A Grecian Goddess walks into a bar...

Ios - an island of hedonism, Dionysus and all things Greek. A.k.a PARTY TIME!

And that is all.


















No, not really, I shall let you in on what I was up to in both Ios (the name of the last island Amma and I travelled to, also the name which Amma constantly forgot. "Where are we again?" she would often ask me... it was really funny for a while... But then we became concerned... ) and Athens.

We arrived in Ios in a delusional state (we had no sleep the night before) and as soon as we got off the ferry we searched for a little sign advertising "Francesco's" - a hostel that we had heard about, for they promise to provide vegemite on toast for brekkie. Gold! Amma and I were having too good a time in Santorini to book accomodation, so we prayed that there was still room. Thankfully, there was, and there was also room for our new Argenitinian/Canadian friends as well. We were also blessed to share our room with a Canadian girl, with whom we had SO much fun with. Party on Wayne. I'll post the hilarious pictures in a short while.

So basically there's not much to do in Ios aside from getting browner on the beach and partying. I was cool with that. According to sources in London I have returned 'black' (no small feat might I add) and I can't stop checking myself out on the tube comparing my lovely tanned arms to the pale limbs of the British. The Argentinians actually all live in Calgary, Canada, where they migrated about six years ago. Amma and I were actually quite lucky we formed a great group with these guys and our other Canadian roommate, and we all had a lot of fun going out that night.

Ours days on Ios were fun and relaxing - I can never get enough of the beach, and this beach was quite beauitful. We were originally challenged to a game of volleyball by the Argentinians (Amma put us girls up to that, I confessed that I had NO idea how to play... just because I'm tall doesn't guarantee that I know how to play all the 'tall' sports!) but thankfully we didn't get around to making the biggest fool of ourselves. That afternoon some more people from the pervious hostel in Santorini came to Ios, and we all had one big party in one of our rooms, going nuts with the camera, taking the weirdest photos of us all. These picture I must post, but I will get them when I am emailed them myself. Amma and I kept laughing and looking at them for days afterwards.

So there's not much else to say about Ios - I'd rather the photos show you what fun we had.

But Athens, now that's another story... But I'll keep it on this post! Yay!

Most people didn't like Athens. My cousins couldn't stop bagging it. Everyone told us we could 'see' it in a day. My, what a different experience Amma and I had. After shlepping Amma's suitcases up the hill and far away to our hostel, we quickly got changed and decided to explore downtown Athens. It is so pretty! We kept oohing and ahhing at the cute little cafes and bars lining the streets - they were packed - and the different angles we could see the acropolis illuminated in the night... but we were exhausted after a full day of travelling, and went to sleep in our boiling hot hostel. Actually it was so difficult sleeping in that heat, I don't know how I got up the next morning.

The next day we decided to "Go Asian!" or... GO ANCIENT! yeah! By the time we left the hostel, the heat was already beating down on us, and became unbearable. We kept having to have mini-breaks in the shade just to rest and keep us going for the whole day. We toured the entire Acropolis site and I was impressed with my lack of knowledge of Ancient Greece. We never learnt about it in school - my only point of reference was my cherished Children's Encyclopedia of Greek Myths... but even that doesn't help me when trying to grasp the significance of the Pantheon. We didn't have a tour guide, and the heat was getting too much, but I did appreciate the stunning architecture of the site. I was glad to remember some of the little snippets of architectural history I learnt from Rob over the years... it was all coming back to me - ionic columns etc.

That afternoon we explored some markets and then went back to the hostel for a nap. The heat just drained us, and we had no more energy for anything more ancient...

That night we went back to the Monstiraki Square to a delightful restaurant that could have felt at home in Melbourne or New York city. The decor was so right on and gorgeous, and so were the waiters! The food was cheap and yum too - we couldn't have gone to a better place. We loved the restaurant so much, and we told the waiters so. They then took us to the upstairs of the place and showed us the bar that's usually open during the summer (but it was closed as it had rained that afternoon) and it was there that we had a most spectacular sight of the Acropolis. Shame my camera ran out of battery just at that minute, but I'll post some pics of it when Amma sends me the rest of our photo collective.

So yes, that was Greece for you. Oh, let me add in some interesting happenings:

Greece, where women(Amma and I) got hissed at like cats - what the?
Greece, where we carried around deoderant and a change of shirt in our bags - never in my life had I done that! What a dirty bugger!
Greece, where it's impossible to be in a rush to go ANYWHERE - because the Greeks just don't care.

Um, I actually had some funny stories but they're not coming into my head right now. Do apologise. So that's all folks! As my dad says, another great chapter in Sarah's travels this year. But with each chapter is some sadness of leaving it, and excitement of an apporaching one. So let me leave you with this - I'm loving London right now, catching up with Shira and Yocheved and Tim.... and I am SO excited about Israel - Alana, here I come! :)

God bless xx






































god bless? what the hell am i on? this isn't me! god bless? wtf?