#+ some other pastry stuff from a greek bakery

[gojoest]

today should be a good day bc i got myself a bagel !

[popjunkie42]

Painted Blind Chapter Three

Read on AO3

Summary: What Feyre Archeron wants is simple: enough food, gold and safety to take care of her family. But when a terrifying fae beast crosses the wall and enters the human lands, she finds that simple, safe life slipping out of reach.

Part one of an ACOTAR re-telling inspired by the Greek myth of Psyche and Eros.

Chapter Three: Feyre learns the unintended consequences of becoming Feyre fae-killer. The Archeron family receives an invitation.

Thanks to @witch-and-her-witcher and @rosanna-writer for the beta read, hand holding and advice!

I also have a beautiful commission art piece by June Page I’ve posted.

I’m really excited for the next few chapters as we get to delve into some more sister stuff along with exploring the human territory a bit more…

Chapter under the cut or Read on AO3.

The next morning, there were offerings at the door from the village.

It wasn’t until I had stepped outside in the morning to grab firewood that I saw our front stoop had been visited. There were…offerings. Lovely stacks of small gifts: an iron ring on a plain wooden dish, a pile of dried figs wrapped in a canvas bag, winter apples, a small carving of a wolf’s head, and a sprig of dried flowers.

No one from the village had ever given me anything before.

Coming here, my father, sisters and I had learned quickly that poverty hit this place too hard for begging to be of any use. The most well-off in our village still had lean times without bread and the refined folk down the road that deigned to come to market day would do nothing but sneer and kick at us. There was a line even for the burned and stale bread at the bakery. And tempting as it was, I refused to accept the occasional offers of ale at the tavern from the men whose eyes sparked after too many glasses themselves.

Richard Dannon had been good to his word, and had come to our ramshackle cabin just a few hours later with a purse of gold and breathless thanks. He eyed me the whole time as if I were some sort of dangerous beast that might turn and snap at him at any moment, just like the head I had brought him that morning. I didn’t ask what he planned to do with it.

The man in his fine suit and wan face had offered to keep some of the funds in the bank in Innisville - our old village, when we had been in society and not known the pains of hunger.

I said I’d consider it.

But I hadn’t thought about much at all, really, after scrubbing my skin raw and sleeping most of the day.

If my mind wandered anywhere it was to what Isaac and the gaggle of boys around our age would think; at how the other hunters in the village might greet me at the next market day. How I could walk past those who sometimes laughed at me or threatened me with a reason to hold my head high.

On the second day, the gifts were even more lavish.

Nesta and Elain’s eyes had gone wide as we all shuffled out in our blankets that morning. There was a bouquet of vibrant hothouse flowers that made Elain gasp. Dried meats and a small bag of flour and candies - a bag of peppermints.

For once, we hadn’t fought. Nesta’s eyes had glittered as she offered the bag to Elain, who deeply inhaled the sugary scent and selected one with delicate fingers, as if it were a sparkling diamond. Then she passed the bag to me, smiling wide, reveling in being able to share now instead of fighting over meager morsels.

I couldn’t remember, exactly, the last time I had tasted candy like this. But some recollection was buried deep within me, as the first taste of sugar flooded my memories, filling my mouth as I sucked.

A moment later we were all smiling at each other, laughing at the heady rush, at the crunch under our teeth and the tiny sweet memories of another life.

On the third day, the gifts were even more. Coins of all kinds. Bread rolls and pastries, and a small wheel of cheese. More flowers and dried up bits of the forest. And on the windowsill, a silver chain with a small stamped charm.

On the third day, as well, there were people waiting. Just a few - staring nervously as I cracked the door open and emerged, my sisters behind me.

A woman in fine black clothes approached me.

“I would ask your name, but everyone on the western shore knows it now.” Her voice was a hoarse croak, as if she had been screaming. Weary, bloodshot eyes seemed to confirm my suspicion.

“Um, I - sorry, I don’t know your name.” I remembered that once I had had lessons, etiquette, learning to curtsy and address all manner of people. My mother would be rolling over in her grave, now.

Gloved hands grasped my own tightly, and she shoved a folded letter into my hands, her eyes turning to shimmering pools. It had looked like she wanted to say more, but she had left a moment later - a weary trudge back towards the main road.

I made Elain read me the letter later that evening, when Nesta had gone to bed and father was snoring quietly by the fire.

Her son had fallen to the beast’s hunger. I didn’t let myself think as to whether I had seen his bones littered in front of the cave. She had written of her sorrow, and the hope that with his death avenged, her son would finally be at peace.

I didn’t know if I believed in that, if there was peace or anything at all to be had after we finally closed our eyes for good, if any old gods existed to guide us there. But I hoped for her sake it was true, or at least that the belief would let her sleep more soundly at night. Maybe we all would, knowing one such monster was gone from our lands.

I had hoped for the stability that came with gold, to avoid hunger and the cold, to maybe earn a little respect from the village.

I hadn’t expected anything like this.

An anxious part of me remembered the beast’s words, still so strong it was as if they rumbled through my chest. I am only what comes before.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

It was also on the third day that my father started acting strange, an unsettled gleam in his eyes as he stared into the fire.

His eyes had taken on a sharpness that had been absent for so long. And his attentions drifted back to me, to all of us. I would glance up from sharpening my knife at the table to find him looking at me, a crease in his brow, a small frown on his face.

As wary as I was, it almost felt good to see him like this - sharp, animated, and directing his attention towards me more than he ever had before. It reminded me of our life so long ago, when he had presided over a mighty wood-carved desk oiled to a shine and sat shoulder-deep amidst the richest treasures of the world.

When he had been…powerful.

That afternoon, we made our way to the marketplace for the first time since my hunt. We had walked together, even my father joining us with his cane, standing closer together than I could remember us ever doing. Nesta scowled, and Elain gripped my arm tight enough to pinch as we wandered through the square, meeting face after face filled with awe and wonder.

Some of them murmured my name, a strange, unsettling echo throughout the road. Feyre. Feyre Archeron. Fae-killer. A few even put their hands upon their hearts, and bowed in respect.

Bathed in blood, I heard someone whisper.

I didn’t know how to feel. My face was burning under all the attention, all the scrutiny. The village elders met us in the town square to shake my hand, the same ones that had turned us away again and again when we were at our most desperate.

Nesta had seethed beside me, only the smile of our father staying our words.

I didn’t have time for this. For any of it, least of all the nervous, unsettled feeling curdling in my gut.

I had things to do: I had to make change the best I could, for few in the village could exchange an entire gold piece. We had agreed upon some small initial purchases. Mostly I hoped that getting my sisters a few coveted items would douse those ravenous looks they gave every time the bag of coins sat upon the table. I needed to find a safer place to keep it than under the floorboards.

And I needed, desperately, to see the healer again. When I had first seen him a few days ago, he had done little more than give me a salve and poked around the bones in my hand as I tried not to scream. At least he had given me a tonic for the pain.

But I hadn’t been able to sleep last night, a burning numbness sometimes creeping past the pain of the shattered bone and torn ligaments. It was somehow worse. I had formed a new habit of pricking my fingertips with my nails, trying to coax some feeling back into them.

Fifty gold coins was fine. But it wouldn’t last my whole life. And I needed my hand to hunt.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The day after, father had mysteriously been gone in the morning by the time we all woke. He had returned hours later, his cheeks flush and three new dresses clutched in his arms.

He had hung them on the wall in display as I bit my tongue. They were simple, but made of fine fabric that draped well. Robin’s egg blue for me, slate grey for Nesta, and pale pink for Elain. We were to go to the market again, but as properly dressed ladies.

They had to cost at least a gold piece, perhaps even two.

I wondered how many gold pieces my hand was worth.

Still, something inside quieted me just for now. This was the first interest our father had taken in us in years. I felt it in the tension as Elain fingered the fabric reverently, as Nesta eyed hers with grudging approval.

So the next market day, I let him dress us as ladies. I didn’t say anything as we covered the new fine garments with our threadbare coats, paired them with our scuffed and worn shoes. He himself had brushed off one of his old suits as much as he could, shining a pair of impractical shoes from another time.

I had held out hope that things would return to normal over time, and we could slip through the market like any other unremarkable family with a few coin to spend. But no such luck.

The town square was full this morning, with more strangers in fine clothes than I had ever seen here.

All eyes looked to us as we shuffled through the stalls. Nesta kept her chin high and her jaw set, as I ducked into stores and stalls to escape.

Father was in fine form, smiling and shaking hands as we shopped. He made sure to seek out those in finer suits first.

“Feyre, come here!”

My father beckoned me with a warm, hopeful smile.

I sighed. I was negotiating hard for some dried beans, some rice. It had been a new irony to discover these market days: even with so many coins in my pocket, the merchants insisted on filling my arms with food and supplies, refusing to take even half of their worth. I had to fight: not to haggle, but to pay. I knew everyone here was as hungry as we had been, couldn’t afford such charity even as they insisted.

It was all right though, because it helped me ignore the shooting pains in my hand.

Father was entertaining in the square as we shopped: a rotund man about his age, in a fine dark wool suit and a tall hat, shining in the morning light.

“Feyre, this is Mr. Robinson, the Mayor of Innisville. You remember him?” he asked me.

I didn’t.

“His wife, Lady Sasha used to show horses with your mother. And he’s come to see you, dear daughter.” He spoke with a theatric flair, with a barely contained smile on his face. Unsettling and strange. “He has an invitation for us all.”

The man beamed at me, his chubby cheeks glowing red, looking warm and jovial even on this dour winter day.

“Just look at you. Who would have imagined you bringing down that monster!” I prickled at his tone. “I got a look at its head. You must have been very frightened, dear child.”

Something burned in my stomach. I remembered, strangely, the taunting, bored voice of the beast.

“I’ve hunted for my family for many years,” I told him. “Hunger drives us to do many things in spite of fear.”

My father made a sharp inhale. But the mayor simply smiled, moving closer at my tone, and grasped my good arm at the elbow. “Of course, dear. I just meant you must be very brave. Especially for one so young. And lovely.”

My father held me by my other arm. I had the distinct feeling of a pack gathering, penning me in.

“The Mayor came with an invitation, Feyre,” he said gently, like I was a wild animal needing coaxing. I could see the regret in his eyes, probably thinking about how he had taken so little care to teach his youngest proper manners. Or anything at all. “He’s extended an invitation to the whole family, to join them as honored guests next week for the town’s solstice celebration.”

“Everything is so bleak these days - with the wheat blight and the threat of the wall always looming over us. People need something inspiring, to show them the way. Or maybe someone.” He seemed to be a kind man, and his eyes sparkled as he smiled at me.

My heart skipped a beat at that. My birthday. I suspected my father had forgotten the significance.

I knew my sisters would want to go desperately, would beg and plead. And that spark in father, even if I resented where it came from…it was like he was back again, like when I was a child in his office, his youngest girl to entertain with treasures from across the world.

Except now, I was feeling more and more like the prize on display.

My hand began to hammer in time with my thundering heart.

“I suppose I can take a one day break from hunting.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

That night, the three of us lay in bed, not sleeping.

Nesta was the one who spoke first, her voice barely a whisper.

“Father means to use this to marry us all off,” she said, a simple statement of fact.

“Do you think we’ll get many more invitations, maybe to a ball?” Elain asked.

I snorted.

“This all depends on you, you know,” Nesta said, fixing her eyes on me in the dark. They glowed unnervingly in the silver moonlight. “You can’t behave like a feral beast anymore. If you can summon manners and keep your temper in check for once, you might actually be rid of us soon. Isn’t that what you want?”

I frowned. “Is that what you want, then Nesta? Who knew butchering a monster in the woods would lead to husbands all around. I didn’t think you would be so eager to partner with father in his schemes.”

“Last month I was considering marrying Tomas Mandray,” she said, almost bored, ignoring my words because she knew how much it angered me. Her eyes were locked on the ceiling as she lay next to me. “Now, if we can get a few more decent dresses and invitations to the town, we might be able to marry someone with money. An actual home to keep, with servants and filled pantries.” Nesta’s voice wasn’t hopeful. It was cold and practical, evaluating the lifeline set before us.

“I talked to the other girls at the dress shop,” Elain ventured, trying to smooth over whatever it was between us, her eyes wandering to me in the dark. “They said people think you’re…blessed, Feyre.” She sounded a bit nervous. “That you defeated a fae unscathed, and bathed in its blood to take its power.”

I laughed bitterly. “Unscathed? I can hardly move my fingers. And the cut on my cheek won’t heal at all. It still bleeds half the day.”

Indeed, the slice from the creature’s claws had remained a sharp red mark on my cheek, sometimes burning in the cold, despite the cleanings and bandages Elain had attempted on it.

I hadn’t told them yet what the healer had said to me about my hand.

He had cleaned my cuts and scrapes, clucking his tongue at the deep purple bruises that were turning a sickly green, and finally gave it a closer examination. He bent my fingers and rubbed my bones with his thumb, drawing muffled cries and fiery bolts of pain that shot all the way up my arm into my shoulder.

He had made a decisive noise and set it down again, finally. “There’s no way to set all these tiny bones without cutting into your skin. And I won’t know what I’ll find in there. It's too risky to cut through the muscle and make permanent damage. I’ll wrap it the best I can and I recommend keeping it still for a few weeks to see how it heals.”

“A few weeks?” I had asked, horrified.

“Five weeks is best. Afterwards we can see how it sets, and start practicing movement again.”

I had sat in stunned silence.

Five weeks. I had never been idle even half that long since we came here. We had money now, yes, but how long would it last if I couldn’t hunt? I knew I was the only one who could keep us afloat, and I couldn’t afford to lose that time.

Even setting the snares one-handed this morning had been a challenge. And this far into winter, the rabbits weren’t as plentiful on the forest outskirts. I had to go deeper, and I had to be prepared.

“After five weeks, I’ll be able to hunt again? To use it?”

His lips pursed. “We won’t know until then. It’s likely you’ll always miss some movement. It’s all up to your body now, and if it can put you back together. The more you move it, the more it will keep re-breaking and interrupt the healing process.”

Laying in bed, my hand wrapped tightly, it pulsed with the memory.

Maybe I would have to marry. If I could never use my hand again, never hunt, never fire a bow…snares and traps and a pocket of quickly dwindling gold could only get us so far.

My stomach turned at the thought. I had wanted marriage for my sisters, mostly to get them out of my care. Of course I always hoped they could move forward, leave this sad place, start their own lives away from our poverty and bitterness. I hoped they found someone hardworking – someone gentle for Elain, someone strong for Nesta – to eke out a life away from the sad pallor of our cabin.

I had never thought of it for myself.

All I saw in my mind was freedom. Father dozing on a warm bed, while I rested, and painted, well-fed and warm.

What man could possibly match that freedom?

Read on AO3

[polar-stars]

some random Shokugeki breakfast headcanons

(SnKimiko-Verse related)

Breakfast Headcanons for the different families in my “Shokugeki no Kimiko”-Verse. For...some reason. 

🥐🍳🥞

The Yukihiras (SoRina Family)

When Hiraku & Kimiko were still going to the local school, Soma and Erina always had a competition every night after the restaurant closed over who’d get “Bento-Rights” the next morning. Whoever won got to make the Bento obviously ahdh. 

Soma really loves to make them all kinds of Onigarazu, while Erina has developed her own kind of honey-pork dumplings, that Hiraku in specific loves a lot 

During the week, while the children get their bento for school, the adults usually each make an individual, quick breakfast for themselves at different times. Although with Soma and Erina of course they are proud enough of their creations to urge the other that they should have a taste as well. 

Once they’re old enough, Kimiko & Hiraku tend to take over breakfast on weekends as the family is more prone to breakfast together on these. 

EGGS, lots of EGG-DISHES. What household do you think this is?

The Nakiris (RyoAli Family)

Back when the Nakiri-Twins were smol, Alice & Ryo made a great effort to be around them as much as they can...so they usually also ate breakfast as a family. When the twins are older and can take better care of themselves it decreases a little but ultimately this family still does eat breakfast together at least once a week.

Usually it’s prepared by one of the cherry-picked chefs working in the Nakiri-Mansion, but being great chefs themselves one of the family-members tends to prepare breakfast as well at times.

Once Akio Hayama moves into the the Nakiri Mansion he sometimes prepares breakfast as well, but more on that later.

They tend to have a rather sumptuous breakfast, with a lot of options to pick from: Various types of cheese, croissants and other pastries, freshly-baked bread, fruit...etc. Some Instagram-worthy stuff.

Despite all these luxuries, Mona and Lola Nakiri never fail to voice that they prefer when their parents cook breakfast.

Rest (AkiSako, IsaMegu, ShuYoko and so on) under the cut

The Hayamas (AkiSako Family)

Akira and Hisako both don’t like other people preparing their breakfast. Whenever the Hayama-Family is staying at a hotel, these two are sulking at the hotel buffet. 

Akira & Hisako quite frankly love to prepare breakfast for their children and, while not always, they do tend to do it together. With these two teaming up it’s usually a very healthy, energizing breakfast. 

But despite the teamwork, these two also have some competition going on every morning as Hisako prepares tea, while Akira prepares coffee. The competition is about which drink their children will pick up (who like both). Real fancy tea blends & coffee-combinations are born in this competition. 

Kaori & Akio pick up a lot from their parents. It’s become common knowledge around the E10 that Akio makes the best tea, while Kaori could 100% work as a barista if she wasn’t a cook. And they both have a lot of breakfast-recipes stored in their head.

Once Akio moves into the Nakiri-mansion because of Hiraku, he actually does prepare breakfast from time to time. At first he usually eats on his own, because he feels awkward sitting at the same table as the headmistress but Alice’s pushy nature get him to sit with them in the end. 

The Japan Aldinis/Aldini-Tadokoros (IsaMegu Family)

Megumi and Isami prepare breakfast together almost every day. It’s a great way of bonding for them. It usually turns out to be a pretty rural-breakfast but it’s very comforting and their children love.

Yes, they bake their own bread. I believe in this firmly. 

Hiroshi Aldini-Tadokoro, when old enough, also tends to help out with breakfast or he goes out to pick some berries. Maja and Nino Aldini-Tadokoro often end up settling the table. This is more for weekends though. 

During the week, Megumi & Isami make bentos. Bentos for the kids and Megumi also makes one for Isami, while Isami makes one for her. He even came up with an “Italian-Styled Bento” just for this. 

The Tuscany Aldinis (TakuIku Family)

They don’t always manage to, but really try their best to eat together as a family. In Summer specifically. They always eat outside when the temperatures are warm enough. 

There’s three kinds of breakfast: When Ikumi prepares it, it’s usually the very healthy, nutritious kind that actual athletes would eat. Like idk, greek yogurt with fruit and chia-seeds, avocado-sandwiches...meep. 

When Takumi prepares it, it’s a sumptuous but also cozy European breakfast including lots of freshly picked tomatoes, egg, sausages etc. 

And then there’s the times when their daughter Mika prepares breakfast, even bringing it to her parent’s bed when she’s awake before them. Mika usually finds a middle ground between her mother’s breakfast style and her father’s breakfast style. 

The Ibusakis (ShuYoko Family) 

Ryoko makes very traditional bentos on weekdays. 

On weekends, she goes out even more and sets the table very lovingly. Shun also involves himself and smokes some bacon, eggs or so. 

Ryoko has found herself a hobby in jam-producing. In the nearby forest (the Ibusakis live close to one), she tends to pick berries (or Kasumi does that for her), or gets some fruit from the market in their small village and she makes jam out of them. She came up with some truly delicious combinations on her own. Yuki always takes at least 10 glasses with her, whenever the Maruis are over. 

Shun probably also bakes bread himself at times, idk I can just picture him doing that. 

The Maruis (MarYu Family)

Yuki makes Bentos for Takahiro (and back when Chieko wasn’t on Totsuki, also for her ofc) during the week. And she always includes some animal designs. Because she’s Yuki. 

They don’t always breakfast together on Saturday but they sure do on Sundays. This is a sacred tradition to Yuki. If it’s sunday and all of the family-members are home...They will have breakfast together. 

Zenji gets send out to get bread and usually he also buys some pastries or cakes for the children (and Yuki). 

Yuki meanwhile prepares the best (according to Takahiro) hot chocolate for Takahiro & Chieko (and herself). 

Zenji drinks coffee or tea meanwhile. 

Chieko really loves to have blueberries at breakfast. So sometimes Yuki incorporates them into pancakes. She likes making pancakes. 

The Hojos (Terunori Kuga x Miyoko Hojo Fam)

They tend to end up eating together. Suzume & Miyoko wake up the earliest usually and while Suzume goes for a morning-jog, Miyoko often begins preparing breakfast. Takayuki comes down to drink tea closely after and lastly Terunori wakes up, when everything is finished usually. 

Suzume loves having smoothies for breakfast, especially since she’s already being active early in the morning. 

Miyoko, like Ikumi, tends to go the healthy, energizing road for breakfast but she does also prepare buns which everyone loves. 

If Miyoko can’t prepare breakfast because she’s out or so, it’s either Terunori’s call or the kids go out themselves to eat out because they got too tired of waiting for their dad to wake up. 

The Eizans (EtsuNe Family)

This family struggles to find time to breakfast together and when they do it’s usually on vacation, or on weekends.

Nene is the one who pushes the most for a breakfast together and when she sees the opportunity, she’ll go full out in preparation. And when the family sits together, no one is allowed to even look at his phone and ruin Nene’s precious family-together time. 

Normally though, Nene & Masashi individually tend to prepare Miso-Soup or something for themselves, while Etsuya & Shigeo have gained a habit of eating out by getting something from a bakery, sit in some café or Etsuya lets his personal assistant get him (& whenever Shigeo has come to the company with him, him of course as well) something. 

Kei alters between either getting something from his mom or Masashi or getting himself something outside as well. 

The Saitos (SoMomo Family)

Momo often ends up making breakfast on weekends, although Kiyoko Saito later takes on the task as she’s awake earlier. Anyway this is some very sweet, Instagram-worthy stuff. 

Waffles, yogurts with fruits, macarons, croissants, fine jam.....That kind-off stuff. Though Momo never fails to prepare one miso-soup and a bowl of rice, as this is all Somei asks for. 

In the week, Somei is the one preparing bentos. His daughter Moe ended up helping him out at a rather young age, as she thought that the bentos could be a lot cuter. Moe ended up developing a passion for bentos through that and on Totsuki she always wakes up early and makes one for her big sister Kiyoko & also Shigeo. Moe’s bentos are legendary. 

Whenever Kiyoko is in any-sort off city, she really likes eating breakfast at various cafés. Sometimes she takes Masashi with her. 

The Tsukasas (for @blas-i-us *blows kiss*, but yes EiRin Family)

I think I’m gonna make it a running gag that this family rarely eats breakfast at a table, much to Eishi’s frustration. They often end up sitting on the couches in front of the fireplace or the children bring breakfast into their parent’s bed or so. When they do sit at a table, it’s usually outside during warm weather. 

They do always eat together though. And they prepare it together as well. The Tsukasa children started to participate at breakfast-preparation. In fact they often end up starting the preparation as they’re awake first.

Lots of cheese, because they live in Switzerland. 

Tsubame Tsukasa also tends to collect ingredients from the outside by running out into the morning rays and picking berries, mushrooms etc. 

[jalapeno-princess]

Got7 As Occupations

Mark: Fireman

I don’t know why but Mark just gives me fireman vibes

HE CAN PUT OUT MY FIRE ANY DAY

ANYWAYS

He knew he wanted to be a fireman from the time he could talk

Mark loves helping people in any way he possibly can

He is also the biggest daredevil and loves a challenge

Wakes up early to exercise and prepare himself for the long day ahead of him

Literally everybody on the block knows him because of how kind and helpful he is

Don’t forget extremely attractive

One time he saved his neighbor’s cat from a tree

But he didn’t use a ladder or anything

The little shit climbed up the tree

His clumsy ass almost sprained his ankle but hey at least the cat was safe

Lets kids who visit the firehouse wear his helmet and sometimes even his jacket so they feel cool

Always offers to give tours of the firehouse to Jackson’s students because he loves informing people about the tough work firemen have to go through on a daily basis

All the women in the neighborhood swoon over him even if he’s covered in dust and sweat from work

Can you blame them though

Look @ him

An actual Greek God

Whenever there is a fire, he usually drives the fire truck because of how calm and collected he can be in stressful situations

Will risk his life every single time there is a fire just to make sure everyone else is safe

Gets scolded by Youngjae quite often because he isn’t careful and ends up getting burned a lot

Walks around the firehouse shirtless every day because he claims it’s hot when really he’s just trying to show off his washboard abs

Back to the fact that he’s very clumsy

Falls down the pole ALMOST EVERY SINGLE TIME

To the point where his coworkers made sure he takes the stairs

How can one be so muscular and fit and hot as fuck yet not know how to slide down a pole the world will never know

I was going to make a stripper Mark! but we’re pg13 in this household

Shows off his hose skills to the other firefighters

But ends up whacking himself in the face almost every single time

Honestly he’s the best

Gets promoted to the chief fireman after only a couple of months because he’s been getting a lot of compliments and praise from everyone in the community

Even if being a fireman can get hectic and dangerous sometimes

He wouldn’t change his job for anything else

Jaebum: Policeman

The idea of JB being a policeman drives me insane

HANDCUFF ME PLEASE

Becoming a police officer was the last thing JB thought he would do

But when one of his classmates got mugged and wasn’t able to press charges against the person

He knew he wanted to help out others and throw bad guys in jail

Has a tough and intimidating exterior

But he’s one of the sweetest cops there is

Only when he wants to be though

Most of the time he’s very rough and can get physical when he has to

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

If he makes his quota for the day

He does not give a shit about what happens afterwards

Literally

Someone can be speeding or jaywalk right in front of him

And he’ll let them go just because he doesn’t want to file paperwork

I know what y’all are thinking

Yes

He is the typical cop that will stop for donuts and coffee

The girls who work at the bakery always give him pastries for free because who wouldn’t want to give this man free stuff like come on now

And he’ll even visit pet stores on his break

Sometimes he’s a little too nice and let’s everyone go

One time an old man was speeding so he pulled him over

But his heart wouldn’t allow him to give the man a ticket

Holds a gun just for looks because of what happened when he first started training

Accidentally shot a coworker in the shoulder but he’s fine

Will put on his lights and speed just to go home early

Sometimes he’ll wear his uniform even when he’s not working just to make people nervous

And to impress the ladies

He also likes to mess around with people and chase after cars only to turn a corner and act as if nothing ever happened

His mom packs him strawberry milk with his lunches everyday because even if he has this scary and tough exterior, he’s still the biggest mama’s boy

Jackson: Teacher

After watching Jackson on “Let Go of My Baby” he gives me elementary school teacher vibes

And when he was a mentor on produce 101

You can just tell he loves being able to educate and give knowledge to younger people

And he really loves kids

I think he’d be an amazing teacher

His classroom would be decked out

He’d start decorating months before school even started

Spends more money on materials for his students than he does on himself

Will learn the names of every single student in the school

Parents feel very lucky when they find out their child is in his class

Very bright and bubbly

Some of the other teachers are jealous of how amazing he is with the kids

Like

It’s 7 A.M. why are you so energetic my dude

He’ll skip lunch with the other teachers just to eat with the students

Even plays with them at recess

Will give his all in to every single lesson

When he reads a story to the kids

He will use motions and changes the pitch of his voice when needed

Stays after school if there are students who weren’t picked up by their parents

If there is a door contest

This man will make sure to win them and over decorate his door

Makes sure every single student is involved and that they’re all following along

always hands out goodie bags

for

EVERY

SINGLE

HOLIDAY

If someone doesn’t understand something

He’ll have 1 on 1 tutoring sessions with them

If he feels that the students are overwhelmed

he’ll have a free day where they can do whatever they want

Wants nothing but the best for his students

The best teacher 10/10 recommended

Jinyoung: Lawyer

I saw Jinyoung as a teacher too

But for some reason

He also matches being a lawyer because of how intelligent he seems to be

And how he likes to fight with people

also

look at that face

i’d do anything he’d tell me to

Gave up his social life to get in to one of the most prestigious law schools

Graduated with a 3.9 G.P.A which still haunts him to this day

Uses very high vocabulary so that everyone around him feels dumb

Will fight with anyone if he feels that they are wrong

One time he argued with a Starbucks employee because they got his coffee order wrong and started using words like inadequate, incompetent and inept

Poor girl just wanted to go home

Like JB, he wanted to throw the bad guys in jail

He was so good with his words that every single person he went up against went straight to the slammer

Even before the jury got to make their vote everyone knew Jinyoung was going to win the case

Some of the judges get intimidated by him just because they don’t want to upset him

One time a judge disagreed with him

Jinyoung didn’t hesitate to put the man in his place

Poor guy retired early in attempts to not have to deal with him again

Don’t get me wrong

Jinyoung is a very sweet guy and wants nothing but the best for his clients

But don’t mess with him when it comes to his job and work ethic

Reads at least 5 books a day to increase his knowledge

You will find him in the library or at a bookstore when he’s not busy working on a case

One of the top lawyers in the country

Sometimes the courtrooms are packed just because everybody wants to witness the perfection that is Park Jinyoung

Will take a shot before every court session to get rid of his nerves

No matter how intimidating he may seem

He’s actually very shy outside of the courtroom

He is so in to his job that he will go missing for weeks on end to focus on a case

His face alone can get the judge to side with him

Youngjae: Doctor

I feel like he would be the sweetest doctor

One time when he was 8 years old, he got the flu and had to be hospitalized

The in house doctor in the emergency room was so kind and patient with him and got him everything he needed

It was in that moment that Youngjae realized he wanted to take care of people and nurse them back to health

Also

His mom’s doctor was retiring

And he wanted someone he could trust to take care of his mom

So boom

Boy went in to medical school with his momma on his mind

Please Stan Choi Youngjae he deserves the world

Not gonna lie

There were days that the pressure did get to him

Poor boy has seen some shit

He had to sit in on a lot of surgeries

Refused to become a surgeon because he cannot stand the sight of blood

Makes the nurses give the shots to his patients

Even if he’s really young for a doctor, boy knows his stuff

Would constantly get yelled at by stupid people who thought that doctors were miracle workers

No matter how hard he worked

And how quick he tried to be

Some people just could not be satisfied

However

Seeing the smiles from his patients made the job worth it

In the beginning, he would work with people of all ages

But he decided he loved working with kids the most

Plus he didn’t have to worry about their health as much as he did with the elderly

However, he did still help out with patients of all ages if and when he had the time

All the elderly women would squeal about how sweet he is and how dedicated he is to his job

They would even try to set him up with their granddaughters but Youngjae was too busy being a doctor to get in to a relationship

He would always bring food for his receptionists and fellow nurses to eat to thank them for all their hard work

Would say hi to every single patient he saw

Always gave stickers and lollipops to all the kids in the hospital

In his spare time, he would visit those with disabilities and sometimes he would bring gifts like flowers or stuffed animals to brighten their day like the ray of sunshine he is

Even if hospitals are sad and scary sometimes

Youngjae makes things so much brighter

BamBam: Zoo Keeper

Hahahahaha

You know I had to do it to my boy after that one interview in America where he said he’d wanna work at the zoo if he wasn’t in Got7

I was gonna put him down as a fashion designer

But I feel like this would be so much more fun

Growing up surrounded by animals made Bambam want to be around them 24/7

And since there’s an actual job for that

He didn’t hesitate to become a zoo keeper

There were many ups and downs that came with being a zoo keeper which Bambam had to learn the hard way

Like cleaning up elephant poop

Milking the cows

Giving the goats a bath

But at the same time

He loved being able to help the cute animals

No matter how stink and gross their habitats were

One time he slipped and fell in to the hippopotamus tank

He refuses to feed the hippos anymore

He would love to see the smiles on all the kids faces whenever they would see an animal they liked

It reminded him of himself and why he got in to this job

For a while he was the one to close up the zoo and he did a pretty good job at closing down all the exhibits

Unfortunately being the irresponsible guy he was

One night he forgot to lock the tiger cage

So when he came in to work the next morning and there was a tiger nonchalantly walking around

He knew he was in deep shit

He also was scared as fuck because a tiger walking outside of its cage bitch I ain’t got the time

But the weirdest thing happened

Since Bambam was known to spoil the animals

This meant over feeding them when he wasn’t supposed to

The tiger knew who Bambam was and trusted him

Therefore getting it back in to its cage wasn’t too hard

He did get a few scratches but we ain’t gonna talk about it

Some days he would sneak over to the petting zoo

And play with all the animals

He would get really distracted and forget about the tasks at hand

If he wasn’t where he was supposed to be, his coworkers knew where to find him

He loved his job so much he found himself at the zoo on his days off

The rest of the guys stopped hanging out with him because as much as they loved their friend

They were sick and tired of the zoo

Bambam just really loved the animals and hated being away from them

Which is why Jinyoung found one of the monkeys sleeping in his bed and threatened to get Bambam fired but left when he saw how much the monkey meant to his younger friend

Yugyeom: Chef

As much as I wanted to go with a dancer

Because he is so amazing

One of the best don’t @ me

I wanted to try something new for a change

I don’t know why but I can see him as a chef

Boy loves to eat

At first he was very hesitant at becoming a chef

He loved cooking for himself, his friends and his family

And he didn’t want to hate cooking by becoming a professional chef

But it just sorta happened one day and here he was

He first started off as a busboy at his favorite restaurant

And worked his way up to being a waiter

But he knew he didn’t want to just be the wait service

He had a passion and a lot of talent

And he wasn’t going to let it go to waste

He became a line cook and just a few months later after a lot of hard work and practice, he became head chef

He loves being able to cook for people and use his talent for good

His cheeks warm up every time someone compliments him on his cooking

Breaks the rules and doesn’t wear a chefs hat because it “makes him look weird”

Constantly invites the guys over to the restaurant to try his food

Practices dishes at home so he knows what he can do better

At one point his cooking got really popular that the restaurant he was working at started getting busier and busier

People would leave if they found out he wasn’t working

One time Emeril Lagasse contacted him and boy was SHOOK

Like

He didn’t want to sound big headed or anything

Yugyeom knew he was good

But not get contacted by world renowned  chef Emeril Lagasse about a collaboration good

Always tasted his food before sending it to the customer because he wanted nothing but the best quality of food

He got so famous that he even opened his own restaurant

Still hasn’t told the rest of the guys about it in fear of them eating all of the food

Would give out left overs to the homeless people that vacated near the restaurant

Still doesn’t know how to react to the praises he’d receive from the customers

Has his own engraved knife set that Mark got him for Christmas and it’s his most prized possession

Honestly he’s the cutest little chef

[sweetness47]

Gifts from the Sea 2

Pairing Merman! Sam x Human!Reader

Warnings: Sex, smut, language MATURE 18+ READERS ONLY

Chapter 2

(like it? find chapter 1 here )

Eight months, three weeks, and 5 days after her encounter with her handsome stranger, YN’s water broke at 3:00am. Contractions seized through her abdomen, causing her to cry out, and Cas and Hannah to come running. They gathered up her hospital bag, then helped her to the car.

Evan Cole arrived into the world at 11:00am, 8 lbs 3 oz. YN held the tiny bundle in her arms, marvelling over his brown hair, his tiny fingers and toes. Cas and Hannah were also thrilled at the new arrival. Hannah had been her coach, and YN had been beyond thankful and blessed to have her in the room during the delivery. Cas had volunteered to wait outside, not all that thrilled with blood and the whole birth stuff. But now, holding the baby in his arms, he couldn’t be more proud of YN. Sure, it had started out as a fling, but now he wouldn’t trade his little second cousin for anything.

YN had been able to take some of her pastry courses and business courses online during her pregnancy, and had also applied for a work permit to set up a shop in Greece where she’d had her vacation. There was a part of her that hoped to see the handsome stranger, but she wouldn’t hold those expectations high. She’d only be setting herself up for more heartbreak.

Cas and Hannah decided they would move with her, and had applied for visas as well. They would help her set up the shop and help with the baby. All three were great bakers, hence YN’s desire to open her own bakery, so they were more than up for the challenge. Greece would be an interesting client base, they already had amazing food. It was YN’s mission to make sure they grew to love her baking as much as she loved their authentic Greek cuisine.

Once the visas were sent in for approval, the three studied locations that would work, YN’s first choice was near the beach where she’d had the best vacation of her life. After some research and some careful negotiations, they purchased a building right on the boardwalk. The visas came through eventually, and the family of four made their way to what would be their new home.

~~

Sam and Charlie noticed the sold sign on the building, wondering what would be coming to the shops square. They had been living on the land now for just over a year, and with each moment that passed, Sam lost just a little bit of hope. If they didn’t find her soon, he would just swim away, and never look back. She was his whole world, and he hadn’t realized just how much she meant to him until it was too late. He should have left her a note, and he should have come back sooner.

As the weeks came and went, the two friends watched the building transform, watched workers move about and make the abandoned structure into a bakery. They saw a dark haired man and a woman with long strawberry blonde hair enter and exit many times. Perhaps they were the owners. The man looked like he was from around this area. His features could easily blend in with the locals.

Sam almost missed the other woman, but when he laid eyes on her, there was no mistaking who she was. His heart practically leapt out of his chest. He blinked repeatedly, not believing what he was seeing, worried that if he blinked, she would disappear, and this would all be a lucid dream.

Charlie noticed her friend’s instant shock, turning to see what had him in such a riled state. “Is that her?” she asked quietly.

Sam could only nod. He frowned then, noticing the small moving bundle in her arms. His mind was racing, could…could he have left her with a child? His eyes misted over. His mate, his child, and he’d just left without so much as a note. He felt like such an idiot.

As if sensing the shift in his mood, Charlie studied the small group of people harder, finally noticing the same thing he had. “Is the child yours?”

A hoarse voice answered her. “I think so.”

~~

YN was so excited. She couldn’t believe this was actually happening. The finishing touches were going on now, and the bakery would be open in three days. Cas and Hannah had been such a tremendous help with everything, the paperwork, the building details, the permits, and the baby.

She didn’t know what made her turn around, a feeling maybe, but when she did, her eyes immediately locked with his. Her jaw hit the ground in stunned silence. She bit her lower lip. Should she go talk to him? Introduce Evan? She honestly wasn’t sure. And besides, there was another woman beside him, which would make the conversation awkward as fuck.

And yet her conscience wouldn’t leave her alone. She knew he had a right to know. Even if he had moved on. The child was his.

Taking a deep breath, she excused herself, telling Cas she’d be back in a minute, and started to walk toward him. After what looked like a hushed angry conversation, he started walking toward her, meeting her halfway.

His eyes raked her in, her body just as he remembered, then he looked at the child. He touched the infant’s cheek, running his finger over the smooth skin. He looked up at YN. “Mine?” his words were barely a whisper.

She nodded, mesmerized by his voice. That was the first time she’d heard him speak, and fuck, his voice was as sexy as the rest of him. She felt heat rush straight to her core. She cleared her throat. “Yeah.”

His next words shocked her even more. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have up and left the way I did. I meant to come back, but by the time I did, you were gone.”

She felt tears well up in her eyes. “Why did you then? I…,” she broke down, “I was heartbroken. I tried to enjoy the rest of my stay here, but it wasn’t the same without you. I went home, and then I found out I was pregnant. He was a gift, a way for me to remember you, he brought me back from my depression.”

Charlie, who had wandered over mostly out of curiosity, was the one who caught the pronoun. “He? You have a son Sam.” She breathed, staring at the tiny infant. Then she turned to YN. “Does he have a birthmark? Specifically, one that looks like a trident.” she added.

YN frowned. “How…How did you know that?”

Sam answered. “Every male born into my family does.”

As if to prove it, not that he felt he needed to, he turned and pulled down his neck line of his tee shirt on the right side. Sure enough, on the shoulder blade, was a birthmark shaped like a trident, identical to the one on Evan’s right shoulder.

He stared at the child, then back up to YN. “Can I hold him?”

YN nodded, handing the sleeping infant over to his father. “His name is Evan.” She volunteered as she watched him settle into his father’s embrace.

Sam was in awe. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was. Hell, he couldn’t believe the fates had allowed him another chance with YN. And a child. A beautiful, tiny, baby boy.

YN watched the two interact, smiling as she watched Sam’s eyes travel over the tiny infant. She was amazed at Evan’s instant attraction to his father. Evan was very particular about who held him. He barely tolerated Cas and Hannah. YN swore he knew the man holding him was his dad.

Charlie came up to her, clearing her throat. The last thing she wanted was to become an obstacle between her friend and his mate. She needed to set the record straight. “Sam and I aren’t a couple, if that���s what you first thought when you saw us. We’re just friends, plus I’m his bodyguard. Nothing beyond that.”

Bodyguard? Why on earth would Sam need a bodyguard? Oh. My. God. Was he like royalty or something? That might explain his sudden disappearance, but then why had he come back? There were so many unanswered questions.

Charlie saw the confusion in YN’s eyes. “I will let him explain. He will tell you everything, I promise. But it won’t be easy to hear or believe. Just know that he never stopped looking for you.”

YN nodded. “Ok. But why does he need a bodyguard? Is…is he like royalty or something?”

Charlie took a deep breath. “He needs to tell you everything, but yes, he is royalty.”

Before anything else could be said or asked by either of the three adults, Cas made his way over to where YN stood. “Who are these people YN?”

Sam bristled at the implication that he was anything other than Evan’s father. “My name is Sam, and I’m the child’s father. Who are you, sir, to be interrupting us?”

It was Cas’s turn to be put off. “I’m YN’s cousin. I’ve been her guardian since she was 10 years old.” He narrowed his eyes at Sam. “You have some nerve showing up after abandoning my cousin and leaving her pregnant. You’re lucky I don’t beat the shit out of you for the upset you caused.”

“Cas. Stop.” YN placed a hand on his shoulder. “This is my fight. Not yours. I don’t need you stepping in. Please. Let me handle it.”

Cas glared at Sam once more before turning to YN. “Ok. But the moment he steps out of line…”

“I get it. IF I need help, I will let you know. Ok?”

He nodded before giving her a hug and walking back to Hannah and the building. YN blushed as she turned back to Sam. “Sorry. Cas can be a bit overprotective.”

“I get it. Hell, I deserved that.” Sam rubbed the back of his neck as he watched the other man walk away. “Can we go somewhere and talk? There’s so much I need to tell you, but not out in the open.”

YN looked at him, gauging his facial expressions. She couldn’t see any hint of deception, only concern and maybe fear. What would a man like him need to be afraid of? His fingers brushed a strand of hair from her face, his touch soothing, warm, familiar.

Steeling herself, she nodded. “Ok.”

Charlie mumbled an excuse to leave, nodding to Sam permission to go to their house. Sam took YN’s hand and led her through the paths and narrow walkways to their cottage on the shore.

Once inside, YN made a soft makeshift bed for Evan, then took him from Sam and set the infant down to sleep. Then she stood and looked at Sam, trying not to appear shy and awkward. She took a deep breath as her eyes raked him in, committing every single inch of his perfect body to memory. Even after not seeing him for over a year he still took her breath away. He looked every bit as scrumptious as the last time she’d seen him. Her body hummed and came alive as she closed the distance between them. Her pussy was drenched, aching for him.

He could smell her desire. It called to him like moth to flame, luring him to his destiny. The moment she was in arms reach, he took possession of her, wrapping his arms around her waist and reeling her in, his mouth seeking to possess hers. He thrust his tongue inside her parted lips, dancing with her own tongue, and felt her melt into him. His strong arms swiftly picked her up and carried her toward his room, placing her on the bed. He removed his clothes, then hers, his movements quick and precise. It was almost too much to even be away from each other for that long, the need to be skin to skin was magnetic, life changing, as if they would perish if they weren’t fast enough. He moved over her, nudging her legs apart, and she happily complied, then he was inside her, thrusting hard, her body meeting him stroke for stroke, her soft cries filling the room as he edged her toward the cliff, pushing her into oblivion, his name falling from her lips as she came swiftly, her back arching off the bed. Sam joined her moments later, spilling inside her womb, filling her completely.

He kissed her along her throat, neck, shoulder, and YN gasped as she felt a small sting on the nape of her neck. Her hand flew to the spot where she’d felt the small stab, her fingers finding a tiny lump. Her eyes looked into Sam’s, wondering what the hell had happened.

Sam finally rolled off her and held her close. She still looked up at him, waiting for an explanation, but made no move to remove herself from his embrace.

“What’s going on Sam? Why do you need a bodyguard? Who are you?”

This was going to be one hell of a long, long conversation.

Sam sighed, looking at his mate. He searched her eyes for signs of anxiety, fear, and especially the desire to run from him. The latter was the one he was scared of the most. The thought that she could reject him after revealing the truth almost killed him right there, but there was no way to keep his identity hidden from her, especially now.

A son. He had a fucking son. A part of him. His heir. His flesh and blood. His and hers.

He caught a silky tendril of hair falling haphazardly around her face and tucked it behind her ear. “What I’m going to tell you won’t be easy to hear or easy to believe. In fact,” he paused, “it’s going to make me sound like a damn lunatic.”

YN watched Sam as he chose what to say, as if the next word might send her packing faster than gale force winds. “I promise to listen to everything, and I promise not to laugh or judge you.”

Taking a deep breath, Sam sat up, bringing her up with him, turning so they were face to face. “My name is Prince Samuel. I am second in line for the throne of Atlantis, the underwater kingdom of the Pacific oceans.”

YN stared, unmoving, slowly nodding for him to continue.

He did.

“I’m a merman. My home is the ocean.”

He stopped and waited, hoping, praying that she would stay calm, rational. That she wouldn’t freak out, treat him like some kind of extraterrestrial. If there was ever a time for wishes to come true, it was now. There was no way he could deal with the idea of her rejection. His heart would shatter, break beyond repair. He’d played billions of scenarios over and over in his mind, some good, some not as good, some completely devastating.

Her voice sounded surprisingly at ease as she processed his revelation. “That would explain a lot, like how you appeared on the beach out of nowhere, why you were naked, and maybe why you disappeared after two days. But, why didn’t you come back?”

“I intended to,” he confessed, “although I did need to soak in the ocean regardless. Our bodies can’t be out of the water for more than 48 hours at a time. But, by the time I went home and came back, you were gone. Charlie and I stayed in hopes that maybe you’d return here.”

Her brows furrowed. “So, you basically ran away from your family to wait for a possibility that I might come back here?” He nodded. Her eyes widened suddenly. “Oh my…so our son is…?”

He nodded again. “He is part merman, part human. His tail, from what I hear, should start to form when he reaches the age of two. But it is controlled, and it only will happen when he swims in salt water.”

“From what you hear? You’re insinuating your people don’t usually have offspring with humans. How many times has this happened? And is there a chance Evan won’t survive? Will he…”

Sam stopped her. “YN, our son won’t die. You have my word. A Halfling hasn’t been heard of for over a hundred years. Mostly it’s dwindled down to whispers and remnants of recorded history.”

YN flopped backwards onto the bed, stunned, shocked by what she’d just been told, her mind trying desperately to process everything while attempting to keep her sanity. “Wow.” She breathed. She glanced warily over to the man beside her, remembering something else. “What did you do to my neck?”

“I marked you. It is customary between mates, like being engaged in your world. It will show my people you are my mate.” He paused. “Unless you don’t want me. The mark can be removed, with your rejection of my bond, but it could be devastating for both of us, physically and mentally. I can feel every emotion going through your mind, and I know how difficult it was for you to be alone during the pregnancy. But, I plan to make up for that from this day forward, if you’ll have me.”

YN let out a slow shaky breath, weighing her options. She still had feelings for Sam, a lot of them, and, if this moment was any indication, he had similar feelings for her. They had a son together, and he’d already made his interest in Evan known, which she was immensely relieved about. He had no intention of taking him from her. Rather, he wanted them to be together, to be a family. Was she ready for that? She stared into those hazel orbs of his, seeing hopefulness, desire, a silent plea to her heart.

“I do want you. I never stopped loving you Sam. But I want to know more. I want you to show me everything. No secrets, no hiding.” She pursed her pink lips, still swollen from their heated kisses, “If Evan will be able to swim without drowning, and you obviously can, how does that work for me?”

“The mate mark. My DNA now runs through your veins. It will allow you the ability to breathe under water without drowning. You don’t get a tail, at least not to my knowledge, but we will be able to be together.”

A mischievous grin appeared on her face when he said that. “And…if we decide we want to have more mind-blowing sex, we can always come ashore.” She giggled at his reaction, before pushing him back onto the mattress, straddling him. “I love you Sam. I am willing to give this whole thing a try, for us, and for Evan.”

Sam nodded, his hands splayed over her hips as she ground against his cock, bringing it back to life. Instinctively he thrust up into her, and she moaned at the sensations coursing through her body, at how full he made her feel. Gods, he was impossibly thick and long. Yet her walls stretched and accommodated him well, as though he was made just for her.

He turned the tables then, flipping them over and taking back control. He pulled out, much to her dismay, before laying soft kisses along her breasts, her abdomen, then lower, settling down between her thighs. That’s where his prize lay.

YN forgot how to breathe as he delved into her folds, tasting the musky flavor she offered. Sam was like a man starved, sucking her clit, nipping it, then thrusting his tongue into her waiting channel. Clutching the sheets, YN squirmed as she ground against his face, desperate for it to be closer, as if that were possible. Her release coated Sam’s face as he rode out the explosive orgasm. But he didn’t stop. He added two fingers into her slick opening, moving them with antagonizing slowness, torturing his mate. Not that she was complaining.

Sweat coated her skin as she screamed out, orgasmic waves crashing into her as her eyes rolled back in her head. “Fuck…Sam!” she stammered as he continued, heading to her third, arching her back off the bed as she saw stars. Her whole goddamn body felt like it had been catapulted into space, covered in fluffy cotton candy. So sweet was the pleasure.

Sam crawled back up her body slowly, his tongue leaving a hot trail over her. His mouth took possession of hers once more as he sought to reclaim his spot inside her with his aching cock. She eagerly welcomed him, moaning as she tasted herself on his lips. The thrusts were hard, almost brutal, so eager was the need for his own release. His cries filled the room as he exploded inside her, filling her full of his seed, panting and nuzzling into the crook of her neck as her walls milked every drop.

No sooner had they finished, then Evan woke, crying and desperate for his own attention. YN blushed as she got up, grabbed her robe, and went to fetch their son. She brought him back to the bed and laid him down between Sam and her, as she got back onto the bed.

Sam propped himself onto his elbow so he could stare at his son. Evan, satisfied that he now was the center of attention, cooed and smiled at his father, reaching his tiny hand to try and grab Sam’s nose. Sam softly chuckled as he allowed Evan to touch his nose, marveling at just how perfect he was.

YN’s heart was filled with love as she watched her son interact with his father. She marveled at how alike they looked, and how Evan seemed to know who Sam was to him. But that was impossible right? Until today, Evan had never met his dad. He was only 4 months old.

Yet the recognition was there.

YN moved and slid part of her robe down so she could feed Evan. Sam watched as his son moved to latch onto her breast, greedily taking the nourishing milk she offered. The entire scene was beautiful, and he gained even more respect for his mate than before, if that was possible.

When Evan was done and had burped in satisfaction, he resumed bonding with Sam. YN was more curious now than ever. She just had to ask. “How is it Evan seems to know you?”

Sam looked up from his son. “My DNA. He can smell who I am.”

YN giggled and wrinkled her nose. “That just sounds weird, and a little gross.”

“That’s the simplest description though. His mind and his senses tell him right from birth who his parents are. He will also, by smell, be able to identify my brother and my father when he meets them.”

Her jaw dropped. “Wow.”

[gemsofgreece]

(Aah sorry for the spam but I just saw tumblr ate the 2nd half of my post) Thanks for the quick reply! I was also gonna ask where u were from, if that's not too personal? I might be going back to Thessaloniki next year & I'd love some recommendations for places to visit around it if ur familiar w the area! I always seem to end up at the Mediterranean Cosmos & the Πλατεία Αριστοτέλους, which I love, but I'd like to branch out ahaha! Ευχαριστώ πολύ και καλή εβδομάδα να έχετε ♡ 🌸

Just to keep the standard internet precautions, I’ll just say I come from the general region of beautiful Thessaly :)  But I lived in Thessaloniki for my studies, so I can recommend some stuff based on personal experience. So assuming you’ll be there for several days, these are my suggestions and if you don’t have enough time, choose the ones you prefer.

For culture: First and foremost, the Archaeological Museum and the Museum of Byzantine Culture. Don’t miss them. If the budget allows it, have a meal in the Byzantine Museum’s restaurant because it is ♡ ! Thessaloniki is often called the cultural capital of Greece because there is always something happening there. That’s why I recommend you check what’s up in the Concert Hall whenever you go back. I love Thessaloniki’s Concert Hall, especially in winter they have fantastic artists, orchestras and theatrical shows (even from Broadway), ballets from Russia etc. Check the Lazaristes Monastery which houses the Museum of Contemporary Art and also many concerts take place there. Go to the Fortress of the Upper Old Town and also stay there for a drink in a roof garden or terrace cafe during sunset - the views are fantastic. Visit the 7th century Church of Saint Sophia downtown, Rotunda and the Arch of Galerius (known as Kamara) close to the University. Also, you’ll find many ruins from the palace of Galerius and other stuff (lol I am so helpful) as you stroll around the city. Saint Demetrius’ Church is also massive and gorgeous. Basically, there are numerous monuments and museums in Thessaloniki but those are the ones I know first hand. 

For views / entertainment: Visit the White Tower in the morning and ascend the stairs, there are beautiful views to the entire city and the Thermaic Gulf from its top. You can also go to the rotating cafe on the top of OTE tower which is not far from the White Tower but I have to warn you for the price. Then of course, Thessaloniki’s trademark is its waterfront. You can take one of the communal bikes and ride along the big waterfront. This is ideal in the morning, it is super refreshing. (There are also 4-wheel family bikes, electric scooters, carriages available.) Also Thessalonians of all ages hang around in the waterfront and its parks, some with their friends, some with their animals, some just go to read alone, it’s very nice. If you like nature, you can go for a walk in the Hill of Seych Sou or look up if there’s anything happening in the Forest and Earth Theaters which are located there. Saint Paul’s Church is nearby which is also very nice. One thing that is really trending in Greece and particularly Thessaloniki are Escape Rooms. I am pretty sure they are available in English too. I can’t recommend them enough. I ‘ve been to a lot BrainGame and MindTrap escape rooms but there are many more. 

For shopping: Assuming you’re into shopping since you’ve been to Mediterranean Cosmos many times, I’d recommend Tsimiski, Navarinou and Egnatias Streets for average - tight budget and Proxenou Koromila Street  for big budget or daydreaming lol 

For food / nightlife: I don’t know much but I like “Diagonios” for meat & grill, “Ellinikon” for traditional greek mezedes (appetizers) and nearby “Marea Sea Spirit” for seafood. If you want portions for giants in very reasonable prices, go to “Kastro” in the Upper Old Town. Thessaloniki is famous for its sweets and pastries. You’ve been to Aristotle’s Square so you might have smelled the scents from “Terkenlis”. Try the trademark chestnut “tsoureki” (sweet bread) from Terkenlis. Agapitos pastry shop is famous too. But my personal recommendation is ice cream from Estia bakery / pastry shop. It’s close to the White Tower. Ice. cream. there!!! But honestly Thessaloniki is heaven for food, anywhere you go is at least decent, you must be really unlucky to have a bad experience. For alcohol and live Greek music at night, bars, clubs etc go to Valaoritou street. Specifically for hard partying and stuff, I don’t know much because it’s not my cup of tea but Thessaloniki has everything for everyone. 

BONUS: If you stay a month and run out of my recommendations lol, you might want an excursion in the outdoors. Take a bus or rent a car for Chalcidice which is close to Thessaloniki (50 minutes min.) and has some of the best beaches in Greece. Holomon Forest in Chalcidice is in my opinion as good for hiking as its beaches for swimming. Which is quite something. Mount Olympus  is about 1 hour from Thessaloniki. If you’re into lakes, wildlife, bird watching etc, Kerkini Lake in Serres is ideal and is about 1,5 hours from the city too.

So…er… that’s it. You can go to my Macedonia info page for more Thessaloniki monuments and museums that I don’t have personal experience for. 

EDIT: Also, go to Ladadika area for food. 

Καλή εβδομάδα και καλά να περάσετε

[fvuper]

Terror restaurant!AU

Last month I thought that the actor from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” is very similar to Tobias Menzies (James Fitzjames). And I thought that crossover of “The Terror” and “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” is the best crossover ever. In total, I came to a restaurant!AU because every fandom should have a restaurant!AU or coffeeshop!AU. (Guys, if there’s something familiar on AO3 or somewhere else I’m sorry my English language skill is low for reading English fanfics and find similarities). I share this with you because I love “The Terror” fandom of his friendliness because all we love our cold boys.

I apologize in advance to those who do not like OFC. This is my disease.

Many characters are not on the list because I didn’t know what roles to assign to them. And yes, there’s book and series canon.

This’s not fanfic, but I hope you like this.

Enjoy reading!

(grammarly app tells me that there are a lot of hard-to-read sentences and grammar and punctuation errors, I hope they will not hurt you)

Restaurant “The Terror”:

Francis Crozier - restaurant owner

Edward Little - chef

George Hodgson - sous-chef

Cornelius Hickey - cook

Magnus Manson - cook/butcher

Billy Gibbson - pastry-cook; have you seen his fingers?

John Irving - baker (secretly in love with Silna)

Henry Peglar - baker (John Bridgens’s former student)

Thomas Jopson - hall manager, barista, Crozier assistant and his son (he took mother’s last name); they father-son relationships make me feel good

Amelia Little (Hunter)(OFC) - waitress (Edward Little's ex-wife)

Thomas Evans - waiter, student

Restaurant “The Erebus”:

Sir John Franklin - restaurant owner

James Fitzjames - restaurant manager

Grahan Gore - chef

Henry Le Vesconte - sous-chef

John Bridgens - baker

Other characters:

Harry Goodsir, David McDonald, Stephan Stanley, John Peddy - doctors from the nearest hospital

Silna/Lady Silence (workers of both restaurants call her that cos she speaks very little) - veterinarian, Goodsir good friend (she knows that John Irving in love with her)

Tuunbaq - Silna dog (Samoyed)

Thomas Blanky - Crozie old friend (lost his leg after hunting; often goes to “The Terror”, chatting with Francis, and Crozie always pours free coffee to him)

Thomas Honey and Henry Collins - repairmen in both restaurants

Richard Aylmore - janitor; cos fuck him

Solomon Tozer and other marines - workers at a security company that serving both restaurants

And some random dialogues and pieces:

One time, Tuunbaq didn’t like something in Blanky, and he bit his leg. His wooden leg.

Francis Crozier's favourite coffee for a morning (and all day) is Irish. Only Jopson knows how to make correct Irish coffee for his father: “Less coffee, more whiskey”.

Sophia: “Francis, you already know that I can’t answer on your proposal. You need to look around and see, that someone is a long time watching on you.”

Francis: “Who?”

Sophia: “Manager of “The Erebus”.“

Francis: “FITZJAMES?... but, Sophia... I’m not...“

Sophia: “If it’s hard to accept, ask advice from Bridgens and Peglar. Or from Little and Jopson.“

Francis: “wait...WHAT?“

In his whole life, Crozier worked in a large number of restaurants and cafes, including Ross family and Sir John restaurants. He made the way from waiter to barmen and barista, and finally all positions at the kitchen. Francis had a wealth of life experience but didn't have proper education, therefore, many did not take him seriously. At one point, Crozier was tired of this and decided to open his own restaurant. He called it “The Terror” (because down on the street there was Franklin restaurant “The Erebus” and he thought that this would be funny and symbolically). In “The Terror” they served coffee, fresh bakery and from lunch to dinner cooked Irish cuisine.

Crozier seemed that his restaurant was the most perfect place in the world: high ceilings, green walls with wood panels, tiled floor with geometric patterns. In the corners and on the walls on the fence were growing curly green plants. All furniture (wooden tables and chairs, lamps, leather sofas) got to him like from the 19th century. On a second-floor, Francis had a small apartment.

Fitzjames invited Crozie for a date first. To Chinese restaurant.

Crozier never allowed Harry Peglar to write the menu on a scoreboard because he had lousy handwriting. Amelia didn’t write for the same reason, even if she came before everyone else. Usually, the menu wrote Irving, Jopson or Little.

Little knew Crozie from the last working place. They become good friends, so when Francis offered him a job as a chef in his restaurant, he agreed. Edward also took his wife with him from the old restaurant where they worked together to Crozie restaurant.

Actually, Jopson wasn’t the main reason for their divorce. For real they just themselves didn’t know why they got married once. Rather, Thomas was a good reason to break up.

Amelia: “It’s Jopson, I’m right?”

Little: “What are you talking about?”

Amelia: “That you fall in love with him like a little boy. Often near somewhere to him. Put off the biggest pieces of meat from stew for him at dinner, because it seems to you that he isn’t eating up. And it’s all in your wife's presence.”

Little: “And what you want to say about this?”

Amelia: “That when we gonna divorce, we will stay as friends. I hope so. Because you are a good man, Edward. But be careful with Jopson, cos when Crozier finds out that you’re dating, he will unscrew your head for any wrongdoing.”

After that conversation, Edward exhaled freely. He doesn't want to cheat on his wife, and he was glad that Amelia was so sensible woman. After two weeks they divorced. But didn’t stop communicating. On the contrary, now Little had a person whom he had to disguise his romantic troubles because of such relationships were new for him.

Sometimes, when Silna came to “The Terror”, and Irving had some free minute, he whips away her coffee from Jopson’s hands and tried with toothpick write on coffee foam “good day” or draw a smile. Come out clumsily - Jopson was in pain. He doesn't try to offer him his help, because John thanked that he needs to do this by himself. Jopson knew that one day his heart won’t stand more this barbaric mockery on his perfect coffee foam and he will just write Irving's phone number on lady Silence cup.

The Terror stuff never called Crozier “boss” or ”chief”, but called him “captain”. It seemed silly for him, but he wasn’t against.

Once Franklin invited Crozier for lunch in “The Erebus” to introduce to someone. That was James Fitzjames, and Sir John introduced him as a new restaurant manager because Franklin wanted to rest from work. They were three together at the farthest table. Francis had a strong feeling that he saw Fitzjames before or heard about him. Much later, at his apartment, Crozier remembers that he saw James at last year’s meeting of restaurateurs. They didn’t talk, but Francis could swear that the man looked at him all evening.

At some point, Crozier and Fitzjames started arguing, and when dispute got to the dead-end, they stared at each other. For a long indecent time. Only sir Franklin’s phrase ended this uncomfortable (only for him) competition: “Right in front of my salad?”.

Peglar and Bridgens often meet at neutral territory and exchange with recipes. And not only recipes.

[copperbadge]

A Mostly Accurate Guide To Chicago by Sam Starbuck

I realized recently that this guide was still housed on LJ, where I don’t really hang out anymore and where there are Ads. So I have migrated it over to Tumblr. 

This post was last updated in October of 2017. If you're reading this in the distant future, you should check the original post, and you might drop me a line and ask if it's still accurate, as things do sometimes change. You should also check with google/yelp to make sure places mentioned here have not closed or moved, since I don’t do QA checks on the post.

This is not a comprehensive guide. I know, basically, three areas of Chicago very well: the downtown "Loop" and area just south of it, Gold Coast/Streeterville just north of the Loop, and Wrigleyville. I don't claim to be an expert, but I am pretty good at providing info for people who don't know where to start. So this is Sam's Very Limited Guide To Chicago For Visitors. 

There is a readmore below! Read more!

Where to stay: if you want to stay downtown, the two options that best meet at the axis of "inexpensive" and "quality" are the La Quinta in the west loop and the Hampton Inn just north of the loop. These are both convenient to a lot of things. 

There are some very good luxury hotels in the northern end of the Gold Coast, if you have the money to splurge; you can't really go wrong anywhere around Water Tower Place. If you're looking outside the downtown area, check Yelp before you make a reservation; the hotels in Wrigleyville, for example, are mostly the kind of place that offer hourly rates. Chicago also has a bedbug issue so check the bedbug report. I really recommend staying in the downtown area; it's central and you'll just get a better hotel, generally speaking. I have been told to avoid Club Quarters at all costs. There is a fantastic, safe, and fairly inexpensive hostel downtown; it's about $35 a night, run by Hostelling International. It's convenient to a lot of stuff, including the big downtown library down the block. What to eat: I don't like deep dish pizza, but if you want to try it or if you like it, there are two places that are infamous for it, Gino's East and Pizzeria Uno, both in Gold Coast. Giordano’s does a good deep dish along with a lot of other great food, and has some of the highest food-hygiene marks in Chicago (yes, I did a data dive on food hygiene). I know that Exchequer, in the loop, also does really good deep dish. Plus it's rumoured to be owned by the Russian mob, adding a sense of excitement to any meal. For my money, a far more authentic Chicago cuisine is the Italian Beef sandwich. An Italian Beef is marinated, slow-cooked beef, sliced thinly (shredded, really) and piled on a crusty sub sandwich roll. You can have peppers added (I never do) and usually you have a choice of sweet peppers or hot peppers. Then the entire sandwich is dipped in the au jus that's been keeping the beef warm, wrapped in waxed paper and tinfoil, and handed over for your eating delight. If you want you can order an Italian Beef "dry" (no dipping) but half the delight is the bread soaked in flavorful marinade. You can order an Italian Beef at most "greek diners" (so named because they are stereotypically owned by people of Greek descent); the two most easily accessible in the loop are Al's and Max's. Some people will tell you not to go to Portillo's, that it's a tourist trap, but Portillo's does an entirely decent Italian Beef, so don't be ashamed if Portillo's is what you can get to. One of my favorite places to eat is Weber Kettle Grill, at Grand and State just north of the loop. They do a great rare burger, their barbecue is fantastic, and I've never had bad service there. That area has a ton of really good restaurants: there's Oysy for sushi, Shaw's Crab House for seafood (pricey though), and a PF Chang's and a Chili's (I understand the Chili’s is now closed) if you're looking for something a little more chain-restaurant familiar. Even if you're not going to the Art Institute Museum, it has three great places to eat: the cafeteria, with all locally-sourced food, McCormick Terrace in the summer, which does pricey but great small plates on an open patio around a fountain, and Terzo Piano, which is the fancy expensive restaurant -- quality is variable, I’ve had GREAT meals there and so-so meals there. Macy's, in the loop, has a basement food court and a 7th floor food court (only open for lunch), both of which do a variety of excellent food, as well as their fancy eatery, the Walnut Room. Also, if you pass a Garrett Popcorn store, of which there are many in the loop, grab yourself some "mix" -- cheddar popcorn and caramel popcorn mixed together. It's a classic Chicago snack, and tastes better than it sounds. If you're near Wow Bao -- there are several, so check their website for the closest one -- they serve amazing stuffed steamed buns for pretty cheap; two buns are a reasonably filling lunch. Their rice bowls are delightful and they do pretty good potstickers. If you don't like spicy food, get a chocolate stuffed bun as a sweet snack. 

If you’re in Chinatown and want some dim sum, Phoenix, on the second floor of a building on Archer across from the shopping center, is both very reasonably priced and also delicious. There’s also a Little Sheep hot pot restaurant on Wentworth which is deservedly very popular. 

There are many places in the loop and Gold Coast areas to get cupcakes, such as Sprinkles or Sugar Bliss. If you go to Sprinkles, they have a CUPCAKE ATM where you can buy a cupcake without ever seeing a person, but for my money Sugar Bliss has better cupcakes. If you have access to a place to cook -- microwave or oven -- you should stop by The Meatloaf Bakery on Clark near Lincoln Park. Meatloaf Bakery is now closed, but near its former location are still a lot of good places to eat. One is Molly's Cupcakes, who do some of the best cupcakes around. I particularly like the salted-caramel. Lito's Empanadas, just north of Molly's, does delightful savory pastries. If you find yourself in Wrigleyville, do yourself a favor and stop by Byron's for some onion straws (the hot dogs, burgers, italian beef, and gyros are also really good). Byron's is a grab-and-go kind of place. In the same area, around the Sheridan El stop, you also can't go wrong with Tac Quick Thai Kitchen, which is consistently voted one of the top thirty places to eat in Chicago (Tac Quick recently moved but is still in the area, I believe). Kitchenette on Clark does the best sushi on the north side. A great place to get a sandwich anywhere in the city is Potbelly's, a Chicago-born chain -- get a bag of the mini oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, oh my god. I used to recommend Panera as another good chain but they’ve gone somewhat downhill.   AVOID CORNER BAKERY. AVOID THEM ALL. Never, ever eat there. Trust me on this. Their sandwiches are dreadful and I've had food poisoning from them several times, including from their baked goods. Even their beverages are gross. What to see: My first instinct is always to recommend the Art Institute Museum. It's centrally located, it's huge, and it always has interesting exhibits. If you have kids or if you like miniatures, particularly check out the Thorne Miniature Rooms in the basement. Check the website before you go, there's usually one day a week that's free. If there's a line out the door at the front of the museum (where the lions are) walk past the lions (keep the museum on your right), turn right at the corner past the little sculpture garden, and walk uphill until you have passed under the pedestrian footbridge and you see the entrance to the Modern Wing on your right. Usually the lines are much shorter at the Modern Wing entrance. Just north of the Art Museum -- if you leave through the Modern Wing you'll be literally across the street from it -- is Millennium Park, a huge complex of gardens, performance spaces, and outdoor art. If you're coming there in the summer, stop and soak your feet in the foot-soaking creek in Lurie Gardens in the park. The Bean, aka the Cloud Gate, is also in the park and worth a visit. If you like shopping, WELCOME TO CHICAGO. Macy's in the loop is fun, though it's also huge and confusing. There's some good shopping in the Gold Coast north of the loop. Water Tower Place is a good place to shop and has the anchor American Girls store, so if you have kids who like dolls (or if you like dolls!) you can't go wrong. Water Tower used to have a Lush store, but I understand the Lush there moved to an independent storefront on Michigan Avenue; they do still have the Lego Store. And if you like architecture, welcome even more to Chicago! You shouldn't miss the chance to stroll across one of our lovely bridges over the river; if you take the DuSable bridge, which joins two halves of Michigan Avenue, you'll end up on Pioneer Plaza, with the Wrigley Building to your left and the Tribune Tower ahead and to the right -- the Tribune Tower is a great building to gawp at, and has bits of other buildings incorporated into the exterior walls. Get right up close and see stones from a Roman Bath, a Buddhist Temple, the Alamo, and other famous buildings from all over the world.    The river itself boasts multiple architectural boat tours and several water taxi companies; these only operate spring-to-autumn but taking a water taxi is a great way to ride on the river for relatively cheap (I prefer Shoreline Sightseeing's water taxis, but really you can't go wrong with any of them). Shoreline Sightseeing and the Architectural Foundation both offer architectural river tours; SeaDog does too, but don't use them, they're not as good. Shoreline's tour boards from Navy Pier and the Architectural Foundation's tour boards from just below the DuSable bridge. In the Loop, down by the Board of Trade (which has a cafeteria in the basement that's known for its excellent fries) there's a building called the Rookery. On Wednesdays they give a killer tour of this old, historic building, including a behind-the-scenes stroll where you can see the kind of structural issues buildings in Chicago had before the invention of the grillage. Strongly recommended for architecture, art deco, or history buffs, and not too pricey. Nearby is the Chicago Fed, which has a money museum that's well worth checking out, it's small and strange but a lot of fun. Chicago has a lot of great museums. I've already mentioned the Art Institute Museum; we also have the "Museum Campus" (which you can get to via water taxi!) that contains the Planetarium, Aquarium, and Field Museum. The Aquarium is pretty fun for an afternoon; you can buy an $8 "just the fishes" ticket at the door, or there are more expensive packages available online. The Planetarium is good if you're particularly into space and such, but in the basement it has the Historic Atwood Sphere, which is worth the extra cost. The Field Museum is...confusing, and old, and it shows, but I do usually have a good time when I go. They do have Sue the T-Rex (if you're into dinosaurs, after you go to see Sue, go up the stairs behind her to see her real head. It was too heavy to put on her body, so they put a replica on the body and the real head is housed elsewhere). It has a lot of neat animal dioramas, too. 

If you are going to the Field, Shedd, or Adler and looking for a good lunch spot, check out Pita Heaven (on Michigan south of Roosevelt). Also there's a good Potbelly's on Roosevelt just west of Michigan. Don't go to Eleven City Diner -- they are not careful in their food prep, and I've had poor experiences there with food and service. Further south, the Museum of Science and Industry is a lot of fun, though more fun with kids, I think. Don't miss the egg incubator, where they usually have chicks hatching, or the giant train table with its scale models of Chicago and Seattle. Also in that area, on the UChicago campus, are the Smart Museum of Art (always free; mostly contemporary art, way better than the Museum of Contemporary Art up north) and the Oriental Institute Museum (free but donation recommended) which has the most amazing collection of beautiful antiquities. Down 57th Street you'll also find 57th Street Books, a fantastic indy bookstore. Further down 57th Street is Medici, a great place with atmosphere to spare that does really good burgers and pizza. Try the fizzy lemonade, it's outstanding. If you want to see great live Chicago Blues, Kingston Mines is the place to go on the north side, or Buddy Guy’s Legends in the loop -- Buddy Guy’s has a cover in the evenings but if you go for lunch you’ll get good Chicago blues and no cover, plus their lunch menu is pretty great. There are a ton of blues clubs on the south side, but I can't make recommendations there, as I'm less familiar with the south side. Hell, ask someone at Kingston Mines, they'll tell you where to go. :) I am not familiar with bars and clubs in Chicago, since it's not really my scene. If you pick up a Chicago Reader free newspaper, both will have all kinds of ads for various hip nightspots. Theatre is very dear to my heart and for my money the best theatre in Chicago is done by Victory Gardens at the Biograph. The building itself is a work of art, and the theatre is great and not too expensive. Victory Gardens also owns the Greenhouse, which hosts four or five different companies who usually do good work. Goodman in the Loop and Steppenwolf north of the Loop are also good places to catch a show; the quality of Lookingglass Theatre in Gold Coast varies, but is usually worth the cost. If you want small, gritty theatre, check out stuff playing at Stage Left, a tiny little northside theatre that rents out to various small companies in the area. Avoid Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. They cost too much, their shows are generally mediocre (except when they have other performing companies visit), and they are absolute shits to their staff; even the actors hate the management there. Chicago Shakes is located on Navy Pier, and Navy Pier is one of Chicago's great contradictions. An entertainment complex stretching out into Lake Michigan, it's a great place for a stroll, because you get pretty far out on the lake by the end of the pier. They have an amazing museum of stained glass windows (note: I’ve heard this may have moved, but haven’t confirmed it yet). They have a FANTASTIC FERRIS WHEEL that you should definitely go on if you are not afraid of heights, and a very nice IMAX. The pier itself is free, no charge for access. But it's also very, very touristy. The food is expensive and subpar, the shopping is very kitschy, and in the summer it's incredibly crowded. If you do go to Navy Pier, find the McDonald's and go inside. Look around, especially in the area right opposite from where people place their orders. IT IS THE APOCALYPTIC MCDONALD'S. It's covered in murals depicting Chicago ruined and underwater. It's horrifying and surreal and amazing. They painted over the murals. I cried a little. Chicago is known for its parks; our motto is Urbs In Horto, the City in the Garden. Garfield Park Conservatory is a bit out of the way (though easily accessible by the Green Line), but it has extensive greenhouses and a lovely outdoor park and pond. If you like plants, it's a fun place to go. Likewise, Lincoln Park Zoo is a really excellent zoo and it's in the middle of a wonderful park. If you're into graveyards, I would like to recommend Graceland Cemetery, two blocks west of the Sheridan El stop. It has many historic and beautiful markers, lots of lovely mausoleums, and it's a really nice walk. Rosehill Cemetery to the north is older, but less accessible and less pleasant, I think. And if you go to Graceland you can stop at Byron's on your way back! Transit: If you like riding trains or if you need to get to some distant places in Chicago, the El is pretty awesome. You can buy one day, three day, week, and month passes at most stations. The only caveat I have regarding the El is that it is not very Accessible; many of the stations have either nonfunctional elevators or none at all. Some don't even have escalators, so Expect Stairs.  The Metra is mainly a commuter rail, but also gets you places the El can't. Weekend passes are eight bucks which is pretty reasonable. I've not ridden the Metra a lot, so I can't talk too much about them. One place that's worth the Metra ride is the Lizzadro Lapidary Museum in Elmhurst, but you have to be a hardcore museum geek or really into lapidary to really appreciate it. I don't like buses, but Chicago has a pretty good bus system that I use extensively. If you look on Google Maps, all the bus lines in Chicago are integrated into it, so if you zoom in far enough you can find the nearest bus or train stop to your destination. Google Maps will even give you directions by public transit, if you click the "bus" icon after asking for directions. I don't recommend driving if you can avoid it. Downtown Chicago traffic is INSANE, the parking is exorbitant, and our highway system is horrific. You are better off taking public transit or taxis.   Both airports have El trains that will go to downtown -- the blue line from O'Hare or the orange line from Midway. The Blue Line train from O’Hare I believe charges extra for entry ($5 instead of the usual $2-something) so be aware of that when buying an El pass. Incidentally I recommend flying into/out of Midway if at all possible. It doesn't service many airlines, but it's much more reliable and comfortable than O'Hare, and there are far, far fewer delays. Remember that Chicago is a grid: almost every street, with a few exceptions, runs either north-south or east-west. And the lake is always East. Attitude: Chicago is a big, busy, urban place, but it is also a very Midwestern town, and a city of immigrants who were once new to the city too. We're by and large extremely friendly people here and we like to help out and show off how well we know the city. If you get lost, don't be shy -- go into a store or stop someone on the street and ask for directions. And that's my city! Or at least, a tiny slice of it. I hope this proves helpful and not incredibly overwhelming. 

Did you enjoy or use this guide? Consider a donation to my Ko-Fi or via my Paypal! 

[withabackpackandcamera]

November 26th, 2017

Day 4: Taking In The Foods and Sites of Athens

When traveling, it’s difficult to keep up with your sports teams back home. No TV. Weird hours. Never around internet. But this morning, I was lucky enough to wake up randomly in the middle of the night and get an opportunity to follow my Stanford football team from the warmth of my bed. Even though I couldn’t watch it, it was nice to follow them online to a huge win over ND! Woo! Go Card!

Immediately after, I fell back asleep and woke up in time for a breakfast full of yummy pastries from the bakery down the street. At breakfast, we finalized our plans for the morning, which began with a stroll to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the site we tried to see but couldn’t the other day. So we walked our same route to the temple, admired it in the bright sunlight, took photos, and moved on to the National Parliament.

Because today was Sunday, we were lucky enough to catch a little show put on by the Greek military in front of the parliament, which included a showcase of their very unique march, which I will describe as a one-leg-dominant-forcefully-hitting-of-the-floor-with-extraneous-awkward-looking-movements-in-between. Yeah, that about sums it up. The entire show of music and marching lasted about 30 minutes and after the crowd started to disperse, so did we. This time, we headed back toward the National Garden to give my mom a chance to enjoy some flowers and nature-y stuff. But disappointingly, there wasn’t much in the park to see, so we exited after roaming around for a bit and set our sights on the Monastiraki Flea Market.

The flea market was just an area of the city set up with tons of shops and streetside stands selling all sorts of random stuff, from nice merchandise to things you’d expect in a flea market. And in addition to nice things, there were tons of knickknacks that people were trying to rid of, it seemed. Wonder who picks those up… Anyways, we strolled through all the stalls and shops and before we knew it, it was close to lunch time and we were getting a tad hungry. Lucky enough, we walked and turned a corner and at the corner of Sarri and Leokoriou, we found a poppin’ little cart selling cheaply priced skewers of pork with bread. One skewer and two pieces of bread for 1 euro. What a deal! Lots of people were stopping by the cart, so we said, hey, why not try some as well? So we bought some skewers and chowed down the smoked pork sticks, enjoying the atmosphere of being in Athens and eating like a local.

After finishing our nice little salty snack, we walked over to the Roman Agora for a bit. Not much here that was any different from the other places. Just some pillars and whatever was left of the previous agora there. We then walked all the way around the area to get to the Ancient Agora of Athens with the Stoa of Attalos and the Temple of Hephaestus. This landmark was much more interesting because of the many different things it offered for us to see. The first stop we made was to the Stoa. This place was pretty cool because of the mid-afternoon shadows that were artfully cast upon the floor of the stoa, creating neat photo ops. But before taking advantage of the neat shadows, Minh and I took a look at the museum and the different historical artifacts that were collected there.

Before heading over to the other side of the agora, we had some photography fun with the shadows, and once we were done, we strolled over to the Temple of Hephaestus, took some photos, and got shooed out of the agora as it was nearing closing time. We then walked toward the Varvakios Market, hoping to fit in yet another stop before it got too late, but unfortunately, it was closed for the day. So instead, I took the family on a winding path through the neighborhood of Psyri, where we experienced the neighborhood’s high energy and lively crowds that were spread throughout the area’s streets, cafes, and tavernas.

Because we were strolling around some food hotspots that I had originally marked on my map as places to try, we ended up taking a short break from our exploration to do some dessert and sweets exploration at Nancy’s Sweet Home, a very well-known bakery filled with tons of people enjoying delicious sweets streetside. There, we indulged ourselves with the Love Cake, Cream Caramel, and Ekmek Kataifi. The Love Cake was a very decadent chocolate cake with melted hazelnut chocolate on top. So. Very. Decadent. Luckily I had milk to help wash it down. The Cream Caramel was like yummy flan. And the Ekmek Kataifi was like whipped cream on top of a baklava but the baklava, instead of being made with filo pastry sheets, was made of wheat straws. It was the least sweet of the desserts, which, by the end of it all, was happily welcomed. And again, as mentioned above, thank goodness for milk.

With our tummies filled with sugar and no longer craving anything sweet, we walked to the other side of the city toward the Panathenaic Stadium, one of the fine Greek stadiums that we noticed on our drive in on the first first day. The walk took quite awhile since we were walking from pretty far away and because we didn’t want to pay and wanted to, instead, sneak through the somewhat hidden entrance I had read about on the back slopes of the stadium. After hiking up the massive slope in the back, we finally found the opening in the metal fence, marked by two very bent fence posts. We waited for folks to walk by before squeezing through into the stadium grounds, where we made our way down to the stadium as the sun was setting. I stayed there for a bit taking photos and enjoying the view from the top of the stadium before I caught up with my family as we made our way out again and back toward town.

By this time, it was dark and the fam was getting a little hungry. And because of how the day had flowed, we were pretty far from the some of the Greek restaurants that I had originally marked to try for dinner. But, despite the distance, we persevered and walked all the way back across town to have dinner at Tavern Klimataria, a highly rated Greek tavern known for its food and its lively evenings of music and dance. The walk took forever, but we eventually made it to the homey restaurant. Upon walking in, we were welcomed by the nice Greek folk music swirling through the air and people eating, drinking, smoking, dancing, and having a grand Greek time. And this was exactly what I had imagined when I was looking for a traditional Greek tavern at which the family and I could enjoy an evening’s bite.

And the food was nice and homey. It was very much like a mom-and-pop homestyle restaurant that cooked batches of traditional Greek meals for locals who wanted to enjoy a lively evening out of the home. We ended up ordering the karneyeri, a delicious lasagna-type dish that was very similar to the traditional Greek dish moussaka, an eggplant dish, the grilled shrimps, and some light ALFA beer. And as we chowed down our delicious dishes, we sat and took everything in…. the folk music, the dancing, the singing, the clapping… we took it all in, in the true traditional taverna sense. What a way to enjoy a nice Greek dinner!

And man, was it horrible to trek all the way back to our home base after walking the entire day and walking all the way to dinner. Because my brother and I knew that we would be hungry by the the time we got home, we made a quick pit stop at McDonald’s before making our way home and chilling for the rest of the evening in preparation for the next part of our journey: Santorini.

5 Things I Learned Today:

1. With the march that they have to do, the soldiers in the Greek Army must have a difficult time with severe knee arthritis or tendonitis as they age. With all that weird motion of the legs and knees, I bet they help orthopods in Greece make tons of money! Hahaha

2. Baklava is a type of dessert and it is super similar to other types of Greek desserts in the way that it tastes and in the base on which it is made. That class of desserts seems to be predicated on honey, crunchy layers made of filo or something else, as well as chopped nuts. So sweet, but so yummyyyyy.

3. The street markets here in Athens have sidewalk vendors that sell nice things. And not so nice things. And when I say not so nice, I mean…. There are people setting up shop in random street corners, putting blankets out on the streets and selling all the random things one would find in the forgotten corners of their homes that no one else would seem to want. At least that’s what I assumed seeing what they were selling and how full their blankets were at midday.

4. There are tons of street carts selling corn and chestnuts here in Athens. I wonder if it’s a European thing, seeing that I saw similar carts in Switzerland, or if it’s a Christmas, winter thing...

5. Tavernas in Greece are rowdy. They are entertaining. They are full of energy. And they are quite the fun experience, an experience that everyone should be a part of when traveling!

[itsyokythings-blog]

Northern California is one of the most wonderful places in the world and if I had two weeks, here's some of what I might do! Arrive & San Francisco Start in San Francisco. Don't rent a car, just take BART from SFO or OAK to the city. If you can find an AirBnB in the Mission District, that's where I would stay. The Castro would also be very nice. Both areas are hip, residential with tons of places to eat and things to do, AND close to public transit that would get you around the city and the bay area. There are tons of other nice spots to live or stay, but some of them will leave you taking Lyfts absolutely everywhere. I would personally avoid downtown, just because it's very metropolitan and busy and just so work/commercial, but it's also easy to get around from there. Get dinner in the Mission and just wander around. There's always a ton going on here, plenty of live music, etc. I love tacos at Tacolicious, Panchita's for delicious papusas, Dandelion for excellent desserts and chocolate, Craftsmen & Wolves for good pastries & really good coffee. Obviously you'll need to spend a day seeing the Golden Gate Bridge. I highly recommend seeing the sunrise from Batter Spencer, then taking a hike either up the hill to Hawk Hill, or renting a car and driving around and seeing Rodeo Beach, Muir Beach, Muir Woods, etc. If you go that route, head up Mt Tam to watch the sunset! It's so pretty up there and on foggy days you'll actually find yourself in the sunshine above the clouds. Pretty amazing! Probably as a first time tourist you'll want to spend a day at Fisherman's Wharf. I would probably skip this altogether, but if you enjoy the wharf feel make sure to check out the sea lions on the docks, get a caramel apple at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company, and have a chowder bread bowl at Boudin. You'll definitely need to visit Musee Mechanique (bring cash to exchange for quarters) where you can look at all of the cool old toys. My favorite is the laughing lady (hilarious and creepy) and all the toothpick things! You could take the cable cars from near here (and the Chrissy Field Beach area), which is quite nice and I think a better waiting experience than going from downtown. That would land you downtown for some shopping, etc. If not, then while you're on that side of San Francisco and depending on your stamina, you could visit Coit Tower (pay to go to the top! the view is pretty). You can drive to the top or you can hike all 162 steps (or however many it is... haha). You'll love a visit to the Ferry Building. Hog Island Oyster Co is a favorite (although you can also visit on Tomales Bay for a less crowded experience) as is Miette and their macarons. Blue Bottle coffee is really good, but definitely not my favorite coffee in SF anymore (especially now that they are owned by Nestle). Honestly if I need coffee here I go down the street to the Philz, which is so so good. Philz is all drop coffee made to order and to taste. You pick your beans and then they make you your bev. Bring your own cup for a deal (a large for the price of a small). San Francisco is not a city of cheap coffee, if you want the good stuff. Expect to spend around $3.5-5 a cup. My favorite Philz location is the Castro one, but you'll see them all over and they are consistent and super tasty. I'm not a huge fan of the North Beach area, but it is a cute little Italian neighborhood and street. The Beach Blanket Babylon show is a classic and super funny, but you also wouldn't be to terribly worse off if you didn't want to afford it. I do like the Stella Bakery, although it's more traditional Italian than modern San Francisco and I wouldn't go out of my way to come here. Nopa is pretty cute, although I don't know the area as well as I could. Definitely it's worth getting lunch at Soulva (sit in their back patio or the front on the street) for Greek salads that are delicious, healthy, and reasonably priced. After lunch get their frozen Greek yogurt with the sour cherry topping and walk up to Alamo Square to see the Painted Ladies. If it's before 3pm get chocolate ganache mochas from the actual cutest coffee truck, Lady Falcon Coffee Club, roasted & brewed & run all by women. Hayes Valley is adorable and definitely worth a walk around. I love Absinthe for a fancy, decadent French meal, or Soulva again for cheap ish Greek salads. Definitely spend some time walking around and looking at all of the fancy, hip shops. I always window shop here and even try things on. Homemade shoes, the hippest clothing, etc. Another reason I love Hayes is that it's so very close to San Francisco City Hall and the Opera House and Symphony Hall. San Francisco City Hall is an incredible building and so pretty. It's free to go in and open until 5pm. You'll need to go through security, but it's super worth it. The building is really gorgeous: make sure to go up to the 4th floor to look down on everything and then just walk around. The grand staircase is insane. Added bonus is that you'll get to see tons of brides and grooms and happy families. So fun. Trouble Coffee is worth a visit, for sure. I love seeing Broadway shows at the Orpheum, such a pretty theater. North Beach My fave Italian in SF, especially if you're going to Chinatown and/or Downtown Santa Cruz Spend a day exploring the beaches along Davenport and Santa Cruz. Go for a walk along West Cliff and watch the sun set and/or rise over the water. On a clear day, you can see the two stacks of Monterey in the distance. Eat at Hula's (expect a wait), where the macadamia nut crusted fish is the best. I loved staying at the Sea and Sun Inn, which has an excellent location and modern ocean front rooms. I woke up for sunrise when we were staying here and walked down to the beach. The actual best! I saw dolphins! Pumpkin Patching in the Fall More pretty Santa Cruz that I love & brunch suggestions! Camping in Santa Cruz Best place for Ice Cream in Santa Cruz and other things I love here Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea I love this part of California and could spend a whole week driving down the coast, first stop here! The Carmel River State Beach is wonderful and so worth a long stop at. It's really pretty. In Monterey, you should definitely do a whale watching tour. We saw Orcas here and it was so insane and incredible. Go earlier in the morning and bring sunscreen, hats, and water. If you get sea sick, take something. We ended up out there on a rougher day and I never get seasick usually, but found myself a little queasy by the end. In Monterey, you must visit the Parker Lassau bakery for breakfast and then maybe again for second breakfast. It's so delicious and adorable and I highly recommend! I loved renting kayaks and kayaking around the Kelp beds. We even saw sea otters and had a feisty one trying to climb up on our kayak (super cute, but also they bite! be careful!)   Napa and Wine Country So, Napa. If you want to go and see vines and stay in the countryside and drink wine, you're in luck. I loved staying at the North Block Hotel in Yountville: Super chic and cozy and their hotel restaurant Redwood is also very yummy (and delicious cocktails). I loved staying there (although I did a trade to get this room and took some product photos, so I actually don't know how much it costs). For Christmas last year, Sam got me a hot air balloon ride with Aloft and it was so wonderful that I cried. Highly highly recommend. No need to do the breakfast there. We stayed at the Inn on Randolph and everything was perfect. The room was amazing, the wine and fireplace fabulous, and the breakfast in the morning delicious. I also love heading over to Healdsburg and going wine tasting there!

The post Two Weeks in Northern California appeared first on We Are Adventure.us.

[tauers-go-dutch]

Mamma Mia! We finally made it to Greece

With my favorite ladies!

Alternative name: Ryan takes selfies with food

As our time in Amsterdam is winding down, my lovely mother finally got her bum in gear and booked her trip to come visit. I put a lot of time and care into planning this trip, because we haven’t been looking forward to it for the past two years-- we’ve been looking forward to it for closer to 20! My mom and I have had Greece on our bucket list for as long as I can remember, and my living in Europe made for the perfect opportunity.

My last day at work was the Monday following our anniversary trip to Edinburgh, so I didn’t have a whole lot of time to prepare before picking her up from the airport Tuesday morning. For some damn reason, she decided to arrive on literally the hottest day I’ve experienced since moving here myself. Seriously, heat records were broken for the last week of May. So - we grabbed some iced tea from Starbucks (the only place in Europe you can GET iced tea the way we like it) and hopped on the train.

Ryan worked from home that day, so once we dropped her luggage off, the three of us ventured up to the Foodhallen, which is, you guessed it, a food hall with stalls serving up different types of street food. While we generally don’t advocate eating traditional Dutch food, we do always try to make sure everyone gets at least a taste. The easiest way to do this is to order bitterballen, which I lovingly like to describe as ‘fried balls of gravy’. I think they’re disgusting, but I’ve received mixed opinions from my guests. Ryan enjoys them, but never seems to order them for himself. I don’t think mom was terribly impressed-- I’d show you the photo of her digging in, but then I’d have to give up my American citizenship and never return home, for fear she might murder me.

Ryan returned to work while mom and I wandered up through a neighborhood called the ‘Jordaan’ which is full of cute shops and great for people watching. After showing her the Anne Frank house (from the outside- the line was way too long to go inside) and buying a few charms for our charm bracelets, we hopped on the tram home to relax for a bit. I took her to dinner at my favorite neighborhood pizza place before calling it a night.

The next morning we took the train to Haarlem, one of my favorite little towns just outside of Amsterdam. We grabbed brunch at one of my favorite spots, then took a stroll to see one of the last remaining windmills in the area. We had some lemonade and shared a piece of carrot cake at my favorite tea shop (too hot for tea, and they don’t do iced!). I bought the biggest bag of loose leaf of my favorite blend they had, and we hopped back on the train to Amsterdam. Ryan met us for dinner at a delicious Kansas City BBQ joint we’ve come to love before heading in. 

Thursday we went to the Van Gogh museum, where there was a special exhibit displaying his Japanese-inspired paintings. Of course we had to make the other typical Dutch food stops, where we hit up Ryan’s favorite fry place, a deliciously Instagram and Pinterest-famous chocolate cookie shop, and finally, a bakery specializing in everyone’s favorite Dutch treat, the Stroopwafel!

Here is mom’s impression of Amsterdam, in her own words: 

Finally! I made it to Amsterdam! First impression - it’s very hot and humid! That impression didn’t change except when it was raining. I loved the rain! Being as I was only there a very short time, we ran around from place to place to see as much as I could without spending too much time in any one place. The first night we ate at a marketplace where you could get about any food type you desired. I had my first taste of bitterballen. Was very good but basically deep fried gravy and one was enough for me. Mariah and I took most of the next day and traveled to Haarlem. Adorable little town, sort of a miniature Amsterdam. Many cute stores and a great little tea shop. That evening we had authentic Kansas City BBQ. Delicious!

We went to the museum plaza where there was an exhibition of miniature canal houses done in Delft. They were wonderful! We visited the Van Gogh museum. Was a great museum but honestly think I was suffering from heat exhaustion and didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to. There are many museums on the plaza and I would love to explore more of them someday. Things of note in Amsterdam are the beautiful parks, the superb public transportation and of course the architecture. It is a very old city and the buildings are amazing. The architecture was probably my favorite thing about the city. Also noteworthy are the millions of bicycles ridden by all ages, shapes and sizes, all day long as well as the very small garden plots in front of nearly every home and window boxes adorning most windows on all floors. 

On my last night in Amsterdam (a trip to Greece in-between) Mariah and I stayed in a very nice boutique hotel named The Muse. Was a great last night and I left the next morning after a great breakfast prepared by friends Scott and Ashley. They are very special people and it is easy to understand why Mariah and Ryan have become such great friends with them. Knowing I would see Mariah and Ryan in six weeks made it easier to go...

Finally time to head to Greece, we made a final round through our apartment, as we had actually ended our lease and were due to move out that day! As much as Amsterdam will be missed, that place absolutely will not, so we bid it good riddance and made for the airport!

We landed in Santorini at about 9 in the evening, and were lucky that my Aunt Karen had arrived a few hours earlier and was able to check into our rental, which was in the village of Perissa. We dropped our stuff off and immediately made our way to the dive across the street for some late-night dinner. We had gyro, dolmas (my favorite!) pita and tzatziki and we were in heaven!

Made it!

Oh Greek food, how I love you!

Friday morning we had some Greek pastries for breakfast and headed to the Excavations of Akrotiri, which were supposed to be some great ancient ruins but turned out to be the biggest waste of money on the trip. The site was unfortunately very disappointing. No matter, the site was right on the beach, so we walked down to the coast and hiked up and over to the Red Beach, aptly named for the color of its sand/rocks. We weren’t prepared for a true beach day, so we just admired for a bit, took a few photos and headed over to Fira for some lunch.

Some rather disappointing ruins. Good thing we’re cute! 

The beautiful red sand beach

Mom and Karen hung out while Ryan and I took on the popular hike from Fira to Oia. It was absolutely stunning - the perfect mix of hills and ridges along the coast where we passed every #dreamgoals resort you can possibly dream up. We arrived in Oia just before sunset, where we sat and watched it go down on a rooftop sangria bar. We grabbed dinner then met up with Mom and Karen, who had spent our hiking time exploring Oia. We took advantage of our apartment’s private jacuzzi then hit the hay.

Hiking through paradise! (Prepping my new hiking boots for the imminent Trolltunga)

We slept in a bit on Saturday before walking down to the black sand beach. I had booked our specific apartment in Perissa because of its proximity to the best beach on Santorini. It was still about a 15 minute trek down, but it was 100% worth it. We grabbed brunch at a beachside cafe before walking about 100 feet through the sand and plopping down on some shaded beach lounges and ordering fresh fruit smoothies. We enjoyed our drinks by the sea then mom and I decided it was time to take a dip. What is nice about this beach is that the black sand is actually small pebble, which makes it much easier to stand on and brush off (though we did manage to trek plenty back to our apartment) and makes for very clear water, because it doesn’t get picked up in the current like typical beach sand does. While mom tried very hard to get me to let her stay there forever, we eventually decided we’d had enough sun and headed in. Ryan was nice enough to walk back and grab the rental car for us, so we were chauffeured back to our apartment for showers and a nap.

Mom and Karen stayed in the rest of the evening while Ryan and I went to a tasting at a local winery. The winery sat at the top of a hill overlooking the sea, but after a full day of sun, we decided we had better sit inside in the shade. The wine was great, some better than others. The entertainment, however, was provided by a crabby old man at the bar directly behind our table. Fortunately Ryan was able to sneak a photo of him in action.

Old man: ‘Can I have a mimosa?’

Bartender: *blank stare*

Old man: ‘Do you know what a mimosa is? In America we have mimosas!’

Bartender: ‘Like the flower?’

Old man: ‘Like the drink’

Bartender: ‘Ok, sir, where are you sitting? I will send the waiter over for your order.’

Old man: ‘I don’t have a table. I’ve already eaten and paid. I just want to wash everything down with a mimosa.’

Bartender: ‘Ok sir. What do you want?’

Old man: ‘Orange juice and champagne. Do you have orange juice and champagne? Just give me a glass of orange juice and a glass of champagne. I will make it myself!’

Bartender: *pours a flute of champagne and asks him hesitantly if he also wants a glass of orange juice before pouring a second flute and charging him for each separate drink. The old man pays and the bartender peaces out before she has to endure any more attacks.*

Old man: *proceeds to chug half of each flute before pouring the OJ into the champagne*

While the conversation took a solid five minutes, it took less than 20 seconds for the guy to down his drink and walk out of the winery once the bartender poured his two glasses. Was it really worth the trouble, man?

Anyways, we enjoyed our wine, headed to dinner and called it a night.

DIY mimosa guy

Eww, octopus

Sunday morning it was time to leave Santorini already. We booked a ferry to Mykonos, the second island of our trip. If Santorini is heaven, I don’t know what Mykonos is, but I could stay there forever. The views from our apartment were unbeatable, and we had an infinity pool and bar just outside our door. We decided to stay close to home that evening, but walked over to a nearby Indian spot for dinner. Ryan only recently got me to start enjoying Indian food, and I think it was mom’s first time ever. Regardless, it was delicious-- so delicious we went back the next night to grab takeout!

Leaving Santorini

The new view isn’t so bad

Back at the apartment mom and Karen took a quick dip in the pool, but I was a weenie and just dipped my toes in (Ryan grabbed a G&T and went up to sit on the rooftop patio).

We slept in again then sought out brunch. I had a life-changing acai bowl that I can’t stop thinking about nearly a month later, then we headed down into the main old town. The day was spent exploring the winding pathways of the city, taking way too many photos of the beautiful buildings, and stopping in all the local shops. Mykonos is known for its windmills, which are much different from those I’ve become accustomed to here in the Netherlands. Ryan and I spent a few hours lounging around back at the pool before grabbing that second helping of Indian for the whole crew.

Apparently too excited to bother rubbing in all of my sunscreen...

A quick tea and smoothie stop

Not a bad way to end the day

The island of Delos was our main activity for the following day. We hopped on a ferry to check out the supposed birthplace of Artemis and Apollo. While it was ridiculously hot, these ancient ruins were far more interesting and well-preserved than the ones in Santorini. Back on the main (is)land, we grabbed lunch at a small Italian spot before an afternoon nap. Ryan and I journeyed out for another date night, this time walking (hiking) along the coast to a small family-owned restaurant on the other side of the island. We managed to arrive in one piece, where I had delicious salmon (chicken for Ryan) on the beach.

Our hike back was slightly less treacherous, as at least we knew the way, but we did receive a small surprise in the form of a wild hedgehog in our path! I can’t believe I didn’t take a photo now that I think about it. He was quite calm and friendly, we just had to step around him in his little ball and keep going. We grabbed some gyro from the snack bar on the beach for mom and Karen and headed in for the night.

The next day it was time to hit the beach one last time. Our apartment was right next to one of the main beaches on the island but it was a serious hike to get down there. Mykonos is known as the party island of Greece, so the earlier in the morning you go, the less likely you are to have your ears assaulted with EDM and/or 90s rap. On the flipside, This is when all the 50+ folk decide it’s time to get their tan on, in the nude. Sweet baby Jesus. Actually it really wasn’t an issue, after the initial shock of old bronze fat man bits.

It was even harder to pull mom out of the water this time around, but after some solid fun in the sun we had to head back in order to take Karen to the airport. Unfortunately she had to head home a day earlier than the rest of us. We grabbed lunch at the ‘El Burro’ cafe and said goodbye. The three of us then went back into the old town to do some final shopping - mom wanted some souvenirs to bring home and I had some jewelry I wanted a second look at. The next morning it was our turn to head out, but not before one more go at that life-changing acai bowl.

Clearly I have nothing but praise for Greece, and I think perhaps mom feels the same:

On to Greece! Top of my bucket list knocked off. Greece was everything I have ever imagined it would be. We spent several days on the island of Santorini. My sister Karen met up with us for this leg of my trip. The black beach will always be my favorite memory. Karen’s as well for a much different reason. The sand was a beautiful black. We had a lovely room with our own hot tub and private patio. Across the street was a dive restaurant that had the best Greek food. We ate there several times. The old town of Santorini was great for shopping and the bougainvillea was everywhere and absolutely gorgeous. We visited some ruins which I would not recommend to anyone but still somewhat interesting. We visited the towns of Fira and Oia. Wonderful shopping and great restaurants. Oia has one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world.

We then took a ferry to Mykonos and had another great room with a fabulous view of the sea. Little did I know but Mykonos is known as the party island and they partied at the island’s biggest Disco right down the hill from us all night long. Very loud and you could feel the energy. Once in our room you couldn’t hear the music so all was well. There was a great Indian restaurant near our place, so good we ate there twice. Paradise Beach is amazing. The water so clear, you can see little fishies swimming all around you. Apparently all the beaches in Greece are clothing optional but as long as they didn’t expect to see me without clothing it was no big deal. The roads are narrow and people drive crazy like I have never seen before. Lucky for us, Ryan did all the driving and I just didn’t look! We took a ferry, a very fast ferry, out to Delos to see the ruins of the Gods’ homes. I would recommend seeing the ruins there as well as the museum. As there was no shade and really hot, Karen and I spent most of our time in the museum while Mariah and Ryan trucked around the whole island. I’m sure I missed a lot - but the heat! I could go on and on but I could never explain how beautiful it was and just how much it meant to me to be able to go, and with such great company!

Once we arrived back in Amsterdam, I had about 24 hours to show mom anything else I deemed worthy before sending her back home. Having moved out of our apartment the week prior, mom and I got a hotel for the night while Ryan stayed with our friends Scott and Ashley. We went to the Albert Cuypmarket, which is a popular street market in the De Pijp neighborhood Not having enough time to make it over to Vondelpark, we settled for a stroll through the much smaller but also lovely Sarphatipark. We had a reservation for dinner at one of our favorite burger places, Cannibal Royale, so we took our time in meeting Ryan, Scott and Ashley there by walking by one of the red light streets--I couldn’t let mom leave Amsterdam without that experience!

Ashley was kind enough to have breakfast ready for us the next morning, so we all enjoyed a bit of time on their patio before sending mom off. Ryan and Scott were also heading to the airport, as they had a guys’ trip to Copenhagen planned for the weekend. They took good care of her, getting her to the airport and all checked in.

This trip was absolutely one for the books for a number of reasons. First of all, it was quite the task convincing mom to finally get her passport. Traveling can be scary, so I’m proud of her for finally taking the plunge! Greece has been at the top of my bucket list for as long as I can remember, and it truly did not disappoint. There are a lot of placed I’d love to visit and even revisit, but Greece was indisputably the most beautiful, wonderful, fun place I’ve ever been. Good thing there are about 100 (or so) more Greek Islands I can check out!

Leaving you with a few final photos of Santorini and Mykonos

Opa and tot ziens!

[laraimaustria]

Standing in Line to Get in a Line to Stand in a Line to Wait in a Line: Fall Break Day 2

Today was our first full day of Paris! Completely by coincidence it's also the first day of the month, meaning it was free entry day at the Louvre! Knowing this would mean a million tourists we tried to get there as early as possible, which for us meant around 10am. The museum is huge and impressive, but the class pyramid, while cool looking, kind of blocks the view of the beautiful older buildings. When we arrived there were already tons of people waiting in a line that stretched across the whole courtyard. Once we got in line we noticed a Disneyland-esque sign with a wait time on it that said 3 hours. We consigned ourselves to this fate and joined the line anyway. It definitely took a long time, but I don't think it was actually 3 hours. Mostly it felt long because it was cold and drizzly out.

Once we actually got inside the museum it quickly became apparent that there was no way we were going to be able to see everything, or even most of the things in the museum. I thought the Met in New York was huge but this is like Smithsonian levels of huge. Of course they know their audience and have many many signs pointing out exactly how to find the Mona Lisa, which is what we did first. It's true that you can't even get very close to the picture, and that there are tons of people crowding around the painting, and that the painting certainly isn't the most beautiful, awe-inspiring painting I've ever seen. But it's cool that we still have this art preserved by such an influential artist and that somehow people are still drawn to it.

After seeing the Mona Lisa we walked through some of the other Renaissance painting hallways, honestly feeling pretty overwhelmed by it all. The layout of the museum is actually super confusing and you kind of just stumble around until you catch a glimpse of something famous that you recognize. My favorite parts were actually the Greek statues and artifacts, including the Venus di Milo, which I thought was even cooler than the Lisa. It's amazing that this stuff has survived this long. After perusing these few hallways and getting lost many times we felt kind of done with the place and decided to go find something to eat. Our friend recommended trying the famous Angelina hot chocolate at the cafe about ten minutes from the museum, so we went there and walked through the very lovely Jardin Tuilleries. You can tell Paris puts more stock in their gardens than Vienna because they're pristine.

The cafe was pretty easy to find considering there was yet another line outside. After briefly looking at the menu we discovered that this place was going to be EXPENSIVE but we were hungry and tired and wanted the damn hot chocolate. So we quickly decided that this would be our splurge, that we were in Paris and deserved to treat ourselves, and ignored the crying coming from our wallets. Fortunately, it was so worth it. Imagine someone takes a really good, quality chocolate bar and straight up just melts it down and pours it into a cup. Oh and then they put a pile of whipped cream on top. This is what the hot chocolate from this place tasted like. It was thick and rich and decadent and I would have drank a bucket of it if I could have and not died. I ordered my hot chocolate at part of their afternoon tea, so I got some little finger sandwiches, bread and butter, and yummy little pastries (including a macaron!) To go with it. Sometimes it's worth it to just spend the money and treat yourself to something nice.

We were pretty tired and now in danger of slipping into a chocolate coma, so we decided to just go back to our hotel room and relax for the rest of the evening. As the sun was setting Courtney and I went down the street to a little bakery for something light to eat and I had a yummy croissant. Then we walked along the canal next to the hotel and looked at all the pretty lights. Paris truly is prettiest at night with all the lights shining on the water.

Tomorrow we're going to Notre Dame which I'm super excited for, as well as going to some shopping areas. I also may or may not be going to the house of the author who wrote a certain book based on a certain musical that I may have had a slight obsession with in high school. (Let's just say I have one day more before I go there).

[the-flying-platypus]

Athens - land of ancient monuments and cheap, delicious food

As it turns out, I have some relatives who live outside Athens that my mom hadn’t seen in like 40 years. We were fortunate to have local tour guides to tell us where to go and where to eat.

Do

Greece’s capital city will most likely be your port of entry. Unlike many large cities that one might rush through to get to the beach, Athens really deserves at least a day or two to absorb its incredible history. It can be a bit rough and tumble, and you’ll definitely need to heed all of that advice your mom gave you once upon a time about pickpockets and not counting your money before getting on the train unless you don’t really like your wallet (ask me how I know…)

In Athens, the main tourist attraction is fairly obvious: you want to go to the Acropolis and see the Parthenon. We did a guided tour, which included watching the changing of the guard, the Acropolis museum, and the 3 temples on the Acropolis (including the Parthenon).

If I had to do it again I’d go without the tour. Our group was supersized, and the guide had to give all of the descriptions in 2 languages. Most of the time the guide was difficult to hear over the echoing voices of the 5 million other tourists, and the museum had placards in English that explained everything pretty well. It seems you can get a super ticket to the Acropolis that includes the two agoras, temple of Zeus, and probably some other things, and on my own I’d have been able to get to all of those in a day just fine, provided I’d started early.

Both the museum and the Acropolis were well worth it. The museum has all of the sculptures that have been removed from the Acropolis, plus really cool architecture to incorporate viewing of the ancient village that was found under the museum when they began excavations. The Parthenon and the 2 other temples to Athena are obviously worth it, even though, as my uncle pointed out, you can no longer walk around inside. The changing of the guard occurs on the hour and takes only a few minutes. It’s probably pretty easy to time around other things given that it happens so frequently.

Outside of the tour, the other activity we enjoyed was going up to Likavitou Hill and checking out the view. The funicular railway goes inside the mountain and costs EUR7.50 per person, but you can also walk. My 81-year-old uncle took us up the funicular, but he had no problem walking down.

My uncle was really excited to show us the Syntagma metro station – it includes archeological exhibits of ancient Athenian plumbing systems, and other archeological finds uncovered while they were excavating the station. Unfortunately, this was where my dad’s wallet was pickpocketed, so we don’t have a great memory of it. That could honestly have happened anywhere, though.

At night, stroll through the area around Monastiraki Square or Plaka, both of which are full of restaurants and shops

Outside of Athens, we did a day bus tour to the temple at Delphi. In ancient times, people would come to the Oracle of Delphi to seek her aid in divining the future. It’s since been discovered that the Oracle’s future-telling trances were induced through inhalation of toxic fumes from vents below the oxygen-deprived temple.

Stay

We stayed at the Attaloos Hotel, which had a nice rooftop bar with a view of the Acropolis, and a great breakfast buffet. It was conveniently located near Monastiraki square, though this also meant there was a lot of traffic.

Eat

Our favorite meal in Athens was probably Agora. We met my uncle and aunt at the nearby Hilton Athens (incidentally, home to the oldest living olive tree in Athens – check out the tree in the hotel restaurant). My aunt Helen then proceeded to order us the largest selection of Greek mezze I’ve ever seen, and every single thing was delicious.

Thanasis located off Monastiraki square, this huge place is apparently THE spot for kebab. We were lucky to stumble upon it and happened to get the kabob based off the picture menu. It is delicious and comes on pita with grilled tomatoes. Get a side of tzatziki.

Potato King – I mean really, how can you go wrong? A late-night eats joint, brightly lit with just a few high-top tables, this place is low on atmosphere but high on cheap deliciousness. 3 varieties of fried taters, topped with your choice of meat, grilled tomatoes, onion, peppers, other stuff that I don’t remember, and maybe 15 sauce options. I was a fan of the lemon one. Near Monastiraki Square.

Beneth bakery on Monastiraki square has fantastic galaktibouriko (sort of a custard in a pastry, my personal favorite Greek dessert), and lots of other pastries. And gelato.

Nightlife: Seeing as this was a family vacation, I didn’t go out. But the neighborhood of Psirri, again right by Monastiraki Square, seemed to be the happening place.

[withabackpackandcamera]

November 27th, 2017

Day 5: To Santorini We Go!

Today was travel day. So, that meant it was lazy day. I slept in to recharge after the last couple of days and then moved on to reorganizing my luggage so that I could drop it off at my dad’s friend’s mom’s house down the road. After dropping our stuff off, we made a pit stop at the neighborhood bakery chain store and grabbed ourselves some spinach pastries, pig-in-a-blankets, cottage cheese pastries, and croissants to enjoy for breakfast. I was so disappointed when I started eating what I thought were pig-in-a-blankets and slowly realized they were the subpar cottage cheese pastries. Ugh. So disappointed.

After the chow session, I spent the rest of the morning planning our trip to Santorini and resting my poor knee/leg, which, for some reason, started hurting pretty badly last night after hiking up to the stadium. Ugh, why now. Anyhow, I did lots of planning to figure out when and where to take photos in Santorini and once I figured that out, I took a short nap before calling an Uber to take us to the airport.

I’m glad we called an Uber instead of calling a taxi this time. One, it was way cheaper and more convenient and more trustworthy than a taxi (as they couldn’t just cheat us out of our money, etc). And two, because the Uber driver spoke good English and gave us good local insight into the state of the Greek nation and the concerns that people in Greece have about their country. Really interesting thoughts. Once we arrived at the airport, we just hung out until it was flight time. Because I had my Priority Pass (so glad I did!), I hung out in the nearby airport lounge and ate some ham and cheese croissants, as well as carrot sticks, kataifi, and tomato soup before sneaking out with food and bringing it to my family to enjoy on our quick 40 minute flight to Santorini.

Our flight was super short and before long, I was on Santorini with a 20 minute nap in hand. Once we were settled, we got our very used rental car and slowly made our 25 minute journey through the narrow roads of Santorini to our hotel in Oia, called Residence Suites. However, while making our way into Oia but before reaching our destination, Minh and I noticed that the clouds were becoming more and more beautiful with different shades of red and orange. What an opportunity! We just had to stop. So, we got dad to stop in a random parking lot and we got out near downtown Oia and aimlessly rushed up some steps in search of a place to capture the setting sun. And of course, by the time we reached an open space, the sun was gone and the sky was clear of any more color. Just our luck. We turned back, made our way to the car, and eventually drove to the closest parking spot to our hotel. There, we parked and unloaded our stuff and began our evening search of our hotel.

This part was extremely difficult. Because all I had was a little paper map of the place and my saved Google Maps on my smartphone that didn’t have nearly enough detail on it. And it was difficult because all the little streets and steps looked the same under the night sky, so there was no telling where we were turning and where we were supposed to go. Oh, and add in a bum knee and it made for a difficult 20 minutes of searching. But after walking for what seemed like way longer than it should’ve been, we eventually found the hotel lobby and our room, a typical Santorini cave room where we made ourselves at home before exploring the town and looking for food options.

With the fear that places would close relatively early (given that it was low season), we ended up quickly choosing a pizza joint called Skiza Pizza where we ate a special combo pizza with ham, pepperoni, bell peppers, mushrooms, and tomato. It was meh, like the meh pizza I had in Puerto Natales that one day earlier this year. But whatever, as long as we had some food in our stomachs. After eating, we strolled down the main road of Oia for a bit and walked until we hit the edge of town, at which time we turned back. We stopped by one of the small markets on the way home to buy some snacks, walked around a little bit more before dropping our parents off for the night. It was so strange to walk through the empty streets of Santorini, known as tourist paradise, and not see or hear a single person walking next to us. So quiet. So peaceful. Just the way I like it. Thank goodness for windy weather during low season!

Once we had dropped our parents off, Minh and I went back out into the chilly wind to search for the three blue domes photo spot we had seen time and time again while looking through photos of Santorini. We walked around, looking for different views of the town, as well as the blue domes view. We took random turns here and there and eventually found the famous vantage point by trial and error and by working backwards from where we were to where we thought we needed to be. Once I was set up, I stayed out for a while to figure out how to best take photos of the area without illegally climbing up on people’s rooftops and construction sites without their permission (as it seemed like those owners have had to deal with tourists doing that for a long, long time). And the limitations proved quite challenging.

After standing in the blistering wind for what seemed like forever, I finally gave up and walked back to get some rest before a big day of exploring tomorrow. Hope tomorrow's creative juices are flowing when sunset hits (which is when I’ll need them the most)!

5 Things I Learned Today:

1. Reading Greek characters is like deciphering a code or figuring out hieroglyphics! Substitute a Greek letter for its sister Roman letter with the same sound and you can probably figure out some simple words in Greek!

2. Supposedly, as told by our Uber driver, Greece’s poor economic state is due to its involvement with the EU. Heavy taxes and high employment rates cripple the people living there. Supposedly, something like 65% of wages are taxed and employees have little choice when it comes to choosing their insurance plans and benefits. Because of all the things they are dealing with, the younger population feels that things in Greece have gotten worse since joining the EU.

3. I guess the locals of Santorini know where photographers like to congregate and break the rules to get good shots. Because it just happens that all the good spots (based on photo analyzing) are now blocked off, barricaded, or inaccessible due to construction. UGH!

4. There are no real signs here showing people where to go and how to get around. It is quite hard to navigate, especially when every turn looks like every other turn.

5. In the fall, it is windy in Santorini. So. Very. Windy.