Les Vacances
So, taking a little step side-ways to just sum up my 11 day Euro-trip! While it was the most exhausting 11 days of my life, it was also the most unforgettable. Three other english assistants and I travelled from Portugal to Spain to Italy to Greece and back. It was a lot of moving and a lot of flights, but everywhere we went left me in awe.
We started Saturday morning by taking the bus to Paris and hopping on our flight to Porto, Portugal. I had never been to Portugal before and had no idea what to expect. We landed late at night and arrived at our hostel (Porto Lounge, which resembled a hotel more than a hostel, I highly recommend it) and just went to bed. The next morning we were greeted by cold rain and clouds and I truly wasn't sure how I felt about the city yet. For the most part of our first day I had to look down at my feet while under an umbrella and could not fully embrace the city's beauty. However, even with the less-than-great weather I was able to look at the thousands of different colored tiles that covered the buildings throughout the city. Also, due to the rain we looked for different churches and cathedrals to wander into. Per usual, they were all beautiful.
The second day in Portugal it was supposed to rain again. Instead, it was sunny and 60 degrees. This day completely changed my wavering perspective on Porto. We took the day to wander around where we were the day before and see it in good weather. We then crossed the river into another city called Gaia. Fun fact: Porto and Gaia are the two cities responsible for naming Portugal. We walked along the river with cute colorful buildings and stores and restaurants until we reached the Atlantic Ocean. Afterwards, we grabbed a classic Portuguese meal on the water and returned to the hostel to pack for the next stop.
Following Portugal we were off to Madrid, Spain. While I have been to Spain 4 times before, I had never been to Madrid. Spain is a country that makes me regret not majoring in Spanish because I want to live there so bad. While I love France and the French language, there is something about Spain that just draws me in. Whether it is the culture, food, endless amounts of Llaollao frozen yogurt, the music, or something else, Spain is where it's at...and guys, Madrid...can I move there? Madrid was my favorite stop on the entire trip.
We also got into Madrid later at night and it turns out that our AirBnB was next to a Llaollao. Literally the doors were next to each other. I may have teared up in happiness. For those of you who do not know what Llaollao is, it is a frozen yogurt chain that originated in Spain and has franchises all over Spain, Portugal, a couple in France, a couple in Italy, Africa, and many other countries as well. They have one flavor, natural, and it is the best thing that you will ever eat. But anyways, any time we are near a Llaollao, we go ham. So it is no surprise that I had it 4 times in one day...yep. But that is not the only reason I loved Madrid. The beautiful architecture and the grand parks and buildings and history in the city was amazing. The food was great, the culture was everywhere, and everyone seemed happy and alive. I know that sounds cheesy to say but there was an amazing feeling and ambiance to the city that really drew me in. Madrid is like Florence, it is hard for me to put into words.
Speaking of Florence, that was the next stop on the trip. It was the first time I returned since I studied abroad there 2 years ago. As we flew into the city and I saw the Duomo underneath me I immediately smiled. Studying abroad was the first time I left the United States. And as you can tell by my European return, I had an amazing experience. Returning to the place that inspired my love for Europe, culture, and travel was truly surreal. We got to our AirBnB and immediately began to walk around. We went and got lunch by Santo Spirito (my old neighborhood) and I was having deja vu the entire time. As I sat eating my Cafe Santo Spirito tuna, mozzarella, and corn salad, I was immediately brought back to my time here. Afterwards, we walked by my old apartment (I was once again emotional), and then we naturally went and got gelato as one of my favorite places. The ice cream and gelato trend that started with my 4-in-one-day record in Madrid only continued (and maybe escalated...).
Eating large servings of gelato influenced us to do some more walking. we walked to the Duomo and got more. Right before I left Florence 2 years ago, A Magnum Ice Cream Cafe opened. You may recognize those magnum ice cream bars you see that the grocery store? Well, at the magnum cafe, you make your own. You choose your ice cream flavor, chocolate flavor, and toppings. It is amazing. I got it twice during our 3 days in Florence. They also make great food in the air pictures ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
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| Just 8 of the countless desserts consumed throughout all 4 countries... |
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| Shedding tears at my old apartment |
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| Piazzale Michelangelo |
The next day we were greeted with the same amazing weather. I went for a run around my old running route. I came back, we got ready, and headed to the Uffizi Gallery museum. Honestly, the Uffizi as a building is artwork and it also happens to house many amazing artists and their artwork as well. Anyone who has been to Florence before has probably heard of Al'Antico Vinaio; and as you can guess that was our next stop on the Firenze Food Tour (the name I gave our trip).
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| My gluten-free panino |
So, we ate our amazing panino, and if you've been paying attention, we went and got gelato afterwards... and then after that, we walked around some more. Florence is one of those cities where you don't need a plan. You can just walk around and enjoy the sites. I took the girls to the leather market where we walked around, shopped, bargained, and came out with some good leather goods. Later that night, we went to my absolute favorite restaurant in Florence, which also happens to have an entire gluten free menu. Naturally, I got an entire pizza and it was fantastic. Plot twist, we were too full after this meal to get gelato...crazy, right?
The next day we were off to Rome! Roma is another city I had not been to for 2 years. Last time I was there, I stayed for 5 days and it rained every single day....I was jet lagged and cold and tired and really could not get a grasp for the city. Also, two years ago the Trevi Fountain was closed so I didn't even get to see that...like ok thanks. But, the coliseum and ruins and the Vatican definitely made up for that hiccup. This time, I was excited to wander around and see the less-touristy parts of Rome. It also didn't rain while we were there and it was very warm, so that brought the mood up as well. We spent more time eating great food and, yes, gelato, than anything else. I lost count of the gelato I ate and how many risottos and Italian wine I had (but that's what traveling is for right?).
The next morning, it was time to say goodbye to gelato and hello to Greek frozen yogurt. Yep, Greece happened. Santorini happened. Bucket list was checked. That morning we flew into Athens and had a long layover. We took a bus into a small beach town called Glyfada. We ate on the beach and then went to McDonalds for wifi before returning to the airport for our 40 minute flight to Santorini. We got into Santorini, got to our cute little apartment, and went to bed. We woke up the next morning and went to breakfast down the main street we were by. At this point, we had not seen any of the famous picturesque white houses and landscapes since it was dark when we arrived. Just walking to breakfast was beautiful.
Afterwards, we got into our workout clothes and began our 7 mile hike to the other end of the island. We hiked towards Oia, the very touristy and famous city with the white houses on the cliffs and the blue domes. We stayed in Thira/Fira, a less touristy area, which was the best decision we ever made. Since we came in the off-season, there were no other tourists (which was amazing), but many restaurants and shops were closed in Oia due to the lack of people there. However, Thira/Fira has more residents and everything was still open.
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| Note: Chickpea waiting for us to stop taking pictures |
Once we reached the city, we found one of the few restaurants that was open for lunch. It overlooked the ocean and had absolutely amazing food. After lunch, we took the bus back to Thira/Fira and in our usual fashion, got dessert. Now it was Greek frozen yogurt, and lucky for us, very similar to Llaollao. I then did my normal walk around the city while my friends took their siesta.
I got back, we changed for dinner, got some wine, and went up to the overlook of the ocean and city and watched the sunset.
After Santorini, we took an early flight back to Athens where we decided to stay for a day. Aside from the historical cities and ruins, I honestly had zero idea of what to expect when I got to Athens. We took the metro from the airport and arrived in this big square with fruit stands and restaurants and a view up the mountain of the Acropolis. We sat down at a cute restaurant for lunch before heading to our apartment. There were alley ways with flea markets and little shops that extended as far as I could see. Walking to our Airbnb was really what surprised me. I had no idea how run-down and dirty Athens really was. I spent the whole time looking at the ground to make sure I wasn't stepping in trash or animal poop. The streets were not cleaned at all and many of the buildings were beaten down and boarded up and everything was covered in graffiti. It was a weird juxtaposition after coming from Santorini, an island completely catered towards tourists and kept up for that sole purpose, to Athens.
However, even with the dodgy areas of Athens, I was undoubtedly intrigued by the city. I couldn't stop reading the beautiful graffiti and looking in all the pop-up shops and just everything. You could tell I was a tourist just by my head constantly moving around. We spent the afternoon walking up to the Acropolis and walking around the ruins from 400 BC. It was one of those things where I was just looking around like, "oh this is cool", while I was there and then left and realized what I had just walked through. Following the Acropolis, we wandered through the flea markets and side alley shops.
Everywhere I turned was a Milwaukee Bucks jersey with Giannis' name on it. It was so weird seeing Milwaukee everywhere I turned. Even in Santorini there were more Milwaukee Bucks jerseys than Greece jerseys just because Giannis is from Greece. Every time a TV was on they were talking about him. It was so weird to be so far away from home yet see it everywhere. Giannis is truly a Greek hero over there.
Due to the less-than-great areas in Athens we decided to walk back to our apartment before dark and find a restaurant in our neighborhood. Between our neighborhood and the main downtown was only a 10-15 minute walk, but the entire stretch was a very run down area. We found a cute hole-in-the-wall restaurant with amazing prices and delicious greek food. We ate there and also got desserts at the Greek Bread Factory about a block down. We went back to the apartment, ate our desserts, drank some more wine, and just reflected on how amazing this trip had been. It was our last night, we were all exhausted and couldn't wait to get back to France, but didn't regret anything. I had experienced more cultures and languages in those 11 days than any other time in my life. It was a surreal experience and exhaustion aside, it reminded me why I love traveling and seeing other cultures so much.
We got back to the Athens airport, I had my last Greek frozen yogurt, boarded Air France and headed home. 11 days and over 1,000 pictures that will be with me forever.
Bisous,
Libby
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