Athens

The final stop for our spring break trip was Athens. We decided to splurge a little bit and get a hotel right on the beach rather than in the city, which turned out to be such a good decision! Athens was the first place we've traveled where I didn't really feel like we were in Europe anymore -- it had much more of a middle eastern flare, and certain parts of the city were definitely a little sketchy! And not to mention that not only do we not speak Greek, but unlike Italian or French, you can't even guess on certain words because most of their letters are symbols... it might as well have been in Japanese!

We arrived in the afternoon, and after checking into the hotel we decided to catch the tram into the city for dinner. On our way home, we walked by a church and there were hundreds of people standing outside of it while some type of chant was going on. We thought it was a little strange, but we figured it was probably just part of the culture or something. We finally made it back on the tram, and we weren't on it more than 5 minutes when we realized most of the main streets were closed, and all of a sudden the streets started to fill with thousands and thousands of people walking with candles. Okay, this is NOT normal! I'm not going to lie, I was a little creeped out at this point. Later we found out that it was their Easter weekend, and that the city pretty much closes down. We panicked at first, thinking nothing would be open, but it actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we ended up getting in free to most of the historical sights, and the city was so much easier to navigate without a ton of people!

We knocked out a ton of sightseeing the next day, with our first stop being the Acropolis. There are many different temples up on the hill of the Acropolis -- this one is the Temple of Athena Nike. Yes, that Nike. :)

Probably the most famous and most recognizable of all the temples is the Parthenon, which is by far the biggest temple on the Acropolis overlooking all of Athens.

Jordan and I with a glimpse of Athens in the background...

Lindsay and I with the same amazing view of the city. Look at that gorgeous, sunny day!

I love this picture of Jordan staring at the Parthenon. He had to buy these sunglasses in Rome because he forgot his, and they were like mirrors -- I was trying to be artsy and get the Parthenon in his sunglasses. :) You can actually click on the picture to make it bigger.

It was pretty amazing to be seeing these temples that were built hundreds of years before Christ was even born! Although, I'll be the first to admit, after a while all of the columns started to blend together, and I felt like all my pictures looked the exact same. Oh well.

The "jumping picture" routine continued! We actually made it a point to get a jumping picture at every major sight, although a lot of them were taken on Lindsay's camera. I'll try to post some more on here once she gets her pictures online. :) Here's one of Jordan and I in front of the Parthenon...

Another beautiful view of Athens...

FINALLY we were able to get someone to take a picture of all three of us! This is the only one from the entire trip.

When you're wandering around the Acropolis, it's hard not to picture yourself all tan and beautiful, walking around in a toga with leather sandals -- a Greek God, basically. :) 

Here is a shot of another cool temple in the Acropolis overlooking Athens...

From there we hiked down the hill to the Ancient Agora, which, for lack of better words, used to be the downtown of Athens in ancient times. I thought this church/temple was really neat. It was standing amidst all kinds of rocks and ruins.

Our next stop was the Temple of the Olympian Zeus. This temple is even older than the temples in the Acropolis; it was built in 6th century B.C.! It's hard to tell in pictures how big it really is, so I took this one of Jordan looking up at it to give you a better idea...

I liked this picture because it shows the Temple of Zeus, and then the view of the Acropolis up on the hill in the background...

The next thing we were all pretty pumped to see was the first Olympic Stadium. The original one was built in 4th century B.C., but they rebuilt it for the first modern Olympic Games in 1886. They actually did the opening ceremonies here for the 2004 Games!

My cute husband, so excited to see the Olympic Stadium! :)

We walked a lot while we were in Athens, which was a great way to see different parts of the city and take in the unique Greek "charm."

The last thing on our to-do list was to go see the Bodies Exhibit that just happened to be in Athens. Jordan and I were a little unsure about this since we're both pretty squeamish when it comes to anything related to blood or body parts, but Lindsay talked us into it, and it ended up being AWESOME! Basically, it's a traveling exhibit that goes to different major cities around the world, and (according to Wikipedia): 

"The exhibition is set up so visitors journey through the human body starting with the skeletal system, and moving through the muscular, nervous, circulatory, respiratory, digestive, and reproductive systems; as well as fetal development. Containing about twenty whole bodies in total, each Exhibition uses real human bodies that have been preserved permanently by a process called "polymer preservation" that prevents the natural decay process. Some of the specimens are arranged so that they are performing activities such as playing basketball or conducting an orchestra. Along the way are other displays showing organs, healthy lungs next to smoker's lungs and all of the arteries and veins contained within the human body." 

It was absolutely incredible, and I'm not even much of a science person. :) They obviously don't let you take pictures inside, I was only able to get this one of the poster outside the exhibit. But, if you want to see some of the bodies or know more about it, click here to see the website, or just Google "Bodies Exhibit."

Our last day in Athens was fully dedicated to the beach! :) Our hotel was literally across the street from this beach, and it had been calling our names the whole time we were there...

The morning did not start out too promising; we thought it was going to be too cold. But we waited it out, and lo and behold, it got warmer and warmer, and became the perfect tanning weather! It was hot enough to where we all had to get in the water to cool off a few times. It was a perfect way to end our amazing trip! Here was my view of the brilliant blue water from my beach chair...

I am so glad we got a glimpse of Greece, although it has now become one of the top countries I want to return to and visit more of. Seeing Athens was great, but there are so many amazing cities along the coast and island towns that I simply must see before I die! :) Also, I truly cannot say enough about the Greek food -- gyros and Greek salad are my new favorites!

To see all of our pictures from Athens (and I'm apologizing in advance for all the old column pictures), click here.

When in Rome...

We arrived in Rome, and it didn't take us too long to realize that other than the amazing Italian food and warm weather, it was almost night and day compared to Venice. There is so much to see and do in Rome, and it is busy, busy, BUSY! There are so many people, and we were probably warned about a hundred times to watch out for pick-pockets. 

The first thing we did in Rome was head to the Colosseum, which was obviously at the top of all of our lists of things to see! Notice the crazy traffic...

The Colosseum is absolutely gigantic. I can't even really describe the experience of seeing it in person. It has always been something I've wanted to see, and it certainly did not disappoint!

We were able to go on an English-speaking tour once we got inside the walls of the Colosseum, which was so neat to learn exactly when and how it was used. And we got to hear a lot of gruesome Gladiator stories. :)

Lindsay and I inside the Colosseum...

I'm not sure if it was the vivid story-telling of our tour guide or my own imagination, but this is the one historical landmark I've seen where I felt like I could really picture what went on there when I was inside. Having seen the movie Gladiator with Russell Crowe probably helped a little too. :)

Speaking of, this is where the Emperor of Rome used to sit to watch the gladiators...

Jordan loved seeing the Colosseum! I loved it too, but I think he had a slight edge on me. Maybe it's a guy thing?!

After the Colosseum, we also got to take a tour of Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum, which both make up the remains of the ancient city of Rome.

Here is the view of the Colosseum from Palatine Hill...

There weren't as many cool doors in Rome, but I did manage to find a few. :)

Linds and Jord leading the way through the Roman Forum...

The joke of this trip was to try and say "when in Rome" and "by the beard of Zeus" as many times as possible (if you've seen the movie Anchorman, you might understand.) We came across this statue of Zeus, and naturally, Lindsay had to get a picture by it. :)

Although it wasn't everywhere you turned like it was in Venice, there was some Italian charm in Rome...

Here we are in front of the Pantheon, first Lindsay and I, and then Jordan and I. There were so many people around that we decided to make ourselves "stand out from the crowd"...

The next day we went to see Vatican City. Again, we were able to do a really cool English-speaking tour of everything, which was so helpful. I had no idea how big and extensive the Vatican Museum was -- they say it's four miles long! It is definitely comparable to the Louvre in Paris as far as the amazing art and artifacts it contains. 

At the very end of the tour we got to walk through the Sistine Chapel, which has the famous ceiling painted by Michelangelo, including the well-known "Creation of Adam" image. I didn't really know what to expect from the Sistine Chapel, but when I looked up at the ceiling I was in complete and total awe. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen in my entire life. I think knowing that it took Michelangelo four years to complete it made it even more fascinating! We weren't able to take pictures inside (although a lot of people broke the rules!), but click here to see some images of the Sistine Chapel. 

St. Peter's Square is the next well-known place to see in Vatican City. It contains the famous St. Peter's Basilica, which is the highest building in Rome. In fact, to this day, by law no other building in Rome can be built higher than St. Peter's. 

This is my favorite picture from Vatican City; it is how I, personally, saw it... beautiful, but just a little off...

What I mean by that, and I hope I don't offend anyone by saying this, is that everything just seemed overwhelmingly ornate and overdone... it just didn't give off a very "Christ-like" feeling, if you know what I mean. Lindsay hit it right on the head when we were walking through St. Peter's Basilica and she said, "Uh... I'm not quite sure that this is what Jesus had in mind. I mean, come on, WWJD?!"  :)

Don't get me wrong, it was absolutely beautiful, but seriously, necessary?? Here is a tiny glimpse of the inside of St. Peter's Basilica...

Here are all the chairs set up in St. Peter's Square probably for a service or a word from the Pope maybe...? 

Jordan and I in St. Peter's Square...

To see all of our pictures from Vatican City, click here.

Our last night in Rome, we decided to walk over to the Colosseum to see it all lit up. They do such an amazing job with the lighting -- it was more of a subtle glow, and it looked so enchanting.

We all loved Rome, and left with quite a few funny stories. Our biggest regret was not getting a picture with the guy who ran our little hotel -- his name was Santi, and he was Italian to the core! He took such great care of us, bringing us wine, folding our clothes, wanting to take us out to the disco every night (although we respectfully declined!) He was a riot, and I will never forget him coming to greet us in his baby blue velour pajamas. :)

To see all our pictures from Rome, click here.

Venice

We flew home from Scotland to meet my sister, Lindsay, in London! She got two full weeks off to join us for the second week of our spring break trip to Italy and Greece, and then a whole week in London afterwards. I officially get the "Worst Sister EVER Award" because this is the second time Lindsay has come to visit me in London, and both times I wasn't able to meet her at the airport -- she did make it to our flat okay though! 

Jordan, Lindsay, and I flew out to Venice the next morning and were a little shocked to arrive in 75 to 80 degree weather -- it was wonderful! Even with the weather aside, we absolutely adored Venice. First of all, there are no cars allowed in the city (which is a big island), so it seems so quiet! Their main modes of transportation include walking or boating through the canals, which they use like roads. You kind of feel like you're in a fantasy world the whole time...

Venice seriously blew my expectations out of the water. Its colorful, yet rustic charm was absolutely mesmerizing. A dream world, really. 

There aren't a ton of "landmarks" to see, which was a nice change of pace for us and gave us a lot of freedom to just wander the streets of Venice, enjoy the incredible Italian meals, see the city at our own pace, and fall completely in love with gelato...

I'm not exaggerating when I say that we all had at least one helping of gelato every day we were in Italy. Jordan usually had two! :)

Every where you turn in Venice, there is a postcard picture shot. Literally. It felt so surreal, like I was looking at a backdrop to a movie set or something. I kept having to remind myself that it was real!

The major tourist sight to see in Venice is San Marco Square (aka "St. Mark's Square"). You'd probably recognize it from various movies, like the movie Just Married -- it's the square with all the pigeons! 

Here is Lindsay and I in San Marco Square.

We got to go inside this beautiful church located right in the square, which is called St. Mark's Basilica. It was so ancient and ornate, and definitely had an Italian flare to it.

I think this shot of the gondolas might be my favorite picture from Venice. We took a lot of breaks from walking around, and we'd just sit by the water and stick our feet in. Not a bad view, huh?!

So the joke of the trip became Jordan's complete obsession with gelato. I can't blame him; you really can't beat real gelato in Italy on a hot day! It's so much better than ice cream; it's a lot lighter and has much better flavor. If you haven't tried it, you're missing out! We decided that I was totally taking a backseat to the new love of Jordan's life. :)

I, on the other hand, became totally obsessed with all the unique, rustic doors along the canals and roads in Venice. At one point, my sister and I almost fell down laughing trying to picture the classic American scene in Venice -- "Honey, I'm home..." (as the husband is totally drenched!) Maybe you had to be there... I swear it was funny! :)

Me and Jord in front of one of the canals. Just as a side note, I think Venice is 10 times more romantic than Paris... just my opinion!

I loved all the different colored buildings...

Brother-and-sister-in-laws! My two faves. :)

Did I not warn you? OBSESSED with the doors.

This picture makes me laugh every time I see it. I think the perfection caption for it is either "Traffic Jam in Venice" or "Rush Hour in Venice" -- I'm still undecided. :)

We decided against taking a ride in the gondolas mostly because we probably would have had to sell our house to do so. Okay, okay, they're not that expensive, but I think it was something like 100 Euros for a 40-minute ride. Uh, thanks but no thanks! 

We did get to ride one of the big water taxis, which is Venice's public transportation, believe it or not! It was really neat to get to see Venice from the water, especially right before the sun went down.

This is La Salute Church at the end of the Grand Canal in Venice. So beautiful...

I'm a little nervous to make such a bold statement, but I think Venice is my favorite city we've visited so far. :) It was everything I dreamed Italy would be, and maybe even more. Walking around taking in the rustic character of the buildings, eating delicious authentic Italian food right next to the water, having a legitimate excuse to eat gelato everyday ("how often am I in Italy?!")... it was just magical. Yes, I know "magical" is the cheesiest word in the English dictionary. Deal with it. :)

To see all of our pictures from Venice (and trust me, it was hard to narrow it down to the 60-photo limit), click here.