Last Tuesday, I left home to meet my mom at the airport to go to Greece! I met my mom at the gate and we flew to Athens and then caught a flight to Santorini. Greece has been a place I have dreamed of going to all my life, so this was truly amazing.
We arrived on Santorini around 6:30 and got to catch the end of a sunset. After we checked into our hotel room in Fira (which was on a cliff looking out onto the sea), we walked asked around the local shops trying to find a good, authentic Greek meal. We ended up going to a Nikolas Tavern. We got mousaka, eggplant dip, a greek salad, and chicken souvlaki. It was such a nice change from Italian food! After I stuffed my face, we walked back to our quaint hotel room and went to bed.
The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast at the hotel, and left to go on a 3 hour boat tour of the volcanic island and the hot springs. We got to walk to the top of the volcano where the view of the island was amazing. Then we had the option of jumping in the water and swimming to the hot springs. It probably would have been a good experience, but the water was freezing so I opted out of it. After the boat tour, I was forced into riding a donkey up 600 steps. I was not at all pleased with this experience. The donkey was not guided and it kept stopping and then to get lunch. We got a chicken gyro, stuffed grape leaves, and a greek salad. Delicious! Then we walked around Santorini. The shops there were so cute. There were a ton of fine jewelry shops, little bakeries, gelato, and souvenir shops. We went back to our room and rested for a little, and then we took a bus to Ia, a neighboring town, to watch the sunset. We walked around there for a little and then took a bus back to Fira for dinner. Dinner was delicious. I got this four cheese pasta, which was not very Greek, but it was absolutely amazing. Then we went back to our hotel and went to bed.
On Thursday morning, I slept in. Then got up and went on a quest for Greek yogurt. We found some in a supermarket just down the road. Then I had registration for classes at Richmond, so I sat on the hotel computer for a while getting all my classes ready for next semester. Then my mom and I went on a walk to the next town over. I took lots of pictures and saw a ton of cats along the way. We walked back to our room to pick up our luggage and then headed to the airport for our flight to Athens.
We arrived in Athens at around 9 and went to our room, watched some BBC news and went to bed. In the morning, we woke up, at the hotel breakfast, and headed out to a marathon day of sightseeing. We saw the Acropolis, the Roman Agora, various temples, and walked around the Plaka. After walking around, we went back to the hotel to get jackets (it got chilly!) and then we went to the new Acropolis museum! It was a holiday so all the museums were free that day. The Acropolis museum was really cool. Then we got gelato for dinner and went back to our hotel.
Our final day in Athens, we took a bus tour of the sights that we hadn't seen the previous day, walked around new neighborhoods, and finished up in the Plaka before heading to the airport for our flight to Rome. I got to show my mom around my neighborhood and all the major tourist attractions in Rome. We also got to see a ballet (La Bayadere) at the Teatro dell'Opera.
It was such a fun fall break! So glad my mom was able to come and visit!
We arrived on Santorini around 6:30 and got to catch the end of a sunset. After we checked into our hotel room in Fira (which was on a cliff looking out onto the sea), we walked asked around the local shops trying to find a good, authentic Greek meal. We ended up going to a Nikolas Tavern. We got mousaka, eggplant dip, a greek salad, and chicken souvlaki. It was such a nice change from Italian food! After I stuffed my face, we walked back to our quaint hotel room and went to bed.
The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast at the hotel, and left to go on a 3 hour boat tour of the volcanic island and the hot springs. We got to walk to the top of the volcano where the view of the island was amazing. Then we had the option of jumping in the water and swimming to the hot springs. It probably would have been a good experience, but the water was freezing so I opted out of it. After the boat tour, I was forced into riding a donkey up 600 steps. I was not at all pleased with this experience. The donkey was not guided and it kept stopping and then to get lunch. We got a chicken gyro, stuffed grape leaves, and a greek salad. Delicious! Then we walked around Santorini. The shops there were so cute. There were a ton of fine jewelry shops, little bakeries, gelato, and souvenir shops. We went back to our room and rested for a little, and then we took a bus to Ia, a neighboring town, to watch the sunset. We walked around there for a little and then took a bus back to Fira for dinner. Dinner was delicious. I got this four cheese pasta, which was not very Greek, but it was absolutely amazing. Then we went back to our hotel and went to bed.
On Thursday morning, I slept in. Then got up and went on a quest for Greek yogurt. We found some in a supermarket just down the road. Then I had registration for classes at Richmond, so I sat on the hotel computer for a while getting all my classes ready for next semester. Then my mom and I went on a walk to the next town over. I took lots of pictures and saw a ton of cats along the way. We walked back to our room to pick up our luggage and then headed to the airport for our flight to Athens.
We arrived in Athens at around 9 and went to our room, watched some BBC news and went to bed. In the morning, we woke up, at the hotel breakfast, and headed out to a marathon day of sightseeing. We saw the Acropolis, the Roman Agora, various temples, and walked around the Plaka. After walking around, we went back to the hotel to get jackets (it got chilly!) and then we went to the new Acropolis museum! It was a holiday so all the museums were free that day. The Acropolis museum was really cool. Then we got gelato for dinner and went back to our hotel.
Our final day in Athens, we took a bus tour of the sights that we hadn't seen the previous day, walked around new neighborhoods, and finished up in the Plaka before heading to the airport for our flight to Rome. I got to show my mom around my neighborhood and all the major tourist attractions in Rome. We also got to see a ballet (La Bayadere) at the Teatro dell'Opera.
It was such a fun fall break! So glad my mom was able to come and visit!
Sounds as if you are having the time of your life, going to all of the places you are seeing. Hopefully, Athens was quiet during your time there; the news from Athens is quite violent with all of the financial difficulties there!
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Gramps
So jealous that you got to go to my favorite study abroad spot! Your pictures are absolutely beautiful :-) Love you and miss you tons.
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