Looking for My Card

May 5:

Today our foremost plan was to see if we could find my debit card. We headed to the airport and, after some difficulty finding the lost and found, were told that they didn’t have my card. The guy running the lost and found said that some of the debit machines will eat cards and all I can do is deal with my bank. On our way back to the hostel we decided to get off the tram a couple stops early and walk through the Grand Bazaar. We got off and walked around but the Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays. As we walked back to the hostel we saw the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Both were huge and really neat looking. Once back at the hostel I dealt with all the stuff necessary to get a new debit card in a foreign land. Later that night we went walking around the city and went to Hafiz Mustafa, a renowned Turkish Delight shop. Once we got back from that we decided to head up to the roof top patio to smoke some shisha with some of the hostel staff before heading to bed. 

To Istanbul

May 4:

I was awoken at 6am by an alarm and a moral choice. J-Dawg had left her alarm on and locker unlocked and it had started going off. Ursula and I were sleeping in the bunk bed adjacent it and were immediately awakened. After a few awkward, sleep blurred minutes we decided that since neither J-Dawg or Emily were home yet we would have to go into her stuff and turn it off.

A couple minutes later Emily gets back saying that she somehow managed to get separated from J-Dawg. We talked about it for a bit but there wasn’t anything to do at that hour so we went back to bed. I couldn’t get back to sleep but enjoyed my newly powered laptop.

People started getting up again around 10. Emily and I went down for breakfast and inquired about what to do about a lost friend. J-Dawg did eventually show up around noon saying she had woken up in a stairwell but was otherwise unharmed. Soon Pat and I had to head out so we finished our packing and headed to the airport. We got there with plenty of time to spare and once we checked our bags we had to go through some passport controls for leaving Europe. We each got pulled aside because apparently we could only be in Europe for 90. I was four or five days over this limit, making Pat a fair bit more over this limit. I was told I would have to pay a 600 Euro fine but that the guy would wave it for me. Upon leaving the small room they had brought me into to talk to me I saw Pat getting the same treatment just outside so I was sure to have my guy talk to his so we could each get the same deal. Soon we were off to Istanbul.

Once in Istanbul there was a bunch of stuff to do before we could get in. First we had to line up to buy visas so we could enter the country. I went to a bank machine to get a small amount of Turkish Lira incase they didn’t take any of the Euros we had on us. Pat was already in line and once I got the money I hurried to meet him. Visas bought we cleared customs and got our bags. We got to Harmony Hostel, our residence for the next five nights, with ease. Once we checked in we went to a bank machine to get cash for the hostel. It was at this point where I realized my debit card was no longer in my wallet, something must have happened when I got money out at the airport. When we got back to the hostel We rested until it was time for the grilled fish dinner we had signed up for earlier. After dinner we walked around the neighborhood for a little while before calling it an early night. During this walk we wandered into a shop that was selling turkish delight. I was offered a sample and it was delicious. 

Walking Tour of Athens

May 3:

I got up early today and went on the free walking tour I had been meaning to go on since I got to Athens many weeks prior. The tour was pretty interesting and Maddie came too giving someone familiar to talk with. Once the tour got going I remembered that I should get some pictures, but unfortunately my camera was dead. I may get some photos from Maddie later. When the tour wrapped up I headed back to the hostel to rest after hours in the sun. I managed to by a souvenir along the way. Once back we hung out for a number of hours. My computer charger had been degrading for the last few weeks and I decided I would have to get a new one that day or face heading to Istanbul and beyond without a working computer. Fortunately the hostel staff was able to point me to a large store named Public that sold Apple products. We went and got the cord then went to the grocery store since we were already most of the way there. After getting some drinks and snacks we headed back to the hostel where we met two girls from New Brunswick, Emily and The J-Dawg (formerly Jessica). They needed to hit up a grocery store and I found I had the wrong voltage of power adapter so I offered to show them the grocery store while I went to exchange my power adapter. Once back I got the new power cord going. It has the European plug, which is pretty useful so I can now charge my laptop and phone/camera at the same time. Soon enough the four of us started playing some New Brunswick bastardization of King’s Cup. As the other two people in our room, Phil and Ursula, shuffled in from their day’s activities they joined the game. When the game was over we headed to the roof top patio to hang out. There were some Californian med students there so we chilled and have some more to drink with them. Pretty soon Pat and I were desperately hungry and headed out to get some souvlaki. When we got back we were pretty tired and decided to call it a night.

From Mykonos to Athens

May 2:

We had a relaxing morning today and checked out around noon. Our preferred ferry left at 2:15pm so we got a ride down to the port immediately after check out. On our way to the ferry the guy from the hostel told us that this weekend was Greek Easter, so today twelve ferrys would be coming to Mykonos, all fully booked. Once there we bought tickets and some food. The ferry ride was a bit rough due to high winds aggravating the seas. Fiveish hours of reading later we were back in Athens. We had no problem getting back to City Circus and were soon heading out for food. On our way out I noticed the liquor store across the street was open. They had an unpriced bottle of Lagavulen 16, a renowned peaty Islay single malt. When I inquired as to the price it cost only 54 Euros. This is a bottle that I have seen elsewhere for 88 Euros and the LCBO sells for $115. I instantly bought the whiskey. We proceeded to go and get some Indian food to go then headed to the hostel’s roof patio to eat and watch some tv. While up there we met an American who taught English in Moscow and an Australian working in Paris as an au pair named Maddie. We all chilled and talked till we decided to call it a night.

A Day of Planning

May 1:

Today we didn’t get around to very much. It was our last full day on Mykonos so we had to figure out what we would do after. We decided pretty quickly that we would leave the islands and head to Turkey. With that in mind we were able to look for flights from Athens to Istanbul on May fourth for only 170 dollars. There was a comparable flight on the third but it got into Istanbul late at night and we didn’t want to deal with that hassle. That booked we booked at the City Circus hostel, where we stayed at last time we were in Athens.

Paradise is a Place

April 30:

When we checked into the hotel we were told of a beach we could easily bus to. This beach was called Paradise. We took the 2pm bus there and stayed till the 4:20pm bus back. The beach was nice. It had beautiful white sand and was more built up then any of the beached we have been to so far, unless you count the artificial beach in Barcelona. Paradise had beach chairs along the length of it with a waiter offering to bring food and drinks as well as shops and tavernas along the back of the beach.

We got some Euros while we were there since they weren’t that expensive but otherwise just sat around. Pat finished his collection of Hitchens essays pretty quickly so I started reading that when he was done. Once we got back to the hotel we were pretty tired from the sun and hung out in the room for quite a while. We got more groceries before going to an Italian place down the road for some decent pizza.