Back in the good old US of A!

My adventures in Europe have ended unfortunately... but I was greeted at the airport by some familiar faces! I'll miss my semester abroad but there really is no place like home.

Happy Turkey Day from Nauplio and Olympia!

This past weekend we got the opportunity to visit the beautifully historic cities of Nauplio and Olympia. We started out the journey by stopping at a GIANT theater in Epidaraus on the way to Nauplio. It was engineered in such a way that you could hear a coin drop from anywhere you were sitting in the theater. After our quick pit stop we were on the road again and spent much of Thursday on a bus.

Later we arrived in Nauplio which is not only an adorable city but also the original capital of Greece. I'd say that was my favorite city so far in Greece. It was a coastal town so it had amazing views, ideal for picture taking. There were giant sea-bearing cliffs and cacti growing out of the rock. Dana, Mary and I went on a little adventure around the outside of the city and found some amazing castles at the top of a hill we had been hiking. You could see the entire city from up there and could climb on all the ruins (just like an ancient playground of sorts!).

Beautiful cliff/sea views

After our little adventure I came back for our Thanksgiving dinner with my CSB/SJU family. It wasn't your typical Turkey Day celebration but it was still full of more group bonding and lots of laughter. The Greek cooks at the hotel were given some tips on what to cook for us so they made a reasonable attempt given the circumstances. We had a turkey with something that was to resemble stuffing (beef, rice, and orange peel mixture), along with sliced potatoes, bread, and a cabbage salad. They even attempted a sort of spice cake for dessert. Everything was delicious and we were stuffed. Even if our families couldn't be there with us we all had so much to be thankful for.

Bill carving the turkey for our side of the table

After spending two nights in Nauplio we headed to Olympia for the last night of our Thanksgiving "break" (which sounds deceiving seeing as we had class every single day...). But Olympia was incredible as well. We toured several historic sites (lots and lots of rocks to sum it up). We also saw the Olympic museum filled with with artifacts from some of the first Olympic games, which was definitely a highlight for me as I demonstrated my discus skills from high school track and field! My coach would be so proud I was able to critique this horrible throwing form.

Olive Harvesting

We got a unique opportunity to go olive harvesting the other day at an authentic family olive grove. There were about 16 of us who got a chance to go, we rode behind a pick up truck through the countryside before we reached their beautiful home. We were all welcomed with open arms by the grandmother of our bus driver. She kissed each one of us saying things in Greek we assumed could only be welcoming judging by the giant smile plastered on her face. The family was absolutely precious and 100% Greek, felt like we were walking into a movie.



After the greeting process we were put straight to work. We were each given a hand held rake (AKA olive comb) to retrieve the olives. There were giant tarps under all of the trees which would collect the olives as you would "comb" them out of the trees. One of the workers there gestured at my hair and pretended to brush it with his rake to give me instructions since he spoke no English (which was quite comical).

We spent the entire afternoon combing out the olives, naming the trees, and drinking Raki (which contrary to popular believe is not in fact hydrating). We gathered the olives in giant buckets after picking out all the twigs and leaves. From there they were taken to town to be made into olive oil. We finished the day with lunch which consisted of giant chunks of meet, a block of cheese, and half a tomato, completed with their homemade wine. Overall it was a successful day in the Greek countryside!

Proving we're Minnesotan in the Mountains of Delphi

The Greek Orthodox Monastery

This past weekend we went on an overnight trip to Delphi, which is about 2 and a half hours outside of Athens. On the way we stopped at a beautiful Greek Orthodox Monastery and toured the inside of the church. It was pretty similar to the church service we attended for Theology last week so we were already familiar with some of the things inside the church. We didn't spend a whole lot of time there (mostly because of the weather). It was raining and freezing outside so they lit the fireplace and let us warm up for a bit before loading onto the bus again.

Adorable city outside of Delphi

We stopped in a little city outside of Delphi for lunch. We picked a family taverna where I tried the local pasta and something the city's best known for which was their fried cheese. Both were delicious. It turns out that is our professor's favorite restaurant in the whole city so we made an excellent choice (even though we picked it purely because it was the cheapest)!

We arrived at Hotel Acropole where we got a chance to get settled and go over a brief overview of the significance of Delphi. We were all exhausted so we took a solid nap before heading to dinner at another family owned taverna down the road (which was owned by the brother of the hotel owner). After our amazing meal the owner of the restaurant recommended we head to his best friend's bar later to celebrate the 21st birthdays of Missy and Ashley (two of my Rome roomies). So we took his advice and headed to a little family owned bar with a little dance floor to celebrate. We were literally the only people there and they were thankful for our business in the down season.

Family owned Hotel Acropole where we stayed

The next morning we got up bright and early to explore Delphi with Anne (our Art and Lit professor). She took us to look at several works of Greek art in the Delphi Archeological Museum. After that we began our freezing treck into the mountains of Delphi. It started snowing as we made our way up and only got colder as she explained each of the ancient ruins. We weren't exactly prepared (as most of us only brought raincoats to Europe) so we were a bit chilly. It was still an amazing site though (just as long as I didn't look straight down...). I've learned that if I look out into the distance I can handle that, it's just the drops that go right down that freak me out so I was fine. Overall an excellent weekend though despite the cold!

Prayer, Politics, and Protests

We've done quite a few things over these past few days that I deemed to be blog worthy!

Greek Orthodox Church:

For Theology we were required to visit a Greek Orthodox church service on Sunday morning. It was a completely new experience for all of us. It was a smaller church with elaborate decorations covering every inch of wall space. The women sat on the left and the men sat on the right, and there were very few children. We were warned in advance not to cross our legs because that's deemed disrespectful in the Orthodox church. We stood in the back of the church (so as not to take anyone else's spot) for the entire service which was over an hour and a half long. It was all said in Ancient Greek too so it was all complete gibberish to us. There was so much standing up and sitting down, people making the sign of the cross, kissing icons on the walls, and just utter chaos. It was a stressful experience, but I'm glad we gained a better understanding of the Greek Orthodox faith.


Greek Parliament:
We also got the opportunity to visit the Greek Parliament building here in central Athens. This was really interesting because we got to visit amidst the economic and political situations that have been all over the news lately. We got to sit in the chairs where Parliament had just voted the night before about a new government and Prime Minister. We got a chance to see where history is unfolding up close in person. Our seminar class has had several discussions about the crisis and various solutions. Any news site has top stories about Greece or Italy right now, so it's really fascinating to see how relevant all this is to the rest of the world. I'm so lucky to have been able to have lived in both these countries while all this has been going on.







Protests:
Dana and I needed to go shopping the other day for new pants (my only pair of jeans ripped so it really wasn't optional...) so we decided to check out a main shopping street about 15 min from our apartment. It's a street without cars (like the Nicolet Mall of Athens) and even includes a few American stores like GAP, Levi, and H & M. As we were starting to head back there was a group of people marching with red and yellow flags. They were walking toward Parliament where there was a woman singing in Greek into a microphone. I have a feeling this was the first of many more demonstrations we'll see here in Athens (but don't worry Mom, I'm being safe!).

It's all Greek to Me

We made it! I have been living in Greece for a week now and it has been quite the experience. We were in for quite a few surprises that are going to take some getting use to but I think in time I'll learn to love Greece. I'll break things down so you get a better idea of what I mean.

Apartments: 
They are much much smaller than our apartments in Rome were and older too. Ours reminds me of a cabin, but that could just be because of how old everything is. We played Tetris trying to arrange our living room furniture to make everything fit in the tiny space, but it worked out for the most part. The water here gets boiling hot extremely fast and tastes kinda funny. I think the hardest thing is that we can't flush ANY toilet paper, so we had to train ourselves to throw it away instead. I share a room with Dana, which worked out well because we've been roommates all through college so nothing new really.

Panathinaiko Stadium 

(5 minute walk from our apartments and directly outside campus)

Classes: 
The classes here are great so far. All of the professors seem to be very knowledgeable and helpful as well. We learned we only have one final test and the rest of the classes just have papers, so that will be in improvement to Rome. We've gone to a museum for art already, and we went to a Greek Orthodox church service for Theology.


Professors:
Anne Stewart: We have the same professor for Art History and Literature which is interesting. She has grey, short curly (kinda crazy) hair and is pretty laid back. She makes funny comments all the time without realizing it, but she really knows her stuff.
Lida: She teaches us Greek language and culture a few days a week. She's the best. I'd say she's probably my favorite of the professors here. She was the one who took us on our neighborhood tour and gave us a run down of campus. She's got a difficult task attempting to teach us Greek but I think with her as a teacher it won't be all that bad.
Father Stefanos Alexopalos: He is SUCH an improvement from our previous Theology professor. He is a priest with a big black beard and a calming voice. He really just genuinely wants us to learn about the Greek Orthodox church and cares less about memorizing quotes *cough cough FatherGunther cough*. I'm excited to learn about a new faith for once.

Our Classroom

Language:
The language here is probably the most difficult part of living here. We were told that most people speak English as a primary language and not to worry about anything. This was a lie. Nothing here is in English and it's only occasionally where you will run into an English speaker. We can't read any signs on the street, or in stores, or restaurants. It's frustrating because it's an entirely new alphabet so we can't even attempt to pronounce things because their letters make different sounds. We've been learning a little of the alphabet in our Greek course but not enough for it to be helpful.

I'm sure we'll adjust to all these changes soon enough, but we are all currently experiencing culture shock (and I'll admit I'm a little bit Romesick...) More to come soon but here's our school's promotional video to give you a taste of what I've been up to!

Toledo!

Today we visited the historical city of Toledo! It’s a little town just outside of Madrid full of castles, art, and churches. Since it was so small we were able to wander around their winding streets (getting lost most of the time) and take plenty of pictures. It’s a very hilly city so it was a lot of walking up and down again to get anywhere.

We saw a beautiful cathedral, which had over 20 chapels, and the artwork was breathtaking. We were astonished by the amount of detail that was put into every inch of the church. It included works by Goya, Greco, and even a few by Raphael and Titian (who we know too well thanks to Art History!). It started to rain as we explored more in the afternoon, but we made the best of it and took plenty of silly pictures. We took shelter in a boot store and Kate and I each came out with a new pair (which were necessary considering it’s no longer sandal weather here).

We took the train back and rushed to see the Reigna Sofia museum before it closed at 9. We got in for free and pushed the first elevator button we saw. We had less than an hour but we were able to see both Picasso and Dali so we were happy about that. Tomorrow we end our Spanish adventure and move into our Greek apartments! Let’s hope they let us into the country!

Madrid!

Hola from Madrid! This city is much busier and more chaotic than little Sevilla was. There are more restaurants and bars here than all the other capital cities combined (apparently… according to our tour guide). Everything is open until like 6 in the morning making it a city that never sleeps.

For our first night here we met up with a family friend of Dana’s named Francisco. He was wonderful and took us out for authentic Spanish tapas at a really classy restaurant (which we learned later it’s one of the best places in Spain). He ordered for us and then wouldn’t tell us what we were eating until after we’d tried it. All of it was delicious and we were so thankful to have someone who knew exactly what was good there.

The next day we tackled Madrid all on our own. In the morning we did another free walking tour (3 and a half hours long) around the city to all the major cites. It was kinda chilly but we were prepared with layers and jackets. We learned a lot about the history of Spain and the stories behind their culture. We went to a famous churro and chocolate place that had been visited by several celebrities and is open 24 hours a day. We then did a little window-shopping at “El Cortes Ingles” which is a HUGE department store here that we’ve been seeing bags for all over the place. Then we ended our night with kebabs (our Florence favorite). Next stop Toledo!

Sevillaaa

We finished up Barcelona by heading to Gaudi Park, which was well worth the trip. It was essentially a sculpture park full of mosaic art everywhere. It was a lot bigger than we had anticipated on the map, but I think we covered a lot of ground in the time we were there.

We were able to make our train to Sevilla and we fell in love with the city the minute we got out of the cab. It’s full of tiny streets and alleyways that go in every direction. They were lined with shops, restaurants, and bars in assorted colors. Sevilla is known for it’s red and yellow-orange colored buildings specifically. We explored for a little while before going to get tapas. At the restaurant a man placed a one-month puppy right on our table. It was precious! We ordered paella (a typical rice dish, with seafood looking right at us…), meatballs in orange sauce, and stuffed eggplant. After dinner we got quite lost wandering the streets without a map but we were able to find our way back eventually

The next morning we went on a free tour of the city (much like the one we did in Barcelona). Our guide Brian was a slightly awkward redhead who was still new to Sevilla. We learned a lot but it wasn’t the greatest tour. After that we found another restaurant where we ordered a fried ham and cheese roll, croquets (fried potato balls), and a Spanish tortilla (kind of like an egg bake potato thing). After our feast we ventured up the Giralda Tower. I took a few shots of Dana and Kate standing on the edge (heights still aren’t my thing) and we wandered around the beautiful church below. It’s the third largest in Europe, coming behind St. Paul’s in London, and St. Peter’s in Rome.  

           

At night we got some food to make sandwiches to eat on our hostel’s terrace. It overlooked the whole city (think Agraba’s roofs from Aladin). Then went to find churros, but somehow ended up finding dessert instead. I got a frozen chocolate cake, Kate got a vanilla chocolate cake, and Dana of course got gelato. Our hostel offered various activities for pretty cheap so we did one that included a Flemenco show and a bar crawl.  The Flemenco was incredible; she was extremely talented as were the singer and the guitarist. There was so much passion and intensity, it was fascinating to watch. Then we went to three separate bars across Sevilla to end at a nightclub, which was another fun cultural experience.

We checked out in the morning and headed to the train station. Next stop Madrid!

"Grazi-as?"

We arrived in Barcelona last night and had the first of our adventures in Espana! After trekking through the city we were somehow able to find our hostel which is a little outside the city. We expected to be able to read the native language of Catalan (with minimal sucess). It looks like a combination of many languages with a bunch of symbols we've never seen and random letters like "x" thrown in occasionally. I also discovered my true calling to become an advocate for Catalan independence (Google it).

When we got up to our hostel room we met one of our roommates who loved to "Compre compe compre... mamma mia!" She was frantically trying to fit three pairs of boots into her suitcase (all of which she bought new). We went to find a place to eat dinner and stumbled upon a little mall across from our hostel. We attempted to find tapas but with no luck (it was pretty late so most things were closed), and somehow ended up at a German restaurant. After we explored our neighborhood before heading to bed so we would have energy for the next day.

Today we started our day with a free tour of the city we discovered. Our British tour guide took us all over the city to see all sorts of churches and neighborhoods. He was surprisingly entertaining for the whole 2 and a half hours and we learned a lot about Spanish history. After the tour we attempted to find tapas again. We thought we found a decently priced one, but it turned out their "Daily Special" included pasta, steak, and wine (sounds awfully familiar doesn't it?) ... because they were out of paella. It was still delicious and was a great deal for the amount of food we got. We then went to La Sagrada Familia which is a huge gothic church that looks like it's melting. It was a strange site, but is considered a must see in Barcelona. 

We ended our night seeing "The Magic Fountain" which was a free water and light show in the heart of the city. We all got a little homesick when they did a Disney medley in Spanish. And then went to a GIANT mall that was converted from a bull fighting arena. You could look off the very top of it (which was open outside) and could see the whole city. Everything was brand new and resembled MOA. Not gonna lie, it was kinda great seeing two malls in two days after going two months without one. So overall I'd say Barcelona is a little strange, but definitely worth it.

Colosseum and Finals Week

This morning Kate and I got up early to have our obligatory tour of the Colosseum. We'd seen the outside of it many times but never got to actually go inside because we aren't enrolled in the history class. There was no one there when we got there so we took a few pictures and rome-d around for a bit (sorry bad pun). We didn't have a tour guide or an audio headset but we made due the cheaper way by reading the signs as we walked around. It reminded me of a giant baseball field the way it was set up like a stadium. I'm really glad I got to see it up close and personal finally and it was well worth the 12 euro we paid to get in!

Afterwards we found this adorable Italian bakery where we got delicious chocolate filled pastries. They were folded in half and were coated with an almost crunchy sugar glaze and had a nutella filling. Such a great find.

In other news, it's officially finals week now. We had our LAST class in Rome on Thursday which was a sad day for everyone. Theology final is going to be rough seeing as we've only had four class periods that were three hours each. Our professor isn't much help either, having a teaching style resembling that of Professor Snape (his British accent doesn't help) but I'm sure I'll survive. Lots of cramming these next few days though as well as trying to fit in everything we still need to see in Italy. I thought studying for finals in St. Joe made things difficult to focus, but Rome is a thousand times more distracting. I should probably stop procrastinating now and hit the books. I just keep reminding myself, less than a week and I'll be in Spain!

Vineyard and Wine Tasting

We had unique experience this week in that we got to take a trip to an Italian vineyard. We were taken through the rows of grapes and were shown how to tell based on the leaves what the final product would be like. Then they brought us to where they make the wine in giant holding tanks each kept at a specific temperature. This vineyard also grew hazelnuts so we made sure to collect some of those along the way.

CEA provided us with a massive lunch which was delicious (as most Italian foods are). It was complete with homemade pasta, fried vegetables, and a fancy bruschetta mozzarella side. Then there was a course of potatoes and meatballs, and we finished with a cream and chocolate dessert. There were five different wines served with lunch, two white and three red. We got to try each of them and see which we liked and didn't like.

After lunch we had an hour to ourselves before we had to get back on the bus. We were all pretty sleepy from the wine so we just napped in the fields out back. It was a beautiful day for it too, cooler in the countryside than it was in Rome. I bought a bottle of my favorite white wine we tried and Dana bought her favorite red wine (both of which they gave to us for a pretty good price) at the end of the day. It was definitely something I wasn't planning on doing until I was in my 40s, but it was a great experience I would love to do again someday.

A weekend in Florence

Florence is the most beautiful city I think I’ve ever been to and is officially my new favorite. We saw so much in the first two days it was insane. We took the train right after class on Thursday afternoon, which was only 2 and a half hours from Rome. We arrived and then headed straight to a museum to see The David by Michelangelo (so we could write our assignment on it).  After that Kate, Dana and I headed to a Kabob shop, which was easily our favorite food for the weekend (not to be confused with American kabobs on a stick). We sat on a bench while we ate and people watched for a while. A drunken man approached us and started yelling at us in Italian saying we were stupid and unintelligent Americans for getting Kabobs. He was saying we should be eating pasta or spaghetti not Kabobs because they aren’t Italian and stormed off in a huff. (Although this did not deter us from purchasing them three more times over the weekend...) After our little dispute we headed back to the hotel to get ready before going out.

            The next day in Florence was just as great as the first day. In the morning Kate and I walked down to the river to find a coffee shop and see the city before we had class at 11. We got two iced coffees and a fancy looking orange pie pastry thing. We checked out one of the street markets and just looked around to see what there was. There wasn’t much time though so we headed to class. We went to more museums and looked at the architecture of Florence. Our professor explained the Duomo, which is literally right next to our hotel. That night we went out for dinner with Paulo (or professor) and I got a lovely dish of spaghetti and clams in a white wine. It was delicious and gave us an excuse to get all dressed up.

            No surprise the next day we went to a few more museums and took notes all day long (but of paintings this time). Then later we found a little place by our hotel for dinner. We decided to check out the nightlife in Florence after hearing that’s where they filmed this season’s Jersey Shore. We found a nightclub called Space which was really modern looking and was packed full of people.  The whole group of us went out which was a lot of fun. We somehow managed to get into the VIP section on the third floor, which was really fun to see.

            Our last day in Florence was spent checking out some last minute stops. We had to go back to the leather market (because Florence is known for their leather) so I could replace my second purse that broke. I got a cute black leather cross over purse that says ‘Made in Florence’ right on it. Then I also got a little red clutch for times when I don’t want to carry my whole purse with me. We then made our way to the gardens of Florence were we got in for free with our museum passes. The gardens had amazing views of the city and were HUGE! They had fountains and grottos and seemed to go on forever. We took a  quick nap in the park and then decided to make our way back to the market one last time. I got my final Florence purchase that was a hardcover journal with a beautiful Florentine cover decorated with gold and colorful swirling flowers. It was my favorite thing I got there by far. We took lots of pictures by the river and of the city itself before boarding the train. We got back pretty late at night and we were all exhausted. It was by far one of the best weekends I’ve had here in Italy. I will come back to Florence someday, that I know for sure.

Soup Kitchen and seeing Emily!

This week we got to volunteer at a soup kitchen in the center of Rome. When we arrived we learned that it is actually a homeless shelter as well. They divided us up into three different areas. Some got to refill water for dinner, others cleaned out the rooms, and a few of us divided up clothing donations. In theory it sounds easy enough to do, keep the better quality clothing and throw out the crummy clothing. It makes it significantly more difficult when you are working with two old Italian women who don't speak any English and have very different opinions of what garbage is. Not to mention European fashion is quite a bit harder to decipher whether clothes are for "Donna" (women) or for "Uomo" (men). Purple velvet pants with a satin stripe can go either way here, in case you were wondering. We did increase our clothing vocabulary at the end of the day and I'd say it was an excellent way to spend our time here. Everyone there was so grateful for our help. Seeing a place like that truly makes you appreciate how lucky you are. I would say it was even more so than usual volunteering because of the experiences I've been privileged with through studying abroad.


Last night I was able to finally meet up with my good friend Emily who goes to Loyola in Chicago. She's studying here in Rome too, but for the entire semester. She brought me to the most modern looking bar I'd ever seen called Fluid. The walls were glowing and the floor squished with lava when you walked over the tile. There were trendy white couches everywhere and heat censored artwork even. It reminded me of something you'd see in Sex in the City.



There were over 200 different kinds of girly mixed drinks there so it took me about 20 min to pick something out. I chose a Mango Frozen Daiquiri, which was HUGE but so delicious. Then with your drink purchase you got free appetizers which we had for dinner. They had all sorts of fancy foods in a buffet style. I had no idea what I was eating, but they were phenomenal as well. I'll definitely be going back there with my group. We even grabbed chocolate dipped gelato afterward, which was a first for me. One of the most fun nights I've had in Rome!

It was great catching up with her and comparing our experiences abroad. It was so fun to see another familiar face in this foreign city. Hopefully I'll get to see her again before I leave for Greece!

Pizza and Gelato Crawl + ROMA football? Yes please!

This week we went on a Pizza and Gelato crawl with our guides from CEA. They brought us to two of the best pizza places in the city. We started out with what they called a snack pizza you could choose blanca (white crust) or rosa (crust and sauce). Naturally I chose rosa and proceeded to spill sauce onto my white tank top on the first stop haha. But we moved on to a real pizza place where I had one slice of potato pizza and another with tomatoes and spices. Next they brought us to a famous coffee shop in Rome where we had what's called granita di caffe con panna, which was an iced coffee treat with whipped cream essentially. That was amazing, I will most definitely be going back. Then the last stop was to a gelateria where I got two flavors: Bueno (The candy bar) and Foresta Nera (Black Forest). Both of which are officially my two new favorite flavors. So overall I'd say it was a success!

The next night a bunch of us went to the Roma football game, which ended up being a lot of fun. Everyone got really into the game with their flags, scarves and chants. It was kinda funny because tickets for women were 6 euro but men's tickets were 13 euro. I think they have had issues with having rowdy crowds in the past so this is their way of deterring this. So that was nice perk getting a discount. Unfortunately the game tied 1 to 1 and everyone went home. I'm so used to always having a clear winner and loser so this seemed strange to me when they just left it at that. We got pretty lost trying to find our way back home and it ended up taking almost two hours to get back. But we got to see a lot more of the city along the way so no one was really that bent out of shape about it.

Just Volcanos and such...

We just got back from our weekend trip to Pestum, Sorrento, and Pompeii! Pestum is the best preserved Greek city in the world (located in Italy). So there were several temples to Greek gods and other remains of the city. We had quite possibly the most awkward tour guide possible who informed us that he would also join us in Pompeii (woo!).

Afterward we piled onto the massive coach bus again to Sorrento. Our drive was right along the coast of Italy and went right up into the mountains. We stayed at The Grand Hotel, which had free live music at night (where we may or may not have started a conga line with the elderly staying there).

We left in the morning for Pompeii which is an ancient Roman city that was preserved as a result of a volcanic eruption. It was a HUGE historical site. There were lots of vendors outside, one of which thought I was Australian and gave me a free postcard!

So I'd say it was a successful weekend overall! Miss you all!