Paros, Greece

The final spot of my Greek getaway is the beautiful island of Paros. Not as touristy as Santorini, but still flooded with people from all over. Paros is an island completley made of granite, with quarries all over the place. The bustling port town of Parikia is busy, but managable. The location of my hotel is prime, close to the bus stop, ferry station and great eating & drinking establishments.

I arrived here two days ago with three other traveling companions who I met at the hostel in Oia. They are sisters Stephanie & Anneliese from Belgium and Glen from Calgary. We took the ferry ride up to Paros from Santorini together and although we are staying at different places, we met up for dinner & a movie.

For my only full day on Paros, I took the bus across the entire island and went to a beach club called Punda Beach. It reminds me very much of a Mexico spring break destination or something along those lines. I think I got there early enough and left at the right time to miss all of the craziness, but definitely had a good time. The pool section was nice and the DJ's actually played some good music. I really felt as though I was on spring break, just hanging out reading, drinking and sun bathing. Oh the life!!

Last night I met up with Glen, Stephanie & Annaliese and we had a fantastic dinner. It was a highly recommended restaurant and for good reason. Great food, waiters with a sense of humor and FREE dessert! The dessert was awesome! I took down the name of one of the cakes to try to replicate it back home. After dinner we went to an open air theater and watched Ice Age 3. Pretty good movie, but the setting was incredible. Right above the screen you could see the Big Dipper and thousands of other stars. And as chance would have it, I saw a shooting star right before the movie started. I smiled and it reaffirmed my decision to travel and see a bit of the world.

Today, I just putzed around the town of Parikia and had a great time. A bit of souvenir shopping, walking, picture taking and a great lunch at this little place called Siti House. Sandwiches, salads, fruit and juices were what they served. And for me being such a patient customer, they gave me a free glass of wine and some fruit. The waitress, from Germany, even came and sat with me for a while and we chatted. I think I definitely had an European lunch as I sat there for 2.5 hours hanging out, eating and chatting. Being on "holiday" is something I like very much!!

And as I've mentioned in a previos post, I am sitting and waiting for my ferry this evening. My hotel was kind enough to let me store my luggage free of cost and continue to use their wireless internet. So I am sitting in the corner of this little patio area writing and reminiscing of my travels. I have had such an awesome time and I really do hope that you have enjoyed reading about them. There may have been some things I have left out, but no worries, I'm sure when I get back home I'll still be talking about them. =)

That should do it for now. Tomorrow will be a long day starting at 4:30 at the port in Athens and then a few hours of waiting at the airport. Sleep, I hope will come easy.

Pictures from Paros below!

Paros, Greece: http://picasaweb.google.com/aneta.milojevic/ParosGreece?authkey=Gv1sRgCPea88mssb2W0wE&feat=directlink