Online & Sports Editor- Lindsay Rimmer
At the end of April, 18 of Ms. Lazaridis’ Mythology students departed from SFO on their way to Athens, Greece. After nearly 24 hours of travel, we arrived in Athens. A reserved charter bus greeted us to deliver us to our marble-floored hotel. Perhaps I should have packed more tennis shoes than flip flops. The intense traffic and odd slopes were quite the welcome.
Greece had been chosen for our spring break destination for the prevalent presence of ancient mythology, a fitting destination for a Mythology class to observe. Within a two-week time span, we were to travel to five different places; Athens, Kalambaka, Naxos, Santorini, and Milos. In these two weeks, we would experience landscapes, theologies, and cuisine from the Mediterranean destinations.
The next day was to be filled with the Acropolis. We began at the Acropolis Museum, then we came together to try a true gyro for the first time, a real group initiative. The smell of olive oil fried potatoes and fresh tzatziki with warm pita was luxurious. After our gyro rendezvous experience, we made our way to the Acropolis to explore the ruins. Sandals were a bad decision. Next, we observed the Temple of Zeus and other archaeological sites. Quite the plethora of information for our first day, nevertheless a fun and interesting experience.
We departed from Athens to Kalambaka.. On the way, we stopped to observe the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. Our charter bus took us to Kalambaka that evening. Our hotel, previously a mansion, catered to our adolescent group with ease. The pool was extremely cold, yet the staff was warm even though they rushed to accomodate the needs of 18 teenagers. A walk to the center of town was short, and the square was well explored. The next day, we thoroughly visited 3 different monasteries hidden in the valleys with an immense amount of steps an array of beautiful plants..
We then traveled back to Athens to board our ferry to Naxos. The days spent in Naxos were eventful, but sunny and in good spirit. Yep.
We traveled to Santorini on another ferry, still better than plane ride. After a treacherous, steep, narrow, uphill voyage in a large charter bus (terrifying) a beautiful bright white city greeted us. The many hotels presented to us were built in ascending terrace-like villas in the semicircular archipelago of volcanic islands known as Santorini. The sunsets as seen from the rooftop of our hotel were gorgeous, and are an experience everyone should have.
After a mechanical bull ride we called a ferry, we arrived in Milos. Our beachfront hotel was the perfect place to stay after an adventurous day. We traveled the island to beaches with bright blue waters and pastel sandstone surrounding it, while stopping at ancient ruins for educational purposes.
To draw our Greece trip to an end, we spent our last night in Athens. After a diverse hotel breakfast, we departed from our hotel for another almost 24 hour passage of travel, our last plane delivered us to San Francisco, and those of us still together rejoiced. To say the least, the trip was an interesting learning experience that resulted in valuable and adventurous knowledge to assist us in the future. Picture a beautiful countryside environment, filled with beautiful flora and fauna, delicious and fresh food, and ancient educational presence for a school trip. Wouldn’t you want to go?
The Pepperbox 