Alice in Wonderland Party and Wag-a-thon!

This past Saturday night, the four of us Wheelock teachers went to an Alice in Wonderland themed party at the vice principal of ACS' elementary school! The mystery began when we were invited through BCC'ed emails that were written in Alice-type narrative. We were told to come dressed like characters or "off with our heads!" And we were also told to bring a vegetarian-friendly dish, as the vice principal and her family are vegetarians. Emily had the great idea to have the four of us be the four suits of playing cards, as pretty much everyone at the school refers to us as some variant of "the four girls" or "four Wheelock ladies." So they made these great Ace cards in four suits and we all wore black dresses with the cards on them.

Once we got to the party, I could see just how elaborate this was going to be. There were signs telling us which way to go, decorations everywhere I looked, and people in some very creative costumes. The vice principal was the Queen of Hearts, and loved that we looked like her minions. Haha. She offered us wine from bottles that said "Drink me!" and taped playing cards onto them so people could keep track of their glasses. We were then told to go check out the rooftop, and you don't have to ever ask me that twice! We got up there, and saw people sitting in pillows and beanbags around a table with more wine and a hookah on it! Surprising the other three girls completely, I decided to try apple-flavored hookah and actually liked it! I didn't inhale too much because I've never smoked and usually hate the smell of smoke, but the flavor smelled so good and it was a cool experience! The party overall was very fun.

Then on Sunday, I spent my entire day at the Friends of Animals shelter fundraising event called the Wag-a-thon! It had a bazaar along the walkway out front selling animal-related items, clothing, and all sorts of miscellaneous things. While people looked around, volunteers walked around with dogs from the shelter, showing them off to people in hopes that they will be interested in adopting! I couldn't go 3 feet without stopping to pet dog after dog. I swear there was every single type of dog imaginable there! I was in heaven obviously. Then the actual walk began and all the volunteers walked their dogs around the area, past open-air cafes, restaurants, and shops, then eventually looped back to the shelter where the poor babies had to go back.

Daffy, the ACS-sponsored Wag-a-thon dog!

Two fellow ACS employees and I then stayed to volunteer a bit more. The shelter needed help taking care of the cats and really cleaning out their cages after a recent cat disease went around. So the joy continued as I got asked to hold kitten after kitten while they transferred around cages while we cleaned them. Absolutely ALL of the cats, dogs, puppies, and kittens at the shelter were complete sweeties, and I obviously wished I could take them all.

Puppy kisses!

 

Beyond adorable, right?

More puppy kisses!

Different puppy, but still more kisses!

Then all the kitties wanted in on the action! (While still getting even more puppy kisses.)

I mean, look at this little girl!

This little, sweet girl has a vision problem. Still so adorable.

Then we were starving when we were done, and I was introduced to Greece's version of Chipotle and it was AMAZING.

And to finish my day, I watched a beautiful sunset from my balcony. :)

And that's my weekend! Pretty cool, huh? I am really looking forward to getting back to the shelter to help more soon. :)

That's all for now!

-Brittany

AGISTRI for the weekend

In typical Greek fashion, Emily and I had a little getaway weekend to one of the Greek islands this weekend! We went to Agistri, and despite the rain upon arrival, and the constant winds/clouds, it was still gorgeous.

The woman who owns/runs the hotel we stayed at, Nontas Hotel, was beyond cute and the absolute sweetest. We wanted her to be our yia-yia (Greek grandmother). She had her son pick us up from the port and drive us the 5 minute walk to our hotel the night we arrived because our ferry was late/it was dark, and because it was raining. Then she had him drive us back that way after dropping off our things to bring us to an open restaurant. Finally, today when we were paying and getting ready to depart that afternoon, she insisted on staying as late as we wanted (I requested a late checkout because of our ferry time) and she gave us homemade apricot and nectarine marmalade that she made herself. It was SO sweet.

Because the weather wasn't fully beach weather, Emily and I enjoyed walking around the area. During our travels, we met an adorable dog who was so friendly and sweet. We named her Scrappy and she followed us/walked with us for a good half hour. We simply seemed to be animal magnets this weekend, which is a pleasure/torture for me because I love them all but then want to feed them and take them all home. We had kittens at our dinner the first night. Scrappy and another dog the next day, then more dogs and cats along our travels today.

Other than eating out and walking around, Emily and I did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and it was amazing. We just opened the window and doors to our room and enjoyed our view while reading good books. The following pictures pretty much speak for themselves:

Of course our first night there, 5-6 kittens found me at the restaurant and effectively distracted me for the rest of the meal.

This is Scrappy! The sweetest pup ever.

                                         

On our second night, we heard and saw this site running around in the waves on the shore... Yup, that's a lot of ducks.

Another kitty friend! Emily told me I need to make a "Cats of Greece" calendar by the end of this experience. Haha.

This beautiful site is the Church of Agioi Anargyroi in Skala, Agistri.

Yup, those are octopuses (octopi?) drying in the sun for people to cook and eat for dinner later.

DELICIOUS pineapple and mango smoothie and blueberry pancakes!

Another puppy friend saying hello/goodbye as we prepare to leave.

Bye Agistri! Stay beautiful!

Off to go get ready for tomorrow, and watch the new episodes of Bones and Once Upon A Time! (Being half way across the world won't stop me from watching my favorite shows! Haha.)

Until next time,

-Brittany