In retrospect, Athens seems like a complete blur.   We were so tired by the time we left Delphi it was hard to even realize that we had gotten to the big city.   However,after a good night of sleep we were ready to go again.

We took a ferry across to the mainland and it was a beautiful trip.  I can’t believe I was sailing through the Mediterannean Sea.  Wow!!!

Athens didn’t really seem that different to me than New York or San Fran.  It was interesting to see how much the culture changed from a small village of 5000 people like Tolo to a large city of over 5 million.  After checking into the hotel, Judy gave us a walking orientation tour of the city.  It was actually a good idea because not very many people had ever been to a big city, let along a city in a foreign country.

I really enjoyed the last week of class.  We had been studying classical philosophers like Socrates and Plato, both of which I studied on my own in high school, so it was a nice change to get to read more modern examples.  We talked about the meaning of life,reality, God, and evil.  Surprisingly enough these topics were much less heated than our previous classes.  I thought it would’ve been completely opposite.

The second day in Athens was a free day once we finshed class.  So, being that most of the group were female, what do you think we did?   SHOPPING!!!!!!!   There is some of the best shopping I’ve ever seen in Athens.  The good thing is that you can always negotiate the price. . always.   So not only are excited because you found something totally great, but you feel even better because you really did get a great deal.  It’s like the Priceline of merchandise.  The main drag is called Ermou  Street and it’s right off of Syntagma square.

All that bargaining can work up an appetite so it was time for lunch.   We didn’t know where to eat until we saw those golden arches. . .

The strange thing is, the four of us had shared every single meal we had had in Greece up until we went to McDonald’s.  As soon as we got our American food, that stopped.  But later at dinner, while eating Greek cuisine again it was back to sharing.  Strange how things work. . ..

Once we got home we were all super tired and just relaxed on the balcony and watched the Athenian sunset.

The next day was a trip to the Acropolis and the ancient Agora.  Unfortuantely from all the walking, my feet had swollen tremendously and I had to spend most of the day at the hotel.  Everyone said they had a good time and as soon as I get some pics I’ll put them up. However, it was nice to have some alone time.  I just relaxed with my feet in the water of the pool and stared at the Acropolis from afar, trying to soak it all in. . .