My Grecian Saga – Part I: September 6, 2008 ~ Pictures
Geia Sas Everyone!!
Sorry for not writing sooner, but it’s been a real whirlwind the past week!!
Here is a quick rundown of how things have been going . . .
Thurs, Aug 28 – Zoom goes under, I have to rebook almost all my flights but I do finally get my passport with my Greecian Visa!!
Fri Aug 29 – packing and relaxing day
Sat Aug 30 – Monday Sept 1 – TRAVEL!! That’s right folks, I was up for 44 hours and flew from Vancouver to London, looked around London for a few hours, slept in the airport, flew to Athens, took the metro into town and found my hotel, and then promptly slept before meeting up with the whole group, including Nicole!! The group is great and we are having a blast so far!! We went for a group dinner that night and Nicole and I stayed out a bit later than everyone else and met some real Greeks and sang some songs and wandered around a bit.
Tues Sept 2 – Aereopagus, Acropolis, Plaka and some shopping: basically day one of our personal guided tour around Athens with Geoffrey, our prof. He is amazingly knowledgeable and it was totally great to learn what all the cool old rocks meant!! Had a wee nap in the afternoon and then a great Greecian dinner on a rooftop terrace with a view of the Acropolis!! (we also have a view of the Acropolis from our hotel)
Wed Sept 3 – Keramikos, Monastraki, Agora: day two of our personal guided tour!! Saw an ancient cemetery and some of the original Athenian city wall, did some shopping in the bazaar-like shopping district, and toured the Agora, or ancient sacred city centre of Athens.
Thurs Sept 4 – Temples of Artemis and Posiden and SWIMMING!!!! After surviving the totally hot Athens for a few days (its been about 36 here all day) we went down the coast and saw the Temple of Artemis, complete with a 5th century BC bridge, and then the Temple of Posiden at Sounioun, which is on a rock that hangs out over the sea, amazing setting look for pics!! And did I mention we went SWIMMING?!?!?! It was in a gross but beautiful harbour, but the amazingly warm water was worth it!!! So refreshing!!!
Fri Sept 5 – Delphi: been there before, it was hot, but fun, learned a bit, and had a relaxing day on a bus. Last night chilled out on the rooftop terrace drinking beer and looking at the Acropolis!
Sat Sept 6 – South Slope of the Acropolis and Temple of Olympian Zeus: got a bit of a lie in today, only started touring at 11 instead of 9 . . . the South Slope is so cool! 3000 + years of history on one slope of a hill!! Bought an Indiana Jones hat for the dig and went to see the Olympian Zeus Temple that took 700+ years to build and was finally finished under Hadrian in Roman times!! Amazing!!
Ok, so a few other tidbits . . .
-it is HOT here!!! no sunburn for me as of yet, yay!!
-the food is so good!! I love gyros, with yummy meat and fresh tomatoes and tzatziki, it’s not the best having to buy most of your meals, but tomorrow we will have our own kitchens so will be able to eat more cheaply.
-Greek men are generally assholes, they look at you with this ‘I want you’ look that makes you just want to slap them, but alas, that is not socially acceptable, so we usually just keep walking and ignoring them. HOWEVER – today this old greasy Greek guy did tell me that I have the most amazing legs he’s seen in 40 years . . . and really, no matter who’s telling you that, it feels pretty good.
I’m sure I’m forgetting about a thousand other cool things right now, but I really am having a great time and will upload pictures as soon as I have a chance!!
Hope everyone is well in Vancouver!!!
Love Michelle
The Travelling Twin 