Relaxing on Poros

Hello from Greece!

Our ferry from Bari to Greece was great. It was more like a cruise ship with staterooms, a restaurant, and even a mini-casino. Our fifteen hours flew by and I even won €2 in the casino playing roulette.

After we got off the boat, we hopped on a bus for a 5 hour ride across Greece.  When we arrived at our destination, we took a 10 minute boat ride to Poros, a small, touristy island that our hotel is on. We arrived at our hotel and it was very chic. It is right on the water and has its own beach as well as a pool with a bar behind the hotel. The hotel itself is about two miles from downtown Poros, but that is fine as there is not a lot to do in the downtown.

Yesterday, I slept in late and gave my laundry to the front desk to be cleaned. Then, I decided to walk into town to see it and look around. It was a beautiful walk – I am happy our hotel is far away from the town. It is much quieter. The town was very touristy, but I bought a postcard to send home as well as a pin for my pin collection before heading back to the hotel.

After I got back, I took advantage of the free WiFi and planned out half of my Italian trip next week. Then, we had dinner (Greek hamburger) and a toga party out by the pool. It was a lot of fun and a few of us jumped into the pool with our togas on. It was amazing!

This afternoon, we took a boat around the island of Poros and stopped at a beach. The island was beautiful and I really enjoyed the boat ride. After the boat, I went back to the hotel, had lunch, sat by the pool with a few people and planned the rest of my Italian trip.

Over the past three days, I have learned why Greece is struggling so much when compared to the rest of the countries in the European Union. Their culture is so much different than the rest of the countries I have traveled to in the Euro zone. There is something to be said for their lifestyle, though. It’s much more relaxed.

Note: This post was originally published on May 28, 2012 in a blog entitled “Romeing Around Europe…Again” which chronicled my post-graduation trip across Europe.