Greece: Day One

Greece is a beautiful country. My hotel is beautiful. My bed is immensely comfortable. (Combined with the black-out curtains, I feel safe saying it was the best night’s sleep I’ve had in over a year.) The people are beautiful. Seriously. All of them. Young men walking on the sidewalks. Older men in the grocery store. You get the idea. The water is beautiful. The weather is beautiful. The toasties are delicious (and are even called ‘toasties’!).

I woke up today around 9am Grecian time, 3pm Korea time, 2am Florida time. Wow, that’s getting more difficult. Relaxation is my goal, so after I peeked outside and snapped a few photos of my neighborhood, I stayed in bed until around noon. I ordered some room service, and all they had was toast so I requested two. I was hungry, and I wasn’t sure what their version of ‘toast’ was. Was it American toast, just one slice with a tiny tub of butter? Or was it Korean toast, with ham, cheese and vegetables toasted grilled-cheese style? It was the Korean version. Happiness! Served with potato chips. Happiness plus one!

I brought my toothbrush but forgot the toothpaste, so missioni numero uno today was to acquire toothpaste. Getting some for free from the front desk, purchasing it myself, or stealing it, I was determined to get my hands on some toothpaste. After beautifying myself, I headed down the exquisite winding staircase to the front desk and asked the lady where I could buy some personal items. She gave me excellent directions to the neighborhood grocery, which I immediately set out to find. Exit hotel, go right, take first left, walk a few meters and there’s the grocery. I found it! Imagine that. For some reason, I’m surprised to see regular grocery stores outside of the USA. (Maybe I shouldn't say that out loud.) I expect to see quaint little European markets with baguettes, fruit and an extensive cheese selection, not a box-like commercial store with carts and a freezer section. I was surprised to find Korea had them when I got there just over a year ago, and I was surprised again today. It was a fairly small grocery, think 2-story CVS with food items instead of pharmacy items. It even had an escalator, just like Home Plus in Korea: flat and angled in lieu of steps. Really, America should catch on. No kidding.

So I purchased my toothpaste and a few other items, including some Grecian breadsticks and the razor I purposely didn’t pack because I didn’t know I’d have to check my carry-on luggage. My total was roughly 16 Euros. Not too bad, about what I’d expect to pay at home (Korea and US) for the same items.

I waked back to my beautiful hotel and set my things down, and then I headed out to find the public beach. I found a beach, but I’m not sure if it was public. I was only able to get to it though some sort of early-twenty-something hangout type bar/lounge where it seemed everyone had someone to cuddle up to. I could see chairs and umbrellas outside on the beach, so I decided it was a private beach and left. I probably should have walked further in that direction, but I decided to go the other way and see what there was to see. I walked over to the marina that I can see from my hotel room and took everything in. It’s just a marina. I’ve seen them before. But this is a Grecian marina. With Greek flags flying on the masts of all the boats. And Greek fish in the water with Greek fishermen trying to catch them. And little blue benches to sit on to look out onto the water. And a little Greek restaurant with tables to sit at and drink a glass of Grecian white wine while continuing to be mesmerized that I was looking out onto Grecian waters. And Greek mountain islands in the far distance that almost blended into the color of the afternoon sky. And all kinds of boats, from sail boats to fishing boats to yachts to what was probably a cruise ship, passing by in the distance and every so often coming into the marina for the evening. It really was breathtaking. And a bit odd. The restaurant was more like covered matching tables looking out onto the water with a food truck behind all the tables that held all the snacks and drinks, and one waitress to serve the patrons. The odd part, though, was that I heard English at a nearby table. I concluded the speakers could have either been from Botswana or South Africa, and prided myself on knowing that. What’s even more odd is that after sitting there for about an hour enjoying my delicious semi-dry white wine and bar peanuts, I suddenly heard Barry White over the speakers. My Everything. Let’s Stay Together. Some others. It must have been a CD because the next five or six songs were Barry White as well. Don't get me wrong, I like Barry White, I just wasn't expecting to hear that, and there it was. 

I was getting sleepy, as I’m still jet lagged and willing to let that be perfectly okay, so I headed back to my hotel for a nap. I woke up a little while later and realized the sun was setting and I would be able to see it! I’ve seen the sun rise numerous times being from Florida and spending a great deal of time on the Atlantic coast, and I was extremely excited to see a European sunset. So I got up to document it. I was successful in getting a few shots, but tomorrow I’ll have to be down at the marina to really catch the entire show because it’s just a bit too far to the left to see from my balcony.

I was still pretty exhausted, but hungry, so I headed down to the lobby to see what was going on for dinner. The dining room side of the lobby was dim but the bar was well lit and welcoming, so after scanning the liquor selection for the Disaronno I’ve been unable to find for the past 12+ months, I took a seat, ordered a Disaronno on the rocks, and a toastie.

Tomorrow will be a full day of exploration until the point I find the public beach, as that is my missioni numero dos.