Well, I'm back in my bed and so far my first three American meals have consisted of cheeseburgers. Now that I'm slightly caught up on being in the right time zone, it's time for some reflection on those last few days in Greece.
You know how they say 13 is an unlucky number? Well wouldn't you guess it, that when I ordered my 13th gyro, they were out of beef-my favorite!! It was a mild upset but of course, Tootsies still delivered a pretty damn good chicken gyro! After cruising the shops one last time, my roommates and I celebrated our last night in Serifos hanging out on our balcony with some drinks and music. The next morning, we packed up our bags, said our goodbyes to my lil Cracker Jack (our most faithful and loyal companion), boarded the ferry, and left for Athens. That night, we met with some students from Athens and then the undergrads and I went out to dinner, drank on the rooftop bar, and then headed back to the garden bar that we went to almost a month ago. Of course, the garden was still as gorgeous as I remember it being (as well as expensive).
Saturday night, we FEASTED! Sitting at a table of 8, the waiters served us 2 of everything which included: Caesar salad, Greek salad, scordallia (potato garlic paste), some sort of eggplant/olive mixture, friend eggplant, friend zucchini, mushrooms, eggplant parmesan (at this point we thought the meal had ended), fried calamari, fried anchovies (here we thought the meal was finally over), and then for the grand and surprising finale: a giant meat platter that consisted of chicken, sausage, lamb, and then 2 types of meat that I wasn't sure what they were. I had never been so full in my entire life!! After traveling to a bar for some ouzo, we somehow had enough room in our stomachs for bugatsa!
Sunday consisted of final souvenir shopping and we witnessed a parade and then some break dancers! We sat at a very snazzy cafe then hung around all day until we ate our last gyro of the trip bringing me to a grand total of 14 Greek gyros.
On the 4th of July, my roommates and I woke up early to grab our last bugatsa of the trip. After a hilarious cab ride to the airport, I purchased my last alcoholic beverage before I returned to the country that will forbid me to drink for another 42 days (but who's counting??) A woman offered to switch seats with me on the plane and the seat that I traded to had extra leg room! SCORE! 10 and a half hours later, we landed in Newark and after passing through customs, Sabrina and I bolted towards the nearest McDonalds and got a Big Mac and let me tell you, it was the best "Welcome Back to America" meal I could have ever hoped for! After 19 hours of being in transit, I finally arrived home and slept for a good 15 hours.
So all in all, I had one badass time in Greece and I'm going to miss it terribly. Studying abroad was the best experience of my life and if I could, I would do it all over again! But I can't lie, it feels pretty great being home with my family and to be back in my own bed. Hopefully, I'll be able to travel across Europe and to one day, make my way back to Greece. Kalispera everyone.
