Free Day #2 in Athens (9-28-08)

The School of Athens and me and Abbe

The Olympic Pool

We enjoyed the beach so much that we wanted to go again today. The only problem was the weather. It ended up being fine. We went to see the School of Athens where Socrates taught Plato who taught Aristotle who taught Alexander the Great. We also went to the Library of Athens. I wanted to go in both of these so bad, but it is not permitted. When we left this area, we went to the 2004 Olympic Stadium. We saw the pool that Michael Phelps swam in! This area believe it of not is pretty much abandoned. Athens spent so much money to build all these stadiums, but only like 1/7 of the amount of people they expected came. They cannot afford to keep them up and pay off their debt. This means there are brand new stadiums all over Athens with no purpose but to sit. The one we went to was probably more kept up than normal, because Madonna had a concert there the night before.

Free Day #1 in Athens (9-27-08)

Before leaving Greece, we were given 2 free days to see everything else we had not gotten to see yet. The first day, Abbe, Sam, Tori, Bailey, and I decided to hit the beach. We figured it was our last chance to get a tan this year. Well a tan was not all I got. We had to take a bus from our hotel to the beach. There was just one problem. We had no idea how to pay. There was supposed to be a place beside the stop where we could buy tickets, but we never found it. We hopped on about 4 different buses without paying for them. I don't even want to think what would happen if we had gotten caught. On the bus we passed a lot of beaches. We were not sure which one to get off at, but lucky for us. There was a woman in front of us who had on a cover-up, flip flops, and a big bag. Jokingly I said, "Hey, let's follow her!" I spoke too soon. Next thing we knew, she was screaming at the man beside her. It was all Greek to me. Then she started hitting him and his bag. Instead of hitting her back, he just walked to the back of the bus to avoid the situation. None of us knew what was going on. I was mildly freaking out, thinking to myself, "We are in close coriders on a moving vehicle. What if she pulls out a gun?!" What happened next, I couldn't believe. She started walking towards me! My heart started racing. Then I realized, "Alex, you're stupid. You're standing by the door. Her stop is coming up." Well that's a joke. Apparently the 3 foot space in between her and I was not enough for her to fit through. She starts screaming at me, and then... She slapped my bare arm!!! The same anger raged in me that I would get years ago when Warren would hit me. I wanted to hit her back so bad. I had to use a great deal of self-control. What was mainly stopping me was that I sure was scared what would happen if I did hit her back. Lucky for us, her stop really was the next one. When we got off a few stops later, I had a red hand print on my arm. Go figure. When we finally got to the beach, we had a nice relaxing day. I needed it after that adventurous bus ride.

Delphi (9-26-08)

The navel of the universe.

The ancient olympic track.

Today we went to Delphi which is the center of the ancient world, according to Zeus. Zeus wanted to know where the center of the world was so he let out two birds. Where they met must have been the center. He called it the navel of the universe, or Delphi. There is a rock here that is supposed to represent the navel. Apparently outis were more common then, because that is what this rock looks like. We climbed a mountain to see the ancient city. We got to see the Sanctuary of Apollo, the Treasury of the Athenians, and an ancient track probably used in the ancient Olympics. We went to an Archaeological Museum.



For lunch we had a cheese-egg pastry for an appetiser, chicken kabobs, rice, salad, and baklava. It was amazing!

Athens (9-23-08)

I did not realize I skipped this one until I just now so that's why these are out of order.

This morning we walked up to the Acropolis. We got to see the Parthenon! We also saw this olive tree that was "planted by Athena." Whatever. There was a competition between Athena and Poseidon to find out what the people were going to name their city. Athena planted an olive tree and Poseidon gave them water. The people voted. There was one more woman than men. The vote was biased, and Athena won. The women never got to vote again. Anyways, this is why Athens is called Athens.

When we left, we went to Mars Hill. This is where Paul spoke to the Athenians in Acts 17. Dr. Johnson read this passage while we were up there. It has a whole other meaning to me now.

Corinth, Mycenae, and Epidaurus (9-25-08)

The Bema. Paul was tried right here in front of it.

The Epidaurus Theatre

This morning on our way to Corinth, we stopped to see the Corinthian Canal. It was sooo deep.

I really expected more in Corinth, but all we saw was ruins. These were really neat ruins, because Paul walked here. He came to this market. We stood in front of the Bema. This was the seat of Gallio who and where Paul was brought to be tried in Acts 18. How cool is that! I stood where I know for sure Paul stood!

In Mycenae we visited the prehistoric citadel fortified by walls supposedly built by Cyclopes. This is where we saw the famous Lioness Gate. We saw more ruins here. The best part about this one is that we had the opportunity to hike up a huge hill. Yes! In real life though, it was a very beautiful view.

Epidaurus was my all time favorite part. Here we went to the best-preserved ancient theatre in all of Greece. It is famous for it's acoustics. It can hold 12,000 people. We sat on the top row, and we could hear our tour guide drop coins down in the bottom. Casey, Lauren, Elise, and Haylee Wheeler sang "It is Well." The acoustics were amazing. It was so beautiful. To make it better, they all have amazing voices. They are all a part or have been a part of Freed's chorus group. Later we all went down and sang "The Greatest Commands." It was the most beautiful singing I have ever heard. I know we touched people, because I could read it all over a couple's faces that were watching us. A random lady even videoed us a little bit.

Sometime during the day, we had an amazing lunch. We had a lasagna souffle for an appetizer, salad, lamb and potatoes for a main course, and ice cream for dessert. Mmm...

Grecian Cruise (9-24-08)

Today was my favorite day in Greece. We spent basically the whole day on a boat while we traveled to three different islands: Poros, Hydra, and Aegina respectively. This is how I viewed Greece before I got here. I thought it would all be like Greece in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I sure was wrong. These islands were so cute with their white and blue buildings and all the donkeys just waiting to carry you up the hill. Going to the islands was not the best part, though. The best part was the cruise around. For starters, we got a meal! And we got to eat first. That was awesome, because the people in Greece eat a late lunch. When I say late lunch, I mean that our tour guide would look at us like we were crazy when we asked, "How much longer 'til lunch? It's past 1:00!" That is still not the best part. Here it is. Are you ready for this?... We learned how to Greek dance! It was so much fun! After we were taught how, a man and two women came out and did a whole show for us. They were so good. I loved it!

First Day in Greece (9-22-08)

If I could describe this morning in one word, it would be "death." We had to wake up so early to leave Verviers by 5 so that we could catch the plane at 9. When we were walking along the train station platform, I was really scared I was going to fall in, because I am pretty positive I was falling asleep while I was walking. In the long run, this morning of death was worth it.
When we had arrived in Athens and settled into our hotel, Tori, Bailey, Abbe, and I walked around. We stopped to get a pita, or as the Greeks call them, gyros, and took them to the Temple of Zeus to have a pic-nic.

Weekend in Switzerland

Sorry that these pictures are sideways.



The group... from bottom to top: Domenik, another guide, me, Bailey, Alisha, Joseph, another guide. I don't know where Megan is.


September 19-21, 2008





This weekend was originally supposed to be booked full of classes. Part of what I love about this trip is how classes really don't matter too much. As you may have guessed, classes were cancelled! Bailey, Megan, Alisha, Joseph, and I took this opportunity to go to Interlaken, Switzerland. Hands down, this has been my favorite trip. Why you ask? Because we went paragliding! This is huge, not because of how cool that is, but because I am terrified of heights and falling. This really wasn't scary at all though. We just ran about four paces down a steep hill (Oh, and I hate running down hills.) and the wind took us. Luckily, I chose the perfect guide. He was cute, young, and had an awesome personality. His name is Domenik. He having a good personality was the best part, because it's very hard to keep a conversation while gliding with a complete stranger for 20 minutes. He even let me drive for a while. It was so cool! I really want to go skydiving now. Well anyways, after gliding over the beautiful scenery for a while, it was time to land. Landing was the best part! To land, Domenik pulled one side of the parachute really hard so we spun really fast. We were basically falling with extreme Gforce. I started getting a headache, but I was not going to be a whimp and make him stop. He kept telling me when we got off that I am a crazy girl. Apparently no one lets him spin so much. I loved it!