In any event, it was definitely a break.
I basically 'checked-out' of any normal Romania routines and just enjoyed the great weather, the good, and the amazing hospitality that I received while in Athens.
I flew from Otopeni (the main airport in Buch.) to Athens on Thursday evening (turns out the bus that runs to the airport is actually really easy to find and convenient).
Mom - Tarom is actually an OK airline. :) They even give you a little baguette with ham, cascaval, and green pepper. Plus, the flight only took an hour and twenty or so minutes.
At the airport I was met by Antonis. A little background - Antonis' mother, Katerina, and my aunt, Mika a very old and close friends. Katerina is my cousin Nicolas' godmother - making Antonis and I...god cousins? or so it was decided.
myself, Katerina, Antonis and Arian (who reminded me a lot of Sirius for some reason, even though for the most part they don't look all that much alike)
So, I was picked up from the airport by Antonis and he took me back to the family's house in Nea Kifisia (a northern suburb of Athens).
Everything about that first twenty-four hours is a bit of a blur to be honest. As i kept saying while I was there, I didn't realize how psychologically exhausted I was until I got there. So those first twenty-four hours, my mind sort of shut down and I just really allowed myself to relax. I even finally got to go running on the streets near the house.
Everyone was extremely accommodating. Katerina and her husband Manos were extremely nice to me (and Katerina even let me engage in full chatterbox mode - I'm not sure why I had so much to say, but for some reason my mouth didn't seem to stop the whole four days! :))
So, Friday I was a bit dazed over all. Spent some time chatting with Giannhs (Katerina's other son) about music and other things and in the evening I watched the European basketball semifinals with one of Antonis' friends and his friends.
Greece won the whole thing -in case you didn't know.
Saturday, the highlight of the day was going to Mikrolimano,or, small port. We (Antonis, his girlfriend Eliza, and I) sat on a terrace and had coffee and Fanta overlooking the water.
picture of the port
That night, Antonis and some of his friends took me out to a club well-known in Athens because it has a terrace with a fantastic view of both the Acropolis and Lykavittos.
Sunday, we woke up late but in the afternoon I met with Danae and Leda (my aunt's nieces) at an African food
, music and art festival that took place at the South African embassy in Athens. The smell of the food and the music playing reminded me a lot of my time in Cape Town. I spent the rest of the evening with the girls and some of their friends. Oh yes, and before I met with the girls, Antonis and I went out for grilled Calamari - one of my major goals of the trip. Very tasty.
Danae eating food at the African festival.
Leda hanging out later.
Monday, I finished up some work in the morning, had coffee with Danae in the afternoon and then took the train from Kifisia to Monastiraki where I got out and wandered around on my own for about two hours.
I had a nice little moment when I had found a little landing with a great view of the city and Lykavittos. I sat on a little step/ledge for about an hour writing, watching lost tourists confusedly climb up and down on either side of me. Occasionally, someone would get my attention and ask me if I knew where the entrance to the Acropolis museum is...but I didn't.
I did have a nice brief little conversation with a group of French Canadians in French only to realize that Romanian has sort of taken over the linguistic part of my brain for the moment.
The view from my spot.
On Tuesday, before I left, I went and visited with Mika's brother (Spiros) and sister-in-law (Nikki). It was really nice to see them again, I'm only sorry I didn't have more time to see them more. Unfortunately, I did not get to meet with Mika's mother Irini, with whom I get along extremely well considering that we do not speak the same language at all. Julia and I stayed with her when I was in Athens the first time in 2003. Irini was away for most of the weekend and unfortunately things just did not work out on Tuesday.
So, as I'm sure you can tell, I had an overall great time filled with really nice people, food, and weather.
Although I was unhappy to leave, it's good to be back as well. Monica and Andrei surprised me by meeting me at the airport and when I arrived in Bucharest I met with Kat who also happened to be in town - it was nice to come home to people waiting for me I must say.
Today I was enlisted to help sort donated clothes from families in Ireland that were being stored at a nearby church. They were doing construction and I still think I'm covered in the dust.
Julia and Kristy arrive on Friday...
I'm making lists of things to do and things to keep in mind, but if anyone has any suggestions or advice please feel free!
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