Greece

     So we had originally tried to make a plan to do all of these really exciting things while we were in Greece.  We obviously had to go see the Acropolis and the surrounding ruins, explore Athens a bit, and then go jet off to an island for an over night stay.  Well it seemed like a really good plan, until we realized how much of a bum we all were.  Things did eventually work out, and we did get to do all of the things we wanted to, just in a slightly different time frame and order.
        On the first day Kati and I decided to go see the Acropolis.  We waited to go with Julia and Gabe because they were going too.  We finally got off the ship and walked to get the bus, which went to the metro.  We got off the wrong stop on the bus and had to walk back to the metro, which kind of defeated the entire purpose of taking the bus.  Well its always an adventure with Julia and Gabe.  We got on the metro and got situated and figured out where we had to get off.  Kati and I met up with Austin and his friend Andrew, who were actually going to the Acropolis.  We decided that we had to get lunch first, which was amazing.  We had some really traditional Greek food, and Ouzo, which happens to be the most disgusting thing that I have ever tasted.  After lunch, we finally walked over to the Acropolis and bought tickets.  Before going in, we saw this really huge rock that everyone was climbing, so we decided to do that.  Of course, because I was wearing flip flops, the climb was that much harder and slipperier, but I finally got to the top, and the view was breath taking.  You could see all of Athens, plus some, and it was amazing.  I hadn't really pictured it to look like that, but we stayed at the top of the rock to take it all in.  After, we climbed down, and I fell flat on my ass, because of the sharp incline and how slippery it was, even despite the boys trying to help me get down.  We ventured over to the entrance of the Acropolis and walked up the hill to get in. At the top we ran into Fransisco and his friend Billy, who we actually continued to walk around with.  The Acropolis was really pretty, but a bit disappointing.  It had TONS of scaffolding around it and you could barely even see it.  We walked around taking a ton of pictures as usual.  When we were finally done, we walked out and got a slush drink and waited for Fransisco and Billy to come back from the rock.  While we were waiting, Gabe and Alyssa showed up, they had left us to go check into their hotel room, so we decided to continue venturing Athens with them.  We wanted to go find the Temple of Zeus, although I do not think that is the proper name for it.  While looking for it, we obviously had to do a bit of shopping.  Kati and I bought cherries on the way, which has become the staple of our trip.  We finally found where the Temple was, after walking in a complete circle.  There was no one there, which was cool.  The temple was really beautiful.  We took some really fun pictures, and then decided to walk to the Olympic stadium.  When we were done, we walked back to the shopping area to get the Metro home, because we were supposed to meet Jess and Kate at 8 to go out that night.
        Well the night was something special.  Kati and I got back and showered really quickly and basically got ready in record time.  The girls told us that we were leaving in 15 minutes to go to a bar crawl in Athens.  After everyone had congregated in Tyminz square, there were about 25 of us ready to go out.  The only problem? We had no idea where the bar crawl was or how to get there.  We frantically tried to call people we thought would have their phones on them, but it all failed.  We decided to wing it and walk to the metro, despite our already being late.  25 minutes of walking later, we were at the metro, we got on, and it was a big mess trying to figure out where to get off.  Finally we figured it all out and got to our destination, Syntagma Square.  We found out later that the bar crawl we were looking for had been canceled and that the people running it were in Germany.  Of course we weren't going to go home, so we found a cute little lounge place to get a few drinks.  After a while, the bartender told us that there was a club down the street which opened at 12, and that we should go because they were closing.  Well, we never did find that club, but we did find a strip of bars, and a hookah place.  Everyone was interested in getting some more drinks, but Kati and I thought it would be fun to just sit and chill out with some hookah.  We went to the bathroom, and when we came back, I guess everyone had figured out it would be fun to smoke some hookah.  It was such a hilarious night, people were getting drunk, and there was this little Pakistani man who kept bringing us free shots and and coals for the hookah.  I'm not sure where he came from, but he was absolutely crazy.  There were some boys next to us, who were from Belgium, who were celebrating one of their 18th birthdays.  We talked to them a lot because they were really cool.  It was getting closer to 3am and we had to get home, especially because our friend Jess was being very silly :)  Kate, Kati, Jess, Harry and I all got in a cab back to the port.  The guy dropped us really really far from our boat, despite my asking him to please drop us closer.  So we walked back slowly from that point to the boat.
        Well the next morning slash afternoon, when we all got up, Kati and I decided to go shopping because we had seen all the really pretty shops in Syntagma Square.  Jess and Kate were still sleeping, so we decided to venture alone.  We got some really cute things and spend a good amount of money.  After at about 6 we got the train back to the boat to see if we could get some dinner in Piraeus.  We ended up finding an Irish pub that had some really good fried food.  We got chicken wings, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, ribs and it was so good to eat something from home.  We stayed there for a while, and then decided to go back to the ship to get our computers because there was free wifi right on that strip.  We stayed out for a few hours and I got to talk to a bunch of friends on the phone, which was really good. I also tried to upload my Barcelona pictures for the 27th time but it took forever and then failed, so I am just going to try to do it when I get back.  It was a chilled out day, so we went to sleep pretty early.
        In the morning, Kati and I really had wanted to go to a Greek Island.  We got up early and got the bus to the other side of the port where they sold all the tickets for the ferries.  We crossed our fingers hoping that it would all work out, but with us, things always do tend to work out.  We walked into the first ticket office and told the girl that we wanted to go to an island.  She told us that the closest one was Aegina, which is where we planned to go anyway, and that the tickets were only 19 euros round trip.  We were really excited, because the next boat left in a half an hour.  We go our tickets, and found the ferry.  After an hour nap, we were finally there, and all we wanted to do was find a pretty beach and stay there.  It was a short walk to the beach, we set up our towels, laid out for a while until we were hot, and then got in the water.  I brought my water camera, so we played around with that, and joked about staying on the island for the rest of our lives.  The water was perfect, and we were surrounded by the most beautiful scenery.  There were several islands in the background and it was amazing.  For lunch, I had been talking about eating a gyro since we got there, so we went on a walk to find one.  We got to a place and ordered gyros and a Greek salad.  Well apparently there is no lettuce in a Greek salad, it consists entirely of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and peppers, with a huge chunk of feta on top.  Any one who knows me well, knows that I do not eat cucumbers or tomatoes, so I was a bit skeptical of this salad.  I pretty much ate all of the onions and peppers with feta, which was the best feta I have ever had, along with some of the cucumbers.  It was weird because they were actually pretty good.  Our gyros were even better, but kind of a mess, because we had to put them together on our own.  After lunch, we walked across the street to the fruit vendor and bought some more cherries and peaches and headed back to the beach.  We laid out some more and played in the water, and it was a really relaxing day.  About an hour before our ferry was supposed to head back, we grabbed some dinner, which actually consisted of my bakalava and Kati's ice cream and some ridiculously strong cocktails.  We got on the ferry, a bit tipsy and headed back to our home.
        That night we went back to the Irish pub because we were tired and that was where all of our friends were going.  We had a few drinks, and a good time and of course got back home around 3 am.  Well that was the precursor to our last day.  We didn't really have any plans so we decided to be really lazy and sleep all day.  It's one of those things that we don't really ever have time to do.  It was such a good thing to sleep.  We finally got up for lunch, and then watched three movies for the rest of the day.  It was a waste of time, but its so hard to explain how fast paced our lives have been for the last month.  Its crazy to think that we have been on this ship for a month already, and that our trip is half way over.  I feel like I have known these people for years and years, which is crazy, but I am still continuing to have the time of my life.

I'm a fan of the Kuna..

     Croatia was just as relaxing as I could have imagined.  I wanted to do a little exploring at first, so it wasn't a total waste of a port, so I ventured out with Roby and Colie.  We took the bus into Old City, Dubrovnik and walked around up and down little streets and allies, which was really cool.  We walked across Old city to the other side to try and find a beach, when we ran into the interport student, Borna.  (An interport student is a student that works for semester at sea, who stays on the ship from the previous port to their own country, in order to educate us about their home country).  It was really exciting to run into him, because he could help us navigate around the city.  Instead of asking him for directions, we asked to walk around with him, because we knew that it would be an experience.  It was just about lunch time, and he was headed to a restaurant, so we followed him there.  It was a small little place in an ally, away from all of the tourists, which was exactly what I wanted.  He ordered for all of us in Croatian, and none of us really knew what to expect.  The waiter brought out 5 identical plates with a sandwich looking thing, onions and cheese.  I couldn't tell you what the dish was called because Croatian is one of the most difficult languages that I have ever heard, but it was so absolutely delicious.  Borna told us that it was a traditional Dalmatian dish, with traditional sausages of three types of meat, goat cheese and onions.  After we all finished our lunch, we were stuffed, but Borna wanted to take us to get a cup of coffee.  We sat for a while at a cafe and just talked a lot about Croatian culture and way of life, which was just so interesting.  Finally after we ate and had our coffee, we were all ready for the beach, because it was so hot out.  Borna took us to his house, which was amazing.  It had a crazy view of the beach front.  He let us put our stuff in his house for safe keeping, and we left soon after for the beach.  We spent a few hours laying, drinking some beers and swimming in the water.  It was such an incredibly relaxing day.  After a few hours, we decided to go back to his house, where we sat in the yard drinking iced tea and juice, talking more about culture.  One of his neighbors came into his yard to see what was going on.  We had been playing music and talking, and he had overheard, and wanted to make sure that everything was okay.  Borna explained to us that that was part of their culture. Because it was just his summer house, he didn't live there all the time, and the neighbors would come and check frequently to make sure things were good. I thought that it was so cool because I don't think that I would ever trust my neighbors, to have the key to my house.  I learned a lot from him, and had such a good day.  We finally left about 7:45 and got the bus back to the port, to change and get ready to go out that night.
        A whole bunch of Semester at Sea kids were planning to go to the night club on the beach that night, and we thought it would be fun.  Jessica, Kate, Kati, Danielle and I got some drinks and sat on the beach for a while before going to the club because it hadn't opened yet.  It ended up being a really fun night, where all the SASers were out, having a good time in Croatia.  We also met a whole bunch of locals and people that were vacationing there as well, which was really cool.  We finally took a cab back to the port about 3:30 am and went to bed.
        The rest of Croatia was spent pretty much on the beach relaxing.  We had been on the go in Italy and Spain, I think that everyone was really tired and needed a break.  We tanned, swam, ate some good food, and did some shopping.  On the last night of Croatia, me and the girls decided to splurge a little bit and eat at this really fancy lounge bar.  I had found it on the Internet before I had even left for my trip and I really wanted to go there.  It was a really amazing place called Gil's located right on the water, with the most amazing views.  We knew to expect a really great night, but we didn't expect 3 waiters to be waiting on us the whole night.  The service was amazing.  I couldn't believe how great it was.  We all ordered drinks and our food, which was so incredibly good.  I ordered a steak, which came with fries and a salad.  It was quite amusing when our bill came because it was over 2000 kunas.  We had been making fun of the kuna since we had arrived in Croatia because it was basically worth nothing.  It was 5 kunas to every American dollar.  Not that 2000 Kunas was not expensive, my meal still cost about 65 dollars, but it was just kinda funny.  We had a really good girls night. 
        Croatia was beautiful.  I really loved every second of it.  It was just fun to not really have a plan, relax and enjoy the food and culture.  Although Dubrovnik was very touristy, I still enjoyed it a lot.  I really want to be able to go back and explore the country even further. 
        We have one day of classes and Sea Olympics before Greece.  I'm really excited :)

Naples

      When I had heard that we were going to Naples, everyone around me told me that I should get out as soon as possible.  When we got there, the port was pretty gross and so dirty, because apparently the mafia has completely taken over. We walked up to the main street where there were a ton of shops and all these people selling fake bags and jewelry on the streets.  We didn't really stop to shop at all  because our main goal was to find the train station, and get out of Naples.  We stopped to get some pizza because we were starving.  I can't even tell you how amazing the bread is there, you just have to go for yourself and try it.  Kati and I met a girl named Amy on the way out of the port and recruited her to come with us, because she was going to explore Naples on her own.  Well we all got on the train to Sorrento at about 1pm.  The train was so ghetto and covered in graffiti, but after an hour or so we got off the train.  Sorrento was really beautiful.  We spent some time shopping around, because we really hadn't bought anything yet, and I wanted to get some gifts.  We walked down to the water and saw the beaches, which were beautiful.  We got some pictures and admired the cliffs and ocean.  After a while we headed back to the train station so we could find the bus to go to Positano and the Amalfi coast.  Amy decided to head back to Naples, so Kati and I got on the bus to Positano.
        The bus ride was an experience in itself.  The coastal road that you have to drive on is two lanes, and pretty much too small to actually hold two cars passing each other.  There was a two foot gate on the side of the road that would do nothing if you actually swerved into it, but somehow we managed to make it to our final destination with out any problems.  The views were absolutely breath taking, probably the most beautiful city I have ever seen in my life.  I definitely wished that we had more time there, because me and Kati got lunch and just sat looking out at the views for about three hours.  We were surrounded by by cliffs with these pretty little houses, and looking down, we could see Capri and Anacapri, which we did not realize would be so small.  It was just so gorgeous.  After our lunch, we walked down to the beach, which took us a while because we wanted to look into all the cute little shops on the way.  This was the first time that I actually bought anything, which was really fun.  I got a bunch of cute little presents for my friends and family, which I hope that they will really like.  We finally walked down to the beach, which was really gorgeous, and I wanted to dip my feet in.  After, we walked back up because we wanted to get the bus back.  We got back to the stop, and we didn't even have to wait for the bus, which was good, we took the bus back, and out the side of the window, we could see the most beautiful sunset.  The sun was bright red, which was insane.  We finally got back to Sorrento, ran to the ATM and the grocery store because we had to get our tickets back to Naples.  We boarded the train, which seemed to take forever, but we eventually made it back to Naples, and walked back to the boat.  We thought that it was going to be a lot worse of a walk back, because everyone had talked about how dangerous it was, but we made it back safely.
        Once we got back onto the ship, we were going to take it easy and watch a movie, but on our way in, because it was the 4th of July, there was a whole bunch of kids drinking wine right out side the gates of the port, which was really cool, so we decided to run to the bar right next to the pier and buy a bottle of wine.  We had such a good time, just drink and chatting to every one, and celebrating our country.  It was so weird to not be in America for the 4th of July, but the crew put together and amazing BBQ for us the next day.  We finally went to bed with full intentions of hiking Vesuvius in the morning and going to Pompeii in the afternoon.
        Well when we woke up, we were really tired, and we decided to just go to Pompeii with Colby, Gracie and her roommate Amanda.  We got there really easily by the train, and paid the 11 Euro entrance fee.  We got a chance to walk around seeing the ruins for about 3 hours.  There was so much to see, and it was a bit overwhelming.  We got to see so many things, and I thought that it was so well preserved.  It was actually crazy to see the bodies that were preserved in the state when they saw the lava coming towards them.  I felt as thought I could put myself back in that time, because the ruins were so well preserved.  We got to see the brothel, which was a bit intense, the bakery and the theaters.  It was really really cool.  We all got really tired really quickly because it was so hot, and we were walking a lot, so we decided to walk back and head to the train back to Naples.  When we got off the train, we decided to get real pizza from Napoli.  We found this really cheap, but unbelievable restaurant, where we got a really good lunch.  Finally, we got back to the boat a bit early, because they were having a BBQ for us.  We layed out by the pool for a while, and then got to eat some more. 
        The Naples port was not as bad as I thought that it would be, but we still did not spend that much time there.  My favorite part of the trip was most definitely Positano, and I am so happy that we got a chance to go there.  Italy was so good, but I am really excited to just sit and relax in Croatia.

Romaaaa..

When in Rome..be spontaneous, don't have a plan and go on an adventure..at least that's what Kati and I did.  I never thought that I could love a country more after Spain, until I got to Italy.  I'm pretty sure that I want to live there one day.  Well we had tried to make plans over and over with a whole bunch of different people, but no one really knew what they wanted to do, so Kati and I decided to go on our own, that is, until we met up with Roby, Judy and Colby.  We all ventured to the train, which was a fun little hike from the port, but not too bad, and went to get our tickets.  Of course we had on our backpacks which made maneuvering through crowds that much easier, but the lines to get tickets for the train were out of control.  After a long sweaty wait, and a confusing Italian ticket machine later, we all decided to get a bottle of wine for the ride to Roma. 
        The train was really kind of nice, air conditioning and everything, and we got to see a bunch of the country side, which apparently is very poor in Italy.  Upon arriving to Termini station, we did not have a plan of any sort, but all we knew was that we were very hungry.  We walked down a bunch of little streets, where we think was the Chinatown of Rome, and finally stumbled upon a little hole in a wall pizza and calzone shop.  The man cut me a piece after I motioned to him I wanted something smaller than the piece he was ready to cut and I could not believe have unbelievable the pizza was.  The people who had told me it was good did not lie at all.  It was the best pizza I think that I had in all of Rome!  Finally after we were all full, we got on the subway, which I managed to master in the 3 days I was there, and we headed to St. Peters Square.  I guess I had not realized how amazingly huge it was, but I was in complete awe.  It was absolutely gorgeous and enormous, I didn't know where to look first.  The line to get into the basilica seemed really intimidating, but it actually moved really quickly and only took us about a half an hour to get into.  When we stepped in for the first time, Colby and I looked at each other and we could instantly tell what we were both feeling.  I had goose bumps and almost thought I was going to cry, because it was so incredible.  We walked around for about an hour taking pictures, and admiring the beauty, when we looked up and realized that you could some how get to the top of the copula.  We figured out quickly how to do this, and paid the five euro to get up.  We walked up over 350 stairs just to get to the ledge that was in the inside of the basilica, which allowed us to look down and see everything from a different view.  After that, and what might have been some of the scariest minutes of my life, we managed to clime the rest of the 800 stairs to the top of the copula, which over looked the entire city.  The stairs wound around and around and the walls tilted to fit the circular shape, which only made the climb that much scarier.  Finally when we got to the top, I was able to put aside my fear of heights and look over at the most gorgeous site, the entire city of Rome, and St. Peter's Square from hundreds of feet in the air.  It was absolutely breathtaking, and I think despite all of the stairs, we were all really really happy that we had done it.  We stayed up there for a while, and eventually came down, so that we could move onto the next site, because Colby, Judy and Roby really only had that day in Rome before they left for Venice and Florence.  When we were leaving, we saw these crazy storm clouds coming in, and this insane lightening, but it hadn't started to rain yet.  We thankfully caught the bus right before the skies opened up, and when we got off, we ran into a little cafe to get something to eat once again.  After that, we walked out to try to find the Colosseum, because apparently it was really close to where we were, but there seemed to be so much commotion, we had to stop.  As we crossed the street, about 9 police cars surrounded the island that we were on in the middle of the road, and that was when we could see a protest coming.  We weren't really sure what it was about, but we had to get to the other side of the street, so as the massive group of people passed, shouting things in Italian, we joined in with them.  We think that it was a social security protest, but we really weren't sure, because the police man that we asked, answered us in Italian. 
        After videoing our presence in the protest, we finally got the directions to the Colosseum, and started walking, where we passed the Roman Forum on the way.  We stopped to take some pictures there, but as soon as the Colosseum was in sight, I needed to get a picture with it.  It was so amazing to see a site that I had only heard about and seen pictures of, because it was most definitely more impressive in real life.  We didn't get a chance to go in, because it was closed, but we did a really good walk around, and got onto the metro to try and find another group of girls that were staying at the hostel that Colby and them had already booked.  Kati and I tagged along, hopping that they would have a few extra beds to spare.  When we got to the original hostel, exhausted from carrying our backpacks all day, and in desperate need of a shower, they told us that their bathroom was broken and that they had arranged another hostel that the girls were already at.  We were all a bit frustrated but walked the extra 8 blocks to the Chinese ghetto, or so it seemed.  We found some SASers there, after we checked in, but they did not have any extra beds.  We didn't really freak out, because the woman seemed like a crack whore who didn't really pay any attention, so we all went upstairs, took showers and got ready to go out that night.  After some drinks at the hostel, we ventured out for something to do, and stumbled upon a sweet bar crawl.  It was only 5 euro for the next 3 bars and we got a free shot with each, so we were pretty excited.  The boys and Kati got shirts to remember the experience.   We had a lot of fun, but towards the end of the night, we were at a club, and Colby made friends with the guys that ran the crawl, and they gave him some free shots.  Well that's really enough said, because he got pretty drunk and we had to take him him.  Roby and I were going to go try and find the Trevi fountain, because they were leaving really early in the morning, but we had to help Kati get Colby back to the hostel.  On the way back in the cab, we ran into Judy, who had gone out with her other friends, and she joined us in our adventures back to the Trevi fountain.  Well we got in the right bus, going the wrong way, and after about an hour we realized we weren't turning around and had to get off and wait for the bus going back the other way.  It was certainly an adventure, 4am, and we had to get up at 7:30, so that they could catch the train to Pisa.  We finally all got to bed, 5 people in 3 singles, and went to sleep.
        In the morning, Kati and I woke up with everyone and got ready and left so that they hostel people wouldn't know we had all stayed the night.  It was really early and we just really wanted a coffee.  We walked across the street into a cafe, where we were greeted by this very friendly waiter, who insisted on kissing our cheeks and hands over and over, while telling us how beautiful we looked.  Of course we were still in last night's makeup and looked like a hot mess, but he didn't really seem to notice.  He also offered to take us on a personal tour of Rome when he got off work.  We were flattered but told him that we were going to meet up with our boyfriends later so that he would leave us alone for a little while.  After we only spent 3 euros on our coffee, compliments to the waiter who was in love with us, we ventured to find the Trevi fountain.  It took some skill, and some awesome map reading abilities, but we eventually stumbled across it.  It was relatively uncrowded, which was really nice because it is always super crowded in all the pictures.  Kati and I made wishes and were still hoping that they come true :)  We ran into the nurse and her husband from the ship and walked with them down to the Pantheon, which was also really beautiful.  We had to get something to eat after that because we were starving.  We ate pizza again at a small cafe, and took a break from carrying our backpacks, which was sweet.
        We had seen pretty much everything that we had wanted to, and we decided to see the Spanish Steps quickly and then head over to the Villa Borghese.  There were tons of shops along the street to get to the Spanish Steps, which kind of reminded me of 5th Avenue in Manhattan, sporting Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton, which we clearly could not afford.  We walked to the Villa Borghese after seeing a bunch of SASers at the steps, and we decided to take a nap, because we were just exhausted.  After a nice nap in the park, and getting to talk to my parents on the phone, we decided to call Josh to see where he was and to find a hostel near his apartment for the night.  Well apparently Rome was very full that night, so all the hostels were booked, my phone was dead, we couldn't figure out how to work the pay phones, and Kati's phone wouldn't dial Josh's number so we freaked out.  I finally got a hold of him and he gave us the directions to get to his apartment, where we could get a room for the night.  It worked out really well and turned out to be less expensive than we expected, which was really nice.  We got a sweet apartment, took a really long shower, and took a nap. 
        We finally woke up, started getting ready and I hadn't heard from Josh so I went to find Ruby and Christie, which was really cool to see them.  I finally met up with Josh and we went over to celebrate Sammy D's 21st birthday in his room for a while, until we could go out to the club.  I was so happy to get to see everyone in Rome, it was so much fun.  They were going to La Maison, one of the hottest clubs in Italy for the night to celebrate the end of their summer program, and the plethora of birthdays that night.  It ended up being really fun, we'll keep it at that. We got back to the apartment pretty late, and went to bed and in the morning, more afternoon, we got up and got an amazing Italian lunch of antipasto, spaghetti, and veal.  It was all really delicious.  The only thing that we didn't get a chance to see was the Vatican Museum and the Sistine chapel, so we headed over there.  The museum was really cool, and the Sistine chapel was really beautiful.  It was really funny because you aren't supposed to talk in the chapel or take pictures, and there was an official shusher, which shushed the people every minute or so.  After that, we met back up with Josh, and had to grab our stuff to head back to Civiteveccia to catch the boat to go to Naples.  After a long train ride, and some more pizza before getting back, we arrived back home to the MV Explorer to crash.  We were so tired and were glad to be home.
        Rome was not what I had expected it to be at all.  Of course I knew there was tons and tons of history, which was incredible to see, but a lot of people spoke English, which was really nice.  I didn't get to learn as much Italian as I had hoped, which I think maybe put a little bit of a damper on the experience, but over it was absolutely unbelievably amazing.  I couldn't believe that with not having a plan, we were able to see everything that we wanted to see and did everything that we wanted to do.  I was able to basically backpack through Italy for three days, eat some amazing food, meet some really awesome people, and experience an unbelievable country, which I will remember forever.