Rhodes

I just finished unpacking from Rhodes and now I'm packing for spring break! It blows my mind to think of how quickly this semester is flying by. After spring break there are only 4 more weeks of class before finals, and then I come home! It seems like we just got here. Anyways, about 15 of us went to Rhodes this weekend. It's a Dodecanese island, and it's one of the largest of the Greek islands. I had never heard of Rhodes before but some of us found cheap flights a few months ago, so after a little research we decided to book it. I'm so glad that we did- it was so different from everywhere else I have been thus far.

Our hotel was in Rhodes Town, which is where the Old Town of Rhodes is located. My guide book has the Old Town listed as a Greek must see, so our first morning we headed there. We walked through the corridors of the old city, which now mostly consists of tourist shops. We went off the main strip though and saw some smaller shops, which was really interesting. Some girls and I went to see the Knights Palace, which was built by St. John's knights, who were crusaders, in the 14th century. The palace is now a museum that is filled with mosaics and artifacts from the period that the knights occupied Rhodes.

After a long day of walking around, a group of us watched the sun set on the beach that was close to our hotel and then ate dinner. The beach was a little rocky and not the best for during the day but it was great at night. Here's a picture of our group!

The next morning a small group of us woke up early and caught a bus to Lindos, which was about an hour drive away. When we pulled up we were immediately happy with our decision to go there. It was one of the most gorgeous places that I have been in Greece. It was very picturesque, with white houses in the town, a gorgeous beach and an acropolis overlooking the town. There were even donkeys that you could take to the top of the Acropolis of Rhodes! We decided to pass on the donkeys and walk to the top ourselves. The acropolis consists of a temple to Apollo, a stadium and a theater. Our taxi driver that took us to the airport told us that it is older than the acropolis in Athens. The view was breathtaking from the top; the pictures don't quite do it justice.

After the walk up we spent some time on the beach. The water was still a little chilly, and I wasn't brave enough to go under this time. We got some lunch at a restaurant on the water and then we headed back to the bus stop. Once we got back to Rhodes Town we got our bags and headed to the airport. The trip was only about 48 hours long but I feel like I saw the highlights of the island. We had a really great group and enjoyed hanging out with each other during the down time.

I leave tomorrow for spring break! I'm really looking forward to it, but I'm a little nervous at the same time. Blogging has been a nice break from packing, which has been a little difficult so far. For a compulsive overpacker, packing two weeks worth of clothes in two small bags isn't the easiest task. I'll be available via email for the next two weeks at sjjabale@gmail.com or sjjabaley@olemiss.edu if you need to get in touch with me. I'll be back blogging in about two and a half weeks! Wish me luck!

Athens

Well, I finally made my way to the capital of Greece- Athens! The school planned a trip for us that was included in our study abroad fee, so we were all excited to have a weekend trip that was already paid for. On Friday morning all 60 of us got on a double decker bus and started the 9 hour journey south. We got there at around 730pm, and we headed straight to the new Acropolis Museum. The museum was completed in 2009, so it is very new. They built it on top of ruins from the acropolis, and all the floors are glass so even from the 4th floor you can still slightly see the ruins on the ground. The museum holds original artifacts from the Parthenon and the Temple of Athena, and we later saw copies on the actual buildings. Our tour guide explained to us that while some of the statues were original, the British looted the Acropolis and took many pieces of statues back to London, where they are housed in museums still today. I thought this was kind of funny because I remember going to a museum in London last year and wondering why pieces from the Parthenon where there. The Greeks are currently trying to get the statues back from the British. Pictures weren't allowed in the museum but here are some from the outside:

That night we went to a taverna after checking in to the hotel and went to sleep right after dinner. The next morning we got up early and immediately started sight seeing. We started at the original Olympic stadium, where the first Olympic games were held in 1896. We've really come a long way as far as athletic facilities go!

Next on the agenda was the Acropolis. The school hired us a tour guide, which was really nice because she gave us a lot of details that we wouldn't have learned otherwise. The acropolis has been burned, blown up, looted and torn down, but it has been rebuilt many times. The version that we see today is so different from the original- which was actually colorful but the paint has faded over time. There are a few different temples on the Acropolis- the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Nike and the old Temple of Athena. It's just amazing how old they are, and how long the restoration process takes. I asked the tour guide if there was an expected end date and she said that there wasn't, because when they start to restore an area they find even more work that they need to do, and the technologies keep advancing. Here are some pictures-

Next we went to the Folk Life Museum, which displayed traditional Greek clothing from all the different regions of Greece. It was really interesting to see how the clothing is so different in northern and southern Greece, and especially on the islands. After the museum we got lunch, and then had free time. Some friends and I wandered through the Plaka, which is the market area. After doing some shopping we headed back to the hotel and took a nap. That night a small group of us went up to the highest point in Athens- Mount Lycabettus. In the daytime there is a train that takes you to the top, but it doesn't run at 2 in the morning so we hiked it. At the top there is a small chapel, a bell tower and a restaurant. The view was amazing- Athens is such a huge city. The only downside was that the Acropolis wasn't lit up that night for some reason.

Before we left for Thessaloniki, we watched the changing of the guards in front of Parliament. It was a pretty funny looking ceremony- not what I would have expected from an army. On our way home we stopped in a small beach town for lunch. It was a really cute area and a nice rest from the long bus ride.

This weekend I'm headed to Rhodes! It's the largest island in the Dodecanese, and it looks amazing in pictures. I absolutely can't wait. A week from now I leave for spring break! I'll be backpacking for two weeks and probably won't have internet access much. I'll bring my blackberry so I will be able to check email and Facebook when I have wifi, but that's pretty much it. I'll have my Greek phone for emergencies so if you need to reach me the number is +30 6985802498
The current itinerary is Milan-Morrocco-Madrid-Barcelona-Rome-Amalfi Coast-Florence-Skopelos
Wish me luck!