COME AND GET THEM!

That next morning we ate breakfast by 7:30 and left by 8:00 a.m. to go see three more monasteries. Again, even though they were all similar, I think we broke longest time records in a few of them. We had a lot of fun exploring, taking pictures, and admiring the views. George had to keep us on strict time limits so we didn’t spend too much time in each monastery. This day involved a little more exercise since it was a trek to reach the entrance to some of the monasteries…lots of stair stepping. Here is a picture of the biggest monastery. Notice that I appear a lot cleaner in this picture…

I love this picture with the largest monastery and a hint of the snowy  mountains in the background

The next few hours we spent exploring the monastery…some highlights:

I happened to find a nice monk and he took a great picture with the Hortons! Now you know what the monks looked like.

Nicest monk around! (second christmas pic anyone?)

Also, in this same monastery there was a man who got behind these ropes and started making googly monster faces…it was hysterical. He had glasses that just amplified his eyes. I tried to get a picture of him because I never wanted to forget what he looked like but I missed the shot. So…I tried to recreate it…

Pretty much an epic fail he looked so much weirder and funnier than I did

Apparently no one in the monasteries is as tall as Mr. Horton. It turned out to be quite dangerous for him.

Ouch!

Shenanigans....

didn't quite make this one haha

showoff!

I am sure from the pictures above you can surmise why we may have had problems with some of the time limits. However, we made our way down the mountain and headed out of Meteora. We were lucky enough to have two more stops. The first was at a place where they made the icons that went in the churches of the monasteries and other famous churches around the world. Here is a photo. The Hortons purchased a very beautiful icon if you ever get the chance to see it!

This man actually signed the back of the Horton's icon!

The second stop was at a very historical place made even more famous by the movie 300. You guessed it…we went to the infamous battle site where Leonidas, king of Sparta, faced off against the Persian army. Welcome to Thermopyles.

Tribute to the Spartan soldiers who gave their lives...

Monument to Leonidas

We were all pretty exhausted when we got dropped off back at the apartment so we went to dinner. My first real greek gyro, delicious! 

Then we went to bed for the big island day ahead of us…or so we thought.

Paños, What did he do to you?

I did finally make it to Athens and Mr. and Mrs. Horton were waiting for me when I came out. It was so great to see them! This night Kristen, Stephen, and I had planned to go out to see the nightlife in Athens,

but since I arrived so late they had to leave without me. Mr. and Mrs. Horton took the taxi straight to where Stephen and Kristen were, and I was still able to participate in the night’s festivities. (Thank you so much Hortons!)

The next morning we got up, on about two hours of sleep, and boarded a van for Meteora. It was a four-hour drive to our destination, and I loved every second of it. I know what you are thinking… you are thinking I had an awesome nap. Nope, napping is for weaklings. My best friend and I got to have much needed girl talk for four hours. I am not too sure that the rest of the Horton family enjoyed are giggling and inane conversations, but I certainly did.

When we arrived in Meteora, George the Taxi driver dropped us off at a fabulous restaurant and I not only had my first taste of Greek food but also a fun cultural experience. In this restaurant you go into the kitchen and “Momma” tells you what is what, and that everything tastes wonderful (which is true) and then asks you what you would like. It may be a little hard to imagine so here are some photos. She looked exactly like I would picture a Greek mom would, she was so at home in the kitchen. I can’t remember exactly what this meat was (a little help Horton family?) but the peas were so good, and I don’t normally like peas all that much.

Momma in the kitchen...she is so cute!

Stephen and Mrs. Horton picking out their food...

first greek meal...delicious peas and mystery meat (a.k.a I forgot what it was... I think pork)!!!

After we ate, George took us to our hotel to drop off our bags. It was run by a family and was extremely comfortable and elegant. We  just had time to drop off our bags before we went to visit the first monastery. These monasteries are located up on huge rocks and it was breathtaking. I remember when we got out of the van George said we wouldn’t need more than an hour and would probably be done in 45 minutes or less. Boy did we prove him wrong. We were in the monastery for more than an hour. In fact, I think we set some sort of record. That’s right we like to break records:)

Honestly, I have never seen anything quite like these monasteries. They were peaceful and stunning. The aura around them was something else. I feel a little lame saying this, but I wish I knew how to do yoga or was in touch with meditation because it had to be one of the best places to have a spiritual or unearthly connection. It was so hard to capture on film, but take a look for yourself.

Holy Monastery of St. Stephen (of course we had to visit Stephen's namesake) 

The Horton's plus one...

In the monasteries women have to wear skirts, which are provided, by the monastery. Some interesting things about the monasteries:

Exhibit A: The Toilets

I don't think further words are necessary. However, I would like to give a shout out to Mrs. Horton who was the only women in the group to brave this contraption. I would also like to point out Stephen had a profound theory. He surmised that the nuns didn't wear underwear and that is how they were able to go to the bathroom with ease. After all they are minimalists, right?

Exhibit B: Alarm Clock

·    

The nuns are woken up by hammering on a wooden block at four in the morning. That people, is what I like to call, serious dedication to your craft. 

Exhibit C: No Photos in the church

·      You are not allowed to take pictures in the churches. Of course, double-trouble next to me decided she needed a praying picture in the chapel (very reverent). Whom, do you think, the nun scolded for taking a picture? That would be me! 

The best thing that happened in this monastery was that the namesake, Stephen, with the wonderful theories on the use of the bathrooms, actually scored some free postcards. How, you ask? Well a nun happened to be carrying some large boxes, and Stephen offered to help. He carried the boxes for her and returned a short time later. About two minutes after Stephen came back the nun came by with some free postcards and thanked him profusely, in some of the only English she knew, “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!” Later she told Mrs. Horton what great kids she had.

Stephen making his mom proud…

 After Kristen and I were showed up by Stephen's good manners we headed back down the mountain to take a 2 hour break before dinner. All three of us were exhausted, and when we got back to the room we pretty much collapsed on the bed. One of my favorite quotes from Greece came about in this moment. We were all laying there and Kristen says, "I feel like we are Kings and Queens, this hotel is amazing." Abruptly after we hear Stephen's abrupt response, "Kristen, I'm on a futon." 

Since I was on the trip, Kristen and I shared the bed, and Stephen had the futon:)

I took a shower, since worse than being tired, was the feeling of  my germ-infested body. I had traveled in the airport, and been on airplanes all day è then I went directly to a club è followed by a four-hour ride to a monastery. Finally, at a place where there was a shower, I was so happy to no longer smell like an ashtray. 

That night we went to dinner at another place George had recommended. This time George joined us to eat, and he was full of insight into the Greek culture. In addition to his insight he was hilarious. Some of the best one-liners of the trip were provided by George. A few of my favorites were at this dinner...

Mr. and Mrs. Horton were talking about how Mrs. Horton sleeps as still as a statue, and how Mr. Horton moves and wiggles all over the place while sleeping. George, in all seriousness, commented that "it would be impractical," for both of the Hortons to move. I don't know if it was his accent or how calmly he said it, but the logic of it took us all aback.

George explained to us at this dinner that dogs were treated very differently in Greece. The people tend to adopt a dog, but leave it on the street. They put a collar on it and feed it every day but then they just leave it be. It was fascinating to see a country treating their dogs so well. When I went to Chile it was quite the opposite. The dogs were in a bad way, all of them starving, sick, and unhealthy. I hadn't noticed, that all the dogs roaming Athens, were very healthy looking. Until George told us how the Greeks treated them I hadn't thought about it. The Greek people are very culturally different in many ways then any country I have been to. It is so much fun to realize how different we all are, and how exciting that makes the world. 

On the topic of dogs, George told us a story about how he was once on a tour waiting for his group to come out of a tourist stop; he saw two dogs fighting. Two bus drivers who were loading up their vans immediately jumped into the fray while the onlooking tourists watched in astonishment. The drivers proceeded to break up the dogs and have a conversation with them about their behavior:

The bus driver, yelling at the dog, asks it, "Paños, what did he do to you?"...apparently along with feeding the dogs they also name them and talk to them as if they are humans:) The tourists got a nice show that day!

Here are some photos of the great food we ate at dinner during our conversations...

Fried cheese thing that was ohhhh so good!

Chiken Souvlaki....yummyness

After this we went and got some gelato before heading back to the hotel. I remember on the way back to the van I was talking to Mr. Horton and saying how it would be interesting to live up in the monastery for a few days. He told me that he didn't really have any desire to do this and I asked him why. He said, "They try and take all temptation out of their lives. We only have one life, and I want to enjoy it." It was a different perspective then I had ever heard. I have always wanted to try living in a Tibetan monastery or something like that. I think to test my control, find out who you really are, break everything down to see if you would enjoy your own company. Mr. Horton's answer was thought provoking and it was something to think about over the next few days...

There are no free lunches….

I would never have imagined a year ago that I would be going to Greece, but to Greece I went. It’s funny where life takes you. This flight was my first solo flight in Europe and it turned out to be quite the experience. It all started with this nice old man offering to buy me a cup of coffee, and of course like anyone else would think, I thought, “this vacation is getting off to a fabulous start, going without a hitch.”

Then, I missed my connector flight. And then I had my first, and hopefully my last, public breakdown in Spain. I guess the moral of this story is, when a nice old man offers to buy you’re coffee in the airport, be afraid…be very afraid.

Details? …You want details?

Oh all right…

I made my flight out of Alicante airport and into Madrid airport, but the flight was running 20 minutes late and I only had 40 minutes to get to my next gate. Adding onto this I was in the back of the plane, the extreme back, as in the last row. Concerned that I would miss my connector I turned to the Iberian flight attendant and asked if I would be able to make it. She assured me I would, as long as I ran, once I debarked. She lied. I am still quite upset about that. Turns out that I should have pushed and shoved past all the wonderful people in my plane, but being the trusting person I am I believed I would be fine if I ran once I got off my flight. After I was finally in the airport I ran to my gate, which happened to be the gate right next to the one I got off of. Literally, it was the next gate over, and I could have only missed them closing the doors by about five minutes. I know this because I happened to see someone walking in through the clear glass ramp as I was begging the two people manning the gate to let me through. It was like a scene in those romantic movies when the man is running to catch the woman he loves, but before he reaches his destination, he is held up by someone or something. I must have looked very similar to that hopeless, helpless romantic. At that point, I certainly felt hopeless and helpless.

Those unhappy employees at the gate directed me to Iberia’s customer service. This part is a bit shameful. Instead of channeling my mother, who can cajole the outcome she wants out of most situations, I started sobbing. Especially, when the woman told me I might have to spend the night in Madrid. A red nose, running mascara, and lots of sniffles later I had a free 15-euro lunch, and a plane flight to land in Athens at 11:30p.m. (7 hours later than originally planned).

The one good thing that came out of this situation: I now understand the true meaning of the phrase,  “there are no free lunches.”

Don’t you just love that about getting older? You finally get to understand things you always wish you did when you were younger, just in time to realize, you don’t want to understand.

View of Athens at night:) Don't worry my trip only went up from here...