Fernando's Travels: Greece

So in July I went to Greece for a week. I flew into Athens, and at their airport they have free internet booths, awesome, if you are patient enough to wait for one to become available. Also, four year of MIT has definitely improved my ability to read Greek letters, so I was not completely lost and I was able to read and learn some Greek by just reading the signs, something that I cannot do here in Israel because I do not know the aleph-bet (Hebrew alphabet, well I can only recognize 5 letters...not very helpful). So from Athens I went directly to the island of Kephalonia to stay and visit the Countourises. The little town where their house is is rather amazing. There is a great view of the nearby mountain and the sea. The food was also very delicious, talk about the best feta cheese and some very good local wine. I went to the beach almost everyday (I know this is very surprising coming from me since I do not like beaches) and it was very nice, with not-sandy ground and clear water. It seemed like many of the locals and vacationers would meet at the beach, talk about events, just chill, and socialize in the sun. I met a couple of teens that we hung out with that week, from America and France. One great night was when we all went to the town to experience the nightlife. Basically we went to this club and although it was pretty packed with local Greeks, I was the only one dancing at times (other times some people from our group would join me). So the entire club just stood there talking and staring at me for being a weirdo or something, but the music was good so they were missing out. On the beach I also met an engineer named Dmitri who worked at the wind farm on the mountain. So he kindly gave us a tour and even took us up on one of the windturbines. Amazing experience. Other highlights included an underground cave/lake, Mrs. Countouris almost drowning and having to be rescued, driving around the entire island, and going to the burial place and church dedicated to St. Gerasimo.

After my wonderful week in Kephalonia, I went to back to Athens and had a day to tour the city. I went to the new Acropolis Museum, walked around various neighborhoods, and ate amazing food. For what I saw of Athens, I really enjoyed the city and the vibe, so hopefully I could return and see more of it in the future.

Now for some pics:

When I arrived, nice and sunny

The front of the house, and Paula

Tree in front of the house, at night

Just look at that water, and the trees

Diving attempt gone pseudo-tragic

The Countourises...yes they do enjoy wearing matching outfits

Ceiling of the church

I loved the artwork in the church, this looks like the kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane (by the Mt. of Olives which is a 40 minute walk from where I am staying in Jerusalem)