Dying Achilles
My boy Achilles
Modern day Achilles
The Triumph of Achilles
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Tuesday, May 20th (The Achilleion)
Today we went to the Achilleion, which is a beautiful mansion that was constructed for the Empress of Austria, Elisabeth of Bavaria, in 1889-1891. She was a very beautiful, yet vain woman whose taste of decoration and style is apparent throughout the mansion and the grounds. There are amazing statues and sculptures throughout the grounds and house itself, the main ones being of the Greek god Achilles because of the Empress' admiration for him. It is simply a stunning place and the pictures really don't do it justice.
Friday, May 16th - Sunday, May 18th (Weekend Excursion)
On Friday, we had an extensive exam based on the previous days' lectures about early European history and the Enlightenment. So after class from 10:00-1:00pm and lunch, most of us had a group study session for the majority of the afternoon to prepare. After the exam, my roommate Mark and I went to the gym across the street to workout and then get dinner with the group afterwards at the local Captain George's restaurant. I'm really glad I got a month membership at the gym because I've been taking advantage of it a lot during our free time.
Saturday was the start of our weekend excursion to the mainland. We left from the Ariti Hotel at 8:15am and caught the 9:00am ferry to the mainland. From there, we took a bus from about 10:45am - 2:30pm to the city of Vergina in northeastern Greece. In this small city, archaeologists found several tombs and artifacts of ancient Macedonians, including Alexander the Great's father Philip II. After digging and finding everything, a museum was actually constructed right on the site of where everything was found. The museum is called the 'Museum of the Royal Tombs of Aigai.' We had a tour guide take us around and show us all sorts of cool things from Philip II's tomb, to ancient weaponry, armor, and golden crowns used in burials.
Saturday was the start of our weekend excursion to the mainland. We left from the Ariti Hotel at 8:15am and caught the 9:00am ferry to the mainland. From there, we took a bus from about 10:45am - 2:30pm to the city of Vergina in northeastern Greece. In this small city, archaeologists found several tombs and artifacts of ancient Macedonians, including Alexander the Great's father Philip II. After digging and finding everything, a museum was actually constructed right on the site of where everything was found. The museum is called the 'Museum of the Royal Tombs of Aigai.' We had a tour guide take us around and show us all sorts of cool things from Philip II's tomb, to ancient weaponry, armor, and golden crowns used in burials.
The entrance to the museum, located beneath an artificially constructed mound
Philip II's tomb entrance
Golden crown used in royal burials & golden container housing the bones of the deceased
Alexander IV's tomb, son of Alexander the Great
From there, we drove to the Hotel Palladion and after checking in, we went to a group dinner at a local restaurant. It was one of the best meals of my life, as they brought appetizer after appetizer before our main entree and all the food was delicious. The appetizers included bread with olive oil, zucchini patties, fried cheese, eggplant, Greek salad, and grilled mushrooms. Then after being completely full with that, we had trays of different types of meat brought to us for our entree. All in all, it was delicious and we all had a good time.
Sunday we went to the Monastery of Agios Nikolaos Philanthropinon on a nearby island in the morning. This monastery was amazing and every inch was covered in icons and religious paintings from several centuries ago. The paintings were incredibly detailed and the colors were intense.
From here, we traveled to Dodona where there are the remnants of the ancient oracle dedicated to Zeus and an amphitheater where ancient Greek plays were performed. The amphitheater is currently undergoing restoration, but the temples around the oracle are simply foundations of stone because the Romans destroyed them when they invaded Greece.
After Dodona, we traveled to Sivota Beach where we relaxed and ate at a water-side cafe.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Thursday, May 15th Group Dinner
This Thursday night, we had a fancy group dinner at a restaurant in town called Piperitsa. All 20 of us were able to go, and we filled up the majority of the restaurant. We each got a salad to split, and I got the Piperitsa signature pizza. It had chicken, mushrooms, onions, peppers, and cherry tomatoes on it and it was quite good. The group picture turned out well, too. Pretty good looking bunch of kids, I gotta say!
Thursday, May 15, 2014
New Pictures!
Some pictures from when we visited the New Fort
The guys at karaoke night singing some Backstreet Boys
Rock jumping at Paleokastritsa!
Monday, May 12th - Wednesday, May 14th
On Monday after class, the group and I went to an old Byzantine church on the island. The church is longer in use, and is used just as a museum nowadays. It is actually usually closed on Mondays, but it opened up just for us to see inside. Inside was an enormous collection of Christian paintings in the style typical of that time period, with the golden background and abstract figures. We had our own personal tour guide who is a expert on Byzantine history, so he was able to share a lot of knowledge with us.
On Tuesday, we went to the St. Spyridon church in Corfu. He's the patron saint of Corfu and there are all sorts of miracles associated with him. We had an expert on the church give us a quick tour of the place, and it was just as beautiful as the Byzantine church. Inside The Church of St. Spyridon are his relics, which Greek Orthodox pilgrims come from all over just to pray over and kiss them.
On Wednesday, we went to the Mon Repos Palace. It is a villa built in Corfu in 1828 as a summer residence for English Commissioner Thomas Maitland. It was vacated soon after, but has served as the birthplace for important people such as Prince Philip and Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark. It was opened up to the public many years ago and is located on a large plot of land which is home for a tremendous diversity of plants. The trails are also used by runners and walkers alike.
On Tuesday, we went to the St. Spyridon church in Corfu. He's the patron saint of Corfu and there are all sorts of miracles associated with him. We had an expert on the church give us a quick tour of the place, and it was just as beautiful as the Byzantine church. Inside The Church of St. Spyridon are his relics, which Greek Orthodox pilgrims come from all over just to pray over and kiss them.
On Wednesday, we went to the Mon Repos Palace. It is a villa built in Corfu in 1828 as a summer residence for English Commissioner Thomas Maitland. It was vacated soon after, but has served as the birthplace for important people such as Prince Philip and Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark. It was opened up to the public many years ago and is located on a large plot of land which is home for a tremendous diversity of plants. The trails are also used by runners and walkers alike.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Friday, May 9th - Sunday May 11th (Beaches!)
Friday was the last day of the first week of class, and we finished it up talking about Ancient Sparta and Alexander the Great. It was pretty amazing to learn about just how powerful and disciplined the Spartans were, and how exactly the Macedonian Empire took over so much land from Greece all the way to western India.
Saturday has got to be one of my favorite days so far in Greece. We went to a beach in Corfu called Paleokastritsa and it was absolutely gorgeous. It's supposed to be one of the best beaches in Greece, and it sure lived up to its name. The color of the water was breath-taking, and there were plenty of rock formations and sights that added to its awesomeness. We did some rock climbing and jumping and explored the top of the nearby mountain to get some fabulous views. Fun fact - Paleokastritsa is supposedly the place were the legendary Oddyseus washed up on shore!
Sunday was another beach day for us! This time, we went to Glyfada beach on the western side of Corfu for the day. As opposed to the pebble beach, this one was more sandy and much bigger than Paleokastritsa. We didn't have as much time here, but we still had a great time in the water and on the sand!
Sunday night was a blast also. We had a Greek language lesson after getting back from the beach, where we basically learned survival Greek. We worked on learning the Greek alphabet, which is significantly different than ours, and speaking common Greek phrases. After this lesson, we all went to the next door restaurant called Captain George's for karaoke night! We all had a blast, and we took a group photo with the amazing owner George, who can speak almost every language and was supporting Ohio State with his shirt. Go Bucks!
Saturday has got to be one of my favorite days so far in Greece. We went to a beach in Corfu called Paleokastritsa and it was absolutely gorgeous. It's supposed to be one of the best beaches in Greece, and it sure lived up to its name. The color of the water was breath-taking, and there were plenty of rock formations and sights that added to its awesomeness. We did some rock climbing and jumping and explored the top of the nearby mountain to get some fabulous views. Fun fact - Paleokastritsa is supposedly the place were the legendary Oddyseus washed up on shore!
Sunday night was a blast also. We had a Greek language lesson after getting back from the beach, where we basically learned survival Greek. We worked on learning the Greek alphabet, which is significantly different than ours, and speaking common Greek phrases. After this lesson, we all went to the next door restaurant called Captain George's for karaoke night! We all had a blast, and we took a group photo with the amazing owner George, who can speak almost every language and was supporting Ohio State with his shirt. Go Bucks!
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