The Massive[ly delayed] Spring Break Update

Sorry the first post was so delayed to all who have been checking. Our travel schedule didn't allow much time for blog updating until we reached school in Greece.

And, because I know not everyone will read all the way to the bottom. Pics are here.

Flew British Airways out of Sea-Tac to London Heathrow. Sat in the last two rows of the plane. It was little loud, but we had room behind our seats for backpacks, so leg room was maximized. This was the nicest plane I've ever seen in my life -- sleeper chairs, complimentary drinks, and about four different sections of first classy seats. Barry sat next to an Italian from Milano. He spoke no English and Barry speaks no Italian, but somehow (according to Barry) they were having a conversation.

Cam and I watched Beowulf with no sound so we could talk. I don't think we really missed much. A stewardess cut Cam and I off from drink service for no real reason. Something about Americans and the altitude. We weren't being loud or uncivil even, and a steward came and actually apologized to us for her, which was nice but put no more drinks in my stomach.

Got to Amsterdam after a short layover and an even shorter flight. It was pitch black out and dumping snow when we got out of the central station. Took a ridiculous cab ride to a hostel (which, by the way, were not as cheap anywhere as people had us thinking -- but I attribute at least some of that to people traveling on Easter holiday), where we shared a room with a Scottish expat. That was a linguistic adventure, to say the least.

Met some British rugby players on the tram into town, ended up hanging out with their team for a while the first night. They were a wild bunch.

Second night we had to find a new place to stay. Found a hotel in a very central location for only 2 Euro more a night each than the hostel. Coffeeshop (all one word there) / Red Light alleyways were... interesting. One of the "ladies" actually came out of her little box and grabbed me by the jacket. I wasn't about to stick around until a Ukrainian tried to make me pay him something just to leave, so I got out of that situation quickly. The novelty factor of it all wore off really quickly. Aside from a few museums, there really wasn't much to do there other than spend money in restaurants, pubs, and coffeeshops. Almost everybody working there admits the city is good for holiday, but not a great place to be permanently.

The van Gogh museum was amazing. I used to think it was just stylistic how he portrayed Holland as having crooked buildings that lean on each other and tilt inward toward the streets. It's not -- the place is actually built like that. It really looks as if you found the right building in Amsterdam and knocked it down, the rest of the city would come crumbling down.

Four days in Amsterdam, then we left for Roma, which is, of what I have seen in my life, my favorite city in the world. Ryanair only allowed us 15kg a bag (even though we already paid 14 Euro with the tickets just to be able to check a bag). Actually, we could have checked our heavy bags, for 10 Euro per kilogram over that we were. We were all facing between 60 and 100 Euros in fees. So we were all unpacking our entire lives in the middle of Eindhoven airport. I ended up having to wear a couple of shirts and all of my jackets through the ride so that I could get my bag checked.

Stayed in a one-star hotel near the Colosseum. Had Spaghetti Carbonara, a dish I've yet to see really done correctly in America. Fettucine alla Bolognese is also high up on my list. Actually ate no pizza in Italy.Drank way too much Chianti and ended up in a jazz bar, where jazzy Italians grilled us about New Orleans (music, not hurricanes) for about an hour before we found our way back to the hotel. Next day Cam and I led a (10 mile) walking tour of the city. Did The Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill, hit most of the piazzas, and climbed to the top of Basilica di San Pietro. 551 stairs. Everyone in my cohort agrees we should have done the inverse of what we did -- one night in Amsterdam and four in Roma, but what can you do?

Left Roma out of Leonardo da Vinci airport. Saw some (not black) kids wearing "Black Panthers Harlem Fight Club" sweatshirts. Kindly informed them that if they ever make their way to America that those should not be donned if severe beatings wish to be avoided.

Got to Ioannina after a four hour layover in the Athens airport and my first plane ride in a bird without jet engines. Propellers are LOUD, and don't make for the smoothest rides. This city is beautiful. Isolated enough to be quiet and relaxing, but close enough to really anything we're going to want to do in Greece. Everybody at the University is extremely helpful. the Starvos Niarchos Int'l Student dormitories put every single dorm at the UW to shame. two beds (as opposed to bunks), desk, bedside tables, deskside drawers, reading lamps, a table and two chairs, closets with built in dressers, and a private bathroom with a tub in every room. I think some of the native Ioanninans are a little resentful that we get the nicest building on campus -- but I think the university knows no Americans would come if we didn't.

Cafeteria food is... well cafeteria food, just Greek. Luckily, there is a little kind of cafe called the Kilikio, where 1.5 liter waters and enormous ham and cheese HotPocket-esque snacks run between 1 and 2 Euros.

The group is great, everyone is friendly and excited to be here. Also nice, we've got a couple of kids with us who are Greek, speak Greek, and visit Greece every summer. They have been really good about helping us get around so far. These guys actually spent their spring break in Athens with family, and then drove to Ioannina. They are the only ones with a car, and I think the only ones who would really want to drive around here. For any Angelenos reading this -- for as nuts as we are behind the wheel, you drive like an old woman on the Greek standard.

An American woman from Georgia named Kat took a big group of us out last night, determined to teach us how to party hard on less than 10 Euro (a nice break considering .5 liter beers were pushing 5 Euro in Roma and Amsterdam, and we did shop around for the best deals). Enter, Cipro. Think Greek Grappa. Pretty much, moonshine made in the mountains by locals and sold to the restaurants by the lake. The nice thing about the Cipro -- aside from it being less than 2 Euro for a little personal pitcher approximately 50 milliliters -- is that little snacks are included with it. Probably so you don't get alcohol poisoning and die in somebody's restaurant.

School is...well I've only had two classes, and both have been in Greek language. I thought I would have a leg up because we had to learn the alphabet during pledge quarter. Wrong. That alphabet is americanized to the extreme, and has done next to no good thusfar. Our first history class is in a few hours, and we've got our first excursion coming up in a few days.

Pics from all of this, and for the rest of the trip will be uploaded to flickr sets, visible here.

More to come soon, hopefully in smaller posts for your dry eyes and short attention spans.