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Friday, November 30th
changing marble colors
it's true that when the sun sets, you can watch the effect of the light on the color of the marble of the Parthenon from Filopappou hill, or even the Pnyx. i finally went up to filopappou to watch the sun set over the Mediterranean last week and every once in a while, i turned around to look at the Acropolis. it's amazing how much potential Athens has to be a beautiful city if it weren't for the horrible urban planning.
while the sunset was beautiful (like all sunsets, i suppose), i must say that it does not compare to the Pacific. perhaps it's because the Pacific Ocean is grander than the Mediterranean Sea, but nevertheless, i found myself missing san francisco more than before. it's that time of the year again, when the holidays roll around and all the christmas lights are appearing out of nowhere. despite the fact that i've never been so happy away from home here in Athens, i admit that come December 21st, i will be ready to go home.
spending Thanksgiving in Romania didn't help the homesickness. in each of the towns i visited, christmas decorations were set in the piatas, reminding me of san francisco's union square and the pretty city lights. i'll talk about romania after i come back from Paris this weekend.
jessica on 11.30.07 @ 02:32 AM GMT [link] No Comments
Wednesday, November 21st
Rain in Delphi
last weekend, CYA took all of us on an overnight trip to Delphi. but when we got there, not only were there snowcaps on some mountains, but it rained so hard that the site was too slippery to walk around. the mountains were beautiful though, and we were literally walking among the clouds. on the first day, we made a lunch stop at Arahova, a small town on the way to Delphi. we walked along the main street and on the left side, the view was spectacular. when we finally arrived at the archaeological site of Delphi, we unfortunately couldn't stay there for long because it was raining too much, and the steps of the sacred way were too wet and dangerous after a while. so we went to the museum instead, which has an amazing collection of all the major dedications at Delphi, like columns and statues. but because we went there around 2:30, the museum was closing at 3, so we ended up accomplishing nothing on Saturday. the rain miraculously disappeared for a bit when we arrived at the town of Delphi for our hotel. hence this is the pretty view i captured of the water in the distance, which is i believe, the Corinthian Gulf. the rain came back however, and because we were in the mountains, the thunder echoed so loudly that it shook the windows of our hotel rooms rather violently.
jessica on 11.21.07 @ 03:46 PM GMT [more..]
Monday, November 19th
Rhodes
Finally, Rhodes.
after a couple days in Selçuk, Turkey, we took the bus down to Marmaris where we caught the ferry to Rhodes on Friday, November 2nd. Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese and actually, there is a rule in Latin that any town, city, or island smaller than Rhodes would decline in the locative case. anyhow, Rhodes was famous in the ancient times as a center of education and philosophy, and one of the ancient seven wonders of the world, the Colossus, also stood on the two points in Mandraki Harbor where ships would pass through beneath him in awe. (yes, i saw two of the ancient seven wonders of the world on this trip, and if we had gone to Bodrum--ancient Halicarnassus-- instead of Marmaris, we would've seen the Mausoleum too.)
but because the Colossus was made of bronze, and because most bronze objects were melted and reused by the victors, nothing of the statue is left, and only two pillars mark the possible spot where the statue stood. i'm not sure why there is a deer on each pillar, but that's what is there. it was kind of anticlimatic to see because i thought that the Rhodians would at least have a sign directing us to the spot or even a sign marking the pillars. but nope, we only found it on a map and guessed where the location was.
Rhodes is a beautiful city.
jessica on 11.19.07 @ 06:23 PM GMT [more..]
Saturday, November 17th
Ephesus and Pergamon
This is Fall Break - Turkey Part 2. After spending Republic day in Istanbul on October 29th, we left for a bus that night down to Selçuk, which is a small town that makes most of its money from tourists who drop by to see the archaeological site of Ephesus. the overnight bus ride wasn't terrible, but it wasn't very pleasant either. it was about 9 hours including 2 rest stops, one of which was on a ferry towards some part of Turkey that i couldn't recognize in the dark. basically, i had fallen asleep on the bus despite the loud, cracked-out Turkish soap opera that was playing on the tv, but woke up to a loud *thud* that the bus made as it rolled over a bumper onto a ferry heading for only-god-knows-where. one minute i was asleep on the bus, thinking i was on the road, the next minute i woke up and we were on a ferry. w.t.f. it was very disorienting, but also nice to get out of the bus for some fresh air and some "toast" for a midnight snack. after the quick ferry ride, we were back on the road again heading south towards Izmir, ancient Smyrna, and finally made it to Selçuk around 7 in the morning on Tuesday, October 30th. despite the long, tiresome bus ride, we stayed strong and went straight to Ephesus after checking into our hotel.
jessica on 11.17.07 @ 12:24 AM GMT [more..]
Tuesday, November 13th
the wrath of Poseidon
i know i haven't finished blogging about my Turkey and Rhodes trip, but i wanted to snip this past weekend in before i completely fall behind. plus, fall break was a unique circumstance since i didn't have my laptop or camera cord, so please bear with me.
this last weekend, despite ominous forecasts, stephanie and i took a dumb risk and took a ferry down to Mykonos in order to see Delos. our ferry tickets only cost us 10 each way because we bought the SuperEconomy tickets from Blue Star Ferries right when the new off-season schedule came out. we left Piraeus on Friday morning just barely making it onto the boat. the boat was literally drifting away from the dock as we jumped onto the lowered platform. after six hours, we arrived at Mykonos safe and sound, and even found a hotel for only 25 a night, as opposed to the high-season prices of 50-100. talk about good fortune!
jessica on 11.13.07 @ 10:39 PM GMT [more..]
Thursday, November 8th
Istanbul
our fall break began on Thursday night, Oct.25th when the five of us flew to Istanbul to begin our journey. we stayed at Side Pension located by Sultanahmet Square where the Blue Mosque sits right across from Hagia Sophia. the location was perfect and pension was definitely the best by far compared to our later hotels. from the roof terrace of the pension, we had a great view of the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and even the Bosphorus. we spent four days in Istanbul, and were lucky to experience Republic Day in Turkey, October 29th. while the festivities for Republic Day weren't as convivial as we thought it would be, there were Turkish flags draped all over the city, including many with Ataturk's face on them. Istanbul is also much cleaner than Athens, so it was nice to be in a pretty, clean city. even the stray cats look less mangy and clean!
during our four days, we basically hit all the major spots around Sultanahmet Square, and even had the chance to cruise through the Bosphorus. i wish we had more time in Istanbul because there is so much to see. i fell in love with the city instantly when i saw the water and beautiful historical landscape.
jessica on 11.08.07 @ 08:47 PM GMT [more..]
Tuesday, November 6th
cigarette warnings
Fall break was long, but amazing. it ended up being only five of us, and together we made our way from Istanbul down to Selçuk, then up to Bergama, then back down to Marmaris where we caught the ferry to Rhodes. because i have lots of pictures that i'd like to share, and because of limited time this week, i will post separate blog entries about each place we went to before i leave this Friday morning for Mykonos and Delos.
but for now, i will take a break from my travels to show you how other countries warn their smokers on the cigarette cartons.
basically i had never noticed the Greek cartons because i'm not a smoker at all and frankly, would never have bothered to look at them until the fluorescent lighting on the duty-free cigarettes at the airport caught my eye. i regrettably did not take a picture of the Turkish cigarette cartons, but they're basically the exact same in font size and type, just in a different language. some of the warnings were hilarious and blunt, and if i were a smoker, i'd collect them for fun. these aren't the most funny ones i saw, but i promise that next time i'm back at the airport (in two weeks!), i will collect the other warnings and post them. 
i will start with Istanbul sometime very soon, possibly tomorrow.
jessica on 11.06.07 @ 12:52 AM GMT [link]