On September 21, I got married to my best friend and the love of my life. And the blur that had been the past 6 months or so culminated with us spending nearly two weeks travelling throughout Greece. I am half Greek, and have always wanted to visit. It was the perfect mix of beauty, history, and relaxation, and would be my first time outside of North America.
Athens was the first stop on our honeymoon, and we tried to soak in as much as we could during our brief stay. We arrived very late at night, slept, had a full day to explore, and then left very early the next morning. Our friends and family gave us plenty of tips for our trip, but since we had our trip planned for us by a family member who is a travel planner (Thanks Barbara!), we barely went over our itinerary before we found ourselves there.
Athens was amazing. Greece is definitely going through some turmoil right now, which made for a real interesting juxtaposition of all these ancient ruins and political graffiti within view of each other. We had a private tour guide who taught us so much, and was especially great going through the Acropolis Museum. She pointed out a small marble sculpture, with no fanfare or signage around it, and told us it is considered one of the greatest sculptures in the world. It is far beyond my words to explain what it is like to see these things in real life, trying to comprehend how old they really are, the people who made them, and what they represented.
Greek Mythology has always been my favorite school topic, save for design and photography, and also has been a personal source of pride in my culture. It was quite an experience standing among the ruins of the Temple of Zeus, imagining this bolt-throwing God and all the stories I have learned about him. And then you look up and see his daughter Athena’s temple atop the Acroplis, one of the strongest and most revered female figures in history.
Upon leaving Athens, I wanted to return to it immediately. The history and beauty were great, but the way it made my imagination run was like I was 12 again. Just a lot less spazzy.
