Trip to Greece - part 3

So anyway, we finally made it to the Acropolis area on January 2nd.  The view of the city was cool since we could see many of its older structures.

 

Notice the gate at the bottom left, the columns to the center-right, and the stadium behind the hill (we didn't see that one up close but I'd say from the color that it's been reconstructed).

 

The Temple of Athena sits near the Parthenon.  I liked how there was an olive tree growing next to it since in the myth Athena gave the people the first olive tree (then they named their city "Athens" after her).

 

 This outdoor theater has been renovated (at least the seats have) but it's cool to see how it would have looked when it was new.

 

The Parthenon itself was larger than I had imagined it would be, and even though it was winter there were still several hundred tourists around.

The level of detail that still remains is incredible.  I wish I could have seen it when it was whole!

So, overall I had a very nice time in Athens and I intend to visit again someday (I bet mid-autumn would be one of the best times to go in terms of temperature and convenience since most of the stores would still be open).  I've gotta say though that there was one thing I couldn't get used to in Greece- the whole toilet paper system.  The pipes are apparently too small to handle the toilet paper so there is a separate trashcan in the bathroom for disposing of it...  Is it like that for all of Europe?

Anyway, early on January 3rd we checked out of the hostel and successfully took the train back to the airport and I even had time to send some souvenirs and postcards back home to my family.  I guess I should have known that my luck couldn't last...  Our first flight was from Athens to Moscow and that flight departed an hour late so Anne, Erin, and I were a bit worried about catching our next flight.  As the plane landed in Moscow many of the passengers clapped their hands and a few of them cheered... I wondered if people always cheered when landing in Russia (had I missed some recent crash on the news or something?).  It turns out that it was snowing outside and so many of the passengers felt relieved to land safely (I assume).

I had been wondering why the plane tickets were cheaper than I expected and I think it was because of the Moscow stopover so if any of my readers are considering flying through Eastern Europe or towards Asia, DON'T STOP IN MOSCOW IN THE WINTER BECAUSE IT WILL BE SNOWING!  We had to change plane terminals once we got in the airport and the transfers-lady we spoke with told us that the terminal we needed was ten minutes away.  Well... it was a ten minute jog so I guess she had told us the truth but we were sweaty and smelly by the time we arrived at the gate.  What the transfers-lady had neglected to tell us was that our plane was delayed due to the snow so there was no need to rush (she was probably watching us over the security cameras and laughing).  After an hour we got on the plane, then the plane was thoroughly de-iced which took about two hours and finally we took off.  At this point I was a little bit worried because initially we were scheduled to have a four-hour layover in Beijing but the time had been eaten up with all the delays so we were scheduled to land around the same time as the flight to Narita Airport would be taking off.  I hoped that they would hold the flight for us but even if they didn't I figured there were bound to be several flights a day between Beijing and Tokyo.

The flight from Moscow to Beijing was... long and boring.  They didn't have the little movie screens built into each seat so I tried (and failed) to sleep.  When we arrived in Beijing we ran to the transfers counter and watched the flight information screen as we stood in line.  When we first landed it was already the final call for our Tokyo flight and within five minutes it had departed.  We stood in that line for a good hour; Erin and I gave up eventually and sat on the floor (which helped to stretch my legs actually).  Finally they scheduled us for a flight that would depart five hours later.  We asked them what would happen to our luggage and they said it would be on our flight.  Wandering around the airport wasn't too bad.  I got some candy to snack on and converted my Euros back into Yen.  Our flight to Tokyo departed pretty much on time but Erin was worried since we would just barely make the last shinkansen train if we could get through customs quickly (if not we would have to get a hotel near Narita Airport).

When the last plane finally landed we booked it to the luggage claim but after waiting for fifteen or twenty minutes it became clear that our luggage hadn't been on the plane after all.  Erin was quite upset since her car keys (and apartment keys) had been in her checked luggage but it hardly mattered at that point since we had missed the last train and wouldn't be arriving home until January 5th.  Erin did have to worry about work though since she had been scheduled to go in on the 5th and so she called her supervisor to let him know that she was trapped in Tokyo.  Anyway, the baggage-claim ladies we spoke to at the airport were very nice and made sure our bags were on the next flight from Beijing.  They said we could grab dinner at the airport (it was about 9 PM at that point) and they would deliver the bags to us once they arrived.  They also called around at the local hotels to see which had the cheapest room for three people.  Of course we had to pay for the room since the airlines aren't responsible for the weather in Moscow (so they say) but truth be told I think we were glad to have a bed to sleep in (and a place to shower) before we headed home. We ended up arriving back home around 8 PM on the 5th after the 3 hour train rides and the 1.5 hour drive home from the station.

But I almost forgot about the apple juice!  Here's the thing, I never liked apple juice that I could remember (weird, right?  Especially since I liked apples!).  Anyway, I would try apple juice maybe once a year to verify that I still didn't like it.  When I was on the flight from Beijing to Munich I was a bit hungry so I took out some crackers I had packed with me and was munching on them.  A flight attendant saw me eating and without being asked brought me a drink (she was very nice!) I saw that it was apple juice but I figured that it's best to have plenty of fluids while on an airplane so I drank it.  You know what?  It really hit the spot.  So now I've decided that I like apple juice.  Anyway... that's the story, haha.

Trip to Greece - part 2

Hisashiburi (it's been a while)!  I hope the new year has been kind to you so far!  Anyway, I'm finally back from my vacation (technically I got back from Greece last week but I didn't have school until Monday).  I was considering not saying anything else about my trip at all (since this is supposed to be a blog about Japan) but then my brother pointed out that I called the previous post "Trip to Greece - part 1"... so having a part two makes sense.

On December 23rd Anne, Erin, and I took several long train rides and airplane flights and finally arrived on the small island of Paros on the Aegean Sea the next day.  We got to our hotel/villa after a 20 minute taxi ride (€25, what a ripoff!) and found several whitewashed buildings with blue doors and shutters (essentially it was very Greek looking).  One of the owners greeted us as we brought in our suitcases and told us to come inside out of the cold.  It was about 50° F (10 Celsius) outside so my friends and I were actually enjoying the temperature, the lack of snow, and the sight of green plants!

On Paros we spent our days doing some walking tours provided by the hotel, watching movies, relaxing, and eating good food.  During Christmas especially we ate a delicious meal and got to sample many different dishes.  Another day we helped prepare the food for dinner (we made moussaka among other things and I finally decided that eggplants aren't that bad).  We visited Parikia, the capital of the island, one of the days and saw an old castle (which mostly seemed like just a stone, whitewashed wall), a church called the Panagia Ekatontapiliani which was built in the third century, and went to a few stores to get souvenirs.  Most of the tourist-type attractions were closed for the winter but that was fine by me since it led to more relaxation-time in the end.

Anne and Erin made a habit of photographing the food we ate so that they could show their teachers back in Japan what authentic Greek food looks like.  Erin took the picture above of the moussaka, potato salad, and Greek salad.  It was DELICIOUS.

We hung out on Paros until December 31st when we took a propeller plane (one of the 36-seater kind that seem too small to ever make the trip in one piece) back to Athens.  We were only in Athens until the morning of January 4th but we made the most of our time there.  Of course it was New Year's Eve when we arrived so we weren't really sure what to expect: Would people be rowdy?  Would there be riots?  and more importantly, Would the Acropolis be open?  As it turned out, people weren't too rowdy even though it was December 31st, there weren't any riots like there were over the summer, and the Acropolis was open except for New Year's Day.  So, our first afternoon there we dropped our luggage off at the hostel and headed for the Acropolis Museum which was a two minute walk away (did I mention the hostel was in an AWESOME location?).  I have to admit, the museum was cool.  It was built over a few archeological digs and had glass floors in several locations so one could look down and see the various archeological tools and foundations of buildings that had once stood there.  I was also happy to find that I recognized several of the mythological figures that were prominent in the carvings, painted vases, and statues (all thanks to reading Percy Jackson; I highly recommend Rick Riordan's books!).  During the midnight countdown Anne, Erin, and I were actually out eating dinner at a restaurant; people in Greece often eat their meals after 10 PM but that worked to our advantage with the jet-lag and all.

On January 1st many of the main attractions were closed for the day but that didn't stop us from walking around the area to find the sites located in public areas and parks.

We climbed a hill near the Acropolis (the Hill of the Muses) and got an amazing view of the city.

 Of course, we also got a clear view of the Parthenon (which was being restored as you can see from the cranes).

 I don't want this post to be too long so I think I'll wrap it up here for now.  Stay tuned for "Trip to Greece - part 3" where I'll talk about the Acropolis, our epic journey back to Japan, and apple juice.