i'm on a boat and....

hey guys!

so, i know its been since Thessaloniki since my last post. (Angels and Demons) and i am so sorry. But i mean, when you're on a BOAT, what else can you do? hahaha.

let me catch you up to speed.
right after i posted last, we went to climb Mount Olympus. Amanda and I found this awesome trail with a mountain stream - it was great. So peaceful, and the water was so clear! We then spent time on the beach, and it was glorious. I think one of the things I like the most about Greece, is that the mountains are right there with the beach. Quite literally in some cases. Its awesome. (so is my tan!)

anyway, the day after that, we left for the boat. and our boat is AWESOME! i was a bit skeptical at first, but its like a legit pirate wooden sail boat - only the crew never uses the sails. FAIL. costas says we may use them tomorrow. SCORE. I only wish i had like, an eye patch.

but, continuing, the boat is awesome. basically, we sail during the day to different islands and then you jump off the boat and swim to great beaches. if you don't want to swim, you can hang out in the galley, or tan or whatever on deck. its fabulous! now, for those of you who know me well enough, they do have a little motorized boat that they use to take us to shore if we don't want to make the long swim through deep waters to get to the beach. its great.

this morning after breakfast we were all just hanging out on deck, and then, there were two dolphins who came to swim at the bow of our boat! it was something straight out of the movies. i'm not joking. not to mention the fact that i took a great nap today. :) i had to have a break from the sun... my tan is to the point that i'm wondering whether or not i can actually get any darker. i'm serious. hahaha.

and oh, did i mention that i'm sick. FAIL. FAIL. FAIL. well, least my ankle is better. hahaha.

anyway, i shall run. enough for now. i have a paper to write, but its night, and i'm sitting on the deck at the bow of the boat, and the moon is absolutely beautiful. its full, and a bright reddish orange. i may go look at it and contemplate life. hahahaha.



.AND OH! JUST IN CASE ANYONE WANTS TO KNOW WHEN I LAND AT RDU ON THE 23RD, I WILL POST THE INFORMATION. You know, anycase you want to welcome me home, or something like that. :)

love you guys! home in 15 days!

-fab


but, you know i can't leave without giving you guys a haiku.

i'm on a boat and
i've got my swim trunks and my
FLIPPY FLOPPIES!! YES!!!

i saw angels and demons last night...

...and i'm not sure how i feel about it.
it deviated from the book a lot, which was okay, it was still a really great, intense, entertaining movie. but,.... they left out/change some substantial stuff. and i'm not sure how i feel about it.

that is all. .. TRANSFORMERS LOOKS WAY GOOD THOUGH.

anyway, i'm sitting here, waiting for the bus to take us up to mount olympus. then its sailing the aeagan sea. YES.

love!

it might sound crazy, but it ain't no lie...

its 10:30 PM, on a saturday, and i'm in athens, greece. its finally cool outside, and the bustling streets have transformed from being filled with camera in hand tourists and locals on cell phones busily moving about under the mediterranian sun, to buzzing with the noise of girls in high heels, groups of people moving about, with the hopes of a good evening: one that will most likely last until the sunrises.

i hadn't realized that it had been so long since my last post. much as happened. and in this quiet moment i'm taking, whislt stealing someone's free wireless, i thought i'd write as much as possible so i can take and get you up to speed.

the last time i wrote, i had just started my greece program, and was quite anxious to know how it would go. now, halfway through, i have settled into the comfortable rhythm of wake up calls, morning tours, afternoon lectures, late nights, and good company.

we spent three days in herakilon, which, to be honest, didn't really do much for me. we went to the archeological site of Knossos, saw some museums, and that was about it. Heraklion was more of an orientation to the program. which was fine. it was a good adjustment.
then, on the day we were supposed to take our ferry to santorini, the sea was too choppy, and we had to stay in crete for another night. utter failure. but, at least this time we were able to take and go to a town/ beach called Saint Nicolas. It was actually really pretty. i had a fantastic lunch with some of the girls on the program at this outdoor cafe - where we sat on pillowed benches, under the shade of trees, and blooming vines - with bright pink flowers. it was quite picturesque. It was great.

the next day, may 20.

we finally made it to santorini, the most beautiful place on the face of the planet. Of course, whilst there, we had all hoped to be as lucky as Lena ( Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants reference for those of you who have no clue… don’t worry about it..) but, it didn’t really happen. But, its okay. Our hotel was beyond cute. While in Santorini, we had dinner every night in a location that had a great view of the caldera. Actually, when you come to think about it, I honestly don’t think there is a location on that island that doesn’t have some type of fantastic view. But, that’s beyond the point.

Anyway, back to my time in the land of blue roofs and narrow cobblestone streets…

So, While there, we climbed the volcano ( yep, that’s right, I’ve climbed an active volcano), we watched the sun set in Oia, which is supposedly the most beautiful sunset on like, the face of the planet, and I must say, it was gorgeous. However, it was a bit hazy that night, so, we didn’t get the full effect of the sunset. We went to the archeological site there ( we’ve been to so many that the name escapes me), ate a lot of gelato, went into a whole lot of cute touristic shops, spent time just relaxing by the pool, and then, there was murphys. Murphy’s is a bar we were taken to, as a class, by our tour guide. ☺ ( we have an awesome tour guide, Costas. I’ll devote a whole blog to him later). It wasn’t until I was in Athens that I learned that murphy’s has a reputation where American tourists go. Makes sense. It was an interesting experience. To say the least. We went out there twice. Anyway, on to my favorite part of Santorini..

On our last day there, myself, Amanda and two of the other girls in the program, Ilene and Nasia, decided to hike to Scaros, a rock at the end of the island. It was a waaayyy intense hike, but it was totally worth it. I’ve never seen such a beautiful view of a set of islands in my life. It was by far one of the greatest things I’ve done since being in Greece. ☺

After we went to Santorni, we went to the small, yet cute island of Naxos, which was very quaint. While there, we did the normal archeological site thing, then went to the beach for on our free day. Quite nice.

Greece is awesome – I love it. I don’t want to spend a million years telling you every little detail, so, I will skip forward a little bit.

From Naxos we went to Tolos, then to Athens.

In Athens, I HAD THE MOST AMAZING NIGHT OUT. Seriously.
I went out with three other girls, one of which who is Greek, and had a friend in the area. Her two friends, and we four girls went to this totally posh lounge on the beach to hang out until the clubs opened, then around like two thirty am we made it to a club. --- IT WAS GREAT. If this gives you any indication of the place we went – the parking lot closest to the entrance was all Lamborghinis and Ferraris and Porches. Yeeeaaaahh. So, anywho, we spent the night dancing away. The club was open air and on the beach. WAY AWESOME. It was legit. .. however, we didn’t get back till five thirty am the next morning. Aaannd, we had a seven thirty wake up call – and a four hour tour including the Parthenon. Which was amazing. ☺

So, Athens was great. I’m in thessoloniki now… waiting to go out with the group. ☺




NOW: what you’ve all been waiting for. THE UPDATE OF THE HAIKUS.


Santonrini:

Beautiful sunsets
Blue roof churches everywhere
Can I go back please?

So, I hurt my ankle REALLY BADLY the first day of Greece…. Like, I rolled it, it popped, and I almost fainted. I had to lie down in the middle of the concrete road. Yeeeah. In this trip, I’ve learned how clumsy I really am.

OUCH. STUPID ANKLE.
Break out the ankle brace please.
Just call me Bella.

Continuing – we have the most AMAZING tour guide, ever. His name is Costas. As I promised earlier, I will write a whole blog about him. But right now, I shall just haiku.

Dear Constantinos.
Potential womanizer?
red speedo.. oh my.


Okay, that’s enough for now. Sorry I haven’t blogged in so long. I haven’t had a great deal of time/ internet has been few and far between and everyone has said that even the internet we pay for barely works… so, yeah.

I love you all, and miss you! Comments would be nice. ☺

-faith.

ANGELS AND DEMONS.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to tell everyone how

EXCITED I AM FOR ANGELS AND DEMONS THE MOVIE.

i'm pumped. ARE YOU PUMPED??!?!?!

i'm making Amanda read the book. :)

okay, just had to get that out. I probs. won't see it until I get back to the states, so, DON"T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT TO ME. kthanks. :)

I'll fly away....

Hi all!

So, right now I'm in the middle of day one of Duke in Greece. So far, its awesome. Everyone in the program seems pretty cool. We had a very short walking tour of the city in Crete in which we are staying, pointing out various historical buildings, then have had the rest of the after noon for free. We have a two hour "class" in about an hour. .. We'll see how that goes. But, let me catch you up to speed on my adventure from the last post about Rome....


so, last time I wrote it was the night before we went to go see the Sistine Chapel. as i recall, i was totally excited. and ohhhh man oh man. it totally lived up to my expectations. we actually spent a whole day going through the chapel and the vatican museums that go along with it. if you go, you really do need at least a good six hours to go through and appreciate all of the art work that the vatican museums contain. so, yes. the sistine chapel = breath taking. no, i didn't cry when i saw it, but i got teary eyed. its just that over whelming. i'm telling you, micheangelo was a genious. seriously. the pieta, the sistine chapel (remember, not only is it the ceiling, but its also his last judgement that's on the wall - and oh, don't forget the various side panels that show scenes from the lives of Moses and Jesus too - yeah, all in one room. C.R.A.Z.Y.) it really is a lot to take in at one time. amanda and i spent about a total of two hours just sitting in there looking at it. and oh, my suggestion is to spend a whole day there for the museums and the chapel, go right to the chapel first, then go back through the museums, then spend the last bit of the day in the chapel again. if you go in there right before the museums close, its basically empty. we waited until they kicked us out to leave.

yeah, so it was great. it was actually smaller than i had previously thought. but, the detail is still so incredible. the angels on the ceilings literally look like their legs are dangeling down. it was way cool.

and OH, okay, so you like walk through these museums / rooms on your way to the chapel, and like two rooms before you get there - Raphael's School of Athens is literally just chilling there on the wall. LITERALLY. it was AWESOME. i'm not even joking. its just there. just hanging out. no class protection. no special seperation. I LOVED IT.

the art that I have seen on this trip has been... PHENOMINAL.

okay, so, we did that. that was great, and it was a whole day - so afterward, we got a nice dinner, some gelato, hung out, then headed back to the hostel.

BTW. I think i must take the opportunity now to mention the Swiss Guard.
Okay, just so everyone knows, the Swiss Guard is the group of guards assigned to guard the pope and the vatican city, etc. OKAY, so walking out of Saint Peter's the last time we went ( OMG. THE PIETA IS SOOOO COOOL!!) ... I saw the most beautiful male on the face of the planet. He was one of the Swiss Guards. and if you know anything about the horrible clown suits they have to wear, then I believe that says something. lol .. too bad they can't marry. what a waste. hahahahahahahah. :)

okay, back to what actually matters....

So, our last day in Rome was really chill. We went out to Orstica Attica ( or something ot that extent, i'm too lazy to look up the spelling of the name of the place right now) - which had the ruins from an ancient port town. lots of old columns. way cool. it was really relaxing. then, we came back into town, and just hung out in a park by the coliseum. then we had a way nice dinner, then had to go back to the hostel and pack, etc.

All in all, ROME ROCKED. It was great. the people were great. there were nuns having fun, everywhere, which i totally loved. :) if Rome were a person, i'd want to marry them, and then have their ancient, catholic babies. :) that's the only way i know how to say it. haha.

and oh just another btw: my spell check on this isn't working for some reason. sorry for the errors. :)


so: ROME is as follows.

nuns. pasta. ruins.
churches on every corner.
michaelangelo.

greecceee.

HEY HEY HEY!

Just wanted to quickly write that I'm finally in Greece with the Study Abroad program. We're on the island of Crete for the next few days. Right now, we're about to head out and see what's going on on this little island. Probably walk down to the water. :) I'll write a longer post to fill you in about Rome later tonight.

:)

love and hugs!

PS:...

Okay, so, I just realized how many times I said way cool, or awesome... or similar words in that last post. give me a break. its like christmas morning, every day. :)

When in Rome..

Hey Guys!

Okay, so I know its been forever since my last post. Really its only been a week. BUT, SERIOUSLY, DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I'VE DONE IN THE PAST WEEK? I thought not. So, as a result. I shall update you as much as possible, and include Haikus whenever appropriate. :)

First off, let us start with the beginning of the trip: LONDON.

What is there not to say about London? Other than: I AM IN LOVE WITH THAT CITY. Quite literally. London was clean, and... well, there's just a ton of history there. We saw big ben, parliament, westminster abbey ( although never got to go into it - but don't fear, we tried.. TWICE), I WENT TO TEMPLE CHURCH -- SOOO AWESOME!!, Saint Paul's, The National Art and Portrait Galleries, The British Museum (mummies = WAY COOL), and finally we saw Phanton of the Opera performed at her majesty's theatre. That's right, I can offically die happy.
I could have spent YEARS and YEARS in the british museum. and OH!! MARG, LIZ, and HOLLY : I SAW THE STUFF FROM SUTTON HOO. That's right. there will be facebook pictures of the infamous belt buckled tagged of you. Professor Neuschel would be proud. I will be going back to london. why? Because its awesome, that's why. its so great, it should be haikued.

london. i love you.
from big ben to westminster,
please mind the gap. tube! *

* the london metro is called the tube. there are signs that tell you to mind the gap between the train and the platform. its love. :)

Next City: FRANCE

okay, so, the tourist - y stuff of France completely rocks. as a matter of fact, its awesome. the city as a whole on the other hand, sucks. it smells. and the people have no clue about clean restrooms. on that note, i'm convinced that the french don't use toilet seats OR toilet paper. THAT WAS AN INTERESTING EXPERIENCE, but a different post all together. on to the cooler stuff...

So, we went to the Louvre. Which was, literally, the coolest thing on the face of the planet. I could spend the next five years in there. Just looking at the art. WAY WAY WAY awesome. I found the Mona Lisa to be a little.. over rated, maybe? I don't know... I think that some of Da Vinci's other works... like, say... the Madonna of the Rocks, are so much more. But, then again... Mona does smile at you like she has some secret .... either way, that building has so many different masterpieces it in, that it really would take a life time to study them and appreciate them to the fullest.

Then, we also went to Versallies. ( SWOONS* home of Louis the 14th, 15th, 16...) So much history. So wonderful! And the hall of mirrors? Its literally beyond words. I mean, its no wonder that the French Government was broke and the people eventually rioted and the Revolution occured... all of the money had to have been spent at Versallies. Its amazing that the king and court could have been living in that extent of splendor whilst the people starved.. anywho, I'll save you from the historical commentary. :)

( speaking of historical stuff... this trip/Europe is like the historian's field day... there's something awesome literally like every way you turn...)

So, we did the Champs-Elyse, Arc de Triumph, which was way cool, because we were there on May 8th... which is Victory Europe Day. ( world war two, people) - and they were having memorial services everywhere for those who had died. Way neat. ( not the people dying, the memorial services. get with it. )

Then, we ended France with going up in the Effiel Tower at night. And, I must say, Paris is much more beautiful at night, from above, than it is during the day. I only went to the second level, but the view was breath taking. I spent about an hour just looking over the city. So peaceful. If you go up in the Effiel Tower, do it at night. Seriously.

And, finally, we went to Notre Dame, and The Basillica Santa Cres ( i think that's how you spell those) they were beautiful. duh. loved it. We also ate our fair share of baggets and crepes. My favorite was on our last day, on the way to the Basillica, we ate at a little hill side cafe. :)

So, France :

smelly. dirty. ew.
madonna beats mona
effiel tower. night.


Okay, So: I actually need to get to bed, we're getting up early to go to ... THE SISTINE CHAPEL. ( i'm beyond excited). literally.

But, let me sum up my two days of rome so far:

ITS GREEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAT.
If I could marry a city, it would be Rome.
The people are waaaayyy friendly. :)
The Colosseum was so cool!
We've been to Santa Maria Maggiora, The Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps, The Basillica of Saint Mary and the Martyrs, Piazza Populo, ( and like a million other Piazzas that I can't name from off the top of my head) and oh yeah, we've gone to Saint Peter's Basillica TWICE. That's right, TWICE. Because ITS JUST THAT AWESOME.

DID I MENTION THAT IT HAS THE PIETA?!?!!!!?!?!!??!?!?!?! yeah, I kinda flipped out with that. Its magnificent. I'm telling you, Micheangelo was a genius. The church is literally breath taking - and over whelming at the same time. Its crazy. There is so much detail every where - its obvious that he planned out every aspect, from the way the light shines in the highlight the high altar piece to the way all of the statues in the various niches in the church work together to pull your attention in the direction of the altar. BEYOND COOOL. WAY BEYOND COOL.

and oh yeah, GELATI ( that's right, i'm writing it in Italian - WATCH OUT!! least, i think that's it) is BEYOND GOOD. So is the pasta and pizza. YUM. The food here has been great. Every restuarant you sit out side and eat... its... awesome.

So, in sum, I'm living the history nerds dream right now. If only I had more time in each place. Oh well, guess I'll just come back... hahaha. :)


anyway, I must go.

sorry its been so long between posts. MORE TO COME, SOON!!! :)

love and hugs to all!!

:)

cheerio, all!


... hahaha. so, we're in london. i only have like 8 minutes left on a timed internet connection (WHICH I HAD TO PAY FOR... REALLLLLLYY!??!?!??!) so, just thought i'd get you guys up to speed.

we landed in london early this morning ( around like 6 am) then, spent the whole of the day touring around. you know, big ben, whitehall, temple church, etc.

:)


it was glorious.
and i'm waay tired.
more to come later, along with a slew of fabulous haikus.

hugs!

-fab.

The Edification of Five Hours.

its 1:19 pm on Monday, May 4th.
we leave in five hours.
craziness.

so, over the past twenty four hours, i've managed to accomplish a lot, minus sleeping. ( quick theory of life i've learned this past year, the more stuff you do, and become involved in, the lower down on the priority list sleeping becomes. oh well, i reckon i'll sleep when i'm dead. ) i completely unpacked, repacked, and packed again... and packed, and packed... and yeah, you get the picture. spent some time with the fam, and managed to have an epic midnight breakfast and walmart run with the guys. i mean, really? what else would i want to do in my last twenty four hours? -- nothing. hahaha, nothing sums up the double R like wawa and walmart. YUSSS. ( by the way, i'm holding you guys to your promise to be at the airport when we get back. i'm not joking.)

so, okay, continuing my random thought tangents... what exactly does one write in a blog? stream of conscious thoughts? elaborate essays? multiple inside jokes that only three people understand.. or, WHAT ABOUT HAIKUS?! i think to close this blog, I shall Haiku. ( yes, if it wasn't a verb, i just made it one.)

five hours till we leave.
please let me sleep on the plane.
don't lose my luggage.

less than 24 hours...

WE LEAVE TOMORROW.

OH MY GOSH.

... more to come later.

love and hugs!

-fab.

54 hours to take off....

Hey guys!

So, since the beautiful Ashley P. said I should blog me and Amanda's trip this summer... here it is.
Hopefully I'll be able to update this at least once a week while we're gone, just to let you guys know that I'm alive, and well, and having a complete blast. :)

Anywho, we are now approximately 54 hours from take off, and I admit, it still has not hit me yet that we're getting ready to leave. Maybe its the stress of moving, finals, goodbyes, etc. Who knows.

.. Most of my posts will be pretty short, obviously. I mean, who wants to spend their whole trip in front of a computer? ummm, no thanks. ... I may even not get on facebook while gone. Yeah, right. We'll see how long that lasts.

Anyways, just to update you guys on the schedule: ( at least, this is what i think it is...)

May 6-8: London
May 8-11: Paris
May 11-15: Rome
May 15 - June 14: Study Abroad, Duke in Greece
(btw, June 5 - 12: sailing around the Mediterranean... I'm on a boat and.... its going fast and...)
June 14- 17: Cairo
June 17 - 20: Barcelona
June 20-23: Dublin.

Whew! what a whirlwind seven weeks!

If you have any suggestions of places for us to go or visit, let us know! :)

kay, enough for now.