New Direction v. 2.0

Hope that's right, anyway. So, obviously, updating people on our lives isn't really working for this blog. ;) As much as I really, really wanted to share our weekly events, I'm horrible at uploading photos in a timely manner. And when I do have them ready to post, I feel like too much time has passed and it's no longer relevant. 

Therefore, I've decided to actually follow-through with what I had planned on doing last year, which is to just write when the mood strikes. And not just about our lives, but about anything I feel like discussing. I will still share information pertinent to us and our little family, but I want to be able to just write about whatever strikes my fancy. Hardly anyone reads our little blog anyway, so it will be like what others use their Twitter and Facebook accounts for...except I can elaborate with more characters if I so choose. ;)

So a quarter of 2013 has almost passed. Let's see what the next three quarters will hold for this gal, her guy, their Yorkie and this blog. :)

A Blast to the Past

After checking out of our Sorrento hotel, Chris and I headed about an hour north to visit the ancient city of Pompeii. I, personally, love visiting historical sites, so I was really excited for this day of the trip.

Pompeii, for those of you unfamiliar with the city, was partially destroyed and buried under 13 to 20 ft of ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Pompeii was lost for nearly 1700 years before its rediscovery in 1748.

The city was preserved extremely well so visitors get a great feel of what life was like prior to the eruption. Many buildings, their wall paintings and floor tiles, sculptures and other artifacts are still intact so you could definitely feel the life of the city as it was.

For how long ago this city was built and inhabited, it was surprisingly large.Chris and I did not expect to spent more than a few hours there, so we unable to see every corner. Luckily, we were able to squeeze in all of its top sites; the homes, restaurants, both theaters and the bath house.

Chris and I both experienced a really powerful moment when we visited the plaster casts of the victims. Seeing how these people were positioned when the city was buried and just imagining yourself in that situation, really put things in perspective.
.

In the Forum of Pompeii

We hated to leave Pompeii, but we wanted to visit the volcano responsible for the city's demise before it closed. It was time to visit Vesuvius.

The drive to the semi-top of the volcano took roughly 45 minutes from Pompeii. Vesuvius is now a National Park so you can drive and park fairly close to the peak. Once we parked, we had to climb the steep path up to the top (which is about 220 feet high from the parking area).

To be honest, Mt. Vesuvius was a tad disappointing. The crater was much smaller than we expected and it was filled with dirt. However, knowing what this powerful volcano did all those years ago (and apparently what it's still capable of doing) made it a worthwhile trip. And Chris got to see steam coming off of the rocks (something he talked about from a video we found on YouTube), so that was a win. ;)

As I said, I enjoy seeing places of historical significance, so to be able to see two major sights in one day really was an experience. All in all, this was, personally, one of my favorite days of this trip. If you're ever in the area, I would definitely make it a must-see excursion.

Ciao, Capri

Capri!

So Chris and I took a ferry to the cute island of Capri. As soon as we arrived, we bought a ticket to tour the island and see the Blue Grotto.

The island is surrounded by beautiful, clear, greenish-blue water. The island itself is very chic. The lower part maybe not so much, but on the top, I was reminded of Rodeo Drive. Shops with photos of Jackie O., designer stores and jaw-dropping views, it was a great side trip.

Our favorite experience on the island had to be the Blue Grotto. From our island tour boat, we had to hop on a small rowboat and lay down in the boat to enter the grotto. Once our eyes adjusted it was unbelievable.

The water was a gorgeous royal blue hue. It was incredible. Chris and I were amazed that this entire sight was created solely by the sunlight and how it reflects within the cave.

So a short, but really fun day in Capri. A place I would not mind seeing again someday...

Chris and I in front of the opening to the Grotto

Sunny Sorrento

We arrived in Sorrento with a nasty surprise- the hotel we had booked could not locate our reservation and was fully booked. We showed our printed confirmation with proof of payment and that seemed to finally convince them we were telling the truth.

Thankfully, the hotel found us another option for our three-night stay and paid the difference. Even though I was disappointed to not have a say in where we were staying, I was thankful we had a place to lay our heads for a few days. That was a scary moment.

As for the rest of our stay, we found Sorrento to be quite cute! The city center had lots of little shops and restaurants so we did as the locals did- we shopped and ate. ;)

Sorrento is known for its lemons, inlaid wood and ceramics, along with the rest of the Amalfi Coast. The lemons in their area are huge! If you combined Chris's two fists, that would be about the size of the largest lemon we saw in person. After I load my photos, I'll post it so you can see that I am not exaggerating.

Sorrento is also where we had our first taste of lemon granitas. I've had coffee granitas before- in high school, they were my drink of choice junior and senior year- but had never had them in lemon. Talk about yuuuummmmy. I'm hooked!

Sorrento did not have much to do other than relax, stroll and just take in the sights, so that's exactly what we did. It's also a great place to make your home-base for day trips to other areas, so we visited the island of Capri (pronounced Cap-ree, not like Capri pants) one day and another in the partially buried ancient city of Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius (posts to be written). Now we're off to Positano!

The view from one of the lookout points

Sights, Sea and Sunsets in Santorini

Our stay in Santorini is now over so I wanted to recap our experience. Thanks to this Blogger app, I'm able to write my post as Chris drives us to our next destination, Sorrento, Italy.

On Wednesday, we left the charming island of Mykonos for the much-anticipated Santorini. I've seen so many beautiful pictures of the white, cliff-clinging buildings with their blue-domed churches sprinkled among them and could not wait to see them in person. But first, we had to get there...

We took the super jet ferry to Santorini, which was a faster, smaller vessel than the one we took to Mykonos. We didn't know, however, how much smaller and less comfortable this ride would be for us. They had us packed in like sardines and the luggage was packed so high, it actually blocked one of the isle exits. So, even though the first ferry took five hours over this two hour ride, I'd rather repeat the former.

Once our ferry docked, we were a little taken aback by the port as it was small and dilapidated. Thanks goodness we made a car reservation the night before because it was a little chaotic and somewhat seedy.

As we drove through the town of Fira (the largest town on the island), we started to question why we left Mykonos. But after 20 minutes of driving, we discovered Oia.

I did the research and found that Oia is the part of the island famous for its breathtaking views and stunning sunsets, so I made sure that would be our home base. After checking in, we made our way into town. Sadly, we missed the sunset, so we had to settle for strolling on the marble-paved pedestrian only streets.

The second day brought our catamaran ride. Neither of us had been on one before, so this was a completely new experience for us. For those of you who have never been on a catamaran, it's a boat that fits about 40 or so people and takes you around for a tour by water.

The first stop was to a natural hot springs near the volcano. Chris went over and took a dip but said it wasn't as hot as he expected. The second break was to the "red beach," named for its red sand (which resembles the reddish dirt in Oklahoma). The third and longest stop was to the "white beach," named, again, for its white sand.

Chris swimming near the Red Beach

This is where I actually got off of the boat and swam.in.the.ocean. You read that correctly, friends. The water was so clear and blue, I couldn't resist the opportunity to experience it for myself. I am not a great swimmer, so I put on a life jacket and eased into the cold, but gorgeous sea.

Me in the big, blue sea

 The water was 15 to 20 feet deep, but I could see the bottom as though it was a foot or two below me. I loved the experience so much that Chris and I were the last ones to get out of the water. Then it was time for a picnic lunch on the boat before heading back to port.

Heading back to shore

After getting cleaned up, we made our way to the sunset point for a first-hand look at what some call "the best sunset in the world." Chris and I made our way through the crowds and over to sunset point. Below is what we saw (just a glimpse; the good photos on my camera, not phone).

The sunset really was amazing. Too bad there were hoards of people vying for the best spot because we couldn't get a perfectly unobstructed view. What we did see, however, was gorgeous.

Both Chris and I agree Mykonos offered a little more, which is why, if we had to choose between the two islands, it would win. But Santorini was an experience I will never forgot. That ends our Greek travels and now we're onto the next country, Italy!

The sun setting on Oia 

As the sun went down

The view from our room our first night

Our second night's room- it's a "cave room" :)

Our second night's room view

Mad for Mykonos

Ah, Mykonos. What a breath of fresh air. In comparison to Athens, our experience here was 50x better.

From the moment we stepped off the ferry, we were pampered. Our hotel came and picked us up from the port, gave us three rooms to choose from and made use feel special. The view from the room- well, you can see for yourself below- washed all of the Athens sadness away.

Other than me being a sickie, I have nothing but good things to say about our stay on the island. We had a wonderful dinner the first night, got plenty of rest and relaxation the second day, witnessed two amazing sunsets by the water and the windmills and enjoyed a quick trip to the island of Delos to end our stay.

A beautiful little getaway. My only regret is that I was still ill so I didn't have the energy I needed to make the most of our time. But what we did make time for was great and now we're off to Santorini!

The famous windmills

The island of Delos- one of our favorite spots so far (yes, we took this photo. We just edited it using Instagram)

The view from our room

Mugging on the Piraeus Express

To add to our grand old time in Athens, Chris and I witnessed a mugging on our way to the main port. It was fairly early (around 6:15 AM) when the whole thing went down.

We had left extra early that morning because of the ticket situation (Chris wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to secure them before our boat left at 7:30 AM). I actually had a thought that we were safe because all the thieves would be asleep (don't most muggers stay up late?).

It was pretty quiet until we changed lines to head to the Piraeus. We came upon quite a few tourists making the same trek as us so I knew this was prime pickpocket territory.

When we got on the metro, something compelled me to sit down, even though I had the two carry-ons with me and would block the path for other passengers. I thought, if they needed to sit, I could adjust the luggage, but still stay safe in my seat. Chris was manning the two large pieces so he had to stand. We were, unfortunately at the back of our metro cart- not the safest place.

Everything was fine, we made a couple of stops and picked up more travelers, one couple (about our age) from an Asian country (not exactly sure which). They were nice and spoke to one older Greek gentleman to ensure they were on the right train. They were clearly tourists, though; he had a fanny pack and they were both dressed for the beach.

A couple stops later, a group of guys got on the train. There was one larger fellow, in particular, that caught Chris' attention. He slid next to Chris and was directing his friends where to stand- not a good sign.

Chris made a point to shift over a bit and get closer to me. After, the larger guy moved closer to the Asian couple and then it happened.

It was all so fast! I looked over and saw a few of the guys pushing the Asian man against the wall and then it was over. There were a few older Greek men who started yelling at them and they responded back, but nothing really violent happened and the Asian couple was able to move away unharmed. The doors opened and the bad guys were off.

After they left, the older Greek man who had spoken to the couple when they first got on the train asked if they were okay. The woman gestured as though someone has grabbed her tush but that seemed to be it. The man asked the couple to check and make sure they had all of their belongings and that's when they noticed his fanny pack was open. The woman looked in and, sure enough, their money was gone.

Watching the aftermath was especially hard. That poor woman sobbed and wailed the entire way to the Port (which was another 15 minutes away). She lectured (rather loudly) her husband/boyfriend the entire time because of where he put the money. You didn't need to speak their language to know that she had suggested another location but he made the final choice, which proved to be a poor one. So I pointed it out to Chris- it's not just me or American women that harp on something over and over when they're upset- it's ALL women. ;)

Chris and I were lucky. This incident could have easily happened to us instead. I think they chose the other couple because they could use the woman as a distraction whereas I was sitting safely in a secure spot with others next to me to help if needed. Another reason I think they chose them was the fanny pack, which made him an easier target to pick off. Maybe it was Chris moving closer to where I was that saved him or maybe they noticed I was carrying a bag instead. Who knows.

What I do know is I'm so thankful this didn't happen to us. It shook us, though, and reminded us to stay alert. We may be on vacation, but there are bad people who aren't.