Nike, Victory, and a Bunch of Olives

Dad, in every case I was exhausted when I wrote these, and I am even more exhausted now as I post them. Just let me know about all the grammar and spelling mistakes and I will correct them. Enjoy.

The view from our hotel roof garden.

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Traveling with Pepperdine most certainly has its perks. At this very moment, while writing this, I am sitting on the roof of our four star hotel overlooking the sun setting behind the Parthenon. We arrived in Athens early this morning, had a private coach to the Hotel, checked in as soon as we got here, and then got to sleep until 1pm. We then had a three-course lunch at a local restaurant, and had a private bus tour of the city of Athens. During that tour, we stopped off at the archaeological museum and had out own private tour of the museum. As a side note, the woman showing us around on these tours was quite attractive. It seems the women in Greece are one extreme or the other, beautiful, or butch. (though none really compare to Texas women) Since we are staying in a hotel that affords us the opportunity to lock up valuables in a safe, I decided to bring my laptop along. This way, I can upload my pictures to the computer and will not be limited to a 16 meg card. Over the past few moments, the sun has finished setting and I am left looking at the entire Acropolis lit up against a beautifully clear twilight. I tried to take a good picture of it, but there is no way that it can capture the absolute majesty of what I am looking at. I keep trying to imagine what this would have looked like while Paul was here doing his ministry. I can’t wait till we get a chance to go up to the acropolis tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004
This morning we got up and went strait to the acropolis. The majority of the Parthenon was covered with scaffolding, which seems to be par for the course as far as antiquities are concerned in Europe. After we left the Parthenon, we were given the rest of the day off to do whatever we wanted, as long as we saw something from a long list of sites. I was with a large group of people that went to see the Agora. It was quite large and not much of it was left. There were a lot of bases and foundations and no clearly marked path through them. The guards at the archeological grounds were constantly berating our group because we didn’t know where we were allowed to walk and where we were not. For lunch we had some Souvlaki at a café and walked around for a while. In the late afternoon a small group of us, though we were told it wasn’t worth it, took the Metro to the Olympic village. I can understand how less enterprising individuals would have not enjoyed it, because you really couldn’t get closer then a hundred meters to the actual buildings. Myself, Dap, and Elliot had a lot of fun however, the girls and other guys who went with us just found themselves constantly rolling their eyes. We got back late enough to have diner and call it a night.

Thursday, October 21, 2004
Left Athens early (8am) and took almost a four hour bus ride to Delphi. Delphi is probably the place that I enjoyed more than any other. The Temple to Apollo there was completely gone, but the theatre behind it was still in pretty good condition. When the Romans captured Greece, they added a stadium to the site, which is still in very good shape. The view from the site was absolutely incredible, it is built up in the mountains that completely reminded me of Colorado in the summer. It was cool to be able to look at the theatre and see the exact same rocks composing a cliff directly behind it. All around the site there were bases for statures that the Roman Emperors had stolen, I can only imagine what it would have looked like when the marble on the temple was gleaming white and all the gold was polished, and still there. From Delphi we got back on the bus and took another three hour ride to Olympia. In Olympia we were informed that there wasn’t a whole lot to do in the town. Our tour guide called up a club that she knew of and asked them if they would open early for us. They agreed. Of course, it wasn’t a “school-sponsored” event.

Friday, October 22, 2004

Today, we went to the site of the ancient Olympics were held. I raced the length of the stadium, which is still there, barefoot as the ancient Greeks would have. I was encouraged, however, that it would be a bad idea to do it naked, as they also would have. Next, we visited Corinth, and saw the place that Paul would have been brought to the proconsul of Rome. It was cool to sit on the bench that he would have had to sit on before going to trial. Then back to the bus for the ride back to Athens. Once back I went out for diner and then went to bed fairly early. (1am or so)

Saturday, October 23, 2004

As I write this final entry I am sitting on the airplane bound for London. Today saw a little walking around the markets of the Plaka and the Monestraki and preparations for heading back to London. All in all, it’s been a good trip. I still have trouble believing the face that I just spent a week looking at ancient ruins in Greece, it’s a very awe inspiring experience. I have to tell you though, I am looking forward to getting back to London. Greece is incredible, and I would definitely recommend a visit, but I am a little tired of traveling in a group of 40 people. I’m looking forward to taking a book and walking over to Hyde Park for a couple hours by myself. Well ladies and gentlemen (and Sawyer too,) that’s all I got. Thank you for joining me on our tour through the cities of Athens, Delphi, Olympia, and Corinth. Until next time, cheers!