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! 