Goodbye Europe 2014: Highlights from each city

Hello from America!
         After being back in America for more than a week, it is time to put an end to this amazing experience and post my last blog. Every day something different reminds me of our awesome time abroad and our unforgettable memories. I want to thank Professor Ryan for the best trip of my life and for spending 3 weeks out of his summer to take us around Europe. Even though he is my advisor and I was already close with him, nothing will compare to our time in Europe and I am excited to share the memories from our time in Europe together over the next 2 years at school. I thought I could share some of my favorite memories from each city as my final post!
London, England:
   - The coffee shops everywhere
   - The double decker buses and taxis
   - The cleanliness
   - The accent and English language
   - The London bridge market food and drinks!
   - The transportation system
   - The Olympic Park
   - Wembley Stadium / love of sports and especially soccer
   - Big Ben/ Parliament/ London Eye/ Westminster Abbey/ Buckingham Palace/ Royal Gardens
   - The variety of cultures and food
   - O'Neill's
   - Group dinners
Paris, France:
   - The Eiffel tower
   - The Eiffel tower at night
   - The food
   - How it got dark very late (10 pm)
   - The Louvre - Mona Lisa
   - Notre Dame
   - Love Lock Bridge
   - Artwork
   - Group dinner at traditional French restaurant
   - Nice hotel, beds, and free cappuccinos in lobby
   - Walking around and discovering small side streets and stores (Kyle is just such a great tour guide!)
Lausanne, Switzerland:
   - Lake Geneva
   - The Alps
   - The beautiful countryside
   - Cleanliness and transportation
   - The nice cars
   - The food
   - The stores
   - Paddle-boating
   - Barbecuing at the beach
   - The IOC
   - The Olympic Museum
   - CAS
   - Safety
   - Breakfast coffee
   - Group dinner
   - P Ry's birthday and Swiss Army knife present
Olympia, Greece:
   - Hotel pool
   - Town and people
   - Shops and jewelry
   - Traditional Greek Food
   - Group dinner
   - Cheap
   - Ancient Olympic site
   - Walking around the ancient site at night after everyone left
   - Nike as tour guide
Athens, Greece:
   - Cappuccino Freddos!!!
   - Food
   - Shops and side streets
   - Walking around
   - Air conditioned hotel rooms
   - Acropolis
   - Acropolis at night
   - Athens at night from hotel rooftop
   - The beach and restaurant on cliff
   - Rooftop on hotel next door last night
   - Nike and Dikaia
   - Group dinners
What an unbelievable trip, and I don't blame P Ry for going back every year to experience it all over again with different students. I recommend this course to anyone and everyone and I am so glad that I decided to do it because it was the best decision of my life. Olympic Odyssey Crew 2014!!!
Love Always,
Jess <3

End of an Odyssey Part II: Lists and Superlatives

After two and a half thrilling weeks of travel, our Olympic Odyssey is at an end.  This trip went by so fast!  It seems like only yesterday that we were all waiting in JFK anticipating our exciting journey across Europe.  Now it is over, and I'm so glad I chose to go on this trip, because I experienced so many fond memories and experiences with a great group of people.  In addition to teaching me about the Ancient and Modern Olympic Games, I feel this trip had also helped me grow as a person.  Even though I had been to Europe on previous occasions, this time was different in that I was not so dependent on others to make decisions for me.  On past trips, it was often my parents that were charge of planning all facets of the trip.  Although Professor Ryan had an itinerary planned for us for each of the days, we as group often had to plan out the logistics for doing an activity.  For example, I was usually dependent on my parents for how we would travel to a location.  But on this trip, I had to learn the subway routes and find locations with the help of map. There was an academic part of trip, but there was also a part that taught me how live more independently and think critically.

I feel that you can never see a place too many times, because each new time you go, you learn something new that causes you to develop a new perspective about that place.  I've been to Paris many times, but every one of the visits is unique.  There is still so much I have yet to discover and learn about the city, and I would love to revisit London, Paris, Lausanne, and Athens again sometime in the future.

And now, without further ado, here are my medals lists and superlatives for the trip:

Sites:

Bronze: Wembley Stadium- I would say this was the best site on the London portion of the trip. I was impressed by the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, but in terms of quality and overall experience, Wembley was better, in my mind.  And Wembley clearly had the superior tour guide, Ansley.
Silver:  The Olympic Museum in Lausanne- Many may disagree, but I thought the Lausanne Olympic Museum was even more impressive than the visit to the International Olympic Committee, and that is saying something.  But I felt I got more out of the museum as an overall learning experience.  The exhibits were very well done, and I enjoyed seeing many of the famous Olympic memorabilia such as Jesse Owens' track shoe, the Dream Team ball, and the U.S Men's 1980 hockey jersey.
Gold: Olympia- Of all the sites on the trip, this one was my favorite.  I love history and sports, and Olympia offered both.  As I walked through the ancient ruins, I felt as though I was traveling through time, and could visualize the athletes of ancient times running across the old stadium.  The memories of Olympia will probably stay with me the longest.

View:

Bronze: London Eye- The price for the ride was high, but view of London was worth it.
Silver: Athens Acropolis- Walking through the streets of Athens, you may not find the city particularly attractive.  However, seeing the city as a whole from the top of the Acropolis, you realize Athens really is quite beautiful.
Gold:  Les Avants Hike- You had the towering Alps, the sparkling Lake Geneva, the elegant city of Montreux, lush green forests and rolling hills, and even some scenic cows.  No words could justify the view(s) on this hike through the Swiss wilderness.  I was blown away by how beautiful it was.





















Tour Guides/Lecturers:

Bronze: Ansley (Wembley Stadium Tour in London)- Very enthusiastic and energetic individual who made the tour both fun and informative.
Silver: Dikaia Chatziefstathiou (Athens, lecture on "Olympism")--One of the coolest people I have ever met.  Not only is she an exceptional lecturer and all-around great person, but she was also a dancer at the London 2012 Opening Ceremony!
Gold: Nike (Greece, Ancient Greece museums and Olympia)--I was so impressed by Nike's expertise of ancient Greek culture.  You could ask her anything about ancient Greece, and she would know the answer.  Her detailed explanations show how much care she puts into her studies.

Funniest Moment:  Three moments stand out to me.  One is when when we were eating at the American sports bar in London, and I saw "hamdog" on the menu.  I could not believe such a vile thing existed, until I actually saw it! Another moment was when we were hiking in Switzerland, and we were forced to hike up a ridiculously steep and treacherous driveway.  We were all tired at that point, and Professor Ryan wanted nothing to do with it.  My top funniest moment would have to be when Professor Ryan kidded about needing "a push" to get through one of the narrow doorways of the Tower of London.  The timing of joke was impeccable, and I couldn't help myself from laughing.

Most Awkward Moment:  This moment was both funny and awkward. We were on the funicular in Les Avants ready to ride up the hillside and begin our hike.  We waited for a while, and the funicular had yet to move.  So Alex decided to walk out of the funicular to investigate the cause.  Almost immediately after he walked out of the vehicle, the funicular doors slammed shut, and Alex was left starring at us from the outside in utter disbelief.  He was almost left behind, but we managed to open the doors and let him in.

Best Professor Ryan Moment:   When Professor Ryan helped save the day during our first day in Greece.  On the way to Olympia, our bus broke down due to a blown-out tire (There was practically no tire left), and Professor Ryan rose to the occasion and helped our driver replace the tire and continue on with our journey.

Best Hotel:   Definitely not London.  My London room smelled of pizza the whole time because the room was situated right over a pizzeria. The Paris and Greece hotels were pretty nice, but in my opinion, the hotel in Lausanne was the best.  The rooms were nice, the breakfasts were delicious, and the view from the hotel of Lake Geneva was incredible. And the location of the hotel proved very convenient, as there was a grocery store, an ATM, and some nice restaurants minutes away.

Meal of the Trip:  Gyros- I had this meal three times while we were in Greece.  Nuff said.

Lowest Point: The morning of our train ride to Paris.  We were all out late the previous night, and no one was ready for a day of traveling.  Zombified and barely able to function, we all somehow made it to Paris without any serious issues. Coming in a close second was when we found our "beach" in Athens, and the so called "beach" was nothing more than a plod of rocky earth with trash and shifty sunbathers.

Highest Point: There were so many high points of the trip, and it would be hard for me to chose just one. So here my high points of the trip, in no particular order:

1. Walking onto the field at Wembley Stadium
2. Visiting the Eiffel Tower at night
3. Looking out over the Swiss landscape on our hike
4. Walking through ancient Olympia

   




Agree with the choices?  Comment below!
Au Revoir,
Matt Kahl

Looking back on it all

I truly can’t believe that the Olympic Odyssey 2014 trip is over. I spent a year looking forward to the trip, and now it’s finished. I would go back and do it again in a heartbeat. It was the experience of a lifetime, both culturally and academically. Thank you to Professor Ryan and all of my new friends for making this the best trip of my life. I know that the memories we made will be the stories that I’m telling when I’m 80 years old. 

            I’m going to miss Europe too much for words. However, traveling is my passion, so I know that it’s not a goodbye, it’s just a see you later. There are a million things that I’ll miss about England, France, Switzerland, and Greece, but here’s a list of a few:

      1. The scenery and the sites. I’m a sucker for nature scenes, so of course this trip was my weakness. I think that Switzerland spoiled me though. I will never be able to look at a mountain range again. I am also a big tourist (whether I like to admit it or not) so seeing the sites was amazing. I could stare up at the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, and the Acropolis forever.

      2. Walking. As much as I love the ability to hop in the car and drive anywhere, there’s something about walking around and experiencing the atmosphere on foot that I will miss. I could easily walk around at home, but it’s not the same as following Professor Ryan around for 5 miles taking in the Olympic Park, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and the Buckingham Palace all in one day.

(I promise that's not a green-screen behind us)

      3. No tipping/Sales tax pre-included. What’s better than feeling like you saved money? Fun fact: in Europe, you don’t have to tip the waiter/waitress. I’m all about living wages, but no one can disagree that tips takes a huge chunk out of your wallet. Also, in Europe, the sales tax is already included in the price of what you buy. So you can get your change out while in line and pay exactly what’s on the price tag at the register. Don’t you hate going to a store, seeing the price of $0.95, getting the change all ready to then be charged $1.01 for the 6% sales tax? I know I do.

4. The weather. This may have been luck, but we had the most perfect weather throughout the entire trip. It rained only 2 days for a very short while and then it was just blue clear skies and radiant, hot sunlight! I couldn’t have imagined more perfect weather; too bad I brought a million cold weather outfits.

 5.  The food. When you think of Europe, you should think of food. There are little mom and pop restaurants and cafes on every corner. Even the little waterfront shack made a mean hamburger! From fish and chips, to escargot, to cheese fondue, and gyros, it is safe to say that I ate well abroad!

End of an Odyssey

Yesterday was our last travel day and the end to the most amazing trip I could have ever imagined but like all great things there must be a conclusion.  In my opinion the best way to wrap up such an outstanding trip is to highlight the best moments of my fellow 2014 Olympic Odyssey goers.  Although there are many more than just one story I could share about each person I’ll try and pick the best.

Jake Rosen (Mr. Technicality)

Let’s start with the man who has the voice that carries further than any other person I’ve ever met.  Jake was always great person to be around and always had something to say about everything.  I had the pleasure of being his teammate in the scavenger hunt that Professor Ryan had setup for us.  One of the items on the list was “A business card from a KFC restaurant signed by the manager.”  Little did we know that we were destine for failure because Professor Ryan knew that this item on the list didn’t actually exist.  That didn’t stop Jake.  Jake ran into a KFC restaurant without thinking twice in search of something that the manager didn’t have.  So when he found out that the manager didn’t have a card he asked to have a piece of paper printed with the manager’s name, phone number and the address to the restaurant just so he could argue that we should be awarded the point.  In the end P. Ry didn’t approve the makeshift business card and we were awarded no points at the end of the trip.  This story just highlights the person Jake is, determined.  It’s as if he would stop at nothing to achieve greatness and I know in the future he will succeed.

Byrson Walker

The Olympic Odyssey class was the first class I ever had with Bryson and I knew very little to nothing about him but over the course of the trip we became friends.  We shared a love for Frank Ocean and sarcasm about a sculpture or a painting that wasn’t there in a museum.  We would say things like “Wow! This might just be the best artwork I’ve seen all day!” when there was simply an empty frame and this happened in quite a few of the museums we went to throughout the trip.  The story about Byrson I have to tell is also the story about his brief relationship in Athens.  He met a girl named Sarah (with an H) on the beach.  I wasn’t there when they first got together but he introduced me to her once I saw him.  He says,” Chan I want you to meet my new girlfriend Sarah” and the proceeded to take a piece of paper out of his pocket.  His girlfriend was a cutout animation of a girl no bigger than two inches.  Then we all laughed hysterically as he placed her in the sand right by his side.  Byrson was a pleasure to be around, an overall a great human being and I’m happy that he was a part of this journey.

Kyle Basedow and Alex Carter

I think it’s only fair that I write about Kyle and Alex as a duo rather than separately since that’s how they were on the trip.  Kyle and Alex grew up together so it’s only natural they spent a large portion of the trip by each other’s side.   Alex wasn’t in the spring course I had only met him once at a meeting for the Olympic Odyssey and Kyle and I hadn’t formally met.  I could tell a certain story about the two but I think I’ll stick to something else less fruity. ;) I had the honor of rooming with both of them for the time we were in Paris.  Late at night on our first day in Paris the day seemed to be pretty much over for everyone but collectively we decided that we still had time to go on an adventure.  So when you’re in Paris and you want to go somewhere at night, where do you go? The Eiffel Tower.  The three of us hopped on the metro late at night to go see the Eiffel Tower and for me it was the first time.  Seeing the Eiffel Tower light up Paris was one of the most breathe taking moments I have ever experienced and being there with Kyle and Alex made it that much better.  The two are always great company and after we took our pictures we headed back to our room satisfied with our first day in France.   This is something I will never forget and tell my child about the first time I saw the Eiffel Tower with Kyle and Alex.  I know both of them are going places in life and I hope them all the best in their ventures. 

Hannah Howe- Lubewich

I had a great time getting to know Hannah (and Emma in Paris) over the course of the trip.  She is an unbelievable person and is a trooper for putting up with Jake day in and day out.  (Just kidding Jake you know I’m just playin)  Hannah and I always seem to want to capture each moment of this trip with the best photos possible.  So we would share ideas and show each other the pictures we took and admire the other’s excellent work.  Little to her knowledge she is a way better photographer than I am.  Although it seemed as if we took many of the same photos, her pictures had the better touch.  It was to the point where I would show her a photo I took and she would show me a similar photo and all I could think to myself was,” dammit that’s a better angle” or “how come the lighting in her photos are always on point?”  This happened a lot in Switzerland when we took our day trip to Monteux.  In the end, there is no doubt in my mind that I will probably “like” every single one of Hannah’s Instagram or Facebook photos that she posts.  Aside from capturing each moment to perfection Hannah has a lot to look forward to and I’m so thankful that we became friend over the trip. 

Matt Kehl

I had the pleasure of rooming with Matt in four of the five cities we stayed in.  All I can say is thank you for putting up with the early wake up calls and constant mess on my side of the room.  In the beginning of the trip it was known that Matt was a quiet guy but little did we know that he was also very funny!  He had a habit of throwing in little sly comments which no one saw coming that could bring tears of laughter.  Matt was also the only one in the group that knew any French besides Bonjour.  He came in the clutch one night in Switzerland when we were on our own looking for a place to eat.  Everywhere seemed to closing or couldn’t seat nine so when we finally got to a certain restaurant he was able to talk to the waitress in French to find out if we could sit down or not.  We were able to sit down and the waitress set in front of us menus…in French.  So once again Matt had to come in and translate everything just so we could eat.  Thanks to Matt we all didn’t starve to death that night.  I wish you the best of luck and hope to see you in the fall!

Jessica Daniels

Jess sat in front of me the entire spring semester in the Professor Ryan’s Olympic course and we shared maybe one interaction and that was for me to plug in her charger for her laptop to the wall behind me.  She is a delightful girl and it was great having her on the trip because she brought so much energy and excitement to every day.  As many of you know Professor Ryan’s birthday is on May 22^nd so we wanted to give P. Ry (nickname made by Jess) a gift.  She had the great idea of replacing the Swiss army knife that he had got taken away from him when going through the airport in a past trip.  She was the one who brought such a large smile to Professor Ryan’s face when he opened his gift.  The knife is one of the biggest Swiss army knives I’ve ever seen.  It had everything on it and probably weighed five pounds.  Jess brought so much fun to the trip and she is definitely going to be missed now that the trip is over. 

Mike Gutman

Last but certainly not least in the group is the other Mike.  Mike is one of the overall best people I’ve met in Syracuse and I've had the pleasure of having multiple classes with the guy.  The story about I’m going to share about Mike isn't just one specific moment but multiple events over the course of the Olympic Odyssey.  He was one of the people I thought took away the most out of this trip just by the way he acted when we were in the presence of something magnificent.  At every museum or site that we went to Mike was one of the last people to leave.  For example, when we were at the Archeological site of the ancient Olympia he would hang back and embrace all history that surrounded him.  At the ancient stadium he was the last one to walk out and as I looked at him standing over the stadium it was clear that he just didn’t want to leave.  Even when everyone else was tired and beat from travelling or walking all day he was still ready to go and explore the new territory only offered to him for a few days.  I regret not imitating the way he acted when surrounded by so much with so little time offered to us. 

Professor Ryan (P. Ry)

I’d like to start off by saying thank you to Professor Ryan for everything he did to put this trip together. There are no words that I could say or write how thankful I am to have him as a professor, an advisor, and a role model.  He is someone we as college students can only dream of being and strive to be.  If I could say thank you in every single language it still wouldn’t be enough.  This trip has been the best experience and it’s all thanks to Professor Ryan.  I know that I will never have another opportunity like this in my life and I am beyond grateful for what P. Ry has done.  Every morning I would wake up early to have breakfast and the only person that could beat me to the table was Professor Ryan.  So almost every morning I had the opportunity to have a meal with him and have a nice conversation.  It saddens me that I woke up this morning unable to sit down across from P. Ry and say, “Good morning professor”.  But although the adventure is over I know I will be seeing more of Professor Ryan even after I graduate from Syracuse because it would be a mistake to have someone who’s had such an impact on my life not continue to be a part of it.  So once again thank you Professor Ryan for everything you have done and I wish you good health and happiness.

Thursday, May 29th, 2014: Our final day in Athens

            Today was a day much like any other day, with the one exception being that is was our last. Before I get started I would like to mention that prior to this trip, most of us only knew one or two other people but seventeen days later we have grown incredibly close and it is my group members who I wish to thank for making this trip what it is. I would also like to thank Professor Ryan for everything he provided before and during the trip, there truly is not an greater professor in my eyes.

Our final day began early, with an 8AM meeting time in the lobby. The group met briefly with Nike (pronounced Nikki), who was our guide for most of Greece, prior to her joining us for our hike up the Acropolis. On the walk there we walked on the old road upon which the “tripodon” was found. The tripodon translates to “Street of Tripods”, which were awarded to the actors in the theater district. We followed this road all the way to the base of the Acropolis, joined the while time by Nike’s dog Ino, whom we left at the entrance.

 The walk up to the Acropolis started on the south side, where the old road led us to the amphitheater dedicated to Dionysus, the god of wine and theater. The amphitheater itself was mostly complete and was wasn’t original had been filled in with new marble. We were able to walk up one of the aisles of the amphitheater onto the road that the people of ancient Athens took up to the top of the Acropolis. On our way up to the top we passed multiple caves and other sorts of holes carved into the side of the hill, which used to hold anything from statues of the gods to altars where soldiers would swear their lives to Athens.

We reached the top of the Acropolis, surrounded by a couple hundred other people. The first view of the top of the Acropolis brought us the most famous structure in all of Athens, the Parthenon. Back in ancient Athens, the Parthenon was a giant temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the citizens considered their patron goddess.

The rest of the Acropolis held multiple different santcuaries that had been uncovered over the years, as well as the old Temple of Athena. Hidden behind the older temple was the olive tree, which according to legend, was a gift from the goddess herself and the reason the city is called Athens. Everything started to become a little crowded as we made or way down from the Acropolis so we hustled over to the near by museum of the Acropolis before it became too crowded.

Inside of this museum were all the relics that had been recovered from the top of the Acropolis, including muktilple pieces of the eastern and western pediments of the Parthenon. After we did a short tour of the museum, we said good-bye to Nike because she was leaving us to work on a presentation that she was giving the following day.

Following our lunch in the Monastiraki section of Athens we headed back to the hotel to rest before Prof. Ryan’s associate Dr. Dakaia Chatziefstahiou gave us a short lecture on Olympism.

Dakaia gave a very thorough lecture on the nature of Olympism and what it meant to Coubertin and the current members of the IOC. We then wrapped up our trip, each of us sharing what we got out of it, and Prof. Ryan announced the winners of the scavenger hunt, with Alex, Mike, and Jess winning with a score of 46, the most by an Olympic Odyssey team ever.

Our meeting concluded, we headed out to dinner, a place called “Lontus”, that had a wonderful view of the Acropolis at night. After dinner we somehow managed to get free dessert for what seemed like the fifteenth time on the trip, and we finally got Prof. Ryan a small birthday cake with a candle to celebrate his birthday from the previous week.

Our night wrapped up with a trip to a rooftop bar near our hotel, where we all enjoyed an adult beverage and said good-bye to Dakaia before heading back to our rooms and packing for our return trip.

As I said before, today was a great day but it was a very sad day as well, because none of us wanted to leave. To be short, I shall never forget this trip, or the people who joined me on it. It was definitely an Olympic experience.

            

Wednesday 5/28/14 Athens, Greece

Γειά σου από την Αθήνα!

(Hello from Athens!)

Today we had our first breakfast in our last city, Athens! We ate at the hotel and the breakfast was unfortunately the worst of all. After breakfast we went to the Olympic Park from the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. We watched a video about the main stadium and then we went on the field and around the track. We were then going to go to the basketball arena, but the professional team was having practice so we could not get in. After the Olympic park, we stopped very quickly at the handball stadium from the Games which has been deserted for the last decade since the Olympics. It was sad to see something that wasn’t planned well and maintained that is now ruined.

We then took the bus to the Archeological museum. We had lunch at a great outdoor restaurant and then went to the museum. After the museum we went back to the hotel to finally get ready to go to the beach! 

We had to take the tram ride there, and Professor Ryan told us it would only take 15-20 minutes. However, the trip took an hour at least. When we finally hit a stop at the beach I wanted to jump off and go right into the water, but we were told to get off at the last stop and the boys did not want to get off. The beach looked great and the sun was out with a lot of people there swimming and eating and having a great time. But the bad thing about being 1 of 2 girls on a trip with 7 guys means that the girls never get listened to and we have to follow whatever the boys say, even when they are wrong. So we stayed on the tram until the last stop and got off at the worst beach any of us had ever been to. We expected a beautiful Greek beach, and what we saw was a beach that had gravel for sand, was right next to the highway and the tram, had garbage everywhere, had barely any people on it, and the water was full of huge boulders and garbage. This did not make any of us happy especially since it was already 5:00 pm and we pretty much missed the sun and a good beach day. So we were all mad, especially me, after I said we should’ve gotten off at the good stop and instead we stayed on the tram for 20 more minutes and were at this awful beach. But we tried to make the most of it and we laid our towels down on the gravel dirt sand and I even went swimming because all I wanted to do this trip was swim in Greece so I went in the boulder and garbage filled water. But right when I went in of course Kyle, Alex, and Chan called and said there was a better beach 5 minutes away so we should go there. So the rest of us packed up our stuff and went to the new beach, which was better. I jumped right in again, especially since it was around 6:00 now and kept getting later and the sun kept getting weaker. The water had rocks in it but it was much better than the other beach. This beach actually had people on it! We were then there for a couple of hours hanging out on the beach in Greece. 

We went to dinner at this restaurant on the water that was absolutely amazing. We went right during sunset and saw our first sunset of the trip, which happened to be a beautiful Greek one. We ate dinner outside on this beautiful cliff at a lounge table overlooking the sea. We had an awesome dinner with great food and just an amazing time. The night turned out very well after the first beach incident. We then went back to the hotel and went to the roof and met Professor Ryan and looked out across Athens lit up at night. We all hung out and ended the night under the starry sky of Athens, Greece.

See you later Europe, I’ll miss you very much!!

Jess <3

First Day in Athens

     Today started with an early morning visit to the Hellenic Education and Research Center where we saw many rare and ancient artifacts. Our tour guide Nike (pronounced Nicky) showed us all of the important pieces that she felt best described Greece during the introduction of the Olympic Games. The statues were magnificent, the jewelry was elegant, and the weaponry was magnificent. I was moved and inspired by the history that I was being emerged in. To think about the evolution of the olympics from 776 B.C to present times is truly amazing. They've gone from a 100 meter dirt race to a worldwide sporting event. I feel so lucky and blessed to have been given the opportunity to see everything I have seen.

     After that visit we set out on our return journey to Athens. We hoped that this four hour bus ride would have less struggles than our first one and luckily we came out unscathed. As we pulled into Athens I'll admit that it was a tad underwhelming. The buildings were rundown and there was graffiti almost everywhere. But P Ry informed us that the street we drive down is the dirtiest in the city and that everything else we'd be seeing would be gorgeous. We arrived at our hotel and thanked the heavens that our rooms had air-conditioning. After unpacking and settling in, we held a group meeting for about 20 minutes to get the lay of the land and figure out our plan for the rest of the day. We decided to meet up again at 4 to walk around and see a few sights. Our first stop was the Marble Stadium. Professor gave us a brief history lesson about it, explaining to us how it had been built in ancient times for sporting events but then most of the rock was taken away to be used for building houses. Then it was rebuilt in the 20th century and finished in 2004. Parliament was also really exciting to see as we made comparisons between it and our own Capitol Building. Once we were sufficed with our first day walk around Athens we set back down to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

     Dinner was quite possibly the best meal that I've had this entire trip. We met up with P Ry's associate Dikaia who works closely with the IOC in her studies of both modern and ancient Olympics. She joined us for our meal and we all had a great time. We ordered more appetizers than I care to remember and everything was so delicious.  Once it came time for the main course Kyle and I decided to take on the Mixed Grill. It is a combination of chicken, lamb, hamburger, and sausage along with french fries and pita bread. The plate is meant to feed up to five people and I'm proud to say the two of us polished it off. Desert wasn't far behind and after that we walked our new friend back to her car.

     Athens was amazing so far and we hadn't even seen everything that the city had to offer us. I'm glad to call this the last leg of our trip around Europe.

 Golden Coin from Olympia

Nike: Goddess of Victory

 Marble Stadium

P Ry Action Shot