ATHENS, GREECE
Getting from Positano to Athens was a logistical mess that was either going to completely fall apart or go perfectly, and thank God, it went perfectly! We literally used every possible type of transportation- ferry, train, bus, plane, and taxi. We didn’t get to Paige P. and Nick’s Airbnb until very late that night and we were very thankful Paige stayed up to let us in. We planned a little of what we were doing the next day since Paige K. and I only had a day to see Athens, and then we got some much needed sleep.
We woke up pretty early to walk over to the Ancient Agora to start our day. We quickly learned as we were walking there that our Airbnb wasn’t in the best part in town. Luckily, we were in a group while we walked through a very sketchy area for four blocks. You know it’s bad when the streets are completely full, but not a single person is a woman. We got through it though and made it to the Agora and learned how student friendly Athens was.
We got into every museum and ruins site for free with a student card. The Agora used to be the main marketplace of Athens and a political and cultural center of the city. Now it’s ruins and most of it is gone completely, but the best preserved thing in there is the Temple of Hephaestus. There was also a very cool little museum in the Agora where I was able to see lots of ancient pottery, coins, statues of the gods, and trinkets to name a few things.
Next we headed to the Acropolis which was the one thing we knew we HAD to see. On the way we ran into this huge rock outcropping that many people were standing on because you could literally see the entire city of Athens. I didn’t realize how big Athens truly was until I was on that rock. It was such a gorgeous view, although some of my friends were making me nervous by standing very, very close to the windy edges. You know who you are. We could even see the Acropolis looming in the distance, which made us very excited. After enjoying the view, we continued our hike up.
When we finally reached the stairs leading up to the Acropolis, we were all enthusiastic to reach the top. It was so cool to think of all the historic people who had also climbed these stairs. The Acropolis is an ancient citadel with many temples dedicated to Athens’s patron, Athena, and contains one of the most famous buildings in the world, the Parthenon. It is also situated on one of the highest hills in the center of Athens so it also offers amazing views of the city below. I was lucky to be with Paige K. and Nick who knew a lot of Greek gods and Greek history and were eager to supply me with their knowledge because the only knowledge I had about that kind of stuff was from the book series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It’s hard to describe what it feels like to be surrounded by such historic and important buildings. I just look around in awe and quietly reflect about the past and how civilizations have changed over time. I love seeing such impressive sites. We also stopped at the Acropolis Museum where we were able to see the archeological findings from the site and also learn more about it.
We also went to some other ruin sites throughout the day because a lot of times while walking around town you just run into them. By that time, it was already evening and our feet were exhausted from all the walking. You’ve known you’ve had a successful day when you have tired feet.
SANTORINI, GREECE
I’ve watched enough episodes of the Real Housewives from literally anywhere to know that Santorini is a beautiful and boujee place. This was the one place Paige really wanted to go for spring break and I had no objections to that because I knew I would love it there as well. We stayed in a hotel in Fira, which was only about a 10 minute walk to the city. The receptionist was the sweetest lady ever and she helped show us on a map what was worth seeing and gave us free breakfast (sweet breads and juice) since we had arrived early and our rooms weren't quite ready.
The island of Santorini is another place that you are not warned about all the uphill walking. Again, I don’t know how older people do it. Luckily, I’m still young so it’s not too bad and all the marvelous views make up for it. Don’t worry, the buildings truly are as white as the pictures and the domes and water are beautiful deep and bright shades of blue.
Paige and I took a bus on the first day to Oia mainly so we could catch the sunset in the evening because that is one of the best places on the island to see them. Oia is also one of the most picturesque cities on the island. It contains so many of the blue domes you think of when you hear Santorini and you can walk near the edge of the cliffs to view the blue water below. It looks straight out of a postcard. We had so much fun casually looking through fun shops and snacking on delicious food. We only had one criteria when we stopped for food- the restaurant needed to have a view.
The next day we were supposed to have a pool/beach day, but it was so terribly windy and cold we couldn't do it. So, we explored the city of Fira more intently instead of browsing like we had the previous day and had a great time. There are so many hidden shops and restaurants that are off the main path, but so worth visiting. We were also able to capture some amazing photos and just take it easy the whole day, which was much needed.
We also met a bunch of cats throughout the day. Didn't realize there would be a bunch of cats in Greece in general.
As the day came to a close, we made our way to the airport. We were faced with the reality we were going to have to spend the night in the airport since our flight didn't come in until the middle of the night and it wouldn't be worth getting a hostel room since we would only be able to be in it for 6 hours. It was totally worth enduring that though because we had a flawless spring break and if this was going to be the one hardship we faced, so be it. Couldn't have asked for a better spring break and was so blessed to have such a great travel buddy- so shout out to you PK.