Wander

OH HI THERE!!

Missed me?! Well I am officially back home in Kocani after a long two weeks of traveling! Obviously, a lot has happened in my two week vacation, but instead of writing down everything I did, everyone I met, and everything I ate, I suppose I'll just show you a few of my favorite highlights of the trip through photos. Ready??

Well, our first stop was Thessaloniki, Greece. We couch surfed with an AMAZING host, who really showed us the best food and nightlife!

Thessaloniki has a million hidden streets and alleyways that are full of great unique bars with excellent happy hours! 

Chad and I enjoying our SECOND meal at this place, because the food was just soooooo good!!

After leaving Thessaloniki, we caught an early morning flight to Zakynthos, Greece. The island was beautiful and full of activites!!

We spent three days exploring the island, and we found a dozen hidden beaches just like this one! The water was often pretty cold, but we were troopers and took advantage of every opportunity!

This was the shipwreck cove. Photos won't do this place justice.

Having fun!

Yes, this is a boat bar, and yes we spent our day here.

Our next destination was Athens, Greece. We were only there for a day, and I'd have to say it was our least favorite place to visit. We did see the typical touristy stuff, which was excellent, but we found the city to be too overwhelming and dirty. Regardless, we still had a great time!!

Me in Athens!!

The ruins

Athens is HUGE!!!!!

From there, we went to my favorite place: CORFU!! Corfu is another little island off the coast of Greece. It is mountainous with a million little beaches....it is the postcard of paradise. 

The view from our apartment

The evenings were perfect

What we did every morning.

Compliments from our favorite place to eat, complete with the best staff!!

One of our new local friends owns this place, which is located in a village near where we were. We went there on our last night and had an EPIC meal!!

The next places we visited were Milan and Como, in Italy. Both were day trips, but we had an excellent host, Geri, who helped show us everything!!

This is Geri, our host!!

Third largest church in Europe. 

Milan was gorgeous at night!!

Lake Como!! (George Clooney owns a villa here)

Another beautiful sight!!

Our final destination was Venice, Italy. I LOVED Venice!! 

How can you not love Venice?!

Amazing dinner.

: )

Yes, this mask came home with me. It was hand-made. Did you know all the masks for the movie, Eyes Wide Shut were made here??

Last night......sigh....

That's that....in PHOTOS!! I may give more of an update later, but for now, I am tired. I hope you all enjoyed the photos. : ) 

Not all those who wander are lost...

Meet me in the morning

I have been stuck on the couch for exactly one week. I have to admit, being stuck at home really frustrated me. I hated not being able to go to work, not being able to dance, not being able to see all my kids, not being able to really be out in public at all! I will say, though, that some excellent things have come out of my time on the couch.

1. Travel Plans- As mentioned before, I got most of my travel tickets booked for my trip in June. Im still not over the excitement of booking those tickets. I began looking up things we can do in each place, and I discovered some really fun things! For instance, we fly from Greece into Milan on the 23rd....in searching festivals and celebrations in Italy, I found that on June 24th, there is a huge celebration over the Como Lake. Fancy that, b/c Como is only an 8euro train ticket away from Milan AND it is on our way to Venice. HOT DAMN!! I'd have never discovered this, if it wasnt for the time on the couch. :D

2.Dance Camp- That's right. DANCE CAMP!! I've mentioned this idea in passing to some of my students before, because I wanted to create something more we could do in the summer. Well, all of my "student dance teachers" came to visit me this week, so I talked with each of them again about it. I then began to put the plan into action. I set dates. I made brochures and flyers, which we plan on distributing to local businesses, schools, homes, etc. I made a website. I made an outline for the classes we will provide. I spoke to people who have offered their time for things like registration and food/water donations. I've done A LOT. The website is complete, but I am not posting a link to it until I get the OK on two more details.

So camp will be a Kocani thing, but it is not limited to Kocani kids. Ideally, everyone who lives within a reasonable distance from the city will be able to attend, free of charge. The website is setup so that kids will register online. From there, I plan on grouping the kids, based off their age, dance experience, and the classes they are interested in. We will have one day of registration and orientation, complete with some activities for everyone. Then we will hold 3 days of dance classes, which will be held in rotational blocks. On the last and final day, we will hold a recital, so the kids can show off what all they've learned. This event will be open to the public, and I hope it will generate even more kids to attend dance lessons during the school year. Furthermore, this will be excellent for my student teachers, so they can start fully taking over more classes next year, allowing me less opportunity to re-injure myself!!

Well, that's all I've got. It is a beautiful day here, and I'm actually going to get out of the house. Enjoy your quote for the day:

"What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do."

—John Ruskin