Greeks and Ghosts (7/3/16)

I can not speak for the whole group today, because today we were given a free day to do with as we pleased. After a short lecture on Charles Darwin, I chose to take some time to go out with another group member and see some of the daily life in London, shopping in Covent Garden, getting lost along the way to the Hard Rock Cafe, and taking a double decker bus just for the fun of it. 

A short couple of hours later, we headed back to the hostel to pick up some other group members. A small group of 8 of us made a short side trip to visit my family's restaurant, Andy's Taverna. We were running a tiny bit late, in typical (as far as my family is concerned) Greek fashion. We arrived at the restaurant at about 5, where they seated us immediately. I asked if my cousins had arrived yet, but they were still on their way in. My great aunt happened to also stop in just to see me. Unfortunately she only speaks Greek, meanwhile the best I can do is that I could point out a watermelon, tell you the word for the color Red, say good morning/good night and tell you I love you (very much). I started to worry quite a bit when my cousins still hadn't shown up by 5:30 (although I hardly noticed time pass much, as we were devouring appetizers and having fun conversations) when we were supposed to meet at 4:30. Not too much later my cousins were able to sit down and join us. As it turns out, a 45 minute drive into town pretty much doubled when there was a giant accident and terrible traffic around rush hour. Our timing still seemed to work out just right, as our entrees were  arriving right as my cousins came in to join us.

Everyone in the restaurant treated us all like family, and made us feel warm and welcome. The food was amazing, and just like my Yiayia (grandmother) always makes. 

One student made a comment following dinner that I felt captured my thoughts exactly; "I am so grateful to have had such a lovely dinner and I will remember it, always! Thank you!" 

On a more personal note, it was lovely to connect with extended family that I haven't really seen since I was about 4 years old. It was fun to make jokes about growing up with my Greek family, and see the amazement on his face when I showed one of my cousins my drivers license. It was interesting to hear another cousin express her interest in our studies and talk about what she wants to do, since she just completed her A-levels in Psychology. The whole dinner tonight left me hoping that I could continue a correspondence with my family out here, and really gave me a lovely feeling of being close to home just when I needed it the most.

My family and I at Andy's Taverna

We ended up wrapping up dinner around 8:00. While it sounds like a long time I honestly was not ready to leave. I could have spent the rest of the night just catching up. We all made a quick stop at the hostel, and headed out again to catch a 9:00 Ghost Bus Tour.

The tour was okay, but I do wish I had personally stayed with my family. I thought that we had wonderful and energetic tour guides, and if you love a theatric performance and some ghost stories then you would love the Ghost Bus Tour. I felt a little rushed trying to snap pictures of all of the sites we were going by, and I did feel a little overwhelmed with all of the stories being told at once, but the humor and the views alone were worth the time and money spent. I would definitely recommend the tour for a second time London traveler, but not for someone who only has a few days and wants to fit in as much as possible.

Tower Bridge view from the tour

Another view from the tour

At around 10, the tour finished up. Since we were close by, I ran off to snap a few photos of the London Eye. While the London Eye is a bit underwhelming in the daylight, the night sky begins to show it come to life. We were home and happy but ready to crash by 11.

The London Eye at night

-Katrina