Athens, Acropolis, and Awesome Cheese!

Weird title of this entry, I know, but I had to include something about my new favorite thing to eat in Greece... the Feta cheese. It is so amazingly good!
Today we loaded the bus at 8am and headed to Athens. We picked up our tour guide (James) in Galfayda and we drove past where we will attend church on Sundays. The hotel where we attend is in an area of the city that used to have an American Air base and it still has many remaining American influences. We saw 3 Starbucks, a McDonalds, KFC, TGIFridays, Gap, and many other things to remind us of home. After the hour bus ride we got off at the Olympic Stadium. It was beautiful. I am still amazed at all of the buildings here that are made entirely out of marble. Today, the stadium is only used for ceremonies and no longer for real sporting events. We learned a lot today about Greek history, mythology, and word origins... way too much to relay in this blog (I did take pretty good notes in my journal for class though). Next, we went to the Acropolis. Yesterday we saw it lit up on the hill, and today we did a walking tour for hours and had the opportunity to learn about and take pictures of some truly amazing things.


We saw the Odeion of Herodes Atticus (an ampitheater-type area), The Parthenon (the temple to Athena), The Temple of Erechtheion, The Olympian Temple to Zeus, Mars Hill, the Theater of Dionysos, the Areopagos, and the Athens Museum. All of these places were beautiful! It was wonderful to be in a place of such history and significance. Even though my feet were tired, I was hungry, and we had one student pass out, I am so grateful for the opportunity see and experience all of this!


We returned home back to the Artemis after a long day and had an hour to relax before dinner. I use the hour to call my mom and dad on the phone in the lobby that connects to US phones for free. It was so nice hearing their voices. I loved sharing with them all that we have done so far. I am so thankful for this amazing trip and the support of my parents.


We headed to dinner at 7pm at this Taverna right down the street. I had some delicious bread, olive oil, feta cheese, and chicken kalimaki (a chicken kabob)... it was so delicious. I will definitely never have to worry about going hungry here :) After dinner we went to YEGOS the local supermarket. I bought some lotion and other people bought some other toiletries or snacks. Then we walked back (with our street dog escort) to the Artemis where we are settling in for the night. I think we are about to watch a movie in the family room.


Today was a great day. I will never forget it! I thought I would share with you some of the different things we are getting used to while here in Greece...
- We can not flush toilet paper.
- Yes is said "Nae"
- No is said "Okie"
- Stop signs are only suggestions
- Cars do not stop for anyone... we just have to take a bold step out into the street to stop traffic.