Greece was absolutely amazing and I am not accomplished enough in writing to fully express how fantastic it really was. The easiest thing I think to do is to go through the itinerary and I'll ad very pretty pictures. View of Greece from the plane
Day 1: Arrive in Athens
We arrived after a short flight of 2 hours into Athens. Even the descent was beautiful (see above). We drove to a seaside lunch and I thoroughly enjoyed my first Greek lunch! Our seaside lunch
After lunch we drove up to the Temple of Poseidon, a structure that's been there for more than 2000 years. And I thought Rome was old. Temple of Poseidon
Night fell as we drove to our hotel in Athens and the view from our roof was incredible. We had a perfect view of the Acropolis.
Our view of the Acropolis--night version
Day 2: Athens
The next day we hiked up to the Acropolis to stand in awe of the Parthenon and then visit the Acropolis Museum after. View of the Acropolis -- Day Version
It was amazing. You can't even imagine these structures and how old and majestic they are. The Parthenon
That night we had more good food at dinner in Athens, including an absolutely amazing dessert of bananas, chocolate, and caramel.

Day 3: Delphi
We drove a while to get to Delphi way up high in the mountains. The mountains were like no mountains I've seen before and the view from Delphi was incredible. Delphi
The valley holds the largest olive groves in the world stretching out to the sea. The green at the bottom of the valley are all olive trees
We went to go see the Oracle of Delphi and on the way we saw the ancient Athenian Treasury. Unfortunately, we couldn't go up to see the Temple of Apollo where the oracle because it was closed off due to recent rock slides. Instead, we went to the adjacent museum. That night we went to the village next to Delphi and hiked up 300 steps to get to our restaurant (which was completely worth it).
The dreaded steps
Day 4: On to Nauplio
Looong drive to Nauplio; however, it was broken up very nicely. We stopped at the monastery of Ossia Lucia, a beautiful monastery set in the most beautiful landscape. Ossia Lucia Monastery

It was so peaceful and quiet and it was relaxing to reflect after being cooped up in the bus for so long. We stopped by the beach for lunch and hung out. Some people went swimming and sea urchin hunting, but I thought it was too cold and cloudy to swim. One girl stepped on two sea urchins and had about 20 spines in her foot!! They're really painful and can do pretty good nerve damage if left in too long. She's fine now.
It was night by the time we reached Nauplio, a cute city on the sea that would have been the capital of Greece (but it went to Athens instead). We hung out on the boardwalk and got midnight gyros. Lip-smacking good!

Day 5: Epidarus Theater, Lion's Gate
The day started off rainy as we made our way to the Epidarus Theater, a theater that holds 20,000 spectators. When you stand in a circle in the middle of the stage everyone in the theater can hear you perfectly without you raising your voice. It was really cool and a couple of students and one of the professors on the trip actually sang for us.
Epidarus Theater
It cleared up and was nice and sunny as we visited Lion's Gate, the ancient Mycenaean fortress and palace, the palace of Agamemnon. Lion's Gate
It was so cool. Again, the view was fantastic. I don't think a bad view of Greece exists. View from Lion's Gate
Afterwards we headed back to Nauplio and we had two choices of what to do next: take the nice sea side stroll or hike 1000+ steps up to the fortress on top of the mountain. Guess which one I picked? The fortress I climbed up to
That's right, the fortress. I think that exercise is like hormone women have to forget the pain of childbirth. While exercising you fee like you're going to die but after you cool down you think 'That wasn't so bad! I could do that again.' The view from the top was worth the pain. View from the top
Day 6: Mystras, Sparta, Ye Olde Village
This was possibly my favorite day. We headed to Mystras, an ancient Byzantine town (ruins only) located above Sparta. Mystras
It was so much fun to ramble among the ruins, climbing over them, discovering secret coves, and enjoying the brisk air and, given, gorgeous view. View from the fortress in Mystras
We hiked up to the fortress and then each made our own way down the hill to the bottom. It was nice to explore on our own terms. My favorite thing on the trip. Looking up to the fortress
After Mystras we headed down to the statue of Leonidas, the famous Spartan featured in 300. It was funny and a novelty to all. Tonight we dine in HELL!!!
Then we drove to the village our tour guide's father is from. Ioanna, our tour guide, was absolutely amazing and it was fun to experience a typical small Greek village, something a tourist does not usually do. We met a lot of people. We were sent on a scavenger hunt to find some landmarks throughout the village. When we asked a little old Greek lady where one of the landmarks were she didn't speak very much English. She called out to a neighbor and two men, Sam and Perry, happened to be visiting the village for a wedding from North Carolina (and spoke perfect English, even if it did contain traces of a southern drawl). My group with the old Greek lady, Sam, and Perry
My favorite landmark were the trees that Menelaus supposedly planted (for those who don't know Menelaus was the husband of Helen who started the Trojan War to get her back from Paris -- the Trojan prince, not the city). They were HUGE. An opportune tree-hugging moment
We also had a wine tasting in a little cellar. We got our own wine from the barrels themselves, which I thought was really cool. Unfortunately I didn't like the wine too much. Getting some wine from the barrel
Me with our tour guide Ionna and Thomas, the owner of the wine cellar
It was chestnut harvesting season and they STUFFED our bags and pockets with chestnuts. I had my first raw chestnut which I really really liked. It was really late once we got back to Nauplio. That's alotta chestnuts...
Day 7: Traveling to Mykonos
On our way to the port to get to Mykonos, we had a tour of Ancient Corinth. We even saw the place where Saint Paul was called to Trial. The temple was also a sight to see. Ancient Corinth
Our ferry ride to Mykonos was 5 HOURS. The ferry was gigantic and very nice on the inside. 5 hours is just a long time. Our ferry
You couldn't feel the waves (which is nice for the motion-sickness prone, aka me) and it was too cold to go outside on top of the ferry. It was night by the time we got to Mykonos and we all had to find dinner.

Day 8: Delios
The next day I chose to go to Delios. Delios is the island that Apollo and Artemis were supposedly born on. Today it is a completely archaeological site and no one lives on the islands except for the archaeologists. It was really cool to walk through.
Delios
Delios
Again, another hiking day! We hiked up the mountain to see the view. We also wanted to go cliff diving but we had no idea what cliff to jump off of and we weren't going to just pick a random cliff. It was super windy but sunny. Exploring
Yay Delios!
Day 9: Exploring Mykonos
The day before we left we had a chance to relax. We could go to the beach but it was cloudy with the possibility of drizzle. Not really a beach day. Anyway, I wanted to go SHOPPING! It was the end of the season so everything was on sale, plus I got to try out my bargaining skills. It was really fun to tramp around the center of town. Everything is white and blue and the streets are more like allies. My shirt matches most of Mykonos
A little church in the harbor
A funny bird, the Pelican...
Day 10: Back to Rome
Goodbye Greece!
We took a 2 hour speed boat thing back to Athens. It was the bumpiest and roughest thing EVER. Luckily I didn't get sick thanks to the almighty Dramamine. We had lunch in the port and headed to the airport. A less than 2 hour plane brought us back to Rome which was FREEZING COLD!! And we found out that the Italian government won't let us turn up the heat till November 15th. WHAT?!?! I am doomed to freeze. Let's go back to upper 70s Greece.

Greece was amazing. Period.

So I'm writing a blog post to distract myself from studying for my midterm tomorrow. At least I'm not watching a movie like usual. Baby steps.

I just realized it's been 2 weekends since I've blogged. The photos I take save my memory.

Two weeks ago we went to a Papal Audience. Once I saw the Pope I was ready to leave but it's another thing checked of the to-do list.

The Pope

The line to get into the auditorium was absolute mayhem. What happened to good, patient, God-fearing Christians? I was being man handled by pilgrims and being pushed up against priests (which I'm sure made every party involved a little uncomfortable). Inside it was like a high school state convention. All the groups had chants and flags and kept clapping and cheering for themselves. I was glad to get out of there.

Line into the Papal Audience

That weekend we relaxed with another picnic (a proper one, complete with bread, cheese, salami, and wine). On Sunday, Beth and I visited San Clementine, a very unique church. You walk into a 12th century church. You walk down a couple steps and you're in a church built in the 4th century. Venture down again and you're in a pagan temple built in the 2nd century, a temple dedicated to the cult of Mithras.

This last Thursday night a bunch of us went out for dinner Italian style, meaning we didn't start until around 10. After a two hour leisurely dinner we topped it off with some Old Bridge gelato, finally getting back around 2 (partially thanks to relying on Rome's public transportation).

Friday, Anne, Beth, and I desperately wanted to get out to the catacombs located outside the ancient city walls. Sometimes I really cannot stand Roman public transit. The plan was to leave by 10, take the 913 bus as usual to the metro and then catch the 218 bus outside the metro to Ancient Appia way. It's never that simple. First, the metro was delayed due to a strike and then the 218 stop was nowhere to be found. We literally had to tail a passing 218 down about 4 blocks to find the stop. Then when we finally get to the catacombs at 12:10. After a grueling 3 hour day, the catacombs have to siesta for 2 hours. This is when Italy gets annoying. Do you really need a 2 hour lunch after only working from 9-12?? Me and my Western efficiency.

On a side note, this is an interesting occurance that can be attributed to Catholic and Protestant roots in different countries. The primarily Catholic associated countries, Italy and Spain, and known for their lazy work ethic and long siestas. This is because work was seen as a punishment for Adam and Eve for disobeying God. Protestants view on everlasting life is to work their way to heaven so historically Protestant countries, like Germany, England, and the US, have a very regimented and efficient work ethic.

After wandering back to a dingy little snack bar with a slot machine decorating the back, we dinned on potato chips and then made our way back. The catacombs is 3 levels and it gets older as it gets farther down. The word "cemetery" literally means "dormitory" so bodies were sleeping (and placed that way) until they reached heaven. It was creepy walking deep 30 feet below ground surrounded by huge walls with rectangular slots dug into them where bodies were put to rest. 10 percent of the bodies have still yet to be excavated. I think it was almost creepier than the bone church and the bone church was pretty damn creepy with its still decomposing bodies (no pictures because I thought I forgot my camera even though it was in my purse the whole time...no photos allowed anyway). That night we initiated a couple of my friends into the cult of The Godfather. Conversions successful.

Saturday was cooking day! I went on a day trip to Tivoli to take a cooking class. We learned how to make fettucini, farfalle (bow tie pasta), and gnocchi (potatoe pasta) and coordinating sauces. It was so much fun and I wrote down all the recipes to make at home. It was also a lot easier than I thought it would be. We got to eat all the pasta we made, which was good and bad. It all tasted great but some fettucini which was so thick that some of it wasn't even cooked all the way (some people were too lazy to roll it out flat enough) and the farfalle sizes ranged from "butterflies to eagles" as our cooking mentor put it.

Our Pasta: Farfalle with tomato, asparagus, and pancetta; Fettucini with porcini; Gnocchi with tomato, mozarella, and basil

Enjoying the fruits of my labor

After our lunch we wandered around Tivoli for a while. It is so picturesque and holds absolutely gorgeous views since it's so high up. The views of Tuscany are always so lauded but it definitely has a rival in the Lazio region.

View from Tivoli

Group Shot: Anne, Beth, Me, Kerstin, Liz, Kylah

Sunday Beth and I left the Rome Center with the intention of following the almighty Rick Steve's walk through the Jewish Ghetto. With our heads dancing with images of Jewish bakeries and yarmulkes we were so distracted we ended up taking the wrong metro. Apparently there's a difference between the Vittorio Emmanuel monument and Vittorio Emmanuel piazza. How many civic gestures does this guy need? All he did was unite Italy (starting in 1861 and ending in 1870 with the annexation of the Papal States into the Kingdom of Italy...my midterm tomorrow is on modern Italian history). Anyway, we ended up wandering around and, ironically, finding our way into a couple of churches. So instead of challah bread we got the Eucharistic and instead of yarmulkes we got those priest collar things. An enjoyable afternoon just the same.

Me and Beth at Piazza Repubblica

Today Beth and I had another of adventures to get out of the Rome Center and into the center of Rome. We headed forth to seek out the Bocca della Verita, or the Mouth of the Truth, most commonly recognized from Roman Holiday where Gregroy Peck pretends to have his hand cut off when he sticks it in the Mouth (eliciting unscripted screams from Audrey Hepburn). Legend goes that if you are prone to lying your hand will be bitten off when stuck in the Mouth of Truth, helped along by scorpions placed by priests.

Where's Gregory Peck when you need him?

In 4 days I am off to Greece for 10 days and I'm so excited it doesn't feel real.