By Stephanie Luna

I walked into the museum & looked below my feet only to see the ruins of the Acropolis. It felt surreal to stand next to the structures that the ancient Greeks created with their very own hands. To think that the statue I was observing was a mere block of marble before the hands of a gifted Greek had laid their hands on it, was amazing. We learned that these statues were being cleaned with laser technology to preserve them.
At the Acropolis museum, we saw many sculptures and creations that most certainly did not lack detail. In statues with clothing, I could see the wrinkles in the dress and the curls in the hair. While exiting the museum, we saw tortoises roaming below us. We learned that those tortoises had been there before the museum was established. This goes to show that everything around us had history, we just had to be willing to learn about it. 

By Derek Adrion

After leaving Athens we embarked on our trek to Cape Sounion to visit the temple of Poseidon. On the journey there we travel about the rocky coast and get to look out at the beautiful glittering ocean. Beauty truly worthy of being the domain of the Olympus god of the sea. However, when we finally arrive at the base of the hill that the temple resides on; one wonders, “why here?” With so much water around why build it on this piece of land? Walking up the hill you see the beauty of the ruins and the blooming flowers, but as you walk farther up you begin to understand why the ancient Greeks chose to erect this monument on this hill top. On top of the hill the whole expanse of the Aegean sea comes in to view and the experience is breathtaking. I simple can not describe its beauty. It seems a whole new shade of blue than anything I have seen. Truly an experience you can only understand if you were there. Everything about the area was beautiful. Beauty will forever be the word I will use to describe the temple.
After taking in the grace and rich history of the temple and being caressed by the ocean breeze and warming sun, I continued to explore the landscape of the area. The hill was covered in flowers of every color and the rustling of the grass in the wind along with the crashes of the waves was a soothing ode to the history of Greece. We even got a chance to get a glimpse of partridges. The story of how the temple came to ruin is unknown, but one theory is that it was caused by a large earthquake. If that is true it would be perfectly ironic for this Greek tragedy considering Poseidon is also the god of earthquakes. This will truly be a highlight of the trip.

By Aria D’Amico

Today we started our Greek adventure by touring the Acropolis. As we began the climb to the Temple of Athena and Parthenon, the views took our breathes away. Carol, our tour guide, enlightened us on the rich history of the unique architecture. We learned that the Parthenon is a universal symbol of democracy and the Greek symbol of good measure. After touring the monuments, we ate a wonderful lunch in the famous Planka District. The gyros, moussaka, souvlaki, and grilled octopus were among the most common dishes we enjoyed. Following lunch, the Cardinals took a visit to the Acropolis Museum. All three floors were incredible and provided rich details about greek history. Overall, we had a wonderful first day! Stay tuned for the rest of our adventures!

By Mikaela Medina

At around 11:30, we arrived at the first island of our cruise, Hydra. It was absolutely beautiful. The buildings were a beautiful white color with terra-cotta rooftops. The weather was perfect for walking around the island. There are only about three thousand people living in Hydra and there are absolutely no cars, making the island that much more peaceful.

Upon getting off the boat, mules were waiting at the dock to take you up to the top of the island. We walked around and visited many little shops around the town. We also had a lot of time to admire the beauty of the island and just walk around. We ended our visit by eating baklava by the water.

By Julie Fitsch-Mouras:

On Tuesday we visited the Parthenon. I didn’t realize how concentrated everything was, it was like the remains of the middle of the city, with some of the first theaters. The Parthenon was at the top of a hill with human-made cliffs, it was a wall, preventing anyone from entering any other way then by the main entrance, with a small temple and high columns. After entering, we had to walk up a little further to get to the Parthenon. The view was gorgeous; the sea, the city with its houses, and a blue sky with not even a dusty cloud. Across the Parthenon were other ruins, caryatids, statues of women, we acting like columns to hold up a smaller building. The caryatids were only replicas, there were six of them, but we saw the real ones in the Acropolis museum, and only five were actually found. We also found some sort of fossil but weren’t exactly sure what it was, perhaps a snail…

The Parthenon itself was just like I imagined. We weren’t allowed to walk inside, just around. The proportion of the columns was four by eight, apparently it is a standard, and other temples around Greece are in the same format. The building was made of rock, and the columns were made up of smaller cylinders aligned and stacked on top of each other. Some of the cylinders had shifted and looked like they were about to collapse. I wish I could have also seen this at night, with the specific lighting. Overall everyone seemed to be really excited about it, it’s crazy to think people were building this thousands of years ago.

By Gabby Knotts

The Placa district was a quiet and serene part of Greece. In the Placa district, there were white and beige buildings lining narrow streets and wild dogs and cats were roaming around waiting to be pet by strangers who were passing by. The community as a whole feeds these animals and gives them water. In other parts of Placa, some of the walls were coated in graffiti art that was what they used as their symbol of freedom.

The walls that were decorated with graffiti, were vibrant and added a good contrast to the white. From some of the little houses near the graffiti, you could see a part of the Parthenon. It’s sat on a high hill that towered over the tops of the little houses that had white steps with red brick roofs. Plants in pots outlined the white sidewalk and hung from above. We were so focused on the simple elegance of the neighborhood, we stopped talking and using our technology and just took in the quietness the beautifulness the small district could have.