We arrived in Italy on Saturday, April 7th. After over twelve hours of travel, getting yelled at by a German lady, and a bad case of jetlag, nothing felt better than walking outside and being able to look at my friends knowing that we were finally living our dreams… we had finally arrived. By that night we were in a hotel in Capri with the nicest Italian woman you will ever meet. She made us a homemade dinner and made sure we were all comfortable. The next day we went to visit the Island. It was a beautiful area, despite the rain. The whole time we were there I could not get over how blue the water was. I had fun looking at all the different people, all the different trends and styles, the different cars, the different roads, even the different dogs. Italy was amazing right from the start.
The next place we visited was Rome. We arrived to the hotel and everybody immediately found the best part; the warm showers. In Capri the people had been so nice, but the showers had been so cold. After one day we realized what a luxury warm showers really were, and became a lot more thankful for them. During the days we visited everything; the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Colosseum, Vatican, and the Roman Forum. There was so much to appreciate there wasn't enough time in a day. A picture contest began developing between me and my friend: Who could take the most amazing pictures? Who could capture the moment with all the intensity it actually held? This was impossible we knew, because no picture would live up to the actual moment, but it was still worth trying. The Vatican was one of my favorite spots. I have so many pictures of just ceilings and floors and paintings, and I wouldn't delete one of them. It blew my mind how people had made every single thing in there by hand, yet it was more magnificent than anything I have ever seen made by a machine.
Then there was Greece.
Greece was breathtakingly beautiful. I wasn't aware at how much I would love that country. As soon as we arrived we went to a beach for lunch. The sun hit everything just right, and it had a nice relaxed vibe compared to the bustle of Italy. That night we stayed in Delphi and had the opportunity to go to a Greek Disco and learn Greek dancing. That was a once in a lifetime experience. I can't even put into words how amazing that first day was. The rest of our time in Greece upheld to that first day too. We even got to celebrate their Easter with them. We visited the Oracle and Athena's Temple in Delphi, then the Olympic Bridge and the Parthenon in Athens. The best part was surprisingly just walking around and enjoying the people and the scenery. Not to mention the food was the best I’ve ever had.
I will remember this trip for a lifetime. Our tour guide, Vasilis, was one in a million and made our trip that much better. Even the Canadians in our tour group helped make the experience, from singing on unbearably long bus rides to killing bugs in our hotel room we were too afraid to. After the trip we would walk into school every day saying "KaleeMEra", a phrase we picked up meaning "good morning" in Greek. Friendships became stronger on that trip, as did my appreciation for the culture, for the people, and for every moment of life.
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