Greece: Summer Lovin'

After getting our learn on in Metoera and Athens, we decided to rest our brains and head to a few greek islands to lay down and do little else. Our first stop was Mykanos, known more for a party island, but I was soley intererested in it's crystal clear beaches.

We took a fast boat from Athens to Mykanos and immediately met a couple guys from Bermuda that were staying at our hostel, Jesse and Ambrose. The hostel we stayed at was so odd. It was one part swank resort with a swimming pool, beach view, bar, and lounge music. The other part was the actual rooms, if you can even call it that. That part consisted of an endless row of, what seemed to be, emptied out tool sheds stuffed with beds. What's worse is that somehow on small island with no lakes, there were millions of mesquitos. What's worst, is that our tool shed room's front wall consisted of metal netting, which easily let mequitos into our room. My first night of "sleep" there, I literally got  bit 50 times one each arm, as well as some on my knees and legs. Definitely give me a wooden wall over lounge music any day.

The beautiful view from the fancy pants lounge just around the corner from our barracks.

Our first day in Mykanos, Carolyn decided to take a ferry to a small island called Delos to check out some of the ruins. Because of lackluster sleep the night before, I decided to take the day to enjoy the resort part of the hostel, as well as lay out on nearby Paraga Beach. It was a nice, relaxing afternoon of a lot of nothing, but sun.

When Carolyn got back from her day trip, we decided to head up to Mykanos' famous Paradise Beach. Mind you, this was my first experience on a popular European beach, so I wasn't necessarily prepared to intake as much nude bathing as I saw. Mostly old dudes that wore hats. Nothing but hats. We didn't stay long.

That night, we headed into town with Jesse and Ambrose to grab a bite to eat before grabbing a few drinks. We found a spot down by the port because we were all fiending some fresh seafood. That night, I had delicious grilled octopus, one of my favorite meals in Greece (overall, the food in Greece was so-so). It was lightly grilled, drizzled with olive oil and lemon. Really simple and tasty. The next day we ended our time in Mykanos by walking around Mykanos town, which is an intricate weave of narrow and beautifully colored streets. We also met a couple of really cool Argentinians that were studying in France, Pato and Camilla. We discovered that'd we'd be overlapping a lot of our time in Greece, so we traded info and decided to get in contact as our trips continued.

Not a huge octopus fan, but I liked this one...because it was small.

Dinner with Jesse and Ambrose.

Walking the ever white and blue streets of Mykanos.

Our next stop in the Greek Islands was Santorini, the island I was most excited to see. As we shuttled to our hostel, we met a very funny and charming girl named Rachel, whom we were lucky enough to hang out with over the following week. Our first night in Santorini was close to a perfect night. We started off with dinner at a restaurant right next to our hostel, where I finally got to taste moussaka, kind of like a greek lasagna. It was really tasty and filling. We also ordered some fried cheese, as well as a Santorini specialty, deep fried tomato balls. Really good. After dinner, the hostel owner told us that there was going to be a lunar eclipse that night, so we rushed to the market, grabbed a few beers and snacks and headed down to Parissa Beach to lounge for a few hours. A great welcome to Santorini.

 Cheese + deep fried = crazy delicious.

Deep fried tomato balls, a Santorini specialty.

Moussaka, or if you watch SNL, moussaKA.

Watching the lunar eclipse on Perissa beach with Rachel.

The next day we went on a day tour around Santorini where we got to sail around on a boat to check out a volcano, swim in a hot spring, and check out a couple of towns' beautiful views. We ended the tour in the town of Oia (which we got up to by riding donkeys), where we watched the sunset while snacking on chips and wine (when you think of postcards of Greece, a large majority of them will be of Oia and its famous blue-domed buildings). Absolutely stunning sunset and a great way to end our tour.

Quite and relaxing morning alone on Perissa Beach.

The famous blue-domed churches.

On our way up to Oia to watch the sunset.

More...

...blue.

Sunset time with some wine.

Rice-stuffed peppers.

At our favorite 24-hour bakery.

Our last day in Santorini, we went on a relaxing and scenic hike on the coast before we rented ATVs and headed down to the red sand beach, where we bumped into a few more friends we met in Mykanos, all from California. After the beach, we decided to meet up for some wine tasting in one of Santorini's many wineries. I'm not a huge wine fan, but it was definitely a fun experience, especially at the smaller winery where the host gave us a lot of information about each wine, as well as some history of Santorini. We left Santorini the following morning, but not before I got in a little mast minute beach time with Darko (a serbian who will most definitely be a rock star someday) as well as our Argentinian friends Pato and Camilla.

Views from our hike.

Our guide, Zeus.

The end of the hike!

The guy recommended a pink helmet for me...

Our last stop in the Greek Islands was Crete. Rachel, Pato, Camilla, Carolyn and I took a ferry to Crete, where we rented a car, got to our hostel, and grabbed a quick bite to eat (gryos, of course), before heading to bed. (On a sidenote: the hostel owner George was awesome. He gave us a detailed run down of the Crete, places to eat, foods and drinks we must try, beaches to go to. His brother even plays professional basketball so we spent a good amount of time chatting about European vs. American basketball - great for me since I've been having basketball withdrawal for about two months).Our first full day in Crete was spent at Carolyn's favorite beach of all time, Elefonisi. It was really a beaufitul beach, with a cool sandbar, white sand, and crystal clear water with not too shabby snorkeling. After about six hours on the beach, we headed back to town, where we met Jon from Kansas. That night we took one of George's recommendations and tried a vegetarian restaurant in town. Pretty tasty, but the best part of the dinner was that we were a part of (hopefully) a rekindled romance. The waitress at the restaurant voluntarily shared that she and George used to date, and broke up the week before. We were like, uhhhh, before she ran into the back, grabbed a folded note, and asked us to give it to George when we got back to our hostel. If those two crazy kids make it, I'd like to think we had a hand in it. After dinner, we walked around the port and got some delicious gelato to end the eventful night.

All the weirdos we met in Crete.

In the gorgeous, clear waters of Elefonisi.

With our buddy Jon from Kansas.

Our last day in Crete was spent on another gorgeous beach called Balos, that was really secluded and was only accessible after driving two hours on a dirt road. After the drive, we had to walk 30 minutes down to the beach, with goats all around us. But it was definitely worth it. Definitely a surreal sight when we finally got to overlook the beach. That night we ended with more seafood down by the port, followed by a rushed trip to the gelato shop (it was really good), before heading to the aiport.

Making the trek down to Balos.

Doesn't get much better than this.

The Greek Islands were a really fun time, made moreso by all of the friends we met along the way...and romances we helped re-ignite.

Getting Cultured in Greece

Singapore was the last leg of our fantastic travels around Asia, which meant on to our first stop in Europe: Greece! I had initially planned to go there for the amazing beaches, but like everything in life, balance is key. Before we went to the Greek islands to soak in some rays, we decided to see some of Greece's ruins and architecture.

Our first stop was Meteora, five hours north of Athens. Like we've grown accustomed to on our travels, Carolyn and I did some crazy, non-stop traveling to get to Meteora. We left Singapore on a six-hour flight to a nine-hour layover in Doha (Qatar Air was cheap and actually very amazing), before taking a four-hour flight in the morning to Athens, followed directly by a five-hour bus ride to Meteora. Pretty much 24 hours straight of traveling. It was worth it.

A couple of my friends strongly recommended visiting Meteora when they heard I was going to Greece. I was already sold because the name sounds rad (yup, rad), but was further convinced when they told me Meteora had five monasteries built on towering cliffs. They swore by it, so I decided I had to see it for myself.

One word: amazing. Two words: freaking amazing. The monasteries on cliffs were surreal. It almost looked fake; like I was looking at a real life post card. We pretty much spent the entire day trekking between the monasteries and soaking in the views of the cliffs and of the city below. Our entire time in Meteora equaled the amount of time it took to get there, but it was a a once in a lifetime, unique experience I was really happy I saw. Oh yeah, we also had gyros so that's good too.

Rad.

Beautiful views from up top.

My first meal in Greece: fry-filled gyro.

My bracelet buddy. He got mine from Thailand, I got his Greek one.

After our day in Meteora, we bussed back down to Athens so we could continue getting learned. The next day, we got up bright and early, and made our way to the Acropolis, so that we could get caught in a sea of tourists. Mission accomplished. It was great to finally see up close in person all of the "Greek images" I've always seen in photos. Not to mention that there is so much history behind each of the structures. We ended our time in the Archaeology Museum, which was expansive and really amazing. I didn't have the strongest urge to see Athens because of my "ruins fatigue" but I'm really glad I saw the must-see sights. We also had more gyros.

At the famous Acropolis.

  A lot of beautiful items at the Archaeological Museum.

A huge plate of mixed meats in Athens.

Now that our brains were filled to the brim was Greek culture, it was time to jet off to the Greek Islands to lay horizontally on sand. And eat more gyros. Tune in next time to check out these adventures. Same bat time, same bat channel.

VisEATing Singapore

**DISCLAIMER: Grab a bib. This is a food heavy post.**

It's been about a month and a half in to my travels and I've been really blessed to have seen the countries I have. Lots of beautiful architecture, serene beaches, and amazing food. It's a tough life. But with that said, there's something about Singapore that gets my heart racing and excited as if I'm in second grade again waiting to open Super Mario 3 on Christmas morning (Mario with a raccoon tail!). And I have a feeling I know why.

For those who heard me talk about my trip to Singapore last summer, you know how amazing the food is there. Chinese? Check. Indian? Check. Malaysian, Turkish, Japanese? Check, check, and check (you're welcome for not writing the "Czech? Check." joke). Knowing ahead of time the multitude of options Singapore had to offer, I came a little better prepared this time around and used a little more strategery when planning my food conquests. With a little help, of course.

My lovely friend Gitanjali (truly one of my favorite people) let me stay in her swank 42nd floor apartment complex (thanks, Accenture!), which I used as a recovery center between face-stuffing sessions. I love Gitanjali for many reasons, but one of them can be summarized with one of the first sentences she spoke to me when I arrived: "OK, so you have like ten meals in Singapore. Let's start planning!" Is there anything better than the love of food combined with Accenture's Delivery Method? Wait, don't answer that.

What can I say, she's lovely.

A welcomed stint of luxury.

The beautiful view from G's apartment.

My first meal in Singapore? Chicken and rice! One of the simplest and deliciousest meals you'll have. Gitanjali met me for lunch every day of my stay, where we mostly did our damage in Singapore's amazing food courts. I know everyone loves them some Sbarro's and Orange Julius, but Singapore food courts are a different animal altogether. You can get delicious roti prata, oyster omelettes, roast pork/duck/chicken, dim sum, soup noodles, dry noodles, satay. Pretty much anything you want, you can get. What happens when you have too many choices to choose from? You say yes. Most of our meals ended with groans of pain, but because our Sauron-sized eyes were larger than our frodo-sized stomachs, we were able to sample a lot of the food we couldn't decide between. We followed a similar routine when we went to the equally diverse and sprawling hawker markets at night.

Roast and steamed chicken and rice.

Tandoori chicken with naan and veggies from Lau Pa Sat hawker market.

Fried chicken and rice with Carmen. "Put an egg on it!"

It probably wasn't good for me that this hawker market was a five minute walk from the apartment.

Assorted roast meats...from a food court!

One of my favorites: chicken murtabak. Roti filled with chicken and eggs and dipped in curry.

Indian style fried chicken and rice.

It lingers so good.

Almond pudding and longan shaved ice.

My next partners in crime? Jamie and Carmen! I'm not only lucky that Jamie and Carmen have a great love of food and have the best recommendations whenever I visit, but they're also some of the most generous people I know. Carmen is some sort of magician at paying for the check without anyone knowing. I will learn these black arts some day, and will find a way to pay them back (but really, thank you guys). This trip, they took us out to some truly delicious meals. The first was Ippudo. I had always heard Ippudo had amazing ramen, but had never gotten to try it. I was not disappointed. The next meal they took us to was a first for me: Turkish. I didn't even really know what Turkish food was, but it turned out to be a really delicious meal at Ala Turka on Arab Street.

Drinks with Carmen at Clark Quay. Beautiful spot to enjoy the sunset.

Ippudo!

Turkish bread to be dipped in...

...this assortment of dipping sauces.

Falafel? No, faldelicious.

Turkish pizza.

Lamb-filled pastries. 

Turkish dessert called kunefe - shredded filo with a sweet cream sauce. Really tasty.

No trip to Singapore is complete without getting some chili crab. Near the end of my trip, Gitanjali, Gregor, Carolyn, Kent, Carmen, Jamie and I went to No Signboard to feed our cravings. Chili crab is the staple that everyone loves, but the real specialty of No Signboard is their salted egg crab. Between all the crab, lobster-sized prawns, and rolls, we definitely ate way too much, but if there is ever a right way to get a stomach ache, it's with great company on a warm night with some cold beers.

Giant deep fried prawns.

Salted egg crab. A specialty unique to No Signboard.

Chili crab!

Great meal with great company.

I haven't even gotten to my family yet! I found out last year when I traveled to Singapore that I have aunts, uncles and cousins in Singapore. Last trip, they spoiled me by taking me an a day excursion to Sentosa Island and feeding me authentic Singaporian food. This trip, I didn't want them to spoil me as much (just a little), but they still went over the top by inviting me to their house and feeding me a home cooked meal. For someone who had been traveling non stop for six weeks, a home cooked meal with family was exactly what I was craving. And you know what we had for dessert? Durian egg tarts!

The lovely fam bam.

A very welcomed home cooked meal.

Regular egg tarts, Portuguese egg tarts, and wait for it...DURIAN EGG TARTS!

My cousin Joleen told me that I had to, had to stop by the gelato shop she worked at to try some of the local flavors (I think she had one in mind for me). I stopped by her shop one day and her being the generous cousin that she is, wouldn't let me pay for a couple scoops of the good stuff. What is the good stuff you ask? Keeping with our theme, obviously the good stuff is durian gelato. It was remarkable how much like real durian the gelato tasted like. Singapore knows how to do durian right. And by right, I mean put durian in everything possible.

Durian gelato. My favorite durian concoction of the trip.

My wonderful cousin Joleen who has always been a great host to me in Singapore.

So far, you can see how lucky I am to be able to meet up with these great people in Singapore. But wait, there's more! By chance, my friend Mark was in Singapore for a short stay in order to fly out to Indonesia and it worked out that we were able to meet up for a night for drinks, dinner, and a romantic walk around Clark and Raffle's Quay. Mark has been doing his own traveling for the past few months doing some skiing, volunteering, and generally changing the world for the better. No big deal. It was so nice meeting up with him, sharing stories about our travels, and watching people get engaged on bridges while cheering them on and getting free chocolate (yup, that happened). Really a great night.

My date around the multiple quays.

So, what is it about Singapore that gets me all giggly? You'd think it was the food. And you'd be partially right. The food in Singapore is second to none (maybe Vietnam), but my excitement really comes from the people I get to spend time with in Singapore. Take away all the food and give me hot pockets for the week, and my excitement would be unwaveringly high. If ever the old adage "people make the place" was appropriate, it's for Singapore. Coming here is a constant reminder of how blessed I am to have so many lovely people in my life. That and that fact that I can eat better than hot pockets for the week.