So Greece was my destination for Spring Break and wow I cant believe how fast it went by. The trip truly felt like a short weekend (of course it was filled with alot of travel). A group of my friends and I signed up with a tour group called Euroadventures that was founded by a GU grad to do the trip. This way we did not have to plan anything...it was all done for us which was awesome and made things so relaxing which is how spring break should be.
We took a bus to the port of Anconda where we caught an overnight ferry to Greece. Picture a 3 star cruise ship complete with a disco, bars, pool, rooms etc. Being able to just hang out on a ship made the travel much easier. Then we arrived in Greece only to have to take another ferry to the island of Corfu. Turns out March is still before tourist season as well so when we got to Corfu and especially the little town we were staying in it was deserted. Literally nothing was open except for our hotel. Thankfully the hotel had great cheap lunches and provided us with 3 course Greek dinners which were delicious. Also, because we were basically the only group staying in the hotel that can fit 700 we all have ocean view rooms...so alot of our time was relaxing on our decks.
The first full day there some of my friends and I decided to go on the quad safari for the day that the hotel offered. It was 6 hours exploring the island views and beaches and offroading on a quad. It was SOOOO much fun and beautiful. We drove through the tiny hill towns that you think only exsist in movies with the little old lady sitting on a chair in the doorway, the men socializing at a bar, sheeps and goats in wooded pastures. It was amazing.
The second day I decided to just hang out on the beach as it was 70+ degrees out. I even got a tiny bit burnt which of course is gone now. We has the most amazing day reading, talking, doing yoga on the beach, swimming (it was still a bit cold) and just playing around like little kids.
Eventually it was time for us to leave on an overnight bus to Athens. Talk about a wierd expeience but I was surprised to sleep decently well for the conditions. We all had a twilight moment when the bus driver drove onto a ferry and we all wake up to the bus spinning and all we can see is water and a massive bridge above us...crazy things in Greece.
Now on to Athens we arrived at 8:30am and then immediately had a tour to see all the main sights and orient outselvves with the city. Coffee was a priority to survive the day even part way so we found the nearest Starbucks and CostaCoffee. We saw Parlament buildings, changing of the guard (they wear really funny shoes), the first modern olympic games stadium, and then ruins and up to the Acropolis. The Acropolis has amazing views of all of Athens becuase nothing in the city can be built higher. Also, the ruins themselves are so amazing to see. The city is actually in the process of reconstructting all the the ruins to how they would have looked which I found very interesting that they are not just keeping them in the current state. The rest of the day I spent with my friend Ashley as we faught the desire to sleep to keep exploring the city.
That night all of the Gonzaga travelers signed up for an authentic greek meal at a nearby resturant and we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. food and wine kept coming and coming and coming. masaka, tziki ( I am sure I am butchering all of the spelling), lamb, chicken, stuff that I have no idea what it was but probably about 20 plates total and then traditional greece dessert of greek yogurt and honey with these almond bar things. We couldnt move after to say the least.
The next day I ventured out with a group to see all of the other ruins that were closed the day before and we definetly saw them all. Of course eventually we were ruined out and just explored around. And then we ran into a riot/demonstration. There were just tonds of riot police guarding all of the government buildings and then we walked further and found the actual protestors with signs and calls. we ran into someone who spoke english who just said it was unsafe and stay away...ok great so thats exactly what we did. eventually it all dispersed with no violence so all was fine. But it was interesting to see what we hear about in the news. Eventually it became time to leave Athens after ruins, markets and greek food galore and it was back onto the overnight ferry and then the bus back.
Now I am home in Florence...it is just as sunny here now and I do not want to go to class at all. But, I cant really be that lucky:) I hope all is well at home! Only 1 month to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment