Yassas From Greece!
Blogging to you still from Greece right now. More specifically, from Santorini.
Wait, wasn't I just in Israel and Turkey last month, you ask? Yes, that's right. And now I'm in Greece.
I can't tell you just how much I love Greece. After last year, I thought I loved Paris the most, and when this trip begun in Paris, I almost didn't wanna leave it for Greece, but when I got to Greece... OMG. I forgot all about Paris.
Greece is just... magical. I get now why people would pack up and sell their homes in places like dreary London to start an entirely new life in quaint little islands like Skiathos. I totally get it. And frankly speaking, I'm considering it too right now.
The Greeks are incredibly lovely people, especially the people in the Sporades islands of Skopelos and Skiathos (or more popularly known for the islands where Mamma Mia was filmed!) Getting to Skopelos was a big huge pain, but it was definitely worth the 2.5 hour drive + 2.5 hour ferry ride! It was the most beautiful place I've ever been to, and with such kind and friendly people who would go an extra mile to help you out. It was incredible.
We rented a car and we went on a total Mamma Mia Pilgrimage across the island, we even stayed at the hotel where the cast was staying. Saw all their pictures and autographs on the guestbook. I touched the handwritings of Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Christine Baranski and Kathy Sykes! I climbed up 102836492 rocky steps to get to the top of the rock where Agios Ioannis church stood (where the wedding scene supposedly took place)... well, one thing for sure, they definitely only used the exterior coz the church was TINY!
We visited all the beaches where they shot most of the scenes, Kastani beach, where they filmed the boys dancing on the jetty (but the jetty was constructed for the film and had been torn down), and Limnonari beach where Sophie read her mom's diary. We also went to the port in Skiathos island where they shot the scene of Colin Firth missing the last boat to the island.
Three nights in the Sporades and I've never met people who are so incredibly nice and helpful. I'm not kidding you. When we left Skopelos for Skiathos, one of us accidentally left her cellphone in the Skopelos hotel. Would you believe that the two hotels, who have no affiliation with one another, actually executed a MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE by running a tag team mission in delivering and picking up the "package" (the cellphone) to the port? We left Skopelos at 7 AM, and the phone was already sitting nicely in the owner's room in Skiathos by 4 PM. Both receptionists made time to run to the port to hand it over to/pick it up from the ferry people. With no charge at all. The guy who worked at the car rental, after closing shop, he volunteered to drive us up to the very top of Skopelos town (we wouldn't even KNOW how to get there!) to see the greatest view of the island. The people are so incredibly wonderful!
I'm now on my fifth night in Santorini. Was supposed to leave on the 14th, but I love it so much here we decided to extend, and how fortunate for me that Singapore Airlines only flies from Athens back to Asia every Friday or Monday. So we get an excuse to spend the weekend in Santorini. I've burnt myself to crisp, and went swimming from the open waters of the Aegean Sea towards the hot springs of Palia Kameni, and two days later my hair still smells like sulfur =_= I watched beautiful sunsets every single day, drank many many Greek beers, Greek wines and Ouzos, ate many many Souvlaki, Mousaka and Greek salad.
I don't wanna leave. Like ever. Seriously. I now have Greece written down on the top of my list of annual travel destinations, or places to move out of Indonesia to. If I would ever move out of Indonesia, I'd wanna leave in the Greek islands. Live a nice, quiet, relaxing life and see beautiful sights everywhere I go every single day.
My HDD has literally exploded from the gazillions of pictures I've taken in Paris and Greece. It'll take ages to edit them and upload them, but until I do, here are a little preview of just how pretty Grecian nature really is. Photos by my beloved GF1 of course, and its mighty Leica lens, which is worth every penny, btw.
Make time to go to the Greek islands! You will NOT regret it!
Wait, wasn't I just in Israel and Turkey last month, you ask? Yes, that's right. And now I'm in Greece.
I can't tell you just how much I love Greece. After last year, I thought I loved Paris the most, and when this trip begun in Paris, I almost didn't wanna leave it for Greece, but when I got to Greece... OMG. I forgot all about Paris.
Greece is just... magical. I get now why people would pack up and sell their homes in places like dreary London to start an entirely new life in quaint little islands like Skiathos. I totally get it. And frankly speaking, I'm considering it too right now.
The Greeks are incredibly lovely people, especially the people in the Sporades islands of Skopelos and Skiathos (or more popularly known for the islands where Mamma Mia was filmed!) Getting to Skopelos was a big huge pain, but it was definitely worth the 2.5 hour drive + 2.5 hour ferry ride! It was the most beautiful place I've ever been to, and with such kind and friendly people who would go an extra mile to help you out. It was incredible.
We rented a car and we went on a total Mamma Mia Pilgrimage across the island, we even stayed at the hotel where the cast was staying. Saw all their pictures and autographs on the guestbook. I touched the handwritings of Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Christine Baranski and Kathy Sykes! I climbed up 102836492 rocky steps to get to the top of the rock where Agios Ioannis church stood (where the wedding scene supposedly took place)... well, one thing for sure, they definitely only used the exterior coz the church was TINY!
We visited all the beaches where they shot most of the scenes, Kastani beach, where they filmed the boys dancing on the jetty (but the jetty was constructed for the film and had been torn down), and Limnonari beach where Sophie read her mom's diary. We also went to the port in Skiathos island where they shot the scene of Colin Firth missing the last boat to the island.
Three nights in the Sporades and I've never met people who are so incredibly nice and helpful. I'm not kidding you. When we left Skopelos for Skiathos, one of us accidentally left her cellphone in the Skopelos hotel. Would you believe that the two hotels, who have no affiliation with one another, actually executed a MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE by running a tag team mission in delivering and picking up the "package" (the cellphone) to the port? We left Skopelos at 7 AM, and the phone was already sitting nicely in the owner's room in Skiathos by 4 PM. Both receptionists made time to run to the port to hand it over to/pick it up from the ferry people. With no charge at all. The guy who worked at the car rental, after closing shop, he volunteered to drive us up to the very top of Skopelos town (we wouldn't even KNOW how to get there!) to see the greatest view of the island. The people are so incredibly wonderful!
I'm now on my fifth night in Santorini. Was supposed to leave on the 14th, but I love it so much here we decided to extend, and how fortunate for me that Singapore Airlines only flies from Athens back to Asia every Friday or Monday. So we get an excuse to spend the weekend in Santorini. I've burnt myself to crisp, and went swimming from the open waters of the Aegean Sea towards the hot springs of Palia Kameni, and two days later my hair still smells like sulfur =_= I watched beautiful sunsets every single day, drank many many Greek beers, Greek wines and Ouzos, ate many many Souvlaki, Mousaka and Greek salad.
I don't wanna leave. Like ever. Seriously. I now have Greece written down on the top of my list of annual travel destinations, or places to move out of Indonesia to. If I would ever move out of Indonesia, I'd wanna leave in the Greek islands. Live a nice, quiet, relaxing life and see beautiful sights everywhere I go every single day.
My HDD has literally exploded from the gazillions of pictures I've taken in Paris and Greece. It'll take ages to edit them and upload them, but until I do, here are a little preview of just how pretty Grecian nature really is. Photos by my beloved GF1 of course, and its mighty Leica lens, which is worth every penny, btw.
Make time to go to the Greek islands! You will NOT regret it!