And it begins.
Posted by Ashley | | Posted On Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 12:21 PM
Day .25 (cannot really call it a full "Day 1" since we didn't arrive until almost 5pm) was a success.
The flights all went smoothly with no issues at all, which is always a pleasant surprise. Basically, 2 movies, 3 episodes of The Big Bang Theory, and 2 movie-soundtracks later I found myself in Greece. One of our professors (James) met us at the airport in Athens, where we were informed that all public transportation workers were currently on strike...meaning that we would have been stuck, if not for Costa. He is our fabulous contact/travel agent in Athens, whose son-in-law happens to be a cab-driver. The poor guy was shuttling students from the airport almost all day long, but hey...he made a good chunk of change and was a nice guy to boot! I had the opportunity to sit in the passenger seat upfront and we had a really good conversation. I am consciously trying to make a better effort to truly experience each new city we visit by engaging in real conversations with some of the locals. We talked about international and local schooling, traveling in different seasons, his hometown/village, where to find the best baklava, etc. It was all really fascinating and I hope I even remember a part of it when I wake up in the morning. I am far too tired to write it out now...but for me, it was more the feeling of interaction that was most important. Even if I don't remember a word we said, I will remember that feeling of pride that accompanied coming out of my shell and trying to more fully participate with my circumstances.
Once at the hotel, we dropped our stuff off and had a quick bite to eat. Then the professors took us on an evening stroll to keep us from falling asleep too early and getting slammed with jet lag in the morning. We were able to hit some pretty awesome sites right off the bat: Parliament Building, Former Olympian Village, Olympic Stadium, etc.
As a side note, I don't know if all Grecian elevators are the same, but the ones in our hotel are the scariest, most claustrophobia-inducing pieces of machinery I have ever seen. You can maybe cram three or four people in (and I mean CRAM) and there are these double-metal doors and...basically, I have decided to take the stairs from now on. At least I will be getting in some extra exercise to work off all the baklava I am planning on trying in the near future!
And now...now I am allowed to sleep and that is exactly what I plan on doing.
The flights all went smoothly with no issues at all, which is always a pleasant surprise. Basically, 2 movies, 3 episodes of The Big Bang Theory, and 2 movie-soundtracks later I found myself in Greece. One of our professors (James) met us at the airport in Athens, where we were informed that all public transportation workers were currently on strike...meaning that we would have been stuck, if not for Costa. He is our fabulous contact/travel agent in Athens, whose son-in-law happens to be a cab-driver. The poor guy was shuttling students from the airport almost all day long, but hey...he made a good chunk of change and was a nice guy to boot! I had the opportunity to sit in the passenger seat upfront and we had a really good conversation. I am consciously trying to make a better effort to truly experience each new city we visit by engaging in real conversations with some of the locals. We talked about international and local schooling, traveling in different seasons, his hometown/village, where to find the best baklava, etc. It was all really fascinating and I hope I even remember a part of it when I wake up in the morning. I am far too tired to write it out now...but for me, it was more the feeling of interaction that was most important. Even if I don't remember a word we said, I will remember that feeling of pride that accompanied coming out of my shell and trying to more fully participate with my circumstances.
Once at the hotel, we dropped our stuff off and had a quick bite to eat. Then the professors took us on an evening stroll to keep us from falling asleep too early and getting slammed with jet lag in the morning. We were able to hit some pretty awesome sites right off the bat: Parliament Building, Former Olympian Village, Olympic Stadium, etc.
As a side note, I don't know if all Grecian elevators are the same, but the ones in our hotel are the scariest, most claustrophobia-inducing pieces of machinery I have ever seen. You can maybe cram three or four people in (and I mean CRAM) and there are these double-metal doors and...basically, I have decided to take the stairs from now on. At least I will be getting in some extra exercise to work off all the baklava I am planning on trying in the near future!
And now...now I am allowed to sleep and that is exactly what I plan on doing.
Posts
Yea for Costa! Really, what on earth would you have done? Love your panorama shots. Good call getting that app. I don't think you'll really miss having your good camera there. It'd be so much to lug around, I think it would detract from the experience. So far all your photos look great to me. :)