Patras, Greece, Day 2, Wedding Day!

Friday July 4th

Happy Independence Day! Another year I'm not in the U.S. to celebrate lol, but I wasn't too sad to miss out celebrating this holiday. I don't have a solid tradition to look forward to each year, no cabin, no boat, no set place my family or friends comes to meet, and for variability the holiday tends to bring, I don't have a strong attachment to the day. So, I was overjoyed to be in Greece, doing some of my favorite things in the world - traveling and being by the sea.

Mom and I kinda slept in, late enough to catch up on some sleep but early enough that we still had much of the day ahead of us. Outside of the wedding, we didn’t have anything pressing to do today, so that meant another relaxing beach day. Starting the day off with food of course, we went down for breakfast. I had my fruit, peanut butter toast, and two coffees. We met Scott, Gretchen, Wendy, and Karen down there. I wore my workout clothes, hoping to get a lift in this morning since we had the time and I knew I’d be proud of myself for taking advantage of the hotel gym. I also made an appointment to use the sauna because I missed it yesterday so today would be my time. I love the sauna, and I got a big fix in Bucharest, but I wish I had one easily accessible to me at home.

It felt so good to lift again. There was one full body machine that had a couple different lift options and I used that for a full body workout. I got in a good workout, and as I was nearing the end I was joined by one other person. This person being a 5 year old boy, who upon arrival, kicked off his crocs, and broke into a dead sprint on the treadmill. To give him some space to focus on his workout, I made my way to the sauna. I should’ve stayed in there longer, but I was antsy to go to the beach so I wrapped it after about 8 minutes and was content with the quick gym session I had. The little boy was still out there when I got out of the sauna, in which he transitioned to his next set of yanking at the lat pull down, using all of his body weight to move the bar, and I exited right.

It was perfect timing because when I met up with the crew, Karen, Gretchen, and Mom were about to go on a walk so I was able to join them for it. I wiped off the sweat beaded on my skin from the sauna and applied all the sunscreen I could. Having ran one side of the beach already to get to the bridge, I wanted to explore the other side of the shore. So, we walked along the sea with our backs to the bridge, exploring more of the coastline. I talked to Karen for most of our walk, with Mom and Gretchen chatting just behind us.

Funny enough, I was the one that requested we turn around around walking almost a mile because I was nervous about the sun exposure. The sun was extra powerful and there was no retreat of shade along the walk. Another bout of good timing occurred when we returned from our walk just as Scott showed up ready to save some seats by the water. I ran upstairs to quick change into a swimsuit and grab my beach bag full of the necessities. I did the usual: journalling, staring at the ocean, listening in on conversations, enjoying the music I auxed, and feeling the warm air wrap around me like a hug. Enough time had passed since breakfast that I was feeling a ping of hunger, and knowing dinner would be very late in the night, the team decided to go back to Rattan for a late lunch.

I was nervous when they pulled out different lunch menus than dinner but this one also had a couple vegan options, feeling very lucky I had good options nearby. I ended up getting the vegan burger. It came with well seasoned potato wedges and a thick bun. The fact that I could have a meal with any amount of protein was wonderful, plus it felt extra American to eat a burger on the fourth, so it turned out for the best. I thought this beach club restaurant was so beautiful and they had great food so I was happy to be back. I also was impressed with how affordable the meals were, my burger was only 8 euro and that felt so affordable.

We had so much fun at lunch. We took our time as today was our chill beach day and we were going to embrace that to its fullest. After lunch, we went back to the beach chairs. I had yet to jump in, so I left my stuff in the trusty hands of Karen and then went for a cooling dip into the ocean. I tried to jump in as fast as I could, acclimating slightly, but knowing how good it would feel once I was under. Another day, another glance out at the view with mega appreciation and joy for my life. One of the biggest reasons why I travel so far and to a place so new, is to do what I cannot at home. And to have the opportunity to do that makes me reflect on the gratitude and gifts in my life. To reconnect with my soul by feeding it with what it loves most: travel, ocean, and sun. I was doing all three and I couldn’t be happier about it. 

Mom headed up to our hotel room before me to start getting ready and I stayed at the beach for as long as I could before it was time for me to also get showered up and dressed for the wedding. The dress I ordered didn’t ship in time so I had to scrounge together something else to wear for the ceremony and thankfully Rena let me take her college graduation dress. I was proud of myself that I steamed it straight and figured out how to wear it so it would look best and make me feel confident. I didn’t do anything with my hair but leave it straight and then I put mom's up in a bun.

Ready to go, we went down to the lobby, caught the shuttle and headed up to the wedding venue. Yes, up. Up into the mountains. The view was absolutely breathtaking. We were atop the very hills that we could see from our hotel room. The venue overlooked the water and bridge, and when the sun began to set, it created the most beautiful sunset for all of us to enjoy.

The ceremony itself was beautiful. It was only about 15-20 minutes, the sun was still shedding its heat, but we got paper fans to cool us down and some water to stay hydrated. Although I didn't know the couple very well, I was still so happy and excited for them. How amazing that they are such a good fit and love each other so much. I hope for that for myself one day.

After the ceremony, we went up a set of stairs for the reception. They passed around a light and sweet wine, and after taking one sip from my mom's and enjoying it, I grabbed my own glass from the server. I don't drink, but it tasted more of apple juice so I had a couple sips, but my own my body halted me from drinking more because I could already feel that small amount in my head. But, it was fun carrying around a wine glass and playing the part in that sense. I was hoping to keep it for toasts but I ended up ditching it when the bees surrounded the glass, addicted to its sweet smell.

As the cocktail hour continued and the crew went their own ways to chat, I took the liberty of going off on my own to enjoy the sunset. I found a place with the best view and just stared out at it. This was the reason I came to Greece. This wedding. How crazy. I would have never imagined myself visiting Patras, but I am so grateful we came to this city because I've had the best time and experience here. It was nice to get some beach time and have two fun parties to attend. Plus, how cool to have run across the bridge, tour a greek farm and home, have the beautiful mountain view from our room, swim in the crystal blue water, and go to a greek wedding! I don’t know if there will ever be a wedding venue that tops this one. I am excited to see any try, my own included. 

I watched the sunset, and where I was standing overlooked the photoshoot they were having, which was sweet to see. I stared out at the ocean view for probably an hour in total, I just couldn't move away from it. I was there until I had to go to my seat for dinner and prepare for Colton and Sofia to walk in. We were two tables away from them, the table next to wedding party and her family. How nice that they put us so close!

I was excited to see and try the food. We were one of the first tables to go, I got fresh tomato, stuff peppers, potatoes, and bread. I cut the bread in half, added olive oil, and used that to make pan con tomate. The tomato was flavored so well, and it tasted delicious on the bread. And the potatoes were incredible. But, my favorite was the late night fruit plates they passed out. You could taste the quality and the locality of the fruit. There were bananas, strawberries, grapes, nectarines, and cherries. I was addicted and almost put down the entire plate.

Right after dinner, I got to participate in a Venezuelan wedding tradition of pulling a string under the cake and whoever pulled the unique one would get a gift and 'be the next to one to get married'. Right after this was the inauguration of the couple on the dance floor, and I went to join them along with the entire guest list to dance. I proudly join along, and was beaming when I heard and could sing along to all of the reggaeton songs. It felt like I was back in Spain again.

We stayed until 1am, catching the bus on the hour. I was not looking forward to the early wake up call to head back to Athens. I would have loved to stay there longer, especially because the music was so good, but knowing we had a lot in store for our travel day tomorrow it wasn’t a bad idea to call it early. What a fun and cool wedding. An unforgettable experience in the dreamiest of locations.