Parks' Closing Remarks on Greece

Though I've been back almost a week now, I still can recall every detail of this incredible trip so here goes: After returning from Mykonos, Katrina and I checked back into our fancy Hilton. These accommodations were better than our "4-bed" room and our toilet/shower combination that we had grown accustom to in Mykonos. After we were well rested Katrina and I woke up got ready and ventured over to Mike and Jamie's apartment. They asked us to show up around 9 AM, but of course we did not mosey in until at least 9:45. Once Mike and Jamie surfaced, we ventured to the market. First, we checked out the fruits and vegetables. Everything was so fresh and looked absolutely delectable. It was also all fairly cheap, and Jamie informed us that you will get the best deals if you do your shopping closer to the middle of the market.

 After shopping for fruits and vegetables, Mike and Jamie took us to the meat and seafood market...this is not a place to go if you have a weak stomach.

I could see how experiencing this place could easily turn someone to a vegetarian because the freshly slaughtered animals are on display at each booth

Probably not quite FDA approved, but at least it is all clearly very fresh. The meat market is an absolute madhouse, each person is desperately trying to get you to buy from their specific booth. Mike and Jamie were even grabbed by one of those crazy butchers. I would never survive there on my own because if an eccentric greek butcher was waving a giant knife in my face, I would probably be persuaded to buy anything. After the meat market, Jamie and Mike left us because they actually were going to class for a change, and Katrina and I were left to embark on our "Mythical Voyage" through Athens. Of course before we could begin our Mythical Voyage, it was time for another Gyro.

Our motto for the day was to take the road less traveled, and it seemed to make for an exciting day. First we attempted to explore the ancient Greek agora, however our college ids were not accepted because they appeared to be expired, thus exposing a very sad truth, that college was indeed over for us. We were not about to pay full price to walk around the agora, so we opted to move to higher ground and look at it from the base of the Acropolis, and it was a much better view anyways.

We then went to the Acropolis Museum and saw hundreds of ancient relics that were found there. After the Acropolis Museum we did some souvenir shopping, and realized mid-way through the day that we had not yet seen the ancient Olympic stadium, so we went on an adventure through the city trying to find it. We stayed true to our mantra of taking the road less traveled, and somehow ended up in a beautiful park, that also seemed to be a labyrinth.

The park exit led us right to the stadium, so it seemed to work out quite well. We did the walking audio tour of the stadium, and it was incredible!

 We probably looked like such tourists all day without Mike and Jamie who are seasoned vets of the city, but the "Mythical Voyage" was a great success!

We somehow made it back to our hotel, and fell asleep for a good 4 hours before we met back up with Mike and Jamie. Turns out the whole city shuts down during that time anyways for naps, so we fit right in. For our last night, the four of us went out to eat at this amazing restaurant. It capped the close to an amazing trip and I could not have asked for a better last night of our trip. Going to Greece was absolutely incredible. I cannot express how much I cherish the memories from this trip, and would go back in a heartbeat.

Thanks,
Maeghan Parks