athens.

i don't think i really need to say how beautiful greece is on a warm weekend in the end of april, but...

the city was stunning. it was everything i had envisioned. the ancient monuments were breathtakingly overwhelming. i felt honored to be able to see them for real. i kept closing my eyes and having flashbacks of what it all must have looked like during 400 BC.

the world's oldest city proved to have stood the test of time. the amount of knowledge that came from this place... all the philosophers, all the ideas, all the concepts... unfathomable, really.

dana and i spent the weekend on our own. which was totally fine. we napped in the national park, surrounded by flowers and ruins and covered in a blanket of sunlight. we found an amazing cafe under a canopy of vines where we sat for hours drinking iced cappuccinos and writing in our journals and looking at maps and pamphlets about athens. then we hit all the tourist hot spots. (the temple of zeus, hadrian's arch, the first olympic stadium, the acient agora, parliment, the national library, the acropolis and more).

on our way down from the acropolis, we stopped to eat dinner at a traditional greek restaurant. we obviously ordered greek salads and smiled at eachother as we ate the most delicious feta either of us had ever had. the owner of the restaurant came over to our table to clear our plates and bring us our check and he started talking to us really fast in greek. we smiled and shook our heads and said, "yeaaaaaaaa... it was.... greaaattt..." he started laughing and said (in english) "i'm sorry girls, you look like you are from greece. you are visiting? i'll be right back." so he took our plates and when he returned he had a dessert for each of us in his hands. baklava... it was perfect (and free)!

later that night, we found this really cool street in the neighborhood called psirri. we sat at an outdoor bar and listened to traditional greek music and absorbed the culture. there were so many people hanging out on the street. so many lights. so much buzz. the energy of this city was unforgettable. it seemed as if everyone was so happy and grateful to be alive enjoying such a beautiful spring night. i know we were.

we spent the next day at the markets. obviously i can't go to a city and not go to a market. the strawberries were amazing and i think i had about 4 more iced cappuccinos. the jewelry was so beautiful and i wished i could have bought everything i saw.

we met back up with lindsey and kristen for a big lunch before we headed back to the hostel and then to the airport. another lovely weekend for the books.

<3 Rd