Aegina Island!

This might be one of the coolest day trips I have ever been on!

Aegina is just a 45 minute hydrafoil ride away from Athens.  We all took off early Friday morning and took the metro to the last stop called Piraeus.  It is a port and I have wanted to get off here, so I am glad to say that I have :)  I love boats so it was really cool to see them all. Here is one:

Ready to gooo

We arrived around 10:30 am and started to explore the gorgeous island.

a little mini harbor

Welcome to the island of Aegina---known for their pistachios! :) I tried them, delish.

So the cars on this island are pretty small.  If you don't have a small car you have a moped.  My classmates and I found this little shop that rents mopeds for the day and it was cheap so of course it was a matter of minutes before I was speeding away.

I drove and Kellye sat on the back.  I have one really similar at school so I was lucky.  Other kids in my group weren't so lucky haha. One pair slid off and another hit the side of the car but were okay.  That is why you should go slow around the corners!!!!

Don't worry mom, I'm a safe driver ;)

We rode around for 3 hours and it was a blast.

This is the high point that had such a pretty view. I didn't want to leave!

Behind me you can see all the windy roads.

After that we drove around looking for ruins and had a great time looking at all the small cottages people live in.  You really don't need much to live a happy life, especially if this is your front yard view!

Huge church we came across!

At the end of the day, we were pretty pooped and had some dinner & then headed back via hydrafoil.

The island looked beautiful.

Farmers Market!

Yummmm.

Woke up to this colorful dream come true, I saw it from my balcony!

Fresh fruit galore!

 And it was awesome, because it was super cheap! I paid 67 euro cents for 3 huge oranges...

It comes every Monday, so I am super excited :) Nothin' like fresh produce right on your doorstep!

Acropolis of Athens

Known as one of the coolest sights to see in the WORLD.

I now know why.

Here are some more pics of the Acropolis.

Ready for the trek :)

Rachel, Kellye & I

Unreal

i love the greek writing

The Parthenon is always under some construction

Jan 9th

Low of the Day:

I dropped my nice, fairly new digital camera on top of the Acropolis. And the lens wont open and shut. It might be fixable but I don't think I can find a place around here.

Its funny that my friend caught the exact moment when I dropped it haha. Our faces are priceless. I also stepped in dog poo from all the stray dogs around, but that didn't seem as bad when i broke my camera!

High of the Day:

My new slippers.  The lady told me they are made in a small village 3 hours outside Athens called Nafplion. They are super comfy. :)

Epiphany & Lycabettus

January 6th is the Epiphany in Greece, Orthodox belief says that it was the day of the baptism of Jesus, and that this is where the day's association with water arises. The modern observance at Piraeus, the ancient port of Athens, takes the form of a priest hurling a large crucifix into the waters. Young men brave the cold and compete to retrieve it.  After the diving, local fishermen bring their boats to be blessed by the priest. These days, the cross is generally attached to a nice, safe long chain, just in case that year's crop of divers is something less than desired. 


We did not get to witness the cross search but it sounded really interesting!
So went for my first adventure in the downtown area! Took the metro, which was really neat, to Syntagma Square to look around. Kellye, Jess and Hanna came along.

That is the Parliament building in the distance and they have the changing of the guard there.

At the top was this man, who looked like Uncle Sam, standing in a very interesting position without moving at all!

When we got closer we couldn't read the words in greek, but heard people saying he was holding cards about there not being enough Jesus in Athens.

Syntagma was pretty.

Next stop: Exploring.

Dogs here are run around loose and are not owned by owners but by the government.

It is soooo strange but now i have gotten use to them. They stand so close to traffic!

You will see many pictures of dogs on here haha. Oh and they also cross with the crosswalk...

National Gardens:

After the Gardens, an old man said we looked lost and of course, we were. I showed him my little book of tips and maps and asked him what we should do next.  He sat down with us and pondered for a good 5 minutes in silence.  He told us he wanted to take us and show us around himself but he had to go eat food due to his diabetes.  He said he enjoyed standing with us because it reminded him of his daughters that live in Denmark and he misses them. It was so cute but it made me sad :(

Luckily, his idea of a good adventure might be one of my favorites this trip. Lycabettus Hill.....But first we needed some grub.

Next stop: Expresse Cafe

I ordered a greek coffee and they brought it to me in a shot glass mug haha. But i wasn't too sad, because it was really gross. Greek coffee tastes like chalky burnt dirt :/ Hey I tried to be adventurous!

Next stop: BREAD

Little did we know we would need the carbs for our hike...

Top of Lycabettus Hill!!!

Just another stray at the tip top! How did he get up here :)

And that was a long blog, but it was a long day!

Definitely, memorable.