Minus 9 hours and counting...

 So it's finallly come...the last day that i'll be in Greece until who knows when. It's been such a hectic few days since I last posted...finding the right plane, train, bus and etc. Ya know..the usual. lol

So obviously I haven't had enough access to the internet to post or I would have. The airport does not have wireless which is disappointing. So the final night we all stayed up late to make sure the kids that needed to be up at like 3 in the morning were. It was like a big sleep over. It also took us all a long time to pack all our our stuff up. It took my roommate about 4 hours!! So we said our goodbyes keeping in mind that I will see everyone from providence in about a month! :D I'm so glad Chels chose Brown now! Who knows...I might end up in Providence before the year is over with! :D We could be roomies! 

So anyways...Heather, Macy, and I checked in for our flight to Santorini, it was on time and it only took about 10 mins. to get through everything because it was a domestic flight. We flew with Aegean airlines and let me just say...this was the most amazing flight I have ever had. Very positive experience. I was very impressed. They do not mess around over here. In the US it seems like it takes an hour to get on the plane and take off...not here...they took us over on a bus from our gate and we all walked up on the plane, sat down, they handed out a piece of candy to everyone, put our seat belts on and we were literally in the air!!! It was crazy! The flight was about 25 mins. It was short and sweet. After we arrived we had to wait about an hour and 15  mins for the hotel guy to pick us up. I was not very happy.  After he took us to the hotel, we got settled in our room. It was very cute and much better than I had anticipated. We stayed at a hostel so it was a new experience but it worked out great! After we got in the hotel we got ready and had lunch at a cute little taverna and then attempted to get on the right bus to head to the red and white beaches. We made it there after about an hour and it was well worth the ride and the hike to get there. It was beautiful and unlike anything i've ever seen before. Pictures just don't do it justice! We also saw the black beach this day...it was cool too. I got some sand from each of them. We had had a long day so we caught the bus back and then grabbed a bite to eat and took showers and went to bed. The next day we got up fairly early and had waffles with fruit on them for breakfast and then we took a tour of Santorini. It cost 32 Euro but they picked us up on a bus, took us to the port, and we got to ride on a nice boat. After we got on the boat, the first stop was the volcano...we hiked all around it and it was very hot because of all the black rocks. It was huge and very interesting. After the volcano, we all got back on the boat and then headed to the sulfur springs. The water here is soo pretty its like greenish blue and then all of a sudden it turns to red...you can't even see yourself in it. The boat got as close as they could to the springs and then we jumped off the boat and swam over to them. It was like taking a mud bath. The water was warm like bath water and it was such a drastic difference from the blue ocean water. Extremely cool! After the springs, we got back on the boat and went to a small town where there were tavernas and shops and this is where i got to ride a donkey!! They were soo cute!! It was only 5 Euro and they took you up the hill to the main town. It was soo cool! I got a brown one and named him George. We took lots of pics. I also bought a donkey bag and a donkey towel! After this town they took us to Oia where we got to watch the most gorgeous sunset. We had to ride donkeys up the mountain to get to the town and then we did some souvenir shopping and headed to the sunset. (btw, this donkey ride was extremely rough, i thought i was going to fall off going up the mountain!!) There were a lot of tourists here but it was worth it...it was gorgeous and we took progressive pics.  We took the bus back and then we collapsed. We were tired. The next day we slept in till about 10 am and then we had breakfast again at another little cafe and then we headed to the pool. We spent like all day by the pool before we had to go to the airport...it was sooo relaxing and nice. The flight back to Athens was equally as nice and then after we got back we checked into the sofitel at the airport....talk about luxury this was one of the nicest hotels that i have ever stayed at! The shower was phenomenal. So we all had showers, grabbed some airport food, made phone calls and arrangements and then passed out in the huge king size bed. It was like a huge slumber party luxury style! It was great.

So heather and macy got up around 5 this morning and went over for their flights...macy is going to meet up with her mom in paris and heather was going to new york for a day or two then back to denver. We had our hugs and such while i was still sleeping and then they left. Tired goodbyes are always best when you're not sure how to say goodbye...i've discovered this on this trip! lol So I slept in and then checked us out this morning and then got on the metro and headed back to athens one final time. I love Greece in general and i'm really going to miss it here...i mean sure it has its downfalls but it also has its perks!  So after i got back to Athens, i located my hotel and checked in. I headed down to Syndagma Square to do some last min. shopping and to try to pick up Heather's glasses that she left at Hotel Astor. After running around for the afternoon i came back to the hotel and lounged around on the rooftop pool here at the presidential hotel...one of the main reasons Stella said we should stay here! She set everything up for me since i was in Santorini! So, I was waiting for her to arrive from her small town so i went to the pool, by the time i had gotten a shower, she had arrived! I was soo excited that i had finally gotten to see her!! It really topped off my trip for me! We talked for a while and i showed her a lot of pictures and then we met up with her cousin and went out for my last dinner!! We ate at a nice place and the food was great and talking with her cousin was really cool. I felt like i learned a lot more about the culture through her. It was a good dinner...very long, but good. After dinner we took a cab ride back to the hotel...another one of those scary ones...and this time we even picked up another stranger on the way!! YAY! lol crazy i know...long story...so we made it back and we've just been chillin for a while and are going to bed shortly because we have to be up early for breakfast and then for my metro trip to the airport!!! AHHH!! I can't believe that this is IT! I'm not ready to leave, i'm not ready to come back to a country that i have also learned to despise for certain things! This has been a growing and learning experience certainly something I will look back on and say, "Hey remember that summer I spent in Greece...." It's been an amazing adventure and quite frankly...i'm ready to tackle the next thing that comes my way....

This won't be my last post..as you will wonder what is next for me and what my time back home will be like at first..... i'll keep you updated..no worries :D Thanks for reading thus far though!