Adio Hellas, Eucharisto

Our last day together was bitter sweet. I can't lie I was ready to go home and see Michael, my boyfriend. But I was really sad to be leaving such a beautiful and amazing country. Most of us spent the day shopping for last minute souvenirs. We had a farewell dinner that we all got dressed up for. And had a great time sharing each others company. So here are just some of the amazing pictures from that last great day!

Thank you Karey and Joe for the best study abroad trip ever!! I'll never forget it! -Katie (finally no more blogging, lol)

Our Last Day With Roula Skoula

Our last day with Roula was really sad, we had all gotten really close over the past three weeks, but we still had a great day.

She took us to the town of Rethymno, about an hour away from Heraklion. We went to the Fortetza Fortress and saw Venetian and Ottoman monuments.

We saw an old Mosque and two old minerets in town.

After the fortress Roula took us past a little shop that made beautiful sculptures out of bread. It was pretty amazing. Roula said it was usually for weddings.

We went to the beach for a little bit before going to watch the world cup. And one major culture difference that I immediately noticed was all the old saggy breasts bare for all the world to sea at the beach. The beach itself though was gorgeous with warm and clear water and sandy, not rocky like the beaches before.

Later we went to watch the world cup game, Greece vs. South Korea, at a little taverna that had outdoor seating with big screen tvs. It was fun, but Greece lost, 1-0. This is where Roula left us. She went around and hugged all of us. She was the best tour guide we could have asked for and she definitely made this trip amazing! Thanks Roula, Roula-la, Skoula, Skoula-la!!

Santorini, My Heaven on Earth

The islands of Santorini were created by a volcano which is still active today, but thankfully it didn't errupt while we were there. I spent most of the day in the town called Fira.

The first thing we did was ride donkeys (or maybe they were mules)! Me, Alexis, Kristine, Maurice, Brandon, Catherine, Diana, Kimi, and Kelsey all rode the cable cars down the mountain and the mules back up.

It was 600 steps for the donkeys to get up the mountain. It was so fun!! My donkey stopped to snack on a bush, so next time we pssed that same plant I pulled some off to feed him. He was so sweet and such a champ. It was such an awesome, once in a life time experience!

After our amazing donkey ride we went to have lunch. I had the best seafood in my life at this super cute restaurant. Honestly, even the water tasted better here. The food was so delicious and we had incredible ocean views. Need less to say it was a perfect lunch.

After lunch most people went to the beach, but Kristine and I wanted to shop a bit then head down. By the time we got to the bus station it was too late to go to the beach. We were really bummed, but Kristine said everything happens for a reason. And she was right! We ended up taking a different bus to the other main town Oia.

Oia is where the iconic blue domed white building churches are. It was truly breath taking. We took pictures that looked exactly like postcards that the shops were selling. We were only able to spend about half an hour in Oia because we had to make it back to Fira in time to catch the bus down to the ferry. Timing worked out perfectly and Kristine and I had our own little adventure! (We were the only two that went over to Oia, I think.)

Kristine and Me

Herakleion and Knossos

We took an overnight ferry and arrived in Crete at 6am, then went to the hotel and had breakfast where I learned of my new love of Greek pancakes! Then we went to the Archeological Museum of Herakleion. Herakleion is the capital of Crete. This museum was small, but I think the main part was closed. The portion we saw was all Minoan art. I saw so many pieces that I clearly remember from my art history class. Including the following:

Bull-leaping Fresco

After the museum Roula took us to the center of the city and saw a famous lion fountain. People take pictures in front of this fountain when they get married or baptize their baby, that's why it is famous. It was built in ancient times to help control the fresh water supply. Roula bought us all ice cream here. She was so good to us! :)

Our next stop was the Palace of Knossos. This was supposedly the Palace of King Minos where the minotaur was kept in the labyrinth. It was really cool, although most of what we saw was reconstruction. Joe also said that we should keep our minds open to the idea that perhaps this wasn't a palace at all, but a city or town.

Line waiting to go inside throne room

Inside throne room

Pleasures of the Ancient world: Sports and Drinks

Model of Ancient Nemea

The Archeological site and museum of Ancient Nemea included the Temple of Nemean Zeus, baths, guest houses, and a stadium.


This was one of four locations that held Olympic games. And Nemea is also the place where Hercules finished his first labour of killing the lion.

Bath ruins

When we went to the stadium a little further from the site we walked through a tunnel. This is the same tunnel athletes used to walk through and would write on the walls while waiting for their names to be called.

 What was really unique about this particular stadium was that spectators that didn't want to sit in the grass would carve their own seats out of the hillside.

Then we all lined up and ran a race like the ancient Greeks!

On your mark, get set...

...GO!!!!

Jumping for joy after our race!

After Nemea we went wine tasting at a local winery.

It was my first wine tasting ever. We tried two white wines and two reds. I preferred the first white and the first red, but I'm still acquiring my taste for wine. :)