Day 12: The Day of Dreams
Today we landed in..... ATHENS, GREECE!!! I have officially completed my one childhood dream (is it technically a childhood dream if you're still a child?) of coming to Greece. Been on my bucket list since I read the Percy Jackson series. The first time.
First thing we did was go to the Temple of Poseidon! My favorite god. The temple was high up on a cliff over looking the sea. Perfect for the god of the sea. Anyway, me being great at avoiding social interactions and people, I found a beautiful secluded area over looking the sea and the city, on the edge of the cliff. Dad kept saying "don't jump," which I would never do. I ain't stupid, mostly. The weather was perfect. Not too cold, not too hot, just right. The actual temple was stone and mostly broken, but there were super tall pillars in an L shape.
Second destination was the Aegean Sea. We took a taxi to this super fancy private beach part of the Aegean Sea. Once we changed and started to get in, let me say one thing: Cold! It was so super duper cold. It was also very shallow and never passed my chest, which is saying a lot since I'm short. The tactic for dealing with the freezing water is to wade into the water a little and wait till your body parts in the water numbs, then continue to wade in. Unfortunately, that only works so much so you also have to flail your limbs under the water to keep the blood flowing. So I kinda looked like I was doing the chicken dance in the sea. I bet everyone thought I was just the coolest.
After getting back to the hotel, we walked up the Pollopous Hill (Don't think that's the right spelling). It was such a breathtaking view. It was high enough you could see the Acropolis and Athena Parthenon lit up at night from across the hill. The city was beautiful and lit as well. Just to clarify lit meaning light, not lit like "dude that's lit." Anyway, it was so pretty and I loved it so much
I can't wait to go to the Acropolis and souvenir shopping tomorrow! I'm finally in Greece!
First thing we did was go to the Temple of Poseidon! My favorite god. The temple was high up on a cliff over looking the sea. Perfect for the god of the sea. Anyway, me being great at avoiding social interactions and people, I found a beautiful secluded area over looking the sea and the city, on the edge of the cliff. Dad kept saying "don't jump," which I would never do. I ain't stupid, mostly. The weather was perfect. Not too cold, not too hot, just right. The actual temple was stone and mostly broken, but there were super tall pillars in an L shape.
Second destination was the Aegean Sea. We took a taxi to this super fancy private beach part of the Aegean Sea. Once we changed and started to get in, let me say one thing: Cold! It was so super duper cold. It was also very shallow and never passed my chest, which is saying a lot since I'm short. The tactic for dealing with the freezing water is to wade into the water a little and wait till your body parts in the water numbs, then continue to wade in. Unfortunately, that only works so much so you also have to flail your limbs under the water to keep the blood flowing. So I kinda looked like I was doing the chicken dance in the sea. I bet everyone thought I was just the coolest.
After getting back to the hotel, we walked up the Pollopous Hill (Don't think that's the right spelling). It was such a breathtaking view. It was high enough you could see the Acropolis and Athena Parthenon lit up at night from across the hill. The city was beautiful and lit as well. Just to clarify lit meaning light, not lit like "dude that's lit." Anyway, it was so pretty and I loved it so much
I can't wait to go to the Acropolis and souvenir shopping tomorrow! I'm finally in Greece!
Clear sea water
Pretty view from across the hill
Secluded spot
Aegean Sea
Temple of Poseidon
Super excited for you Em - your one wish was to make it to Greece on this trip, and there you are! Halfway through the trip, can't wait to see photos of Acropolis tomorrow and hear about your next leg.
ReplyDelete:) enjoy Greece!
ReplyDeleteI loved traveling in Greece! I'm so excited that you made it there and that you can cross that off your bucket list. I can't wait to see ALL of the pics you took on this trip :)
ReplyDeletethis was pretty cool. i remember when our dear friend zoe littlepage first told me about the global scavenger hunt, it was like 6-7 years ago. she told me about an awesome leg where they had to start off in greece and hoof it across europe with luggage and logistics planning and doing scavenges. i was sold at that moment, and i thought "man, it would be awesome if we could choose our destinations, but there'll be like zero chance when i take emory that we'll go through greece, that's too bad but i'm sure it'll be awesome anyway." 7 years later, we're in amman, jordan, and bill announces "we're leaving for athens in four hours," i was grinning all the way down through my toes.
ReplyDeletei gave emory the scavenge book when we arrived and had her circle the things she wanted, and it was awesome that she had a strong opinion for reasons i have no idea about. but its super easy when your kid is engaged and excited about going and doing and seeing.
small details - gyros are definitely better in greece. olive oil, definitely better in greece. greek alphabet, just close enough and far enough away from western alphabet that it is maximally not helpful. smoking - 40% is 2.5x rate in u.s. (we're at 15%). that is noticeable. jordan and greece are 2 of the 5 countries over 40% smoking rate. they're trying - noticeable vaping uptake.
we're halfway through the trip.the single most universal food across asia, middle east, europe... is the french fry. it's like the coc cola of food. they both are universally loved and cause diabetes and heart disease. the most insidious export of the u.s. in the last 50 years :)
Thank you for sharing with us! What a beautiful secluded spot!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to both of you! Keep the health statistics and Percy love coming!
ReplyDelete