Our Last Day

On our last day in Athens we decided to head to the Acropolis...despite the heat and the crowds. We had an enjoyable time and it was mostly a happy experience. Finishing up the last bit of packing on the other hand was much different. In the end we were about 10 pounds too heavy, so out went the winter sweaters, old socks, etc. and we'll need new shoes when we get home too ;) Would you believe that we've lived for the past nine months with only the belongings in these four bags (minus the shoes and sweaters)?

10,650

I've taken and kept exactly 10,650 photographs this year. My project for next year will be to turn this massive number of photos into some sort of album...or maybe several albums. It should take just about a year, don't you think?

My second to last day in Greece was spent at the beach! I took the bus with my friend Sara and we enjoyed one last sunny afternoon. Tomorrow Rob and I plan to take our last trip to the Acropolis, Agora, and anything else we spot along the way.

We're planning on eating out tomorrow night, so tonight was our last meal at the school. Many of us took the opportunity to bring along our cameras and take silly photos. It almost felt like the last day of high school :)

ευχαριστώ, Ryan!

I have been thinking recently about all of the amazing experiences I've had over the past year and everything that I will miss about living abroad. There are so many things I could list, including my (almost) daily blog updates. Last summer before departing for Greece my great friend Ryan challenged me to take a photo a day and post it online. It was suppose to be a way for my friends and family in America to "see" what Athens looks like and experience the year along with us. For me, the challenge was to look at the world through my camera lens. Finding just the right angle with the best light can be time consuming and require a lot of patience, but I truly enjoyed the experience (and yes, a little wine on a balcony overlooking the Aegean does help a bit). So, thank you Ryan for giving me this idea and for reading every single entry I posted. :)  Over the past nine months I have published 199 posts. Anybody care to guess how many photographs I have taken this year? I'll post the answer tomorrow!

Pnyx

It's been a long day. Last night Rob and I met up with Frank and Vassiliki at Rembetiki Istoria for one last night of Rembetika music. Frank was Rob's modern Greek language professor last year at IU and it was really cool to be able to spend time with them in Athens. Because the bandleader Pavlos and Frank are great friends we were well cared for and didn't make it home until well after 3:30 a.m. AND because it's Sunday morning it was our last opportunity to get Allie's (a fellow ASCSA student) delicious homemade biscuits so we were up much earlier than we would have liked to be. As to not waste a perfectly good day, Rob and I headed out just after breakfast for the best view of the Acropolis....from the Pnyx.

The Pnyx is where the ancient Greeks held assemblies and is extremely important in the creation of Democracy. It is such a peaceful part of the city and the views are great. Next, we headed to the Acropolis Museum and after touring the antiquities we had a coffee in the cafe...(in keeping with our theme)...one last time. It was a fun albeit sleep deprived day!

A Series of Lasts...

As Rob and I begin to contemplate our upcoming stateside journey we have found ourselves doing a series of "last things" before we depart. On Thursday we visited the Benaki Museum and today we headed to the National Museum. It's incredible to experience these museums after having lived and traveled as we've been doing. I remember my first visit to the National Archaeological Museum two years ago....I looked at about as much as I could stand, but couldn't really make sense out of anything. Now, I can see a progression of Greek pottery and even envision the quarries that many major pieces of sculpture came from. It's quite an experience.

Also, (and this is for Cindy) we ate one of our final bougatsa this morning. Oh, so good!

 

I Never Knew...

...what a great beach bum I could be! Seriously, I am good at it. Unfortunately, I had never been given the opportunity before to explore by abilities and strengths at beach-going because I grew up in Iowa. Here's hoping this year won't be my last opportunity for beach success. :)

Road Trip

Rob and I spent Monday and Tuesday on the southwest coast of the Peloponnese in the village of Neohori. Our friend, Sara, has access to her adviser's house so we used the opportunity to catch one last glimpse of the Greece we love. The Peloponnese is mostly green and mountainous while cute little villages are scattered about the hillsides. It was glorious.

Olympic Flame

Last Thursday we had the opportunity to see the 2012 Olympic flame! The flame for the Olympics is always lit at the site of the first Olympic games, Olympia, Greece. As a side note, the ancient site of Olympia had SO much more going on in antiquity than just games, but that's another history lesson. Anyway, after being lit at Olympia the flame made its way to Athens and spent the day/night at the Acropolis.

The flame was being guarded by a few police officers in order to ensure that it wouldn't be extinguished. How does the flame remain lit, you ask? Well, a cord from the base of the cauldron led to a series of propane tanks strategically placed behind a few ancient blocks. Kinda sneaky!

Many lucky visitors were able to see and photograph the flame with the price of admission to the Acropolis. Later in the day the flame journeyed through Athens to the Panathenaic Stadium where a ceremony was held to celebrate the passing of the flame from Greek hands to English hands. I didn't get the chance to attend but was told from some of my friends who did that David Beckham and Queen Ann were in the audience. These two dignitaries escorted the flame to the British Embassy (very near to Loring Hall) for a party and an overnight before it was flown to England the next morning.

Delphi

On the final day of our travels with Cindy we ventured to Delphi and explored the site and museum for the day! It was a beautifully clear and sunny day and we all enjoyed the views.

Ancient Korinthos

Rob and I look back on our time in Ancient Corinth with fond memories and because of this it was on Cindy's must see list. Our friend, Sara, came along too, and the four of us set off for a fun two day trip. It began with a stop along the Corinth Canal, where the sunlight turned the water an amazing shade of blue.

Next we stopped at the ancient site of Corinth and got a close up look at the excavations. Cindy met the director of excavations, Dr. Guy Sanders, and got an excellent overview of the site.

Although one of my fondest memories of my first year in Greece was my daily 45 minute walk from the dig house to Acrocorinth we drove to the top to save a bit of time. I will never forget the view, it's spectacular!

The final site of the day was the Temple of Heracles. Sara has studied this temple for her dissertation and gave us a nice rundown of it's features. Because the temple is surrounded by a vineyard the location couldn't have been better!

Oia

To cap off a wonderful day of sightseeing and wine tasting, Rob drove us to the far reaches of Santorini to witness the world famous sunset from the town of Oia. It was indeed an amazing setting and here are a few images I was able to capture...

Akrotiri & Gaia Winery

After a seven year hiatus the ancient city of Akrotiri on the island of Santorini has been reopened. Luckily for us the site opened just weeks before we were planning to visit. It had been closed because part of the roofing structure meant to protect the antiquities had collapsed in 2005, killing one tourist. Needless to say the site has a brand new roof and was quite exciting to visit.

Akrotiri houses a Bronze Age city that was buried in the 17th century BC when the island's volcano erupted. Because the city was covered with lava and ash it was preserved very well and has become one of the most important archaeological sites for Bronze Age scholars. So far only about 5% of the city has been excavated and yet several thousand tons of volcanic ash have been removed from the area. Crazy!

After our tour of Akrotiri we visited a red sand beach and then went back to the main town (Chora) to visit the Museum of Prehistoric Thera. This museum (along with the National Museum in Athens) houses the frescos from Akrotiri.

We took a break from sightseeing around midday to enjoy a bit of wine tasting! Gaia Winery on Santorini is a must-do for wine lovers traveling throughout Greece. This winery is housed in a refurbished tomato factory along the Eastern side of the island and sits on an amazing black sand beach. Let's be honest, it was the best location for a tasting I've ever experienced!

To protect the vines from the winds on the island they train each vine to grow into a basket shape. Because of this the vines look like little bushes.

Santorini

After saying our goodbyes to Naxos this afternoon we re-boarded the Blue Star Delos and arrived in Santorini! We've only spent a couple of hours on the island so far but I can say that this island has the most spectacular views I've ever seen. I am unable to capture its essence with my camera, but the following is my best attempt.