There was a time in my life I dreamed of going to Athens. I could only envision the great columns of the Parthenon and the ancient legacy of the 3,400 year old capitol of Greece. However, as I heard more things about the city, I found myself less and less drawn to it. No one I met had much praise for the overpopulated streets.
Despite being deterred from visiting, en-route to Santorini, Bre and I had a one day pitstop in the metropolis. While I tritely must say I enjoy being able to say I have seen the "wonder of the world" Acropolis, I could have probably skipped the trip to Athens. In all honesty, it was one of my least favorite places I traveled to. A city's vibe is essential, and the one that emanated throughout the ancient streets was not one I enjoyed.
Still, being eternally optimistic, Bre and I railed on through our day and founds some enjoyable moments throughout the dubious city. We wandered for hours, making our way up to the ancient center.
Over two months ago, when I set out on what I like to call my "Great European Adventure", I had no idea how fast the time would fly by. I should have anticipated that after what a whirlwind studying abroad for a whole semester had been, 51 days would feel like nothing. Still, as I sit here back at home in sunny California, I cannot believe it's all really over.
Backpacking around Europe had always been a dream of my best friends and I, even with the foreboding peril of packing, so well illustrated by Lorelei and Rori. Nevertheless, we rallied and managed to fit 6 weeks of clothes in our Osprey Porter 46 carry-on size backpacks, and now can basically consider ourselves the most efficient packers on the planet. While the majority of my time traveling was spent with my two best friends from home, Brooke and Lindsey, I started my trip with my amica Bre from school in Italy, and then spent some of it on my own.
