Heading home

We are all safely checked in and awaiting our first flight on our long journey home. Yesterday, day eight, was lovely. We visited a very windy Cape Sounion and saw the Temple of Poseidon. The afternoon was free time and the girls did a great job infusing the Greek economy. We went into the center of Athens for a traditional Greek evening at a tavern. Greek music, food, hospitality and dancing. It was a perfect last event. Our tour director, Irene, got us to the airport bright and early. On the bus ride, she told us one last story. Irene is a phenomenal story teller. The moral of this last Greek tale was, "Always look forward, never look back and all the things you want in life will be following you." That's the truth. We gave her hugs and an acrostic poem courtesy of Ms. Cote and now we fly to Paris, then to Amsterdam and then on to Boston.
What an amazing gift this trip has been for us all.

Loving Greece

Our adventure is winding down, but it's not over yet. After three days in the countryside (being safely transported by our amazing bus driver, Spyros, and led by our Greek goddess of a Tour Director, Irene), we are back in Athens, which many of the girls referred to as "home" when we arrived this evening!
The day after our Saronic Islands cruise, we traveled to Delphi. Delphi was the ancient site of an oracle who was the voice of the gods. Our tour guide, Penny, spoke to us about how we often know the answers to our questions, but we seek them from others for reassurance. That's what people did at Delphi. Thousands of years and not much has changed. On day six, We went to Olympia and saw the birthplace of the Olympic Games. Some of our group even participated in a 200 meter race on the grounds of the original stadium! We spent the night at a little resort on the sea. Life is good. Today we traveled to Epidaurus, an ancient theater, and climbed 121 steps to see the breathtaking view from the top. The afternoon brought us to Mycenae, a 3,500 year old royal tomb and the Corinth Canal. We have seen, touched and experienced castles, quaint villages and many antiquities. We continue to meet amazing people and we are looking forward to Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon in the morning!
Ka-lee-NÉE-khta.
that's how you say good night in Greek. Try it, it just sounds good :)

The Renaissance Community Commitments in Greece...

Respect - We respect our Tour Director, Irene, because she's a boss and we would be nothing without her.
Responsibility - Even though we have no curfew, we manage ourselves so that we get the sleep we need and meet at all the designated times and locations.
Cultural Sensitivity - We embrace all the new people and cultures we are being introduced to as well as speaking Greek as much as possible, (ef-ha-Rees-STO is how you pronounce thank you!)
Self-Discipline - We resist the urge to eat gelato and Greek pastries at every meal.
Courage - We take Greek dance lessons in a cruise ship dining room full of people.
Perseverance - We keep touring and sight seeing even though our internal clocks are completely off since Greece is seven hours ahead of home.
Friendship - We stick together on this international adventure and support each other while we are away from home and our families.

Cruising the Saronic Islands

We took a full day cruise today to Hydra, Poros and Aegina. All lovely, all very different. The girls couldn't pass up the opportunity to swim in the sea.

Elizabeth says...

The weather is great.
It's fun!
I'm happy I'm here.
It's exciting that I got to take this trip.

Cruising the islands...

Today's itinerary...

Abbie says...

This trip is amazing!
I love the unique custom made jewelry I just got, a Greek column with my name in Greek letters!
The shops in The Plaka were great.
Walking up to the Acropolis and taking pictures was a highlight of my day today.