The imagination of a child can go to great extremes. I always imagined myself exploring castles and going out on adventures while riding on a unicorn, going through streets filled with everything I loved and could imagine. But of course that was like 10 years ago. I’m too old for that now, or so I thought. Last year during Christmas break my fantasies became a reality, (minus the unicorn). My family took a cruise through the Mediterranean visiting countries whose treasures are the lands itself. The trip started at Rome and went to Genoa, Katakolon, Sicily, Malta, Crete, Rhodes, Izmir, and Athens. All these countries are among the Mediterranean Sea and not so far from where I lived at the time but being that I am a teen from Texas, I felt like I had traveled to a different dimension.
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Each place had enough history to take up a textbook. If you’ve ever woken up during your World History class and looked down at the pictures you’ve been drooling on, that’s where I went. My family and I were able to walk through where the first civilizations where created thousands of years ago in Katakolon and Crete. We saw ancient temples, buildings, showers, and toilets. Never would one think that they’d come across such wonders. Those historic events I learned about in school took place exactly where I was standing. In Athens there was the Parthenon. Hearing the unusual stories of Greek mythology is a great hoot itself. Imagine being at the place where it all began or took place. As I stood alongside the Parthenon, I looked down at the city of Athens. The view was breath-taking but my eyes acted as inhalers. I could see where the first Olympics were taken place, where Athena’s temple stood, and a great sea of white buildings. Crete was filled with fields of those things known as olives, my family claims is food. I, obviously, am not a fan but the fields of those trees covered miles and miles of hills. If you thought everything was bigger in Texas like I did, you’re wrong. The amount of olive trees there were made me feel like that’s what Greece ran off of. I didn’t even stop thinking this until I came across the love of my life. Now this is what made the world spin. This could be what brings world peace: saganaki. Saganaki had a scary magnificent taste for being just a fried block of feta cheese but trust me, this treat could get any woman off a rage. Greece was great.
Walking through Rhodes made me feel as if I were in a fairytale. All the structures in the place looked just as if you took your idea of medieval and laid it out in front of you. Even my little sister who swears she’ll be a princess seemed to scrutinize. Izmir was where you’ll find yourself surrounded with everything you love. Walking through the grand markets of Izmir I saw soccer jerseys, fresh fruit juice, clothes, beautiful Turkish lamps, and delightful Turkish delight. Turkish delight is cubed little jelly pieces of different colors and flavors that are covered with sugar. If you eat these with their traditional Turkish tea you will find that “delight” doesn’t begin to describe the perfectness of these little cubes.
Every site had magnificent architecture, delicacies, and history to them. If you thought that post-concert depression was bad, try post-cruise through Mediterranean depression. The trip didn’t only take me through a different part of Europe, but it took me back to my old imagination.
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