Aegina

Day 3 began late, but it all worked out in the end. There was a lot of talk about what we would do our last full day in Athens. Danielle of course brought up Thermopylae, but everyone just rolled their eyes at that. I was never able to figure out how to get there, and in today's age if I can't find out on the computer... well it probably is not possible. Thermopylae, is where 300 Spartans took on oh all of Persia, and though they lost, they put up one heck of a fight. Anyway, I suggested Delphi, Monica actually suggested it, and I thought it was a great idea. Monica by now was on some island with her friends. Anyway, by the time we got going that night it was too late for Delphi. It takes 3 hours to get to, and the bus we would have wanted left at like 10:30, and it was 10:15, so not enough time. Oh well. The woman at reception suggested we go to an island, and there is one about an hour ago called Aegina. It sounded pretty nice, she said it was really pretty. Now of course, since we knew we were going to an island, the smart thing would have been to go back upstairs and pack our bathing suits, but we just went down to the port. The port of Athens is Piraeus, and what an interesting place. Lots of shops and people, before this trip I have not seen too many port cities. I think Piraeus is most concerned with the islands. Patras is most concerned with ships from Italy.

So down at the port, with is on the metro, we easily found a ticket office, and it cost about 15 euros round trip to this island. Pretty good deal. The ferry was leaving soon enough too, which was sweet, so we boarded and left. The ferry ride was quick. We all had our MP3 Players, so we just sat and listened to our music, aka the Mighty Boosh. I kept making Danielle and Kathleen jealous by listening to Jean Claude and doing the little movements that go along with the song so they knew what I was listening to. Hehhe.



The island was beautiful. Like the rest of Greece, all the houses had roofs of the same reddish-orange color, and everything was white. There was some ruins right by the water, which we did not explore, but I thought were nice. I cannot imagine what was there, I mean there was one lone column left... so maybe a temple? Maybe the Romans got there, and built a forum. We found a beach though, sat on the rocks, and ate our lunches. We stopped at a grocery store before going down to the port. It was really nice, we waved at all the boats that went by, and after we ate we played in the water. I rolled up my shorts, so they wouldn't get wet if a wave decided to hit me, and we just stood in the water. Of course, one of the first things I did was, was stand by the edge of the water, and sink down into the sand. I asked everyone who I was. I was referencing a scene from Lost... oh well.

We were down by the water for about 2 hours, and it was really cool. We watched two dogs chasing each other. One was pretty cute! Of course pictures were taken too, and Nguyen got some REALLY nice ones of me. Argh. Oh well. The water was okay, a little cold, but you got use to it.

We walked around Aegina a little bit after being by the beach. We didn't really leave the water though. The girls did a little shopping, I got a post card, and we just walked. We stopped at a little restaurant by the water, and just got drinks. It was such a restful, wonderful day. We stayed there until our ferry left around 5ish, and then went back to our hostel to change and wash up. We went back out for a good bye to Athens, and get some dinner.

It was at dinner that I continued the European Chocolate Tour. It was good. Nguyen was very intrigued by my chocolate tour, and kept reminding me that I had to get a piece of cake. Like I would ever forget! Hahah! We ate close to where we did the first night, with the Acropolis and the Agora close by. Such a beautiful sight. I love looking at the Acropolis at night.

So wrapping Athens up... it was a WONDERFUL trip! I loved the time spent with everyone, especially our new friend Nguyen. I've spoken to her a few times on facebook since getting back. I still cannot believe I saw the Acropolis, the Agora, the Roman Agora... all of it was just something out of a dream. Of course, we were now on our way to Rome, which made me even more excited. I stopped breathing every time I saw something Roman, so yeah that's foreshadowing. Hahah.

Until Rome.