GREECE

So here I am, in typical Jessie fashion--about to leave for the airport in 1.5 hours, mostly unfinished packing, and doing something that entertains me more instead! Emily and I have quite the epic journey ahead of us before we end up at our first destination in Western Crete. It will go down something like this:
Fly to Memphis (clearly the international hub of the US...)
Fly to Amsterdam, not seated next to each other :_(, hopefully endure colorful/strange company on the plane
Arrive in Amsterdam Tuesday morning, Fly to Athens
In 2.5 hours, deftly navigate our way around the airport, find lockers to overpricèdly store put our semester's-worth of luggage, and scoot onto a metro for an hour's commute to the port to...
Hop on an overnight ferry to Hania, the largest prefecture in Crete.

After that it's
2 nights at a hostel in Hania
2 nights at a remote, "mountain retreat" village that advises you to do things like "bring a flashlight as electricity is not consistent" and "have an open mind and open heart, for that is the stuff of life". This was Emily's find, and I am freakin' stoked.
a bus to Heraklion, the largest city in Crete, and either a night "couch-surfing" through the esteemed online network (www.couchsurfing.com, you should go and check out the profiles, they're pretty hilarious) or at a nearby hostel that looks truly beautiful
a ferry to Santorini, where we'll stay for 4 nights and recreate Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants to the best of our ability
an all-day ferry back to Athens, completely with scenic view of the islands and Ionian Sea
3 nights in Athens, complete with white-water rafting where the 2004 Olympic Kayaking was? I will go to ridiculous lengths to make sure we do this.
After that, we fly to Paris and Valencia, respectively to begin our semesters abroad!

I hope to update regularly--we plan to hit up internet cafés that seem to be all the rage in Greece, but we'll have to see!

I hope to hear from you guys, via email or posting.
Lots of love!
Jessie