and away we go...(part I: Athens)

Ever since AP Art History my senior year of high school I've had insanely high hopes for getting to see everything I studied during the entire year... Again, at the time these were hopes, dreams, ambitions. But I can now say it is slowly turning into a reality. On Wed Feb 24th I left for Athens with five darling girls from my program. I turns out almost all European Airlines serve meals and I was thrilled to get salmon on the way there! We landed at about 12:15am and waited in customs for a bit before hoping into a taxi which was supposed to bring us directly to our hostel. Well after a scary ride, on which I turned to Ashley and commented that I felt like we were on a roller coaster, we received a taxi fee that was much steeper than expected and didn't even drop us off at the door to our hostel, only the alleyway leading to it.. but we were out of the taxi alive and happy to be so. When we finally got to our room we discovered it was perfect! We had our own studio style apartment with a separate kitchen, bathroom and living room apart from our bedroom with three sets of bunk beds. We headed straight to bed and decided to sleep in the next morning so we would have energy to explore.
On our first full day we woke up a little late and thus went in search of lunch as we left the apartment. We discovered old town and ate Gyros! After which we got galeto, and then set our sites on the Acropolis! We climbed the hill leading to it as the sun was shinning and my face was smiling. We stayed on top of the Acropolis not just looking at the ruins but the view it offered us! We saw the Parthenon, Porch of the Maidens, Temple of Athena Nike, and the Theater of Dionysos, to name a few.

After leaving the Acropolis we went to explore the rest of the city. We ended up making our way to Syntagma Square, which is right in front of their main govn't building (like their white house) We got freshly made donuts in the square and then decided to go back and get re-ready before dinner. We tried to find a Greek menu so we could taste a truly Greek meal. We found one relatively close to our studio and i decided I was going to be adventurous and order something I didn't know if I would like. I ordered Moussaka, which consists of eggplant and minced meat and it was my favorite meal of the trip. Absolutely one of the best things i've ever tried. The Greeks loved six American girls everywhere we went and we were constantly given free things at meals. The first night started this fad with free Ouzo, the Greek alcohol of choice. It reminded me of black licorice and I did not like it.

The second morning we woke up a little earlier and got breakfast at this cute little restaurant with a large outdoor seating area. We all ordered their Greek yogurt/fresh fruit waffle and I found it superb.

The rest of the day was devoted to shopping! We walked the streets of Plaka, which contained hundreds of cute little shops and bought a lot of souvenirs for family and friends :) On our way back to the apartment for the night we stopped and made reservations at a resturant in old town where the owner promised us live music and let us pick the table to we wanted for that night. When we came back our table was ready and I order a four course meal to celebrate our last night in Athens.