KOS

We arrived in Kos after a rather short trip. From Milan we flew to Athens about a two hour flight and then a quick flight from Athens to Kos. The best part was a special surprise visit from Kostas in Athens. He is staying in Athens for a few weeks with the infamous “Ya ya” or grandma. Once we arrived in Kos we took about a 20 or 30 minute taxi ride east near the town called Kos Town. Our hotel was called the Plantanista. The location was great for what we wanted to do and it was rather nice for the price we were paying. That afternoon we headed into town, which was about a 10 minute walk along the water. We were starving after out flight of course and we were excited to have a fresh Greek salad. I was of course eager to eat anything other than Italian. Our walk along the water was beautiful, until one of the young Greek boys riding by on his bike tried to “cop a feel.” This young kid literally tried to grab my butt as he rode by. The next day we learned our lesson and realized they weren’t the only ones that needed bikes. For a light snack, we stopped in at a place along the water called Phillipion and enjoyed a greek salad and tzatiki of course. Ashley knows her Greek words and food well. I only had to ask her a few times what we were eating again, at least the name in Greek. We also loved that no one suspected that we were Americans. Most guesses were Dutch, which was strange for us, but definitely a nice change. Not that I don’t like to represent America, but many of the Americans traveling in Europe can be very obnoxious, so if people guess you are American it’s not always a compliment. After walking around the town we found the “greek” area of what you would think of as kind of the old town. It was filled with little shops, restaurants, bars, and felt very similar to La Plaka in Athens. There weren’t very many Americans, as in other European cities right now, but the town was filled with English and Dutch. The next day we decided to enjoy the beach and then save our day trip to Turkey for Monday. We walked down the beach and found a cute spot that included beach chairs and a bottle of water for only 5 euros. What a bargain, compared to the 10 euros I just paid in Santa Margherita. For lunch we had some of the same Greek fare and got recommendations for our evening plans from the bartender. He suggested a club called Heaven of course. Instead of clubbing, we decided to eat at a place we had walked by the day before that looked appealing. It was called Select and we should have known it was a tourist trap. Sometimes the fact that it is busy is not always a guarantee it’s good. We ordered a few Greek dishes Ashley likes and unfortunately we were disappointed with the quality. After dinner we grabbed a drink and then got terribly lost, I think maybe a first for me this year. We walked out of this maze of an area thinking we were heading back toward the water and instead ended up among a quiet neighborhood, complete with grazing cows. Unless we were looking for a house party we had definitely walked in the wrong direction. After Ashley asked a woman which direction to the beach, we made our way back to the taxi area. Since we had already walked miles and miles in circles we took a taxi back to the hotel. On Monday we took a boat to Bodrum, Turkey for the day. The journey over, similar to my journey to Morocco, was a bit longer than expected. We were entertained by the Euros on the boat, especially the one woman who loved herself so much and had her family take non-stop pictures throughout the ride. Once we arrived in Bodrum, we walked through the Bazaar and immediately got hassled by the Turks. Ashley loves bargains and constantly impresses me with her negotiation skills, but this was seriously intense. Even she got irritated quickly. The best part is they are selling all these copies, but instead of admitting it, they pretend it’s actually real. When I told one of them I was from Milano and asked where the purses were made, he backed off. The best part was when they asked where we were from and we said California. Immediately, they would reply with, “so am I, I am from California,” in there best Turkish accent. After some time in the bazaar we decided we would rather relax on a pretty beach. On the way, we found a great bakery where we tried some Turkish spinach pie, one of Ash’s Greek favorites. It was fresh and flavorful. We also decided to sample some of the little Turkish cookies, which were okay, but nothing too impressing. The beaches there are public, at least the ones we found, but instead of having a ton of chaise lounges set up on the beach where you pay one guy, the chairs below to the individual restaurant/bars. It makes for a very fun environment. We found one at a small place with a welcoming staff. We thought they were charming until they kind of gave us the stare down while we were laying out. To sit at the chairs, you just have to order a drink and today we decided on water and then bought some cherries from a man selling them on the beach. After the hot day in Turkey, where the restaurant guy claimed it was 45 degrees Celsius, no way…we boarded the boat back to Kos. The most interesting part of our journey was at passport control in Kos. On the way to Turkey, Ashley went through first and after she waited for me for about 15 min she became worried and came back in. With my Swiss visa and work permit, I was serious suspect. Actually I think the real reason they were confused was because I came to Milan from Lugano and therefore never had my passport stamped when I entered Italy. We also did not get our passports stamped in Greece, so I think it appeared that I had just been traveling all around since I returned from the States at Christmas. For whatever reason, he was questioning me and even wrote in the date that I said I had entered Italy. It’s funny that most places are so lax and of all places they questioned me on an island in Greece. To get back in from Turkey to Greece I went through the same thing, except this time I at least expected it. Luckily, they let me back in…I wasn’t really sure I wanted to stay in Turkey. We arrived back about 6pm, grabbed a snack at our favorite little Greek Taverna called Phillipion. Our next stop was Santorini and we were taking a ferry that left at 8pm. The Greek travel around on some serious ferries. This was no little island hopper. We boarded along with the semis and fought hard to get out luggage into the stowage area. Then after taking the escalator to the upper deck we searched for a non-smoking area, which as you know is almost unheard of in Europe. Finally we found a comfy spot and played a fierce game of gin rumi. Then Ash nodded off and I journaled among other things. Ashley brought a book called My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler and it provided constant entertainment the entire trip. You literally laugh out loud reading it, so as you can imagine we were constantly fighting over who got to read it. Since she was sleeping I got in a few of the short stories!