Yiasou!

Sorry for the lack in posting the past couplea days.. things have been slowwwwwwwwww since we've been here in Greece, and although there is plenty of city to see, things are very expensive, and with the current purchase of both our tickets to Croatia and back to Canada, funds are a hot topic issue and we need to conserve as much as possible, at least till Croatia where everything is cheaper.

We haven't taken all that many photos while we've been here, outside of a couple here and there... but there will be much more to shoot when we're on Crete. We leave on Saturday night and will be on Greek's largest island for 3 weeks.. we're totally looking forward to getting our TANS BACK!!! JESSSSSSS!!!!!!

Although I have no pictures, I do have some thoughts and observations that I've had while here in Greece..
I would like to share them with all of you now, in a segment of the blog I'd like to call,
"Greece: Fact/Myth".. here we go... (DISCLAIMER - I can't be held responsible in the event of a war occuring because of this post - I'm just the messenger people!)

FACT: The metro system here is a fantastic way to get around and see the city, for not a lot of Euro, and is a very nicely buit and well maintained source of transportation.

MYTH: If you begin to walk through a crosswalk with the green walking sign signalling your right of way, and a truck happens to be barreling towards you, the truck will certainly stop and the driver will smile and wave kindly at you when you get to the other side, safely.

FACT: The Souvlaki that can be found for under 2euro are sent from heaven and served up by relatives of the actual Greek Gods for consumption by fellow countrymen and tourists alike. (I know I couldn't beleive this one either, but then I had a chicken and bacon pita and I understood)

MYTH: In contrast to popular belief, Greeks really are not as lazy as people beleive.. the truth of the matter is that they just beleive that everyone else is moving too fast, and they can't be troubled to catch up. (ZING!)

FACT: Machismo is alive and very well in Greece. If my math here is incorrect, someone please feel free to correct me.

1 guy +
1 small VW +
3 x 12" speakers mounted in behind their heads at a proximity of 2 feet +
a stereo blaring music @ volume 11
=
Deaf by age 35

MYTH: Not all Greek woman have hairy lower backs..

FACT: The percentage ratio of attractive Greek males to Greek females is as follows: Males 5% - Females 95% (this poll had a 5% margin of error)

MYTH: If a performer such as Shakira or an actress such as Demi Moore should happen to make an appearance of ANY kind in Greece, the news stations will devote only one segment of the show to it, rather than THE WHOLE SHOW FOR A WHOLE WEEK.

FACT: Popularity here is not spawned from the most expensive clothes or nice car, but rather, a thick luscious unibrow, complemented with a healthy cascading waterfall of curly hair on the back (think Slater on Saved by the Bell). Unlike other countries and peoples, Greek males are very firm beleivers in "partying in the front, AND in the back!"

MYTH: You can go sit down at one of the many cafes here in Greece, and order a milkshake for under 5 euros.

FACT: I will be playing soccer on the beach in Crete in about a week from now, and the Greeks WILL find out what Croatian footballing is all about..

Alright, that's enough for now.. ala Conan, please send your angry hate mail to: miamarcakis@hotmail.com *ahem*

As I mentioned before, we finally bought some flights out of here and we leave on the 25th of August. We will fly to Budapest in Hungray and get to stay there for a night, so we plan on taking a nap once we get there, and then touring the city since we have a layover of an entire day and a half.. we totally were not planning on heading up in that direction, but we're definitely going to turn it into a positive.. and really, after all, that takes our "countries travelled to" list from 5 up to 6! Wee!!!

From Budapest we fly into Split on the 26th and are hoping to be beach bums once again for a couple of days until Moma and Papa Rozic arrive and we meet up. We're so excited to see a familiar face.. well, I am anyway, and it's gonna be a blast.
We happened to get a really good flight home as well, departing from Munich on the 19th of September for under $400 Canadian!!! I was quite shocked to find it, but am super happy that I did, as it is a direct flight, and we arrive in Van at 1 in the afternoon.
*sigh* the thought of being at home now is nice seeing as how long we've been away for, but we will remain resolute as there is still much to see and do.

Aight, I think that was most of what I wanted to say for now. Glad to head that Van is finally having some kickass weather, and I hope all of you are enjoying the summa time, when the livin's easy!

Take care kids!!!!
xoxo V

Hey everyone. Its been a couple of days since weve posted, but thats because weve really been doing nothing. Everything here in Athens is very expensive. (for three coffees it cost 12 euro)
So were just buying time until we can hit the beaches next Sunday!! And then we can post some more beautiful pictures!
Ok, thats all for now... BYE!
Maria

Hey everyone!!

V here with yet again another installment.. how lucky for you all!
This installment involves a selection of pictures from a day that I will hold very high on the list as one of the most exclusive and special days that I've ever had.. even though I suffered a slight bout of heat stroke, it was so worth it I can't even begin to say..

Ladies, and Gentlemen, I give you.. the Acropolis!!!!!!!


On the walk up the hill, this is one of the two theaters at the foot of the acropolis. This one has been reconstructed, and looks fantastic! As you can see, the stage in it is brand new, and they apparently hold special concerts here during the summer.. we may even get to go to one..




This photo quite naturally needs no explanation.. the Parthenon. Unfortunately, there was lots of scaffolding, which marred the entire sight of it, but its all for the better, and I'm very happy to see that they are restoring it all to withstand another 1000 years hopefully :) Quite awe-inspiring..






Here is a shot of the esteemed "Theatre of Dionysus". For some that have heard me rant about this one during high scool days, forgive me for going through it again, but this theatre was proclaimed to be sonically and acoustically almost perfect when it was in prestine condition way back when.. it is estimated to be able to hold up to 16,000 people. Only 20 isles exist of what was once over 60.. leave it to the Greeks!


This is a shot of some of the slabs that once stood high atop the Parthenon and lined the roof. They were placed into a museum so that they could be better contained and protected. These slabs portray a sequence of events ranging from wars to parades, etc.





This is a photo of the Temple of Ericthaeon. The special feature of this temple is the addition of the porch that protrudes from the back of it, where the ceiling is held up by 5 sculptures of greek maidens. These sculptures were replaces with newer ones, and the originals can be located in the museum for preservation.. Also, if you anyone is wondering how I know all this, please thank my grade 11 greek mythologies teacher.. moving on!




This is a refurbished Stoa located in the ancient agora, just north west of the acropolis. It gives a good idea of just how large these buildings were way back when. Although all of the columns were rebuilt and replaced, its still quite a sight when up close.





And lastly, (even though it was taken firstly) this is the remains of the Temple of the Olympian Zeus.. located not exactly on the acropolis naturally, since you can see the acropolis in the background..






One thing that I love I think the most about being in Europe are the endless allies and streets.. I found this one quite peaceful and beautiful for some reason, and had to snap this shot..









And there you have it.. (it being not a dent in the 120 photos taken on the day) It's been amazing being here in Athens and I am quite looking forward to going on the island and getting my behind back in the sun where it belongs..

Will post again soon, but hopefully not too soon, as we're having a great time and always looking forward to the next day. Take care everyone and enjoy the pics!

xoxox V

Yiasou!!

V here again with a couple of shots for you avid blog readers!
We went for a "frappe" last night to one of the more posh cafes here in Athens and these photos certainly don't lie..

The first two are of the absolutely stunning views that we got atop the mount while sipping on a coffee and enjoying the breeze.. being here in Athens has been nothing short of amazing and I can't wait to go to Crete, Tripoli, and especially the acropolis.. you all can expect a ridiculously huge post for that occasion!

The last shot is Maria's cousin Maria.. easy enough to remember I reckon :)

So yeah.. just a small update.. but be sure to keep tuning in!!

xoxox V

Yiasou!

We have MADE IT! FINALLY!

I didn't quiiiite know what to expect coming here to Greece.. but lemme tell you, I could not love this place more.. and I haven't even started to tour the city!

We had a long ass trip to get here. We left Bangkok at 12:45am and flew to Cairo, Egypt.
We got off the plane at 6am (there) and upon arriving in the terminal, we met a man that asked us if we wanted to get an on arrival visa and go tour the Pyramids (since we had a 5 hour layover) At first it sounded too good to be true since we were discussing on the plane how cool it would be to go and get to see the sights really quick.. this was exactly what we were hoping for right?? Welllll we started thinking about how if it seems too good to be true it usually is, and to top it all off, my camera bag was in my backpack that was not on me and in the plane, so we decided that all together , it just didn't seem like a good idea.. specially if something happened to our transportation and we got stuck without a way to get back to the airport.. we couldn't jeopardize our trip, so we decided against it. Which sucked, cuz 5 hours in an airport is pretty lame after flying for 8 hours, and then having to take another 2 hour flight.. grrrr.

ANYways, after our flight into Greece, we went on the metro right outside and took it into town. The transportation here is brilliant and new since they built all of it for the games just two years ago.. very handy and it took us a mere ten minute drive from Maria's Grandma's home.

Once we got here we were met with open arms.. not of many though, only her cousin Maria who was sweet enough to prepare for us a chicken and potato lunch.. what a darling girl! It was so good, and we scarfed it down as all we had to eat for the prior 12 hours was airline food.
The time difference is only 5 hours, but it hit me like a ton of bricks.. so much so that by 7:30 last night my eyes were shutting and I could barely keep awake. I had a nice long sleep and the house is absolutely beautiful. I will post pictures for you all to see soon enough!

We plan on relaxing for a couple of days and then trying to see the sights of the city. Everything here in Athens seems to be within close vicinity of each other, so getting around hopefully won't be too big of a problem.. the only forseeable issue here is that everything here costs a whole lot more than we've been used to unfortunately. :( Going to have to start being very careful with what we're spending.
In any event, I'm very excited to be here and glad that we made it safe. Thanks for the comments everyone, and hopefully you're all doing great! Mom, check your EMAIL!

Aight, love you everyone!
Vlad

Hey everyone. So its our last days in Bangkok and were a little sad. This country has been so wicked to us. (except for a few hiccups, but thats bound to happen anywhere! )
We have shopped our little hearts out. Vlad has definitely won the contest. They fashion here is so much better than in Canada. He went all out and i dont blame him!! (im very happy with his purchases, he looks awesome!) I didnt do so poorly myself!!
So last thoughts of Asia:
We are sooo happy that we came here. Its been really amazing to get out into the world and see what other people live like. It makes you appreciate what you have and where you came from so much more. And seeing a different religion and food and colour of people... everything has just been so wonderful. It was such a pleasure to quit our jobs and just GO! I wanted to badly to get the heck out of Canada and I would have regretted it if we backed out. It makes you really believe in yourself and what you can accomplish (anything really!!) At first, all of these doubts plague your mind. How you will get around, how you will live, eat, sleep etc, but once you get past the jet lag and things become clearer (like the view of the beach) it all just makes sense. Foggy and sticky and hot, it all makes sense why you made the move to trapse around another country with not knowing the language and not knowing anyone, in what seems, the whole world!! But we have really felt like we did Thailand RIGHT. There are other places we want to see, but we have so much time and so much more confidence about travelling.
Its all coming to a quick end, and we are very excited to welcome feta, souvlaki, and more beaches as our tans are fading SO FAST!! It almost looks as if we never were in Thailand for two months!!EEK!~
So yeah, all is well with us. bye bye to the land of smiles!!
Love Mia...

So since nobody posted, I can only assume that you all care not for our non-picture posts.. well FINE..

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, Sukothai!


We started EARLY (7:00) this morning, and since today is a national holiday in Thailand, we got in for free.. BOO YEAH! (that one goes out to Monika, who has so lovingly been using it as of late)
This actually is outside of the ancient city, but it deserves fair mention.. it is a Wat, left out amongst a bunch of urban housing.. quite a treat that our Tuk Tuk driver thought we would like... annnnnd we did! Onward...





Okay, I admit, I didn't quite show Sukothai with that first shot, but this mes amis are the creme de la creme. 7:30am, not a single tourist around, and the whole ancient city to ourselves.. this is a shot of the main part of what is left. Sukothai's ruins are (apparently) much better preserved than those at Ayuttaya, and more intricate. We were blown away just walking through here.. as you can see, it is a marvel to look at just in picture form.. add in the atmosphere of a cool, not yet sun warmed breeze running across your face in a serine woody plain. Aghhhh too nice! Maria was claming that she wasn't sure if she was still asleep, or if it was a dream..


This is a good example of just how nice of an area it was.
The landscape was full of green grass, swaying trees and ancient relics that you just cannot find anywhere else. What a perfect way to finish off our tour of this marvelous country.
Of course, these were my thoughts, BEFORE we got on the 10 hour bus ride from hell.. tee hee >:(
At least there was no freaking Karaoke!


I think words are kinda unnecessary.. feast your eyes :D










Again, words aren't quite needed to describe me being a dumbass and pretending to be flying on a bike with it's kickstand out.. bravo!








Naturally we have tons more photos, but if you wanna see then you'll just have to be present at our coming home party. What, you thought the Rozics would only have the party for our departure?? Seeing as how we'll be joing up with Mama and Papa Rozic, I think a festa is in order, no?

So yeah, after Sukothai, we found ourselves on a bus for a verrrry long time. Since its a holiday here, buses and trains are all packed to the gills, and people from all over Thailand have been pouring into Bangkok to get back for whatever it is they do tomorrow. We're very beat up, but our spirits are still high, and we're looking forward to grabbing a good night sleep and (cracks knuckles) some SHOPPIIINGGGGGGGGG ahahahahahahaha.
I was hoping that Maria would cut my shoping frenzy at the neck, and me her, but its kinda turned more into her and I scheming in what else we need to get while we're here. She is a lovely gal I might say :D

Greece here we come!! We have a map and we're comin to raise hell.. don't worry rents, we have reception, and you will hear from us before we take off. Talk to you all soon!! XOXOX

V & M

Hello everybuuuuudy!

We've currently held up in a Sukothai, after a full day's travel by train, and then bus, and then bus, and then very very small tuk tuk.. but finally, we have a room and have made it to the outskirts of the old city. Problem is that since today was a holiday, the bus lines are absultely STACKED with people wanting to travel... what that means to us?? Well, we need to be back in Bangkok by this Friday, and preferably, stay for a few days so that we can "cough cough" shop... some more.. again... *cough cough*
EVERY bus and train to Bangkok is FULL UP.. except for one, at 11AM.. naturally we jumped on it, and so we have literally to get up at 6am, have breaky, drive to the old city, rent bikes and scope it out, drive back, take a shower, pack up and get back to the bus depot to drive back to Bangkok by 11.. yeow.

Anyways, that said we are a little frazzled tonight, and went a little lavish with our accomodation for the one night here.. we could use a good night sleep since we've been moving all day from 8:30am till 7:30pm.

*sigh*.

I predicted to a Thai man in Chiang Mai that Italy would win, and he gave me a neckace made out of elephant tusk, just cuz he beleived in France.. since Italy won, I get to keep it.. now I just have to find a way to convince myself that its okay for me to wear it.. that may be quite difficult. :(

Anyways, here's Maria.. I'll write and post more pictures in the coming days once we are in BangKOK!
<3 V

So youre probably all wondering why we havent posted for days and days!! (well, we hope you would noticE)
I had been sick for the past few days. Came down with something wierd. Feverish, achey and tummy achey. Ive realized that one day (all day) in bed cures me!! So im cured. Thank goodness. Our room was so comfortable that we didnt feel homesick at all and that is one of my theories as to why we dont post when were comfortable. We post the most when were homesick. But we had a wicked time in Chiang Mai, the lady at our guesthouse was the BEST!! She was so sweet that we bought her flowers for being so nice and she almost cried. It was so cute. And then this morning she stood at the gate and waved goodbye forever (like mamas do!!) She was definitely one of our favourite people on this whole trip. If youre ever in Chiang Mai, Kritsada guesthouse is the ONE!

Hmm, what else have we done you ask?? I dragged Vlad to see Simon Cabaret. AKA ladyboy dragshow!! YAY!!it was entertaining at the very least!!
We ate a LOT of verry good food at the night market every night so we got our fill before we leave. Had wonderful pineapple and other great fruits.
WEeeee....
Also, we went to the wonderful weekend market. We purchased a few choice items, very excited about that. there was so much awesome stuff there and CHEAP CHEAP!! (as they say)
So our Asia trip is coming to a close very soon here. Weve been reminiscing about what an amazing time weve had and how lucky we've been with travelling and the people here have been wicked. So what are some of your favourite of our adventures?? we'd like to hear!! ( i sound like a radio station asking for feedback, but its true!!)
Ok, time for bed, but well keep updated with your comments...
Love everyone... xoxo mia

Whuttttsssss uppppppp everyone!?!?!?

So Maria mentioned that she wanted to post some pics today, but she forgot to mention the lack of decent internet cafes in our area. There are a couple, but as someone who knows a thing or two about computers, I wouldn't try uploading pictures on a computer that is practically older than me.. soooooo maybe we'll save it until we get back to Bngkok, or better yet Greece..

The good news however is that Chiang Mai is absolutely beautiful, and we really like it here. Mia coined it to be her favorite place to be so far, and I would be hard pressed not to agree.. specially considering the absolutely KICKASS place that we got ahold of for a skyrocketing $9/ night.. which of course includes brand new furniture (honestly.. like, they just built the building and furnished it, and I'm pretty sure my head is the first to be on the pillow) a big fridge, new wardrobe, TV, and very nice bathroom.. it makes it so much nicer when you're staying in a nice quite comfortable space, specially after having to live through the roosters every morning, singing sweet music along with te sound of pickaxes, drills, and power-saws. (Dad, I dunno how you did it with those roosters.. I can't get their sound out of my head!)

So anyways, today we went to explore a little bit of Chiang Mai. We went to a couple of musems and got a chance to see a bit more of the city. Its definitely not what both of us expected initially, but we're very happy that we had a chance to come here. On monday, we'll be taking a train ride down to a place called Phitsanolouk, where we will be catching a bus and going to see a place called Sukhothai. It was once the home of the capital of the first thai empire, and te ruins are apparently quite amazing, so we thought it would be a good way to spend our last couple of days.

We are SO EXCITED TO GO TO GREECE! I'm particularily excited that I get to meet Mia's fam, on top of seeing the country and experiencing it with my lovely greekette at my side to get me outta trouble :)

So with that, I bid to you all good-day... glad to hear that the weather is nice and summer is finally arrived in our fair city.. get out there and ENJOY IT!

Talk to you all in a couple days..
V & M

Hey everyone. I know we havent written for a couple of days, but were in Chiang Mai and we love it here. Its just a quick post as i only have 5 minutes for today, but we found a STEAL of a guesthouse. Well post some pics tomorrow, but were ok, we love it here and were going to see Pirates Of The Carribean in an hour! YAY! So hope everyone is well. ONLY 10 DAYS TILL SOUVLAKI!
Love mia

Good day everyone!

So its our LAST day here in Laos, and though the people have been excellent, and our time very nice, we are definitely excited to make our way back to Thailand. In fact, we're very excited to leave South East Asia.. not because we aren't enjoying ourselves here, but rather that we are looking forward to seeing familiar faces again. As sappy as it sounds, it really is difficult being so far away from all of you.. even if w are in places that are so naturally beautiful with all the time in the world.

Tomorrow we will be flying to Chiang Mai, and we're sooo looking forward to it. Laos has been good, but staying in the same place for over a week gets a little tiring. I wish we had more money in our pockets, because we could have really explored Laos alot more. I really like it here after I take everything into consideration. The food, the people, the hospitality, the scenery... it really is a (mostly) undiscovered jewel.

Here are a couple more shots for ya'll..


This is a good show of the landscape in the area.. vey green and mountainous. Aint is just gohhhhhgeous?








K, seriously.. how cool is this pic?? Mia and I plan on framing this one when we get back..







Here is a shot of the Pak Ou Caves that we travelled (2 hours by boat) to go see today.. its like a graveyard for old Buddah artifacts. This is the lower level of the caves and you can see how far they stretch back into the rock.. super cool!







This is the best offering of a clear shot that I can give of the upper cave, as we are literlly 40 feet inside solid rock, and its PITCH black, aside from the light pouring in from the front gate.. it was such a trip.. it felt like I was in Tomb Raider!





This is a nice shot of the far side of the Mekong, and a small village amidst some nice scenery. This is the horrible sight that we had to look at for our boat trip down the river. Just dreadful really :P






Alright.. seeing as how its our last night, we're going to go and grab a bite and say toodle-loo.

To ther rents, we will be calling very soon, since we will most certainly have reception once we're back in Thailand.

Love you all and take care..

P.S. We're also very excited to show you guys the sweet stuff that we bought you! HAHA!!

Hey everyone. Were officially bored. (i think for the first time in awhile!!)
Luang Prabang is veeerry slow paced, and i think 9 days is too much in one place!!
So myleft foot started swelling last night, and this morning both of them are swollen and i can walk very well! I am a cripple. So hopefully with some elevation and hydration, they will go back to normal .. they hurt enough that when i stand on them, they are uncomfortable. If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know!!

Hmm... so what have we been up to you ask?? Well, not a heck of a lot. Vlad and i have been in rough shape for a total of 4 days. (2 for me and 2 for him) and unfortunately, they happened consecutively, one after the other. Our stomachs have been the culprits. Vlad and i have opposite problems though.
Lets just say... Vlad ate fruit, yoghurt and granola for the first time in his life and it was pretty awesome!! His face was PRICELESS!!. Unfortunately i didnt have a camera with me.
But for all of you that know Vlad really well.. he's not the granola munching type. It was AWESOME...
So our plans for the next 3 days are as follows:
Today we are going to try and walk up Phou Si (yes, insert laugh here) hill, hopefully my legs will be forgiving. Then tonight we will do our souvenir shopping because everything here is much cheaper than in Thailand. (so if you have any requests, get them in NOW!)
Tomorrow we will take a slow boat to Pak Ou caves. And stop on the way to several other villages along the way. And then tomorrow evening we will go and see a traditional Lao dance and ballet thing. I dont know what it entails, but we shall write about it later!!
Other than that, weve just taken it REALLY easy.
We went to "Le Cinema" a couple of days ago. Its this guesthouse that has rooms set up with pillows and a big mat on the floor with surround sound and a television. You choose the video and away you watch. So we saw "The Matador". It was very entertaining. Pierce Brosnan rules.
Out couple friends left a few days ago, but theywere a lot of fun. Claudia and Patrick. Great conversation and very entertaining!
Anyway, thats about all for now. We will keep everyone posted.
And by the way...

HAPPY CANADA DAY EVERYONE!! ( we miss it kinda...)
love and lots of hugs...
Mia (and Vlad)