Greece

Athens

One of the most common questions I get is : "Which country was your favorite from you last trip?" Even though I loved all three (Italy, Spain, and Greece), I was completely struck by the beauty of Greece and the amazing food!

 I was exhausted when we arrived. We had stayed up late for Christmas, were worried about the flood, left early in the morning to catch our flight, and my knee was starting to give up on me (I have a bad knee due to a car accident in 2011).  Upon arriving to our hostel, we decided to go to asleep immediately to recharge. 

Athens felt surreal. It was a mixture of history and modern all in one place at the same time. Looking around the city, you saw the hustle & bustle of a busy city. Looking up, you saw the Parthenon. What an amazing experience! 

Aegina

We decided to stay away from the touristy islands of Greece and visited Aegina. There were amazing beaches with clear waters and beautiful sunsets. We didn't peruse the island much as we decided to take the day slow and just relax by a deserted spot on the beach. 

Aegina's website states that the island has a special place in Greek mythology and history. The name comes from the most beautiful daughter of Asopos, river god, who eloped with Zeus to this deserted island. "The island enjoyed strong economic and social growth between around 900 B.C. and 480 B.C., including minting the first coins anywhere in Greece during the 7th. Century B.C. In more modern times, Aegina was briefly the first "capital" of modern Greece from 1827 - 1829." 

Additional Pics

Delicious Food...We came back to this restaurant at least 3 times throughout the week

An alley of lights

Hiking around the area

more ruins

graffiti 

Ferry to Aegina

Ruins of Acropolis 

New Years in Greece

Italy: Milan & Venice

I left for Europe as soon as both my friend an I finished our winter finals and our goal was to vacation about 2 weeks. That meant I would be spending the holidays overseas! How exciting to spend the holidays overseas with amazing friends...yet...how depressing not spending the holidays with my family, especially my 7 year old daughter! It was hard, but as mentioned in a previous post, we texted, talked over the phone, and video chatted as often as possible.

Milan

The city of fashion ... and amazing pizza! We stayed in Milan about 3 days and mainly went shopping! Every street was filled with Christmas lights and decor, markets, shoppers, and tourists. As cheap, college, travelers we loved the street markets that provided us with free samples of food! We had light breakfast and lunch and filled ourselves with amazing samples of sausages, dried meats, cannolis, zeppoles, and candies! I wish I had taken more pictures of all these amazing foods but it was rainy most of the time and I did not want to ruin my phone.

Going into the shopping center 

Shopping Center's Ceiling 

Walking Around

Artful City

Duomo de Milano

Having recently lost my grandfather, walking into any cathedral or church instantly brings back his memory. This place was no different. Walking into this cathedral and seeing the grandiosity of the catholic church brings mixed emotions. It reminds me of my late grandfather and all our heated discussions of the pros and cons of the church. Nonetheless, I knew he would have loved seeing this place and lit a candle in his honor. 

According to the Duomo's website: "The Duomo, a symbol of Milan all over the world, is one of the biggest Gothic cathedrals in Italy and in Europe. The heritage of the Milaneese and of mankind, it has expressed for centuries, in all its grandeur, Man's devotion to God and represents an ongoing commitment for the future generations."

There was a fee to take pics inside with your own camera :/ we paid for only one camera, my friend has this pics

 Venice is flooding! 

What do you mean Venice will flood the day after Christmas!! We had a very amazing tour guide who we paid extra to give us the off the clock tour and it was worth it. He gave us much valuable information about the city. Such as, oh I don't know, the city will be flooding after Christmas and thats why you see all those gangways - you know those things that looks like a platform as if the city was getting ready for a performance. Its not a stage, its for you to get around the city and not get wet by the flood! 

 So Christmas in Venice was great! We went to mass and hung out in our "house" all night. We made an amazing vegetarian pasta that we left behind for the owners of the house and the next guest (yes we made too much because we were 'starving' but we all got full on wine! ).

No, this is not the flood! 

How did we know the flood was nearing? Well the whole city began to smell like sewer...you know those things that lead water to the ocean, except the water ocean was about to rise this time. Also, the we freaked out and did some research that night. And made sure we knew what those very loud sirens meant. Good news was that two of us would be leaving at 3am and the other two would be leaving around 5am for the flight to Athens. I was the lucky one to leave at 3am. Waters were starting to rise already but we made cross town without much damage. No, I did not take pictures because I did not want to drop my camera in the flood and it was raining! When the other two left Venice, the water was ankle high. I'm glad we did not stick around for knee high ocean water. 

The leaning tower of Venice - an indication that the city's foundation is not stable and will soon be gone

More of Milan

Giving "The Finger" to Milan's Wall Street

Sevilla, España (part 2)

After a long flight to Madrid, my friend and I took a train to Sevilla and a bus to my friends house (aka free vacancy + a couple of drinks = cheap stay). I actually had two friends living and teaching here, and both had visitors so our traveling group became five.

Sevilla is so lovely in the winter! I’ve been told it is horrible during the summer months because it becomes too hot. Their streets are paved accordingly with cobblestone to help cool the town. Nonetheless, I fell in LOVE with this city and cannot wait to return with my daughter next time!

Real Alcazar de Sevilla

WOW! What an amazing palace! If you are ever in Sevilla, this is a MUST SEE. 

The palace is still in use by the royals when they are in town and occupy the upper floors. I wish I could remember everything I learned to be able to retell you all its wonderful historical significance, but I honestly can't! We visited this location without a guide and learned more about it after we took a "free-tour" by http://www.panchotours.com/tours-seville. These free tours are great, you pay them according to how much you enjoyed the tour. They are usually given by locals who can give you extra information and lead you away from tourist areas to get a better feel of the city. 

Here's a bit of historical information courtesy of Wikipedia: 

• It was originally built by the Moorish Muslim Kings
• Features Mudejar architecture
• Birthplace of Infanta Maria Antonietta of Spain (1729-1785)

Take a Virtual 360 Tour of the Palace to see more and better pictures of the palace yourself! 

Hydraulic Organ: One of only four Hydraulic organs left in the world and the only one from the XVII century.

Santa Maria de la Sede

Pictures mean a thousand words - no explanation needed. 

entrance 

Altar de Plata

Looking Out

Ceiling view from a mirror