I can’t believe that we’ve been in Greece for a week now. It’s one of those things where it feels like it’s flown by, but also, we are getting so familiar with our surroundings, it feels like it’s been much longer. I finished the last post with a day of sight seeing here in Thessaloniki on Sunday, June 30. Because we didn’t have to be back to EmbryoLab until Thursday, July 4th, we decided maybe we could fit in a little trip out of the city. Monday morning our AirBnb hosts had scheduled technicians to install another AC unit in our bedroom (!!!my fellow fertility med girlies will understand the importance of this!!!) so we thought we could try to hit the road as soon as they were finished. We planned a trip to the island of Corfu- we have been eyeing it since we first started talking about coming to Greece. To get there, we knew we would have about a three and a half hour drive to the coastal town of Igoumenitsa where we could catch a ferry over to the island. When the technicians left at 10:15, Kyle told me that if we could leave the apartment by 11, we could make it to Igoumenista by 2:38 for the 2:45 ferry. That sounded like a lofty goal, especially since we had absolutely no idea of what the road between Thessaloniki and Igoumenista was like- but of course we went for it!

When we got in the car GoogleMaps had our ETA as 2:38. We knew there would be other ferries later in the afternoon, so we weren’t stressed about getting there on time, but also we wanted to get overt to Corfu as early as we could. Driving out of the city was relatively uneventful. Kyle has gotten really good at driving the manual rental car in stop and go traffic. About 45 minutes into the drive Kyle said “I wonder how we’re going to get around those huge mountains out there.” We settled on the idea that we were going to go kind of in between them. That was proven wrong when our ears started popping and the car started to slow down. We were in the Olympus Mountain Range (like Mount Olympus!) and climbing by the minute. It was absolutely beautiful. We had fun just sitting and talking to each other, counting the tunnels (56!) and soaking in another “pinch me” moment. When we got into hour 3, we started to wonder how we could possibly be headed to the coast because we had spent so long going up, and had yet to come down a mountain. Then we found out that what took us 3 hours to climb would only take about 20 minutes ot descend. We pulled into a parking lot near the water that didn’t have any “No Parking” signs (that we could read, at least) and started a run for it across the port. We got our tickets and sprinted over to the ramp of the boat as it was being pulled up behind us. We managed to hop on literally just in the nick of time! The ride over to Corfu is an hour and a half- we spent the time enjoying the fresh saltwater air while searching for and booking a hotel room for the next two nights.

We checked into the Atlantis Hotel which was just as the online reviews had said- clean but very basic. Two twin beds, air conditioning, and most importantly, a mini fridge to put my medications that we had brought with us in a cooler. That night we explored Old Town Corfu, which is magical. Hundreds of tiny alleys just full of shops, and restaurants lead to the bluff with breathtaking views. Tuesday we took a taxi over to the west side of the island to spend the day at Glyfada beach. Relaxing by the crystal clear water of the Ionian Sea was the perfect way to spend a day. We did dinner in Old Town again, and spent a few more hours wandering the alleys, shocked that there was still something new at every corner. The restaurants and beach club that we went to in Corfu will all be part of my list of recommendations at the end. Actually, I might need to go ahead and start that now while it’s still fresh in my mind and Notes App.

Wednesday morning we took the ferry back to Igoumenitsa and made the drive back into the city. It was just as great of a time returning as it was on the way out. Thursday we went for an ultrasound and more bloodwork at EmbryoLab. Dr. Kyriakidis is pleased with how I am responding to the ovarian stimulation. We are adding another nightly injection to the routine for the next few days and will be back in the clinic on Monday, July 8th. For this part of the process I am being a little vague- not sharing exact numbers or doses- but I am keeping track of it personally and can share more later. At this time though, I just don’t want to open myself up to too many outside opinions or weigh myself down with comparisons to what other people experienced. This process varies from body to body and I’m learning to stay off the internet, out of my anxious thoughts, and present in the moment with the course of treatment that has been tailored to my body.

Since it was the 4th of July, our next logical stop was McDonalds for a fountain Coke and some fries. We did more sightseeing in Thessaloniki before getting dinner at TGIFridays. The only thing missing was some fireworks to end the night. Today (Friday) I started to feel some side effects from the medications, so we slowed down a little. I’m so glad we have a comfortable apartment to relax in– and especially glad for the kitchen that Kyle made a fabulous dinner in. We’ll check back in after our appointment on Monday!