Olympia

Today, we left the hotel early to get on the bus to travel to ancient Olympia. It took about a two hour drive, so I slept a lot of the way down there. Once we got to Olympia, we looked at a small museum then we toured the area and had a race on the old track/stadium of Olympia. I didn't participate in the race, but instead took some pictures. The male winner received a crown of olive leaves as traditional in the old days of Olympia, and the female winner won an apple, also traditional in the old days when females had separate games from the males. After the race, we headed to lunch at a nearby restaurant where I had some of the most delicious chicken I have eaten served with rice and fries. There were some shops beside the restaurant where I found some more gifts. We went to another museum after lunch and then got back on the bus to head back to Patras. Before we went back to the hotel there, we stopped at a beautiful Greek Orthodox church and got some really delicious caramel ice cream across the street. There was a whole family begging outside of the church, and one of our guys gave one of the small girls an orange and they immediately took off across the street to eat it. He also went out and gave her an apple. I thought that was really sweet and kind of sad to see.

We came back to the hotel to relax for a little bit before dinner and had another delicious dinner with dessert. Tomorrow morning, we leave for Tolon. I'm not sure if there's internet, so I may be without internet for the next two weeks. I might buy another internet card if that's possible, but other than that, I might not be back on here blogging. I guess I will just have to find out. I'm really excited about going to ancient Corinth tomorrow. I have been looking forward to that for the longest time. I tried to upload pictures for this last post, but it seems to be taking forever to upload, so I won't be able to. Love you all!!

Off to Patras

"It never rains in Greece"

Our hotel in Patras

 Temple of Apollo

 Gulf of Corinth just past the pool at the hotel in Patras

On Saturday, we packed our bags and left after breakfast to go to the site of Delphi, where we saw the Temple of Apollo, the oracle, and an old theater. Our guide Penny said that the ruins are around 5,000 years old and were discovered in the 19th century. Wow! I can't believe how much history is in Greece. It's incredible. Even though Mr. Anderson said it has never rained the times he has been in Greece, it was steadily raining the whole time as we walked from the site at Delphi to the museum. Thankfully, we had some umbrellas. We went to the museum and saw many interesting things like the Sphinx that is described in the story of Oedipis.
We left Delphi and had lunch at another tavern place where I also had spaghetti again. The trip has been kind of tiring, and I kept dosing on the bus trip down to Patras. I had coffee hoping that I would be somewhat awake. We stopped at a little place that had sweets on the way to Patras. The ice cream I had was really good. By the time we got to the ferry boat to take us over to Patras, it was still rainy and really windy. I only stayed on the top of the boat for a few minutes to take a picture of the bridge that the first runner ran through that started what we know as the "marathon." The boat ride wasn't too long, and we got back on the bus to go to the hotel in Patras. I couldn't believe the view. Beneath the hotel, there's a pool and then a dock to jump off into the gulf of Corinth. This is definitely the nicest place we have stayed at so far. I don't know what the hotel in Tolon will look like.

There was some time before dinner, so some people jumped off the dock into the gulf of Corinth. It was way too cold for me, so instead, I picked up beautiful rocks by the shore and got my feet wet. This city, like Delphi, is very quiet and small. I love listening to the waves crashing outside our balcony. The food at dinner was much better than at the other hotels. We had a choice this time because it was like buffet-style. They also served delicious dessert and fresh fruit. Patras doesn't have any shops really, so I'm waiting to go to Tolon to find some other gifts.

Trip to Delphi

On Friday, we left Athens after breakfast and our first test in Literature class. Our bus trip to Delphi was a three hour bus ride, which was kind of long, but it was worth the wait. We stopped at a little cafe where I tried bacchlavi (spelling?), which is a type of dessert or pastry with dried fruit. It sounded interesting, and it was pretty good. We went to lunch at a tavern with a beautiful view of the mountains. I ate their spaghetti, which was really delicious. I'm normally not a fan of spaghetti, but something about the sauce they used made it taste really good. After lunch, we made another stop at a scenic view of the mountains and a village. I couldn't stop staring at it. When we got to Delphi, we had some free time before dinner so my roommate Megan and I decided to do some shopping. Majority of the group went to the Temple of Athena, but we didn't have to go. I wanted to check out the shops because I really haven't shopped that much while I've been here. Megan and I stopped at a dessert-type place, and we both got strawberry smoothies that were out of this world. They were the best strawberry smoothies I have ever had in my life. Delphi is such a small, peaceful place compared to Athens. I had fun in Athens, but I loved Delphi a lot more.

Flower outside the Tavern

 Delicious spaghetti

 Scenic view before we got to Delphi

 The most amazing strawberry smoothie

Sunset at dinner 

At dinner, the sun was setting behind the mountains while we ate. I captured a stunning pictures as it dropped below the mountains. The food in the hotel was a little bit better than Athens, but not by much. There was an internet cafe across the street, but I decided to wait until Patras to continue blogging since we were only in Delphi for one night. Later that night, a group of us went to a club where we learned two Greek dances, which I kind of failed at, but it was a great experience. I love seeing different cultures and how they dance. I'm really loving Greece, and I'm continually thankful for this amazing opportunity. We've seen many incredible sites, but there is so much more to see.

A chance for some American food

We had our first day of class today. Kind of boring, but I realize that’s what I’m here for: to study World Literature 2 in Greece. It’s just hard I guess when there’s so much to see and absorb that I forget that I’m here for studying abroad and not just vacation. Greece is a beautiful place, and I’ve gotten so wrapped up in it. Today we visited the Acropolis museum, which was pretty interesting, but we had to answer questions and I feel like that took away from it. I mean it wasn’t anything for a grade, but our tour guide Judy wanted to see what we learned from the museum because it’s supposed to be one of the most significant museums in Greece. Honestly, we had some time after to be able to go to Mars Hill which I missed yesterday and getting there was on my mind, so I kind of rushed through to be able to go there. Mars Hill was one of the highlights of my day. I couldn’t believe I was actually standing where Paul once preached. It was truly amazing. When we met back together after that, we all went to lunch. Some went to a Greek restaurant while others, including myself, went to the Hard Rock Café of Athens. I bought a really awesome t-shirt, and the food was really good for a really good price that Judy had managed to get for us because we are students. We left there to take a bus ride that was about an hour long to a place called Sounion where the Temple of Poseidon is located. It was an absolutely beautiful view on the trip down there. We passed the ocean with several islands scattered around and mountainside on the other side. It was something you see on a postcard. That’s how blue the water was. I took plenty of beautiful pictures once we reached the top of the Temple of Poseidon.

Our bus trip back was to the hotel to get dinner. Dinner wasn’t that great, but I’ve heard the food in the other hotels we’re staying at is supposed to be better. It’s a bittersweet moment as we leave Athens tomorrow. I have fallen in love with the city, but I’m excited to visit Delphi and Patras as well as Tolon. There is so much more to see, and I’m taking it all in. I’m not sure Delphi has internet, but I know Patras does. I’ll end this post by putting up pictures of the beautiful places I visited today. In order, picture from Mars Hill, flowers at Temple of Poseidon, beautiful blue water at Temple of Poseidon, and two pictures of me sitting with the view of the Temple of Poseidon behind me.

Man, those Greek guys are hot

Today was quite an eventful day. It was an early start to the day because we had a tour of the Acropolis and the ancient Agora. Our guide was a Greek friend of Judy’s named Dionysus and man, was he good looking. Yes, I’m aware he’s named after one of the Greek gods. People don’t lie when they say Greek men are hot. I have seen plenty while I’ve been here in Athens. Seriously though, he was Greek and had blue eyes. He was a winner, for sure. Anyway, we took the metro and headed to the Acropolis and saw a couple of temples and the Parthenon. The guide also took us by what is believed to be a prison where Socrates was imprisoned. We were able to have some free time at the Acropolis to take pictures and look around. After that, we all met back up to go to see the ancient Agora. I couldn’t believe it, but I missed Mars Hill where Apostle Paul preached. Hopefully, I’ll be able to go tomorrow because we are going to the Acropolis Museum which is really close to it. I got a little sunburned today because we were out in the sun for so long. After the Acropolis and ancient Agora, I went with a group to another Greek restaurant, which was really good. I tried real feta! It was delicious. Then our group split up and went to see the Temple of Zeus, and the place where the Olympics were held in 2004. When we came back, we sat at the pool for a few minutes and then went to dinner. Dinner wasn’t bad until they served fish as the main dish. I’m not a seafood person, but fortunately I ate some of the other stuff and also got to make a short trip to the super market across the street with some friends. We only had a short time though, so we had to hurry through before they closed. Now, we’re back at the hotel working on some of our class stuff because we have our first class tomorrow. I have to write my journal entry as well as finishing reading some of the Iliad. We walked a lot today, and I’m definitely tired and glad to be in the hotel room. Judy is taking some of the students to a club to go dancing tonight, but my roommates and I wanted to get some rest for another long, eventful day tomorrow. We are going to the Acropolis Museum, a place called Sounion where I believe the Temple of Poseidon is located, and hopefully some time at Mars Hill. It was a hot, but beautiful today, and I’m ready for another great day in Athens tomorrow. We leave Athens on Friday to head to Delphi and Patras. I’m in love. Well, except for the fish at dinner. I could seriously live here one day. More great things to tell later! Here a few pictures from the day.

Amazing feta with Chicken Souvalki 

                                              

                                                                     Temple of Zeus                                              

                                    Where the 2004 Summer Olympics were held. No big deal.

Abi, Marissa, Megan, Caddy, and I in front of the Parthenon

Athens, I have arrived!

I feel like this moment would never come, but here I am in Athens, Greece in complete awe of how beautiful the country is. It was a long journey getting here. We left from Nashville at 9:55 a.m. on May 10th, landed in Philadelphia where we were arrived at 12:40, and then went to Athens at 4:30 p.m. After a long last flight, we came to Athens at 9:25 a.m. Athens time; 3:25 a.m. Knoxville time. Let’s just say we were all ready to get off the plane and take showers. Once we got off the flight and claimed our baggage, we met our guide for the trip and headed for the hotel to drop off our luggage and take a tour of Athens. I instantly fell in love with this place. I know I will be back here one day, and I haven’t even seen half of the places we’re staying. Not only that, but I quickly became friends with Megan and Caddy, who are my roommates. I’m so happy to be here and can’t wait to see what’s up ahead. When we first arrived in Greece, I saw this sign and had to take a picture.

Our excursion around Athens was very exciting. We caught glimpses of the Acropolis and Agora and learned that the city is easy to get around by the metro. We all had lunch at a local place in Athens, and I have to admit it was actually pretty good except for the ketchup served with the fries. The fries were delicious, though. I can’t hardly begin to spell or pronounce the name of the sandwich type thing we had. It was a pita bread sandwich with chicken, a cucumber type sauce, and fries. Believe me, it sounded and looked strange, but it was good. After lots of walking, Megan and I along with a whole lot of other people in the group headed back to the hotel so we could take showers, rest for a little while, and take pictures at the top of the roof of the hotel where there’s a pool, and you can see the Acropolis from a distance. It was breathtaking.

Here is my first delicious Greek meal.

We also had chicken for dinner at the hotel, so I think I’m about chickened out today. I’m looking forward to an actual tour of the Acropolis and Agora tomorrow and then free time afterwards to do whatever.

I was worried my hope for blogging everyday was going to fall through, but I found that I could buy an internet card for here in Athens for 90 minutes however I need to spend it. I have worked around that by writing my blog beforehand, so I have time to write for everyday in Athens. I read that Patras has free wi-fi, but I’m not sure of the other places. Tolon, where will be staying the longest, did not say anything about internet, so I’m not sure that I will be able to have internet the whole time. I will write as much as I can though to keep updating. Anyway, I’m loving the trip even after only being here a day, and I can’t wait to share what is going on with the rest of the trip. For now, I need sleep to keep me going. It’s been a very long day. Love you all that are reading this! 

One week!!!!

It's true. Only one week away from Greece! I can hardly believe it. I don't think it has really set in yet. I have a lot to prepare for before I leave. This is the longest trip I have been on so far. I'm a little nervous, but definitely more excited than anything. I hope I have the opportunity to blog everyday because I would really love to document my journey along with one favorite photo of the day. I guess it depends on how lucky I am with the internet connection over there. This is going to be quite an experience, and I am certainly looking forward to it! I guess this means I should practice my Greek now, doesn't it? Andio! (See you later in Greek, or so I am told by a learning-to-speak-greek website).