June 21st: Island of Hydra!

Yesterday we headed to the quaint, touristy, beachy island of Hydra! It was beautiful, exactly what I pictured a Greek island to be! Our morning started with a 2 hour bus ride then 20 minute ferry.

Once on the Island, we had 2 hours to take portraits and shop around the island. After eating lunch, we headed to these rocks where you could jump off! I didn't want to get wet, so a few of us sat at a cafe literally on the edge of a cliff, it was so much fun! As we sipped on our milkshakes and cokes, it was time to head to the ferry. 

By the time we started moving, I though i was going to be sick! There was no outside decks on the ferry, just a indoor cabin. Longest 20 minutes of my life! We took the bus back to Nafpilo, where there was a corner in the back of the bus where we all felt like we were going to be sick! Luckily we got to the restaurant sooner rather than later, and after having bread and cokes we all felt better. After a long day on the gorgeous island, we got to go to bed before midnight!!

That is the cafe we hung out at! 

Ellie and I

June 19th-20th: Nafplio!

Sorry i havent updated in a while! Weve been really busy and had wifi issues! But we are now in Nafplio, Greece and it is BEAUTIFUL! Our adventure to Nafplio strated early Sunday morning, where i woke up with a terrible stomach ache that I am just starting to get over. 

After the 2 hour bus ride where my stomach was in knots the whole time, we made it to the resort city where we headed to a really cool restraunt with blue lighting! A few of us walked back to the hotel, where Claire completely ate it on a nail coming out of the ground! We ran back to get David, and she ended up having to get stitches but is fine now! We sat at the port and took some pictures, then went back to the hotel for what felt like hours to upload. After, we went to dinner in small groups then went to a Islamic dancing cerimony thing, I still dont really know what it was. I was really out of my comfort zone, but it was cool to experience it with all the locals although it was 100 degrees in the gym we were in! Then we went to the hotel and our leaders critiqued our pictures until 11:30!!!! On top of lack of sleep and a stomach ache, I was ready to pass out. 

Castle in the middle of the harbor at sunset

I still felt sick the next morning, and we discovered we had to go on a "short hike" to castle over looking the ocean. THE HIKE WAS 900 STEPS, literally I googled it!! If i had known that tidbit of info, i probably would not have gone but the view was worth it at the top! 

They view!

Sailboat at sunset

Finally, it was time to go to the BEACH!! I was looking forward to it the whole trip, as I have never been in the Mediterranean! Callie and i lucked out and paid this hotel for two beach chairs in our own little area with a umbrella and snack bar, it was amazing! We got to shower then go to dinner and another restaurant overlooking the pier. Greece is absolutely beautiful, and tomorrow we head to the Island of Hydra for the day! 

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY DADDY! I love you so much and your the best dad I could ever ask for! Thank you for everything you do for us!!

6-18: Another day in Athens

Im way too tired to post tonight, but a small recap of today was:
museum of archeology, another museum, and changing of the guards. Then after dinner we went on a scavenger hunt for Carolines bday! IM EXHAUSTED 

Maddie and I after the changing of the guards! It was scary being at the government building because of the protests i had witnessed mere hours ago!!

June 17th- Athens: not my cup of tea.....

Today, after yet ANOTHER 3 hour bus ride, we arrived in Athens.  Lets just say from the moment I woke up on the bus, I was already uncomfortable. Especially with all the riots going on here! So scary. Quoting Ms. Hartman, who sadly had to leave today for a family emergency, Athens is "like New York on steroids, and 10x more dirtier and dangerous." Our hotel is the nicest we have stayed in yet, but when I walk outside it is like being in a 3rd world country! I did have my first gyro, which was AMAZING, and got to see the jaw-dropping Parthenon, but Im defiantly missing the relaxing mountains of Delphi right now! 

June 16th- Delphi AND BIRTHDAY!!!

I FINALLY HAD MY SWEET 16! It still hasn't sunk in that i can now drive (as soon as i pass my drivers test..). But we had a great day in Delphi. Our greek adventure started on the 15th at 3am when we had to wake up to take a 3 hour bus ride, then a 2 hour plane ride, and another 3 hour bus ride! But it was so worth it because its beautiful! My birthday started off with Callie, Ellie and I taking some shots of the town, then shopping! They have the cutest stores and restaurants! We had lunch at a great place, and they suprised me with a cake!!After lunch, we went to the ruins where the oracle used to be located and where people used to go for predictions from the gods. I’ve always been interested in Greek mythology so it was really cool to see all those things in person! We then went to dinner at another restaurant with the beautiful view! I thought they were just going to sing to me at dinner, but they told us to go shopping then be at the hotel terrace at 9 in a TOGA! So we all went to the roof with our togas on, had YUMMY cake, and watched Mamma Mia on a projector! Overall, it was a really fun birthday in addition to the fact that im in Greece!

Cinque Terre- QUE BELLA!

On Tuesday the 14th, we went to one of the most beautiful places I've ever been- Cinque Terre, Italy! Our morning started early with a 3 hour bus ride then 30 minute train ride- but when I saw the crystal blue water it was worth it! I already mentioned to my mom we are going on vacation there soon! To get to another of the 5 cities, we had to hike the steepest mountain of my life! But the view was so worth it! (And the lunch we had after ;)) Im so glad we went to this seaside city, it was absolutely breathtaking! I cant wait to go back and stay at the resort (hint hint mom and dad)

Un giorno a Roma!

On the 13th, we went to ROMA! It was amazing to see all the famous historical sites I have been learning about forever! The most impressive had to be the Coliseum. It is HUGE yet really old. We went to another random lunch place and shopped at your typical European street market, where i got hit by a car! It just barely hit me, but i guess it was cool to say I was hit on my first time in Rome. Since we did all of Rome in one day, it came with a consequence: I WAS SO TIRED! And dirty.....  I couldn't sleep on the train ride home because I smelled so bad!


Making a wish in the Trevi Fountain!

Sunday June 12: Day two and completely exauseted!

Another fun, packed to the rim day in Florence! We started off at 7am packing up to move to a different hotel, which I was excited about because there were bugs in my old hotel bed! We then took pictures around the Duomo, a huge, beautiful church in the center of Florence. 

After taking some great shots, we went to  Grom gelato where we got to watch them make it! It is evidently the most well known gelato shop in the world, although I had never heard of it! While eating out delicious gelato, we took lots of pictures with each other. 

For the rest of our afternoon, we hiked up a GIANT hill/mountain to an olive press. Although I was completely exhausted by the time we got to the top, the view was so worth it! 

Finally in Firenze!

After 28 hours of travel, probably the longest 28 hours of my life, we got to Florence. our day started early with a scavenger hunt. And during the scavenger hunt, the highlight of my day occured. I met Pauly D from Jersey shore! It was so cool to see him in person, i never thought i would!

We then ate lunch at a cute little italian place, with the best nutella waffles! After lunch, we went to see the Statue of David. I never knew how big it was! It blew my mind, 17 feet might not seem tall but in person it sure did. We continued shooting for the rest of the afternoon-

Then we proceeded to the cutest little cooking school and made our own dinner- not bad! After we walked 45 minutes back to out hostel, which i was not excited about, but i got a few good pics out of it!

MY FIRST POST!

I have always wanted to keep a blog, and when I was told it was a requirement for the trip i was beyond excited! For the next two weeks i will be in Italy and Greece with 13 other girls, learning about photography and the beautiful culture of the two countries!