Peloponenese Coast

June 10th-

Today was a low key/relaxing day. I was on my own for most of the afternoon until I went to go see a Greek movie called, "King of Mykonos" with Dom, Max and one of my roommates Cansu. We thought it would be a fun/interesting experience to see how Greece cinemas work. They have outdoor theaters and indoor ones as well. It's different from the U.S. in terms of seating though. We purchased our tickets and found out that they do assigned seating here. The cinema is very classy, you don't have to dress up or anything but it's more elegant than some of the theaters I've been to at home. "King of Mykonos" is an Australian made film so the movie was in English with Greek subtitles (that's how the Greeks learn English). The movie was supposed to be the Greek version of our "Hangover." Some parts were funny and some parts were even more funny because we didn't understand some of the movie. It was a great experience all around though especially since we saw a movie that's filmed at an island we're going to next weekend and because it's a film that's only showed in Greece!

June 11th-

Today the group left for the Peloponenese Coast. This was our first over night excursion through the school. Our first destination was a town called Mystras. We explored a fortress that warriors used for battle thousands of years ago. It was literally on the highest point of this cliff and the steps to get up to the top were all jagged and uneven, quite dangerous. After the hike and sweat dripping down our faces (it was about 95 degrees) we finally reached the top. The view was amazing. I felt like I was in Sweden or Ireland though, it had that country feel to it. We took pictures and pretended we were Spartans from 300 and then it was time for lunch in Sparti. It's a cute, small town with alot of beautiful landscaping. After lunch we headed to our final destination, Monemvassia. We checked into our hotel called The Flower of Monemvassia and headed to the beach. The beaches in Greece aren't as sandy as I'm used to but the rockier the beaches, the clearer the water. I prefer the clear water or sandy beaches because when you use goggles it's BEAUTIFUL! One of my roommates brought a pair of goggles from home and she let us use them to see around us. Fish circling below us, coral reefs, sea urchins (be careful) and just the wonders of the sea. Around 6:30pm it was time for us to go back and freshen up for dinner. Our dinner reservations were at 8:30 where we headed to this vineyard. The restaurant is an original winery and olive oil plant. They make everything right there from scratch. Before we sat down for dinner we were taken into this room where the barrels of wine are kept. We did a wine tasting with the wines they make from their own vineyards. It was my first official wine tasting! The wine was delicious and to compliment the taste, they brought out gouda, feta cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers. So good. After the wine tasting it was time for dinner. We had our own private table on the balcony. The meal was one of my favorites since I've been in Greece. It was a 5 course meal and the waiters kept bringing out food! We purchased some wine at the end and it was time to head back to our hotel for the evening.

June 12th-

This morning we woke up and had breakfast at our hotel before we had to board the bus at 9am. We headed to this castle in Monemvassia that had almost 1,000 steps to get to the top (talk about a hike). Monemvassia is a small town just like Sparti, but the scenery is out of this world. After the castle hike we went to this canal that huge boats and ships use to get to the sea easier/faster. The canal is famous for bungee jumping. Even for a canal, the water is still clear as can be (I can't get over the water). Before we knew it, it was time to head back to Athens. The bus ride about 2 hours after the canal and we arrived home around 3:30pm. We were exhausted from the 2 days that we stayed in Saturday night to catch up on rest. This week is going to be busy with school and everything so we all need all the sleep we can get. This weekend we're going to the island of Mykonos which is supposed to be the "Vegas of Greece." There were bound to be great stories upon my return. Until then!