Summer Part I: Greece

Weeeell. I'm back in Singapore now!

The first part of my summer is, sadly, over :( It was truly an amazing experience for me! Being able to spend six weeks in another country for an internship, meeting new people and trying new things. I will cherish these precious memories <3

By the port :D 

The AIESEC interns in Chios! 

Karfas 

The beaches at Chios are BEAUTIFUL <3 The waters are so blue and clear! 

 

Maura Volia (The Black Beach) 

This is my favourite beach, because it looks so cool with its black pebbles :D Plus, the water at this beach is so clear, that after swimming out to the sea where my feet can no longer touch the bottom, I can still see the rocks at the bottom very clearly 

Sunset at one of the beaches XD Can't remember which one this is haha 

Komi Beach

This beach is apparently the party beach during the weekend :P 

The city of Chios :) 

A view from the mountains 

My friend and I decided to bike up the mountain :P 

One of the few times that I stayed out so late that I could watch the sunrise <3 

Pyrgi village 

This incredible village has buildings and houses that are covered with amazing patterns - that are all carved on, not painted on! 

Mesta - a village-castle :P 

We went to the number 1 suggestion on Trip Advisor, to try the traditional Greek donuts at 'Kanellos' in Mesta. They were DELICIOUS. They were served warm, and with cinnamon, chocolate and honey with mastic (you can choose which topping you want). They were crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside. As you can tell, my friend could not wait until I have finished taking a picture, and had started eating those donuts! XD 

Ah, souvlaki :) One of my favourite Greek food. It's a popular Greek fast food, and is served either on a skewer, or in a pita sandwich (like so). It is cheap, filling, and delicious :D

Ah yes, that one time that my friend and I decided to splurge on some seafood :P He didn't think it was worth the money, I thought it was okay because I quite like these dishes! It was definitely quite expensive though. 

We had fried shrimps, grilled swordfish, fried squid, and... some rice wrapped in vegetable thingy :P 

Last but not least, these are the amazing people that I have met in Chios <3 The girls are the AIESEC members in the University of Aegean, Chios, and the two guys are the other EPs - one from America, and one from Egypt. I had a lot of fun with these seven amazing individuals over the past 6 weeks, and I really do hope that I can meet them again someday :) 

-D-

Wanderlust

Wanderlust: a strong desire to travel 

SO. I've been doing quite a bit of travelling lately! After my finals, and after packing all of my things up (storing them for the summer), I went to London to meet up with a few of my secondary school friends. It was really great meeting them again <3 We went to watch Jurassic World hehe :D One of my friend was laughing inappropriately whenever someone gets eaten by a dinosaur.. *ahem* -.-

Anyway. After that, my family and I went to EDINBURGH! Despite the sun, it was really windy there!

The Castle :D 

View from the top of the castle~ 

Holyrood Palace! We were not allowed to take pictures inside D: But it was definitely super fancy! My favourite bit of any castles is the beautiful and intricate decorations that can be seen on the ceilings! 

We climbed up the mountain near the castle :) 

After that, our little vacation brings us down to the HADRIAN'S WALL. TBH, I expected more... :P The view was spectacular! 

Ah yes, after Edinburgh, Celine joined us :D 

Of course I had to climb on top of the wall... :P Never mind the fact that I was wearing a maxi skirt that day LOL 

 We then continued our journey down to LAKE DISTRICT

I have heard so much about this place from so many people, and it is even more breathtaking than I had expected! 

<3 

We took a ferry across to another island :) 

Celine and I also had temporary tattoos because... glitter tattoos..! :P 

We also went to NOTTINGHAM for a day, where we went to the castle and to the University :) 

This is a very nice outdoors cafe place in CAMBRIDGE - perfect for when the weather is brilliant and you just want to chill and relax with a nice cup of tea and, of course, SCONES!! 

It's called 'Orchard Tea Gardens'

I was extremely pleased with my choice - raspberry, cranberry & elderflower fruit tea :) 

Oh, we also had to move my brother's things down to London... So we rented another car from Europcar, and they gave us a free upgrade to a Mercedes Benz ;) woop woop! 

Then at last, the day of my brother's graduation :) 

And um, Celine really wanted the pink balloon.. :P 

Ah yes, later that evening, we went to see Taylor Swift in Hyde Park, London!!! She was simply AMAZING <3 the concert was so much better that I thought it'd be! My dream of watching a live Taylor Swift concert had finally come true!! My friends and I had arrived later than everyone else, because there were a bunch of other singers before Taylor Swift and we weren't that keen on waiting for that long. I mean, we could see the big screen just fine - if you ignore those people who would ride on other people's shoulders -.- We did manage to sort of see her... :p but she was super tiny hehe :P it was still an amazing experience and like she said, a dearly cherished memory <3 

SO. Right now, I am in GREECE! I know the current economical situation is not exactly ideal, but I don't think it will affect me that much. I can understand my dad's concerns, and I do wish that I can make him worry less - without giving up this amazing opportunity. The AIESECers here are extremely friendly and so lovely and adorable :) I am really glad I am able to meet them! They have been so welcoming, kind, sweet and so warming and supportive, always looking out for me and always recommending yummy foods to me haha! As my host lives about 5 minutes away from the port, we would walk down there quite often for food - there are a long stretch of cafes and restaurants along the port. The view never cease to amaze me :) And I can't wait to go to the beach here - it must be spectacular!

The ferry port - sunset :') 

My host's ADORABLE CAT <3 He has really warmed up to me hehe and he's a total sweetie :D 

I really do hope that my dad will let me stay in Greece until the end of my internship. I don't want to leave this place :( But regardless of when I leave, I will try to enjoy every moment of my time here :) 

-D-