Spring Break 2009: Rome Italy

My day started at 4:30 am when I awoke to go to the airport. Our flight left at 6:30 am and we were off to Rome. I went with Britney while Dewey and Annie went to Ciaro. After we figured out the metro system and where we needed to stop we headed into the city. When we walked out of the Metro we were standing in front of the Colosseum.


It is HUGE and beautiful. We walked around it taking pictures. The whole area is ruins. There are alot of columns and old churches and remains of other buildings. We didn't go on any tours or into any museums, we just wandered around and stumbled on some really cool things. There is a huge building, the Il Vittoriano', and the are many different statues and many details on this building.


The interesting thing is that each statue and detail represents something about Italy [the people, the gov't, the different cities, etc] It was a very tall building so we climbed the stairs and enjoyed the view that it gave us. From the top we could see everything, including the Vatican city. We were super tired from not getting a lot of sleep so we headed back to our room and got lots of sleep.

We spent the next morning searching for the market in Rome. We were hoping to find some fruits and veggies because we couldn't find a store to save our lives. haha. we found the market and there was just a lot of clothes, purses, sunglasses, jewelery, etc. We walked towards another square that was supposed to have a market but it was closed by the time we got there. So we decided to hit up some attractions. While looking over the map to decide on a path we saw one of our friends from school, IN EAU CLAIRE.
this is just some random McDonalds that was near the Pantheon. at first I thought these were houses but...I was wrong


He studies in Spain right now but it was crazy running into him because Rome is a big city. Then we were off to Trivi Fountain. Its a beautiful fountain and there were many people there.

After we threw our coins, in hopes of returning to Europe one day, we headed over to see the Pantheon and Parliment, then we went to the Spanish Steps and then down to Poploro Square. It's a large square at the end of a main road. There were many people sitting near the fountain and just hanging out there. We ate dinner and a little Ristorante and had Lasagna. It was pretty good!

The third day we went to the beach. It was pretty cold in the morning but we knew it would get warmer so we grabbed some food and headed out.


There were tiny waves and some kids surfing but we tested the water and it was REALLY cold so we decided we'd just catch some sun, unless it got really hot. It stayed cooler and a little cloudy until about 3 in the afternoon then the clouds dissapeared and the sun came out and it was really warm. A lot of people came down to the beach after that. It was nice to relax in the sun and get a little tan.

On Tuesday, our last day, we went to The Vatican City.


We went to the Vatican Museum first to see the Sistine Chapel and other great pieces of art. We studied some pieces in our art class so it was really cool to see them in person. My neck hurt from staring at the cieling of the chapel for so long but it was so beautiful, it was hard to look away. We probably spent about 3 to 4 hours in the museum alone because it was soo big and there were so many things to see. Then we headed to the church to take a look. It was AMAZING. It was sooo big. There were statues everywhere and at the front of the church they were holding mass.



The church was soo big that tourist could walk around and view the church and they could have mass, it was crazy. After spending about 6 hours in the Vatican City we wandered around the streets a little bit more, ate, and said our goodbyes to Rome because we were leaving for Barcelona the next day!

Spring Break was off to a good start...


[more to come later!]

Traveling begins in Athens...

My trip to Athens was AMAZING! It started at 8 am Friday. The bus was supposed to pick us up by 8:15 but because we are in Greece and Zorpeides [the bus company] is never on time, we didn't get picked up until about 9:30.


Most people slept the entire way, which make the ride nice and quiet. We stoped at a Taverna for lunch and continued onto Athens. The trip by bus took us about 8 hours with the stops that we made. It was a rather enjoyable trip. The veiws were amazing! a lot of water, beaches, boats, and mountains.

When we arrived in Athens we drove by the Olympic Stadium that was built for the 2004 Olympics. The city looks like any other large city of 5 million. With a lot of traffic, buses, trams, and of course honking =D. Our Hotel was right on the sea.



Once we checked into our room we took a walk along the boardwalk and took some pictures.




At 10 pm we went as a group downtown to Syntagma Square. This is the main sqare in Athens [Much like Aristotle Sqare in Thessaloniki]. There were shops and resturants, hotels, and the Parliment building was at the top of the square. We were shown a couple of main areas and then we were allowed to go and do whatever we liked. We walked around an went to an Ice Bar and then went home to get some sleep before our long day on Saturday.

Saturday was the day for sight-seeing with our tour guide.

We started by driving around the city a for a little bit and seeing different areas, buildings, parks, tourist attractions.

Our first stop was the Panathenaikon Stadium. This stadium was modeled after a marble stadium that stood in the same spot. This stadium was used for the first modern olympics held in 1896.

From this stadium [like many other places in Athens] you could see the Acropolis [The Parthenon is the most recognizable]

After the stadium we headed to the Acropolis. On the way we passed a really cool statue. Its called "The Runner" and is made out of sheets of glass laid on top of each other.

When we arrived at the Acropolis, we started at the bottom in from of The Odeion of Herodes Atticus, he built this theater in memory of his wife. It can hold 5,000 people and has been restored and is still used today.

From there we headed up the large 'rock' to the gate leading into the Temple of Athena [The Parthenon] and also The Erechtheion. This is the most elaboate gate built for any temple it was designed to 'welcome' its guests. Like the entire site, the gate is also under construction. Where the scafolding is [on the right] there is a room that is The Temple of the Athena Nike built to commemorate the victory of the Greeks against the Persians. On the left there is a room that is believed to be used as a leasiure room. There used to be paintings on the walls but since 400 BC they faded ;).

Next stop is the Parthenon and The Erechtheion. The Parthenon is extraordinary in person. The size is amazing. This temple is dedicated to the Greek Goddess Athena. When you walk into this area you see the back of the temple. As a rule, the entrance of a temple had to face the east.

[This is the front of the temple and me =) enjoying ever min. of it ]

This is the back of the Parthenon. FUN FACT: The Parthenon was built as an optical illusion. For example, the columns are leaning in slightly to make it look straight up and down.

Next is The Erechtheion. For those of you who dont know the story... Athena won the city of Athens from Poseidon when she planted the olive tree for the people of the city. The Erechtheion is built on the place that the olive tree was planted.

The figures that are supporting the the roof of the balcony are known as Caryatids. There are six of them but only five are the originals, the sixth one the British have in a museum and wont give it back.

From the top of the Acropolis you can see everything! We saw the entire city, and also many of the sights we previously visited and other places we would be going.

This is the Ancient Theatre of Dionysos. Experts believe that the origional theater could hold 17,000.

After the Acroplis we went to the Ancient Agora. There were alot of just ruins so I didn't take many pictures but the Temple of Hephaistos is best preserved temple [built in 450 BC].

this is a picture over looking the Ancient Agora onto the Acropolis.

We did this all before lunch! We had lunch at a local Taverna. It was really good food. We had Gyros [umm], Greek Salad, and French Fries. After lunch we could do whatever we wanted so we went shopping and eventually found some friends that were having Frappe in the square. So we stopped. Frappe is a cold coffee drink, actually 'invented' in Thessaloniki, but it is safe to say it is the coffee of the Greeks. Kids at my school CONSTANTLY are drinking this drink and it is probably the most popular drink at the local cafes.

We were so beat by the end of the day, Britney and I were in bed by 10 pm! haha.

Sunday morning we awoke to go and watch the changing of the guards at The Parliment. Every Sunday the guards wear the traditional costume [they have other outfits that are navy blue]. The skirt [yes I said skirt] has 400 pleats, one for each year that Turkey controlled Greece. And they wear funny little shoes. There was a small parade of soldiers that came to the parliment, the guards changed, and they marched away. Its quite a big production. The guards have all of these steps that they have to do before and after changing positions [which I thought would be really easy until I found out that their funny little shoes weighed 6 pounds EACH]. They stand in one spot for an entire hour [not moving! I couldn't do it] Their marching is even different, its made to sound like the galloping of a horse [I didn't hear that but it does have a noticible sound].

After that was over we could go on our own until lunch or there were three events we could choose from. I went on a walking tour of the Roal Gardens and for the hike up the HUGE hill, Lykavvitos Hill. The gardens used to be the gardens for the palace [which is now home to the Greek Prime minister and President] but it was converted in to a park for the city. In the park they had random animals, like bunnies, roosters, geese, donkeys, and other assorted birds. After the garden we headed for the hill that is one of the highest points and you can see the city. IT WAS WORK to climb up to the top but it was really worth it. you could see EVERYTHING.

This is the hill...but this doesn't include the streets and stairs before the hill that we had to treck. you can kind of see the trail that zig-zags to the top.

But like I said....TOTALY worth it!

At the gate of the White washed curch on top of the hill.

After our journey back down the hill we went to lunch. After lunch is was time to head back to Thessaloniki [or so we thought!] Come to find out our bus was broken. So we walked to where the busses were located to find out more details. We ended up waiting about 3 hours for someone to come and fix our bus, mean while there was a park near by and many of us went and played [like we were 5 :)] , we went to a couple of sights near by, and then we went for coffee.

We got to see Hadrian's Arch. The Athenians built this arch in 131 AD in honor of Hadrian.

AND The Temple of Zeus. There are 16 standing pillars today but there used to be 104. They where HUGE columns.


This is one that fell....you can see how they out the columns together in pieces.


They ended up getting the bus fixed and we headed for home.

All in all it was a fabulous weekend and I leave in 3 days for my spring break adventure. So many more pictures and stories to come!