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| Real Life |
True story. This entire trip has been like an explosion of Hallmark cards. I only wish my camera did this place justice, 'cause you really can't imagine how beautiful it is until you see it. We got to the top of some of these ruins, and my breath literally got caught in my throat.
Beach or mountains? Why not both! We literally watched the sun set behind the mountains of Turkey with the Aegean Sea rolling in front. Every evening. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I'd have posted a picture, but it would've been a cheap imitation of the real thing.
Our first five days in Greece have been pretty jam-packed. Seriously, I need to invest in a caffeine patch or something, cause this "running on adrenaline" thing is just not gonna fly. We got to the dorms, which are nice and clean and pre-stocked with food. Our RA Jerry (he has a Greek name, but it's really hard to pronounce so we just call him Jerry) is pretty great. He gave us the lo-down of ACG before we headed off for the ferry to Rhodes.
After exploring Lindos, we crashed at our wonderful five-star hotel. Six euro's a night for crappy air-conditioning, can't get much better than that!
Really, though, other than the lack of air, it was a really nice hotel. Greeks are all about not using electricity, so Katie and I just left the glass door open and it was fine. Natural breeze and all that.
We all made friends with the bar tender, which is actually not as sketch as it sounds. He's a really cool guy who lived in New York for several years, so his English was great, too. It's so interesting to just sit at a bar and talk to people, you really do get to see so many different perspectives. One night we stayed up until four in the morning just talking to Mano. I don't think I've laughed so hard in like, ever. Not to mention the memorable evenings bull-dozing our way through Scary Street. (The crepes were at the other end, see.)
Sunday and Monday were pretty much full of adventure time. The big elections took place Sunday (New Democracy won, Greeks are still in the Euro!!) so all the sites were closed, and apparently they're never open on Mondays anyway, either, so we had some fun beach days. The Kaplans took us on a tour of Old Town, which was gorgeous. It actually reminded me of St. John's Street in St. Augustine, only much bigger. Florida is also lacking in the ancient castle department.
Sunday night was also our first night out dancing. I was a silly goose and didn't bring my camera, so facebook stalking will be necessary to witness the embarassment. It was really cool, though, cause these two waiters actually performed the traditional Greek dance as seen in the movie Zorba. You can also find videos of said dancing via stalking prowess.
Monday we toured New Town and actually had some time to nap. It was also karaoke night at the hotel. 'Nuff said.
Our first five days in Greece have been pretty jam-packed. Seriously, I need to invest in a caffeine patch or something, cause this "running on adrenaline" thing is just not gonna fly. We got to the dorms, which are nice and clean and pre-stocked with food. Our RA Jerry (he has a Greek name, but it's really hard to pronounce so we just call him Jerry) is pretty great. He gave us the lo-down of ACG before we headed off for the ferry to Rhodes.
The sixteen hour ferry ride went by super fast. It reminded me of a mini cruise, only without the cool shows and indoor pools and free food. I mean, you actually have to pay for snacks...weird.
Our first stop was the ruins of Lindos, an ancient city founded by the Dorians in the 10th century BC. The magnificent Acropolis is surrounded by a Hellenistic wall, with a very much dangerous staircase leading down into the town. Shoes for Crews would have been handy then, 'cause there were a few close calls.
After exploring Lindos, we crashed at our wonderful five-star hotel. Six euro's a night for crappy air-conditioning, can't get much better than that!
Really, though, other than the lack of air, it was a really nice hotel. Greeks are all about not using electricity, so Katie and I just left the glass door open and it was fine. Natural breeze and all that.
We all made friends with the bar tender, which is actually not as sketch as it sounds. He's a really cool guy who lived in New York for several years, so his English was great, too. It's so interesting to just sit at a bar and talk to people, you really do get to see so many different perspectives. One night we stayed up until four in the morning just talking to Mano. I don't think I've laughed so hard in like, ever. Not to mention the memorable evenings bull-dozing our way through Scary Street. (The crepes were at the other end, see.)
Sunday and Monday were pretty much full of adventure time. The big elections took place Sunday (New Democracy won, Greeks are still in the Euro!!) so all the sites were closed, and apparently they're never open on Mondays anyway, either, so we had some fun beach days. The Kaplans took us on a tour of Old Town, which was gorgeous. It actually reminded me of St. John's Street in St. Augustine, only much bigger. Florida is also lacking in the ancient castle department.
Sunday night was also our first night out dancing. I was a silly goose and didn't bring my camera, so facebook stalking will be necessary to witness the embarassment. It was really cool, though, cause these two waiters actually performed the traditional Greek dance as seen in the movie Zorba. You can also find videos of said dancing via stalking prowess.
Monday we toured New Town and actually had some time to nap. It was also karaoke night at the hotel. 'Nuff said.
Since the archaeological sites were closed for like, half our trip, we had a bit of a cram-session on Tuesday. Our first stop was the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes, which actually opens at 9:00 am, not 8:30, for future reference. It was really cool browsing through the excessive collection of ancient paraphernalia. Unfortunately by this point I was running out of space on my camera's memory card...I really should've gotten a bigger one back home.
The second site we ventured to was the Monastery of Pileramos and the Temple of Athena in which there were large amounts of peacocks. One of them pooped on Nicki's hand...hehehe.
The site itself was quite beautiful, too, and there was a gorgeous view of Rhodes from the top.
Kameiros was our third destination, and it was really very interesting. It's so crazy to think that thousands of years ago people actually lived in these ruins. You can actually see the different rooms of the houses, such as bathrooms and bedrooms.
We ended our lovely tour of Rhodes with a journey through the Valley of the Butterflies...well...more like the Mountain of the Butterflies. I don't think any of us were prepared for the mile-hike up a mountain in the hot sun. Still, there was a beautiful view at the top and the refreshment stand sold some really good yogurt, so it was worth it.
Sadly, our vacation time is quickly coming to a close. We've arrived back in Athens after another over-night ferry, and we're in the process of getting settled in. Brianna, Corey, Hannah, Rebecca, and I all went on our first grocery shopping excursion today...it was kind of crazy. I think we were all so overwhelmed that we just grabbed anything that seemed remotely edible. It's going to take some getting used to, and it's a bit of a pain to carry everything back to the dorms, but after a while we should all be fine. It's been kind of a lazy day so far, which is good cause classes are coming up soon...ugh. Ah, well, at least we've got a few days to get adjusted and adventure through Athens. We're going to Delphi on Saturday, too, which should be absolutely gorgeous.
Alrighty, then...beautifulness, arrival, ferry, Lindos, Old Town, dancing, New Town, museum, peacocks, ruins, butterflies...yep. I think it's all been covered. So, now that you lovely people are all caught up on the exciting world of Greece, I can safely say peace out, girl scouts. This is Maddie, signing off.
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