A Little Life Update

Greetings from AMERICA! As many of you might already know, I'm back in good ol' Washington State. I'm spending two months at home in Seattle suburbia before heading back to Madrid for a second year of teaching abroad. It feels good to be home, but it's also been a strange adjustment. So, I'm taking a quick break from Greece posts to update you all on what's going on in the upper left USA:

Reverse Culture Shock is a real thing.

What do you mean I have to pay TEN DOLLARS for a glass of wine? Why is everyone so nice here? Why are strangers asking me how my day is going? How do I tip? Why is everything so big? Do I remember how to drive? How is it possible to buy everything you need in one place? Why aren't the stores closing after lunch? NOTHING IS ANY MAKING SENSE, YOU GUYS.

Wide open spaces? What are those?

Jet lag is overrated.

Friends from the east coast, you have no idea how much I envy you. This nine hour time difference is a giant fun-suck. The full 24 hours of travel didn't help either. I know this is what I signed up for, so I have no right to complain... but "zombie" really isn't a good look on me. Bring on the Melatonin.

I turn 24 in three days.

...and I just found my first gray hair. Cue panic attack. And to make matters worse, I still haven't received my acceptance letter from Hogwarts. What's up with that?

I know how I'll be celebrating this year.

I already miss Spain.

A lot more than I thought I would, quite honestly. While I'm soaking up everything that I've missed about home - like kale salads, Nordstrom, chardonnay, and being able to leave the house in work out clothes without being publicly scorned - I'm realizing that I miss the heart & soul of Madrid so much more than I missed these random comforts of home. But at the same time, it feels SO good to be reunited with my friends and family. Can't I just bring everyone I know and love to Madrid with me?

I miss you, perfect balcony view. See you in two months!

Fellow expats: do you have any tips for dealing with these weird transitions? 

How do you handle having more than one place to call home? 

Please share your wisdom with me!

Athens in Ruins

While the city of Athens can't quite compare to the natural beauty of Crete or Santorini, somehow it remains unexpectedly charming in all of its dilapidated glory. Between the ruins of the Acropolis and the unkempt hipster neighborhoods of Psiri and Monastiraki, the derelict gems of Athens exude character and personality. Sure, it wasn't one of the most pristine or aesthetically pleasing cities I've ever been to, but it has life.  

It's abounding with bustling cafés serving iced freddo espressos, trendy froyo shops nestled between boutiques, all-organic restaurants, and vintage bars like Osterman - a Gatsby-esque wine bar recently converted from a run-down Victorian fabric shop. Locals amble down the streets yelling to one another in Greek and convening on outdoor terraces, joyfully sipping their frappés and taking refuge in the shade. The chipped paint, colorful graffiti and boarded up windows contribute an unlikely charm to the surrounding urban jungle.

From exploring the awe-inspiring Parthenon to sipping freddos inside hip cafés with crumbling exteriors, the disrepair and hidden beauty of Athens is to be celebrated.

My Athens Picks:

Best Coffee: Lukumades

Best Views: Atop Mount Lycabettus

Favorite Restaurants: To Kafeneio, Thanasis

Best Place to Wander: Anafiotika 

Favorite Bar: Osterman

5 Travel Tips for Greece

1. You can never bring enough Dramamine (or Lactaid Pills)

Between the winding roads and rocky ferry rides, I probably consumed a lifetime's supply of motion sickness pills in Greece. If I hadn't bought the kind with added caffeine, I would have been in a Dramamine-induced coma my entire trip, drowsily ambling from one destination to the next. While I am naturally prone to motion sickness, even those with strong stomachs should stock up before traveling through Greece. Especially if you plan on taking a high speed ferry.

Also, the mouthwatering cuisine of Greece isn't exactly conducive to us lactose-intolerant folks. Greek yogurt with honey for breakfast every morning, multiple iced cappuccinos before lunch, and feta cheese and tzatziki sauce with every meal... it's foodie heaven, but also a lac-tard's worst nightmare. Thank Zeus I brought an overabundance of dairy pills, otherwise I would have been in excruciating pain the entire trip - because I was not about to miss out on the joys of Greek cuisine.

Rose are red, violets are blue, feta is delicious, and tzatziki is too.

2. Allow plenty of time for navigating the ports

In typical Mediterranean fashion, the ports in Greece are chaotic and incredibly confusing to navigate. Allow at least an hour to pick up your tickets, grab a snack, and figure out where your boat is. If you can, avoid taking a ferry out of the Athens (Piraeus) port. It's a hot mess. Between the nausea and the port pandemonium, next time I think I'll try to avoid ferries altogether and opt for taking airplanes when I can.

Can't I just ride one of these back to Athens?

3. Start saving in advance

While Greece was one of the coolest trips I've ever taken, it was also one of the most expensive. As an English teaching assistant, I'm not exactly rolling in the dough, so this trip probably wouldn't have been possible if not for my USA tax returns (thanks, Pottery Barn!) and six whole months of saving up. In other words, I went six months without shopping for clothes. Every time I was tempted by a cute dress at Zara, I thought to myself, "How many Ryanair flights could this buy me?" Moral of the story: saving €€€ means making sacrifices - and the sooner you start saving, the better!

No shopping = lots of outfit repeating

4. Master the art of picking a good restaurant

My travel buddy Jen is an absolute genius when it comes to finding good restaurants. Thankfully, I got to reap the benefits of her remarkable skills, because we didn't have a single bad meal in Greece. After 11 days of diligently observing her tips & tricks, here's what I learned about hunting down the best restaurants in Greece:

- Utilize Tripadvisor.
Check out the highest rated places around you and read the reviews!

- Find out where the locals go.
Listen to what language is being spoken by the customers. Hearing Greek is always a good sign!

- Don't be afraid to wander off the beaten path. 
Sometimes the best restaurants are the least convenient to get to. Head outside the touristic center to find the hidden gems!

One of our favorite restaurants in Chania, The Well of the Turk, was one of the hardest to find!

5. Bring a spare memory card

This one I learned the hard way. Greece is arguably the most photogenic place I've ever been to, so naturally I took an obscene amount of pictures. Unfortunately, I failed to pack an extra memory card, and had a serious moment of panic when I ran out of card space in the midst of exploring Oía, Santorini. (Thankfully there was an electronics shop in nearby Fira, and their memory cards were much less expensive than in the USA.) I recommend using a memory card of at least 16 GB and bringing along an extra one just in case. And always, always pack a spare camera battery!

There's nothing worse than running out of memory card space in picturesque Santorini.

Have you ever been to Greece? 

What tips would you add to this list?