Paros & Naxos, May 20-24: "Fisher lives next to Tom Hanks?!"

     Sunday was a travel day. We were up bright and early at 5am to catch our bus to the port for our ferry to the island of Paros. I barely remember the 4-hour ferry ride there, mostly because I slept the entire way, with my head, face-down, on a table at the ship's cafe/restaurant. I was not embarrassed, however, because I was joined by most of my classmates and Boden took an epic picture of us sleeping that I am sure will be posted soon. We eventually arrived on Paros, went to our hotel, dropped off our bags, and headed to a historical church for class. It was actually pretty cool and has a myth attached to it, proclaiming that it has 100 doors (but it doesn't; someone ought to let TripAdvisor know that it doesn't have 100 doors). After class, Cuzi and I took another long nap, eventually got dinner, and watched "Water for Elephants" with Jake and Zoe before passing out.

The island of Paros

     Monday was the first day of our "holiday". Most of the group ferried off to Santorini while Eileen, Jake, Zoe, and I went to check-in at our new hotel on Paros. It was called Casa di Roma and was gorgeous. The staff was so friendly and the place was quiet and colorful. We decided to rent ATVs today to check out the island. We rode along the coast and stopped a few times for coffee and pictures. One of the larger cities we visited was called Naoussa and we saw a Venetian fortress in the harbor and fresh octopus drying out in front of a few restaurants. That night, we all washed up, got dressed, and headed to a restaurant called "Happy Green Cows" and had some amazing seafood pasta in a very vibrant-colored room. The owners were very nice and gave us a few on-the-house shots of grappa (aka Italian rocketfuel instead of Greek). We headed back to the hotel to relax and watch a few episodes of "Friends" that Zoe had purchased for $0.50.

Fresh-catch of octopus in Naoussa

    Tuesday we took the bus to the port of Pounda on Paros so we could venture around the island of Antiparos (a 10 minute ferry ride from the port of Pounda-you can literally see the port across the water). Once we arrived, we took a bus to the prominent Cave of Antiparos. This cave was much better than the Dictean Cave on Crete and went down into the earth pretty deep. We also counted 350 steps to get to the very bottom. After we wandered about in the cave, we took the bus back down the the port, passed Tom Hank's summer home on the island (yea, we really did), and found a small gyro place for lunch. After lunch, Eileen and I went searching for another Venetian Castle but came to realize the only remaining piece of this castle is an archway. Not too thrilling. We then made our way to the other side of the island to the Sifneiko Beach, sat and watched the waves come in, and then took a return ferry to Pounda port. As Zoe and Jake rode their ATVs back to our hotel, Eileen and I took the public bus that, of course, was going the long way around the island, back to our hotel. Later that evening, we showered, packed, and went to dinner at "the oldest Greek restaurant on Paros". Cannot say it was teh best meal I have ever had, but the staff was very friendly. Anyway, our night ended pretty calmly as we returned to the hotel and watched yet more episodes of "Friends".

Eileen, Zoe, and I in the Cave of Antiparos

The only thing left of the Venetian Castle on Antiparos-exhilirating, no?

     Wednesday we left the island of Paros and headed to the neighboring island of Naxos. Naxos is much larger and definitely has a different atmosphere compared to Paros. We met our host of our hotel Anatoli, Maria and Stavros, at the port. They drove us to the hotel and it was even better than the one on Paros! Even though it was not in the city-only a few minute walk from the shore), their yellow labrador Miguel made up for it. He was such a cutie! He reminded me so much of Madagascar that it was practically impossible to not be homesick. We decided to relax by the pool for the rest of the day, enjoying the nice weather, before we went out to dinner. I unfortunately came down with some ridiculous cough and was forced to take Nyquil before dinner. Although it was rough to keep the eyes open, dinner was a pleasant Mexican spread, and my night got better knowing I could return to my bed sooner than later.

Eileen and I (drugged up on Nyquil) at dinner at Picasso's Mexican Cafe

     Thursday we woke up, ate breakfast, and learned that it was supposed to rain all day. We were slightly disappointed since it would be our only full day on Naxos, and that we couldn't catch a earlier ferry and would be stuck camping out in our hotel room. However, we decided to fight the weather and venture out in the wind and overcast to see the port city of Naxos, Chora Naxos. We were able to see the ancient Venetian Castle in the town center as well as the remains of the ancient Temple of Apollo at the port. Naxos seems to be more of a place to live rather than a tourist island, however, I would say it is my favorite island so far of my trip. Don't get me wrong, Mykonos was amazing. But Naxos has a special charm to it that I have yet to encounter on my trip here in Greece. We stopped for lunch on the waterfront, had some mid-day cocktails, and then returned for a nap at the hotel as the weather began to take a turn for the worst. As you can see by the dates of my blog entries, I clearly spent my siesta time catching up on my blog (I am sorry I am so bad at daily blogs) and Skyping my Dad! In less than a week I am fortunate enough to lead my parents, Meghan, and Maggie around Greece and show them what I have been doing for this semester. It feels like yesterday when we made the plans for them to come, and it was 3 months away. Here it is, 2 days until they land on Greek soil and 7 days until we are reunited! I am super excited about it and I know they are too. The rest of my evening was spent on the ferry (which was 30 minutes late from arriving at Naxos), heading for the good ol' port of Piraeus.

Athens, May 15-19: "Typical Canadians and Chelsea Win!"

     Tuesday was a free day in Athens and I decided to do some laundry and go to the doctor. Well that was two strikes before noon. I managed to turn my whole load of laundry pink (thank you Plaka pants) and there was a Metro strike and none of the cars were running until later that evening. Pink laundry and no doctor visit. Excellent. Cuzi, Kylie, and I decided to do some souvenir shopping since we had nothing to do. Later that evening a group of us decided to go bowling and we had SO much fun! We did a round of fun bowling and were having a blast until the ball got stuck on Cori's thumb and the guy working at the alley basically had a heart attack. So we quietly finished our game and headed back to our hotel, saying goodbye to our friends staying at Hotel Dioskouros.

     Wednesday we woke up, ate breakfast, and met our class outside the Byzantine Museum of Athens. Once finished there, we walked to the Benaki Museum, looked at a few things for class, and our day was over. Cuzi went to the hospital with me after class to get my INR tested (these nurses are getting good at understanding my poor Grenglish language). We returned to the hotel, made Greek Salads for everyone in the room for lunch, and just hung out, discussing religion and those types of simple topics (ha). Later that evening, our room decided to do a "Plaka Pants Power Hour". Now I choose to avoid mentioning my drinking habits on this blog, but I felt compelled to tell you all about this because it was my first power hour and we all did it in matching pajama pants. Now you are all disappointed that you weren't there. No worries-I took a picture of us. That was basically how the night ended, knowing we had an early morning for our exam review at the CIG.

The Plaka Pants Power Hour at Backpackers

     Thursday we headed to the Canadian Institute (CIG) for a review session for our exam. Afterwards, we split for lunch and made our way back towards Backpackers. Jake, Geoff and I cooked up chicken parmesan and spaghetti for dinner, and then we took off for the Olympic Stadium where Greece would be passing the torch flame to England for the upcoming Olympics. Princess Anne and David Beckham (!yes in person!) received the flame and processed out of the stadium, getting directly on a plane for London. It was definitely a one-time experience for us! The torch always begins its journey in Olympia, Greece (home to the first Olympic games), then ventures through Greece, and then begins its journey through the host country a couple of months before the opening ceremony. After the torch passing ended, we headed back to the hostel and decided to chill in the downstairs bar for Karoake Thursday. Quite entertaining. That is, until Sam somehow convinced Cuzi, Cori, and I to join in with her and sing "Mambo No. 5" by Lou Bega. It was the hardest decision ever because I hate to sing in front of people but I love Lou Bega. Well my love for Lou won and we sang-and ended up having the time of our lives. We met some friendly Canadians and guys from UConn, chatted them up, and then headed to bed.

The priestess of Olympia passing off the torch to an important Greek political figure (the explanation over the speaker was in Greek)

Princess Anne and David Beckham processing out of the stadium with the flame

     Friday morning we had our first exam for John's class. Definitely my favorite exam of the trip. I thought it was easy and it focused on things that John actually told us were important. We all returned to our hotel for lunch (I made pasta salad) and watched "Anchorman" for our siesta time. Eventually we all fell asleep but then woke up and ate again (chicken fajitas by Sam and Geoff, bravo). After dinner, we all showered and got dressed and the girls from Dioskouros came over to go out with us. We headed downstairs to the bar where we met the Canadians again and joined in on their card game (which involved drinking, shockingly). We hung out and played a few games for a while longer and then decided we wanted to go out dancing in Gazi or Syri. About 10 of us (mixed from our group and the Canadians) headed out and somehow got split up. Cuzi and I were partnered up but neither of us knew where we were supposed to go, so we wandered around with some of the guys for most of the night, giving them the "historical tour" of Athens (the nerdy students that we are). Eventually, we gave up looking for the other group and attempted to get into this flashy club: denied. We couldn't help but laugh because the bouncers were trying not to laugh at us. So we kept walking and eventually found a dubstep club. Now mind you, I have never even heard of dubstep, let alone danced it before. But it was surprisingly easy and enjoyable and Cuzi, the boys, and I dubstepped like crazy for a bit. Once we realized we cleared the dance floor (literally all the locals had stopped dancing besides us), we headed back for the hostel. We also came to the conclusion that it was 5am and we had class at 8am. Typical Americans ;)

     Saturday morning was a rough one and I think even our professor knew it. We visited a few churches around Athens, made a pitstop at Starbucks, and continued on looking at churches. After the tour, we stopped at the Islamic Museum which has some incredible artifacts! Once we finished there, John's wife, Amy, stopped in to give us background information and a tour of "Modern Day Athens" (which included Omonia Square, brothels, and places for good Pakistani food). We then stopped for a program lunch at a Chinese restaurant. After I finally couldn't keep myself awake any longer, we were released from class and the group headed home to Backpackers and Dioskouros. Tonight was the big soccer match that Jake had been waiting for, so in honor of his team, Chelsea, a group of us agreed to go out to The James Joyce Irish Pub to eat and watch the game. After a much-needed nap, the group from Backpackers headed out to the pub, passing by the Canadians on our way. We told them to meet up at the pub later if they wanted. Once we got there, we had some food, a few drinks, and Cuzi, Sam, and I indulged in our first Irish Car Bomb. It wasn't too shabby. Anyway, we watched the first half of the soccer match at the bar (tied 0-0), and decided that it was way too crowded and chose to go back to the Sports Bar at our hostel to finish watching the game. Once we returned we watched the intense game against Bayern Munich (spelling? I am not sure) and ran into the Canadians again, who supposedly showed up to the pub after we had left. Whoops. Sorry guys. So we finished watching the game with a few of them and in a shoot out, Chelsea won. For not loving the sport of soccer it was a pretty fun game to watch. After the game was finished, Cuzi, me, and 2 of the Canadian boys hung out in the lobby until 3:30 am chatting the night away, knowing the next morning was coming way too quickly. All in all, this stay in Athens was my favorite and we definitely had a lot of fun.

Metsova, Kalambaka, and Meteora; May 12-14: "Oh sure, I would love lamb intestines..."

     Saturday morning we boarded our beloved coach and headed south towards Kalambaka, our next destination. We did stop in a really cute town called Metsova, where we ate a pure-meat lunch. Our lunch was actually pieces of meat, cooked over a fire, and eaten with toothpicks. It surprisingly wasn't as bad as you would expect, until they threw in some lamb intestine. I decided I would be brave and adventurous and try some, and I promise you that will be the first and last intestine I ever eat. We were given some time to shop around the area for souvenirs and take pictures, and eventually got back on the bus and continued our voyage. We arrived in Kalambaka later that evening and I chose to take a nap while a few people decided to enjoy the gorgeous pool at our hotel. Once I woke up, I played "mom" and ran out with Jessica to get food for some people and we enjoyed a night-in at the hotel.

     A few of us eating in Metsova...you judge as to whether it was a good meal or not...

     Sunday was the day for sweaters and long skirts-and not because of the temperature. Today we visited the monasteries at Meteora. This place was spectacular! I googled Meteora later in the evening and the image that comes up doesn't seem real-BUT IT IS! There were 4 monasteries and 2 nunneries on these cliffs right above the town of Kalambaka. George took us up to the largest monastery first, and John gave us the information and breakdown of Byzantine monasteries. I actually really enjoy this course compared to the other ones and I think it is due to my extensive background in Catholicism. I really enjoyed the history behind the monasteries, the wall art, and the iconography displayed in the monasteries. Meteora was the site that I took the most pictures of and they unfortunately don't convey the true beauty of the monasteries and their location. Later that evening, after we toured 2 of the monasteries and 2 of the nunneries, a few of us laid by the pool and then went out for dinner in the town (note: Kalambaka is like a mixture of Olympia and Delphi, but it is pretty nice). Oh, that night I was also forced to watch "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" with Sam, Geoff, and Cuzi. I do believe I killed a few brain cells while watching it.

One of the monasteries at Meteora

     Monday we made our way back towards Athens on our coach. We made a lunch pit-stop in the ski town next to Delphi (still way too close for comfort if you ask me). We also stopped at a monastery dedicated to Osios Lukas, or Blessed Luke. It was really pretty and such a calm area. There was also a baby owl sitting on the church and everyone was obsessing over it's cuteness (okay, I was too). After class ceased, we piled back on the bus and headed home. Once we arrived in Athens, a few of us moved to our new hostel, Backpackers Studios, for the upcoming 6-day stay. We made another gourmet meal of hot dogs and macaroni and cheese, unpacked from our voyage, and headed to bed.

Thessaloniki, May 5-11: "Siestas, Elections, and Movies"

     Saturday morning we packed out things and headed to Larissa station where we caught our train to Thessaloniki-a major city in the northern area of mainland Greece. We rode in little 6-person rooms (similar to the Hogwart's train cars) for the 6 hour ride that arrived in the early evening. We took a coach bus from the station to our lovely abode called Hotel Pella (I feel obliged to tell everyone to NEVER stay there), got pizza for dinner, and spruced up to go out for the evening. A group of us went for a walk on the waterfront and saw all kinds of bars and restaurants. Thessaloniki is a very college-aged town with few tourists, so we stuck out like sore thumbs. Rumor has it that most of the clubs require a "reservation" (aka no tourists) to get in. We spent the evening galavanting around and eventually finished our night with a booze cruise around the harbor on a pirate ship. And no, I did not make that up.

Me, Cuzi, and Sam on our pirate ship

     Sunday was our lazy day, only because it was also Greece Election Day. We were given a free day due to the election and potential riots and demonstrations (we later learned that the Communist-like party did riot in the town square). We woke up, ate breakfast, went back to bed, and decided to watch a movie with the girls ("This Means War"). We eventually had to venture out to find food for dinner and then learned that most places were closed. So we opted for the inexpensive and easy meal of souvlaki and Greek salads. Later that evening we watched "Wedding Crashers" and headed to bed.

     Monday morning we were forced back into our routine of class. We woke up, ate breakfast, and walked to a museum. In the afternoon once class was finished, Geoff, Sam, Jacquelyn, Cori, and I went to the Farmer's Market to pick up veggies to make for lunch. On our way back to the hotel we ran across Professor Boden and his husband Kevin (who is one of the funniest men I know). Kevin arrived today and stayed until we returned to Athens a week later. After lunch, we all opted for a siesta and I laid down to watch "Captain America". Eileen and I headed out for dinner and returned to? you guessed it, watch another movie. This time we watched "Mean Girls" for our Greek professor Maria's sake (she has never seen it and because we quoted it for a month around her, we felt the need to "show her the light").

     Tuesday was a very long day. We loaded onto our coach bus with our good friend, the driver, George, and headed to the ancient capital of Macedonia, now known as Vergina. There we visited the tomb of Phillip II (father of Alexander the Great), and other Macedonian finds. In Vergina we also bought our first batch of cherries in Greece-the best cherries I may have ever experienced. We ventured afterwards to the cave of Aristotle's school and had a picnic for lunch. Jess is a pretty awesome picnic-maker-kudos to you, Jess. After we ate we explored the site a little more and as we were loading up the bus, someone came rushing to Prof. Boden to inform him that Maria (our Greek professor) hit her head in the cave and was bleeding all over. Well, sure enough, she was (not that I didn't believe it I just assumed it wasn't that bad). So she had the caretaker of the site take her to the hospital and we were ushered to the museum at Pella with Boden as our guide. Maria eventually had to get stitches but she was okay. She then led a review session for our exam that evening, and because of the lengthy day of traveling, I made a salad for dinner and headed to bed pretty early.

The tombs at Vergina

     Wednesday was our final test day for Maria's class. I got up early to eat breakfast and study. The exam was not too bad but since most of us had relaxed most of our time in Thessaloniki, we decided to do a wine, cheese, and cracker lunch with "Bridesmaids" as our entertainment. Once finished, we all went upstairs to get dolled up and went out for our group dinner at a really great "ouzeri" filled with seafood. Later than evening, I had the pleasure of meeting Matt Jonathan, the brother of my good friend and Alpha Phi sister, Sarah. Matt teaches in Thessaloniki and had agreed to meet up with me to show me around town. Cori, Jacquelyn, Kari, Alaina, and Sam accompanied me to me him and his friends for drinks along the water. It was really great to meet them all and after a few of our girls returned to the hotel, Cori and I continued on to a bar with Matt and his friends. After debating about whether or not to just stay up all night, Matt and friends walked Cori and I back to our hotel at 4am and we called it a night.

Part of the table at our group dinner at the "Ouzeri"

     The next morning was our introduction to our final course here in Greece: Byzantine Era. It is taught by Professor John Karavas, who I swear, is a genius. He can rattle off information faster than I can think. He led the introduction in the lobby of the hotel, and proceeded to give us a tour of Byzantine Thessaloniki. We visited the Roman Agora of Thessaloniki (not actually Byzantine, but we asked to see it), the Rotunda, the Arch of Galerius, the Emperial Palace (which was closed but we discussed the structure from the outside), and the White Tower (also not Byzantine but it follows that period and is a pretty important landmark of the city). We all grabbed lunch on the go and headed back to the hotel to make plans for the evening. We decided to do the most American-tourist thing we could think of and decided to eat at TGI Fridays. I know some of you reading this are shaking your head at me, but hey-when you are in a foreign country for two months at this point, sometimes it is the best feeling in the world to sit down, know exactly what you are ordering, and know exactly what it should taste like. I cannot deny that it was a fantastic meal, but I promise you that this was my first and only American meal of my trip so far.

This is a view of the Rotunda from the north end of the city of Thessaloniki

     Friday was church day. We woke up and headed to Agios Demetrios where we stayed for the remainder of the morning service. Even though it was in Greek, it is still fascinating to sit through the orthodox service and attempt to follow what is going on. Once mass ended, we toured the church and discussed it's architecture and the remains of the church from the Byzantine period. Agios Demetrios also holds the remains of its dedicated individual, St. Demetrios. From there we visited the church known as the "Immaculate Construction". Supposedly its literal translation means "constructed not by human hands" because its structure is almost a perfect basilica shape. We broke for lunch and Cuzi and I dined on Greek Salads near the Arch of Galerius and then returned to class for a tour through the Byzantine Museum. That glorious day I learned that Prof. John likes pottery just as much as I do!! (which means he doesn't like it if you haven't picked up on it) After the museum we were given a break until that evening when we visited the church of Agia Sophia (which was very beautiful!) and discussed its architecture. From there, a few of us went to a Tapas Grill for dinner, ordered some nom noms, and returned to the hotel to hang out.

This is the templon of the Agia Sophia. If you actually want to know what it means ask me in person...

Athens, May 3-4: "All access pass to the Parthenon!"

     Thursday morning we took a bus from Athens to Eleusis to see the ancient site of the mystery cult of Demeter. It was pretty quiet at this site but it was a pleasant one. Then we headed towards the Peloponnese, making a pit-stop in Corinth for lunch, and then ventured to the sanctuary of Epidauros. This is site is more prominent for its amazing theater, however, it does have a very scenic sanctuary of Asclepius. We spent a large amount of time gazing out towards the horizon at the theater and it was serene. The rest of the day we spent trekking back towards Athens, making a bomb.com dinner of grilled cheese and tomato soup, and then heading to bed.

The Theater at Epidauros

     Friday ended up being one of the more memorable days on the trip! We were given an all-access pass inside the Parthenon on the Acropolis by one of the current archaeologists working on-site. We were given the history of the renovations and constructions, as well as unlimited access to picture-taking (until Kari chose to hug a column and was whistled at by one of the guards). It was actually pretty entertaining to watch the faces of so many tourists wanting to know how we were chosen to go inside. I guess being a student pays off once in a while! Once we left the Parthenon, we ventured around Athens with our professor to see the Roman architecture throughout the city, including the Roman Agora, Hadrian's Library, Hadrian's Arch, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. After class was finished, a few of the girls and I went to grab a quick lunch and did laundry at Backpackers (where I met a guy from Goshen College, holla Indiana!) The rest of the evening I spent looking at places for our next holiday on Paros, chatting with some of the girls, and making a kick-ass chicken fajita dinner with Jacquelyn and Cori. However, I did make a special trip out with Sam and Geoff to a movie theatre to see The Avengers (in English with Greek subtitles). Even though it was a bit cheesy, a theatre filled with Greek people is quite entertaining (i.e. no need to whisper, just speak freely at any time during the movie and laugh like a hyena).

The group on the steps of the Parthenon

     

Mykonos, April 27-May 2: "That party last night was awfully crazy..."

     Friday morning came way too quick and early. We had to be at Piraeus by 6am for our 6 hour ferry to Mykonos. We were also very lucky to be joined by all the senior high school classes in Greece for their version of "graduation and prom". Most seniors in Greece take a 5-day voyage to an island with their classmates to celebrate moving on in the world. We were fortunate enough to drop them off at a different island before we arrived to Mykonos. Later that afternoon we arrived at the port and took a shuttle up to by-far one of the BEST hotels in all of Greece-Poseidon. Thank you Papa Geoff and Mama Sam for finding this beauty. Due to the awe-inspiring hotel and scenery, the rest of the evening was a quiet one spent in our rooms enjoying a tropical "holiday".

Hotel Poseidon

     Saturday morning we all took advantage to a delicious and large breakfast. Not that we didn't enjoy the breakfast at Hotel Dioskouros in Athens (hard-boiled eggs and crepes), but Poseidon's spread was supreme. They had brownies-who doesn't want a brownie at 7am?! Anyway, we all met at the fisherman's port to board our quick 20 minute ferry to the island of Delos for class. Delos is an uninhabited island that has incredible ancient ruins compared to all of the islands. It was originally a religious sanctuary to Apollo, then became the location for the Delian League and Treasury during the wars, and was also the home to a few foreign cult temples. Personally I would have loved to stay a bit longer, but GWA-there is only one daily ferry to and from the island. Once we returned to Mykonos, most of us laid out by the pool, which was heavenly. After the sun set over the sea, a group of us showered, got a simple dinner, and went out for the evening. I was lucky enough to experience a dance studio's "hip hop" performance at an outside theater. If only the Greek people understood the lyrics of the songs their 6-year old daughters were dancing to.....it was overall entertaining but a tad bit disturbing. 

On the top of a mountain on Delos

     Sunday marked our first "holiday", or break, of our studies on the trip. Besides the few "free days" we receive here and there, we are given 3 holidays where we are allowed to choose what to do and where to go. Our first was in Hydra, now in Mykonos, and eventually in Paros. Most of the group packed to spend the day at the beach. We walked to the closer beach, which was nice, but the water was frigid. We spent some time laying out and eating our packed lunch. However, eventually some others walked to a different beach and the rest of us returned to the poolside. Later that evening, we, again, showered, ate, and went out. Except this time a few of us went out dancing. Greek people don't really care to dance but rather intently love to watch Americans dance. I cannot decide if that is flattering or offensive. Either way, it was an enjoyable night. The next day mimicked this day as well, with us enjoying the pool, sun, and the nightlife.

The shoreline of Mykonos

     Tuesday was our last full day in Mykonos and we decided to rent ATVs to drive around the island and sightsee. This may have been frowned upon by the program (and by frowned upon I actually mean a big no-no) but we decided it was the best way to see the island. We traveled a few hours roaming the island, from tip to tip, and eventually found a nice beach where we met up with the rest of the group. Most of us ate a simple lunch from the supermarket and spent our day chatting about all the sites we saw and how we never want to leave the island. That evening, a few of us decided to splurge on a seafood dinner at a local taverna. I ordered the seafood spaghetti and it was delicious! It had pieces of shrimp, prawns, crab, squid, octopus (yes, there is a difference between that and squid), clams, mussels, cuttlefish, and a white fish. It was definitely some of the best seafood I have ever had, especially the best here in Greece. That evening most of us went out to the same dance club and bar as the night before, but for some odd reason, we decided to leave the hotel in shifts and eventually all got lost. An hour later, we finally ran into a few people from our group and went back to the club. I decided to go with Jessica and Lo to a piano bar and have some drinks there. It was really chill and entertaining. 

The notorious windmills on the shore of Mykonos

(*I actually have a picture of myself on the ATV, but for my professor's sake, I won't post it)

     Wednesday was a sad day at Poseidon. No one wanted to leave such an extravagant place. Unfortunately, the ferry pulled up to the port and we ascended the stairs, grabbed a few tables, and settled in for the 6-hour ride back home to Athens.

Athens & Aegina, April 24-26: "Jail Cell #9"

     Tuesday morning we were asked to change rooms at Dioskouros since our whole group wanted to live together in the basement. Unforunately, Jacquelyn, Kylie, and I did NOT get a bedroom in the basement. Oh no, good ol' Dio gave us a bathroom with some beds in it. The room may have been pushing 10 square ft, no lightbulb, the windows were sealed by the fresh paint, bathroom tile and piping still existed, the cat peed on Jacquelyn's towel, and my bed was actually a cot. Oh, and I pulled down the curtain rod out of the drywall when I attempted to open the curtains. I think about everyone can imagine how ridiculous this situation was, but honestly, it is Greece, what can you do? We tried to laugh it off, knowing we only had a few nights left in Athens before our trip to Mykonos. Anyway, after the move, I went to the hospital to get my INR checked and then onto the CIG for a test review. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful and ended with a sweet, refreshing dinner of yogurt. Yum!

My jail cell, basement room #9

     I spent most of Wednesday morning studying for the test, taking the test, and eating. It was a pretty chill day. We did go shopping for a bit and I bought myself some sweet Plaka pants! PS: Happy Birthday to my wonderful baby sister Meghan! I love you!

     Thursday morning was another early start for class because we took a hydrofoil from Piraeus to the island of Aegina. Once there, we visited the Temple of Aphaea (local cult goddess) and another Classical Era sanctuary on the water. Aegina is well-known for their pistachios so of course I had to try some (they are winners, dad!) Later that afternoon, we returned to Athens, made dinner at Dio, packed for Mykonos, and headed to bed-preparing for another early morning ferry ride.

Representing LFC Greek Life in front of the Temple of Aphaea on Aegina