The face of Agamemnon
Giant Kouros
Cycladic figures and Jacquelyn
Common site of graffiti
The view of Athens from the top of the monastery
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Athens, March 17-20
Kylie and I arrived in Athens early afternoon on Saturday, took a scenic bus ride from the airport to Syntagma Square, and schlepped our bags down the street looking for Hotel Phillipos. Fortunately we got lost and ran into the rest of the group at Backpackers Studios where they were checking out future homes. We toured the city for a bit, ate at a local cafe (had my first actual Greek Salad and Spinach Pie!), and returned to the hotel where we slept...for 14 hours. Jet lag had finally caught up to us and even though Kylie and I slept through dinner, it was so relieving to finally get some decent sleep.
The next morning-after our first good, hot shower in days, we ate breakfast and headed out to check out more places to stay. We eventually decided on the authentic-style Hotel Dioskouros. As we arrived I met 5 students from Notre Dame leaving to return to their abroad program in London. It was crazy to know that most of them grew up in South Bend, attended the Catholic grade schools, were MY age, and I didn't know a single one of them. Yet they were really helpful and gave us some great tips to enjoy our stay. Once we settled in we headed to our meeting center that sits across from Hadrian's Arch ("arc" in Kylie's world). There we met our new, trusty friend, Johnny Thom (he is a black and white stray dog). He followed us as we made our way to the Benaki Museum [but ditched us in Syntagma Square for a little boy :(]. Once there, we split up and did an artifact scavenger hunt throughout the museum. It was a great review of the materials that we covered on campus and began to prepare us for our classes here in Greece. When we finished, we walked to Monasteraki for lunch and I ate my first authentic gyro! It was deliciousssss. Kylie, Jacquelyn, and I also ate some very inexpensive but tasty kiwis and oranges. We roamed around the streets checking out all the cool shops and even tried out the local gelato. That evening we took the Metro to the Canadian Institute of Greece where we met their crew, had our orientation, and then went to dinner to feast on all kinds of Greek food. We had a blast and learned so much on our first full day in Athens!
The Acropolis
The next morning-after our first good, hot shower in days, we ate breakfast and headed out to check out more places to stay. We eventually decided on the authentic-style Hotel Dioskouros. As we arrived I met 5 students from Notre Dame leaving to return to their abroad program in London. It was crazy to know that most of them grew up in South Bend, attended the Catholic grade schools, were MY age, and I didn't know a single one of them. Yet they were really helpful and gave us some great tips to enjoy our stay. Once we settled in we headed to our meeting center that sits across from Hadrian's Arch ("arc" in Kylie's world). There we met our new, trusty friend, Johnny Thom (he is a black and white stray dog). He followed us as we made our way to the Benaki Museum [but ditched us in Syntagma Square for a little boy :(]. Once there, we split up and did an artifact scavenger hunt throughout the museum. It was a great review of the materials that we covered on campus and began to prepare us for our classes here in Greece. When we finished, we walked to Monasteraki for lunch and I ate my first authentic gyro! It was deliciousssss. Kylie, Jacquelyn, and I also ate some very inexpensive but tasty kiwis and oranges. We roamed around the streets checking out all the cool shops and even tried out the local gelato. That evening we took the Metro to the Canadian Institute of Greece where we met their crew, had our orientation, and then went to dinner to feast on all kinds of Greek food. We had a blast and learned so much on our first full day in Athens!
Johnny Thom
Hadrian's Arch
We woke up the next morning, had some fantabulous crepes and nutella, and took a train to the CIG (Canadian Institute in Greece) for 9am. Then we met Matthew, our first professor, and had a quick orientation for our Greek Civilization 202 class. We picked our presentation topics: I am doing one on the Disk of Phaistos, and headed to the Cycladic Museum. From there we walked to Omonia Square (one of the sketchiest areas in Athens), witnessed a demonstration outside the Town Hall, saw the meat market (really really morbid-ironic I know), saw the fish market, and then headed back to Monisteraki for more fruit. We shopped a bit more and learned a new route around the Acropolis and found some really cool cafes and sites. We returned to our "home base", bought a sandwich and coffee, and headed back to the hotel. Later on, Kylie, Jacquelyn, Alaina, Cori, Lo, and I went to Jessica's apartment and made a kick-ass pasta dinner with some wine. It was a great girl-bonding time and jam session to Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Bob Marley.
Tuesday morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and trekked to the Museum about 45 minutes away for class. We finally were able to see the real artifacts, sculptures, and pottery that was pictured in our good ol' Pedley art book back at LFC. After that, we grabbed a quick lunch and made our way towards the monastery on a hill. We past the University of Athens and saw a lot of graffiti art on the walls of buildings, street poles, sidewalks, practically everywhere. It was neat but disappointing at the same time. There is even some art on historic buildings. It was a culture shock, but it was necessary. It makes one appreciate the U.S. and rights we do have. Once we got to the base of the hill, the professors headed up on the gondola-type lift while the rest of us hiked our way up. 30 minutes later, covered in sweat, we witnessed the some breath-taking views (look below!) Then, eventually after relaxing and just gazing, we descended down the hill, parted ways, and I headed to the lovely private hospital where my adopted mom Kylie held my hand as I got my INR tested (for my clot). My nurse barely spoke English and took about 10 minutes to find my vein, but I survived and treated myself to gelato (again). Sorry Carlisle Coffee and Sweets, we need to work on our Italian dessert ;) The rest of the afternoon went smoothly and relaxing back at the hotel where we finished the night with a Pakistinian dinner suggested/made by our new friend here at the hotel.
Finally Here!!
First Post. First Blog. Don't judge me. I am excited to tell you all about my experience without boring you to death. Therefore, if I get lengthy, send me a message. Seriously.
Wednesday evening, as I was begging the United Airlines worker to just let me check my 52 lb. bag for free, I wasn't even thinking about actually leaving the country. Yet 8 hours (and many time zones) later, Kylie and I arrived in London. We set out to become "European Travelers" but ended up repeatedly being "American Tourists". We went to purchase Tube (subway) tickets to King's Cross, and couldn't figure out why the machine wouldn't take my money...we also couldn't figure out why the station attendant looked at us like we had 6 eyes on our faces. After a lot of staring we realized I had euros, and the U.K. doesn't use euros. Typical rookie move. Anyway, after we exchanged them for "pounds/quid" we were on our way seated in THE nicest subway cars that I have ever seen (sorry CTA, you have some work to do). 45 minutes later, we were dragging our bags down the streets of London and to our hostel. Now, I have stayed in a few hostels in Peru, but nothing like this one. We slept in a room with 14 beds (7 bunk beds), and we met all kinds of people. In our room there were 3 Italian men, 2 French women, 2 English women, an Indian woman, an Australian man, and then Kylie and me. Let's just say it was an experience...
We wandered around London for 2 days and was able to take a bus tour and saw so much! We were able to see Piccadilly Circus (think a romanesque Time Square), Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Parliament Building, Westminister Abbey, the London Eye, Tower Bridge, the countdown clock for the Summer Olympics, St. James Park and so much more! We were also super excited because we took a walking Harry Potter tour and saw a bunch of different taping sights around the city (including the last Diagon Alley!). We also captured a picture of us running through the wall on Platform 9 3/4.
As Kylie and I ran through our bucket list of traveling, we were able to check off a Traditional English Breakfast, an English mocha, and St. Patrick's Day pub celebrations.
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