Goodbye, Europe! G'BYE NEW FRIENDS!

So, what I didn't mention was that the previous night, we got back to our terrible hostel, and crashed. Morning came around, we all woke up, and got the hell outta dodge. Man, that place was the worst. We had our hungover goodbyes with the group on the way out. Nina and I got our stuff together, hailed a cab which took us to a hotel not too far away. We booked an extra night in Athens so we could explore the city more.

By explore, I mean we called up Pat and Alison, broke into their fancy hotel, and chilled with them on a rooftop pool for the majority of the day.

The struggle is real.

We were a little nervous to explore the city. Today was the day all of Greece was voting on the European Union's Austerity measures. To give some backstory, The EU and other institutions lent Greece a whole lot of money, and Greece could not pay back that money in time. So the EU decided it would impose Austerity measures on the country to ensure that Greece's creditors would get them damn moneys back! Greece decided it would put it to a popular vote, to see if the majority of Greeks were onboard with this policy. If they weren't, it could indicate Greece's final days in the EU, which would have serious financial and political ramifications.

Although the media showed that Athens was in a cesspool of violence and chaos, we hadn't seen any of that. And this pool had a complete view of Athens.

LIKE THIS ONE OMG HOW FORTUNATE I HAD THIS PICTURE WHILE I WAS TYPING ABOUT VIEWS.

And THANK GOD the pool had drink and food service or I would have DIED.

JUST FLAT OUT DIED WITHOUT A CLUB SANDWICH.

I saw in the distance another view of my favorite monument in Athens, the Acrapalips.

Apocalypse? Acropolis? No, Acrapalips sounds right to me.

After spending several hours relaxing by the pool, we decided to firmly stop our lazy and venture into the city for some dinner. We asked the concierge if it would be safe to go into the center of Athens. She laughed and said we had nothing to worry about. We were taken aback by her certainty. Had she not been watching the news for the past couple weeks? But our tummies were rumbling, and we wouldn't be able to forgive ourselves if we were here in Athens and didn't try to explore more of the city. So we walked cautiously a few blocks away from the hotel and into the Athenian subway system, which would take us to Plaka, a neighborhood filled with restaurants, bars, and nightlife.

We walked down into the subway stop.

There was barely anyone here...

We were glad we chose not to take a cab, since we didn't have to pay for a subway ticket. The government had put a cap on how much money the Greek people could withdraw from their ATM's. This prevented bank closures, but it also limited the people's ability to pay for basic things like food and transportation. To ensure that the economy could still function, the government made all public transportation free.

Technically, I wasn't even supposed to take these pictures.

As tourists we remained vigilant. There were police everywhere, which made us feel both safe and unsafe, simply because we had no idea what to expect. But we unanimously decided that the vote would not stop us from experiencing Athens. We found a popular public square, and sat at a restaurant nearby. I chose this one because I thought the host was flirting with me. Turned out he flirted with EVERYONE.

I respected that.

Unlike our previous terrible dining experience, this one was EXCELLENT.

The food was EVERYTHING. Fried cheese with honey, a spicy greek sausage patty, and, wait, there's even more...

An authentic Greek stew, roasted in... a bag...

And that's not all! I ordered more creamy pasta!

Thinking back, that's all I ever ate on this trip. What is my problem?

After our beautiful Athenian dinner, we saw some more ruins!

This looks like something that was important at some period!

Pat, Alison, Alex, Nina, and I then walked to the subway station. This was it. Pat and Alison would head back to their hotel, Alex to hers, and Nina and I to ours. From there, we would each move on to our next destination, but not together this time. It felt so weird, knowing that I wouldn't see these guys tomorrow morning.

We hugged and said goodbye as I held back tears.

I could not have asked for better travel companions.

A few hours later, it happened. The vote was over. We were there to witness Greece vote down the Austerity measure.

Well said, my friend, well said.

These photos were taken by my beautiful comrade, Nina, and it perfectly captured the climate of Athens while we were there.

The people were celebrating. Peacefully.

Though the news showed Athens in chaos, this was the Athens we saw:

A city filled with people who cared about its future.

I know, I know. Ultimately, a popular vote on Austerity measures had no legal bearing. A few weeks later, the Greek parliament had to accept Austerity in order to retain its status in the European Union. If it had actually rejected it, that decision would have plunged the country into further financial and political turmoil. The resulting humanitarian crisis would have been unprecedented, according to the politicians.

Though this trip was only a little over two weeks, it felt as if it were so much longer. Each day felt like two days because it was crammed with so many good times and good people. 

4 am hit, and it was time for us to go. We headed down to the lobby to meet the taxi that would take us to the airport.

The man at the hotel desk said breakfast was included, so he gave us a little bag with a sandwich and juice.

So. Cute.

Goodbye, Greece. Goodbye, Croatia, Montenegro, and Albania. And thank you.

The flight to Germany wasn't bad. During the layover, I had German meatloaf and eggs.

Don't ask me why.

Once we got back to NYC, saying goodbye to Nina was hard. A lot harder than I thought it would be. I wasn't only saying farewell to her, which shouldn't bother me as much because I knew I'd see her again later that week, but I was saying goodbye to the entire experience, the entire journey that we shared together.

The reason I write this blog is to showcase not only the places I go to, but also to chronicle the journey, the entire experience of traveling. It's not about checking off a shopping list of monuments and countries, it's about how you get there, who you're with, and in what ways you've changed. That's what has compelled me to keep this blog alive for more than two years now.

So though this is the end of my Adriatic Adventure, it's not the end of this blog.

The next travel adventure is just around the corner!