Day Eight: Athens (City of Athena)

This morning started with a guided bus tour around the city. I didn't realize how large Athens is! Our guide told us about how Athena fought with Poseidon for the city and won-which, of course, is how it got the name Athens. 

We stopped at the Panathenaic Stadium which is one of the old Olympic stadiums in Athens! We didn't go in, but we got to take some pictures around it. 

Our tour continued to the Acropolis. I didn't anticipate having to climb as much as we did. I definitely wore the wrong shoes! The marble there is very slippery! It was extremely crowded, which made it hard to take good pictures. Here are a few. I tried my best haha. 

We had some free time for lunch before we went to the Acropolis museum. It was enjoyable to have an air conditioning break in the museum. It mostly consisted of ancient pottery and statues that were found around the Parthenon site. 

After lunch, we had more free time. The students wanted to head to the hotel and nap, but I refused to let them spend their last day in Athens that way (plus, I would of had to stay with them at the hotel..and I couldn't stand the thought of that happening!) I planned out a simple circle on the map where we would see Socrates' prison cell, the temple of Zeus, and a couple of ruins along the way. The kids "agreed" and we went looking for the prison cell. 

About 45 minutes, a long hike up a hill, a few wrong turns, some amazing views, and no prison cell LATER....we asked for directions. Turns out, the prison cell was about 2 minutes from where we started. Oh well. The kids weren't too mad because they loved the view of the city of Athens. They had some great pictures and memories from today. 

(The ruin on top of the hill) 

(Finally, Socrates prison cell) 

We had dinner and called it an early night. Tomorrow we start our cruise! 

(Temple of Zeus)

Day Seven: Delphi to Athens

Good news! I finally got my last sea urchin spine out!!! 

Today's adventures started out in Delphi. We  had a late leisurely breakfast before we headed down the street to the Temple of Apollo. This is where the oracle of Delphi gave his many ambiguous prophecies.. one being that of Oedipus. Our local guide went through the many prophecies and their interpretations. 

(Denise had me channel my inner Greek model haha)

After exploring the ruins, we boarded the bus and headed for Athens. We had a quick stop for lunch and this picture taking opportunity. 

We arrived in Athens around 5pm. I was amazed at how dirty and grey Athens looks! Interesting enough, the Acropolis sits in the center of the city, high on the hill, where it can be seen all around. As we entered the city, the sun seemed to shine only on the Parthenon. We laughed about how it seemed the Greek gods were still showing their favor. We had some free time at the hotel before dinner. 

After dinner, we walked about a mile to the city center. We got a sneak peak of the Acropolis and did some shopping. It's midnight here now and I'm off to bed! 

Day Six: Transfer to Greece!

Today was a transfer day to Greece. We left on an overnight ferry at 7pm and arrived at 1pm the following day. 

We found our rooming situation humorous. They told us we would be four to a room tonight, and our rooms couldn't have been made for more than two! You can see (below) all of us packed in the center of the room. The sides are the pull down beds. We could only move about one person at a time. Denise had to close herself in the bathroom while we tried to get our bags placed! 

The ferry was spacious everywhere else. The dining and lounge areas were classy, and we enjoyed sitting out on the deck and seeing the different islands we passed. It was interesting to see Ithaka because I teach about it in my Greek units. 

Once we disembarked the ship at Patras, we got on another bus to Delphi. We stopped at this little road side restaurant for lunch. On the outside, it was an unattractive little building, but once inside, it was a different story. I wasn't sure about eating Greek food, but I got a pork shish kebab and the most delicious peach I've ever eaten. The view wasn't too bad either (below). 

After lunch, we had the chance to swim in the Mediterranean (really the Corinthian Sea). I couldn't pass up the opportunity to swim there! 

I learned the hard way that "Carpe diem" isn't always the best phrase to live by. I ended up stepping on a sea urchin :( They are no joke! The told me to put vinegar on it to soften the skin before I pulled out the spines. I was able to get all but one out. 

We continued our journey to Delphi. Our hotel has a lovely view (Dad, much like the one in Switzerland). Delphi is pretty much a one street town. It's run by one large family, each having a store, hotel, or restaurant. It reminded me of My Big Fat Greek Family. We shopped and had a late dinner. Tomorrow we will explore the ruins of Delphi. 

Day Five: Pompeii

Today we travelled to Pompeii. My expectations were high. It was one of the reasons that I chose this trip! However, we were warned the night before that it was more of an archeological site and less of a fun tourist attraction. 

The students rated it a 6 out of 10, and I think I agree. We did have beautiful cloudy weather, which was a relief from the extreme heat we've been experiencing since we've gotten here. 

Our local tour guide: Robert (The Godfather) 

Most of Pompeii was broken down into these little open rooms. Some were pharmacies, bakeries, brothels, and homes. We only saw a very small part of Pompeii on our tour. They said they have students come spend time living in this area where they help continue to uncover different parts of Pompeii. 

Our group from Wakefield! This was in the city center of Pompeii. Several temples were here, and now, modern art is decorating several sections of the city. 

They no longer keep items they've found out in the ruins. Our guide said that too many items have been stolen over the years. These items are locked up in a "museum." It is really just an large open air cage. The top photo is a 6 year old boy that was killed from suffocation of the ashes. The bottom left is a man who died in this position while trying to cover his mouth, and the bottom right is a dog that died trying to fight the ash. 

In the back of this picture, you can see Mt. Vesuvius. They told us the last time it erupted was in the 1940's. People in the surrounding city were told that they were not allowed to build houses because in the event that the volcanoe erupted again, they would not all be able to get out on the one road that leads out of the city; however, there is a city full of houses and buildings. Our guide told us they check the temperature of the volcanoe each day, and they should know weeks ahead of time if the volcanoe would erupt again. 

After the tour, we spent some time in the gift shops. We are now on our bus headed to our overnight ferry. It will be an 18-20 hour ferry ride, and we will arrive in Delphi in the morning. 

Day Four: Beautiful, beautiful Capri!

Our day was Naples to Capri to Sorrento. Capri was the main event. We got up this morning at 5:45 (luckily we got to go to bed early last night with no problems or phone calls). We loaded the bus and were on our way to Naples. Unfortunately, we didn't see much of Naples...except the port and business district. After a short wait we boarded our 45 minute ferry over to the island of Capri. I did manage to snap a few pictures of Naples as we were departing. 

Once we were on Capri, we got in small boats and traveled from the Grand Marina to the Small Marina. They took us by the Grotta del Corallo and the Grotta Bianca. The entire time we were on this boat, we were looking at amazing views! I would love to come back and spend more time here. They took us through Faraglioni (a common picture of Capri) where you make a wish before you go through the tunnel. 

After the boat ride, we ate lunch and walked around the town some more. It was overly crowded...supposedly because it was Sunday. There were lots of boats, yachts, and sunbathers in the marinas. We walked up to the garden of Augustus. We took a group picture from the top of the garden.

We got back on the ferry in the late afternoon and headed for Sorrento. Unfortunately, this stop was as short as Naples. We were able to take some pictures of the port before heading to our bus. Our hotel is situated outside of Sorrento, but it has beautiful views of its own. 

I wish I could post all the beautiful pictures from today's adventures. My Cannon camera has much better quality pictures than these. It's truly breathtaking beautiful! I will have to plan a trip back here. 

Day Three: Colosseum

Not too much happened today...

We started this morning with a tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. It was extremely hot! I think I drank 5-6 bottles of water today. There is a slight possibility that I am a little sunburnt too.  I feel like these pictures are probably the exact same as my Rome post from two years ago haha. 

After our tour, we had free time the rest of the day. We went to a Ducati restaurant, meaning that you could not only order lunch, but also take a Ducati ride around Rome. One of our parents paid for her son to take the 15 min ride--he loved it!

We spent the rest of the afternoon eating gelato and resting in the shade. We met a flight attendant who was spending her layover in Rome. She has been working at American Airlines for 29 years. She had some fun stories to tell, and she was very interested in our EF travel group and our drama from last night. 

We had an amazing lasagna for dinner! I ended up eating with our tour director, and spent the evening discussing education in Italy v. America. It's always intriguing to hear someone else's perspective on issues. He is thinking about becoming a history teacher after 12 years of working with EF. 

We will be leaving Rome tomorrow and heading to Capri/Sorrento. 

Day Two: Vatican City

We started today at Vatican City. Our tour through the Vatican museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica lasted about three hours. I remembered most of it from when I went two years ago, but I forgot most of the information. The students were so excited that they took probably 200 pictures of different statues! Shockingly, no students try to break the rule of no photography in the Sistine Chapel...but the parents did! I had to give my best judgmental stare down to some parents in the other group. 

Our tour ended at St. Peter's Square. We had another hour to take pictures, get gelato, and shop. I opted to try a slushy instead of gelato--and it was delicious! It was a raspberry and lemonade mix! Of course it could of tasted terrible, but as my face was melting in the Roman heat, it was just what I needed!!!

(Pope's Balcony)

We got back on our tour bus and most of the group was dropped off for their catacombs excursion. My group ended up with free time in Rome. I decided that I didn't want them to hang out and see the same places we were at the day before, so I walked them to Circus Maximus (where the Roman chariot races use to be), the mouth of truth, and the Colosseum . We will be going to the Colosseum tomorrow, but we took some pictures outside today. 

We joined the group for dinner at a local pizzeria. They made us a variety of pizzas and kept them coming! It had been a perfect Italian day.....

Almost....

I ended up having some issues with some students drinking in the hotel room in the evening. I had the opportunity to go into full teacher mode. I ended the night around 1am after phone calls to parents, EF, and a room search. Needless to say, I was exhausted and that is why this blog is a little late! Sorry!