Well...it has been quite a while since I've written anything I know. Initially it was because I hoped Kathryn would write a blog seeing as she was more invested in our activities than I was, but then we just got busy and I got a bit lazy. So to catch up from the last post...Kathryn's cousin Iris came to Lille to visit as part of her multi-country European backpacking vacation. It was great for Kathryn to see family and I think it was great for Iris to escape the hostel-hopping and get a real room and bed to sleep in for a couple nights. Since there really is only so much to do in Lille, we caught the train to Bruges for a day trip. If you have ever seen "In Bruges" with Colin Farrel you have a pretty good idea of what the city looks like (minus the crappy acting). It has a very storybook/fairytale feel with the architecture apparently modeled after gingerbread houses. We spent the day walking around the city and in between the canals until it started raining. Then we ducked into a cafe for some lunch and a few Belgium Beers. After lunch we went searching for the acclaimed chocolate museum where they have a life-sized statue of Barack Obama made entirely out of chocolate. Unfortunately by the time we got there it was closed so better luck next time.
Our next big event came at the beginning of our final two week vacation at the beginning of April. Two of Kathryn's friends came to Lille to visit. They all met while studying in La Fleche back when Kathryn was a junior in high school. Ingrid (on the right) came in from Norway and Claudia (left) came from Dresden, Germany. They only had the Easter weekend to stay but we made the most of our time. Kathryn took them on a tour around Lille, and showed them the more renowned sights. Then they spent the next day walking around Vieux Lille checking out the boutiques and shopping. Kathryn was so happy to see her friends and mentioned numerous times how almost nothing had changed (in terms of appearance or their friendship) even though it had been roughly seven years since they were last together.
The week after Kathryn's friends left we took a second trip to Amsterdam because the prices were cheap, and staying in the Brit's house was driving us both crazy. Amsterdam was a blast, and even though the Rijks museum was still under construction we made the most of our time there. And of course hit up Bird Thais restaurant for some of their amazing curry. Thanks to the pedometer on Kathryn's ipod we calculated that in two and a half days we walked over 30 miles covering almost every street in the entire downtown area of the city.
When our vacation ended we had approximately 8 days of work left, and they were spent mainly saying goodbye to teachers (and having classes cancelled because students were preparing for exams). As the year wound down we were very excited for the second half of our adventure, and especially to get out of the house we were living in. After eight months of hearing them stomp up and down the stairs, scrape wall-paper at 1am right above our room, and just generally disregard our presence to the point of almost obscene inconsiderate behavior, we needed a change. Come May 3rd we had our room completely packed up and were practically sprinting to the train to get to Paris for one night before our flight to Greece the next morning.
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Our flight to Athens went very smooth (other than the slight complication of Kathryn having to carry her 50lbs backpack/computer bag/purse), and as soon as we landed everything came rushing back. I ushered Kathryn through the airport and onto the metro and in 40 minutes we were walking into the heart of Syntagma Square just outside the Greek parliament building. Everything was perfect starting with the weather. When we left Paris the temp was hovering around the upper 50's, but in Athens it was around the low to mid 80's. We first went to the Athens Centre (the school I attended back in 2007) to pick up the key to our apartment. We are staying in a little studio not far from the school or Platia Varnava, where I lived before. The apartment is great. It's not very big but it has everything we need including a great balcony that over looks the entire city, and we can see all the way out to the sea.
Our first week and a half were incredible. I acted as tour guide showing Kathryn around the city and spouting off all the historical/archaeological information that I could remember. We also ran into a friend of mine from my program who, while here in 2007 met a guy, fell in love, and has subsequently been jet-setting back and forth between Athens and Seattle for the last three years. It was a real surprise to run into her, and it worked out great because we now had some friends to go out-on-the-town with.
Due to the fantastic weather we have already spent a couple days just lounging on the Athens beaches. Kathryn has a pretty good tan going that she is proud of, and I am starting to catch up. There will definitely be a lot more beach days in our future before we have to leave. Other than seeing the sights and going to the beach (and of course enjoying the delicious Greek cuisine) Kathryn and I had a job interview for English teaching positions at a school in Athens. The interview went well, but it was very short. Luckily they are looking to fill a couple positions. We don't really think we have much of a chance but it was a good start if we are going to try and find gainful employment here (however difficult it may be with the economy crunch they're in right now).
This past Saturday Kathryn's sister Marlena and her boyfriend Ryan arrived in Athens to spend the week with us. We had put off seeing the major sites until they got here. Their first day they crashed early to try and get over their jet lag. So the next day we were out the door for a visit to the most popular sites in Athens. We started off with the Temple of the Olympian Zeus, then moved on to the Acropolis and Parthenon, and rounded out the day with a visit to the newly built Acropolis Museum. The museum is a brand new structure with tons of artifacts and statues recovered from the area, and the coolest part is that it's built with glass floors. It was constructed directly over the ruins of an ancient Greek and Roman village. So as you are admiring the pottery, jewelery, weapons and statues you can stop every couple feet and look down at the ruins of an old bath house/domicile etc... It was a great experience for everyone, and it was the one thing that I hadn't already seen previously because when I was here in 2007 they had just begun construction of the new building.
That just about takes us to this moment now. I am currently sitting on the deck of our hotel room on Santorini looking out at the rolling hills and palm trees to my right and the Aegean Sea and an adjacent island to my left. We all took the ferry here together on Monday, and Marlena and Ryan just left for the airport about 30min ago for their flight back to Athens. Kathryn and I had planned to take a ferry back tomorrow (Thurs. May 20th) but the Greeks have planned a general strike for that same day so we have been "
forced" to spend another two days here. We are not complaining! Yesterday we rented ATV's and went cruising from beach to beach checking out what the island has to offer. On more of the southern part of the island not far from the airport is a little town called Kamari that had a beautiful black sand beach where we spent the day laying in the sun (and trying not to step on the burning hot sand). We also drove up to the highest point in the town of Fira to watch the sun go down and paint the sky and clouds magnificent shades of orange, pink and red.
Today we took the ATV's over to the northern tip of the island to the town of Oia (pronounced "eea"). Most likely any picture that you have seen from Santorini was taken in Oia. It is the picturesque postcard city of white-washed buildings accented by the famous blue roofs and shutters. We did a lot of walking, Kathryn and Marlena did a bit of shopping and then we stopped for lunch of Greek salad, moussaka and lamb chops, just outside the city at a little Taverna perched on a cliff over-looking some of the island's vineyards and the sea.
Kathryn has been enchanted by Greece as I was on my first visit. In an attempt to prolong our time here tomorrow we are planning a mini job hunt by going to some of the island's hotels with resumes in hand, asking about possible summer employment. We have been told they hire a lot of English speaking workers for the summer to cater to their UK and American guests. We are not too picky when it comes to the job as long as we can find something to pay the bills and give us the summer experience of a lifetime.
Yah Mas,
Jordan and Kathryn
P.S. - I'll add photos from Santorini as soon as we transfer them from the camera to the computer.
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