We got engaged. The end!!! 🙂

Jk. We actually did a lot of fun and eventful things while in all parts of Greece! Of course everyone is obsessed with the Greek Islands, but why wouldn’t they be?  Greece has so much to offer and we only scratched the surface. We’ve heard mixed reviews about Athens in particular, especially since they’ve experienced some economic difficulties over the years… there has been a fluctuation in the amount of refugees, homeless people, and overall appearance (or what Jacke would describe as “grungy”). We also received the inside scoop from our Airbnb host, after he offered to take us out for a couple drinks and get to know us. We were a little hesitant at first just because we were so tired, but you always regret those opportunities later if you don’t take them, and this trip is all about NO REGRATSSS (yes, I spelled it wrong but hoping you get the movie reference).

So after a couple of long days seeing some profound history such as Acropolis, Acropolis Museum, The Temple of Zeus, Agro Ruins, and many iconic spots in Athens…We took up our Airbnb host’s offer to go out with him and his Canadian friend that was visiting. He actually just got back from a trip around the islands that day, and we had plenty to talk about! Mostly because Jacke asks everyone a trillion questions, but it makes for memorable conversations at least.

“What time do you have to be back?” he asked,  I said we have to be up at 5:30am for the ferry…. and then Jacke got extremely embarrassed when I corrected myself, and admitted that I actually had a fantasy football draft at 3:30 in the morning. He laughed and said he would have me back by 3:15am, and I could instantly see the fear in Jacke’s eyes, as she hasn’t stayed up past midnight in about a decade. We headed out and before we knew it, he was giving us a history lesson on the surrounding area, as we bar hopped through some of the most unique and hidden spots we’ve ever seen. We couldn’t believe how alive the area was on a Monday night, as the bars were full of drinks, laughter, and life everywhere we ventured. We spent hours getting to know each other and some of the others that joined our group along the way. Crazily enough, we met a girl from Austria who was just flying in from Vienna. She had studied at Indiana University for 2 years and absolutely LOVED Bloomington. Little did she know, that is where Jacke was born and we were from. What a very large but very small world! But Back to the bar scene… One second you could be on a completely deserted street, then the next thing you know, you walk through a few doors, an art gallery, and you are in one of the most lively bars in Athens. After hours of laughter and fun, it immediately came to a screeching halt when I realized how terrible my fantasy team turned out…but I wouldn’t change it for the world after the night we had. So I pulled an all-nighter and we left for Santorini!

There is nothing quite like Santorini… or at least I don’t know of any other islands with white buildings and blue domed churches built on a volcano. The island is magical and has the most jaw dropping views in every direction you look. We spent hours funneling through the old towns of Thera and Oia before catching some of the best sunsets we’ve ever seen. The island had more to offer than we expected, and we wholeheartedly fell in love with this place, as we knew we would! It brought back childhood memories of mine at the farmhouse, as we rented ATVs (a must do) to explore all the towns, beaches, ruins, and views.

After two days with Jacke and the parents, the day for the proposal had finally come. As mentioned in the previous post, everything turned out perfectly! The not so perfect part… the day following the best day of our lives may have been the worst day for Jacke. She spent the day staring into the aqua blue waves splashing into the base of our crystal white toilet. She literally lived between our bathroom and the bed the entire day (haven’t kissed her since). So what does a newly engaged guy do in Santorini? Explore the island with my parents! We spent hours traveling across the southern side of the island prior to going our separate ways for dinner (back to reality without the parents)…I brought Jacke some stale food from the minimart. She wasn’t feeling up to leaving the hotel yet, so I went to experience the Oia sunset myself….warning: extreeemley packed and there are hundreds of other areas to view it. Thera was better in my opinion, but thats an entirely different story. I explored the rest of the beautiful town, while hundreds of others evacuated to the northern end of Oia to witness the sunset. Afterwards, I went back to check on Jacke, her pulse was fine, and I headed back across the street for Mexican. (you know Jacke is dying when she turns down Mexican)… I Didn’t know what to get, but saw they had endless ribs… I don’t think I’ll ever be allowed back, but it was the perfect ending to my first day of engagement and the only alone-time I’ve had alone since we left for Europe. 🙂

Mykonos is a giant party. This was the next stop, and we’ve heard from many it’s the place to be! It’s more of a “be seen” type place where athletes, celebrities, and big spenders from around the world come buy 20 plus Euro drinks and 10,000 Euro cabanas. So we were out of luck personally, but it was still an unreal experience. Again, the ATVs are a MUST here to explore the island and see all of the beaches. The town itself has some of the most iconic streets in the world, as it guides you through it’s enchanted white buildings lining the coast. The inland part of the island wasn’t quite as scenic, but just as fun! Shoutout to my parents for allowing us the live the lavish lifestyle of a celebrity for  entire trip to Greece. They made our trip that much more memorable, and allowed us the spend our days in Greece the way they were meant to be spent.

We then headed back to Athens to say our farewells. It was sad to say goodbye, but we are forever thankful for the new memories we all have together as a family. To Jacke’s displeasure, we sent her engagement ring back home with them to be safely stored in the safe…Jacke looked at her blank hand and started crying “I’m single again!”. And just like that… her mood instantly changed. I now realize diamonds are just really expensive mood rings, and they may actually be worth the investment. As much as she would love to have it on, it just isn’t the wisest decision having something drawing attention to us, or of value in foreign places. So thanks mom for taking care of it for her until we return.

We received another offer from a new Airbnb host in Athens to meet us for coffee before heading to the airport. If you haven’t noticed yet, the Greeks are the friendliest people we’ve met thus far, and love to socialize at every opportunity they have. We spent an hour talking to this charming and bubbly family, and they even gave us some advice for one of our upcoming spots. We became a little sidetracked when they told us the only thing to watch out for in Thailand is falling coconuts… Jacke laughed, but she didn’t realize they were dead serious about it. She explained to us how they’ve even trained monkeys to take down the ripe coconuts that are ready to fall, in order to avoid injuries and that they have even killed people. I think Jacke was a little confused on what she said, as we are heading to the metro and the only thing she took from our entire conversation was, “I cant believe they train monkeys to kill you with coconuts!”…I just shook my head and continued onward with what is the start to the next 70 years of laughter.

Takeaway from Greece:

1. Perfect spot for a proposal 🙂
2. Explore the islands, but more importantly… explore the culture and get to know the people.
3. Jacke thinks there are trained monkeys assassinating people with coconuts in Thailand…