we are finally in vienna!
as expected, leaving greece did not go compleatly smoothly... on the way to the airport the bus slammed to a stop and we were then directed to passing bus. after much confusion we were told that a truck had opened its door into the road and that our bus had hit it. luckily there was no visible damage and no one was hurt! the bus change was a blessing in disguise as we met a wonderful couple also on thier way of greece who told us about some great places to visit in prague and budapest.
after an hour delay we were finally in the air and were met by Renate (my godmother) at the airport. she fed us schnitzel and gemma and i then took a little walk around the pedestrian zone where Renate lives.
the next few days will be spent exploring and enjoying vienna and then we will be off to our next few servas hosts in budapest and prage and dresden!
hope you are all enjoying the beginnings of summer!
much love,
agnes
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
"Even if I was shot in the leg, I would get up and finish doing the dishes..."
Hello dear friends!
Tonight is our last night in Greece! We are back in Athens after an amazing stay with a Servas host family in Galixidi, a small town about four hours out of Athens. We got to know many wonderful people, ate and cooked wonderful food, enjoyed the sun and water, and were generally thrilled to have many relaxing days with wonderful weather.
Today has been very hot and we spent the first six hours on a bus back to the city (it took a VERY long time!) We then met up with Gemma's friend from home who is in Greece for a few weeks to study.
About to be kicked off the compy!
much love
-A
p.s. a picture so you can see that we're alive and well!
Tonight is our last night in Greece! We are back in Athens after an amazing stay with a Servas host family in Galixidi, a small town about four hours out of Athens. We got to know many wonderful people, ate and cooked wonderful food, enjoyed the sun and water, and were generally thrilled to have many relaxing days with wonderful weather.
Today has been very hot and we spent the first six hours on a bus back to the city (it took a VERY long time!) We then met up with Gemma's friend from home who is in Greece for a few weeks to study.
About to be kicked off the compy!
much love
-A
p.s. a picture so you can see that we're alive and well!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
the day we realized we might never leave greece...
hello dear people!
so much has happened since i was last with internet that i don't even know where to begin!
gemma and i spent our last full day in turkey in the spice bazaar (a very cool place where everyone was trying to sell us everything from t-shirts to spices by the kilo). we then went on a six hour boat ride up and down the bosphorus. the boat ride yielded lots of great photos and was our first time in asia! we met another american staying in the hostel who didn't know much about istanbul and ended up tagging along with us. he didn't know anybody and was grateful to have people to talk to, and it was nice for us to have someone to chat with on the boat ride!
we left istanbul on the fourteenth after a day repacking packs, visiting the grand bazaar (much larger and harder to navigate!) and meeting up with jess in taksim for dinner. we then boarded the friendship express and made our beds in the sleeper car we were staying in. the ride was fine although we were rather harshly woken at both the turkish and greek boarders. the train was late arriving in thessaloniki but we hopped onto the city bus and luckily made it to the bus station where we bought our tickets and boarded the bus to volos with five minutes to spare. once finally in volos (the ride was about two hours) we jumped into a taxi and were able to catch the two o'clock ferry (with fifteen minutes to spare) to alonnisos. we were finally only three hours away from our greek island! needless to say it was a long day but we had luck on our side!
the stay on alonnisos was amazing! we stayed in a great room at a rooms to let place near a beach. luckily because we are here during the "off" season it was super reasonable and fun to be there on our own. we had a lovely little deck with a view of the ocean and were about a minutes walk from the beach. we did a lot of walking and swimming and enjoying nature. gemma and i both sustained sunburns on our first day but were fine from then on! we found a great little market and gyro store (the best kind of sandwich!) and had fun being two of very few tourists!
we left alonnisos by ferry yesterday and made our way to athens. this time the trip only entailed a ferry, bus and taxi ride. we are now in the san remo hostel (the least nice of the places we have stayed so far, but still livable) and spent a nice day wandering around the old part of athens.
we visited the parthenon in the acropolis which was breathtaking. we also ate an amazing gyro and enjoyed the weather and the chance to stretch our legs!
tomorrow we head on to our first servas host near delphi. plans have changed a bit seeing as the ferry we had planned to take from greece to italy is actually a 28 hour trip... we have thus decided to fly directly to vienna and will hopefully be able to make a side trip to slovenia later on (a side note: my dear viennese friends and family... i will be calling/emailing soon :D). we are also hoping to pay a visit to france but are still in the planning stage.
i hope you are all doing extremely well! thank you so much for the comments and emails and phone calls! i miss you all and am always glad to hear from you.
stay well
peace
agnes
so much has happened since i was last with internet that i don't even know where to begin!
gemma and i spent our last full day in turkey in the spice bazaar (a very cool place where everyone was trying to sell us everything from t-shirts to spices by the kilo). we then went on a six hour boat ride up and down the bosphorus. the boat ride yielded lots of great photos and was our first time in asia! we met another american staying in the hostel who didn't know much about istanbul and ended up tagging along with us. he didn't know anybody and was grateful to have people to talk to, and it was nice for us to have someone to chat with on the boat ride!
we left istanbul on the fourteenth after a day repacking packs, visiting the grand bazaar (much larger and harder to navigate!) and meeting up with jess in taksim for dinner. we then boarded the friendship express and made our beds in the sleeper car we were staying in. the ride was fine although we were rather harshly woken at both the turkish and greek boarders. the train was late arriving in thessaloniki but we hopped onto the city bus and luckily made it to the bus station where we bought our tickets and boarded the bus to volos with five minutes to spare. once finally in volos (the ride was about two hours) we jumped into a taxi and were able to catch the two o'clock ferry (with fifteen minutes to spare) to alonnisos. we were finally only three hours away from our greek island! needless to say it was a long day but we had luck on our side!
the stay on alonnisos was amazing! we stayed in a great room at a rooms to let place near a beach. luckily because we are here during the "off" season it was super reasonable and fun to be there on our own. we had a lovely little deck with a view of the ocean and were about a minutes walk from the beach. we did a lot of walking and swimming and enjoying nature. gemma and i both sustained sunburns on our first day but were fine from then on! we found a great little market and gyro store (the best kind of sandwich!) and had fun being two of very few tourists!we left alonnisos by ferry yesterday and made our way to athens. this time the trip only entailed a ferry, bus and taxi ride. we are now in the san remo hostel (the least nice of the places we have stayed so far, but still livable) and spent a nice day wandering around the old part of athens.
we visited the parthenon in the acropolis which was breathtaking. we also ate an amazing gyro and enjoyed the weather and the chance to stretch our legs!tomorrow we head on to our first servas host near delphi. plans have changed a bit seeing as the ferry we had planned to take from greece to italy is actually a 28 hour trip... we have thus decided to fly directly to vienna and will hopefully be able to make a side trip to slovenia later on (a side note: my dear viennese friends and family... i will be calling/emailing soon :D). we are also hoping to pay a visit to france but are still in the planning stage.
i hope you are all doing extremely well! thank you so much for the comments and emails and phone calls! i miss you all and am always glad to hear from you.
stay well
peace
agnes
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Ten Cent Meltdown
N.B. Through gross negligence, I forgot to mention in my first post that I will be visiting/staying with as many friends and family as I can!!
Day two in Turkey. Still amazing to be here! Gemma and I went to the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque this morning. We walked ALOT!!! Met up with Jess. Saw a random Turkish pop show. Ate a wonderful meal. I had a bit of a meltdown, mostly because I am homesick, but all is well! Feeling much better again.
Grand plans for tomorrow!
Sorry for the rushed post.
More to come soon!
- AB
Day two in Turkey. Still amazing to be here! Gemma and I went to the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque this morning. We walked ALOT!!! Met up with Jess. Saw a random Turkish pop show. Ate a wonderful meal. I had a bit of a meltdown, mostly because I am homesick, but all is well! Feeling much better again.
Grand plans for tomorrow!
Sorry for the rushed post.
More to come soon!
- AB
Monday, May 11, 2009
Turkey!
It has been a very busy few days! I left Boston without a problem and promptly fell asleep. I was lucky enough to be in an aisle seat and to have the middle seat empty so I was able to be somewhat comfortable, although I kept waking up because it was very cold! I landed in Reykjavik and headed through security (I had to go throgh the line twice because I had put water into my water bottle so I had to dump it) and made my connecting flight with plenty of time. On the way to London I again napped and then had very nice conversation with the woman sitting next to me. I was in London by noon.
A long tube ride later, I made it to London and found my friend Annie after a bit of searching. We walked back to her dorm where I was able to take a shower and settle in a little bit. We then went for a pint (my first time ever drinking in public legally!) and then went to meet her family friends who she was attending a play with. Annie then spent the weekend with them helping to set up an art show while i stayed in her dorm. Friday night I took a nice walk (saw the outside of the National Gallery and Trafalger Sq.), ate an egg and cress sandwich and was asleep by eight pm.
Saturday I was able to catch up on my sleep and after a nice lunch in Regents Park (another egg and cress sandwich, my new favorite!) I was on my way to visit family friends: Chris, Nikki, and Iain. I arrived and after chatting for a while went rock climbing with Chris and Iain at The Castle. It was the most amazing indoor climbing center I have ever been to and I will be back to visit it! We then biked past where we lived when I was eight. We ate a wonderful dinner (with lemon mirange pie. MMMMM!!) and chatted about life. I was sad that I missed Kate and Imogen, but it was so great to catch up and get hugs from good friends :)
On Sunday I repacked my backpack for the evenings travels and then met up with my cousin Maria at the Tate Modern for delicious fish and chips! We took a walk through the museum and finally took a boat across the Thames river to Parliament where I had planned to meet Gemma at Big Ben. Unfortunatly train repairs meant that Gemma's train was delayed, so I got the chance to take a lovely walk along St. James Park and saw Buckingham Palace again. Gemma and I were finally reunited and then met up with Annie. We grabbed sandwiches (they were out of egg and cress :( a sad thing indeed) and Gem and I then got on the train to Gatwick Airport.
After a sleepless night in the airport and another flight we are in Turkey and loveing it. We have met up with our friend Jess and can't wait to explore more tomorrow!
More to come.
Miss you all!
Cheers,
A
A long tube ride later, I made it to London and found my friend Annie after a bit of searching. We walked back to her dorm where I was able to take a shower and settle in a little bit. We then went for a pint (my first time ever drinking in public legally!) and then went to meet her family friends who she was attending a play with. Annie then spent the weekend with them helping to set up an art show while i stayed in her dorm. Friday night I took a nice walk (saw the outside of the National Gallery and Trafalger Sq.), ate an egg and cress sandwich and was asleep by eight pm.
Saturday I was able to catch up on my sleep and after a nice lunch in Regents Park (another egg and cress sandwich, my new favorite!) I was on my way to visit family friends: Chris, Nikki, and Iain. I arrived and after chatting for a while went rock climbing with Chris and Iain at The Castle. It was the most amazing indoor climbing center I have ever been to and I will be back to visit it! We then biked past where we lived when I was eight. We ate a wonderful dinner (with lemon mirange pie. MMMMM!!) and chatted about life. I was sad that I missed Kate and Imogen, but it was so great to catch up and get hugs from good friends :)
On Sunday I repacked my backpack for the evenings travels and then met up with my cousin Maria at the Tate Modern for delicious fish and chips! We took a walk through the museum and finally took a boat across the Thames river to Parliament where I had planned to meet Gemma at Big Ben. Unfortunatly train repairs meant that Gemma's train was delayed, so I got the chance to take a lovely walk along St. James Park and saw Buckingham Palace again. Gemma and I were finally reunited and then met up with Annie. We grabbed sandwiches (they were out of egg and cress :( a sad thing indeed) and Gem and I then got on the train to Gatwick Airport.
After a sleepless night in the airport and another flight we are in Turkey and loveing it. We have met up with our friend Jess and can't wait to explore more tomorrow!
More to come.
Miss you all!
Cheers,
A
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
t minus 22 hours until take off
And so the time of my departure is rapidly approaching! I am set to leave tomorrow (Thursday May 7th) at 9:30pm from Boston's own Logan International Airport! With that said, Welcome to my blog! Thanks for reading! I will (hopefully) be updating this regularly with tales of grand adventure, reports of my meanderings, and stories of all kinds.
And now for the question and answer portion of this update! My answers to the questions I am SURE are burning in your minds :)
> Agnes... why are you doing this? To best answer this question, I will begin with a story or two. In 2002 (a freshman in high school) I began attending Dana Hall. It was not entirely my decision and I was upset that I could not continue school with the friends I had made in middle school. In my usual stubborn fashion, I decided that I did not need to bother with friendships because I would not be staying long.
Enter Gemma.
We were in the same history class and I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but suddenly I had a friend (the best laid plans, eh?). And so it has stayed. A year after meeting we both went on a school trip to Italy and that is what solidified out bond :) Skip forward several years to the two of us in hysterics (as we often are when together) in a coffee shop getting funny looks from other patrons. One of us wishes aloud that we could travel through Europe together.
And so a plan is born.
This trip has been a long time in the works. Plans have changed, hundreds of lists have been written, travel books perused, and money saved. In short, it is a labor of love.
Where will you stay? We will mostly be staying with Servas hosts (see link for more details). We will be staying in a few youth hostels, but Servas gives us the opportunity to meet new people as well as see the country through the eyes of someone who knows it from the inside out and can give us more information than a tour book can!
Where will you be going on this Grand Adventure? As I mentioned, tomorrow kicks off the adventure with my flight to London, England where, in a few days, I will meet Gemma. From there we fly to Istanbul, Turkey. Next on the agenda: Greece, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Italy. We will be traveling together until the end of June when Gemma returns home (She will at that point have been away from home since January of this year when she began her study abroad in Florence). I will stay in Europe (mostly Austria) until August 20th when I also will be flying back home.
Thank you again for reading! I will miss you all terribly! Please feel free to comment!! (If you are not a member, no worries!! just please fill in the name portion or sign the comment so i know who it came from). If you would prefer to email or skype me, please do so, i would love to hear from you!
Peace,
- A
And now for the question and answer portion of this update! My answers to the questions I am SURE are burning in your minds :)
> Agnes... why are you doing this? To best answer this question, I will begin with a story or two. In 2002 (a freshman in high school) I began attending Dana Hall. It was not entirely my decision and I was upset that I could not continue school with the friends I had made in middle school. In my usual stubborn fashion, I decided that I did not need to bother with friendships because I would not be staying long.
Enter Gemma.
We were in the same history class and I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but suddenly I had a friend (the best laid plans, eh?). And so it has stayed. A year after meeting we both went on a school trip to Italy and that is what solidified out bond :) Skip forward several years to the two of us in hysterics (as we often are when together) in a coffee shop getting funny looks from other patrons. One of us wishes aloud that we could travel through Europe together.
And so a plan is born.
This trip has been a long time in the works. Plans have changed, hundreds of lists have been written, travel books perused, and money saved. In short, it is a labor of love.
Where will you stay? We will mostly be staying with Servas hosts (see link for more details). We will be staying in a few youth hostels, but Servas gives us the opportunity to meet new people as well as see the country through the eyes of someone who knows it from the inside out and can give us more information than a tour book can!
Where will you be going on this Grand Adventure? As I mentioned, tomorrow kicks off the adventure with my flight to London, England where, in a few days, I will meet Gemma. From there we fly to Istanbul, Turkey. Next on the agenda: Greece, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Italy. We will be traveling together until the end of June when Gemma returns home (She will at that point have been away from home since January of this year when she began her study abroad in Florence). I will stay in Europe (mostly Austria) until August 20th when I also will be flying back home.
Thank you again for reading! I will miss you all terribly! Please feel free to comment!! (If you are not a member, no worries!! just please fill in the name portion or sign the comment so i know who it came from). If you would prefer to email or skype me, please do so, i would love to hear from you!
Peace,
- A
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