Deinós

Vanesa Palafox
Rockford University Student

In May 2023, we participated in a study abroad program in Greece organized by Assistant Professor of Spanish and Classics Dr. Yoandy Cabrera, the Office of Global Affairs at Rockford University, and the Athens Center. Dr. Genevive Dibley, Director of Religious Studies at RU, was part of the crew as well. Seven students, including myself, had the amazing opportunity to enjoy and experience the trip of a lifetime and here is a day-by-day description of how the trip went with lots of pictures included!

Wednesday, May 17

Even though it was 1:45 am and it was very cold out, we were all very excited as we met in the main parking lot on campus. We said our goodbyes to our families and got on the bus. We were all very tired since none of us really slept anything from the excitement! We arrived at the Chicago airport a little after 3 am and we completed all the airport check-in and security process. We reached our gate and boarded our plane and, before we knew it, we were in the clouds on our way to Greece! The flights were very long but we were all very excited. We had a very long layover in the city of Boston where we explored the airport and got some breakfast.

Thursday, May 18

By the time we landed in Athens and got our luggage and exited the airport almost 24 hours later despite the 8-hour time difference, it was around 9 am the next day already!

We took our private bus to an Airbnb in which we would be spending the first night. The Airbnb was right around the corner from the Panathenaic Stadium! We got off the bus and with our luggage and everything we were right in front of the famous Greek Olympic stadium! We walked the rest of the way to the Airbnb and dropped our stuff off. The weather change was drastic! Rockford was very chilly and in Greece was almost 90 degrees and very hot. We all decided to change out of our sweaters and sweatpants and freshen up a bit before going out to explore the city. We were all very tired since we had all been up for almost 48 hours by this point, but we were all very determined to make the most out of this trip and enjoy every second of it. We decided to walk around the city and explore all day! Athens is a very busy and active city but it is beautiful! We did some shopping and had dinner at one of the restaurants we passed by. We were all very tired, so we decided to go back to the Airbnb and get some rest. The first night at the Airbnb was a night to remember with some funny memories that were made.

Friday, May 19

The next morning, we all slept in until almost 11am! We had been super tired after not getting much rest for the last three days! We hadn’t realized how tired we all were and even our bodies hurt, but that was the least of our concerns. We wanted to see and do everything! Friday was also the day our program with the Athens Centre actually started so we had to get to our first hotel and attend a welcome dinner that night. We went to a small café down the street from the Airbnb for some breakfast before checking out. We then took taxis to the Titania Hotel where we would spend the next few nights in Athens. We went back out to explore the city for a bit before coming back and getting ready for the welcome dinner. We met our personal representative from the Athens Centre who would be with us most of the trip. Her name is Rodeia and she was about our age so she fit in really well. We absolutely loved her! She took us on a walk/small tour of the city as we made our way to a very nice restaurant called “Ella” where we had our welcome dinner. The food was all super good and we were all very happy. It became one of our favorite food places of them all. Rodeia also took us to try her favorite ice cream place and it was super tasty. Still a bit tired from all the travel, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the next day. 

 

      

Saturday, May 20

On Saturday, we all went up to breakfast around 7 am at the rooftop of the hotel. The views were absolutely stunning, and you could see the Acropolis from there.

We all met in the lobby at 8:45 am and then followed Dr. Cabrera who would be our tour guide for the Acropolis site and museum for the day. The Acropolis was a very busy site. There were lots and lots of people and the lines were crazy long. The site itself was very beautiful to see and it was a very nice experience. The only think that made the day very tough was the heat. It was almost 90 degrees out and up on the Acropolis site there was no shade anywhere! It was humid hot, so it felt way over 90 degrees. It was brutal but so worth it. We spent most of the morning exploring the site and taking lots of pictures. We saw the Parthenon, the theater of Dionysus, the Erechtheion, which was presented by Angela, and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus that was presented by me.

We then went to one of the small restaurants near the site to have some lunch, get some shade and some rest. Afterwards, we visited the Acropolis Museum and saw all the artifacts that have been collected from the Acropolis sites.

Once we were finished, we had the entire evening to do whatever we wanted to do, so we decided to do some more shopping, have some dinner, and get some ice cream. That night back at the hotel, some of the girls met at the hotel rooftop which was a bar in the evenings for some drinks and some laughs and of course enjoy the night view of the Acropolis from the rooftop!

Sunday, May 21

Sunday was very similar to the day before. We went for breakfast at the rooftop around 7 am (where we couldn’t get over the amazing view of the city and the Acropolis), then met in the lobby at 8:30 am to start our plans for the day. We walked to the Ancient Agora where we spent our morning. There we saw many ruins, including the Hephaisteion which was presented by Yessenia.

After the Agora, we took a walk to the Kerameikos site where we saw lots of more interesting ruins and the Street of the Tombs which was presented by Andrea. We even ran across two turtles along the way! We also visited the Kerameikos Museum and saw the artifacts that have been found in the site.

After that we were all very hungry, so we went to a nearby restaurant to have some lunch. We then walked up to the top of the Areopagus hill where we sat and had the opportunity to hear Dr. Dibley talk about Paul in Athens and read from her Bible to us. The view of the city of Athens was absolutely amazing from there as well. We then concluded the day with some shopping on the way back to the hotel. Once we were back at the hotel, some of the girls went up to the rooftop bar for some more drinks and laughs.

Monday, May 22

On Monday, we woke up early to pack up our stuff and have breakfast at the rooftop before checking out. We checked out and we took our bus to the small city of Delphi at 8:15 am. We arrived in Delphi around 12 pm. The first thing we did was visit the Delphi upper site. It was a bit chillier there since we were a bit higher up in a mountain, but after the long climb all the way to the top it was all worth it. The view was stunning and by far a favorite for the most of us. During the climb, we saw a theater and the Temple of Apolo which was presented by Laura.

After spending the time to take lots of pictures, we made our way to the Delphi Museum and saw many artifacts before making our way to the Acropole Hotel. The town was very small, it only consisted of two roads, but the view from out hotel room was absolutely breathtaking. We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping at all the shops in the town and ended with a nice dinner at a restaurant right next to the gorgeous view.

Tuesday, May 23

On Tuesday, we had breakfast in the hotel and then checked out at 8:15 am. We did leave a bit late because for some of the girls, the fear of oversleeping came true. But everything worked out just fine. We made our way to the Delphi lower site. It was a smaller site than the upper we had visited the day before, but it was very interesting to see and learn about. We saw a few more structures which were presented by Yessenia.

We did not spend too much time there because we were all very excited to get to the next city where we would be going to the beach! We took a bus ride from Delphi to Itea. There jumped right off the bus and spent time at the beach. The water was beyond freezing ice cold but at least we can say we swam in the Gulf of Corinth!

After swimming, we had some lunch at a beachside restaurant then took a very quick shopping trip before getting on the bus and heading to the next city. We then went to Piraeus and checked in to the Savoy Hotel. We decided to make good use of our free evening and went shopping. We also ended with a nice dinner at a restaurant that was across the street from a boat dock. The food was absolutely delicious. I think it was a favorite for most of us. We also got some ice cream on the way back to the hotel.

Wednesday, May 24

On Wednesday, we had breakfast on the Savoy Hotel then checked out at 9 am. We then took our bus to the city of Sounio where we visited the Temple of Poseidon which was presented by Andrea.

The temple was on hill and surrounded by almost all water which made us all want to go to the beach again. So, we did! We went to the beach right beneath the temple and enjoyed those views for a few hours. We also had some lunch at a small restaurant there on the shore.

After our second day of swimming, we jumped back on the bus and made our way to the city of Nafplio. In Naflpio, we checked into the Liberty Hotel which was by far the favorite for most of us, with the exception of the amazing views from out balconies in Delphi. After checking in, we decided we would walk around the city, do some more shopping, and have some dinner. We went to a nearby plaza that was super pretty. We looked around some of the shops and then we went to dinner. The plaza had many places to eat, and we couldn’t decide where we wanted to eat but eventually we chose a place where there was a table big enough to fit all of us together and was cute with candles and everything. The food there was absolutely amazing, and the cocktails were also a favorite. This place was also one of our favorite diners we had been to so far. After our dinner, we made our way back to the hotel to get ready for the next day.

Thursday, May 25

On Thursday, we had breakfast at the hotel and at 9 am we met and took the bus to the city of Epidaurus.

There we spent some time exploring the Epidaurus site followed by seeing the artifacts in the museum. We saw the theater and the Sanctuary of Epidaurus which was presented by Genell.

After having some time to take pictures and enjoy the views, we took the bus back to Nafplio. We had some free time so as a group we decided to go exploring around the city some more and we made our way to yet another beachside. We did not go swimming there despite how hot it was, but we did relax a bit in a small café and had something to drink. We then went back to the hotel to get ready for the afternoon plans. That afternoon, we visited the Karonis Distillery for some ouzo tasting.

The distillery was a small family-owned business and ouzo is the national alcoholic drink. The owners were super nice, they gave us a quick tour and introduction to their family history in the business and the process for how they make their ouzo. We then had the opportunity to try some drinks they made for us and we all bought some bottles to bring back home with us. We had tried some ouzo at a café a few days before and the majority of us were definitely not fans, so we were all a bit skeptical about going ouzo tasting, but the Karonis family were super nice and made a very good ouzo tasting experience for us.

After the ouzo tasting, we decided we would go drop some stuff off at the hotel then go out for dinner. We all agreed that we loved the dinner we had had the night before, so we went back to the same pace again. Happy with our dinner choice, we ate and talked for a while until we decided to head back to the hotel and call it a night.

Friday, May 26

On Friday we had a very busy schedule. We started our day with breakfast at the hotel, then checked out and took a bus ride to the city of Mycenae. There we took the time to visit the Mycenae site where Jacqueline presented many sites including the Lion Gate and its walls, the Palace, and Grave Circle A.

After taking many pictures, we visited the Mycenae Museum and saw all the artifacts that belonged to those sites. We then took a short bus ride down the road and visited the Treasury of Atreus which was presented by me.

After a few minutes of pictures, we took yet another bus ride to the city of Corinth. There we took about an hour to get some lunch and explore some of the shops next to the archeological site. We then entered the site where we saw the Temple of Apollo which was presented by Angela and also walked through the museum that had all the artifacts from the site.

After our time there, we took the bus back to the city of Athens where we checked back into the first hotel, the Titania Hotel. We had a few minutes to get ready because we also had our farewell dinner with the Athens Centre that night. We went back to the fancy restaurant we had gone to for our welcome dinner, Ella. Yet again the food was delicious. After a very long day, we made our way back to the hotel and got ready for the next day.

Saturday, May 27

Unlike the busy day we had the day before, Saturday was more relaxed. We were all very sad it was our last day in Greece, but we were all also very determined to make the most of every second. We had breakfast one last time on the hotel rooftop and soaked in the amazing view. We walked through the city and made our way to the National Archeological Museum of Athens where we spent quite a few hours.

The museum was huge and there was so much to see! After the museum, we had the rest of the day to ourselves, so we decided to do our last-minute shopping. We spent the rest of the day in the plazas buying lots of things we could remember our trip with. We shopped so much we were all very hungry once we were done. The plaza had a few restaurants we had walked by a few times, but we had never stopped to eat at, so we decided to try one out. Yet again we were shocked at how good the food was. After a successful last day, we head back to the hotel to take the time to get ready, pack and try to get some rest before having to leave.

Sunday, May 28

On Sunday we were all up early. We checked out of the hotel and got on the bus at like 1:30 am. At the airport, we went through check in, security, and got to our gate. We flew from Athens to Amsterdam where we got some Starbucks and McDonalds to try to refuel our energy. From Amsterdam, we flew to Chicago, and we were all very tired, more like extremely exhausted. We claimed our luggage and exited the airport to where most of us met our families that were excited to see us and carpooled back to Rockford completing the successful, fun, and memorable trip.