Break of a Lifetime!

Ciao Everyone!

Well all of my hard work during mid-terms has paid off! I did very well on my exams and projects, and had an amazing 10 day fall break throughout all of Europe!

I started with my friends Kelleigh and Sarah, on a trip to Greece. We had to catch a 4:30am train from Florence to Milan in order to catch our 12:20 flight with some time to spare. We arrived in Athens in the afternoon and caught the metro into the city. We found our hostel pretty easily, then we dropped our stuff off in our room and started to explore. Athens was a really cool city. One thing we noticed right from the beginning was stray dogs all over the city. We felt bad seeing these dogs all over the street, but we found out that the people who own the stores in the city feed and care for the dogs, so that was comforting.

That night we went out for dinner to a nice little restaurant. They gave us free drinks and dessert so is was definately ok with that! We walked around some more and found a Starbucks, which was awesome, because there are none in Florence. It was really nice to see something familiar from home. We went to bed relatively early that night in preparation for a busy morning.

The next day, we started our trek at the Acropolis. It was breathtaking! It was amazing to see all the ruins in real life after seeing them in so many classes and books. We got the the top and saw the Parthenon. I was speechless! I think I just stood there for like three minutes, staring at it without moving or blinking. It was one of the greatest sights I have ever seen. The Erecthion was really cool too. It is a temple that has these really cool columns that have been sculpted into humans. On our decent from the Acropolis, we walked down and saw the theater of Herod Atticus, which is actually still used today for musical and theatrical performances. We also checked out the Areopagos which is a rock formation, offering some really nice views of the city and the Acropolis.

After visiting the Acropolis, we got some awesome gyros for lunch! Only 1.90 euro! Then, we cut across the city and went to the Panathinaiko Stadium, where the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896. It was really cool! We then walked through the city gardens, and visited the ruins of the Temple of Zeus, and Hadrian's Arch. We then walked back towards the Acropolis, and went to the ancient Agora, which is an old area in the city of Athens which is mostly in ruins. There we looked at the Temple of Thission, which is very well preserved, as well as the reconstructed Stoa of Attalos.

After our ancient explorations, we went and got some dinner. I decided to try Mousaka, which is a traditional greek dish with a flaky base, and layers of meet, eggplant and cheese! It was soooo good! I had baklava for dessert which was also amazing! After dinner, we went to this really cool bar for a nightcap.

The next day, we had a 7:30am ferry from Athens to Santorini, so we got up pretty early to catch it! It was an awesome ride! It was a 9 hour trip, but it was really cool. The scenery was gorgeous and the islands we passed by were amazing! The best part was our approach into Santorini! I don't think I have ever seen any place more beautiful than Santorini in my entire life. I couldn't believe that that was where I would be spending the next two days! There is a volcano at the center surrounded by water, which is then surrounded by the island. The cliffs were beautiful, and the buildings were built into the cliffside which was also really cool! And the water was unlike any color blue I had ever seen. It was so pure and mystical.

We arrived at the port and the man who owns the villa we stayed at picked us up and drove us to Perissa, the small beach town where we were staying. Our room was amazing! We had beautiful views of the Aegean sea right out our window! We got down to the beach as fast as we could. The beach had black sand, which was really cool, and the water was crystal clear. I was up to my neck and I could still see my feet so clearly! That night we went out to eat at this restaurant on the Sea. It was really nice! We were looking for a place to go out (since I was turning 22 at midnight that night) so our waiter recommended that we got to this bar called fusion. It was really cool and it almost felt like a tiki bar! It was also nice that there was a small crowd, maybe eight of us total. The guys who own the bar found out it was going to be at midnight, so sure enough, the clock struck 12, and they were out with a blue tropical drink, with three lit sparklers sticking out the fruit (free of course). It was really cool, and we all had a blast that night! The best part was that suddenly, they started playing all 80's music, and anyone who knows me, knows how much I LOVE 80's music! We ended up going inside and dancing it up! It was a really great birthday night!

The next day, my birthday, was probably the best birthday of my life. We found out about a boat tour of Santorini for only 20 euro so we signed up for it! We started out at the port and took a really cool ship over the volcano! Yes, I climbed a volcano ON MY BIRTHDAY!!! It was sooooo cool! We climbed to the top and saw the crater and then hiked up the summit and saw some beautiful views of the island, and the sea. After our climb, we got back on the boat, and sailed over the an area near the volcano which has natural hot springs! We jumped off the boat and into the water and swam over the springs. It was really cool! A little smelly (because of the sulfur) but still awesome. After that we went to this town called Thirasia on and had lunch. The restaurant was on the side of a cliff, allowing for some more breathtaking views of the volcano, the island and the water. After that the boat dropped us off at our final destination, Ia. a city at the north end of the island. We were there in time to catch one of the greatest sunsets I have ever seen! It as an awesome day!

The ride back was interesting. We waited for the 7:05 bus to Fira (the main city on the Island) along with around 100 other people. It was a mad dash to get on the bus and people were vicious! luckily my friends and I got on unharmed, although kelleigh did have to sit on my lap so we could all be in a seat! lol! We got back to Perissa and I was so tired! We ended up going out to eat, and after dinner, I fell asleep at the restaurant! I wasn't too embarassed, though because we were the only ones there. We went back to Fusion that night and I got a coffee, and I ended up falling asleep at the bar! Apparently the coffee didn't help! Shortly after my final snooze, we went back to the hotel and decided to sleep in a little the next morning.

The next day we got up and had very relaxed day. Kelleigh and I walked along the beach, and explored around our town. We got some Gyros for lunch again ( I AM ADDICTED TO GYROS!!!) we pretty much spent the rest of the day lazing around and relaxing on our beach and drinking a couple of tequila sunrises (That one was the special of the day).

We got on our next Ferry at 5:45pm to Heraklion, the main city in Crete. We arrived a little after 8pm and took a bus to Rethymno, which is a little over an hour outside of Heraklion. We had planed on visiting the Palace of Knosses the next morning, but the bus schedule didn't work out for us, so we ended up just exploring around Rethymno which was pretty cool. Our flight to Milan was at 1:40 in the afternoon from Heraklion, and we arrived a little after 5pm.

Well that is half one of my break. I will post half two in the next few days! I hope all is well with everyone at home! Mom and Dad just got here today!!! I was soooooo excited to see them! I'm showing them all around the city tomorrow and I can't wait!

Ciao for now!!!
Brian