Day 24 in Greece - 2023

IVF Update


We wake up, make cheesy scrambled eggs, and play a game of cribbage. We don't finish the game, because I get an email with an update on our embryos. Of the nine eggs that were harvested, six became embryos, and three have become A-rated blastocysts. This means we have three blastocysts that we can keep.


I feel a mix of emotions. I'm sad for the other six that didn't make it to an A-rating and were discarded. I'm overjoyed for having three A-rated blastocysts. We want two kids, so the fact that we have three blastocysts is amazing. Two of the blastocysts are paired together, cryopreserved in the same straw, and the third is frozen on its own.

Black and white menu board displays text about brewing adventures and blastocysts in a minimalist style.

Waterfalls of Edessa


We leave the apartment in a state of happiness that I assume is akin to ecstasy, and we drive out to Edessa. Thaleia suggested Edessa to us, and I'm so grateful for her and her amazing suggestions of places to see. We arrive in town and drive until we reach the parking lot designated for the waterfalls.


It's shocking to us how aggressive the waterfalls are. The source of the falls is a river called Edessaios, which breaks off into these small canals that run through the town. The canals end at the mountain side where the water flows out in these magnificent, powerful waterfalls. There are stairs that you can venture down among the waterfalls. They are extremely slippery, but we descend nonetheless. We just take it very carefully and slowly. There are platforms and viewpoints to stop at on the way down, and of course, we stop at each one of them to take pictures. Other people are adventuring, too, so we aren't the only ones daring to take this on.


We go all the way down until we are blocked from going any further. Then it's time to make our way back up, which, honestly, is even scarier than making our way down in terms of how slippery it is. We both remove our sandals, roll up our pants, and go up barefoot. My camera is tucked inside of my shirt to protect it from the waterfall spray, and keep it close to my body just in case I do fall.

A cascading waterfall flows down a rocky cliff face surrounded by lush green foliage in a forest setting.
Lush green moss and vegetation grows along a rocky cliff face beside a misty waterfall.
Powerful rushing waterfall cascades over rocks through lush green forest on a bright summer day.
A tall waterfall cascades down a rocky cliff surrounded by lush green forest and trees on a sunny day.
A powerful cascade of white water rushes down a rocky waterfall surrounded by lush green foliage on a cloudy day.
A majestic waterfall cascades down a rocky cliff surrounded by lush green foliage on a bright summer day.

Edessa


We make it back to the top, soaking wet from the waterfall spray. We slip our sandals back on, unroll our pants, and explore the town. There's a really cool historical area of town. It has stone streets, stone-walled buildings, a mill, and these really cool trees. The trees are called plane trees, and one is big enough that we can stand inside of its trunk. This is one of our favorite places we have seen on this trip. It is beautiful, it is historic, it is well-taken care of, and how cool is it that the town just goes until the land turns into waterfalls? I think its cool.


We have lunch at a beautiful restaurant called Καταρράκτες (Katarraktes) which means "waterfall" in Greek. Very fitting. We sit out on the covered patio. I get a glass of blush wine. I figure it's going to be my last glass of wine until our babies are here. It's celebratory! Our food comes out, and it starts to rain. We are under a cover, so we just enjoy the rain as it starts to come down. However, the waitstaff and owner of the restaurant did not enjoy that we were on the patio and we were urged to move inside. To appease them, we do, and honestly, it's a good thing we listened, because soon enough the rain is coming down very hard and at an angle that would have surely soaked us even more and ruined our food. It starts to thunder, and so we get dessert. They ask us to rate them on TripAdvisor, which I do, and they comp our dessert for us. How nice!


The downpour retreats back to a drizzle, and we leave the restaurant, extremely happy with our experience. We would absolutely go there again.


We make our way back to the car, but notice there are shops lined up across the street from the parking lot. The shops are not in permanent structures, they are in tents, and we venture in . We find a few tiny baby outfits in one tent, but she refused to take our card despite the fact that she has a card reader. I get it, they prefer cash, but we don't have any. I feel that she's trying to push us to use cash instead of a card, and I don't like pushiness, so we put down our items and leave. The next tent over we find these really cute little outfits, one for a boy and one for a girl, and buy them. This second place has zero issues with us using our card. We also buy a few other souvenirs for friends and family back home.

Rolling green hills and forests stretch across a scenic Tuscan landscape with a villa nestled among vineyards in Italy.
Stone bridge arches over a cascading waterfall surrounded by lush green foliage in a peaceful forest setting.
Close-up view of a historic wooden water wheel turning in a stone mill race with cascading water and green foliage.
Historic water wheel and mill mechanism with stone walls and green railings along a walkway in an outdoor setting.
Stone wall covered with lush green ivy creates a rustic garden backdrop.
A photographer with camera stands between two massive tree trunks in a natural outdoor setting.
Someone in a black t-shirt and jeans takes a photo outdoors on a gravel path with trees and cloudy sky in background.
A large hollow tree trunk with an opening serves as a natural hideaway in a park setting.
Ancient stone steps wind through historic walls covered in lush greenery at a medieval site.
Whimsical street art mural showing cartoon characters lying down painted across a long concrete wall.
A large brown tree branch curves diagonally across a grey background with green foliage visible in the corners.
Small yellow wildflowers growing between cracks in gray rocky terrain create natural contrast in rugged landscape.
An old brick-framed window with metal bars and climbing vines on a yellow stucco wall.
Ancient hollow beech tree trunk with a dark cavity opening in a lush green forest setting.

Back to Peraia


We get back in the car and return to Peraia. We pack everything up. Tomorrow we move to a new VRBO where I will be staying during the month of June to do phase two of IVF. After we finish packing, we settle in for the evening, laziness enveloping us until its time for sleep.