Day 138

Another greek sunset but this time from the island of Ios...

Day 137

With Tam and I are George and Stella who run the pension we are staying in here in Santorini. They may very well be two of the kindest and most accomodating people I've ever met.

Day 136

Tonight, Tam, Rasa, Amy and I went out to Oia to see the infamous sunset. The drive out and home was absolutely FREEZING and very windy!

Day 135

Tamara and I took the ATVs out to Oia today to see the town and the cliffs. It was beautiful!! We found a little nook on our bikes that looked up onto the town (where sisterhood of the traveling pants was filmed) and it also overlooked the port where you can find the donkeys!

Day 134

We rented ATV/4-wheelers for a few days to zoom around the island and explore. First thing we did was check out the beaches! Kalamari and Perissa were black beaches and we also hiked a little out to see a red beach in the southern part of the island.

Day 133

Fira, Santorini, Greece

Beautiful !!!

Day 132

Today we left Iraklio for Santorini... this is what the top deck of the ferries are like. We made ourselves at home out in the sunshine and ended up a little sunburned.


When we arrived in Santorini, George (the pension owner) came to pick us up from port and drove us up to Fira, which is the main town on the island. He and his wife Stella might be the most accommodating and kind people I've met while traveling. George sat us down with a drink on the balcony after we settled in and showed us all of the good beaches/rocks to jump off/best sunset spots on a map. Their place is beautiful and our rooms look right over onto the pool. It's perfect !! After we chatted with them for a bit, we went up to the shops to get a bit of snacks for the week. Found these lovely frozen octopuses in the shop... when in rome?


We ended up having a treating ourselves to a nice rooftop dinner overlooking the town of Fira and enjoying this incredible sunset. After we went out for a few drinks in one of the local pubs!

Day 131

Rasa, Amy and I traveled to Iraklio (or Heraklion), the capital city of Crete to meet with Tamara (she finally made it!) and to catch our ferry to Santorini in the morning. At dinner we tried the greek aperitif called "raki."

Day 130

Today we hiked the Samarian Gorge, which is in the southeastern region of Crete. It took us about 6 hours and the hike itself was around 16 kilometers-- mostly downhill from the top of the mountain into the riverbed of the gorge. It was hot but the views were beautiful! After the hike, we had to take a ferry and a bus to get back to Hania, in the northern part of the island.


and because my new camera is waterproof, I decided to test it out... look how clear the water is !!

Day 129

I was lucky enough to have met 2 other american girls in the hostel and they've let me tag along on their greek island adventure... at the moment we are in Hania on the island of Crete (we arrived early this morning into port). Here is a photo of us in town, notice the venetian style of the buildings. L-R Me, Amy, Rasa

Day 128

Today we went and actually toured the Acropolis (here I'm pictured with the Parthenon) along with the ancient agora and several other ruins in the area.

Day 127

I went on a walking tour of Athens this morning and here are just a few images from the sites we went to:


Me in front of the Olympic stadium.


BEAUTIFUL flowers growing from the roof of a building.


and the view from my bedroom window... the parthenon at night.

Day 126

Hello Greece!!


flying into Athens...


this is the plaka, an area of athens full of shops, restaurants, cafes, etc.


there have been many riots and protests going on this month in greece because of their corrupt government and struggling economy. a massive riot occurred the night before i arrived and this was a result of the protest... rocks being thrown into the windows of the banks and destroyed ATMs.

Day 125

I spent the night in Milan, Italy with Ben and Rebecca because there was an air traffic control strike in Greece (there are all kinds of protests going on in the country because of the economy) and this was the view from my balcony in the hotel we stayed in.

Day 124

My last day in gryon...


and packing sucks !!

Day 123

The flowers have been planted in Villars... it's so colorful!

Day 122

Met this little guy on my way home from the boys' house tonight... it's been nice and rainy in Switzerland at the moment, perfect for snails.

Day 121

Technically this occurred this morning at 4am... on our way home from Villars we stopped to get fresh (and hot) jambon croissants from the bakery in Barboleuse. The bakery isn't open just yet, but if you knock on the back door and ask nicely they will sell them to you right out of the oven. What a perfect way to end the season here!

Day 120

I walked out to Cookie with Shannon this afternoon and found that the mongolian yourtes had been taken down (here is the terrace for the summer).



and we all went out to moonboot lounge to celebrate swissy's birthday and anna's last night of work. (the girls are pictured here, L-R Anna, Elizabeth, Shannon, me and Cynthia)

Day 119

Rebecca and I went to Lavey-les-bains in the valley today to swim in the thermal pools... it was so sunny and HOT! There are 2 outdoor pools (with jets and a whirlpool) an indoor pool, several types of saunas and cold baths, and massages available. I can't believe I had never been to these until now, they were amazing.

Day 118

It's been very quiet at the hostel lately... but we got some travellers in yesterday to keep Chris and I company. This is Ben and Rebecca from sydney!

Day 117

The hammocks are out at the hostel now... not a bad view I'd say.


And again with the panoramic views.

Day 116

I bought a new camera today... an Olympus that is shockproof/waterproof/freezeproof, etc. and it takes panoramic shots as well! Very excited about this... here is a small panoramic of the lounge in the hostel (with the new-ish couch).

Day 115

fail. sorry.