I ACTUALLY Left My Heart in Greece

DISCLAIMER: this is the longest blog post in the history of mankind but you send a girl who never shuts up to begin with to Greece for a week, what the hell do you expect. This is your chance to skim to the bottom and just check the pictures. Otherwise, settle in, this is a long, but good one. 

Visit the most beautiful place in the world: also know as my homeland because I am destined to live there…. CHECK. FINALLY after wanting to go to Greece my entire life, I MADE IT. Grace and I packed our bags and off we went to the beautiful land of beautiful people and beautiful things. Of course we couldn’t make it there without struggle, our flights weren’t on time so we played Amazing Race in order to make it, and SPRINTED through the airport to catch flights. Funny that the public seemed to find us amusing, yet we were not so impressed. I’m not sure which part was my favorite: the group of business men and the rugby team sitting near us at the gate who left their playboys sitting next to us on the chair and just stared at them deciding who’d go retrieve them in front of us or the security man who searched me and my purse 3 times or how Grace’s toiletries got confiscated yet mine did not. However, all this was worth because when we landed, as everyone had suspected, I was speechless. My big goofy Nellika grin never went away the whole time we were there. Grace took photos and videos trying to document my excitement but I was too eager to stand in one place so of course I took my first steps onto Greek land before she could even whip her camera out.

Now I could go through each day and tell you each outrageous thing that happened to us, describe each bad smell we caught from the large trash piles from the strike, try to explain how delicious Greek food is, talk about each incredible local we met who has a spot in my heart forever, or all the times my best friend and I laughed until one of us was literally, on the floor laughing. But then I’d have to dedicate an entire BLOG just to Greece so if you’re really interested in every single story, inquire within. Otherwise I’ll provide a general overview, with as few words as possible (yes daddy I can do that) and you can just follow along with my pictures.

            So first we will cover all the incredible places we saw. WE did the super touristy thing- HOP ON HOP OFF and saw all the amazing sights to see. The Acropolis and Parthenon, which we managed to get a free ticket, and all the other beautiful ruins and buildings on the Acropolis were even better than you could ever imagine. Seeing it in real life was a dream come true and standing at the very top and looking down at the city which stretch for miles was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. We also saw the Temple of Zeus, which was HUGE and just set on a vast open field of grass, and it was beautiful. We got lost in the National Botanical gardens, wandered upon a petting zoo where I talked to geese and found out the hard way not to stick my finger in their cage. We saw the University of Athens and the National Library, which were both incredible buildings. I pretended that was where I went to school for a second. We stayed on the main port of Greece in Athens, called Piraeus, and it was right on the water. So we got to see all main gates for the GIANT cruise ships and all the marinas and ports and the little bustling areas filled with shops and restaurants. 

 

 

 

University of Athens 

National Library 

Main gates of Piraeus 

 

enjoying the HOP ON HOP OFF experience 

Peace and Friendship Stadium- built for the 2004 olympics!  This one was used for  soccer!

The other Olympic stadium used for basketball! 

Dmitri! 

Our favorite area was Monastiraki square, which was a giant square nestled right under the ancient Acropolis. It was FULL of shops and restaurants and crazy local people. IT WAS THE GREATEST PLACE. We went there every night and ventured through the flea market and ate at our spot, Antica. Antica was a little café that my Greek God brought us to the first night, and we became best friends with the manager so we ate there every night. It was delicious and felt like our spot. Who are we kidding- it was our spot. Dmitri how I miss you. 

center of Monastiraki square

our first Greek dinner at Antica! SO GOOD

this one's for you Mama!

Nellika and mr police officer John on his motorcycle! 

Grace and her police officer! 

nice place for a motorcycle ride....

a beautiful church right next to our hostel

GLK- Grace Lloyd Kirkpatrick Athens 2011!

We also took a day trip to three different islands on a big cruise ship. The three islands we went to were Hydra, Poros and Aegina. I can’t put into words how beautiful this trip was. The islands were exactly what you see on Google when you type in “Greek islands”. Except, I was seeing it with my own eyes. Hydra was my favorite by far. It was small and there were no cars on the whole island. Everyone was so friendly and all the little white houses were perfect. There were little kids fishing and the locals all hanging out together at restaurant. Everyone was so happy. I was about to climb onto one of the burrows and ride away on it and stay there forever. Poros was a little bigger than Hydra and it was also so magnificent. It was a bit busier and had more action. We had a great time exploring with a friend we met on the cruise ship, who was on an 18 day vacation from Afghanistan- he is an active soldier. We ate some fresh olives and limes right off of the tree….. wandered into people’s backyards and gardens unknowingly and met some adorable little creatures. Aegina was your typical Greek fisherman’s island- it was perfect. It was just all boats docked up so colorful and lively. There were some beautiful churches and delicious gelato. There were again, many cafes and such, and many little nooks and crannies to explore. I loved Aegina a lot, it was a perfect postcard place. The islands were amazing and I could not have imagined them to be any better. Our cruise ship had great food and entertainment and I was so lucky to be involved in all the Greek dances… including one where I was flung over the shoulder of a 12 year old Asian who had not hit puberty… So for obvious reasons he was unable to lift me up. Well he dropped me, tried again, and in his efforts to spin me while I hung over his shoulder, he knocked me into a chair. Needless to say, it was entertainment for miles around. I cry every time I tell this story- you can ask Grace… may have been the funniest, most unproportional dance couple you’ve ever seen. Top 5 funniest/humiliating moments of my life.

 

 

 

First sighting of Hydra!

 

 

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Second island: Poros! 

Me and My Soldier: Lance! 

hi poros

 

Last Stop: Aegina! 

inside of a church on Aegina Island 

postcard perfect: AEGINA 

 I of course fell in love with a Greek guy and he had a brand new Triumph Tiger 2011 which was a surprise to me…. More like an added bonus… and he brought me to all the best secret spots in Athens to see the city from tons of different perspectives. We went for many motorcycle rides and taught me lots about Greece. I loved him for one week of my life. He was a real life Greek god.                              

I also met a married Greek god who made me a necklace with my name in Greek. He looked like a Greek George Clooney so you can’t really blame a girl.

 

We met tons of other tourists- one couple form South Berwick, Maine. Unbelievable right? All the way across the world and we can trace home back to Maine. I met a painter who made me a beautiful painting of a sunrise in Greece and wrote Good Morning, Nellika in Greek. He wants his daughter to go to NYC for acting. He asked to send a postcard from America when we get home and said if we ever need a home in Greece, we have one. I mentioned the owners of our hostels- I cannot speak enough praises for them. They did everything and anything for us. When I ran in real late off of John (my Greek lover’s motorcycle) they teased me and asked “OOOOO how was your night!” They gave us directions, sent us to the best places in Greece, hugged us hello and goodbye and bent over backwards to help in any way we could. The last day saying goodbye was so sad and once again, we were promised a home any time we returned. The love from the locals stretched from our cab drivers who stopped along the way and took photos with us to the sweet older ladies sitting in their souvenir shops just wanting some company. The last moments in Greece was I was crying and Grace was trying to force me into the airport our taxi driver, even at 5 am, gave us 2 postcards addressed to himself 

and asked us to send him letters from America. 

I will never forget one single second of this trip. I have wanted to go for my whole entire life and it was more than I could have ever imagined it to be. It was the trip of a lifetime that was filled with moments and people who have a place in my heart forever.  THIS IS MY HOMELAND. I love Greece. I don’t care about the strikes or anything else that people say is failing in Greece… it’s the best place in the universe.