Oracles, Exams, Gelato, and Small Airports

Roma, Roma! Forum views

Hanging out on a cliff

Last weekend, right before midterms, CYA held a class field trip to Delphi where we got to explore ruins and inquire about the future. Before making our way over to the small village, we stopped at the Ossios Loukas Monastery which I have actually visited once before with the Athens Hiking Group. The beautiful valley surrounding the monastery is even more beautiful in the Greek sun (last time the weather wasn't as nice). This monastery houses a rare relic, the entire body of St. Luke which is on display for visitors to see. After breaking for lunch, we continued on to the lower archaeological site of Delphi were some ruins remain, but aren't the best preserved. After arriving to the hotel and having the rest of the day free, some friends and I hiked around and found some pretty awesome views of the Delphic valley. Dinner and a movie were followed by a visit to the one night club open in town where a variety of music genres were played (like the happy birthday song; three times).
 

Delphi

The next morning we had breakfast in the hotel before driving up to the upper Delphic archaeological site and museum. Here we walked the path that visitors seeking information would walk after being cleansed in the stream to seek our own fates. Partway to the top, we found the naval of the world! The popularity and mythological influences of Delphi in ancient times led to the title of the center of the world, and Apollo's naval was erect. We continued on to the temple were the oracle would sit nine times a year and then up to the theater were you could see the entire site. A short break followed by visiting the museum where it held many of the surviving treasures of Delphi such as a sphinx, the naval cover, and lots of other statues. We left the site and stopped for lunch in the cutest skiing town before heading back to Athens.

Jamie and I practicing ancient wrestling moves

The rest of the week was consumed by midterms and classes, all of which I managed to survive. One cool thing that we have been doing in my ancient sports class is reenactments of the ancient sports, hands on. We learned and practiced moves from ancient wrestling, boxing, and pankration (basically MMA all out brawling) with our classmates and punching bags. It has been a total blast!

The Colosseum

This past weekend I got to finally go on the trip I have had booked since the beginning of the semester, Rome! Leaving late Thursday evening, Katie, Noa, Olivia, and I heaed for the Athens airport to fly into Ciampino. Arriving around 11pm, we made our way to the hostel in the city and went to bed pretty much immediately. The next morning, we woke up bright and early and headed straight for the Colosseum. With our CYA issued ICOMOS cards, we skipped the line and got in for free. It was the perfect time to go as it wasn't super busy yet, and we had lots of time to walk around and marvel at the oval shaped death playground. After exiting, we ran right into the Arch of Constantine followed by the Palatine foothills and the Forum which we explored for a few hours then walked along the Tiber river. 

Gelato ft. Katie

THE PANTHEON

Creepin' in the Forum

Lunch involving pizza was next, where we met Katie's friend Joe who is studying in Rome. For the rest of the day he toured us around the city showing us the Best Gelato Place in Rome (Frigidarium), the Trevi fountain, the Pantheon, Spanish steps, Piazzo di Popolo, Caravaggio church, and finally we had dinner in a lively neighborhood at Da Otello where we were too Greek and stayed until they closed (we were there for hours, as the Greeks do). Also, we witnessed the aftermath of a pick pocketing incident on the bus which was very alarming! 

Trevi fountain with Noa, Olivia, and Katie

Saturday we got up early again before hopping on the metro that would take us to the Vatican where we were distressed as the line looked to be about 3 hours long, paid tour guides were yapping at us about paying for a tour to skip the line, and trying to decide what to do. We ended up deciding to try to get in again with our ICOMOS cards, and the security guard waived us past the line and let us in early. We then rushed through to the Sistine Chapel to see it before it got too crowded, which was amazing. After seeing the marvelous works Michelangelo, we went back through the entire Vatican again, but slower to appreciate the rest of the museum. I saw so many Greek and Roman sculptures, including about 7 different ones Artemis in the round. One of my favorite galleries was the contemporary art gallery which contained many pieces from the mid 20th century and on including what I like to call "pop-art Jesus." After about 3 hours inside the Vatican, we switched over to St. Peter's Cathedral, which had a line too line that we could not skip, so we opted to just look at it.

Sneaky photo inside the Sistine Chapel

Pop Art Jesus

We then walked over to the Jewish quarter and saw the Great Mosque and had lunch at a restaurant near there. After filling up, we walked along the Tiber and stopped by a few other churches on the way back to the hostel, including the Cornaro Chapel which contains the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Bernini. After gathering together at the hostel, we met again with Joe for dinner in another restaurant where we clearly were overstaying our welcome, as the servers seemed to rush everything. At this point it started raining, and we made our way back to the hostel, saying goodbye to Joe, to get our things and head to the airport.

Posing w the Vestal Virgins

Now here's the thing, we originally were supposed to have 3 days in Rome and leave Sunday night, but Ryanair being Ryanair switched our return flight to Sunday morning about a week before we left, so we decided it wasn't worth paying to stay in the hostel for a few hours and cancelled that night when we first arrived in Rome.  We took a cab to the airport around midnight, because no buses were running until 4 am and our flight was taking off at 6:30. The kind taxi driver talked and told us stories the whole way, except he spoke absolutely no English, so he rambled on to us in Italian. When we arrived at the airport, we came to find that it was closed, doors locked. We snuck in to arrivals and sat in there for about an hour before that closed to, so we spent the rest of the night (until 4 am) laying on the ground outside waiting. I was frustrated, cold, tired, and annoyed by the situation, but it really shed some light on what it is like to be without a home, and I am very grateful and humbled by all that I have access to in my life that I take for granted every day. 

Finally I arrived back in Athens, and I have never been so happy to see my bed before (springs poking my back and all) and I then proceeded to sleep allll of Sunday which was much needed. We had one day of classes for the week today, and now I am packing and getting ready for our final field trip to northern Greece tomorrow where we will spend 5 days learning about the history and culture of Thessaloniki and the surrounding areas!

Rhodes, the Pelopponese, and my favorite place in Greece

Hey, Hi, Hello! I know it's been awhile, so I will preface this post with a warning: this is going to be long. If you manage to make it through, congrats! I will try to keep it as brief and descriptive as possible.

RHODOS

First things first, March is a crazy busy month for me. We have field trips every week (except one weekend, but I'll be traveling then on my own) and midterms coming up! It has already gone by so fast and all I can think is how is the month already halfway over?? But before we continue, I must backtrack to the end of February where I left off.

Jamie and I enjoying the view of the Acropolis

The weekend after I visited London was a long weekend for Greek students, as Carnival came to and end and Clean Monday began Lent. On the 27th of February, street fairs and festivities take place near Philopappos Hill where kites are flown and people relax. It was a gloomy day weather wise, but spirits were at their height. The rest of the week continued as usual, though we had to make up a class day on Friday, so no three day weekend for me.

Though we had class on Friday and a short weekend, that didn't stop me from traveling! Noa, Jamie, and I hopped off the plane at RHO to spend the weekend on the beaches of Rhodes. We stayed in a cute air bnb right on the beach in Filaraki and were easily able to make it down to the city of Rhodes by bus. Walking along the shore and into old town was absolutely beautiful, including weather and architecture. The city fortifications were still heavily involved in the integrity of the modern city and it was clear that the locals appreciated their home. However, the place was a ghost town. There were hardly any stores, shops, or restaurants open during the day, and pretty much nothing at night. This made for an inconvenience of touristy activities, but allowed us to spend more time exploring.

My new man

Aphrodite

We visited the museum of Rhodes which is located inside the Medieval Knight's hospital which held some of the most amazing artifacts from prehistory to medieval periods that I've ever seen. The preservation was absolutely incredible, and the variability in the different pieces showed how diverse Rhodes was and the importance of port cities in antiquity and beyond. Later we went back to Filaraki to find no restaurants open so we had a nice little picnic with groceries yay!! Sunday morning I woke up to find I had a horrible allergic reaction and my lip and left eye were completely swollen, and it being Sunday no where in Filaraki was open so we had to catch a bus to Rhodes to find the one pharmacy open. It all turned out okay and after spending some time walking around the beach and city, we headed to the airport to go home to Athens. At the airport we met Lily the airport cat, who was born in the airport and is an official resident. She jumped right onto my lap for cuddles, and the strangest part is she looks just like my cat Abygale from home! It was a sweet end to a packed weekend.

Lily cuddles

After returning from Rhodes, we had one day of classes before we

The Lion Gate

Treasury of Atreus

were off on another adventure! The first field trip of the semester to the Peloponnese started bright and early Tuesday morning where we split into buses and headed for the Peloponnese at 8 am. Our first stop was at the man-made canal that separates mainland Greece from the Peloponnese and it was incredibly deep. We packed up again and then stopped in Mycenae. This my friends, was one incredible ancient city. We started off the tour by seeing (and going inside) the Treasury of Atreus (!!!!) and I literally squealed when I saw it. Yet another thing I had learned about in my art history class that I was able to see in person. This was followed by visiting some more ancient graves before entering the citadel through THE Lion Gate (more squealing). We climbed to the top while stopping at important sites like where the mask of Agamemnon was found. After a picnic lunch with all of the students (and local strays) we headed toward Nafplio, our home for the next two days).

We were awarded a grand tour of Nafplio by one of the CYA professors, and he was very very knowledgeable about the city and it's history in entirety. After we were set free, we got the World's Best Gelato™ at an Italian gelato shop, which was great! Before finding some dinner, my friends and I stopped in a shop where I got my first set of κομπολόι, or Greek worry beads! The shop owner hand makes each pair and taught us (in Greek, yay for being able to understand people more!) how to use them. 

Track at Nemea

The next day my ancient sports class visited the site of Nemea, where the Nemean games were held. We walked around the site seeing where the athletes prepared before having a little competition on the track itself! The ground was spongey due to the clay from a nearby river laid on top, making running feel light and a little easier. We then visited the site of Epidauros where we learned about ancient medicinal techniques (you really didn't want to get sick back then, because your cure would be sleeping in a temple praying for healing by a god [okay, they had some doctors, too] which doesn't sound fun to me). Finally we visited the theater or Epidauros (!!!!!) and got to experience the incredible acoustics of the stage and stands. 

Theater at Epidauros

Thursday we visited the city of Mestras and got to see some really incredible Byzantine era churches, and visit another nunnery. I also learned that this site is where my professor first excavated after receiving his PhD. After looking around the site, we got back on the bus and went to have lunch in Sparta. Yes, the Sparta, which is no more than a little touristy town with hardly any, if at all, remnants of the ancient civilization, much to my disappointment. After a treat of donuts by our group leaders, we headed to Kalamata for the next hotel where we would spend the night.

Royalty

Trap door in Messene Theate

Bright and early we woke up to find a hoard of French high schoolers in out hotel, so we ate breakfast quickly and headed to my new favorite place in Greece, Anicent Messene. This site is so large and full of history, and is still in the process of excavation (and probably will be for another 50 years). We began by visiting one theater where there was a beautifully preserved throne (which of course, I seated myself) where great men once sat, including Hadrian! This theater was so high tech, it included a trap door in center stage, that had a tunnel that led into the back chamber in the skene for quick access. We saw ancient ruins of an temple dedicated to two Egyptian gods (to please the Romans, they were intrigued by Egyptian deities) along with countless other sites including not one, but two temples to Artemis (!!!). We ended up in the stadium where we played two ancient team games involving scoring a goal with a ball, kind of like rugby/football but with no rules pretty much. The entirety of Messene completely awed me and it is definitely one of my favorite places in Greece, and I hope to visit again one day. 

Beautiful Ancient Messene

My man Hermes

Posing like an Athlete

Saturday was our last day in the Peloponnese and it was spent, rightfully so, in none other than Olympia. We walked in the footsteps of ancient athletes before our sports class took our rightful place on the track for a race. We completed both a full sprint, and a half double dash, both of which I took third place. However, I was disqualified technically in the double dash because I ran into the post, our professor, trying to push someone out of the way (it was touching the post that got my disqualified, not the pushing btw). After walking around the rest of the ruins, we then retired to the museum where we saw some artifacts including two pediment structures from the temple of Zeus, and statues of Nike, Hermes, and a giant bull. We left Olympia having gotten the gold, and made one final stop at the beach to learn about Greek ecosystems before returning to Athens. 

Pediment statues

These past few weeks have been action packed and tiring, but a lot of fun. I look forward to my next few trips where I will be visiting Delphi, Rome, and Thessaloniki and Northern Greece!