ATHENS – If I had to pick a favorite spot, it most likely was Athens, partly because I didn’t know what to expect. Overall, Athens had much fewer tourists than the cities of Italy, especially fewer non-national (non-Greek) tourists. While seeing the Parthenon and reliving much of ancient antiquity was great, my favorite day was Monday the 15th. We started off touring a park near our hostel, and it was a very nice, relaxing stroll with fountains, beautiful greenery, and even a little zoo! But the highlight of the day was when Joey and I went to Filopappos Hill, a park area south of the Parthenon.
Because Monday was a national Greek holiday, it seemed as though all of Athens descended upon that hill! We first came across a band playing traditional Greek music to a huge mass of people. In the center, about thirty were doing a traditional Greek dance!
After a few minutes we continued up to the top of the hill, where were found ourselves surrounded by kites as far as the eye could see. It was an absolutely beautiful site. Overlooking Athens with a bright blue sky and warm sun, Athenians were almost competing (that must be why they founded the Olympics – the competitive spirit is in their blood!) to see how far up they could get their kites. After spending quite a while enjoying the view, we headed back down the hill where we came across a group of at least 40 men dancing, singing, and clapping to the beat of a drum. I dearly wanted to jump in.
Honestly, my description cannot do these fantastic, fun, and beautiful moments justice – please check out the videos on facebook!
ROME – Sadly, I didn’t take enough opportunities to say “When in Rome” enough, but no worries: I threw a coin over my shoulder at the Trevi Fountain, which ensures one’s return to Rome.
Trevi fountain was my favorite moment in Rome. After first doing the “tourist photo shoot,” the boys and I broke apart for a little over an hour. I decided to return to the fountain, but only after first grabbing a Coke and two slices of pizza at an off-the-beaten-track shop. It was all Italians in there, and I was overjoyed when I heard a few teenagers mistake me for French. Epique!
Upon my return to Trevi, I found a corner to sit in that was a bit secluded, and the sound of the water drowned out all the commotion of the tourists. (I recognize that I was also a tourist, but I pretended not to be!)The sun came out and I even closed my eyes for a few moments. To be sure, I had a lovely “Roman Holiday!”
FLORENCE – Florence was quite the delight. Not only is it an extremely pleasant, wonderfully Renaissance-intense city, but I was met by one of my best friends, Nic Perfetti, and his friend (and I’m happy to say my new friend) Stephani Tindall. Nic and I have been friends since we met at IU my senior year of high school, and he’s studying in Bologna, Italy, this semester.
We covered a lot of ground that day, and we saw the classic Renaissance pieces: The Birth of Venus, Michelangelo’s David, and the Venus of Urbino. But overall, my favorite memories were enjoying two great meals with my “Italian” hosts. And they were certainly great hosts, putting up with my Italian-language deficiencies and my inability to read the menu.
But the highlight of the day was dinner! Recommended by a friend of Stephani who lived in Florence, the restaurant we went to with great, dinner, wine, company, music, and dessert (we split chocolate cake, a fruit tart, and cheesecake) were all amazing.
PISA – My guidebook says that “Pisa is a charming city, but it won’t captivate you for long.” Well, I find that wrong. In fact, I have found that I tend to enjoy the lesser-recommended locales during my travels!
Upon our arrival in Pisa, we certainly made a beeline for the tower, where did the classic “Look, I’m holding up the tower!” photos, and I mixed in a “Pizza in Pisa” shot for good measure.
But afterwards, we had at least 5 hours before we needed to head to the airport for our flight. So we enjoyed walking around – although by this point my backpack was very heavy – enjoying cappuccinos, gelato, and even some Indian fare. At one point, we hopped up on a ledge overlooking the Arno river. With the sun coming out of the clouds and shining down upon the fast-moving river in this very Tuscan city, it was the perfect conclusion to the day.
I took the opportunity to record the moment in my recently-purchased leather journal I bought the day before in Florence (I know, I know, I’m vegetarian – but I was in Florence!)
Traveling back to Rouen certainly took a lot out of me. And silly me, I forgot that the ticket booth at Gare St. Lazare wouldn’t be open when we arrived for our train – the last departing of the day – at 11:50 PM. And since US-based credit cards don’t work on the automatic ticket dispensers, I was in a bind. Luckily, however, my American French and pleading eyes convinced the conductor I could ride back for free, saving about $15! Soon after we headed out to the station, I fell asleep, my head like a heavy weight on my backpack. Later I learned that a 3 year old boy across the aisle looked at me and asked his mom (In French): “Is she American?” I don’t know if it was my massive backpack or exasperated expression, but somehow my month in France and week of Europe-trotting hasn’t fooled anyone. O well!
Now time to get started on homework! Hope you enjoyed la histoire!
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Kristy,
ReplyDeleteJust read your blog for the last couple of weeks, WOW. It is liking reading a travel handbook, a history book and a "bucket list", all at once.
Happy that you are having a great time in your travels, but remember we want your smiling face back home. Hope you can get your camera problem worked out. Love, Aunt Nelma