So, here we are in Corfu, Greece. Interesting story is how we actually got from London to Corfu. Well let me tell you.
OK, so we woke up at 5 AM on Monday morning, packed and ran to the underground. From there, we went to a train station, and that train took us to the airport on the other side of London (called Gatwick, but I kept saying Gastric, as in Gastric Bypass Surgery). Anyway, from Gatwick, we took a plane from London to Athens, Greece.
We debated the whole plane ride about whether or not we were going to see the Acropolis. Of course we both wanted to, but we didn't know if we would have time because we had to catch another train at 6 PM. We knew it was a three hour flight from London at 9:30 AM, so we assumed we would be there at 12:30 PM. I thought we would have plenty of time. Then it was brought to our attention that there was a two hour time difference from London to Athens... We arrived in Athens at 3 PM and sadly had to sacrifice our trip to the Acropolis in order to catch our train. Sigh.
We got to the Information Desk at the airport, and asked how to get to the train station. She said it was an hour ride on the metro. So, carrying our HUGE backpacks, we set off. Rode the metro for an hour to the train station, got a bite to eat, waited a little for the train, got on the train, and rode it to the last stop. On the train, we met a very nice older French man, and I was STOKED to be able to use my French speaking skills. Felt awesome.
Anyway, so we make it to the last stop, and then we realize that it's definitely not where we're supposed to be. We ask someone, "Is this Patras?" He says, "No, you take this bus. This ticket (points to our ticket as we hold it out cluelessly), goes from train to bus to Patras."
So we get on the bus. Another hour and a half goes by. Then we finally get to the port, and see dozens of gigantic boats waiting to take us to Corfu, the Greek island on the west coast. Our ticket was for the Minoan line, so we go to that boat and get on. Little did we know it was actually a full-functioning cruise line! We had a cabin with beds, a bathroom, shower, and closet! When we went out and ventured, there were a number of bars and restaurants, lounge rooms, and a pool and hot tub out on the deck! Needless to say, we kept ourself occupied exploring for about an hour, and then were so wiped that we had to go to bed.
Three hours later, we awoke to an announcer saying we had arrived at Corfu, and it was time to leave the boat. Then we got off the boat, saw our savior holding up a "Pink Palace" sign, got in the car and arrived a short 20 minutes later to this place, the Pink Palace.
So now, I'm sitting at the reception lobby of this... very unique and FAMOUS hostel, The Pink Palace. When we finally got here at 6:30 in the morning yesterday, the receptionist greeted us with three shots of this Greek licorice-flavored vodka called Ouzo. But it was colored pink in light of the namesake-- The Pink Palace. It was hilarious. The receptionist did the shot with us and then sighed, "I'm an alcoholic."
That kind of shows you the type of place this is. Party all night, sleep all day on the beach. Needless to say, I think it will be an eventful 4.5 days. Breakfast and dinner are included in the price as well, and free lockers and showers and towels and etc... all for only 25 euros a night! Yeah, pretty awesome deal. (Of course everything else on this trip is going to seem like a pretty awesome deal compared to London. I mean, I loved the city, but REALLY?! The prices were a little intense.)
But yesterday was amazing, consisting of drinking a shot at 6:30 AM, then putting our bags in the room, and sleeping for a couple of hours. You have to remember we had been traveling since 5 AM the day before, taking every route of transportation possible. Underground, train, plane, underground, train, bus, ferry, car. Yikes!
But after we slept in the room, we decided to go down to the beach (of course)! We pulled up a lounge chair, and laid out in the hot Greek sun, listening to the waves crashing up at our feet. We fell asleep again there for another couple of hours. Then we decided we were scared of getting sunburnt (which was good, because Dan actually did get burnt), so we went up to the room... and slept some more until dinner time.
Then we had dinner at 8:30 with the rest of the guests, and met some amazing women from Germany! I really connected with them, and while Dan mingled around the bar for the next few hours, the women and I shared some great conversation, and a few bottles of wine. We plan to meet up with them throughout our stay here at The Pink Palace, and I can't wait!
I have to say, one of my favorite parts about this trip has been meeting new people. Speaking of which, Dan has graciously allowed me to talk about the couple we met in London, from Holland! Madelon and Wilco... they are some of my favorite people ever. And in their last email, they asked for the address to our Blog, so if you're reading this guys, now you know I love you.
The girl was obsessed with vintage clothes, and we talked about that for a long time, because so am I. Then we got on the topic of music, and we shared a plethora of great bands with each other, which was great. And the guy, Wilco, is hopefully opening his own store of urban street wear and shoes! He's calling it Ill, and I REALLY want to come back and visit it when he opens it up in September. Check out his video about the store here: http://www.illfootwear.nl/clae/
We exchanged email addresses, and have planned to meet up with the couple again in Amsterdam for our last weekend of the trip. They actually live in Utrecht, but it is only 40 minutes or so away from Amsterdam, so they are going to make the trip up to see us. It will be a perfect way to end it, I think! And I can't wait to see them again.
But Dan just walked by and said he was going to the beach, and I can bear it no longer! I must follow. But I hope this extreme post was enough to keep you occupied and informed for the next day or so. Until then, OPA!!!!
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