Day 3-Interesting Day by Sophia Giovanis

                Okay, where do I start? How about this morning. Michael attended a tour of BU (Boston University) which, apparently to the taxi driver we met the night before, is a college of ‘sex, parties, and  “learning”.’ Their tour was from 10-12. While Mom and Michael where doing that, me and my little sister Melina, where sleeping in, eating a ton, and watching TV. Paradise right? Well…..sort of. It started off awesome until my hormones took ahold of me and, well, it ended up with me and my sister throwing shoes at each other. Luckily I said sorry before I was pinned down in a coma; she’s pretty tough. Anyways, my brother and mom came back around 12:30 and by that time Melina and I had cleaned the whole room and were packed up ready to leave.   There were no bruises or evidence of our war.

                Next thing I knew we were in the car headed out for wherever we were headed too. Which started (at our insistence) at Mickey Ds! God bless that place. I know it makes you fat, but, I mean, come on its good! After my mom made Melina and I get a 5 piece chicken nugget (ugh we wanted 20…) we were off to Plymouth Rock.

                We got to Plymouth Rock after an hour and a half drive in traffic out of our way, only to find the monument and surrounding area closed off by police because of a dumdum of a guy who apparently left a suspicious bag and had been arrested. This caused a bomb squad guy to check it out and no one could get near.  So we walked around and we found this beautiful garden. Not so beautiful that we needed a picture but my mom is very aggressive with her photo taking so we all complied.

 After that disappointing visit we drove another hour and a half to get to where I am writing to you now, Warwick, Rhode Island. Beautiful beach and average restaurant.  Just finishing dinner and then going for a late swim.  I think I am going to survive today!

                Thanks for reading and I will keep you posted!

Summer 2013 East Coast Trip - Day 1 by: Michael Giovanis

Day 1
Michael here, writing the first return post of our beautiful little travel blog. This time we are taking a splendid trip down the East Coast via car. This may sound like a nightmare to most angsty teens, but to me it presents a wonderful opportunity to see and experience the variety of culture our nation has to offer. We started our odyssey in Portland, Maine (unfortunately the cooler Portland is on the opposite side of the country). It is a surprisingly beautiful landscape, the blending of old civil war buildings with modern day industrialization makes for a startling contrast that is brings a rich cozy, homey feeling to the town. We were scheduled for lobster catching at 5:30, so we left the hotel at around 1:00 to explore the town. We started off with lunch at Olive Cafe, which was a "casual Mediterranean food experience".  The food was quite good and the service impeccable; the owner-a Lebanese man-acted as both waiter and chef, and personally spoke with all the guests. We also saw a man wearing a huge multi-colored sombrero, with tight biker shorts and a bright yellow running shirt. He ran up to a woman and hit her on the butt with his bag and then ran off.

 
We then walked around the various shops until we found a fortune teller. My siblings and I decided it would be fun, but mother clearly has a dark mantra around her because she refused to do it, citing fears of a bad fortune, which doesn’t make sense because she is super old, and it’s pretty much an uphill battle from here on out. Then we got some gelato! I was then forced to choose in-between watching construction workers mill about or go shopping with the Girlz. I chose the former. Construction workers; I thank you for the limited entertainment you provided me. We then meandered down to the wharf and checked in an hour early for the lobster catching. I decided to take a nap on a bench. This is where things got weird, I am still not quite sure what happened, nor have I seen the pictures, but my family thought it would be great to use me as a prop while taking pictures with strangers. From the limited information I have gathered an Australian woman almost gave me a wedgie and a wild bird decided to take a nap on my back, all the while I stayed blissfully ignorant.

 

 

We then went out lobster catching which was surprisingly fun, we also saw quite a few beautiful sites, and hopefully the editor includes some pictures.

 

We then came to shore with our live lobsters and walked straight to a restaurant who cooked them for us; I doubt I have eaten a fresher meal in my life; the lobster still had a hint of seawater when we ate it.

Still hungry, we stopped at a pizzeria, there I met this kid who was reading some pretty cool comics, but since I’m waaaaaaaayyyy cooler I gave him some recommendations. Ok maybe it was the other way around, but at least I don’t live in boring Portland. I now finish this post freshly showered and clean before I get a goodnights sleep. Day well spent.

Desperate Times

Okay...a little surprising event after returning from Elafonosis.  Over the weekend a boat of 60+ illegal immigrants fleeing Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan were rescued from a very small ship next to Monemvasia.  The Turkish captain who was charging ~$1,000 a person was arrested and the passengers are being detained at a building next to my in-laws home which is usually used for a soccer club. Of course I was extremely curious about all of this and wanted to find out what happened so I asked Maria (mother in law) to bring me there so I could snoop.

When we arrived the mayor of the village and police stopped us, however, after some persuasive arguments they said they would allow me to talk to them, but that we should bring something for the 15 children from the boat...like chocolate.  We scurried over to the local grocery store and bought them out of kitkats and twix bars, along with animal crackers and several liters of water.

We were welcomed and the kids set about giving out candies to the kids.  The building they were being housed in was a very small space--about 1,000 square feet, and considering it was about 104 degrees out, the people were sitting outside in the shade hoping to catch some breeze.  I asked if any of them spoke English and they summoned a younger man from Afghanistan who was more than willing to share their story.  Each person had arranged to pay their carrier upon delivery to  Italy and had been on the open watercraft for 6 nights.  The third night on the boat they started having boat problems and ran out of food and water the next morning.  Their captain kept telling them that they would arrive to Italy within hours.  After the 6th night, and with everyone sick, one of the passengers got the captains phone and called the coast guard for help.  They rescued everyone from the ship and brought them to Monemvasia where they were being held, fed and cared for.  CRAZY ordeal!! They were so happy to be safe but obviously worried about what would happen now.  The next day they were being transported to Athens where the decisions would be made.  Their desparation and desire to live where they could be safe is so sad.  One of those 'putting things into perspective moments'.

The three month old baby from Afghanistan that was on the boat...youngest passenger.

 

Desperate Times

Okay...a little surprising event after returning from Elafonosis.  Over the weekend a boat of 60+ illegal immigrants fleeing Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan were rescued from a very small ship next to Monemvasia.  The Turkish captain who was charging ~$1,000 a person was arrested and the passengers are being detained at a building next to my in-laws home which is usually used for a soccer club. Of course I was extremely curious about all of this and wanted to find out what happened so I asked Maria (mother in law) to bring me there so I could snoop.

When we arrived the mayor of the village and police stopped us, however, after some persuasive arguments they said they would allow me to talk to them, but that we should bring something for the 15 children from the boat...like chocolate.  We scurried over to the local grocery store and bought them out of kitkats and twix bars, along with animal crackers and several liters of water.

We were welcomed and the kids set about giving out candies to the kids.  The building they were being housed in was a very small space--about 1,000 square feet, and considering it was about 104 degrees out, the people were sitting outside in the shade hoping to catch some breeze.  I asked if any of them spoke English and they summoned a younger man from Afghanistan who was more than willing to share their story.  Each person had arranged to pay their carrier upon delivery to  Italy and had been on the open watercraft for 6 nights.  The third night on the boat they started having boat problems and ran out of food and water the next morning.  Their captain kept telling them that they would arrive to Italy within hours.  After the 6th night, and with everyone sick, one of the passengers got the captains phone and called the coast guard for help.  They rescued everyone from the ship and brought them to Monemvasia where they were being held, fed and cared for.  CRAZY ordeal!! They were so happy to be safe but obviously worried about what would happen now.  The next day they were being transported to Athens where the decisions would be made.  Their desparation and desire to live where they could be safe is so sad.  One of those 'putting things into perspective moments'.

The three month old baby from Afghanistan that was on the boat...youngest passenger.

 

Leaving Monemvasia

As we get ready to leave Monemvasia tomorrow morning, we reflected on the many family moments we have had here.  

The kids meeting their cousins for the first time and our first family dinner together:

The Giovanis men spending some quality time together:

The kids having lunch with their great grandma and her amazing sisters:

We have had such a tremendous time here in Monemvasia.  Although it was not without family drama (after all they ARE Greek!) it has been so nice to spend time with family and enjoy the beach life for a short while.  We are already looking forward to next year!

Island of Elafonisos

After returning to Monemvasia from a short weekend break to Athens (where Angelo and I had an amazing 2 night mini-vacay without the kids!), YaYa took the kids and I to the small island of Elafonisos for the night.

We spent two days enjoying the beach and sun as well as the company of several couples from Austria and their children.  My kids marveled at the 16 year old Austrian boy who drank as much wine as I did for dinner; which is a considerable feat. The boy's parents own a large vineyard in Austria so wine is like water for him; but it didn't stop my kids from openly gaping-the cultural differences make for great amusement!

 

Adventure at the beach

Incredible day at a petrified forest beach...a complete ecological experience as well as some an incredible fun jumping into the ocean!

Sophia was a bit hesitant at first..but ended up taking a jump.