Joseph Youl

After 23 hours of flying and 6 or 7 hours of waiting in various airports, we finally touched down in Athens. Everyone was pretty tired as they stepped off the plane but upon jumping onto the bus, the exhaustion was forgotten as we caught our first glimpses of Greece and the astonishing amount of churches from the windows. The first thing we went to after sleeping off the bus was the Palace, outside of which were guards with amusing walks and big fluffy pompoms on their boots. After witnessing the guard change we quickly viewed some ruins in the train station then headed to our hotel. Hotel economy was a very “snug” place, with 3 to a room. Once we were all settled in, we went out for a night tour of Athens. The amount of graffiti we saw was astonishing as well as the homeless people who seemed to be sleeping on every corner. After checking out the markets and some churches, we headed up Mt Lykevetis (or however it’s spelled). The view from the top was amazing and the sheer size of the city is something which I will never forget.

The next day after some much needed sleep we woke up early to milo cereal and toast and headed over to Delphi for the day. The long bus ride to Delphi was fantastic as we were able to see the beautiful countryside of Greece, a country I never knew had so many mountains. Once there, we walked up a hill, all the while inspecting ancient ruins. On the bus ride back, most people managed to have a small nap before arriving back in Athens. This sleep turned out to be rather useful as we were then set loose in Syntagma square for a few hours to shop, explore and eat. That night I enjoyed a delicious pork wrap whilst some others headed to the bakery to have filled rolls, which I must say, looked amazing.

On the third day we spent a massive day, catching the train for the first time and walking what seemed like everywhere. We visited several ruins, the names of which I cannot remember. The one thing which stuck out in that day was most certainly the Acropolis. I’ve seen pictures of it before but the size of it still amazed me. Once leaving the Acropolis, we went to the Acropolis museum and finished the day off by finding our way home, all the while checking out market stalls, set up along almost every street. Once back, we were set loose in the square, yet again. As it was out last night in Athens, most people bought themselves some souvenirs, myself included, buying a miniature helmet and archer statue. For dinner people had a variety of food whilst I had kebabs with pita bread and chips.

I’m writing this whilst speeding towards Rome in a train. The past few days have been more amazing than I could have imagined and I’m eagerly awaiting the adventures I am sure to have in Italy. It’s amazing to think that we’re only a sixth of the way through the tour.