Greece- Day One and Two

Off for the week in Greece. Seven days of spring break and the girls and I decided to take a trip with a group called Bus 2 Alps. It was quite a week, and the girls and I has such a great time. Melissa and Jessica are still here, so they also went on the trip to Greece.

We started by meeting at the train station in Florence at 9:30 Saturday morning, the 21st of March. We were all so excited, with way too much luggage, and our own individual expectations on how the week would pan out. We loaded the two-story bus for the 4-hour ride to the town of Ancona where the ferry was meeting us. Most slept on the bus, earphones and backpacks spread like thick jam on toast. We all stood outside the ferry, wearing jackets and hoods, which was not the normal attire for a spring break vacation. But our hopes were high. We walked about 20 minutes to load the ferry, which was described as a cruise ship to us in the itinerary for the week. Not kidding, we watched around 20 full sized semi-trucks load the bottom of the ferry, so needless to say, this ship was HUGE! After shuffling up the stairs with our luggage and pillows, Alex and I got keys to the cabin we pre-booked. This cost was 25 Euros round trip, which was very worth the money because otherwise we were sleeping on the floor in the bottom floor of the boat with all the other students on this trip. The cabins were tight, with little room to spare. There were two other girls in out room, both studying in Rome for the semester. They were very nice, and we exchanged stories from our adventures so far this semester.

This boat ride was a total of 14 hours, but a good chunk was overnight, so it wasn’t too bad. After a few beers and an expensive boat meal, Jessica, Melissa and I found ourselves in the boat discotecca, dancing away. It was a bit creepy, seeing as how the majority of our school group was females, and the rest of the people on board the ship were old, hairy, smelly Greek truck drivers. Ha-ha. I didn’t stay on the dance floor for too long.

After a not so good night sleep, but sleep nonetheless, we woke to getting our bags back together and off the boat. When we reached the shore, we boarded another bus, ½ hour ride to the Pink Palace! And what a palace it was! Not to mention, everything truly was pink!! Even the color of the ouzo, which is a popular Greek hard alcohol that was being passed out in shots all around. After checking out the rooms, which were very nice, and had ocean views!! we decided to wonder around and check stuff out. I was starving at this point, so we went down to the little lounge and I had a tuna sandwich that was so tasty!! I have been missing tuna; it is a little expensive at home in Florence, so I have not been buying it. After sandwiches, we unpacked in our rooms and Alex and I took a nap. It was much needed and was helpful for the rest of the evening.

That night at the palace, we played cards for a few hours, and enjoyed happy hour, which lasts for 5 hours at the palace. The drinks are cheap, with beer and shots only being a euro each, so everyone is having a good time. Dinner was served at 8:30, lots of great food and lots of hungry college kids to clean the plates. Dinner ended with a night of dancing with a DJ; there is a huge dance floor in the Rec. hall at the palace. Bed time was late that night, and sure felt good to sleep in a bed that wasn’t rocking due to the ocean beneath it.