Hawaii- Oahu's North Shore living for 4 days turned 5

 

Hawaii





Per usual this trip was thrown together the week before. Kate and I decided we wanted to go to the beach, and Meghan, Dante, and Adam jumped on board for Hawaii.

Looking back, probably the funniest part of the trip happened before we even got to Hawaii. Direct flights filled up the night before, so we decide we need to go to LAX and try for a short connection to American. Then to the only flight that looked decent into Hawaii.

Picture it with me... a Captain and 3 flight attendants in full uniform sprinting through LAX airport. We looked like a crew full of hustle for our airlines on time departure stats. Really, we had 30 minutes to get out of our terminal, run 2 terminals down, and then back into Americans terminal annnnnd make a flight. Here's how our 'Amazing Race' moment went down... the girls, being in heels or flats that slip off, had issues hauling 2 bags behind us at a run. We had to slow or stop a couple of times. Dante had 2 advantages, his shoes & as a pilot he could use Known Crew Member and bypass TSA. At the time we could not... So, we run past everyone staring at us, airport staff mocking us, and everyone in line. We throw our stuff on the TSA belt and lose a couple of minutes in the process. We make it to the gate juuuuust in time to see Dante throw his hand up in a wave and the gate agent shut the door. As a standby passenger this is the most demoralizing situation imaginable. We still had 5 minutes before departure and tried to talk to the agent, no luck. So, we slowly drag our bags BACK to the other terminal and eventually caught Hawaiian Air. The irony is that we were served nice meals and Meghan had first class. Dante sat in the middle of a giant tour group of Asians who did not understand English or the paperwork they needed to fill out. The only person to help the entire group sat riiiiight next to Dante. Hahahaha...


We came into the trip knowing a few things we may want to do on Oahu, but woke up each morning and put together a little game plan for the day. Adventure and good times was the name of the game, and we decided that the North Shore was the part of the island for us. I'm sure you've heard of the North Shore because of the surfing, and the pipeline surf competition. I've been to that competition, and it's one of the craziest things I've witnessed with my own eyes. However, in June, the waves aren't that big and it's just a chill beach town.

My favorite day of the trip went as such.... Over bloody Mary's upon waking (duh) we decided we would go to the Halewia Park & hit the waterfalls since it was close by, and then to jump off the Waimea beach's famous rock. During all of this, we met a local who told us a specific time & beach to go to and watch the sea turtles come to shore.The waterfall ended up being in a state park that was pretty touristy not exactly what I would consider a good hike. Like, the trail to the falls was paved... Or you can just go off roading everytime a pathway is blocked off or a 'dont go past this point' sign like our friend Adam decided to do. Either way, you can still enjoy the lush surroundings and the many type of native trees & flowers. The falls themselves were a disappointment. You had to wear a life vest to swim, and there is no jumping point into the swimming hole. But, for a family or someone not looking for an adrenaline rush, it's pretty cool. The waterfall was 15-20 ft high.













Waimea beach is a beach lovers dream come true. Turquoise waters, a mountain background, Sandy shore, rocks to jump off of, and locals striking up a beach football game. The rock everyone jumps off is quite popular, and quite the rush. It's a heck of a lot higher in person and looking over the edge. Some of us took a little longer to take the leap than others, ahem... Kate ;).





After our adrenaline rush of an afternoon, relaxing on an empty beach waiting for sea turtles was welcomed. We napped, we walked, we got bored and built a sand turtle, we climbed a tree and chilled up there for a while, and finally... we went and bought booze & tuna poke. The determination to see the turtles was there. But after 2 hours, our attention span was not. We were very careful not to disturb the turtles along the shore that kept poking their head out of the water, until we started with the vodka lemonades. Around sunset we finally threw in the towel and went for a swim. Of course that's when a giant sea turtle decides to come ashore. It was quite the sight, and picked the spot right where an intimate wedding was taking place.







Our own sand turtle we built was a hit with a few tourists (apparently our 'local' beach was also a tourist spot to see the turtles). A bus dropped off at one point and a group of Asians hurried off cameras in hand and hustled excitedly to our turtle. Only after snapping a couple of photos and getting close did they realize it wasn't a real turtle. We were watching the entire thing unfold from our tree, this was definitely a highlight on the day. One guy even turned and told us, 'I'm a Japanese TV star' as we laughed at them & our booby-trap turtle set up.






      After enjoying the sunset, and meeting a surfing pig (seriously), we decided more booze and a bonfire should happen. We built our own little beach bonfire, and enjoyed an evening making s'mores and sitting around a bonfire on the North Shore of Hawaii. I bet ya can't find that day on any tour guide.

 Staying on the North Shore is the way I would recommend to go if you're staying on Oahu and want a relaxed Hawaii experience. We had at house on a resort where Zac Efron was filming a movie.... yes, our eyes were always on the lookout. Actually we walked straight through the movie set at the pool like bosses on our first day there. We were just trying to find the beach. On the North Shore we also snorkeled at Sharks cove, and enjoyed some delicious food truck eats on a couple of occasions.

Kate and I decided to road trip back to Honolulu after snorkeling where we hiked up Diamond Head. Sweat was pouring by the time we climbed all the stairs to get to the top. The view was worth a hike 3 times longer tho. It was a a long day, but very much worth it.




We all packed up and headed to the airport on day 4 only to send 2 of the 5 off. Kate and Dante got jumpseats, and after Meghan and I did not we were able to convince Adam to stay another night with us. That was about the extent of our attempt to leave Hawaii that day. So we stayed an extra night on Wikiki Beach and had a great time. We really should have stayed at the airport and tried to go home. The hangover on the long flight to lax and redeye to dfw the next night were rough.




But we made it, and have a great trip to look back on. Til next time Hawaii

Playa Del Carmen, Cenotes, & Tulum Ruins

the spontaneous trip crew

Playa del Carmen was an impromptu girls trip attached to the front end of a wedding I was attending. 

It was really thrown together that week, mass text invites were sent, and flights and hotels booked the day before. The benefit of having so many friends in the industry kicked in and it worked out perfectly. 

Shenna and I arrived and checked into our little boutique hotel on 5th Ave in Playa del Carmen. 5th ave is full of boutiques, restaurants, and bars. It's all one block from the beach as well. I really liked the area, and would totally go back for a few days visit! We intended to have a nice dinner and early night, and wait for the girls to get in the next day for the eventful stuff. Obviously that's when the craziest nights happen, and I blame it on the promoters walking us from the street straight into VIPs in a couple of different clubs. A sexy New Zealander and his accent helped convince me, and Shenna was stuck. We danced the night away and felt like hell the next day. VIP & all you can drink = cheap booze and a terrible hangover.

Breakfast and hair of the dog on the beach helped, and we were back in commission by the time the other girls arrived. We treated ourselves to $17 70 minute massages literally on the beach that day. I meannnnn, it doesn't get much better than that.

That evening we went to one of the coolest restaurants I've ever been, Alux restaurant. It's not far from 5th Ave and cabs are readily available to and from. This restaurant is built underground in a cavern. There's even a room you can dine in next to a cenote. The food was decent and in the medium piece range. The experience is where it's at though. We toured the other rooms after dining in the main bar and restaurant area and it's all beautiful and very memorable. If you get a chance & are in the area, go! 

one of the private dining rooms 

The next day we toured Tulum ruins. We ended up booking a tour for $45 each that included transportation, a guide, and also a trip to the Grand Cenote. Bus options are also available on ADO buses, and would have been more efficient. I enjoy hearing stories and the history though, and was thankful for our mediocre guide. The ruins are very lackluster compared to the ones I have visited in Belize and Guatemala. These ruins are only a small enclosed area primarily used for priests and doctors, and contained just a few buildings and temples. I find the Mayan culture interesting, specifically their architecture and the detail. The main temple at this site was designed so that the sun would shine through a small window at each seasons solstice and hit one of the smaller buildings behind it illuminating a specific part of it. It would only work 4 times a year at the specific solstice. The building also supposedly whistles loudly when the winds are hurricane strong. The main temple is closest to the Caribbean sea built on a cliff. The most impressive thing about this site is the backdrop and contrast of the ruins against the sea.

Now the Cenote we enjoyed immensely. Cenotes are holes where limestone has collapsed above freshwater streams. There are hundreds throughout the area. The Grand Cenote was exposed to the sky in a large area, but you could also swim through one of the openings under the cavern into another opening. We loved the cenote! It was a beautiful blue, a muddy sand like bottom, and vines and plants growing down from the rocks overhead. Not to mention the stalagmite in the cave parts. Beautiful and a lot of fun to be able to free swim through. 

That evening we ate at a beach bar, and just enjoyed each others company. I'm very thankful for that chill night before my wedding weekend began. 

The girls headed to the airport and I left for El Dorado Royale Resort for a wedding. The resort was beautiful, but spending time with an amazing group of people for 4 nights was by far the best part. I know the groom from college, and have known the bride since they started officially dating. They're both fun loving & good people so I knew the group that they would bring to their wedding would be the same. I wasn't disappointed, it was an epic long weekend and a beautiful wedding. 

I'm still in recovery from how epic it was, as well as from Montezuma's revenge that seemed to hit a solid 25% of the guests... but, it was still well worth it to see 2 of my favorite people tie the knot!

Stumbling through Istanbul, Pammukale, & Bodrum Turkey, & accidentally Kos, Greece.

All trips somewhere new should be considered an 'experience'. However, it's the best word I can come up with to describe my recent trip to Istanbul, Bodrum, & Pamukkale Turkey and then to Kos, Greece. 

A lot of firsts were experienced in those 11 days.

-My first time in the Middle East.
-My first time being told I was the only American our hotel bartender had ever served.
-My first time I've visited a Muslim country.
-My first time in a Mosque.
-My first experience standing in the ruins of an ancient Roman city.
-My first time in the Aegean sea.
-My first time in a country where my fellow traveler and I didn't understand a word of the language.
-my first time in the cockpit of another airline's flight.

There are plenty more, but they aren't as much fun without a story behind them. This will be a long post, so I'll break it down by 'experience' in case you'd rather skip around.

 First up, how an American decided to go to a country bordering Syria & Iraq with ISIS knocking at the border. My friends mother in Poland, my parents, and anyone who really knows what's going on in the world asked or wondered this question.  Welllll, my friend Kate and I had decided to go on a trip & picked out the dates.  It happened to be around my birthday and a Canadian friend we had met in Cartagena, Colombia wished me happy birthday.  This led to a reunion discussion and turns out, he and his partner were going to be in Istanbul on the exact dates we had picked, and Turkey was one of the 3 places we had narrowed the budget trip options down to.  I then reached out to a fellow flight attendant whose boyfriend is from Istanbul, and it turns out they were going on those exact dates too.  That, and the fact that I don't know many people who have been there, sealed the deal. In our defence, Istanbul is a huge modern city on the exact opposite end of the country from the borders where majority of the violence is.  Not saying I never considered it could be a bad idea, but bad things can happen to you anywhere.

First up, a story probably only my flight attendant friends will appreciate. We flew from DFW- BOS and took Lufthansa to Frankfurt, Germany then to Istanbul. While in Boston we had to switch terminals and had changed out of our uniforms on the flight in.  To clear TSA faster we just ran to the restroom and threw on our uniforms.... no panty hose, hair all over bc we had just woken up, and basically looking like a hot mess with our mismatching bags.  We get to TSA, and low and behold a beautiful Asian airline crew of 10+ full of perfectly matching uniforms, hair, shoes, bags, etc are in front of us, and then a perfectly put together Lufthansa crew of 10+ walks up behind us.  It was the crew for our flight, and to say we were judged is an understatement.  Flight crews just loooove to compare uniforms, and obviously flight attendants take pride in their appearance when walking through the airport (it's the only glamorous thing left about the job).  The pilots kept wanting to chat, but we were mortified!  Thank goodness we brought them chocolates.

Istanbul.

-A story showing how quickly we learned about what I'll call 'Turkish hospitality'. We arrive to Istanbul and are just weird from the jetlag.  We get our visa, clear customs, & get a cab to the hotel all very easily.  I had an address and name of our hotel, which apparently didn't mean much to the cab driver.  He dropped us at a street blocked to traffic and pointed in a direction and told us 2 minutes.  Um ok. So we walk, hauling our luggage behind us, fully covered and hot in our clothes because that's what we thought we were supposed to do in a Muslim country.  It took about this long into the trip for us to realize by the stares that we are in fact, 'exotic' here. We walked for 5 minutes and still had no idea where we were going.  So, we stopped and asked 2 guys.  They didn't know. However, they went into a restaurant and asked to try and help us.  When they didn't work, they went and asked and asked until finally a cab driver knew where we should go. Didn't didn't speak English but were not giving up until they had helped us out. Try that in NYC and see how many people give you the finger. We wheeled our luggage up a hill to a hotel we never would have found and slept.  We woke for dinner and then went back to sleep. Oops.

Turkish bath experience #1.

-We woke up early at our cute little BnB, Collage Pera Hotel, and tried the authentic Turkish breakfast.  Difference cheeses, meats, cucumbers, olives, boiled eggs, bread, jams, yogurts, & strong coffee.  The coffee part being my favorite part of Turkish breakfast.  Then we headed out to Istiklal St, which is the crazy busy (mostly pedestrian) main street of Istanbul.  We roamed around for a bit on our way to find a turkish bath that I had found online.  Well then we saw a sign for one from 1481. Well that's impressive and older than the one we were headed to, so we followed having nooooo idea what to expect.  What walked down a few streets to the Hammam entrance. We opened the door to a greeting from 5-6 hairy old men in towels in a large room. Having no idea what a Hamam should be like, we stood there like statues until a worker came and asked what we would like.  We asked for a price menu before exchanging a 'lets get out of here' look, and basically ran from the overweight hairy men sitting in the expansive 'lobby' area enjoying their tea with towels on.  THAT is when we saw the little bitty sign for Hammam Women on the side of the building with an arrow pointing down the street.  We checked it out, but were still really weirded out by all of it and left.

The Grand Bazaar & Galata Tower

-Thank goodness we had a local with us is all I have to say. Our sweet friend Judy and her boyfriend Kadir were visiting his family and came to meet up for the afternoon to partake in touristy things.  The current Galata Tower is a medieval stone tower built in 1348 and replacing a tower build long before to keep watch over the Bosphorus river. We enjoyed ahhhhmazing 360 views of Istanbul and a good lunch at the top of the tower.

Next came the Grand Bazaar. We must have walked through hundreds of booths along the road before we even entered the Grand Bazaar. Because I was clueless & interested, here are some facts for you.  The Grand Bazaar has been around since 1455.  It covers 61 streets and has more than 3,000 shops! I was surprised to find that locals really do come and shop at the Bazaar.  We found out that rent for a store in the Bazaar per month is $45-50,000.  With the number of people walking around inside, I can believe that they still make a nice profit.  It really is a lot of the same type of stores.  Spices, teas, jewelry, scarfs, turkish towels, turkish delights, light fixtures, carpets, and soap/bath products made up majority.  The Turkish love to negotiate.  It's said you should never pay more than 50% of the start asking price for anything in Turkey. Kate and I negotiated everything from cab rides, to dinner prices while there. I'm sure we were ripped off plenty of times, but it was actually quite enjoyable.  The Bazaar was crazy & beautiful at the same time, truly truly something you have to see the believe.

  That night we got dressed up and met our friends Judy and Kadir at a very nice restaurant on the river, The Market at Bosphorus. Kadir's brother, cousin, and friend joined us for the evening.  Actually his cousin was kind enough to take charge of ordering dinner and spoiled us rotten with dish after dish of amazing Turkish food. I cant really say I've had 'turkish' food before, but for the meal we had dish after dish of juicy meat. Sausage plates, the kebabs were amazing, & lamb was delicious.  Next we went to Sunset lounge which overlooks the Bosphorus River and Asia from an amazing viewpoint.  Wine, fruit, and turkish coffee rounded out a great evening with even better company.  Great 'Turkish hospitality' strikes again.

Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, & Turkish carpet salesmen.

At Hagia Sophia I felt lucky to just be there. It's probably the oldest place I've ever stepped foot in. It's a place that has withstood so many changes, and the architecture seemed so advanced for the time it was constructed.  So that the importance of this building is understood, here's a brief history lesson. In 330 Constantinpolis (current Istanbul) was named the capital of the Roman Empire.  The 1st church to stand where the current museum stands was built in 365, it was burnt to the ground twice before in 532 the current Hagia Sophia began construction. It only took 5 years to build the largest cathedral in the world at the time (it kept that title for a little over 1000 years) with its famous dome. In 1453 under the new Ottoman Empire, it was converted into a mosque. The current building shows remains of both religions and it's a fascinating contrast. The upper corners below the dome have had part of the layers of plaster removed to reveal angels, and other Christian based symbols. But, the plaster covering these symbols and all the mosaics hasn't been completely removed and also shows Islamic symbols from when the walls were covered and the cathedral converted to a mosque.  The detail is insane. Marble floors, marble doors, chandeliers, gold mosaics, a giant marble jar dating back to 3-2 century BC, and my favorite... the beautiful current doors used are from 2nd century BC.  These items are still holding up and functioning for over 2000 years! This cathedral turned mosque & now museum (in the 1930s) is still standing after hosting popes, emperors, sultans, and millions and millions of people for nearly 1500 years. And I got to stand inside it and take it all in. I'm admittedly a dork when it comes to ruins, ancient civilizations, and cultures.... but helllllo, how can you enter a place like this and not be in awe.

The Blue Mosque and majority of the other mosques in the city were built in similar architectural styles as Hagia Sophia. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia actually are very very close to each other.  The Mosque is open to the public during non-prayer times and even offers proper attire. It's not cute, but on an 80 degree day when we were walking miles and miles we were very thankful to know we didn't need to be fully covered and have a head scarf. The fact that so many people were hearded in and out took away from it, but the design and detail once inside was very grand. It was a good experience, I appreciated Hagia Sophia more personally tho.

Turkish Salesmen.

Good grief, we were bombarded by every store door step, every man hanging around the museum and mosque, and well pretty much anytime we were in public. We may have been 'exotic', but we weren't special. Every tourist was treated this way. 'Miss... miss. Excuse me miss... where are you from miss? Would you like some apple tea miss? Come inside let me show you blah blah blah. Everyone's first question was, 'where are you from?' It was interesting to walk away and hear their guesses.

One particular store had 2 younger men standing outside eating vanilla wafers. They offered us a cookie. Apparently that's the way to win Kate and I over, because next thing I know we were invited in for apple tea, and we're sitting on a couch surrounded by carpets chatting away with these 2 guys. 

 This certainly wasn't the only time I noticed the entrepreneurial spirit in Istanbul, but the owner built his company from nothing... he started working as a dish washer at a restaurant at 14, worked his way up and saved money, and then opened his store. He spends part of his year in NYC, & he and his partner travel the world visiting their customers. It was noted that men in Turkey seem to have great work ethic, and start working at a young age.

After taking the long way home and getting lost in the city (partially on purpose) we met up with our Canadian friends and went to dinner and a couple of drinks. I usually think it's better to be too dressy rather than not enough, but were WAYYY too dressed up walking around Istiklal St and Taksim Square. Being exotic turned into quite a conundrum. Our friends nearly got into a fight trying to ward off boys trying to sell us roses. We had dinner, and went to a patio for beers after. It was a Tuesday night and Istanbul was bummmmping at midnight-1am when we took our grandma buts to bed. Whoever says NYC never sleeps has never been to Istanbul.

Bodrum, Turkey

I had the hardest time picking which town we would stay inon the Turkish Riviera because they all offer such different options. But, we stayed right across the street from the marina & Bodrum castle which was nice. The hotel we stayed at, not so much. We woke up our first full day in Bodrum and headed to a tour agency (that became a big part of our time there), & were boarded aboard a traditional Turkish Gullet by 11. We sunned ourselves at the front of the boat as we went to 5 stops along the Bodrum peninsula. Beautiful clear water at every one of them. The last stop was actually a thermal pool and cave with mud to do a mud mask. It was guaranteed to make you appear 15 years younger. The word on the street is that Cleopatra stayed on that peninsula when hiding out for a number of years, and the mud & thermal water from that very cave was one of her beauty secrets. I'm not sure if it was the mud or that story (+ wine), but myself and Kate were convinced our skin felt much smoother.  It was an awesome day on the boat & we were sleeping like babies by 9pm.

yes that's an ice cream boat. We also road a banana boat that drove by to offer their service.

Pamukkale & Hierapolis

Next up on the UNESCO list for the trip, the landscape wonder in Pamukkale, and the ancient ruins of Hierapolis. This was a 3 hr drive inland, but totally worth it!  When you arrive you enter through the still standing 'gate to the city' archway and walk along the main street where you can still see where the walls to the shops would have stood. The largest of the baths, supposedly built for Cleopatras use, is a very large pool of the thermal water surrounded by ruins (& gift shops and restrooms, wamp wamp.). We opted out of that swim as it was very crowded and we already had perfect skin from Cleopatras mud mask, duh. Walking to the edge of Pamukkale we were originally disappointed with the amount of terraces not filled with the blue water, as not all of them are at all times. But, we were on the side that humans are allowed to walk through. Once you walk around the corner and it'll knock your socks off. These pools have been created by the mineral rich thermal water flowing down the mountainside. The water is high in calcium carbonate and creates the travertine terraces. It was 90 degrees on a mountain and it looked like you were standing in a snow covered fantasy land. It was so out of place with the surrounding landscape and so vast it just didn't seem real.

These thermal springs have been used as a healing spa since the 2nd century BC! Ultimately, this is what led the area to be settled as the city of Hierapolis. It was thought that the mineral waters healed disease, and people came from all over to be healed. There is a cemetery up the mountain that is over a mile long with over 1,200 tombs. I wouldn't put my money on the healing waters. It was also known as a holy city, & actually the name translates to just that. The apostles Paul and Phillip built a church here, and Phillip lived the rest of his life in Hierapolis.

The theater we hiked up was built in 129 AD and could fit 15,000 people. They have proof that it even had a system to pump in and drain water for an aquamarine style show! Around that time Hierapolis became one of the most prominent cities in the Roman Empire and had 100,000 inhabitants. An earthquake in the 700s AD caused the theater to collapse, and the abandonment of the city. In the early 2000s reconstruction of the building began. While we were there I read that they are able to use 90% of original stone for the reconstruction. The view from the top was well worth the hike up from the terraces.  We ran out of time, but the site also has ruins of Apollo's temple and the church. On the way back we stopped by a leather warehouse where they actually performed a fashion show. We were exhausted tho, and not buying any leather goods. It was a loooong day, which would explain why we never woke up from a nap to go out that night.

Turkish Hammam # 2 & The Polish Ladies

The next day, we went to a Turkish Hammam in the town next to Bodrum. We booked through our tour company this time, and it was free since we booked 2 other tours with them. Considering our last experience & not knowing what to expect, we brought our bathing suits. These 2 middle aged polish women who entered the sauna after us.... did not. One enters in a white bra and granny panties, the other in an all black silky number. Sweat + white or silk = things I didn't want to see. Kate, being from Poland, chatted with them for a while, &  established that they were very sweet ladies. They were on their 2nd Hammam bath, and obviously just not modest. Power to you for not having a care ladies, power to you! The humorous part came when you enter the room for the 'washing'. You are scrubbed down by a man, then rinsed, then you get on a large circular marble stone for a soap massage. The 2 polish ladies were up first and giggle at each other (and us) as the young muscular men walk in to give them their bath and rub down. Lucky them... I got my scrub down by the hairiest man I saw the entire time we were in Turkey (except for the Hammam incident in Istanbul). The entire thing was very relaxing and I would have gone back every single day if I could have made time. We finished, and had a glass of wine on the rooftop overlooking the sea, and then a face mask. It was a great day before our built up night out on the town.

We got ready...  like had our bath, actually took special time, did full make up, busted out the tight dresses, and got READY for the club. Halikanas is the largest open air night club in Europe, and we were meeting our tour guide friends and going. They invited us to come back to the store to partake in the after hours alcohol consumption that happens every weekend they said.  After they finally recognize us upon walking up, they run to the restaurant to get ice to pour us a cocktail. Next they ran to across the street to buy us grapes and nuts to snack on (Turkish hospitality again). We settled in and took turns playing music on youtube before heading to THE CLUB.

 It's expensive to get into Halikanas, like 60 euros. Our new friends had local hook ups or something, but apparently you have to have a white card with money loaded to buy drinks and enter. We didn't know that and got lost from our tour guide friends. But of course, we made friends inside and ended up walking out at the same time as them... the club itself was a little bit of a disappointment, but something you should do while in town. It's massive, with a stage and Roman style columns around the dance floor. They have shows & dancers that come on stage every hour or so as well. But as we are leaving, we get stopped and asked about our cards. The conversation went back and forth until they decided we were celebrities and let us go. I still don't understand, but language barriers can work out in your advantage sometimes.

KOS, GREECE

This is when the trip starts getting tricky for us. By tricky I mean we got lazy and quit paying attention to the details. We pretty much booked everything (including hotels) as we went, and apparently we were really tired booking basically everything for Greece.

We woke up on like 3 hours of sleep to catch our ferry that I had booked online. It said it departed front the Castle port. The castle was like a half a mile away, perfect. We take off wheeling our luggage up sidewalks and down cobblestone roads (with my front bag snapped to my large luggage falling off every 20 ft). Arriving 20 min early and impressed with ourselves I start asking the 2 different ferry offices where we board or who I show our confirmation to. No, I was told, we were at the wrong place. Soooo, I go next door and ask because there's obviously a ferry parked at the marina. No, we needed the cruise port. Can I walk to the cruise port? No. It's 15 min away. Can I make it there in time? I don't know.

I walk outside and informed Kate the news. Totally sleep deprived and a little hungover, we spent 2 min staring at each other not having a clue if we stay and pay for this ferry which was leaving in 30 min or try and make it to the one we purchased. Then one of the ferry office men walks up. He said the magic words that, 'we could make it', and waves at an old man sitting at a cafe enjoying his coffee with 3 other older men. This guy negotiates a fare and quickly loads our stuff into his balling Mercedes limo van, I mean obviously fit for us celebrities. Back to reality- we hauled down that cobblestone castle street and were on 2 wheels for the 5 min ride to the port. We make it with 5 min to spare and run to the counter as the driver unloads our stuff. I show my confirmation email only to hear, 'no its gone'. I assumed there was confusion, but no... it actually left early for once she says. Our balling Mercedes limo van was leaving having completed his job, so in that moment Kate took off running for him. He stops, repacks our luggage, and takes off for the port we had just freakin left from and truly saved the day by calling ahead to tell them we were buying 2 tickets (they were only 18 euros each). We stop, run in and pay, run through customs and immigration, I have to stop like 5 times to rebuckle my stupid front luggage, and run to MAKE THE FERRY. (Turkish hospitality).

Within an hr we arrive in Kos Greece at another castle/fortress. We roll our luggage around more cobblestone sidewalks, mine increasingly annoying as I have to keep it from falling off and rolling into the sea here as my snap comes apart every 20 cobblestone steps, and finally figure out how to exchange $ before getting a taxi.  We make it to the hotel in a little town called Tigaki Beach. We booked it because it has the prettiest beach on the island, and that's what we wanted at the time. For future travelers, just stay in Kos Town. I can't remember the lady who I'm assuming owns or runs the hotel's name, but she thought we were the biggest airheads of all time by the end of the trip. I had breezed through the booking and not noticed I only selected 1 adult. 'Girls, girls'... she would say in her Greek accent. She offered us a deal to give us a room with 2 twin beds instead of 1, and gave us a good scolding for making the mistake. We were too young for that town by about 30 years, but we enjoyed just relaxing.  Me more so than Kate as she got sick from the tsziki at our first Greek dinner. I drank beer on the beach while she focused to keep water down.

 Going back to Bodrum, we were catching the public bus to make our evening ferry and made another mistake in front of our Greek grandmother. As 2 flight attendants we never actually check out of hotels. So, we rationed out the last of our Greek money and planned to rent bikes that morning before packing and showering for the lonnnng journey home. We went to the lobby to ask about the bus details. When we get to the counter I realize there is such thing as 'check out' & it was in like 45 min. Obviously that wasn't happening, so we asked out sweet grandmother if there was any chance we could stay til 2. The 'tskkk' and 'giiiiirls, giiiirls' reply was shaming, as was her inquiry about our age, & reminder of how lucky we are it's not busy season. But, I think she liked us deep down and let us stay.

Next up.... we catch the bus no problem, get to Kos and kill an hr eating ice cream & exploring Hippocrates square. We walk around a fortress to the ferry port (yes my luggage problem still exists and is increasingly annoying) to check in to find out we were 2 1/2 hrs early. Just totally screwed up reading the return time somehow. All i could hear was 'giiiirls giiirls' by our greek grandmother. Kate was over it and just wanted to sit in the cool and read, and I thought she might need a little break from me by that point so I took off exploring. I enjoyed myself walking around the fortress built in the 1500s and reading up on Hippocrates who was from the island. I also was taken off guard as I rounded a street to find a long line of tents full of Syrian refuges.  It was awakening to see them all along the marina in Bodrum, in Kos, as well as chatting with the local Greeks about their feelings regarding the situation.  I wont get into all of that.

I won't bore you with all the details on how we got home, but we took an airline we had recently added a nonrev agreement with out of Bodrum to Amsterdam. They were very nice and the pilots even offered to let us sit in the cockpit. We don't do that in the US, even if you work for that airline, so our faces were showing confused and shocked. But they offered again, and I'll be dang if I'm going to let that opportunity go. We chatted with the 2 men from Holland and had a grand ol time in the Boeing cockpit in our normal clothes and company IDs. We had one more hotel errrr set back in Amsterdam before heading to the states 11 hours later, but that finally ended our blonde moments (except for the fact that we went to the wrong gate and almost checked in for the flight to Nigeria).

I think every new trip I go on is the best one to date lol, but I learned a lot on this one. Getting out and exploring a country very different from my own is probably the only way I would have taken the time to research Islamic religion and to understand the Middle East & Turkey a little better. I read as much as I can about the Syrian refuge crisis now after witnessing them first hand. Ancient Roman history has always been an interest, & now it's something I'm more educated on. These are the kind of trips I wish more people would go on. Cruises are great, & the Caribbean is beautiful, but I learned SO much about myself and other cultures by taking a trip out of the ordinary (and spent under $1000 total for those who think it's not feasible). I think the best way to learn is to experience, and the more I travel the more I understand how culturally lacking Americans are as a whole. This joke comes to mind, 'what do you call someone who speaks 2 languages?' 'Bilingual'. 'What do you call someone who speaks 3 languages?' 'Trilingual.' 'Well what do you call someone who only speaks 1 language?' 'An American.'  Don't get me wrong, I still think I live in the best country out there. But, my point is...

Get out and see the world people, it will change you for the better.