Off the Mat: What Yoga Girls Do When They're Not Yoga-ing

So we had all these great yogic plans for our day off. We were going to get up, meditate, and do an hour of yoga in the studio before heading off to Athens to shop. All those plans were abandoned about 8 pm last night when we were so battered and exhausted that the better idea seemed a total break from yoga!

After a great night's sleep and a bit of a sleep in, it was so much fun to do my hair, put on makeup, and wear clothes that weren't Lululemon (as much as I love my Lulus). I felt like myself again instead of the sweaty hot yoga mess I've been for the past week!

So the Canadian girl was a bit slow getting ready, and we had to wait for the next bus in this quaint little bus shack. It took forever, but we ended up getting on some other bus than was recommended to us, and it took us directly into Syntagma Square in the heart of Athens. The bus even had wifi!

First on the agenda were lattes and cappuccinos! We went to this posh little bakery called Orange Bakery. Unfortunately it wasn't all we'd hoped for. I had a delicious chocolate croissant, but my Aussie posse didn't have as much luck with their food. L's vegetarian pie had chicken in it and A's granola bar was so hard it flew out of her hand when she tried to bite it and landed on the floor. The coffee was great, but took a good 20 minutes to get and L's cappuccino never did materialize!

 

Unfortunately we really had no clue where we were, so turning on the power of our yogic intuition we decided to wander around the city. This plan worked out great, as we happened on a fantastic perfume store. All three of us bought new fragrances, and I was so excited to find one of my favourites that is no longer available in Canada--Love, Chloe! 100 ml should last me for a while!

The sales girl was lots of fun and asked to take pictures of us for the store's Instagram and Facebook page. She also told me I looked like a famous actress... Meryl Streep. I guess I'll take that as a compliment?! After our perfume purchases, we decided to keep exploring. Although A did a bang up job of mending my dog shredded tights, I still wanted another pair and so did she, We both found cute yoga clothes at a store called Oysho. We bought matching tights with a northern lights pattern, except mine are ankle length and hers are crops.

It had been nearly 24 hours without doing yoga, so we burst into tree pose on the street... caused a bit of congestion on a busy street!



We continued to wander and suddenly I found myself on the same street as Leah's and my hotel when we first visited Athens at the end of August. I knew where I was! In no time at all we found the vegetarian restaurant recommended by our yoga teacher, Michelle. Above is the yummy lunch that both L and I had... buffalo mozzarella and tomato panini with corn chips and guacamole. Delicious! A had a huge veggie burger that she loved too and as well as some crazy pink lemonade with beet root in it.







 Next was a bang trim at a random hair salon (the girl didn't speak English but did a great job thank goodness). Gelato followed as we were feeling way too healthy! 

It was Saturday and it was time for cocktails following our return home from Athens. Make that MOCK tails.... club soda, pineapple juice, and lime was as good as it gets during yoga teacher training :(

A great day off drew to a close with sundowners on the rooftop! But not before another mystery was solved. Check it out!

All week during morning meditations I'd noticed this on the rooftop In my morning fogged mind, I'd looked at it and though, oh cool, they have one of those huge barbecue things that can roast a whole pig. I wonder if we get to have a barbecue up here! This rooftop would be perfect for entertaining! Never once thinking, Devon, it is a vegetarian yoga studio and guest house. Why on God's green earth would they have one of those big pig roasting barbecues? And why would you think you'd have a MEAT barbecue while living here? I had a big moment of clarity when A referred to the solar powered water heater on the rooftop! I guess no pork barbecues on the rooftop for this yogi! Wow...I guess you can take the meat-eating girl out of Kenton, but you can't take the Kenton out of the girl!