Fall Break, baby! Athens style!

The image of Athens that I had in my had is not at all like the modern city. That is not too say that I didn't enjoy my trip to Athens. The majority of Athens was really dirty, hectic, and crowded. We ended up staying in this somewhat sketchy hostel about a 30 minute walk from the Acropolis.

We flew into Athens from Rome on a Monday. Our flight got in around 4:00 pm, but it took about an hour to get into the city proper. By the time we got to the hostel, we were both exhausted from our power-packed tour of Rome. We ended up taking a 2 hour nap. It was dark out when we woke up. So my first afternoon in Athens consisted of a taxi ride, a nap, and dinner. On the up side, dinner was fantastic. I love authentic Greek pitas! They're cheap and tasty.

On Tuesday, we headed up to the Acropolis. I recommend that if you ever travel to Greece you buy a good map of Athens and guidebook. Mackenzie and I figured we would just wing it when we got there. It worked out, but it probably would have been a lot more enjoyable if we knew more of what was going on. Ultimately, we found a place to buy our tickets and made up to the top. The view of Athens was incredible. I can't say as much for the Acropolis itself. I was somewhat disappointed by it because all of the buildings were covered in scaffolding. You couldn't fully appreciate the magnitude of the place. Oh well, it was still kind of cool to visit such a historic place. We also made it to the new Acropolis Museum in Athens. It just opened a few weeks ago and only cost 1 Euro to get it in. It was definitely worth the cost of the ticket. There are so many interesting artifacts to explore. If you ever go to Athens, you should probably check it out.

My last day in Athens was pretty laid back. We had a late start to the day. There wasn't a whole lot else that Mackenzie and I knew about that we wanted to go see. In fact, the only thing that was on our agenda was going to see Socrates' prison cell. That stop was my idea. Being a philosophy major, it seemed absurd to be that close to it and not go. I was so excited to see it! It wasn't anything grandiose by any means, but I still think it was cool. Otherwise, the day consisted of wandering/hiking in the area surrounding the Acropolis. We found this little secluded hill top clearing with a beautiful view of the sea in one direction and the Acropolis in the other. I would love to share my photos with you, but my camera/computer decided to eat them. So here are a few of the ones I have left. Enjoy!

Fall Break, baby! (aka my "Roman Holiday")

I just got back from fall break a week ago. What an experience--volcanoes, donkeys, 36 hours with no sleep, American college football, a cold, beautiful weather! What more could you ask for?

The whole thing began with a train ride from Florence to Rome. It only took about an hour and a half on the Eurostar. Mackenzie and I's first stop was our hostel, the Pop Inn Hostel, right beside the Termini Station in Rome. That in and of itself was quite the experience. We walked into the receptionist area to the music stylings of Usher and Pitbull. There were bright red velvet couches pushed up against the brightly colored walls. When we got to our room, we found Japanese cartoons and walls that looked as if they had been colored on with highlighters--yellow on the top and green on the bottom. The bedspread was pinkish-orange. We even had a pedestal sink and mirror surrounded by cobalt blue tile. It was a very visually dynamic room to say the least. From the hostel, we headed to the Colosseum. We figured it was quintessentially Roman site. I don't remember ever taking that many photos in one outing. It was gorgeous. There were people everywhere, but most of them were pretty nice.

Later in the afternoon, we met up with a Coe graduate that our professor knows. His name was Tad. He's lived in Rome for 4 years now and owns his own tour company. He was a great host. Friday night we went out to the bar with he and his girlfriend. We also went by the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. He took us to the most amazing restaurant I have been to. Tad was kind enough to order for some pasta typical Roman pasta dishes. I had penne with a cream sauce and sausage. It was amazing! We split a nice bottle of a Roman white wine and a tiramisu. What an incredible meal!

Saturday we got up and it was freezing out compared to how the weather has been. I ended up buying a gray pashima scarf just to stay warm. We went to the Piazza della Repubblica which has an awesome fountain. We also went to a nearby a Basilica. It had the biggest organ I have ever seen. It was huge! I would love to hear it played. I bet the entire building would shake. It would be awesome! Our next stop was the Spanish Steps. We saw 2 couples who had just gotten married taking their wedding photos. How cool would it be to have your wedding photos taken around Rome? We also went by the Trevi Fountain to take more photos during the day.

After our trip to Fontana di Trevi, we headed back to our hostel to meet up with Tad. He let us go on one of his "All Around Rome" tours for free. It was awesome. We made it to all of the major sites of ancient Rome. It took about 4 hours, and I loved every minute of it. We covered all of the history of ancient Rome in about an hour. We went to the Circus Maximus, the Mouth of Truth, a Roman amphitheater, the Jewish ghetto in Rome, the Colosseum, and all sorts of other stuff. It was so much fun! I love Rome!

Saturday night we went to a Irish pub with Tad and some of his friends with the goal of watching the U of I/Wisconsin football game. I got a pleasant surprise when we got there. The Red River Rivalry game between OU and Texas was on. It was the first time I have been able to watch any sort of American football since getting to Italy. I think I had been going through football withdrawals. It was a great surprise. I only got to watch 3/4 of the game, but it was better than nothing. I ended eating Chinese food for dinner. Italian-ized Chinese food is different from American-ized chines food, but it's good. Overall, it was a pretty great day.

My last day in Rome, Sunday, was a little more relaxed. It was equally enjoyable. We spent the entirety of the morning in the Piazza Navona. It is this nice Piazza with 3 main fountains. There were all sorts of artists selling their watercolor and oil paintings. There were also some people doing caricatures in the piazza. We had a great time just wandering around looking at the numerous paintings. We ate lunch at a cute little cafe that looked out over the piazza. Pizza Margherita is fantastic. We also went to see the bridge of angels. There are several beautiful statues of angels on the bridge leading to the Castel Sant Angelo. Then we decide that since we could see St. Peter's Square from where we were, we might as well wander on over there. It is a pretty impressive space. There was some sort interesting event taking place at the Vatican with a long procession of men in purple and white robes. I never found out what was going on, but it was definitely interesting to see. Our day concluded with a trip to the same Irish pub as the night before to celebrate Tad's birthday. So we got to hang out with he and his friends once more. It was a good end to an already amazing trip to Rome.

Next stop...ATHENS!

Fall Break

Ciao!

So as of today I am headed to Rome for 3 days and then to Greece for 7 days for my fall break. I definitely can't wait to go!!! There will tons of pictures and many descriptions when I get back. Hope you're enjoying the fall weather!

Arrivederci!

Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato

I had another pretty relaxing weekend this last week. I spent most of time in Florence. On Saturday, 4 friends and I headed up to Piazzale Michelangelo. It has a great view looking out over the city. The weather was perfect--sunny and warm, but not too warm! Some of the girls took some time to sketch, while others of us just chatted and took tons of pictures.

From Piazzale Michelangelo, we hiked a short ways up to Basilica di San Miniato. It has an even better view of the city. The church itself is pretty incredible too. I, again, took tons of pictures.

Hope you enjoy them!