Tragedies and Comedies

So after finishing that post yesterday, I found out that Katherine's name is actually Catherine. I should have known, she's from Canada. Haha. Oh well. I changed them all to with a c now. Anyway, we left the internet cafe and went to the grocery store. You might be thinking, "Wait, didn't Jeremy already go to the grocery store on Tuesday?" You are thinking correctly then. Haha. I went twice. I bought some white chocolate, some puffy things that were flavored with peanuts and hazelnuts and some cookies. I already had petit-beurres (butter flavored crackers). Catherine bought some petit-buerres as well but a different brand so that we could compare. Then we ventured over to the big indoor municipal market and I bought peanuts and she bought banana chips (dehydrated bananas). It sounds like a lot of snacks and it is, but it really wasn't very expensive at all. It was 5:30 but we were bored so we got on the bus to the port even though our boat didn't leave for 3.5 hours. The bus ride was uneventful. We got to the port and it was 6 but we were able to board the boat. We did even though, again, we were 3 hours early. Haha.

We had deck tickets but a guy from PA who worked for the boat told us to just sit in one of the lounges because they weren't going to fill up. The lounges were filled with airplane type seats and had a 40" big screen tv in each one (picture 1). There were over 6 lounges on the boat. The worker guy told us the boat caught sit over 1000 people. Jeeeeez. We sat down and watched House with Greek subtitles. We couldn't figure out how to turn the volume up so it was not that enjoyable. Right after the show finished we figured it out. D'oh! Then we watched a show that is like Entertainment Tonight, it reported all the celebrity news. We tried to guess what they were talking about because it was all in Greek. While this was going on, we were talking and snacking. She said I was to blame for her eating all those snacks. I told her she was to blame. We could not come to a consensus. Fire Down Below, a Steven Seagal movie came on when the boat started moving. HILARIOUS! We made fun of the movie the entire time it was playing (while still snacking, haha). Then Matrix Reloaded came on but it was after midnight so I laid down and so did Catherine. I split off and on for the rest of the trip but Catherine told me (after the fact otherwise I would have tried to remedy the situation somehow) that she was too cold to sleep so she didn't. The ferry arrived at 5:30 am and we got off and found the subway.

We got off Line 2 at the same stop but I was going to walk to the bus and she was going to the train station so we said goodbye. I was super sad about it. The burden of loneliness was squarely back on my shoulders. It is one of those situations where you don't know what you are missing until you try it. I was used to traveling alone (after doing it for 18+ days) but once I tried traveling with someone who is cute, funny, smart, female, and nice, traveling alone is not so good anymore. Honestly, I hadn't felt that alone since my mom left back in March. Part of traveling is moving on and stuff. One of those "Better to have loved and lost" things except more like "Better to have traveled with and split up". The dumb thing is that I could have changed my plans and traveled around Athens with her today but for some reason I didn't. I don't why I didn't. It wasn't because I was afraid of changing my plans because at that time, I had no firm plans so I don't know. Oh well. I still had a really good day even though the whole time I kind of wished I wasn't alone.

I took a city bus to the Coach Terminal. I bought my ticket and waited for an hour for my bus to leave. The station was pretty dirty. The bus ride was only 2 hours and it went through some extremely pretty scenery. I arrived in Nafplion at around 10 am. Nafplion is a town on the Peloponnese Peninsula. It is small but very pretty. I went to the place in my Let's Go book (thanks again Amy, that book freaking rocks) and left my bag while my room was getting ready. I walked around Nafplion. There is a section called the Old Town that is awesome (picture 2) and has tons of these big red bush/vine things hanging all over. The buildings have windows and balconies just like Venice as well. There were some statues of Lord Byron and some other people who have visited (picture 3). I scoped out some possible dinner places because I didn't have anything else to do. Two places looked good. I walked along the waterfront as well. There is a little castle out in the harbor. Very cool. There is alsoPalamidi Castle up on a rock way above the town which reminded me of the Alhambra in Granada (view from my hostel's terrace picture 4). I went back to my hotel and showered and watched CNN for a while. Then I left and waited for my bus to Epidaurus.

Epidaurus has some very famous Ancient Greek ruins that are about 30 minutes south of Nafplion. The most famous part is the theater. It has 33 rows and can fit about 14,000 people. Not as big as the one in Ephesus but still very spectacular. The view from the top is amazing. The acoustics of the theater are very famous as well. If you stand in the middle of the stage area, people in the very top row can hear you rip a piece of paper or drop a coin on the ground. The acoustics are that good. There are also some ruins of the healing temples and stuff near by the theater. Back in the day, Epidaurus was more famous for it's healing powers than for it's theater. I spent 4 hours there wandering around and watching people in the theater. One guy started singing opera which was sweet (picture 5). Some of the ruins were of a stadium built 2,300 years ago that the local high school still has track meets at now (picture 6). There was also the bathhouse where people got healed (picture 7). I met two couples (one of them took my picture) who are guidance counselors in the US somewhere (I didn't ask). Both had heard of SJU though.

I took the bus back to Nafplion and wandered around for a little bit. The picture I took of the red bush things is one of my absolute favorites (picture 8). The sun was setting as I walked. I know I have said this before but this was quite possibly THE BEST SUNSET EVER (picture 9 and 10). The sun was shining through the clouds onto the mountains across the water, there were some little boats going back and forth in the harbor and the little castle was there... The whole thing was almost too beautiful for me to look at. I know that that doesn't make sense but it's true.

I ate dinner at an Italian restaurant. My table was under some of those red vine things. I had mousaka in honor of Catherine. She told me she had mousaka in Santorini and liked it a lot. I had not had it yet. It is minced meat and vegetables (mostly egg plant) topped by bouchemal sauce. Really good. Then I had ice cream for dessert. Second best ice cream ever (after that almond stuff in Granada). The caramel ice cream was the PERFECT consistency: not too soft, not too hard. Completely delicious.

Phew. That was a lot of writing and a long day. Tomorrow I am going to some more ruins. Mycenae and up to that castle on the rock.

Toodles!

Last Time Again

I couldn't think of a better title than that because I am feeling a lot of the same feelings right now as I did almost four months ago when I was getting ready to go to London. The fear and anxiety combined with the excitement and happiness was in both. Also, what I wrote about doing things for the last time definitely applies to today. Like when I was showering this morning. "I am showering for the last time here." was a thought that went through my head. Or when I walked to Our Lady of Victories for the last time today. Or when...

I decided to go to mass one last time because I really liked the church and just because I felt like it. The woman who has always sat in the pew in front of me and to the left was there again. The priest talked soooo sssllloooww. I didn't really mind but it was noticeable. The mass was fine although I missed the singing. After the mass, that woman came up to me and said how nice it was to see me at mass all the time. I broke the bad news to her that it was my last time. She said that it might not be and that I should come back sometime. It turns out her name is Susan. Haha, I saw her basically every Sunday for 4 months and I did not know her name until today. That's the life goes sometimes. She said, "All joy and happiness to you," as we parted ways. I said "Likewise". I am so poetic sometimes. I walked over to Kensington Library (not the last time, I am going to have to go there before I come back to drop off a book). I dropped off a bunch of books and just looked to see if they had any books that I wanted to take with me (library picture 1). Nope. I left and walked over to Foundation House where my classes were held. I took a picture of the classroom where I had Sociology and Senior Sem (picture 2). Fancy, no? . I bought a couple snacks/breakfast for the plane ride tomorrow morning. I also bought some sunscreen (I'm optimistic about my travels being sunny) and a little bottle to hold some laundry detergent. I made lunch. My last PBJ here in London. Pretty depressing (who am I kidding? SWEET!)

I came back to the flat and packed. It didn't take that long because I knew what I wanted to bring and what I wanted to leave. I did the post about yesterday and then walked over to Safe Storage to put my bags in. That was a little bit of an adventure because I walked with the little roller suitcase and a bag full of stuff. The bag ripped and a lady walking by gave me a new one. I like people sometimes. I dropped my stuff off and then walked back. Since then, I have been looking up and booking a couple hostels. I am only booking ones that look really good and are what I want, I am still without a place to stay for most of the trip. I plan to find stuff as I go. I've got some travel books so I will be fine. I also looked up ferry schedules and checked to make sure they were all hunky doory. I made dinner. I had tortellini and sauce. Yum. I took some pictures of Metrogate so I can remember it. That includes the laundry "room" (it's smaller than a closet), my bedroom (picture 3), my bathroom, and the kitchen (picture 4). I don't care what anyone else says, I didn't mind it here at all. In fact, I kind of liked it. It was centrally located and it fit my needs just fine.

I forgot to mention that yesterday I talked to my boss at Champlin Public Works. He "interviewed" me. By that I mean, he asked when I wanted to start. Haha, so that's really, really good news. I have a job this summer. Yay!

I was out when Mo left so I didn't get to say goodbye. That's too bad. It's weird being one of the only people left. The computer lab has been empty all day.

I am about to go to lay down for a few hours. I might sleep, I might not, but I need to do it so I can be alert when I land in Istanbul in about 12 hours (woah). I will probably add a little bit more before I leave.

I didn't sleep at all. I ended up watching some tv. I will update as much and as often as I can on the blog so check back often! Love everyone and um, see you all soon!

Hakuna Matata

I woke up today and studied a little for the final test in Senior Sem. It is crazy thinking that I won't have that class ever again. I went to class and it was raining pretty hard on the way there. I took the test which I think I did kind of bad on. Oh well. It is over and done with now. No more school until August. After class, I went with Rachelle, Vanessa, Nick, and Peter to Leicester Square to buy tickets for The Lion King musical (picture 1).

We bought the tickets and then walked around killing time. It was St. George's Day. St. George is the patron saint of England. There were people walking around with white t-shirts and red crosses (the symbol of St. George, he slayed a dragon by the way, weird reason to be a saint). Trafalgar Square had a big thing of English food. We continued walking and stopped by Piccadilly Circus. We all bought a banana and nutella crepe. That was my lunch and it was a great lunch. We walked back to the theatre and watched the show. It was amazing. The costumes are out of this world (Simba and Nala from the internet picture 2). It brought back so many childhood memories that I hadn't thought about forever. I got super duper sad when Mufasa died. Simba looked so lost. The singing was out of this world. Rafiki was hilarious and talked for a little bit in the clicking language that some Africans use. Like I said, just a great show and it was really fun to see it with the people I did.

After the musical, we all split up and I walked over to Stanford's bookstore again to scope out the guidebook scene. I almost bought a couple books but I couldn't make myself do it. Tomorrow I will though. I promise. I am really excited about the books and wish I had them now. Like I said, tomorrow. I decided that I am going to spend the last week of my travels in Belgium and the Netherlands. I was swayed by a couple things. I read up about the museums there and they sound great. Peter and Nick told me that the Eurostar train from Brussels to London is only 35 pounds or so and it takes 2 or 3 hours and drops me off right in London at Waterloo station so I can catch a bus or the Tube really easily. No hassling with Stansted or airplanes. So, there you have it. I pretty much have the whole time planned out. It feels good.

The weather today was typical London. It was raining a lot in the morning and then wonderful in the afternoon and evening. The sun was perfect on the buildings. I took one of those old style double decker buses back to my flat (picture 3). I actually took a picture of it this time. I spent this evening working on the blog some more. I posted the second and third day of my Paris trip. Click on the links or just scroll down. They are kind of long reads, just to warn you. I love some of the pictures I took. I will not get a chance to do Tuesday's post but I will do that tomorrow.

A bunch of people are leaving tomorrow and a couple left today. That is so weird. Rachelle is leaving tomorrow. We said goodbye tonight. Nick leaves tomorrow as well. Everyone is leaving at different times so I don't know who else is but I know there are more. I think Christina and maybe Amy too. I am sad to see them all go. It is kind of lonely down in the computer lab now. All this evening there have only been a couple people. This computer lab probably sees this all the time. The ebb and flow of traffic. As the Lion King says, "The Circle of Life".

Hakuna Matata!

Raising the Curtain

Hey everyone! It seems like it has been forever since I did a proper blog post (it's been a week). I feel bad about it even though I realize I shouldn't. With my Mom being here and trying to maximize my time with her, it did not leave much time for blogging or really anything else. The other problem is that with the semester winding down (yes, that's what I said, I only have 4 weeks of class left), I have quite a bit more homework due which is a bigger priority than writing in my blog. Like today I had to write a two page reflection paper, read from a text book, and write a five page paper. All are due tomorrow. So, like I said, I haven't really had time to even try to catch up on the blog.

I do have one big, huge, large, gargantuan piece of news to share. I bought a plane ticket to Istanbul for April 26. Which means that that is where I am going to start my "Magical Mystery Tour of Europe (and a little bit of Asia)". Mom and I talked about it and I had originally thought about going to Egypt but going there alone would be tough and it is hard to get from there to anywhere else (namely Greece). Istanbul and Turkey contain my excitement are still really, really cool and I just cannotabout the whole trip. It is going to be incredible. I will share more of my plan at a later date, I don't really have the time now and the rest of it is not really for sure (by that I mean, I have a rough idea but it will probably change at least a little bit). I feel much better having made a decision though and knowing that I have at least one thing set up. It is less than a month away!! YIKES!!!

*Added on Monday* Today was a pretty relaxing day. Mom came over to my flat in the morning and we arranged how and what I am going to keep here. We decided to have her take Greg's big black suitcase back with a whole bunch of my stuff and leave her small green one for me to keep and store (somewhere) while I am traveling. I think this plan will work out really well. It did entail a little bit of help from my Mom though. She had to check the big black suitcase and the green backpack so she had to use her dirty laundry stuff sack as her carry on. While she was packing and we were arranging my stuff, we talked and just enjoyed each other's company. Once the packing was complete, the two of us walked over to my church and Mom took a couple pictures of me in front of it (picture 1). We ran into Phil out front and said hi (picture 2). We had to run so there wasn't much of a discussion. When we got back, Mom took a couple pictures of me at Metrogate (me in my "home", the computer lab, picture 3) and grabbed the bags. Mom was in a hurry and I forgot my Oyster Card so I had to run back (literally) and get it. We rode the Tube out to Heathrow. Mom checked her bags and was all set to leave. We had to take a picture of her with her "Santa Claus Carry On" (picture 4). It was pretty funny. I was incredibly sad to see her leave. It was such a different experience from when I left for London. That time, I was the one leaving, not the one staying. I think the one staying has it rougher. I don't know if I have ever felt that alone with so many people around me after she disappeared from my sight. The Tube ride back was kind of a melancholy experience for me. I thought about it and before Mom arrived was like Act I , Mom being here was the intermission and the curtain has jest been raised on Act II. I listened to "Heavier Things" by John Mayer during the Tube ride which was the perfect thing for how I was feeling. I got back and hung out on the computer and did my homework. I watched some of the NCAA tournament online and then called John on Skype. It was nice to talk to him (like always). Then I went to bed.
Bye!

Last Time

Two words that I have heard and thought about a lot lately. It's impossible to not think that things I do now are the"last time" I will do them before I leave. For example, this will be the last time I write a post for this blog before I leave. I will admit that it gets annoying thinking this way all the time. When you start thinking things like, "this will be the last time I open the oven," you know that you have taken it to an extreme.
At the same time, living that way can be very empowering and make you appreciate the things you have much more. For example, last night I went bowling with my best friends and a bunch of other people. It was a blast and would have been on any other occasion but knowing that I wouldn't see them again for five months made me appreciate and cherish the time even more.
Another example is on Sunday night, my family came over for a kind of departing dinner. When my nephew was leaving and I realized I wouldn't see him again for five months I was crushed. As the saying goes, "you don't know what you got till it's gone". I think I said "I love you" or "I will miss you" more times in the last week than I have combined in my life.
I always thought Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying" was kind of stupid but I think he was on to something. I would prefer to call it "Live Like You Were Leaving for a while". It's less morbid but doesn't have the same ring to it.
I am leaving for London in about 19 hours. Well then! I will miss my family and friends immensely but I will also create memories and experiences that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I suppose I should go sleep in my bed (for the last time). ;-)