Nice Quotes

This is who I am
nobody said you had to like it

They tell you to be yourself
then they judge you

The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do

Everything I am not made me everything I am

If people are trying to bring you down, it only means that you are above them

Day 13: Going back to NYC

Today is a day when everybody is happy and sad at the same time. Happy that we met some great people and experienced some great things in Greece, Italy and Turkey. Sad that we have to go back home and not see each other for a while, if ever again. We packed our stuff, went to board the bus and headed to Athens airport. We checked in our bags, got something to eat, and went through security. Not long after, we boarded the plane, flew to France, waited couple of hours, and flew back home. Everybody went their separate ways once we got our bags and was happy that they will always remember and cherish the memories that they acquired on this trip. This was the highlight of my whole summer.

Day 12: Santorini

Today is our last day on a cruise and it was very busy. After we got breakfast and the ship docked, we went to Crete. There we walked for a bit to the Herakilon Museum, where we got to see such arts as The Snake Goddess, The man leaping over a bull, a lot of gold necklaces/rings, some odd looking artifacts and some very detailed frescoes. After the museum, we had some free time. I took advantage of that and went to buy some really old coins at a local shop. I also got a cheese pie and a super sweet chocolate milk (seriously, this milk consisted of just sugar. I felt like heart attack was just around the corner by drinking this milk). Me and Jeremy slowly made our way back to ship, where we first got scanned before boarding. I took some pictures of the sheer size of the ship just before I boarded it. When we got back on the ship, I went to eat and for most of the time I relaxed and looked at our approach to Santorini. Santorini was a great place. When we docked, small boat took us to land where we got on donkeys and went up the winding road to the top. These donkeys/horses were very well trained, so I did not have to do anything but sit back and relax. Once we gt on top, we got our pictures taken on a donkey/horse and we had an opportunity to buy our pictures. I of course did buy my picture as a souvenir. Santorini is filled with shops, restaurants overlooking the sea and many gold shops. I walked around, poking my head into various stores. I got some Ices and I took a lot of photos. After I was done walking around, I took a cable car down to where boat is going to pick us up. I don't like heights, but I forced myself to look at some of the sights from the cable car ride. The ocean was reflecting sun's rays, while our cruise stood in the middle of it. It was simply beautiful. When we got back on the ship, we had our farewell dinner, where we reflected on the trip, ate some delicious steak, and gave Thomas ouzo as a gift for being such a great professor. It was sad to know that it was our last day on the cruise, but like they say, all good things eventually come to an end.

Day 11: Turkey

I woke up very refreshed on this day and was looking forward to seeing what this day had to offer. I took a shower and headed out to get a breakfast. Unfortunately, after i ate breakfast I felt very sick for some odd reason This once again stopped me from leaving the ship. Most people went to explore Turkey and take some photos, while I stayed in and explored the ship some more. I was by no means sad that I couldn't go to Turkey because there was plenty of things to be done on the cruise. I walked around, took some pictures, bought some gifts for my friends back at home, and was talking to some people who stayed behind to get some more sleep. When everybody came back, we went to eat again and the ship sailed once again. After dinner, we talked and went to some gift shops where I found a huge chocolate bar for about four Euro. Of course, I had to scoop that and give it as a present to my parents. When the ship docked again, I was sleeping so I missed most of that. I woke up when ship started to sail into the night. At night we had a big dinner (man, that food was delicious) and then we headed to discotheque. I am usually not huge fan of discotheque, but that night they had a karaoke. I saw some people from our group sing their hearts out as well as people from other groups trying their best to follow the glowing words on a screen. I ordered couple of drinks and headed to bed. I forgot to add that during the day while everybody was in Turkey, I got photos of me on a cruise as well as a photo of me with a woman dressed as a pirate, pointing a gun at me while I am eating. That was a great ending to yet another day on a cruise.

Day 10: Cruise/Mykonos

After a long sleep, i woke up in the morning very alert and excited to go on a cruse. I have never been on a cruise, so I did not know what to expect. After we got to the check in place, we put stickers of our rooms on our bags and proceeded to get signed in (the took pictures of us when we gave them our passports). We boarded a cruise called Louis Majesty, which was huge. We then spend most of the day signing in and getting our accounts set up for purchasing of things like drinks and gifts on board. Later on we had a group orientation where we discussed how the next few days are going to do and later on we had our standard life jacket demonstration. After that, i walked with my roommates around the ship, seeing what they have to offer. We then headed to 10th floor to a pool deck to see the view of things that surround the ship. The view was great. For most of the evening, I did not feel great. I loved the cruise, but while everybody got off to see Mykonos, I stayed in and suffered from intense stomach pain. I walked around the ship, visited some gift shops where I got my dad a bottle of Greek wine. I also went to eat alone and got a couple of drinks. I was surprised that soft drinks were almost three euro. After everybody returned back on the ship, I went to eat with Charles where we were seated next to a REAL Australian couple. We talked about our traveling experiences and our hobbies before we left and went to see the night on the ocean. That was a great experience. I got couple of other drinks (one of them was very strong and it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was called overboard or something like that. Either way, its name was very accurate). For the rest of the night I was in my room reading books. I was very happy with my first day on a cruise and was looking forward to what the next day has to offer.

Day 9: Athens

We woke up pretty early today and hoped on a bus to get to our first destination. On our way to the Acropolis, where we saw the Parthenon, we stopped the bus for a bit to check out  a 1896 Olympic Stadium that was reconstructed on a site of the original late Hellenistic stadium. I did not go though because I was feeling very dizzy for some reason (most likely because I was hungry). After we boarded the bus again, we were on our way to see the Parthenon. The bus dropped us off at the base of the trail, which we then took to see the Parthenon. The line to get there was pretty long, but the site of Parthenon once we finally got there was amazing. The video that we saw the previous day in Acropolis Museum really helped me see how the Parthenon changed over the years. After a brief history lesson on the Parthenon, we had some free time to go around it and take some photos. Not only did I enjoy the sheer size of the temple, but I also got a great view of Athens. We then tried to find National Archeological museum of Athens by walking through streets of Athens because one of the Metro lines was temporarily out of service. After about twenty minutes of walking, we finally got there. Unfortunately, we did not have much time to go around and see everything, so we mostly saw important artifacts like Depictions of Zeus of Artemision, Jockey Boy riding a horse, and couple of other Mycenaean artifacts. Then we headed back to hotel by hoping on train. Everybody was exhausted, including me, so I went to my room and fell asleep as soon as I put my head on the pillow. I was very excited to go on a cruise the next day, so I wanted to get as much sleep as I possible can so I can be alert and focused.

Day 8: Delphi/Athens

Today was an interesting day. After a light breakfast early in the morning, we were set to go see some museums in Delphi. The Delphi Museum was the first place that we went. The museum has a lot of Archaic works scattered all around, as well as a statue of Cleobis and Biton on which I did my paper. After we explored the museum and took some photos, we went to see the Temple of Apollo. After we came back from the guided tour of Delphi, we all boarded the bus and headed to Athens. The drive was pretty long, so most people took this as an opportunity to get some sleep. When we got to our hotel in Athens, we relaxed for a bit and then we all regrouped and took train to Acropolis Museum. I was very surprised and amazed at how clean and efficient the metro was. The trains were most of the time packed, but the ride was very fast and efficient. After we got to the museum, we kind of split up and went our separate way. I really enjoyed how the museum is built over an actual site where excavations took lace. We had a chance to look at some pretty interesting artifacts that mostly depict Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece. When we regrouped on the second floor, we all got a chance to see a short video on the Parthenon. This video included interesting facts and visuals on why and how the Parthenon was damaged over the years. We then all met up again where we walked to a nice outdoor restaurant to get some grub. The other group joined us and we talked about our day while enjoying our meal. After we ate, we boarded the train again and headed back home to get some rest.