Day 43: Copenhagen

Day 43: Copenhagen

This morning, I woke up early after not having a great night sleep. We all woke up at about 6 am, so decided to watch a glee. After some relaxation time in the hostel, we decided to set off to find some breakfast. Earlier, dad researched great places to eat at, and he found a really cool food market. We walked 20 minutes along the stunning streets of Copenhagen to breakfast. In the market, there was this hipster cafe, that only served porridge. Dad and I felt like we had to get it, so we did, and it was delicious! In Copenhagen, there are so many bikes, and so many electric scooters, up for rent. So, we walked to where the map said some LIME electric scooters were, and rented 4 of them because Audrey went on the front of dad’s. With the scooters, we just cruised around the streets, and stumbled across a playground with a mini farm. At the farm, there were goats, chickens, rabbits and hamsters. Polly and I were trying to pick up the chickens for most of the time, while Audrey had a hamster on her lap. After that pit stop, we scootered through a beautiful park, and walked in and out shops to find some lunch. We ate at a regular, hipster cafe, where a coffee was $8. After that expensive meal, we bought these Copenhagen passes, that allow us to go see 80 different attractions, and get all public transport for free. After lunch, we caught the bus from the boarder of the park, to Tivoli Park, which is awesome! Even though they were wxpensive, we got the unlimited rides pass for everyone. It’s a hugely themed amusement park, with heaps of rides. Audrey went on all the small rides non-bumpy rides. Polly went on some of the adrenaline based rides upside down, but mainly not to scary rides. I went on the fully upside down spiny rides, and the huge roller coasters. The amusement park was like Luna Park, newer, on steroids! After we basically spun our stomachs out of our bodies, Audrey spotted a build a bear right near the park, that she made us go to. She’s been wanting one for so long, I was glad to finally hear the end of it! In build a bear, she absolutely had a ball choosing the bear and the clothes...After buying her bear which is actually a bear/mermaid, we headed back into the park and grabbed some food in the food hall. That was all quite average, and what you would expect. After dinner, mum and Audrey were completely out of energy, but Polly, dad and I kept going. After a few more rides, Polly got exhausted, so it was just dad and I left. The park was super empty at night, even though the rides were all lit up and looked really cool. We went on the spiny chairs that we t up super high, and we basically saw the whole of Copenhagen. It was amazing! By the time we walked back to the hostel through the train station, it was 11:30pm. Tivoli park was a Great way to end our incredible day in Copenhagen!

This really was one of the epic Gunsberger days !!

Day 42: Biograd/Zadar/Tivoli

This morning, we all got woken up at 7am by our alarm clocks. We had to pack all our stuff, leave the boat, and check out by 8:30am. After we got ourselves together, and checked out, we walked 2 minutes, to our pre-booked maxi taxi that was waiting at the Marina. It was only a half an hour drive to the airport, and was mostly along the freeway. At the tiny Zadar airport, we had 3 hours to kill, before our flight to Poland. For the 3 hours, we went to a cafe, and grab breakfast. Mum and dad got an email a few days ago that I have to choose my electives for year 9 already, so we spent an hour at the cafe looking over all the notes, and subjects. It was making my brain hurt! 30 minutes before the flight left, we left the cafe, and went through security and passport control before boarding the plane at 1pm. We took-off at 1:20pm. On the plane, we were all saying how our lead up to the flight had Netzer gone so smoothly (all we need is 3 hours to kill :). The flight was 2 hours long, so we landed in Poland at 3:20pm. We had 2 connecting flights, so they transferred our luggage from one plane to the other because they were the same airline. We had a 2 hour layover, and so, we decided to step outside of the airport, to say that we’ve officially been to Poland. Dad checked the boarding passes, and because of him European credit card, we got priority checkin, and we were allowed into a few VIP lounges for free, which was very exciting! There was a fancy buffet, with very nice bathrooms. There, we ate dinner even though it was only 4pm, so we wouldn’t have to get it later. The second flight to Copenhagen left at 5pm, after it was delayed by 30 minutes. It was only an hour, so felt like not much time at all. We flew LOT, a Polish airline company both times, and even on the hour long flight, we got complementary food, which was tasty. We arrived in Copenhagen at 6:20, due to minor delays in the air, although had to walk 10 minutes to the baggage wheels, and then wait another 40 minutes for our suitcases. We scurried out of the airport with all our luggage, trying to flag a taxi down. We soon jumped in a maxi-taxi and were off to our hostel, right next to Tivoli. The hostel’s actually the exact same company that ran the hostel we stayed in in Milan, and the same layout and look. Once we checked in, and brought all our luggage up, we all had quick, refreshing showers, and then while mum and dad did research, we relaxed, and watched a movie. We were all just saying how smooth this travel day went! So far, Copenhagen is stunning, even the stores in the airport. Every store looks like opus, and beautiful! Some places look exactly like London, but newer. Can’t wait for the next few days!

Day 41: Otok Molat/Ošljak/Biograd

Today’s dad’s birthday!! This morning, dad woke up at about 5:00am, as per usual, and decided to squeeze in an early morning kayak before we unwrap presents. The four of us woke up at 6:00am, and didn’t tell dad, so we had time to blow up balloons and wrap presents. At 6:30, we gave dad all of our cards and presents, and he loved everything. We shared a very small cake between the 5 of us, and we’re going to stick candles in it, but realised that they were actually like firework candle, so we saved them for night. Once we wished him a happy birthday, we went for a quick dip in the ocean, before we had some cold pizza from last night. After another swim and a snorkel where we saw heaps of fish, we sailed 2 hours, to Mrljane . For 2 hours, we swam, went kayaking, and paddle boarding, ate lunch, and did many flips off the boat. This was our last swim :(. We got there at 2pm, and left at 4. We then sailed 1 hour back to the Marina in Biograd, where we docked right back where we began, and said goodbye to Damien. Because everyone was so hot, and not bothered to go anywhere, I finally convinced everyone to walk down to where the parasailing was. We walked down, and asked them if the weather was ok for it, and if they could fit us in. Incredibly, they said yes!! I was ecstatic, as Dad, Audrey and I got our life vests, and harnesses on! We set out on the bumpy boat into the middle of nowhere. Polly and Mum stayed on the boat, while us three got strapped in to the parachute, and were gently lifted up by the wind. There were 5 height we could choose from, and I wanted thee highest, but Audrey wanted the lowest, so we settled on the middle height which was 350 metres, and it felt really high. Once the rope was fully extended, it was awesome, live a one in a lifetime experience! It was everything I hoped. I had our small GoPro strapped to me, so I could film the whole thing, and take some selfies. Amazingly, we we went up at a prime time. The sun was about to set, and everything was beautiful. It also wasn’t to hot or cold. Dad said that 350 metres is about the height that he flies his drone, so we’re we practically human drones. Dad and I were surprised how smooth and quiet it actually was in the air. We landed on the boat back on our bums, really smoothly with no turbulence. After that incredible experience, it was about 7pm. Last week when we were in Biograd, we saw quite a big pop-up carnival, so we though we would go check it out. It turned out to be really fun! First, Polly, Audrey and I went in our own inflatable bubble, over water like in Fox Studios. It lasted 10 minutes, and by the time we all got out of the bubble, we were absolutely dripping with sweat! Then, because it was quite late we just went on one more ride, which was a really high, spiny light-up one, that was awesome! There were only seats for two, and Dad doesn’t like spiny rides, so Audrey and I went together, and Polly and mum. After some fun at the carnival, we walked back to the boat, via a bakery, where we got Burak (traditional meat pastries). Back at the boat, we were going to have a glee marathon to end dad’s birthday, but it was 10pm, so that didn’t happen. Dad’s birthday couldn’t have gone better, and our last day in Croatia was incredible!

Day 40: Sali/Muline/Otok Molat

This morning, I woke up to Audrey whispering in my ear, asking for the wifi password. Last night, mum and dad slept on the deck together, for their monthly anniversary. By the time Audrey and I woke up, mum and dad left the boat, and had gone for a coffee walk at the bakery. Once Audrey and I were both wide awake, we texted mum and asked if we could join her. Polly was still asleep, but Audrey and I walked 5 minutes to the bakery where mum and dad were. We shared 2 traditional Croatian pastries: Savory (Burek), and sweet (a nutty-cinnamon scroll). We also got a whole loaf of fresh bread to have for lunch. After breakfast we walked around the corner to a huge fruit market, where we got heaps of fresh produce, including half a watermelon. We walked back at the boat, to find Polly, awake sitting on the couch. After a refreshing dip, we sailed 3 days to Otok Sestrunj, where there was this really cool tunnel/cave that reminded Polly and Dad of Indiana Jones. There, it was really deep, so we did a lot of jumping of the side of the boat, and Polly and I did heaps of flips. All of a sudden when we were about to go for another swim, it started bucketing down with rain, and there was heaps of lightning and thunder. As you can imagine, it was all a bit frantic for a few minutes until we packed all our stuff up, closed all the windows and came inside. During the storm, we ate lunch inside and waited for the storm to die down. After a few minutes it already wasn’t that strong, so we left Otok Sestrunj, and sailed 2 hours to Muline, where we tried to moore unsuccessfully. Sadly, there was no space for our bulk catamaran, so still in the storm, we sailed another 2 hours to Otok Molat, where we are currently moored. Thankfully, there were heaps of free spots, and by the time we parked, the rain and storm had stopped. The water here is so clear, and stunning! It was so tempting to go in the ocean, we had to go for a swim. We stayed in the water for about 2 hours. I was estatic, because I finally mastered my front and backflips. Damien taught us a way of sufficiently showering outdoors, called the skipper shower. First, you jump in the ocean and get all wet, then you cover yourself in soap. You then jump back into the ocean, to get majority of the soap off, and finally rinse all the salt off with fresh water. After some relaxation time, we rode the dingy into town, and walked around a bit, although there wasn’t much to see. Again, there were mainly pizzeria’s so we didn’t have much option. The pizza though was really good, surprisingly. It’s amazing, because most of them people here don’t speak English, and since Damien has most his meals with us, he’s like our personal Croatian translator. After getting the dingy back to the boat, we hear and see the people on the boat right next to us, all drunk having a huge party. It’s going to be very peaceful tonight ;)

Day 39: Kornati/Sali

I woke up this morning, to a cute surprise. Audrey was poking her head through my port hole, dangling a wafer on a piece of string. I quickly got up, and lay on the deck to watching the stunning sunrise right in front of us. It was magical. Once we all had breakfast, went for a quick, refreshing dip in the ocean before we left the rural part of the National Park Kornati. We sailed 2 hours to the middle of Kornati, to go for a swim, and finally, a snorkel. There endend up not being very many fish, and heaps of sea urchins, which I am terrified of. After a couple hours of relaxing, and swimming, we sailed 3 hours to Sali, which is a like a huge city, compared to the places we’ve been to the past few days. There are about 10 restaurants, and 5 shops. We spent the afternoon in and out of the water, trying hard not to step on an Urchine. At 7:00pm, we went for a walk through the town, and along the pier. Most of the restaurants here are pizzeria’s, and even though we live in Italy, we decided to go to casual sit-down one. The pizza doesn’t compare to Italian pizza, but it was still delicious. We came back to the boat at about 7:30pm, and decided to have a movie night on the deck. We got every pillow and blanket that we could find on the boat, and we lay them down on the nets on the deck. We all snuggled up to each other and watched GLEE cause we couldn’t all agree on a movie. It was the perfect ending of a great day. 

Day 38: Otok Kaprije/Kornati

This morning, for some reason we were all up and powered on the deck by 6:30am. After we had some granola for breakfast, we got on our swimmers, jumped off the boat for a refreshing swim. The water was the perfect temperature, not too hot not too cold. We were still docked at the restaurant, and the restaurant owned huge inflatables, so we were offered to go on them, and as per usual they were so much fun! After a lot of kayaking, inflatables, jumping, swimming, and paddle boarding, we left this Bay, and because it was windy enough, we sailed 3 hours to Otok Kaprije, where we docked, and swam. Polly, Dad and I kayaked to land which was only 5 minutes away, to check out the restaurants. It is a tiny town with only about 4 restaurants, but we booked an outdoor table at one of them. The restaurant was called Neptun. We kayaked back, and kept swimming and doing watersports until it was time to get ready and leave. Tonight, we got to eat by ourselves, just the five of us. The restaurant was quite casual, and the waiter was super nice. He even warned us that there was going to be bad service, and yes, he was right. Although, the food was really good! After dinner at about 9:30pm, we got an ice cream, jumped on the dingy and headed back to our catamaran. The night before last, dad slept on the net on the deck above the water with his pillow and doona, so I thought it would be really fun to sleep with him last night. We didn’t get to sleep until about 11:00pm, because we were chatting about the Milky Way Wand all the planets and stars. We even saw some shooting stars and satellites. I was so cosy all night, but did wake up a lot, just to stare at the night sky. At 5:00am it got really windy and cold, so we were both hiding and snuggling under our doonas. In the end, I thought sleeping under the stars, above the water was awesome!

Day 37: Otok Kaprije

Day 37: Otok Kaprije

This morning, for some reason we were all up and powered on the deck by 6:30am. After we had some granola for breakfast, we got on our swimmers, jumped off the boat for a refreshing swim. The water was the perfect temperature, not too hot not too cold. We were still docked at the restaurant, and the restaurant owned huge inflatables, so we were offered to go on them, and as per usual they were so much fun! After a lot of kayaking, inflatables, jumping, swimming, and paddle boarding, we left this Bay, and because it was windy enough, we sailed 3 hours to Otok Kaprije, where we docked, and swam. Polly, Dad and I kayaked to land which was only 5 minutes away, to check out the restaurants. It is a tiny town with only about 4 restaurants, but we booked an outdoor table at one of them. The restaurant was called Neptun. We kayaked back, and kept swimming and doing watersports until it was time to get ready and leave. Tonight, we got to eat by ourselves, just the five of us. The restaurant was quite casual, and the waiter was super nice. He even warned us that there was going to be bad service, and yes, he was right. Although, the food was really good! After dinner at about 9:30pm, we got an ice cream, jumped on the dingy and headed back to our catamaran. The night before last, dad slept on the net on the deck above the water with his pillow and doona, so I thought it would be really fun to sleep with him last night. We didn’t get to sleep until about 11:00pm, because we were chatting about the Milky Way Wand all the planets and stars. We even saw some shooting stars and satellites. I was so cosy all night, but did wake up a lot, just to stare at the night sky. At 5:00am it got really windy and cold, so we were both hiding and snuggling under our doonas. In the end, I thought sleeping under the stars, above the water was awesome!

Day 36: Zincena Bay/Strunac Bay

Day 26: Zincena Bay/Strunac Bay

We were supposed to head off to one of the islands and leave the Marina last night, but due to the weather, we couldn’t. So, we had to spend last night at the Marina. We all woke up at 7:00am this morning, ready to leave. The bedrooms are like little capsules, and were so cosy to sleep in last night. At 7, we all sat around the deck eating our fruit pastries, while Damien got the boat going. Since then, we’ve been Zincena Bay in Island Pasman, and Strunac Bay in Island Zut. In both those places, we swam in the crystal clear water. We kept jumping of the side of the boat, stand up paddle boarding, and kayaking. It was awesome. In between our bursts of energy, we would take our towels up to the deck, and lay in the sun on the nets over the water. At midday, when I was paddle boarding with Polly and Audrey, we lost our balance and fell of, but because the paddle doesn’t float, I held it close to me, and managed to chip one of my front teeth :( which mum and dad were not very happy about. For dinner, we went to a really nice restaurant called Restoran Fešta in Otok Žut. You could only get to the restaurant by boat, and it was like they had restaurant parking for boats because they had scattered many boys in the water. When we arrived, we tied our catamaran to a boy, jumped on to our own dingy that we carry with us, and rode to the restaurant. It was quite weird that Damien ate with us, and also quite awkward! The food was fancy, but delicious. The rooms are so cosy, and the beds are so comfy, I could eat wait to get all snuggled up!

Day 35: Biograd

Day 35: Biograd

This morning, we had to wake up early, due to the fact that we had to have breakfast, and check out by 10:00am. Mum, Polly, and I were too sleepy to go, get breakfast, so Dad, and Audrey brought back some pastries for us to share. After our smooth checkout, we drove 10 minutes to the Marina, where we had to checkin to our boat. We’re only getting on the boat at 5pm tonight, but we still had to checkin this morning. After being forced to wait out in the sun for an hour while mum and dad checked in, we walked along the beach, to find out if we could parasail, and unfortunately, they said no. I was devastated, but at the same time excited to do it in another place. After we had a delicious lunch, we looked in a couple shops, to try and find thongs for Polly, and a hat and a dress for me. I’ve been looking for a dress for SO long, and finally found one that I love. I also got a stylist hat, and Polly got ‘slides’ which are really a trend at the moment. While all this shopping was going on, dad drove 40 minutes to drop the rental car back at the airport, and got an Uber back. Then, it was time to head to the Marina, fill out the final forms, put our last deposits down, and board the ship :)! We then met the Skipper (Damien), and discussed all the crucial information. We explored the whole boat, and finally picked our rooms to unpack. There are two slightly bigger rooms at the back of the ship, and two smaller ones at the front all with their own bathrooms. Two off the rooms are only accessible from the deck, in which one is going to be occupied by the skipper. All around the boat, there are small glass windows so that you can see the ocean. We also have 1 stand up paddle board, 1 two seater kayak, 1 donut floaty, and a new, two person lilo, that we bought today. Overall, the boat is AWESOME, like anyone’s dream come true, and we’re so lucky to be spending a whole week on it.

Day 34: Dubrovnik/ Trojir/Split/Biograd

This morning, we all woke up really late for us (7:40am), considering the beds weren’t all that comfy. Soon after, we headed out to find some pastries to get for breakfast. They were delicious! We’ve been quite disappointed with Dubrovnik, because it’s become so touristy that it’s lost all it’s culture. We would walk through the town and there would be restaurants side by side, cooking pizza, pasta, burgers, and fish and chips. After we checked out, we drove 1:30 hours to Split , when we realised that we were 50 metres away from crossing the Croatian boarder into Bosnia. We were only in Bosnia for about 7 kilometres, along the highway, but we managed to find a small, local bakery to grab pastries at. I was the most enthusiastic to step out of the car, so that I could say that I’ve been to Bosnia. After our unexpected pit stop, we kept on driving to Split ,to go to a huge decathlon, which as you can imagine, dad loved ;). From decathlon, we bought some headlamps for the boat, and some waterproof clothes for our kayaking trip in Norway. After that detour, we drove 1 hour to Trojir, where we walked around and had lunch. We grabbed some food from a local bakery, and went to sit on a park bench, overlooking the water. After a decent explore in the town, we then drove our final 2 hours to Biograd, where we are staying just for one night. When we arrived, we checked in to the apartment and quickly got settled before we decided that we needed a swim. At the beach, we found an awesome bar, where you basically sit on a chair drinking your drink, in a knee-high pool. I’m still desperate to go parasailing, so we went to check out the watersports company. They did have parasailing, but they said that the conditions were changing, so we would have to go right then if we wanted to go at all. Mum and dad thought it way too much pressure, but they said we could definitely do it at 10:00am tomorrow. After another swim in the beach, we grabbed some dinner, and walked back to our accomodation. When we had just left the beach, it started bucketing down with rain, so we had to run home as fast as we could in our swimsuits and towels. We knew tomorrow was going to be a big day, so we went to bed early. 

Day 33: Dubrovnik

For some reason, we all woke up quite early, not having a great night sleep. We decided to not leave the house until 10:00am. In the morning, we had some down time: watched tv, played games, and researched about Croatia. At 10:00am, we drove to the old town of Dubrovnik, which was really touristy. We walked around the town in the blazing, hot sun and by the time we left, we were absolutely dripping with sweat. At the moment, I don’t have much money, but I managed to find a cheap little model of the tower in Croatia to add to my collection. We also went into a really cool Lolly shop, where we were all allowed to pick one candy/chocolate/fudge. The town is basically like Siena, redone and polished, with more money. After that, we drove back to our air-conditioned house, to cool down and have showers before we left for the beach. We walked 5 minutes up to a supermarket near us to grab salami, cheese, olives, pickles and cookies all to have for lunch. Once everyone was cooler and full, we drove 5 minutes to a beautiful, fancy beach called Copa Cabana that had inflatables, and parasailing which Polly and I have been wanting to do for a long time. First, all five of us went on a huge inflatable obstacle course in the middle of the ocean. We went on it for an hour. It was the perfect amount of time because all our arms and legs were aching! It was awesome though! Then, dad called the watersports company, and asked them about parasailing. Unfortunately, they said that they weren’t doing it today, due to their equipment being faulty. After another dip, we drove back to Sunset beach, where we went to last night and had a delicious, casual dinner by the water. It was still quite early when we got back to the house, so we were able to watch a glee! We were all asleep by 9, we were so tired!

Day 32: Athens/Dubrovnik, Croatia

This morning, we all woke up quite late, knowing that we didn’t have an early flight booked. After all eating my famous cheese and salami toasties, we got packing. When we were all packed, we checked out of the apartment, and left all our luggage at a shop across road while we went bowling! It was awesome! Of course, dad won, followed by mum, then Audrey and I tyed, followed by Polly. After that, Polly, mum and Audrey jumped in a taxi, while dad and I rented electric lime scooters to go to lunch. We found a really hipster restaurant to eat at, which totally reminded us of Surry Hills. After lunch, we walked 5 minutes to retrieve our suitcases, and then waited on the side of the road for the taxi. While we were all standing on the side of the road in the boiling heat with our luggage, the taxi driver called and told us he was going to arrive 30 minutes late, which mum was not happy about! We finally arrived at the airport after a 40 minute drive with our luggage clanging in the boot. As soon as we got to the airport, we went straight to check-in, and while we were checking in, a tour bus arrived, and there were so many tourists all lined up: we just got in before the rush! After going through security and passport control with no ques, we arrived at the terminal, and boarded the plane. The flight from Athens to Dubrovnik went very smoothly, but it helps when it’s only an hour. When we landed, we walked to pick up a rental car, and then drove 20 minutes to the house we’re staying in for 2 nights. Once we got settled in the house, we briefly walked around town to find dinner. When we arrived at the house, the sun was setting and we had no idea it was going to, so we found a nice, and fancy restaurant on the pier, with a great view of the sunset. Croatia is 1 hour behind Greece, like Italy. So in Croatian time, we only finished dinner at 10:30. As we were walking back to the room, Audrey spotted an open-air arcade. Mum and Polly we exhausted, so went back to the house, but Dad, Audrey and I stayed, and played some games, which was so fun! In Croatia, they use kuna (kn), instead of euros, and 7kn = 1 € / 5kn = $1. We only got back to the house at 11:00, not even that tired. I was sure I was going to have a good sleep!

Day 31: Athens

Our last full day in Greece! This morning, we all woke up really late knowing that we weren’t going to leave the house for a while. Audrey and I went down to the shops to get breakfast, but that was about it until midday. We played games, watched tv, and made bracelets. At midday, we were getting bored, so jumped in an Uber, and headed in to town. In town, we walked in and out of shops: Polly and I even bought matching tops! Then, at about 1:30 we walked 15 minutes to a nail salon called Afroditi Spa. In Siena, there are no nail salons at all, so we were super excited to find this salon. All the staff were super friendly, and spoke English, although there were only had 2 people painting nails. After 1 hour of waiting, it was mums turn to go get hers done. They each took about 20 minutes, and I was last, so only got seated at 3:00pm. Mum and I both got a pedicure, and Polly and Audrey got a manicure. Polly, Mum, and I all got our eyebrows waxed for the first time, which turned out to be was painful! Meanwhile, dad was getting a haircut, and was done within 20 minutes. At 5:15pm, when we were done in the salon, we met dad at a really cool cafe, which was completely fairytale themed. At the waitresses were dressed as merry Poppins, and it was super decorated everywhere! The place was awesome. The menu was humongous, and so overwhelming. We all ordered seperate dishes, but the portions were ginormous, no one finished any of it. Then, Mum, Polly and Audrey went to flag down a taxi, via the toy store, while dad and I rented electric scooters to ride home on. When we got home, we all had showers, ate no dinner cause we were so full, and watched glee!

Day 30: Athens; The Acropolis, Plaka, Marousi

Day 30: Athens; The Acropolis, Plaka, Marousi

This morning, Mum and Dad woke us up at 7:00 am, and told us that we’re having a ‘historical day’. After we had breakfast in the apartment, we packed our bags, and booked an Uber. At 8:00, we drove just 5 minutes to the Acropolis, where we walked around panthanon, and all the old ruins. Audrey and I found it interesting, however Polly not so much, even though she’s the one who’s into Greek mythology. Then, we walked 10 minutes to the town of Plaka. Mum and dad sat in a cafe, while Polly, Audrey, and I walked around town, in and out of shops. By 1:00pm, we were all hungry, so we decided to walk a few minutes to an amazing Mexican restaurant (which was my choice)! The food was surprisingly amazing, due to the fact that we’re in Athens, Greece. After lunch, we walked around the shops a bit more, and then walked directly to a shopping mall that mum found online. We finally got there after walking 20 minutes in 30 degree heat, to find an open-air mall with about 2 shops. We we all so hot and grumpy by this point, that we researched other shopping centres to go to. We found a massive one about a 25 minute drive away, so we flagged down a taxi, and drove to the centre in Maraosi. It was huge, and modern, with heaps of shops. Dad and Audrey hate shopping, so sat in a cafe while Polly, mum and I walked all around the shops. After walking around for 2 hours, we were exhausted and ready to leave, so we hopped in a cab, and were home, within half an hour. When we arrived home, we cooked up a batch of scrambled eggs, and ate dinner, in front of the TV.

Day 29: Naxos/Athens

Day 29: Naxos/Athens

This morning, we woke up surprisingly early, considering we went to bed at 11:00pm. Dad had already been for a run, and was at a cafe. He asked if we wanted to join him, so mum, Audrey and I walked to the cafe to share a few pastries. By the time we got back to the hotel room, Polly was awake, and ready to eat breakfast downstairs. After we al had a nice, hot breakfast, we went back to our room to pack, and get ready for our journey to Athens. We checked out at midday, and again, got small, complementary gifts. The guy who was working at the hotel was one of the nicest person we’ve ever met, and he would drop anything he was doing just for us. We got a taxi from the hotel, to the port where we were getting the ferry. We dragged all our luggage with us to get in the line for our ferry. We were so worried about being late, that we ended up arriving 1 hour early, plus the ferry was running 40 minutes late. Once we got on the ferry, our journey to Athens ran pretty smoothly. After 3 hours of making friendship bracelets, we finally arrived in Athens!! It took us a while to find a taxi stand, but once we did, we jumped in a yellow taxi, and drove 20 minutes to our apartment. As we were driving through the town, we realised that the area we’re staying in is a little sketchy, but beyond the near streets, it’s beautiful. We quickly got settled in the apartment, and then it was time to go out for dinner. We walked around where all the restaurants are for a bit, and then found an amazing-looking Asian restaurant. By 7:00, we were seated and already eating by 7:30pm. The food tasted amazing! At 8:30, we came back to the apartment, watched glee? And we’re asleep by 9:00pm.

Day 28: Naxos; Chalki, Filoti, Apeiranthos

After breakfast, we spent a slow morning by the pool, playing paddle ball and chess. At midday, we rented a red fiat panda and headed a few small villages, 40 minutes away. Our first stop was a town called Chalki, where we had a traditional Greek taverna lunch under grape vines. Polly hates bees, so was really uncomfortable the whole time. Mum and dad had to take turns walking around with her while the rest of us ate lunch. The food though, was really tasty. Then, we drove 10 minutes to Filoti. We didn’t end up getting out of the car, because although it was quite well known, there were only about 6 shops. We may have drove through the village 3 time cause we got a little lost! In the next small town, we stopped at Rotunda restaurant, which the hotel staff recommended. There, we had drinks, while taking in the stunning view. Then, we were onto our final town for the day, Apeiranthos, which is all made of marble. Here, we had an ice cream, and a small break. We got back to the hotel at about 7:30 pm. Mum and Dad went to watch the sunset down, by the beach, while us kids decided to make friendship bracelets together, and go in the jacuzzi. Mum brought back Greek yoghurt and fresh fruit for us to have for dinner. After, we relaxed in the jacuzzi, and finally watched glee!

Day 27: Naxos/Agios Prokopios

We woke up this morning to find out that there would be a complementary breakfast waiting for us downstairs. The breakfast was delicious, with eggs, bacon, and cookies. From 10:30am - 6:30pm, we spent the whole time at a stunning beach close to our hotel (Agios Prokopios). We swam, relaxed and read on our chairs, and played a similar game to tennis without a net. Over the past few days, we’ve seen so many people renting ATV’s/quad bikes, and we finally convinced mum and dad to rent it for a day. As we thought, it was so much fun! Even though under 18 year olds aren’t allowed to drive it, but mum and dad let Polly and I only drove it for 2 minutes in a field. At 6:00pm, we decided to head into town (Chora, the capital of Naxos). We walked around for quite a while, before we found the restaurant that we had booked earlier (flamingo). We only got to dinner at 8:30pm, so weren’t finished until 10:30pm. The food took a while to arrive, but it was truly delicious! At the restaurant, there was also live, Greek music and fire dancing. On their website, they advertise plate smashing, but they told us they were out of plates. After dinner, Dad, Polly and Audrey were exhausted, and wanted to go home, but Mum and I still had heaps of energy. Dad, Polly, and Audrey ended up going home, whilst Mum and I stayed in town until midnight, walking around, and looking at shops. At midnight, we got a taxi home, and were soon fast asleep.

Day 26: Santorini/Naxos

Day 26: Santorini/Naxos

This morning I woke up feeling a lot better, and very energetic. After eating breakfast at the buffet, we endured the long process of checking out. The hotel then gave us a lift with another couple, to the port, where we were getting a ferry. Unfortunately, the ferry was running 40 minutes late, with no notice, so we were forced to wait out in the blazing, hot sun until the ferry arrived. When we boarded the ferry, we stored our luggage and had some difficulty finding our seats. The ferry trip was only 1 hour and a half, so was considered very quick. The hotel that we’re staying at in Naxos, organised a man to come pick us up, holding a sign with our names on it. The car was super fancy. It had TVs, and the whole interior had red leather. After a 30 minute drive, we arrived at the hotel called Mitos Suites, where we checked in, and found our room. In the kitchen, we found a whole platter made up of complementary foods. In our room, we have super comfy beds, a spa bath, a shower that plays music, and a jacuzzi on the balcony! Because we’re not staying right on the middle of town, the beach is a 7 minute walk there and back. Once we got settled, we walked down to the beach, where we had amazing gyros and pita bread. Then, we went back to the hotel to chill, swim in the pool, and go in the jacuzzi. We walked back down to the beach for sunset. While the sun was setting, we lay on deck chairs, played in the sand. Audrey and I wrote lots of stuff in the wet sand. For dinner, we just grabbed sweet crepes on the way back to the hotel. When we got back, we relaxed and drank cocktails in the jacuzzi.

Day 25: Santorini

Day 25: Santorini

Tomorrow we leave Santorini to go to Naxos! After buffet breakfast this morning, Polly, Audrey and I were exhausted, so we went back to the room to chill, whilst mum and dad swam in the pool and ocean. For lunch, we just had leftovers from dinner last night: chicken and pita bread with Greek yoghurt. Afrodite sunset cruise: After lunch, we booked this boat to go on for 8 hours around Santorini. We left at 1:30pm, and are getting back at 9:30pm. There were about 60 people on the boat, we hiked up the volcano, swam in the hot springs that were refreshing but looked like diarrhoea, swam in the ocean at a few impromptu stops, watched the sunset from the boat, and ate the buffet dinner that was included. We all had such an amazing time, especially the sunset! When we leave Santorini, we’re definitely going to miss the sunsets and sunrises!

Day 24: Santorini/Pyrgos/Fira

This morning we all woke up super late, because the beds were so comfortable, soon to realise the buffet breakfast waiting for us downstairs. The buffet breakfast was amazing and had so much yoghurt, olives, and chunks of feta. From 9:00, up until 5:00 all we did was hang by the beach/pool. The beach is beautiful, and so clear. Mum and I went snorkeling a few times, while the others swam in the pool. We ate lunch by the pool, which was delicious. At 5:00, we decided to rent a car from the hotel, and drive to Pyrgos to see all of the small blue and white houses, and walk through the tiny streets. We also found a stunning bar with an awesome view to have drinks. At 7:30pm, we drove only 10 minutes to Fira where we watched the sunset over all the classic Greek buildings. It was absolutely stunning! For dinner, we had a reservation booked at one restaurant in town, but we were all exhausted, and decided to go to the supermarket to grab a quick dinner, and eat it in our room (which we did).