Amelia's Amazing Oia

Our little Amelia

As we sit in the airport this morning waiting for our flight to depart the island of Santorini, we have mixed emotions – there’s some yearning to get to back to reality but sadness to leave this indescribably beautiful island. There are so many amazing works of nature and architecture – we saw the effects of volcanic activity with a red beach, a black beach, a white beach. We toured the highest spot on the island and the ruins of the ancient city of Thira. We saw countless blue domed churches, white houses built into the cliffs, gorgeous sunsets, even the full moon rising... and of course we can’t forget our little dog friend, Amelia.

Amelia is one of the “village dogs” of Oia. She is one of many dogs that are cared for by the small village in Santorini. Some of the taxes paid by the local businesses go to feeding and caring for the dogs. They all have names and are loved by everyone. We found Amelia howling on our patio the first night we were here. She slept there every night, following us on walks around the island and waiting patiently for us by lying outside when we went in shops, restaurants, etc. We didn’t see her last night on our patio and assumed she had moved on to some other tourists who would occasionally sneak her some meat or water or give her a small scratch on the head, but as we were leaving our room this morning – there she was to say good bye. She sat there as our bags got loaded into the van and wagged her tail – then as we drove away, she ran off to join her other village dogs for the days’ adventure and to see what tourist she could charm with her soft brown eyes.

One of many blue domed churches in Santorini

Oia (pronounced like E-ah) at Sunset

Red Beach

Sunset in Oia

Full moon rising over Santorini

A Glimpse of Santorini

On the ferry towards Santorini

Our ferry arrived on the Greek island of Santorini late this afternoon. We stopped at 3 other Greek islands (Paros, Naxos, Ios) along the way to drop off other passengers. The entire trip took about 8 hours. From what we can tell so far, the island is absolutely amazing. It's not tourist season right now plus Greece's economy is not exactly that strong right now, so many of the shops & restaurants aren't open. We are looking forward to a hike tomorrow to check out the natural beauties of the island. Here's a few quick pics of what we've seen so far...

Santorini from the Ferry

View from dinner tonight

Athens Adventure

Athens, Greece

We've had a great day & a half so far in Athens, Greece. We got acquainted with the city & the area surrounding the apartment that we are renting for a few days. We are staying 3 blocks away from The Acropolis which is essentially the center of tourism for Athens. Everywhere is easily accessible either by walking or taking the metro (subway/train).

Some of the highlights:

Philopappos Hill - nice shaded walking trails leading to an awesome 360 degree view of the city

National Gardens & Greek Parliament Building - gardens with a "zoo" - ducks, geese, & a few goats. Saw the changing of the guard in front of Parliament.

Syntagma Square - area of Athens where the riots are supposedly taking place. Didn't see a single rioter but found people busily walking around & many shops selling fake Louis Vitton bags, Swatch watches, & Rayban sunglasses.

Monastiraki Flea Market - really no difference between flea markets in Greece & USA. People trying to sell their junk to other people. We saw everything from pretty jewelry to books, coins, a mannequin head, vhs & cassette tapes, & plenty other miscellaneous crap.

Acropolis - saw the Parthenon & other ancient structures/ruins during the sunshine of the day & also illuminated by lights at night. It's impressive & the pictures probably don't do it justice.

Acropolis Museum - museum dedicated to showcasing the history of the Acropolis & Parthenon. Many artifacts & statues along with a video which highlighted the different eras of Athens.

Pireus Port & Mikrolimano - port was filled with cruise ships & ferries ready to take off for the islands or other Mediterranean destinations. We will set sail from here in a few days. Mikrolimano was an area of the city surrounding the fishing harbor. We enjoyed a wonderful meal at this great little restaurant right on the water.

The food has been absolutely wonderful. Fresh salads, feta cheese, grilled meats (lamb, beef, chicken), pita bread, & seafood (best calimari ever!). We also tried the traditional Greek drink called Ouzo - tastes like black jellybeans so Cori (dislike) & I (like) were split on our opinions.

La Revedere (good-bye) Romania

Bună dimineaţa (good morning!) and greetings from Romania.

We have been enjoying our time here although they have kept us quite busy at the plant. The weather has been cold here (30’s) especially compared to the weather in SC which we hear is in the 70’s right now. We woke up yesterday morning to snow and fog.

On Mar 1 (yesterday) the Romanians celebrate Mărţişor - a traditional celebration of the first of spring and means “dear March”. Mărţişor is the symbol of spring and the men offer the women in their life objects of affection. These gifts are usually flowers or small jeweled pins or objects tied to a red and white string. Women are supposed to wear the pins on the holiday and for days later. The red and white colors symbolize many things apparently – we were told it signifies: man and woman, love and luck, peace and war, and/or winter and spring. It is believed that the one who wears the red and white string will be powerful and healthy for the year to come. The decoration is a symbol of the coming spring. My colleague Beth and I got pins, jewels, and flowers from the thoughtful men of the plant. We felt very honored they would think of us. Too bad I got the red/white strings yesterday and not sooner – since I just came down with a cold yesterday and the healthy wishes Mărţişor brings could have come in handy sooner.

Cori & Beth with their Martisor gifts

We’ve really enjoyed the food in Romania. A usual menu for the day has included:

Breakfast – a very nice spread at the hotel. The selections include assorted meats and cheeses, fresh fruits usually arranged in beautiful sculptures or designs, pastries, omelets, and fresh juices.

Lunch – we have only eaten at the plant cafeteria for lunch and it has been surprisingly better than other cafeterias. This is usually the biggest meal for Romanians so we find the portions are HUGE! Meals are served with chiorba (soup) and a main course. There are baskets of bread (paina) on each table along with oil and vinegar for salads. I’ve mainly ate the chiorba (a broth usually served with some kind of meat) and a salad. Today’s chiorba was served with tripe (cow intestines) and David ended up with a few spoon fulls in his bowl without knowing what it was. He said it wasn’t too bad but I refrained from eating any and I am okay with that.

Dinner – All the ingredients are so fresh – from veggies to fresh feta cheese, to delicious meats and the tasty wine – it’s hard to pick a favorite. We’ve had Italian food, steak, pui (chicken) and also some traditional Romanian dishes. Not to mention that we’ve had a shot or two of the local alcohol Tuica (plum liquor).

Sampler platter at the going-away dinner with our new Romanian friends

The local currency in Romania is the Lei. The exchange rate with the US is 1 US$ = 3.3 Lei. David and I ate a meal (appetizers, drinks, main course, salads, etc.) and it was 100 Lei so basically $30.

During our stay we were in the city of Ploiești (where we stayed at the hotel and ate) and the Michelin plant was in a local village named Florești (about 30 mins from Ploiesti). Today was our last day at the plant. It was bittersweet – nice to be done with all our work but sad to leave all the new people we’ve met. We got done early with our presentations so we decided to take in a bit of the Romania country side with our driver Michelle. Michelle only speaks Romanian and some French and our friend & colleague Beth speaks mainly Canadian-English (eh!) and some French, so the conversations were mostly in French and hand gestures. Never the less, we had an enjoyable day with our new Romanian friend and guide. Michelle drove us towards the mountains in a town called Sinaia, there are lots of places to go skiing near this city. While in Sinaiai we went to visit the Peles Castle. The Castle was built in the late 1800’s and was the home of King Carol I of Romania. We were thankful the weather shaped up for today so we could enjoy the sight-seeing.

Peles Castle

Tomorrow, we leave for Athens. We are excited for the next leg of our trip but a bit sad to leave Romania. Everyone was so nice and gracious!