It's all Greek to me. Spring Break Part 1

Traveling from Paris to Greece was probably one of the most difficult things on this entire trip so far. After having a lovely dinner with some of our fellows students at the Hard Rock Cafe in Paris, Jen, Alicia, Brady, Morgan, and I decided it would be best to head to the airport super early for our 6am flight. Getting there is a complete other story, but after about two hours of hauling our luggage throughout Paris, we finally made it to the airport. We had about six hours to spare, so we all took turns watching the luggage and catching some z’s.

The look on Alicia's face shows just how exhausted we all were. (She's probably going to kill me for putting this up)

So 5am rolls around and we begin to board our flight, next thing we know WE'RE GOING TO GREECE!! Once our flight landed, we soon realized that we were in a COMPLETELY different country. After trying to read Greek and figured out the metro, we hopped on a train and took it to our stop. Once again there were more difficulties of people yelling at us in Greek, as well as some metro stops on our line being closed. But alas, we made it to our apartment! It was a nice, small apartment, with a huge porch.

Living Room leading onto the porch.

Our first day in Greece we had high hopes of going to the beach. But that was ruined when we woke up to not only a rainy day, but also the metro lines being shut down due to a strike. So day one in Greece was spent sleeping and exploring the surrounding town. While exploring the town, Brady and I stumbled upon a little restaurant that had some pretty amazing gyros!! Little did we know that from there on out we would be eating these everyday for the rest of the trip (Good thing they were only 2 Euros…) Also during our stay in Greece we thought it would be smart to cook a lot of our meals since we had a kitchen. This was definitely an experience buying groceries and trying to use European appliances. However we did eventually make some pretty delicious chicken salads! 

Yum Yum Delish.

Day 2 in Greece we spent exploring other parts of Athens. We headed to the port to see how much ferries would be to take to various islands. Once we got there a very helpful company showed us some great islands that we could visit. So we decided that we would take a ferry the next day and spend the day on one of Greece’s beautiful islands. For the remainder of the day we took a taxi (somehow all 5 of us fit in one) to our cab drivers recommended beach. It turns out our cab driver had excellent taste in beaches and we spent the remainder of the day swimming IN THE MEDITERRAIN SEA!! It was definitely an amazing experience. I have never seen such clear water.

View of the beach we swam at.

And you would think that because the water is so clear, that I wouldn’t have swam into a minefield of sea urchins. But you know me; sometimes I don’t do the brightest of things. After having a bit of a panic moment, I played minesweeper and somehow managed to get myself out of there. 

You know if you step on one of these you blow up...

View overlooking the beach.

View from the beach. Me, Jen, and Alicia sitting on one of the walls.

After our great day at the beach we made our way back home to our apartment and prepared for some of our friends to come over. Taylor, Polina, and Joe, also were traveling a Greece and we thought it would be nice to have them over for the night. We had a great time sharing our traveling stories we’ve already had since the beginning of spring break. 

The next day we got up early, said goodbye to our friends and headed back to the port in Greece. We caught a ferry ride to the Greek island of Aegina. 

 

The ferry that took us to Aegina.

I may of had some difficulties with the wind and my dress....

The water was so blue!!!

When we finally got to the island, I was in complete awe. It was such a beautiful place! We grabbed some lunch once we got off the ferry and while we were sitting there, Alicia and I spotted a place where people could rent mopeds. And pretty much everyone on the trip knew that the one thing that I really wanted to do was drive a moped. So of course we had to rent them. It seriously turned out to be quite possibly one of my favorite days in Europe. So Alicia and I shared a black and yellow four wheeler that I named Bumblebee, and Morgan and Jen had a blue and black one. Brady was the only one who actually got to ride a moped by himself. After hopping on the vehicles, the man instructed us on how to use and operate the four wheelers (and of course I didn’t pay attention). But we finally got going, and explored the island. It was really one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever seen in my life. I will remember driving around on that island for the rest of my life.

<3

BUMBLEBEE!

We only ran into a rough patch when our four wheeler started to run out of gas. We were in the middle of the island and no gas station was in sight. It took us FOREVER to find a gas station, I really thought we were going to have to push this four wheeler into the station. But after the help of some really, really nice Greek people we arrived to a gas station. The third man we asked actually got on his moped and took us to the gas station, that’s how friendly they were on this island. After finally reaching the station, we realized that the workers there spoke NO English at all. It was definitely an experience and those guys probably thought we were the dumbest people on the face of the earth. 

One of the seaside views.

View of the port from the ferry.

Another coast view.

This sign is a lie.

One more view of the city.

We finally met back up with the rest of the group and explored the island a little more. We got off our four wheeler and dipped our feet in the sea once again. It eventually began to rain so we thought we would pack up a bit early and head back to the main part of the island. We ended the day with a nice bowl of gelato, and a nap on the ferry ride home. 

I've made it a point to sleep on every mode of transportation in Europe. Ferry: Check.

The next day we got up early again and headed to the Acropolis. The prehistoric sites we saw were simply breathtaking. We saw the grand entrance of the Acropolis, called the Propylaea, the Parthenon, the Temple of Hephaistos, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian’s Arch, and many other sites that I can’t even name. But just knowing how old these ruins were really was insane. People thousands and thousands of years ago stood right where I was standing. This was yet another great day in Greece, and one that I will cherish forever.

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus.

The Parthenon.

GREECE!

View of the city.

Temple of Hephaistos in the distance.

Temple Of Olympian Zeus, I think..

The Propylaea...I think..

Our last day in Greece, we were all so tired that we just spent the day walking around Athens. We found some great little shops and picked up some souvenirs for our loved ones back home. It was definitely a great way to end a wonderful trip in Greece. Little did we know we had plenty more adventures ahead of us in Rome…..

Parissssss

Day 1:

We arrived to our hotel Wednesday night around 6pm, settled in, and ate dinner. Shortly after dinner we decided to see what this whole Eiffel Tower thing was all about.

I mean, I guess it's pretty legit...

Sooooo clooooseee

I touched the Eiffel Tower. MWHAHA

We then proceeded to go to the top of the tower and see the city of Paris at night.

Some of the city.

Arc de Triomphe.

How far America is from the Eiffel Tower.

Day 2:

We ventured to the Opera to learn some of Paris' history over the years.

Fine Arts school near by.

After touring the meseum we headed to the Jewish district of Paris and had the vegetarian dish of falafels. They were pretty good, but I don't know if I would get it again. After lunch we had free time for the rest of the day. Morgan, Joe, Brady and I decided to head in the direction of this "church looking thing" according to Joe. However when we actually got there it was just a tower. However later we learned that it was once the church of Saint Jacques but was torn down a while back. After that we decided to go see a church that was still standing, the Notre Dame. I got some great pictures, but when I went to upload my photos for this day my camera somehow deleted them all. It wasn't too much of a big deal because we went back to the Notre Dame on Sunday for Mass.

Day 3:

Friday consisted of the group meeting up at the Louvre. Some of us got there a little early and were able to take some nice pictures.

We've mastered asking French people to take our picture.

Of course I had to touch the tip of the pyramid.

Num Nums.

While we were in the Louvre we went to see some painting called the Mona Lisa. Apparently it's pretty famous or something. Apparently no matter what angle you look at the painting, she's always looking at you. What a creeper.

CREEEEEPERRRRR.

After the Louvre we headed to the Arch de la Defense. It lines up with the Arc de Triomphe. So we got more pictures of the city.

Arch de la Defense.

View of the Arc de Triomphe from the Arch de la Defense

From there we took the metro to the Arc de Triomphe, once we were there we participated in a ceremony dealing with the Eternal Flame and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was really a great experience.
 

Daytime shot.

Underneath the Arc

Eternal Flame and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Sunset shot.

Nighttime shot.

Day 4:

Saturday some of us got up early and headed to a giant flea market. It was pretty cool, but now I may have to worry about my luggage weight on my trip back to the US. After this we met up with the group and Gerry and went to Montmartre, here we saw the Sacre Coeur.

Day 5: 

Sunday we went to Mass at the Notre Dame. It's pretty crazy to say that I attended an international mass at the Notre Dame. Definitely something that I will remember.

Reach High. Go Far.

After Mass we headed to lunch where we all got some coucous. Once again it was a really unique dish.

We then departed together and went to the Musee D'Orsay. It was once a train station but now holds some pretty famous pieces of artwork. Sadly no pictures were allowed.

Musee D'Orsay

After this we met up with Francie's family and headed to the Eiffel Tower together. Once again our childish antics got the best of us.

Me touching the Eiffel Tower again.

Francie's sister, Samantha, touching the Eiffel Tower.

I decided to get creative with my camera.

Yay for technology.

Day 6:

This was our last full day in Paris as a group. Francie, Rachel and I headed out to search for our museums assigned to us for class. Francie had the Cluny Musee, Rachel's museum was closed, and my museum was the Musee National de la Marine. We had a great time especially  because we took a couple of pit stops at the Eiffel Tower and an Aquarium.To cap the day off Francie, Rachel, Francie's family, and I headed over to Rue de Bac and saw the Church of the Miraculous Medal. It really was a beautiful place.

Cluny Museum

Another view of the Eiffel Tower.

FISH!

WAVY THINGS!

Musee National de la Marine

Plaque in the front.

Altar

Saint Catherine

Day 7:

Today Jen, Alicia, Morgan, Brady, Rachel, and I have been sitting around all day recuperating from the past week. Our flight for Greece leaves at 6am, so we're just bumming around all day until then. Next time I do a blog, I will hopefully be in Greece!