Thessaloniki

THESSALONIKI: Hello Thessaloniki! I finally arrived at my destination. After much needed rest I went to explore the city. The vibe is so different from home. It has a Caribbean feel. It seams like there’s a sense of community where everyone knows each other. The city is not very loud and the pace is much slower than New York. There are no tall buildings and most apartments have balconies. The streets and sidewalks are narrow therefore people drive very small cars, scooters even 4 wheelers. I loved it!

Side note: The ambulance in Greece don’t ring the siren unless someone is literally dying to avoid noise pollution.

The White Tower of Thessaloniki

WHITE TOWER: I went to explore the White Tower of Thessaloniki (which was a fortress and a prison at some point) and the surrounding area. Is located right on the waterfront looking on to the beautiful Aegean Sea.

The view from the White Tower of Thessaloniki

THE THREE BOATS: Those three boats above was one of my favorite things to do in Thessaloniki. These boats are actually bars playing reggae music. The inside is furnished with stools and tables and sells pretty much any drink just like a bar on land. The cool thing about this is that the boat leaves every x amount of time and sail around the waterfront (a 30 min ride) giving you a beautiful view of the White Tower and the city. (The ride is free) Afterwards the next boat will do the same and so on.

FOOD: The food in Greece is different that what I’m used to. They are very big on salads. Their food is mostly grilled and they use lots of olive oil. Everything taste super fresh, healthy and delicious.

Side note: The waiters are so nice. They kept giving us wine even though we only paid for 1/2 a bottle. They even gave us deserts on the house.

Side note: If you buy a bottle in an establishment in Greece and don’t finish it, the establishment will save the bottle for you for the next time you go. I think that’s awesome!

Athens

ARRIVAL: Hello Athens! I survived the flight. To my surprise everyone I encountered spoke English and most of the signs were also translated to English. It made me realize how unhelpful New York is to tourists that don’t speak the language. Athens airport is much smaller than JFK, is only two floors one for arrivals and one for departures. Pretty simple! I followed the signs to the train and got on it. The train was very different from what I am used to. It was clean, quiet and modern. I took a look at the map and immediately recognized where I needed to get off at “Acropolis” it even had a drawing of the Parthenon in case you were still confused. In case you STILL don’t get it the train announces the name of the stop in Greek and English. Why on earth did I think I was going to get lost? This was easy.

  • Landing in Athens
  • Signs translated in English
  • Train

ACROPOLIS: I get off the underground train and as soon as I look up I see the Parthenon on top of a hill. It didn’t look like a big deal. It looked small to me. I bought a ticket and walked pass the gate then continued walking down the path. There was no one around just dirt and sun. It must’ve been 90 degrees at least and barely any shade. Now I am searching for an elevator. It must be an elevator to take me to the top I thought; this was supposed to be fun. Isn’t exploring all about fun? well that was my first lesson as an explorer. Exploring is not always comfortable, in fact now I know is the opposite. I continued to walk the path up the hill (no elevator in sight) and it felt like an eternity, I was tired and cranky. All of a sudden I stepped on what it looked like limestone floor covered in dirt. I turned the corner and saw the most beautiful and amazing sight I have ever seen so far. It was a magnificent limestone staircase with columns at each side and more at the top. It blew my mind how beautiful this structure was. It completely exceeded my expectations. No words can express the joy I felt at that moment. My mood completely changed. What a beautiful sight! I can’t believe my luck.

  • The Entrance to the Parthenon

PARTHENON: I walked up the staircase to explore the rest of the Parthenon. There was nothing small about this place. I made the mistake of judging the Parthenon before actually being in its presence and man was I wrong. Unfortunately some parts are broken down but when you consider how old it is, is incredible how is still standing. From up there you can see the beautiful city of Athens. It felt so surreal. I MADE IT! After facetiming everyone who pick up (NY is 7hrs behind) and absorbing the amazing view I headed down to explore the neighborhood and headed back to the airport for my midnight flight to Thessaloniki.    

  • City view from Acropolis

Side Note: Athens until this date is still finding ruins underneath the earth every time they brake the concrete to build more subway lines. Amazing!

Taking a Risk

READY: I finally had my life in order. Now felt like the time to start doing what I wanted to do for as long as I can remember TRAVEL. I always been interested in visiting other countries . Naturally, the first step was to find someone to go with me. Easy enough I thought, but I soon found out it wasn’t easy, in fact it was very hard. Just because I was in a good place in my life at the time it didn’t mean everyone around me wasn’t struggling with theirs. I spend a month looking for someone who would share this amazing experience with me but no success. I almost gave up. Who was I kidding? Traveling has only been “MY” thing anyway no one around me has traveled far. Most people I knew had only just traveled to their native country.

DISAPPOINTMENT: One night while contemplating my disappointment I remembered that I knew someone in Greece. I got in contact with them and luckily they were free in the summertime and invited me to stay with them. That was exactly what I needed to help me break out and explore the world like I always wanted. I started researching Greece landmarks but soon realized the people I was staying with didn’t live near any of these places. How can I travel so far and not see any of the country known landmarks? That was not an option. I had to at least see Acropolis in Athens, but that meant me flying to a different city ALONE.

FEAR: That’s it! I booked everything. Now fear started to take over me. By myself? In Europe? Not knowing the language? Not knowing where to go? What was I thinking? But too late, I already paid for it. To make matters worst my loved ones reaction to my plan was not optimistic. When I told them, all hell broke loose. Why so far? What about terrorist attacks? By yourself? But you don’t even know greek… I understood that they were concerned for me and they have never traveled beyond their comfort zone so they felt scared. But at the moment it was not what I needed to hear.

GETTING PREPARED: The next upcoming months I focused on researching and perfecting my plan. From what to do on a 9hr flight to Athens to the currency to the ground transportation. I had to make sure everything was perfect and safe. In a desperate moment I called the people I was going to stay with in Greece and expressed my safety concerns and they responded with “ you live in one of the most dangerous cities in the world. A city that is constantly under threat” and that hit me. They were right! I’m from New York if I make it here I make it anywhere.

THE FLIGHT: Finally July arrived and it was time for me to start my journey across the Atlantic. Time to put on a brave face and pretend to my loved ones that I was totally fine and that I wasn’t worried about a thing! After goodbyes and worried looks I get on the plane. I drank sleeping pills, put on aloe socks, a blanket and a sleeping mask in hopes of knocking out ASAP to avoid being anxious for 9 hrs. At this point, I just hoped to prove everyone and myself that if you step out of your comfort zone you may discover amazing places/things and wonder how you have lived without it all your life. Good bye New York.

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