The Second Half and A Reflection

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2/4. Out of four flights that we have had so far on this trip, half of them have featured some form of delay. This one wasn't nearly as long (only about 30 minutes) but I find it crazy that it has happened twice, both times coming when our destination was the Athens airport!

So we made it back to Athens and got to sleep in the next day! Well, really we had the option of going to the highest point in Athens or sleeping in...we've been so busy I chose the extra zzz's. Then we went to another museum. Leading up to this museum, Carl would also talk about how impressive the butt of Zeus is on one of the statues, and there was no argument there! The topic was a topic of conflict though, because the historians actually aren't sure if it's Zeus or Poseidon, so the group had to take a poll on which we thought it was.

Me on my birthday at a stop on the way to Dephi.
After a day back in Athens, it was time for a road trip. Over the next few days, we visited many cities around southern Greece. On the road trip, we visited Mycenae, Nafplio, Olympia, Delphi, and made a couple small stops at the Canal of Corinth and statue of the guy who created the Pap smear. During those days, we saw the beautiful ruins in Mycenae and Delphi, and Fortress Palamidi, and got to run the original track of the ancient Olympics. I hate running unless its playing a game like soccer, but how often do you get the chance to say "I ran the original Olympic track in Olympia" so one can bet I still participated in the race. Also during the road trip was my 20th birthday. My birthday was at the conclusion of the road trip where we started in Olympia, traveled to Delphi, and then ended back in Athens. I will tell you, even though most of my birthday was spent traveling, I could not dream of better views to help me celebrate. That day began where the ocean was my window view and rarely have I seen prettier waters, and then halfway through it switched to mountainous views. It was the best of both worlds.

The last full day in Greece was dedicated towards shopping in Athens. Let me say I love the prices there. Never in America could I get a quality give for the equivalent of a euro. The last day ended much too quickly because that also meant it was the end of this trip which has created so many memories.

The flight home was a weird one. It was a morning flight so even though getting from Athens back to Knoxville like a 20 hour affair (I was able to fit in five movies and a nap on the flight from Athens to Philly), it was still light outside when we landed in Knox...and I wasn't tired. I'm a neuroscience major so I know its because the circadian rhythms were thrown off by the extended exposure to yellow light, but it was still crazy to experience. As soon as everyone got there luggage and we started to disband, I was actually pretty sad, because that meant with certainty that the trip was over 😭. If anything, this trip showed me that I want to take more, and that I'm so grateful that my best friend came with me on this one.

...

It's been a few days now since returning to the states and already there are things I've noticed that I miss about Greece. Before I even got off the plane, I was already missing its water - how blue it was. The plane from Philly to Knoxville was so small that I got both an isle and a window seat, and as I looked out the window, every. single. river. we passed was...brown. Not this beautiful blue, not this blue, nope. Brown. An ugly brown at that. I miss the lack of litter almost everywhere I go since its everywhere here. I think I actually miss the grilled chicken the most though simply because it was so accessible. All the food places here have fried chicken and either the grilled is extra or gross...or you have to go to a full on restaurant to get some unless you make it yourself. I don't want fried chicken, I want grilled. I felt healthier over there even if I mostly ate chicken and fries, just because it was grilled, and I miss it. Chicken souvlaki sounds good right about now.