first night in Greece, but Mykonos is actually know for their Italian food. A lot of Sicilians move there and have restaurants. It was a good meal and Tonya and I did get Dolmas, a Greek dish, for an appetizer. After dinner, Tonya and I sat Elizabeth & Sean in a bar and we took off shopping! Tonya and I loved exploring the little passageways in Mykonos town!
Day 2, Tuesday
One of my favorite days of the entire trip, but also a day full of mis-haps!! I woke up throwing up. Not a fun way to start the day! I have no idea what caused it and I only felt sick for about an hour. After throwing up quite a bit, I felt much better, went back to sleep for about 2 hours and then it was as if it had never happened!
Once we were all up, we decided it was too overcast to hit the beach, so we headed to the nearby village to rent 4-wheelers. We had a blast exploring the entire island. It is a very deserted island - only a handful of small villages and neighborhoods. Lots of beaches, though! Some secluded beaches, some inhabited beaches, and some with just a bar and lounge chairs. I was a little scared of the 4-wheeler at first, but once I got used to it, I loved it. And I really loved exploring all the different roads- we didn't know where we were half the time, but if we saw a road, we were sure to find out where it led! A very fun day! We stopped at a deli in one small village and picked up cheeses, crackers, prosciutto, and olives for a picnic lunch on a secluded beach. It was a great lunch and I got my first taste of the olives I came to adore in Greece - I was eating them by the plateful by the end of the trip!
MIS-HAP #2-- About 1 mile away from returning our 4-wheelers, mine broke down. I don't know what happened to it, but none of us could get it started back up. We had 3 different locals try to start it to - men, they each think they are the one who's going to fix it! No one could, but one of the locals had a cell phone and was able to call the rental company. They ended up picking Sean up and taking him to bring me another 4-wheeler to get us back.
MIS-HAP #3, happened back at the hotel. We were waiting for the hotel shuttle to take us back into town for dinner. Elizabeth and I were on the patio off the lobby and Sean & Tonya were inside the lobby making transportation arrangements to our ferry the next day. I decided to go inside and in my mind, I believed that the hotel lobby was an open-air lobby. It was not. Do you see where this is going? Yes, I walked smack into a long glass window. (It was a very clean window)! It took a minute for me to even realize what happened before I was able to go in the door. Everyone inside (Tonya, Sean, and several hotel staff) were staring at me like I was crazy. They didn't see what happened, but later told me that it was very loud and the whole lobby shook! Once I explained what I'd done, the concierge sent one of the staff off to bring me ice. It hurt and it took me several minutes to get over the shock and pain. Once I did, we all laughed really, really hard. I laughed about it for a few days, actually. The funniest part to me is the vivid image I have of the looks on everyone's faces when I walked inside the lobby. They thought it was an earthquake! Priceless!
We headed back to Mykonos town for dinner, shopping, and drinks again. We had our first official Greek meal at a place called Mangria. It had been recommended to me by a friend and our concierge also recommended it. It was a fantastic meal! Again, Tonya and I found Elizabeth & Sean a place to hang out and have a drink while we shopped away and explored the village.
Day 3, Wednesday
Only 1/2 of Wednesday was spent in Mykonos. We enjoyed some hotel beach time, then headed to our ferry that would take us to Santorini. The ferry ride was not great, but not awful. It was very disorganized and the views were not what I'd heard they were. We stopped at 2 other islands on the way and I did enjoy getting glimpses of places we didn't go.
Mykonos was our first stop. We got there very late Sunday night and honestly couldn't see too much on our drive from the airport to our hotel. We did know upon our arrival to the hotel that it was going to be fantastic. Thanks to Tonya, PWC, and Starwood Points, we were very well off with our accommodations at the Starwood Santa Marina hotel. We, however, were dying to go to bed!
DAY 1, Monday
After less than 5 hours of sleep, I woke up at 4:30AM. Uh, oh. Jet Lag! I was wide awake and there was nothing I could do about it (I'd even taken sleeping pills the night before). Once the clock hit 5:30, I decided I couldn't waste time in Greece just lying in bed so I pulled on running clothes and set out for my first views of Greece. It was gorgeous as the sun was just rising. I fell in love immediately. It was so quiet and there was hardly anyone out (the hotel staff thought I was crazy for going running so early, but ensured me it was quite safe). I took my camera and had a blast capturing my first images of Mykonos Island.
I got back to the hotel and took a shower then grabbed my Bible and headed to a pool-side lounge chair overlooking the ocean. I'm pretty sure that there's not a better place to have your DAWG (daily appointment w/ God....c'mon, it's youth-group slang). I was able to head back up to the room and sleep for an hour before Sean knocked and we all got up and went down for a pool-side breakfast. We then spent the bulk of our day right there on our hotel's private beach. It was fabulous. We read/slept/listened to our ipods, talked, and got great sun.
After cleaning up, we walked over to check out the little village that was near our hotel. There wasn't a whole lot there, but we did find some snacks to tide us over until dinner. We caught the hotel shuttle into Mykonos town-the largest village on the island. It is a pedestrian only village and was great fun to explore! Lots of restaurants, cafes, shops, and bars.
We first stopped to see the windmills that Mykonos is famous for. Then, we got drinks at Caprice-we'd heard the sunset from there was great, but unfortunately, the sunset was not so great that night. Too overcast.
Dinner was at an Italian restaurant in Mykonos' "Little Venice" area. Might sound weird to have Italian food on our first night in Greece, but Mykonos is actually know for their Italian food. A lot of Sicilians move there and have restaurants. It was a good meal and Tonya and I did get Dolmas, a Greek dish, for an appetizer. After dinner, Tonya and I sat Elizabeth & Sean in a bar and we took off shopping! Tonya and I loved exploring the little passageways in Mykonos town!
Day 2, Tuesday
One of my favorite days of the entire trip, but also a day full of mis-haps!! I woke up throwing up. Not a fun way to start the day! I have no idea what caused it and I only felt sick for about an hour. After throwing up quite a bit, I felt much better, went back to sleep for about 2 hours and then it was as if it had never happened!
Once we were all up, we decided it was too overcast to hit the beach, so we headed to the nearby village to rent 4-wheelers. We had a blast exploring the entire island. It is a very deserted island - only a handful of small villages and neighborhoods. Lots of beaches, though! Some secluded beaches, some inhabited beaches, and some with just a bar and lounge chairs. I was a little scared of the 4-wheeler at first, but once I got used to it, I loved it. And I really loved exploring all the different roads- we didn't know where we were half the time, but if we saw a road, we were sure to find out where it led! A very fun day! We stopped at a deli in one small village and picked up cheeses, crackers, prosciutto, and olives for a picnic lunch on a secluded beach. It was a great lunch and I got my first taste of the olives I came to adore in Greece - I was eating them by the plateful by the end of the trip!
MIS-HAP #2-- About 1 mile away from returning our 4-wheelers, mine broke down. I don't know what happened to it, but none of us could get it started back up. We had 3 different locals try to start it to - men, they each think they are the one who's going to fix it! No one could, but one of the locals had a cell phone and was able to call the rental company. They ended up picking Sean up and taking him to bring me another 4-wheeler to get us back.
MIS-HAP #3, happened back at the hotel. We were waiting for the hotel shuttle to take us back into town for dinner. Elizabeth and I were on the patio off the lobby and Sean & Tonya were inside the lobby making transportation arrangements to our ferry the next day. I decided to go inside and in my mind, I believed that the hotel lobby was an open-air lobby. It was not. Do you see where this is going? Yes, I walked smack into a long glass window. (It was a very clean window)! It took a minute for me to even realize what happened before I was able to go in the door. Everyone inside (Tonya, Sean, and several hotel staff) were staring at me like I was crazy. They didn't see what happened, but later told me that it was very loud and the whole lobby shook! Once I explained what I'd done, the concierge sent one of the staff off to bring me ice. It hurt and it took me several minutes to get over the shock and pain. Once I did, we all laughed really, really hard. I laughed about it for a few days, actually. The funniest part to me is the vivid image I have of the looks on everyone's faces when I walked inside the lobby. They thought it was an earthquake! Priceless!
We headed back to Mykonos town for dinner, shopping, and drinks again. We had our first official Greek meal at a place called Mangria. It had been recommended to me by a friend and our concierge also recommended it. It was a fantastic meal! Again, Tonya and I found Elizabeth & Sean a place to hang out and have a drink while we shopped away and explored the village.
Day 3, Wednesday
Only 1/2 of Wednesday was spent in Mykonos. We enjoyed some hotel beach time, then headed to our ferry that would take us to Santorini. The ferry ride was not great, but not awful. It was very disorganized and the views were not what I'd heard they were. We stopped at 2 other islands on the way and I did enjoy getting glimpses of places we didn't go.
Check out my MYKONOS PICS!
Next blog: SANTORINI!
Friday, June 06, 2008
Reasons why I Hate Craigslist
I hate Craigslist! I'm in the midst of a grueling apartment search and I'm ready for it to be over. Back from my trip, I really had to hit the ground running on this as I need to be out of my current apartment around July 1st. Ugh.... I've been trying to avoid using a broker to find an apartment as the fee they charge is usually at least one (and often two) times the monthly rent amount. To me, that's just throwing money away! So, I've told everyone I know in NYC that I'm looking to move, just in case they know of something in their building or of someone moving out of their place. So far, that has led to very few leads. I've also been looking at the "no broker fee" section on Craigslist. Here's why it sucks:
1) There are very few apartments listed that do not have a broker fee attached to them
2) 95% of the no-broker-fee apartments are in Harlem (although most of Harlem is safe these days, I'm trying not to go that far north)
3) Another 4% of the no-broker-fee apartments are SCAMS. Here's how it goes. You find a really great deal...looks too good to be true. Well, it is too good to be true. You email them and they email you back saying they "suddenly" had to move to Europe. They are the only one with keys to the apartment. You mail them your deposit, they'll mail you the keys. Yeah, right. Who would fall for that???
4) After weeding out #1, #2, and #3, above, that leaves about 1 good and real possibility a week. Half of Manhattan wants that one apartment. I went to an Open House for that apartment this week. It was basically a bunch of people competing for the place. I turned in all my paperwork (proof of employment, copy of photo ID, address history, personal references, a blood sample, etc.....) AND I bribed the dude. He mentioned that I have the coolest job of all the applicants, so I told him if he got me in, I'd get him hockey tickets. I was serious and I really thought it would work. It didn't. He picked someone else. He says I'm next if that "someone else" fails the credit test. That's not likely I suppose.
My other big disappointment this week was when I went ready to pay a deposit on an apartment I've been thinking about and in talks with for about 6 weeks. They kept saying they wouldn't deal with me until it was officially listed on June 1st. So, I called Monday and set up an appointment for Tuesday. The studio they showed me was about 1/2 the size of the one I'd seen before. I asked about the original apartment. They said it was also available, but they are building a wall in it to create a true 1-bedroom. That means they are also jacking the price way up. Not gonna work.
I gave in and called a broker today. At least he was referred to me by someone else and I'm pretty sure he's not sleazy like most of them are. I gave him my details on what I'm looking for, but he hasn't called back to let me know what he has.
I hate New York apartment searching. I know that no one who reads this blog lives in the state of New York, but if you should happen to know someone who does and is moving out of a studio in the next few weeks, please let me know!!!
I'm ready for this to be over.
1) There are very few apartments listed that do not have a broker fee attached to them
2) 95% of the no-broker-fee apartments are in Harlem (although most of Harlem is safe these days, I'm trying not to go that far north)
3) Another 4% of the no-broker-fee apartments are SCAMS. Here's how it goes. You find a really great deal...looks too good to be true. Well, it is too good to be true. You email them and they email you back saying they "suddenly" had to move to Europe. They are the only one with keys to the apartment. You mail them your deposit, they'll mail you the keys. Yeah, right. Who would fall for that???
4) After weeding out #1, #2, and #3, above, that leaves about 1 good and real possibility a week. Half of Manhattan wants that one apartment. I went to an Open House for that apartment this week. It was basically a bunch of people competing for the place. I turned in all my paperwork (proof of employment, copy of photo ID, address history, personal references, a blood sample, etc.....) AND I bribed the dude. He mentioned that I have the coolest job of all the applicants, so I told him if he got me in, I'd get him hockey tickets. I was serious and I really thought it would work. It didn't. He picked someone else. He says I'm next if that "someone else" fails the credit test. That's not likely I suppose.
My other big disappointment this week was when I went ready to pay a deposit on an apartment I've been thinking about and in talks with for about 6 weeks. They kept saying they wouldn't deal with me until it was officially listed on June 1st. So, I called Monday and set up an appointment for Tuesday. The studio they showed me was about 1/2 the size of the one I'd seen before. I asked about the original apartment. They said it was also available, but they are building a wall in it to create a true 1-bedroom. That means they are also jacking the price way up. Not gonna work.
I gave in and called a broker today. At least he was referred to me by someone else and I'm pretty sure he's not sleazy like most of them are. I gave him my details on what I'm looking for, but he hasn't called back to let me know what he has.
I hate New York apartment searching. I know that no one who reads this blog lives in the state of New York, but if you should happen to know someone who does and is moving out of a studio in the next few weeks, please let me know!!!
I'm ready for this to be over.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Back!
I'm back from my 2 week European vacation! I had intended to post during the week before I left, but things got so crazy with everything going on and all I needed to do to get ready for the trip. So, sorry to leave you hanging with no posts for so long!
The week I left was a good and busy week. I finished my Travlin' Tex excursions and ran errands and packed for my trip. I also went to a benefit party for Hope for New York (HFNY) - an organization that supports faith-based organizations throughout the city that need resources such as volunteers or financial support. My church is closely connected to HFNY and one of our deacons is on their staff. It was a nice night...good food, great presentations, and getting to sit and chat with several people from my church who I barely knew before. I was especially touched by a presentation about a mentoring program they have. First, one of the volunteer mentors spoke about his experience. Next, one of his mentees, a high school senior boy, spoke. The story of the impact that was made on this boy throughout middle school and high school was very powerful. I was so impressed by his courage for getting up in front of a room full of adult strangers to share his life with us.
Friday night, Tonya and Sean, arrived from Dallas and Maine. I met up with them and we went to see a B'way show....Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. We ended up liking it, but were extremely disappointed with the last-minute cast changes. The reason we chose this show was because of the cast....Terrence Howard, Phylicia Rashad, and James Earl Jones. Both Phylicia and Terrence were not there that night - ugh! So frustrating!
Saturday morning I did a 10k in Central Park. I had decided in April to sign up for it to get me motivated to get in shape before the trip. I didn't do terribly well at training for it and wasn't quite ready for 6+ miles nor the hills I forgot about that exist in northern CP. It was good though and I think I ran most of it. Here's an official pic from the race:
After the race, Sean and I ran some errands then met back up with Tonya to experience the International Food Festival. It's on 9th Avenue....literally steps from my doorway. I'd heard about it last year, but didn't go and didn't want to miss it this year, so we went for lunch. There were tons of vendors...a lot of it was just typical street fair food, but many of the different restaurants in my neighborhood had booths. We ate some corn/mozzarella things they always have here and some awesome sweet potato fries and great frozen yogurt w/ fruit! I was worried this junk food would make me ill on the plane trip we had ahead, but thankfully it did not! After lunch, it was time to head for the airport for our vacation!
It will take me some time to pull together all my pics from the trip (496 pictures on my camera alone)! To hold you over until I get to the real blogs, here's an itinerary of our trip and a few words to sum up each location:
-Depart JFK-- 6:15pm on Saturday, May 17th. Elizabeth met us at JFK after her flights from Dallas to DC to JFK that morning (I was not envious of her travel schedule).
-Mykonos Island, Greece-- arrive 11pm on Sun, May 18th (lost 7 hours for time change...I'll do the math for you - door-to-door, it was about 24.5 hours of traveling). Leave mid-afternoon on Wed, May 21st. GREAT RELAXING BEACHES!
-Oia Village on Santorini Island, Greece -- arrive mid-afternoon on Wed, May 21st. Leave mid-afternoon on Saturday, May 24th. SO PICTURESQUE GREECE, SO SISTERHOOD-OF-THE-TRAVELING-PANTS (my inspiration for taking a trip to Greece).
-Athens, Greece-- arrive mid-afternoon on Sat, May 24th. Leave late Mon, May 26th. OLD & HISTORIC. DIRTY & HOT.
-Dublin, Ireland-- arrive late night on Mon, May 26th (gained back 2 hours). Leave temporarily on Thursday, May 29th returning Friday, May 30th. Leave permanently on Saturday morning, May 31st. CUTE & WALKABLE. CLEAN & COLD.
-Southern, Ireland-- drive there Thursday, May 29th returning Friday May 30th. SO GREEN!
-Return JFK-- 6:00pm, Saturday May 31st.
A great, great trip-of-a-lifetime. Here are some first pics - from the trip over!
Then Tonya and I did some shopping.
Harrods, of course!
Sean taught Tonya and I how to play Cribbage
on the flight from London to Athens.
Once we landed, the man sitting in front of
us proceeded to tell us everything we'd done
wrong during the game.
During our 4-hour layover in Athens, we found
the massage chairs to be much-needed
The week I left was a good and busy week. I finished my Travlin' Tex excursions and ran errands and packed for my trip. I also went to a benefit party for Hope for New York (HFNY) - an organization that supports faith-based organizations throughout the city that need resources such as volunteers or financial support. My church is closely connected to HFNY and one of our deacons is on their staff. It was a nice night...good food, great presentations, and getting to sit and chat with several people from my church who I barely knew before. I was especially touched by a presentation about a mentoring program they have. First, one of the volunteer mentors spoke about his experience. Next, one of his mentees, a high school senior boy, spoke. The story of the impact that was made on this boy throughout middle school and high school was very powerful. I was so impressed by his courage for getting up in front of a room full of adult strangers to share his life with us.
Friday night, Tonya and Sean, arrived from Dallas and Maine. I met up with them and we went to see a B'way show....Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. We ended up liking it, but were extremely disappointed with the last-minute cast changes. The reason we chose this show was because of the cast....Terrence Howard, Phylicia Rashad, and James Earl Jones. Both Phylicia and Terrence were not there that night - ugh! So frustrating!
Saturday morning I did a 10k in Central Park. I had decided in April to sign up for it to get me motivated to get in shape before the trip. I didn't do terribly well at training for it and wasn't quite ready for 6+ miles nor the hills I forgot about that exist in northern CP. It was good though and I think I ran most of it. Here's an official pic from the race:
After the race, Sean and I ran some errands then met back up with Tonya to experience the International Food Festival. It's on 9th Avenue....literally steps from my doorway. I'd heard about it last year, but didn't go and didn't want to miss it this year, so we went for lunch. There were tons of vendors...a lot of it was just typical street fair food, but many of the different restaurants in my neighborhood had booths. We ate some corn/mozzarella things they always have here and some awesome sweet potato fries and great frozen yogurt w/ fruit! I was worried this junk food would make me ill on the plane trip we had ahead, but thankfully it did not! After lunch, it was time to head for the airport for our vacation!
It will take me some time to pull together all my pics from the trip (496 pictures on my camera alone)! To hold you over until I get to the real blogs, here's an itinerary of our trip and a few words to sum up each location:
-Depart JFK-- 6:15pm on Saturday, May 17th. Elizabeth met us at JFK after her flights from Dallas to DC to JFK that morning (I was not envious of her travel schedule).
-Mykonos Island, Greece-- arrive 11pm on Sun, May 18th (lost 7 hours for time change...I'll do the math for you - door-to-door, it was about 24.5 hours of traveling). Leave mid-afternoon on Wed, May 21st. GREAT RELAXING BEACHES!
-Oia Village on Santorini Island, Greece -- arrive mid-afternoon on Wed, May 21st. Leave mid-afternoon on Saturday, May 24th. SO PICTURESQUE GREECE, SO SISTERHOOD-OF-THE-TRAVELING-PANTS (my inspiration for taking a trip to Greece).
-Athens, Greece-- arrive mid-afternoon on Sat, May 24th. Leave late Mon, May 26th. OLD & HISTORIC. DIRTY & HOT.
-Dublin, Ireland-- arrive late night on Mon, May 26th (gained back 2 hours). Leave temporarily on Thursday, May 29th returning Friday, May 30th. Leave permanently on Saturday morning, May 31st. CUTE & WALKABLE. CLEAN & COLD.
-Southern, Ireland-- drive there Thursday, May 29th returning Friday May 30th. SO GREEN!
-Return JFK-- 6:00pm, Saturday May 31st.
A great, great trip-of-a-lifetime. Here are some first pics - from the trip over!
I was determined that our 4-hour layover in London would be as British as possible. We started with a traditional British breakfast
Then Tonya and I did some shopping.
Harrods, of course!
Sean taught Tonya and I how to play Cribbage
on the flight from London to Athens.
Once we landed, the man sitting in front of
us proceeded to tell us everything we'd done
wrong during the game.
During our 4-hour layover in Athens, we found
the massage chairs to be much-needed
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