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Sunday, September 30th

monastic cats and souvlaki

as i said last time, the busloads of tourists were too many to count. by the time we were having our picnic on some rock, somewhere between Grand Metereon/Varlaam, and Triada/Stephanos, a trail of tourbuses had piled up at Grand Metereon/Varlaam. [see picture to the right.] i can't imagine the mayhem that must have existed at those monasteries. it was already unpleasant when we were there, especially when tour groups crowded into the churches to see the frescoes. Agios Stephanos was the only one that had newly painted, redone frescoes. while it was nice to see how the frescoes would have actually looked, i really wished we could have seen more of the monastery. of the six, it appeared to have been the second largest after Grand Metereon, but we only saw a fraction of the entire cloister. my favorite was Agia Triada for its amazing site. the monastery does epitomize solitude because of its isolated location. even today, a cable lift transports monks across, and the only other way up to the monastery is by walking down a sinusoidal paved path to the base of the rock, then climbing many steps which have been carved into the rock. the building itself began as a small cave, hollowed into the rock to form the building that it is today. the view was also spectacular, and was the location of many of my pictures of kalambaka below us.

but why do i title this entry about cats and souvlaki, you may ask?
jessica on 09.30.07 @ 03:09 AM GMT [more..]

Monday, September 24th

kalambaka and meteora

mood: tired

this past weekend, my roommates and i took the train up to Kalambaka to see Meteora. Kalambaka is the town located at the base of Meteora where most tourists make their stop for the night. We stayed at a little bed&breakfast called Elena, which was located a couple hundred meters from the footpath up to Meteora. the train ride was a tedious five hours, but when we reached sight of Kalambaka, the view was breathtaking. i know that i use that adjective ad nauseum throughout my entries about Greece, but there isn't a more honest word to describe it.

jessica on 09.24.07 @ 04:12 PM GMT [more..]

Monday, September 17th

persephone's plight part 2

music: honking of Greek cars in light of the election exit polls
mood: tired and happy that he called

after that "tragedy" on Friday, we drove back to Athens, exhausted and aggravated. on saturday morning, we set off again in Persephone, driving up to Marathon to see the Tumulus of the Athenians. the tomb/mound supposedly marked the area where many of the 192 Athenians fell at the Battle of Marathon in 490B.C. (according to Herodotus). while the idea of seeing the ancient battlefield seemed really cool, it was a bit anti-climatic when we arrived at the site and saw the mound and surrounding land. originally, i had imagined a vast open field, with the mound rising conspicuously over the area. i thought it would be really amazing to see the size of the field and perhaps attain a better image of the battle. however, the actual battlefield we saw was littered with small trees and a few towering cypresses, which diminished the appearance of the mound by covering parts of it.
jessica on 09.17.07 @ 12:33 AM GMT [more..]

Sunday, September 16th

persephone's plight part 1

music: angry Greek metal from Greek neighbors
mood: spiffy

this weekend, my roommates and i rented a little green car which we lovingly named Persephone. our agenda was to hit Corinth and Marathon, be Classics nerds and see everything big and small, ending with some downtime at the beach. we drove to Corinth on Friday, making a fruitless stop at the industrial town of modern Eleusis in our search for the mysterious Temple of Demeter. after circling around for fifteen minutes with some helpful direction from a Greek man, we abandoned our mission and hit the road. we reached the modern city of Corinth and then made our way to the archaeological site of Ancient Corinth, where the foundations of the ancient city are still relatively well-defined. even the Temple of Apollo had several standing columns.

jessica on 09.16.07 @ 01:01 AM GMT [more..]

Tuesday, September 11th

first week in greece

mood: excited

i've been in Greece for a week now, and have finally accumulated some worthy pictures. beware, this entry will be long! i'm living and going to school in central Athens, conveniently located within walking distance to Plaka, Syntagma Square, and the Acropolis. our apartments are spread out between the districts of Kolonaki and Pangrati, and i happen to be living in Pangrati, only five minutes away from the academic building. perhaps the most amazing thing about our school location is that the academic building is right next to the Panathinaiko Stadium.

it's a beautiful marble stadium, but unfortunately we cannot run on the track inside. i have yet to find a good jogging route, especially because the streets around my neighborhood are small, slippery and hilly. nevertheless, i'm certain that i will have plenty of exercise from my (anticipated) weekend excursions to archaeological sites.

jessica on 09.11.07 @ 12:54 PM GMT [more..]

Sunday, September 2nd

end of summer

mood: bittersweet

it's finally the end of summer for me, though it has been the end for most of my friends for a week by now. i've been very fortunate to have had this last week, especially to catch up on my personal ambitions and plans. i finally bought an LSAT prep book, so maybe i'll actually study for it while i'm away. i launched this layout, finished some reading, and now i'm finally done with packing. the weather has been amazing this past week too, AND i had two Spare the Air days! talk about good luck....

my last day here was fabulous! had brunch with some of my girls at Tangerine, ate some yummy omelette with avocado, and walked around Castro for a little while. evan then took me out for some yummy sashimi at Iroha in J-town, drove me out to the ocean to say my farewell to the pacific, and then we met up with my friends again at Creations for 1.99 drink specials. i had some delicious aloe jelly mixed with coconut milk and mango puree. they really have an obsession with mango on their menu, but their fresh mango slices aren't that great.

i still can't believe i'm really leaving in less than 12 hours! moreover, i can't believe my summer is finally over.
jessica on 09.02.07 @ 02:06 AM GMT [link]