February 27:
riddle answer: candles shorten when burned
fail: that never occured to us. Enough said!
dare: to just go ahead an buy it
success: I bought a ring from a man who handmade all of his jewellery. He made it in the back of his shop for me in about 5 minutes. It was impressive!
quote: "The traveller sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see." - G. K. Chesterson
riddle: Though liquid in nature, don't push me too far; for when I will break, and damage may scar...
Today we went to Mycenae and Epidaurus. Mycenae was pretty interesting with the Cyclopean walls and the corbel vault to the cistern. We got our customary picture in front of the Lion's Gate, and the stones were literally taller than me. I have the pictures to prove it! As for the cistern, that was amazing. It is this incredibly long tunnel that leads to the water supply in the event of an attack. It is also pitch black, and everyone of us forgot our flashlights except for Ceilidh. So we used one mini-flashlight to guide us all down these treacherous steps to the bottom. At first it seemed like there was no end to the tunnel. It was pretty fun. Besides that, we generally could not get over the fact that this place was so incredibly well situated. The Mycenaens definitely chose the perfect site. You could see everywhere in the valley, all the way down to the water, and the area they built their city was practically impenetrable. We also saw the so-called Treasury of Atreus, which was this incredibly large tholos tomb. We were impressed! We danced on top of it.
Epidaurus was also pretty fun. The site itself was very interesting, including the tholos and the temple of Asclepius. They were doing reconstructions there, so it gave us an idea of what the columns of different sections looked like. The theatre itself was spectacular of course. It's this giant theatre that holds anywhere between 13 000 - 15 000 people. We ran to the top, and someone dropped a coin in the middle. It was amazing that you could still hear it from so far away. Afterwards, when a large group of tourists had arrived, Emily-Jean, Halcyon, Seonaid, and I sung "Hey Jude" in the middle for the crowd. It was worth it!
Afterwards, George drove us to the top of the mountain overlooking Nafplion and the Argive Bay. There is this giant fortress there with 1000 steps from it to the city below. He tried to convince us to walk to the bottom, but fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), the fortress was closed by the time we got there.
Besides that, we were pretty exhausted...especially from running up and down the theatre steps at Epidaurus. Of course, we still found the energy to shop! Tomorrow we're off to Eleusis and Athens for our ferry to Santorini. I doubt I'll be blogging tomorrow as the ferry leaves at 7:30 AM the next morning. We're planning on either being exhausted from waking up so early or wired from never going to bed! In fact, I might not be blogging in Santorini either, since it's not tourist season and I doubt they really have internet cafes there at this time of year...but you never know!
We heard about the storm, by the way. Enjoy the snow! We're definitely enjoying the sun!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Day 8: February 26
So I apologize for missing a day but an internet cafe really just wasn't available in Olympia!
February 25:
riddle answer: draw
fail: We did not get that one. Enough said.
dare: to dare someone else (go big or go home)
success: I dared Jacob to climb into a tree (not in a tree or tree branches, but rather in this big hole that put him within the tree). He did it of course. And I also dared Dr. Cohen to eat cod at supper with me. Neither were big dares, but we really weren't in a place that allowed for epic dares.
quote: "Only he who has traveled the road knows where the holes are deep." - Chinese Proverb
riddle: Close to the words of life stay I, But I wither, wane, and grow dry...
February 26:
riddle answer: Bible-pressed flower
fail: We didn't get it, but Nancy was closest. She guessed leaves.
dare: to surprise myself...and Dr. Cohen
success: This was Jacob's brilliant idea. I got Dr. Cohen to order me an appetizer at our restaurant so that I would be surprised, and then he would be surprised when I actually ate it (which is definitely surprise-worthy if you know my limited eating habits). He ordered me zucchini croquettes, and I ate a whole one, which was surprising to us all. Then I gave the rest away.
quote: "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you'll be swept off to." - Frodo and Bilbo
side note: We loved this quote particularly since The Lord of the Rings has oddly been a constant topic of conversation throughout this past week.
riddle: Which candle burns longer than a blue candle and a green candle...
I am currently sitting in an internet/gamer cafe in Naflion. There are a lot of guys playing video games, and might I add that the background of this computer is a scene from World of War Craft, which I'm sure will be particularly hilarious to some of you out there.
Yesterday we finally saw the site at Olympia. I'm glad we didn't miss it. It was spectacular. There were quite a few buildings, and they looked really amazing with grass and flowers growing up around them. My favorite part was definitely this little forgotten house over by Nero's house, where there was no rope locking us from wandering around it. It looked just like a scene out of Secret Garden! We also did the customary racing shot in the stadium, and Seonaid and I did some wonderfully embarrassing exercise routines in the gymnasium. Apparently people could see us from the other side of the site, and they thought we were dancing! But at least we can say we exercised in an ancient gymnasium!
After that, we went to Bassae which was pretty cool despite the giant circus-like tent they have over it. Apparently it protects from the frost, and although that sounds stupid when you're thinking about Greece, it was pretty chilly up there. It was amazing how close you can get to it though, compared to other temples. Then we found an amazing panoramic view of the mountains, and we definitely understood why the Ancient Greeks would decide to build a temple up there.
After that we pulled into Pylos for the night and slept there. This morning, we actually went to the site of "Nestor's Palace". The bathtub was by far one of the most interesting aspects, which is pretty standard, I believe! We also went into a tholos there, where Emily-Jean, Seonaid and I tried to initiate a flash mob doing the running man, but it just turned out to be the three of us doing our own awkward version of the running man with everyone else watching. We have also nicknamed ourselves "Ivan and Nancy Plus 8" (name courtesy of Emily-Jean). Our happy little family arrived in Nafplion just around supper time.
Oh, and we heard that the women's hockey team won gold! We are ecstatic! Go Canada!
February 25:
riddle answer: draw
fail: We did not get that one. Enough said.
dare: to dare someone else (go big or go home)
success: I dared Jacob to climb into a tree (not in a tree or tree branches, but rather in this big hole that put him within the tree). He did it of course. And I also dared Dr. Cohen to eat cod at supper with me. Neither were big dares, but we really weren't in a place that allowed for epic dares.
quote: "Only he who has traveled the road knows where the holes are deep." - Chinese Proverb
riddle: Close to the words of life stay I, But I wither, wane, and grow dry...
February 26:
riddle answer: Bible-pressed flower
fail: We didn't get it, but Nancy was closest. She guessed leaves.
dare: to surprise myself...and Dr. Cohen
success: This was Jacob's brilliant idea. I got Dr. Cohen to order me an appetizer at our restaurant so that I would be surprised, and then he would be surprised when I actually ate it (which is definitely surprise-worthy if you know my limited eating habits). He ordered me zucchini croquettes, and I ate a whole one, which was surprising to us all. Then I gave the rest away.
quote: "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you'll be swept off to." - Frodo and Bilbo
side note: We loved this quote particularly since The Lord of the Rings has oddly been a constant topic of conversation throughout this past week.
riddle: Which candle burns longer than a blue candle and a green candle...
I am currently sitting in an internet/gamer cafe in Naflion. There are a lot of guys playing video games, and might I add that the background of this computer is a scene from World of War Craft, which I'm sure will be particularly hilarious to some of you out there.
Yesterday we finally saw the site at Olympia. I'm glad we didn't miss it. It was spectacular. There were quite a few buildings, and they looked really amazing with grass and flowers growing up around them. My favorite part was definitely this little forgotten house over by Nero's house, where there was no rope locking us from wandering around it. It looked just like a scene out of Secret Garden! We also did the customary racing shot in the stadium, and Seonaid and I did some wonderfully embarrassing exercise routines in the gymnasium. Apparently people could see us from the other side of the site, and they thought we were dancing! But at least we can say we exercised in an ancient gymnasium!
After that, we went to Bassae which was pretty cool despite the giant circus-like tent they have over it. Apparently it protects from the frost, and although that sounds stupid when you're thinking about Greece, it was pretty chilly up there. It was amazing how close you can get to it though, compared to other temples. Then we found an amazing panoramic view of the mountains, and we definitely understood why the Ancient Greeks would decide to build a temple up there.
After that we pulled into Pylos for the night and slept there. This morning, we actually went to the site of "Nestor's Palace". The bathtub was by far one of the most interesting aspects, which is pretty standard, I believe! We also went into a tholos there, where Emily-Jean, Seonaid and I tried to initiate a flash mob doing the running man, but it just turned out to be the three of us doing our own awkward version of the running man with everyone else watching. We have also nicknamed ourselves "Ivan and Nancy Plus 8" (name courtesy of Emily-Jean). Our happy little family arrived in Nafplion just around supper time.
Oh, and we heard that the women's hockey team won gold! We are ecstatic! Go Canada!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Day 6 - February 24
February 24
yesterday's riddle: the mind
no success: no one got this one. Emily-Jean was closest. She guessed mind.
dare: to get dirty (metaphoricall or literally)
success: I got dirty metaphorically (but unintentionally). I told Jacob we could get him a gyrator. Long story. But if it helps, I got literally dirty yesterday in Delphi when I got into a hole.
quote: "Those who know nothing of a foreign language [or land] know nothing of their own." - Johann Wolfgang con Goethe
riddle: You can do it in vessels for getting you clean. You can do it to fabric to stop being seen. You are doing it when you come up short. You're doing it when you've equalled in sport.
So we are still in Olympia. Today was both interesting and good. Apparently Greece is in a mini-crisis right now. They are bankrupt, and that means that all the government workers decided to go on strike today. So therefore, the site of Olympia was closed. Apparently the people of Greece have a different idea of strikes than we do, though. A few of us managed to get halfway into the site without any security guards, picket lines, or people of any kind stopping us. As for the riots going on in Athens...yeah, we heard. But we feel fairly safe here in the small town of Olympia. In fact, we feel fairly safe in the whole country itself. As for the rest of the day, we just wandered around the city shopping and meeting people. A few people in the group even had the good fortune of meeting some shopkeepers with some of the older Olympic torches and having pictures with them. The people here are fairly friendly. We have managed to make friends with the shopkeeper of a jewellery store. When we were looking for this internet cafe, we met him on the street. We told him we had walked by this place thinking that we needed to have our own computers. He asked if we had actually bothered to ask if they had computers, and we said no. He called his son for us to check. Then he told us a Greek proverb, "By asking and asking, one can get from here to Istanbul." Smart words. If it wasn't for him, we definitely wouldn't have found this internet cafe. Very nice people.
Besides that, nothing else has really happened. But it was nice to just spend the day doing laundry and wandering around the city. It was interesting to see how the Greeks actually live day-to-day, without a mass of tourists flooding the city. I'm glad they were on strike!
-Natalie
yesterday's riddle: the mind
no success: no one got this one. Emily-Jean was closest. She guessed mind.
dare: to get dirty (metaphoricall or literally)
success: I got dirty metaphorically (but unintentionally). I told Jacob we could get him a gyrator. Long story. But if it helps, I got literally dirty yesterday in Delphi when I got into a hole.
quote: "Those who know nothing of a foreign language [or land] know nothing of their own." - Johann Wolfgang con Goethe
riddle: You can do it in vessels for getting you clean. You can do it to fabric to stop being seen. You are doing it when you come up short. You're doing it when you've equalled in sport.
So we are still in Olympia. Today was both interesting and good. Apparently Greece is in a mini-crisis right now. They are bankrupt, and that means that all the government workers decided to go on strike today. So therefore, the site of Olympia was closed. Apparently the people of Greece have a different idea of strikes than we do, though. A few of us managed to get halfway into the site without any security guards, picket lines, or people of any kind stopping us. As for the riots going on in Athens...yeah, we heard. But we feel fairly safe here in the small town of Olympia. In fact, we feel fairly safe in the whole country itself. As for the rest of the day, we just wandered around the city shopping and meeting people. A few people in the group even had the good fortune of meeting some shopkeepers with some of the older Olympic torches and having pictures with them. The people here are fairly friendly. We have managed to make friends with the shopkeeper of a jewellery store. When we were looking for this internet cafe, we met him on the street. We told him we had walked by this place thinking that we needed to have our own computers. He asked if we had actually bothered to ask if they had computers, and we said no. He called his son for us to check. Then he told us a Greek proverb, "By asking and asking, one can get from here to Istanbul." Smart words. If it wasn't for him, we definitely wouldn't have found this internet cafe. Very nice people.
Besides that, nothing else has really happened. But it was nice to just spend the day doing laundry and wandering around the city. It was interesting to see how the Greeks actually live day-to-day, without a mass of tourists flooding the city. I'm glad they were on strike!
-Natalie
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Day 5: February 23
Well, we made it to day 5! I am currently sitting in our more swanky hotel in Olympia with an older Greek lady watching a Greek soap opera behind me. I thoroughly encourage everyone to watch at least 5 minutes of Greek tv. Needless to say, it is interesting. So anyway, here is the day's games:
February 23:
answer to yesterday's riddle: a bat
success: Jonathan was the first to get this one.
dare: to do something I know Alex would do
success: I picked up, played with, and took a picture with some dirty, mangy, street cat (who was adorable despite the mangy part). I don't think Dr. Cohen was too impressed with our love of the cats!
quote: "The world is a book. Those who do not travel read only a page." - Saint Augustine
riddle: Everything to someone, I am. But I am nothing to everyone else...
We definitely like today's riddle! We have a couple of guesses, but nothing seems to have satisfied the qualifications. We'll have to wait and see for tomorrow!
Anyway, today we went to the site of the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. It is situated on the side of a mountain, looking out over the valley. It was quite the climb, but there was definitely lots to see. We saw the temple, the treasury of the Athenians, the gymnasium, and the tholos (and many others things of course!). A few of us climbed in some hole we found that went underneath the temple, and then down in the gymnasium, we had a race. I was definitely hungry after all of that! We also went to the museum in Delphi where they had the monument of Lucius Aemilius Paullus, the large Sphinx, and the Charioteer. We were all very excited, and we kept running around between all the amazing statues and sculptures which we had studied over the years.
After that, we took off on the bus to Olympia, which is where we are right now. It's still early in the evening here, so we haven't had the time to explore. Tomorrow we are going to the museum and the site, and we'll have more of a chance to see the city. It's amazing how the scenery of Greece continuously changes as we drive. It goes from mountains, to valleys, to coastal areas. It is constantly keeping us on our toes! Anyway, I'll be sure to let you know what we find tomorrow!
-Natalie
February 23:
answer to yesterday's riddle: a bat
success: Jonathan was the first to get this one.
dare: to do something I know Alex would do
success: I picked up, played with, and took a picture with some dirty, mangy, street cat (who was adorable despite the mangy part). I don't think Dr. Cohen was too impressed with our love of the cats!
quote: "The world is a book. Those who do not travel read only a page." - Saint Augustine
riddle: Everything to someone, I am. But I am nothing to everyone else...
We definitely like today's riddle! We have a couple of guesses, but nothing seems to have satisfied the qualifications. We'll have to wait and see for tomorrow!
Anyway, today we went to the site of the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. It is situated on the side of a mountain, looking out over the valley. It was quite the climb, but there was definitely lots to see. We saw the temple, the treasury of the Athenians, the gymnasium, and the tholos (and many others things of course!). A few of us climbed in some hole we found that went underneath the temple, and then down in the gymnasium, we had a race. I was definitely hungry after all of that! We also went to the museum in Delphi where they had the monument of Lucius Aemilius Paullus, the large Sphinx, and the Charioteer. We were all very excited, and we kept running around between all the amazing statues and sculptures which we had studied over the years.
After that, we took off on the bus to Olympia, which is where we are right now. It's still early in the evening here, so we haven't had the time to explore. Tomorrow we are going to the museum and the site, and we'll have more of a chance to see the city. It's amazing how the scenery of Greece continuously changes as we drive. It goes from mountains, to valleys, to coastal areas. It is constantly keeping us on our toes! Anyway, I'll be sure to let you know what we find tomorrow!
-Natalie
Monday, February 22, 2010
Day 4: February 22
I'm back. Clearly it's not that difficult to find an internet cafe in Greece! I figure I will start out with the answer to yesterday's riddle as well as today's letter:
February 22:
answer to yesterday's riddle: morning dew
success: Jacob got this one first. shocker.
dare: to take a classic tourist picture
success: I took the classic picture in front of the landscape of Meteora with my hands doing the peace sign. Simple, yet classic. I was incredibly tempted to ask the group of Japanese tourists to take their picture with me, but I figured the language barrier was a problem explaining that one.
quote: "The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist." - Russell Baker
Riddle: I see without seeing. Noise is an ally.
So anyway, today we went to Meteora, which you all should google. It is amazing. Essentially, they are these spectacular cliffs that rise out of the valley and are impossibly high. The monks have built monasteries on the top, and the Greeks have built an impractical road (oftentimes without guardrails) to the top. It is incredibly hard to describe without you actually seeing it (or even a picture), but these structures consist of stairs built into the rock and bridges crossing between cliffs. As you can imagine, the view out into the rest of the valley is fantastic. It's easy to see why the monks initially built their monasteries here. It would be easy to see anyone of any religion wanting to build there. Apparently, Meteora means "on high", and the museums themselves seem to have a fascination with representations of the Greek War of Independence, which I'm told has to do with the fact that the Turks were Muslim and so there was an obvious problem with their occupation of Greece (whose inhabitants are, you guessed it, Greek Orthodox).
After that we took off to Delphi. We stopped in Thermopylae, where we nearly got hit by a car crossing the road. As our driver, George, said, "This is not Canada. People don't ever stop here." Wise words. Lesson learned.
Delphi itself is beautiful as well (which seems to be the go-to word of describing the cities of Greece). It is essentially a city built onto the side of the mountain, and so there are plenty of stairs going higher or lower into the village which looks out onto the valley. We haven't gone to site yet, but I can definitely understand why the Ancient Greeks decided to build it here.
What is also amazing is that our hotel has a tub. You might consider this menial, but not for us. We also appreciate Canadian toilets now...especially ones where we don't have to squat! As for Greek words, I haven't picked up that much (except for the word for grocery store, which I figured out pretty quickly!). The food is incredibly cheap and I'm oftentimes wondering how the shopkeepers make any money! But other than that, Greece is a wonderful country and it feels like we've been here for weeks! Perhaps I won't even come home!
February 22:
answer to yesterday's riddle: morning dew
success: Jacob got this one first. shocker.
dare: to take a classic tourist picture
success: I took the classic picture in front of the landscape of Meteora with my hands doing the peace sign. Simple, yet classic. I was incredibly tempted to ask the group of Japanese tourists to take their picture with me, but I figured the language barrier was a problem explaining that one.
quote: "The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist." - Russell Baker
Riddle: I see without seeing. Noise is an ally.
So anyway, today we went to Meteora, which you all should google. It is amazing. Essentially, they are these spectacular cliffs that rise out of the valley and are impossibly high. The monks have built monasteries on the top, and the Greeks have built an impractical road (oftentimes without guardrails) to the top. It is incredibly hard to describe without you actually seeing it (or even a picture), but these structures consist of stairs built into the rock and bridges crossing between cliffs. As you can imagine, the view out into the rest of the valley is fantastic. It's easy to see why the monks initially built their monasteries here. It would be easy to see anyone of any religion wanting to build there. Apparently, Meteora means "on high", and the museums themselves seem to have a fascination with representations of the Greek War of Independence, which I'm told has to do with the fact that the Turks were Muslim and so there was an obvious problem with their occupation of Greece (whose inhabitants are, you guessed it, Greek Orthodox).
After that we took off to Delphi. We stopped in Thermopylae, where we nearly got hit by a car crossing the road. As our driver, George, said, "This is not Canada. People don't ever stop here." Wise words. Lesson learned.
Delphi itself is beautiful as well (which seems to be the go-to word of describing the cities of Greece). It is essentially a city built onto the side of the mountain, and so there are plenty of stairs going higher or lower into the village which looks out onto the valley. We haven't gone to site yet, but I can definitely understand why the Ancient Greeks decided to build it here.
What is also amazing is that our hotel has a tub. You might consider this menial, but not for us. We also appreciate Canadian toilets now...especially ones where we don't have to squat! As for Greek words, I haven't picked up that much (except for the word for grocery store, which I figured out pretty quickly!). The food is incredibly cheap and I'm oftentimes wondering how the shopkeepers make any money! But other than that, Greece is a wonderful country and it feels like we've been here for weeks! Perhaps I won't even come home!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Day 3 - February 21st
Hi everyone! I'm in Greece at a lovely little internet cafe where the space bar doesn't work all that efficiently. I'm sorry that I missed a day but obviously there wasn't a computer available on the plane!
The flights went well, although they were long. The last flight on Aegean Air was a little difficult. There were a couple of points that were a little tense, including when he was rapidly descending over the sea and it looked like there was no runway. When we first arrived in Thessaliniki, there was a large haze that looked like smog. Apparently it turned out to be from a sandstorm in Libya. It lasted for the night, and by the next morning, it was a beautiful blue sky! The weather has been nice here so far. It's definitely t-shirt weather, although the locals think it's cold. It's gets a little chillier at night, and it's windy at times, but other than that, I'm sure everyone over in Canada right now would switch for this!
Today we went to Vergina to see the supposed tomb of Phillip of Macedon. There are these wonderful little tombs hidden under a tumulus, but unfortunately you can't take pictures. We also went to Dion, where we essentially saw the ruins of a little city. I can now say that I've sat (yes, sat) on an ancient road.
The Greek countryside has been beautiful so far. We drove around Mount Olympus today (or rather our driver, George, drove us around). The route was incredibly windy, but the view from some of the mountains was spectacular. We also had the opportunity to see sheep, goats, and dogs...lots and lots of dogs. There seem to be strays everywhere, but they're very friendly anyway!
So, before I left for Greece, my roommate, Alex, gave me a stack of letters for everyday. Included in each letter is a quote, a riddle, and a dare. I've decided that I'm going to share these with you everyday, so you can keep up on our progress! So here it goes:
Feburary 19:
dare: to talk to a stranger on the plane
success?: I tried. Everyone I talked to spoke another language so I resorted to smiling and waving excessively.
quote: "Anywhere is walking distance if you have the time." - Steven Wright
riddle: A lady's delight, lovely and round. I shine in pale light, grown in darkness...
answer: a pearl. Jacob got this one. We've all decided to keep count. I should also add that the answer comes the next day if you all want to play along!
February 20:
dare: to eat something new
success: I ate the leg of a squid. It tasted like fish.
quote: "You've got to be careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." - Yogi Berra
riddle: Waterless sea, large as a mountain, small as a pea. Endlessly swimming in a waterless sea.
answer: an asteroid. We all failed. Touche Alex. We guessed a desert. We like our answer better! (but only because we lost)
Febuary 21:
dare: to take a picture with a local
success: I took one with the reception lady. I would have taken one with some random person in the countryside but we were driving too much. Still a success though!
quote: "A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." -Lao Tzu
riddle: I welcome the day with a show of light, I stealthily came here in the night. I bathe the earthy stuff at dawn. But by noon, alas, I am gone...
answer: I'll tell you tomorrow. We have a good guess, but we're not telling!
Anyway, that's it for now! Tomorrow we're going to see the cliffs of Meteora. They look pretty amazing from our view driving in! I bet they're even better up close.
-Natalie :)
The flights went well, although they were long. The last flight on Aegean Air was a little difficult. There were a couple of points that were a little tense, including when he was rapidly descending over the sea and it looked like there was no runway. When we first arrived in Thessaliniki, there was a large haze that looked like smog. Apparently it turned out to be from a sandstorm in Libya. It lasted for the night, and by the next morning, it was a beautiful blue sky! The weather has been nice here so far. It's definitely t-shirt weather, although the locals think it's cold. It's gets a little chillier at night, and it's windy at times, but other than that, I'm sure everyone over in Canada right now would switch for this!
Today we went to Vergina to see the supposed tomb of Phillip of Macedon. There are these wonderful little tombs hidden under a tumulus, but unfortunately you can't take pictures. We also went to Dion, where we essentially saw the ruins of a little city. I can now say that I've sat (yes, sat) on an ancient road.
The Greek countryside has been beautiful so far. We drove around Mount Olympus today (or rather our driver, George, drove us around). The route was incredibly windy, but the view from some of the mountains was spectacular. We also had the opportunity to see sheep, goats, and dogs...lots and lots of dogs. There seem to be strays everywhere, but they're very friendly anyway!
So, before I left for Greece, my roommate, Alex, gave me a stack of letters for everyday. Included in each letter is a quote, a riddle, and a dare. I've decided that I'm going to share these with you everyday, so you can keep up on our progress! So here it goes:
Feburary 19:
dare: to talk to a stranger on the plane
success?: I tried. Everyone I talked to spoke another language so I resorted to smiling and waving excessively.
quote: "Anywhere is walking distance if you have the time." - Steven Wright
riddle: A lady's delight, lovely and round. I shine in pale light, grown in darkness...
answer: a pearl. Jacob got this one. We've all decided to keep count. I should also add that the answer comes the next day if you all want to play along!
February 20:
dare: to eat something new
success: I ate the leg of a squid. It tasted like fish.
quote: "You've got to be careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." - Yogi Berra
riddle: Waterless sea, large as a mountain, small as a pea. Endlessly swimming in a waterless sea.
answer: an asteroid. We all failed. Touche Alex. We guessed a desert. We like our answer better! (but only because we lost)
Febuary 21:
dare: to take a picture with a local
success: I took one with the reception lady. I would have taken one with some random person in the countryside but we were driving too much. Still a success though!
quote: "A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." -Lao Tzu
riddle: I welcome the day with a show of light, I stealthily came here in the night. I bathe the earthy stuff at dawn. But by noon, alas, I am gone...
answer: I'll tell you tomorrow. We have a good guess, but we're not telling!
Anyway, that's it for now! Tomorrow we're going to see the cliffs of Meteora. They look pretty amazing from our view driving in! I bet they're even better up close.
-Natalie :)
Friday, February 19, 2010
Day 1: February 19, 2010
Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog for our trip to Greece 2010!
For all those of you who don't know me, my name is Natalie Stewart, and I'm travelling to Greece with Dr. Cohen for CLAS 3991 at Mount Allison University. For the next two weeks, I'm going to be blogging about our time in Greece, and letting all of the people back home know what we're up to. Hopefully, there will be lots to talk about, as I'm sure we're going to have a great trip! This is my first time writing a blog, but I will try to be a faithful blogger. Hopefully, I will be able to find a computer on a regular basis, but if not, I apologize in advance!
As I'm sure you may have figured out, we haven't quite left Canada yet. I'm very excited about the fact that it's 20 degrees in Athens right now, especially since it just started snowing here. I don't care if the Greeks think it's winter there or not, anything is better than our dear Canadian winter (i.e. -20 degrees and 4 feet of snow). Of course, I shouldn't complain since this winter hasn't been quite so bad, but I reserve the right to judgement!
Anyway, our flight leaves later this afternoon, and we aren't going to get to our first hotel until sometime tomorrow afternoon. It will be a long flight, but the trip will definitely be worth it! I'll keep you posted!
Natalie :)
For all those of you who don't know me, my name is Natalie Stewart, and I'm travelling to Greece with Dr. Cohen for CLAS 3991 at Mount Allison University. For the next two weeks, I'm going to be blogging about our time in Greece, and letting all of the people back home know what we're up to. Hopefully, there will be lots to talk about, as I'm sure we're going to have a great trip! This is my first time writing a blog, but I will try to be a faithful blogger. Hopefully, I will be able to find a computer on a regular basis, but if not, I apologize in advance!
As I'm sure you may have figured out, we haven't quite left Canada yet. I'm very excited about the fact that it's 20 degrees in Athens right now, especially since it just started snowing here. I don't care if the Greeks think it's winter there or not, anything is better than our dear Canadian winter (i.e. -20 degrees and 4 feet of snow). Of course, I shouldn't complain since this winter hasn't been quite so bad, but I reserve the right to judgement!
Anyway, our flight leaves later this afternoon, and we aren't going to get to our first hotel until sometime tomorrow afternoon. It will be a long flight, but the trip will definitely be worth it! I'll keep you posted!
Natalie :)
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