My friend Meg and I had our first European holiday together in Greece and Italy - it was so much fun! We started our adventure in Greece where we visited Athens, Mykonos City on Mykonos Island, and Oia on Santorini Island, and then continued onto Italy where we visited Venice, Cinque Terre, Florence, and Rome. Check out the images below and if you're interested, check out my "journal" to find out more details about each place. I promise I won't be offended if you just want to see the pretty pictures. :)

(Click on thumbnails below to see larger images)

Athens, Greece (May 25th-27th):

We spent our first nights in Athens, where we got to see the city go under construction for the upcoming 2004 Summer Olympics. We stayed in the Omonia Square district at the Amaryllis Hotel, which was pretty decent and very clean considering we only paid 55 euro/night (with free breakfast!). We were about 10 minute walking distance away from the Syntagma Square and Monastiriki districts, where the famously old Acropolis as well as many Greek restaurants and shops are located. I had a chance to get my authentic Greek food fix and ate souvlakis, gyros and lamb dishes whenever we dined (they are so delish!). I even tried Ouzo, which is a Greek liquor that is clear but turns white when mixed with water (that's what you are suppose to do). Ouzo reminds me of a very strong version of the French Pastis, and no offense, but Bleah! If you do not like the taste of liquorice candy, you may want to forget trying Ouzo.

The Acropolis is absolutely magnificent, partly because it is so ancient and still stands today, partly because it is perched on top of the hill overlooking the entire city of Athens. When we went it was very windy, whicn made taking pictures of us very difficult (our hair kept flying in front of our faces). Surprisingly, there were many tourists there even though it was the month of May, and I am thankful that Meg and I decided to travel during this time considering that lodging prices are in the "low season" category and the number of tourists are relatively low. I can't imagine what Athens will be like during the Olympics! One other useful thing that Meg and I learned is to visit touristy sites early in the morning - hardly anyone is around so you sort of get the place to yourself! Anyway, check out the Athens pictures below...

At the top of Acropolis

The Panthenon @ the Acropolis

The famous maidens, Caryatids

We're in Greece!

View of Athens City

Greek slippers

Yummy fruits

Mnisikleous Str.

Greek sponges

Dining at Geros Toy Moria - say "ouzo!"

On our way to Mykonos! (Meg's taking pictures of her feet...)

Mykonos Island, Greece (May 27th):

After spending two nights in Athens, we made our way to the island of Mykonos by ferry. The ferry ride was about 5 hours long and it was a very windy experience! Meg and I decided to sit out on the ferry deck to get fresh air since people were allowed to smoke inside. It was fun for the first few hours since we got to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air, but then the wind started to pick up, making the ride very cold and bumpy. By the time we landed in Mykonos, it was about 2 in the afternoon. We were greeted and picked up by Dimitri, the friendly and hospitable owner of the Villa Konstantin where Meg and I stayed. Located about 10 minutes walking distance north east of the Mykonos City port and attractions, Villa Konstantin was so nice and beautiful! Considering that Holy Spirit Day was on May 30th, we were told that we were fortunate to be able to book rooms at Villa Konstantin (or any other lodging) since many local Greeks tend to go home to the Islands during this time for the holy holday. I guess many local Greek islanders tend to live on the mainland since that where the jobs are abundant.

Once we checked into our nice bright room, Meg and I walked our way to the town center. Mykonos City is very charming and welcoming. As Meg and I walked through the narrow stone-step streets filled with bright white building with colorful trimming, we met and chatted with many nice local folks, some of whom I hope to keep in touch with. We poked our noses into the various gift shops and scouted out some restaurants for our evening dining. Mykonos City is known to have a good night life (bars, clubs, cafes) but unfortunately Meg and I never made it to the bars or clubs since we were having so much fun dining at Nikos Tavernas and sharing a bottle of red wine together. But before dining, Meg and I made our way to the famous windmills and the nearby "Little Venice" - so charming!

Greek dogs have a good life...

At Villa Konstantin

Our room

Port of Mykonos City

Colorful doors

Pretty stone steps

Nikos, a local jeweler

Big crab!

Can I take it home?

Steps in Mykonos

Strollin' thru town

Hanging Out

Architecture in Mykonos

Famous Windmills in Little Venice

Little Venice during sunset

A huge stork - 1 of 3 on the island!

Santorini (Thira) Island, Greece (May 28th-May 30th):

What can I say: I LOVE SANTORINI! I must start scouting out my retirement home there. Santorini such a gorgeous and breathtaking place that I almost wanted to spend the rest of my vacation there!

Meg and I arrived from Mykonos to Santorini Island around 6 or 7 in the evening by a fast catamaran (very fast boat). We were greeted by a woman from Ecorama Tours, a company whom I booked a room from. She drove us from the port to Oia (pronounced "ee-yah"), a tranquil village north of the island, and took us to the VIP Suites located on the cliff edge and overlooking the Aegean Sea. After quickly unpacking and taking a million photos right outside our room, Meg and I made our way up the steps to the town center to look for a place to eat dinner. Skipping a million details, a French guy named Pascal treated Meg and I to dinner at the Lotza Restaurant (thank you!), which overlooked the caldera and the sea. Pascal happened to be there on business by himself and wanted our company for dinner - no prob! While dining, we also struck conversations with Marco who works as a waiter at the Lotza Restaurant. It turns out that Marco is Albanian and spends his summers in Santorini - lucky! He ended up showing Meg and I some night life by taking us to a bar and to a club the next night - thanks Marco!

When we were not eating or having drinks, Meg and I spent our time just hanging out and enjoying the sunshine and beauty of Oia. Meg and I pretty much did our own thing during the day and I spent it partly in our room on the patio reading and tanning and partly walking around the quaint paths of Oia. Unlike Mykonos, there are many colorful buildings perched on the caldera cliff and the streets zigzagged left and right, up and down the stone steps. Many buildings had domed roofs, typical of the Greek island architecture and distinctly Greek. I eventually made my way to the old castle of Oia (castle no longer there but the foundation is), from where later on in the day Meg and I ended watching the beautiful Greek sunset. I hope to come back to this place soon...

View from our patio during dusk

Arches in our room

Our patio

Below our room

Steps leading towards Oia town center

Twiglight in Oia - so pretty!

Evening in Oia before heading out to dinner

Marco, our gracious host from Lotza

Statue with Fira in the background

Oia perched on top of the caldera

Beautiful Greek dome architecture

Didn't I tell you? Greek dogs have a good life...

Bright white beautiful architecture

My favorite view of Oia

Hanging out for sunset

Why I love Oia so much - it is so beautiful!

Venice, Italy (May 31st):

Venice is such a historical city with a distinct beauty of its own and it's a shame that Meg and I didn't even get a chance to spend 24 hours over there! We arrived by train and didn't check into our hotel (Hotel Zecchini) until around 6 PM. We ate dinner by Grand Canal, checked out the shops on our street where they sold lots of handmade paper masks (some that cost over 200 USD) and the locally well-known glass art work from the nearby Murano Island. I totally crashed in the room afterwards due to the lack of sleep I've had since arriving to Athens. Meanwhile, Meg went out on her own that evening to check out the famous St. Mark's Square and eat gelato at a recommended Gelateria. Wish I went with her but I sure didn't have any energy left. I awoke early the next morning and walked around the streets - it was very a very tranquil and damp morning since it had rain throughout the night before. Many shop owners were already awake to sweep up their doorsteps and set up shop. I ventured over to a coffee shop and ordered Meg and myself some pastries for our morning train ride to our next destination. When I arrived back to the hotel, Meg and I ate our morning breakfast (compliments of the hotel) and quickly headed to St. Mark's Square by water bus. While I was snapping away my camera, Meg decided to buy some bird food to feed the zillion pigeons that were hanging out at the square. It was a really funny sight and I was glad to have captured some images. Totally miscalculating our time at the Square and not wanting to miss our train ride to Milan, we paid 55 euro (yikes!) to take a water taxi back to our hotel and we hauled our butts and heavy backpacks to the train station. We made it just in time - whew! Too bad we didn't have more time to check out the Square, the rest of Venice and the nearby neighboring islands - next time!

Windows in front of our room

Looking down Lista di Spagna

Beautiful Venetian masks

Many small bridges, connecting the 3000+ streets in Venice

The famous Rialto bridge over the Grand Canal

At the famous St. Mark's Square, Basillica in the background

Meg feeding the Venetian pigeons

On the water taxi going through the Grand Canal

On the train going towards Cinque Terre - so green and beautiful!

Cinque Terre, the "Italian Riveriera" (June 1st-3rd):

Happy Birthday to Me! I got to spend it with Meg in beautiful Cinque Terre, my second most favorite place out of this trip! Thank you Meg for suggesting this place! Cinque Terre in Italian means "Five Terraces" and there are literally five villages on the western coast of Italy, all within a couple miles of each other. These small villages are (from north to south) Monterosso, Vernazza - pictured on the right, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. One cool thing about Cinque Terre - and this is done to preserve Cinque Terre and keep it from turning into a super touristy place - is that the only way to get there is by the local train or boat (unless you have a car, but even then there is limited parking). So what that means is there are relatively few tourists around - yay! From Venice, Meg and I spent 6 to 7 hours riding on 3 trains (Venice to Milan, Milan to Pisa, and Pisa to La Spezia) to reach Vernazza, the village that Rick Steves (author of many guide books) suggested for many to stay at since it was in the middle of Cinque Terre if one considered how the towns are spread out - getting to the farthest villages (north or south of Vernazza) took no more than 10 minutes by a local train.

On my birthday, Meg and I hiked 7 miles from one end of Cinque Terre to the other. The trail that we hiked on was along the coast and connected each town. Having walked through all the villages, Vernazza is certainly one of the prettiest villages out of the five after having seen all of them from our hike through Cinque Terre. Actually, we hiked through four villages (Riomaggiore to Manarola to Corniglia to Vernazza) and decided to stop at Vernazza - we were well on our way to Monterosso until we saw how everyone was lying on the Vernazza beach and soaking up the sun...so we turned back, went to our room to drop off our stuff and went sunbathing. It was good decision considering we had another opportunity to see Monterosso that evening - to have my birthday dinner with Meg and a nice,lovely Australian couple (Ron and Sira) whom we met on the train on our way to Cinque Terre.

I had a great birthday (thank you Meg, Ron, and Sira!) and was glad that we made a point to spend some time in this beautiful part of Italy. And before I forget - Cinque Terre is known for their lemons so if you ever go there, try or buy the locally brewed and bottled Limoncino, an Italian lemon liquor drink that is absolutely tasty!

Looking towards the Vernazza town center from our patio

Tropical looking flowers in Vernazza

At the waterfront, colorful buildings in the background

A tranquil evening in Vernazza - many tourists had left by train during the late afternoon

Through the town center that same evening - shops are on the ground floor, residences above

A hungry cat hoping for some food

Colorful buildings of Vernazza - many locals hang their laundry in the front

A rustic doorway, adding to the beauty of Vernazza

An inviting doorway of the Vernazza gelateria

Looking back on Manarola as we hike towards Corniglia

Looking towards the green terraces of Corniglia

Strolling through Corniglia

Meg buying fruit for lunch - she loves fruit!

Beautiful flower on the Corniglian coast

Old doorway that leads to the sea - I love these colorful doorways!

Looking towards the staggered building of Corniglia from atop during our hike

Looking back at Corniglia with Riomaggiore in the distant background

Finally, we reach Vernazza! Monterosso can be seen in the distance.

Me with Vernazza in the background

Beautiful moonrise at Monterosso, Riomaggiore in the far distance

Ron and I toasting for my birthday

Meg and Sira - two beautiful ladies

More birthday celebration with a local of Vernazza

Giullano, the man who rented us our room

Taking the train to Florence - a typical Tuscan scene in the background

Florence (Firenze), Italy (June 3rd-5th):

My third most favorite destination of this trip is beautiful Florence, the place where the Renaissance started. So much art is located here and I have forgotten that a lot of scientists including Galileo Galilei came from this area. Meg and I visited the Ufizi Gallery museum where they used to have many Sandro Botticelli paintings. Many have been moved to a separate location but thank goodness the iconicBirth of Venus remained for I had a chance to see the breathtaking artwork with my own eyes. I saw many of Leonardo's work and some of Michaelangelo's as well (although we didn't get to see the famous David statue, located in a different museum). It seemed that photography was not allowed so I won't be showing any of the artwork below - bummer!

Due to the large size of the Ufizi, Meg and I managed to lose each other 1 hour into the gallery and we didn't find each other again until more than 4 hours later on, outside on the streets. Having circled around the Ufizi and not being able to find her, I left and headed next door to the Institute and Museum of the History of Science, one of the coolest science museums in the world! There, I got to see the lens that Galileo used when he discovered Jupiter's moons and (get this!) the skeleton of his finger! I forgot the story behind the finger but basically it was cut off after Galileo died and the skeleton of the finger is now encased and displayed for viewing at this museum. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in this museum so I will not be able to show it to you folks - sorry! (Nearby the museum, Meg and I did spend one morning visiting Galileo's former house (also a former museum after his death) that has now been turned into a residential building. I don't know if anyone can live there or only blood relatives are allowed.) In addition to seeing some of the first telescopes ever built and used, there were old instruments used in the fields of chemistry, medicine, physics, biology, meteorology, etc. I could have spent hours there (I did spend about 2) and still not have seen everything properly or in depth.

Being "museumed out", I spent the next hour eating gelato (a favorite past time for the Italians) and roaming around the streets of Florence before running into Meg by accident. I then dragged her over to a nearby market (the American worker at the science museum told me about this place) where they sold Italian silk ties and cashmere shawls and scarves for real cheap as well as nice colorful leather goods. Dropping all shopping goodies off in our hotel room, we made our way to the famous Duomo Church, probably one of the tallest structures in Florence. Taking the advice of the American worker at the science museum, we climbed up 424 steps of the Campinile next to the Duomo Church - this was better than climbing up the Duomo since a) it was less crowded than the popular Duomo and b) you get to see the Duomo with Florence in the background.

There was so much more to see in Florence but Meg and I ran out of time. Hopefully I can go back one of these days, perhaps with my auntie who comes here every year during the summer for business (fashion).

The million gelato flavors available in Florence - all so tasty and colorful!

Standing outside in the center of the Ufizi Gallery early in the morning

Looking at Ponte Vecchio from Ufizi, a vibrant Tuscan scene

Perseus holding Medusa's head

Self portrait on abstract art in the science museum

Meg waving hi & taking a break from climbing the steps of the Campinile

So hot and exhausting to climb these narrow steps!

Candid shot of me, courtesy of Meg - we're almost at the top!

At the top! Meg with the Duomo in the background

Duomo with beautiful Florence in the background

The ornate building of the Duomo - so magnificent!

Portrait of Galileo on his former house

Zoomed out view of Galileo's former residence, now turned into private residence - can I live here please?

Candid shot of me taking a picture of Fiume Arno (the river) from Ponte Vecchio

Rome, Southern Italy (June 5th-9th):

Our final destination: ancient Rome! What's here: Spanish Steps (as seen in "The Roman Holiday", a cute black and white classic film starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck - a Cal Alumnus), Trevi Fountain, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel (with the famous "Creation of Man" painting by Michaelangelo), St. Peter's Basilica (largest Catholic Church in the world), Colloseum, Roman Forum, Castel d'Angelo, Campe di Fiore, and many more. Having read Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons" which is set in current Rome, it was neat to see many of the sites that were mentioned in the book, some which I had imagined them to be.

Meg and I spent the most time here in order to see many of the sites properly and also to devote a whole morning to attending Sunday Mass at the St. Peter's Basilica - a very spiritual occasion that I was glad to share with Meg. There's a lot to say about Rome but I won't do so now...my hand hurts from making this webpage! Hopefully the pictures will say it all for the time being.

Inside the Vatican at St. Peter's Square and the Basilica

St. Peter with Christ and other Apostles in the background

Illumination inside St Peter's Basilica

The main Sunday mass

Artwork atop the Basilica

A quiet and early Sunday morning inside the Basilica

"Pieta" by Michaelangelo

Looking down on St. Peter's Sq. from the top of the Basillica

St. Peter's Sanctuary, below the Basilica

"The Last Judgement" by Michaelangelo

"Creation of Man" on the ceiling of the Sistine

"School of Athens" by Raphael (Rafaello Sanzio), inside the Vatican Museum

Hightly ornate ceilings of the Vatican Museum

Pretty Valentino shoes and purse - I love butterflies!

Italian deli at Campe di Fiore

Partially rainy afternoon at crowded the Spanish Steps

Dining at the Old Bell with the owner and other nice Italians

A bright sunny day at the ancient Roman Colloseum

Statue with storm clouds in the background

Castel di Angelo and the Ponte di Angelo