In my sleep deprived state I met Eric, Dave, and Leland Thursday morning to hop on a bus to London Luton airport. At the airport, we grabbed a bite to eat and met up with Kristen and Dan, two Academy grads studying at Oxford. It was good to see them again!
We arrived in Athens mid-afternoon and made our way quite easily to our hotel located near Syntagma Square. Part of the race registration fee included a free public transportation pass for the time we would be staying, so we took the tube to within a 5 minute walk from our hotel (Hotel Achilleas). We were all impressed with the hotel, it was very nice, with complimentary breakfast. Dave made the reservations and it only cost each of us 15 pounds a night.
Kristin and IAfter dropping our bags, we immediately made our way toward the Acropolis to find a place for dinner and later meet up with Dave's Greek friend, Greg, who he met at Northwestern. We found a great place to eat! Located outside with traditional food. We ordered wine with dinner and it was still pretty cheap. Street performers would pass by your table looking for tips and many others came by our table trying to get us to buy anything from a rose to a flashlight.
The site of our first dinnerAfter dinner we met up with Greg. He said he was very excited to show us around Athens at night. He said it's his favorite time to see the city - the dark hides all it's ugliness and just the monuments are lit up. We climbed a steep hill next to the Acropolis to get a better view of it and the entire city. It was breathtaking and beautiful!
The Acropolis at night
We stayed out late and visited a local bar. I was brave enough to order Ouzo and I really enjoyed it - I was the only one who liked it! Greg gave us advice for where to visit the next day.
When we rolled out of bed the next morning around 10am, we decided to first register for the race and pick up our race packets before letting loose on the city. It was a good idea. The registration center was only about a 10 minute walk away. Registration was crazy! You pick up your race packet, then activate your timer chip, and then you walk through the booths for all the sponsors of the race. I came out with lots of free food, a hat, and powerade.
After registration, we made our way back to the hotel to drop of our stuff off and then headed towards the Acropolis once more. Our first stop was the Roman Marketplace.
A view of the Acropolis from the Roman Marketplace
Me in the Roman Marketplace
Eric, Dan, and Dave in the Roman Marketplace on a return trip (before they got yelled at)
After, we made our way back up to the hill we stood the night before and took in the beautiful views of the city and the Acropolis in daylight.
The Ancient Agora (the best preserved Greek monument)
Our next stop was the Acropolis. I really did feel like I was closer to the Gods up there. It's amazing how this massive rock formation just rises out of nowhere!
Dave, Leland, Me, Kristen, Dan, and Eric in front of the Parthenon
On the Acropolis, in front of the Erectheion
A view of the Monument of Filopappos from the Acropolis
Leland, me, and Kristen on the Acropolis
The Theatre of Dionysos next to the Acropolis
Kristen and I very excited about gellato!
After lunch, we just started walking, kind of got lost, and ended up at Hadrian's Arch.
Dan, Dave, me, and Kristen in front of Hadrian's Arch
Paige, me, Dan, Alicia,Leland, Kristen, and Eric at the beach
Dan and Eric returning from their swim
The finish line
Me just before crossing the finish line of the Athens 10K
The Academy grads posed for a picture after the race with our medals. Me, Kristen, Leland, Matt, Dan, Eric, and Dave.
The Acropolis at nightWe stayed out late and visited a local bar. I was brave enough to order Ouzo and I really enjoyed it - I was the only one who liked it! Greg gave us advice for where to visit the next day.
When we rolled out of bed the next morning around 10am, we decided to first register for the race and pick up our race packets before letting loose on the city. It was a good idea. The registration center was only about a 10 minute walk away. Registration was crazy! You pick up your race packet, then activate your timer chip, and then you walk through the booths for all the sponsors of the race. I came out with lots of free food, a hat, and powerade.
After registration, we made our way back to the hotel to drop of our stuff off and then headed towards the Acropolis once more. Our first stop was the Roman Marketplace.
A view of the Acropolis from the Roman Marketplace
Me in the Roman Marketplace
Eric, Dan, and Dave in the Roman Marketplace on a return trip (before they got yelled at)After, we made our way back up to the hill we stood the night before and took in the beautiful views of the city and the Acropolis in daylight.
The Ancient Agora (the best preserved Greek monument)
Dave, Leland, Me, Kristen, Dan, and Eric in front of the Parthenon
On the Acropolis, in front of the Erectheion
A view of the Monument of Filopappos from the Acropolis
Leland, me, and Kristen on the Acropolis
The Theatre of Dionysos next to the AcropolisFor lunch we found a place called IceGrill. Leland and I split a 2 grilled turkey patties with grilled vegetables. It was delicious. After the meal we had gellato! I think we returned 4 times to the IceGrill over the net four days just for the gellato.
Kristen and I very excited about gellato!After lunch, we just started walking, kind of got lost, and ended up at Hadrian's Arch.
Dan, Dave, me, and Kristen in front of Hadrian's ArchFor the rest of the day we rested our legs, ate, and waited for more people to arrive. Vicki, an Academy grad, was arriving from Ireland with 3 other Mitchell Scholars, Matt was arriving from Oxford, and Dan's friend's Alicia from Oxford and Paige from Italy.
All twelve of us at dinner
All twelve of us at dinnerOn Saturday, a group of us decided to try and make our way to the beach and we did! We ended up in Edem. The trip got even more exciting when Dan and Eric decided to go for a swim!
Paige, me, Dan, Alicia,Leland, Kristen, and Eric at the beach
Dan and Eric returning from their swimOn Sunday, everyone got up early for the marathon (5:30am). Since I was the only one running the 10K, I was able to stay in bed a little longer. I eventually made my way to the start around 8am. It was slightly chilly, but I knew it would be perfect conditions once I started running. The race started and finished in the same place, the Panathinaikon Stadium. The course went five kilometers uphill on Vas Konstantinou Avenue and then turned around and made its way back downhill to the stadium. The race went well. Since I haven't been training my goal was to finish under an hour and I finished in 53 minutes. With that time, I finished in the top quarter of my age group. If I had run my personal best (42 min), I would have placed 6th in my age group.
The inside of the stadium
The finish line
Me just before crossing the finish line of the Athens 10K
The Academy grads posed for a picture after the race with our medals. Me, Kristen, Leland, Matt, Dan, Eric, and Dave.After the race, we all quickly had to pack and say our goodbyes to catch our flights back in order to make class on Monday. Before we did though, we were able to take one last shot of the group in front of Parliament.
No comments:
Post a Comment