It's a busy Wednesday, I just got back from an Environmental Studies field trip to the National Gardens. We saw an escaped african grey parrot, european robins, magpies, the requisite stray dogs, and some hilariously enthusiastic speed walkers wearing hilariously tiny shorts. My flatmate Mitzi's parents are in town and they're making us dinner in a while, I'm very much looking forward to fresh Mexican food. While feta cheese is perhaps one of the greater culinary inventions of the western world, I'm about ready for a change of pace.
This past Monday was Clean Monday, a national holiday in Greece. People abstain from eating meat, fly kites, and eat this special bread with sesame seeds that's made only once a year. I went on a hike with a Greek outing club on the island of Salamis, which is very close to Athens. The Athenians on the trip were rather absurdly well equipped for a day hike - most walked with serious trekking poles, wearing sturdy boots and frame packs. But they were incredibly welcoming and shared a lot of bread with us.
Near a monastery before the serious hiking began I met a man and his horse down by the water, and he offered to let me hop on for minute or two, which was lovely.
We then took the bus to the head of the trail, and hiked up over the mountains to the beach on the other side.
There the terrain opened up somewhat, and there were lots of great flowers in the fields that I should've taken pictures of, especially the poppies.
We sort of hopped over ridges along the shore until we reached the bus, tired and hungry. Along the way I saw a lot of kites, and a lot of men hitting octopi (is that the plural of octopus?;) against the rocks by the water. They tied them to ropes and then swung the ropes, from behind their shoulders and down to the ground - the tentacles flailed wildly as they flew through the air. Octopus is a very popular Greek food, particularly during Lent, but it is rather tough and chewy in it's natural state, and the beating tenderizes it. All in all, a good long day was had.
This weekend we're going on a schoolwide trip to the Argolid, which includes Nafplio, Mycenae, and Franchti, among other places. I'm thrilled to be travelling with my archaeology professor, and to be able to learn on site...reports to come.
4 comments:
a) Did you cut your hair? Cuz it looks pretty adorable in that picture
b) Mycenae! So jealous!
c) I clearly have nothing to do with my time while waiting for Friday to come, given the speed with which I replied to this blog entry.
love you!
Seems like you had a helluvatime :P
Your hair! It got short! I like it :)
Also, I am so ridiculously jealous of you right now. I wasted the afternoon because I slipped on a frozen snowbank when trying to cross the street, fell into the street and cut up my knee, then had to go to UHS to get a big enough bandaid! Then I felt like this merited resting instead of working for the whole afternoon. Let me tell you, I would rather be in Greece! Write me an email!! xoxo agnes
People should read this.
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