The Greek Odyssey: part six.

Our last day in Greece! The trip had been fun, but we were ready to stop moving and start settling down. We got up early to visit the Acropolis, the Citadel of Athens.


The Acropolis from below.
There are a few different structures on the Acropolis, including the Erechtheum, and the most awesome one, the Parthenon. The Parthenon is a beautiful temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, the namesake and protector of ancient Athens. So cool.


The Erechtheum, dedicated to Athena and Poseidon.

These five figures are the Caryatids. Somewhat upsetting is the fact that the sixth "sister" is missing - and is in a British museum. It is said that the remaining five sisters mourn the loss of the sixth every night.

The Parthenon. :]

It had drizzled a little that morning, but we were rewarded with a full rainbow. I wish I could have captured both halves!
After lunch, we walked a bajillion miles to the other side of town to visit the National Archaeological Museum – a lovely and classy establishment in an otherwise seedy area. We didn’t spend much time there, though, and the real story is what happened after we left. Our professor was leading us back to the hotel so that we could enjoy some free time – which had been elusive all trip – before dinner. He then proceeded to get us all lost. Very lost. So we all lamented our tragic circumstances as we watched our free time slip away from us as we wove through some rather questionable parts of town. We did, in fact, pass by a myriad of police cars and cops dressed in their riot gear, brandishing shields and leading vicious dogs. By the end of it all, we were sweaty, dirty, tired, and pretty pissed off. That’s when we decided we’d probably be okay not setting foot in Athens again for a long time.

Things improved that night, however. We had fun dressing up for a group dinner. It was good times spent with good people, which is always great.


Jackie, Alyssa and me.

What?

With our bus driver and his wife!

Zoe, Marin, Claire and me.

Yikes. ;]
Over dinner, we did the reminiscing you would expect after an experience such as this one. Let me preface this by saying the Greek Odyssey was a lot of ups and downs – so much traveling, so much time together, and whatnot – and we sometimes wondered whether we were in Greece or in a hellhole. We realized that although the trip was difficult to endure at times, we did not regret going. We did things some people will never even have the chance to think about dong. More significant to current circumstances, though, we met wonderful people on whom we could lean on during our experience abroad in Florence. Turns out hellholes can really aid in the bonding process.


Just a little something we found on the way to the restaurant, apparently created by a local homeless man named Tom. He actually has pop culture art like this all up and down this street. Pretty clever. :]

The Greek Odyssey: part five.

We had spent the night prior in modern Delphi, but this morning it was time to get old school! Off to ancient Delphi!

Quick background: Delphi is the site of the ancient Oracle. The Oracle was sort of like a fortuneteller, except a person goes there to get advice on things. A priestess gives an answer, but the answer is more of a riddle than a concrete instruction. And, yeah. Told you that’d be quick.

The point is this: Delphi is sacred ground, and, thus, it was constructed by its ancient… constructors to convey this fact. That manifested in the creation of a very large mountain city, very high up, giving it almost an ethereal feel. It was no picnic getting up this mountainside – it was actually more of a hike than a walk up the hill – but the amazing views of the valley below made it worth it. Afterward, we visited the Delphi Archaeological Museum, one of the few establishments that allowed photos of its artifacts.





This is a track for the Delphi Games. :]

Fun fact: you wouldn't associate Greece with the woodlands, but the pine tree is one of the most prominent types there.

A shot of the Theatre of Dionysus from above. Pretty cool.


Details of a frieze.

A teeny pediment.




And finally we were off to our last destination of the Greek Odyssey… Athens. Oh, Athens. Did you know forty percent of Greece lives there? It’s a massive city inhabited by a lot of people. The entire country of Greece is struggling economically, as we all know, but Athens has seen the brunt of that, in my opinion. It’s dirty, peppered with assorted and abandoned building projects, covered in graffiti… And there’s no money to change that, really. Sad.

That’s not to say that Athens is all bad. By no means! We visited the Acropolis museum which was absolutely beautiful. It was filled with countless Athenian artifacts, but the best part was the manner in which the museum was constructed – directly over the ruins of ancient Athens! The floor is transparent which allows museum patrons to literally float above the city. Quite amazing. What’s kind of sad about the museum, or really just sad in general, is that a lot of important things are missing. When the Turkish occupied Greece, they aimed to destroy much of the culture; part of that resulted in them willingly handing over works of art and architecture to the British, who now house them in their own museums. Things like portions of the frieze that once bordered the Parthenon are missing from the Acropolis museum, but the Greeks have voiced their opinions on the matter by replacing the missing pieces with simple concrete reproductions as well as leaving open spaces for the artifacts that they hope to get back one day.

Afterward, we climbed up a massive slab of slippery stone called the Areopagus Hill situated under the Acropolis. The rock overlooks the Agora (back in the day it was basically the marketplace; now it offers countless restaurants) and the surrounding city. WOW! Athens is gigantic. It was amazing to be up there right before sunset. Athens, like any other place, looks perfect from far away.


The view of the Acropolis from the Areopagus Hill.

Creepy stalker photo of a couple I don't know. Just look at how gorgeous the colors were.

The view of Athens from the hill.

The Greek Odyssey: part four.

After a long bus ride, we found ourselves in the tiny town of Andritsaina, the entirety of which is one sprawling village road. We had to call in advance to let a restaurant know that thirty of us were coming so that they could accomodate us, considering the fact that the year prior, they had run out of food. ;] We had a fantastic meal prepared for us by the most adorable of staffs and it was, quite simply, delicious.

Just some of the group chowing down.

Alyssa and Claire!

Delicious toasted bread with olive oil and tzatziki sauce. So good.

Rice-stuffed tomatoes.

Chicken souvlaki - a kebab = with lime. And fries. Even though practically all meals I ate in Greece included chicken souvlaki and fries, this one was my favorite.

Some sort of citrus cake. Strange texture. But. Still good.

Afterwards, we bussed to Bassae, the site of an ancient temple dedicated to Apollo that is currently under restoration. There, we met with the civil engineer in charge of that process. The temple is absolutely gorgeous - grand, even. We discussed how usually people try to avoid renovating sites like this because some believe it is an infringement upon the structure's integrity; our professor explained that in this case, restoration was necessary, lest it be lost altogether. I say, carry on.

The road to Bassae got a little congested. By a flock of sheep. :P

Our Greek bus driver laughed at our excitement, considering sheep are nothing special there. ;]

We were also joined by a goat or two.

Anyway, the whole reason this visit was so amazing was because we were actually able to go inside the temple, which obviously is not allowed for just any tourist. Prior to visiting the site, we had been told we would be doing some archeological work, which left us confused. We found out, however, that working turned out to be the opportunity to leave a small, barely detectable, but nonetheless present, mark on the temple forever. We chiseled. We drilled. We laughed. We cried. We left happy.

The site is tented while the temple is being restored.

What I was able to shoot of the temple itself.

Marin drilling a hole in a cement replica of a missing limestone piece of the temple.

Me, having a go.

Me chiseling cement.

Katya totally in her element.

Suze. Intense.

More chiselin'.

People helped plaster.

Marin and I made friends with one of the five workers there named Kostos.

After our "hard work," we reentered the tent...

Then we watched as they placed the perfect replica in its place!

The next day, we were off to Olympia - you know, that place where the ancient Greek games were held? No big deal or anything. But I'll be honest, while its history is awesome and visiting it was an experience for which I am grateful, Olympia is sadly in ruins. Like everything else we'd been looking at. Things sort of blend together. But I enjoyed it. Here's some photos.

Remains of a temple.

The track!

We then traveled to Delphi. Ohhh, Delphi. Here's where things get interesting. A four hour bus ride plus general travel-induced malaise often equals not so great moods. Or at least that's what you think, until you go on a trip like this where any moment's respite is something to be treasured. We got on the bus and just slept the entire way. We finally arrived in Delphi and had the remainder of the night free. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

After dinner in the most Americanized restaurant we could have possibly selected, we went clubbing. Or perhaps we went "clubbing," because I am not sure you can omit those quotation marks unless the majority of the club's patrons are over sixteen years old, which was not the case at Down Town. Yes, a little basement club called Down Town. Two words. It was hilarious to say the least. First of all, I'd never been to a club, so I guess this situation was only appropriate; perhaps it was my training club. Secondly, it's just a little weird to be surrounded by little kids who are drinking and dancing ("dancing"). Thirdly, we commandeered the DJs headquarters and requested ("requested" - we literally just took over his station) only music we liked so as to allow us to GET OUR DANCE ON! SATURDAY NIGHT IN DELPHI! DOWN TOWN!

The next day, commemorating our times.

We then proceeded to spend the night in the most adorable little hotel. Check it!

Way too pretty.