Yeah that's right, I'm currently in Athens, Greece. Be jealous.
I had to get here though and that wasn't exactly my favorite. Plane rides are bad enough when they're 3 hours long but 10 tens is excruciating. Thank goodness there were movies to watch otherwise I would have gone completely crazy. I watched 3 different movies and by the time the 3rd one was over I only had an hour more to waste. PHEW! The airplane food though...makes me sick just thinking about it. It's best to avoid any form of food on airlines in America.
Amsterdam was interesting. Everyone was tall and blond. I had to down an entire water bottle because we had to go through security again. There were a TON of chocolate shops. I would have explored more if our gate had no been all the way on the opposite side of the airport. The airport itself was really clean, really quite, and kinda eerie. Thankfully our layover of about 3 hours went by quickly.
This is Jose, my Mexican rubber duck. He goes with me when I travel and I take pictures of him in lots of random, quirky places. This is him at the Amsterdam airport.
By the time we boarded our second plane, everyone was exhausted. The food on this flight was way better. I made friends with a little girl who sat in front of me. And I slept through the last hour or so. We watched Greece get closer and closer and then, suddenly, we were here. Athens Greece.
Although everything was in Greek, everyone was speaking Greek, and we'd been traveling for hours, it still hadn't hit me that we were in Greece. We boarded the bus and made our way to the apartments. Athens itself is gorgeous. Up close you see the graffiti and narrow streets and, at first, you may be hesitant. To me, though, Athens felt like a welcoming friend, worn down but still hopeful that tomorrow would be a better day. Little shops, tiny cars, and orange trees. This city is so charming! The bus stopped and we got our luggage. I felt kind of silly as people walked by our huge group with giants suitcases but this feeling was nothing compared to how comfortable I felt in this foreign place.
The apartment was lava hot when we finally managed to unlock the door. We've fixed it since but there was definitely a 15 degrees difference from the hallway and the apartment. We had an hour and a half to unpack and get comfortable before the Death March (as Dr. Finitsis endearingly calls it). I unpacked a little and then decided to lay down for a second to collect myself. And hour or so later Katie was waking up me, telling me we had to get going. Man, who knew staying up 24 hours would tire me out so much? Hahaha
The beginning of the Death March, it happens. It hits me. I'm in Greece. Wanna know why?
In the distance, alight and glorious, was the Acropolis. I had no words. It's beautiful! And right next to it? The Olympic Stadium. The Olympics happened here first. And they were revived here. All the marble is original. Mind blown.
I couldn't even be mad. The beginning of the Death March seemed innocent enough. I was falling in love with the city so pain and fatigue weren't even registering with me. We walked around the entire Acropolis. We walked through streets and passed bars, restaurants, and cafes with the Acropolis in view the entire time. By the time we got to Parliament, I have to admit that the magic was wavering. The combination of lack of sleep, poor diet, and new shoes were to blame. I kept a positive perspective though! We saw the tomb of the unknown soldier and lots of guards sitting outside of the homes of very important people.
Today was adventure day! After crawling out of bed at 10am and showering off the airplane stink, Katie and I went out adventuring, determined to see the Acropolis. It's free entry on Sundays! We found our way up there without any trouble. Unfortunately...
I had to get here though and that wasn't exactly my favorite. Plane rides are bad enough when they're 3 hours long but 10 tens is excruciating. Thank goodness there were movies to watch otherwise I would have gone completely crazy. I watched 3 different movies and by the time the 3rd one was over I only had an hour more to waste. PHEW! The airplane food though...makes me sick just thinking about it. It's best to avoid any form of food on airlines in America.
Amsterdam was interesting. Everyone was tall and blond. I had to down an entire water bottle because we had to go through security again. There were a TON of chocolate shops. I would have explored more if our gate had no been all the way on the opposite side of the airport. The airport itself was really clean, really quite, and kinda eerie. Thankfully our layover of about 3 hours went by quickly.
By the time we boarded our second plane, everyone was exhausted. The food on this flight was way better. I made friends with a little girl who sat in front of me. And I slept through the last hour or so. We watched Greece get closer and closer and then, suddenly, we were here. Athens Greece.
The apartment was lava hot when we finally managed to unlock the door. We've fixed it since but there was definitely a 15 degrees difference from the hallway and the apartment. We had an hour and a half to unpack and get comfortable before the Death March (as Dr. Finitsis endearingly calls it). I unpacked a little and then decided to lay down for a second to collect myself. And hour or so later Katie was waking up me, telling me we had to get going. Man, who knew staying up 24 hours would tire me out so much? Hahaha
The beginning of the Death March, it happens. It hits me. I'm in Greece. Wanna know why?
I couldn't even be mad. The beginning of the Death March seemed innocent enough. I was falling in love with the city so pain and fatigue weren't even registering with me. We walked around the entire Acropolis. We walked through streets and passed bars, restaurants, and cafes with the Acropolis in view the entire time. By the time we got to Parliament, I have to admit that the magic was wavering. The combination of lack of sleep, poor diet, and new shoes were to blame. I kept a positive perspective though! We saw the tomb of the unknown soldier and lots of guards sitting outside of the homes of very important people.
Today was adventure day! After crawling out of bed at 10am and showering off the airplane stink, Katie and I went out adventuring, determined to see the Acropolis. It's free entry on Sundays! We found our way up there without any trouble. Unfortunately...
It was closed... We heard from some other American's that there was a riot and a strike of some kind. It seemed that our whole day was shot. Thankfully we pressed on and I'm so glad we did! We found a giant rock (Paul spoke to the people on this rock!) and the view from said rock was fantastic. You can see the whole city and you get a great view of the Acropolis.
It was a great walk! And, lucky for us, it went in a complete circle so we ended up right where we began :) We found a nice little place with sandwiches and coffee. Even after taking our time eating we had so much time left until we had to meet up with everyone. So we did a little bit of shopping. This is a country of persistent shop keeps. No joke.
After a long day, a slightly depressing (but interesting) movie with the gang, and a Welcome Dinner, this girl is ready to hit the hay.
Except we're pretty sure there's a nest of some kind of insect in our bathroom wall. Ick!
It's okay Greece, I still love you!
After a long day, a slightly depressing (but interesting) movie with the gang, and a Welcome Dinner, this girl is ready to hit the hay.
Except we're pretty sure there's a nest of some kind of insect in our bathroom wall. Ick!
It's okay Greece, I still love you!
<3Christine
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