Ben in Greece!

I can't think of a better way to spend my last week in Greece than with Ben.  Last Wednesday he arrived and explored Athens a little bit. We saw the temple of Zeus, Neo Faliro Marina, and Lycabittes Hill together. Since Ben had been here before we decided not to do too much "touristy stuff" (especially since I'm all temple-ed out anyway.) But we did manage to get a couple sites in...  

At the Temple of Zeus

Lycabittes Hill

Souvlakis in Syntagma

This past weekend we spent traveling to Florence and Pisa! It was a great trip and we saw a TON, and had some great food (unlike when I went to Rome!)... not to mention it was awesome to have Florence be totally decked out for Christmas! (Athens just started turning the Christmas lights on on Monday!)

I don't have many pictures on my camera because we quickly realized that Ben's was much more reliable... I'll get the rest from him when I follow him home in a couple of days!

I still can't get over Ben having made the trip to come see me. It was great to get to show him what I've experienced here, to be able to spend time with him, and to travel with him. Now I can't wait to go home and spend Christmas and New Years together with him, and our families!

I admit it... I'm packed and I'm not buying any more groceries... three exams tomorrow...brunch and one last dinner with the BCA kids on Friday and then catching flights home late, late Friday night (okay, 3am Saturday morning.)

See you all soon! 

Passport to Paris

Okay... blogging has to get serious now. PARIS.

Paris was great, although, I admit that I liked London more. The weather was pretty yucky in Paris (40s and rainy) and I think as a group we were all really tired.

We didn't really like 3ducks (the hostel) all that much. It was pretty rough around the edges, and we actually had to walk outside to go to the bathroom (so there was NO getting up in the middle of the night, that's for sure!) Unfortunately, the group of us only took up 7 of the 8 beds in our room and our random roommate (who had been living in the room for three weeks already!) smelled pretty awful. We also had to rent linens, and although breakfast was free it was just white hard rolls and jelly.

 BUT 3ducks, to it's credit, was in a pretty great location. With only about a 15 minute walk straight up the street we were at the base of the Eiffel Tower, so our first night in Paris we were able to see it light up and sparkle at night!

I was pretty disappointed in my camera. It's blurriness is getting worse and worse... at this point i'm tossing more than half of the pictures I take because they're too blurry to even keep. Bummer.

Anyway! The next morning we woke up and headed back to the Eiffel Tower to take the elevators to the top! How cool! It was awesome to be able to see everything from above, and to be able to point out the Louvre, L'arc de Triomphe and the Notre Dame from above.

The view of the Louvre from the top. See the pyramid? That's how I spotted it.

To prove I was really up there.

  The rest of the day included a free tour (which we skipped out of at the Louvre to escape the rain that started to really come down)  and free entrance to the Louvre (the first Sunday of every month!) a not so free crepe, and a not so free dinner out (but delicious and probably the warmest since arriving in Paris.)

The Notre Dame behind me!

Waiting in line for the Louvre.

Mona Lisa- Got seriously jostled while trying to take this picture. People were literally shoving one another to take pictures of this painting.

Me and my post-Louvre crepe. Butter and sugar!

The Arc.

Then it was off to the airport hotel where we spent a good six hours, and enjoyed long hot showers (quite a commodity this semester!) before hopping on the plane early Monday morning!

The weekend was exhausting, packed full, and probably a little too short on time... but I'm definitely glad we did it! I got a taste of two more famous cities!

Mail! Shoutout to Grandma!

Thanks, Grandma, for your letter!

What fun to get your comments to my blog in the mail! Getting letters here is a rare and sweet occasion so thank you, thank you, thank you!

See you in just about 10 days!

Love, Kelsey

London!!!

Well I'm feeling pretty lame about how infrequently I've blogged lately. Sorry! The routine of the semester, along with being pretty busy in the last couple of weeks between my parents being here, planning for this past weekend, and doing a bit of homework has definitely cut down on my free time for blogging... also, I admit, I just don't carry my camera around like I used to!

Anyway! Back to this weekend... I just returned this morning from a weekend trip with some other girls in the BCA program to London and Paris. It was a lot to pack into one weekend... and I definitely can't imagine trying to pack it all into one blog post! So, I'll tackle London first.

I just need to say... I fell in LOVE with London. I felt so sad when it came time to leave because I felt like I hadn't even scratched the surface of that city (and of course, in 24 hours, I didn't!)  I think part of why I loved it so much was simply because the language barrier was gone. I could easily communicate with (even talk with!) everyone around, not just the other students,  and Christmas Decorations were up! I could read every sign posted anywhere. I also loved having things like peanut butter on the breakfast bar and McDonalds coffee. We even saw a Subway!

To put it simply... London was so much more familiar and comfortable that it sort of felt like a preview of going home.... Something I admit I'm getting excited to do! (11 days 10 hours!)

Anyway... the rundown of what we did! Friday afternoon we arrived at 4 o'clock... in the dark!  (We were totally surprised the sun had set!) We checked into our hostel, Astor Quest, and had dinner at a pub just bordering Hyde Park.

What fun! The pub had a great atmosphere and I was happy to see soup on a menu! Mushroom soup's not my favorite but I ordered it and didn't care because I was just so happy to see SOUP! I also had a side of "chips" (friend fries.) Yum!

Here's a picture of my friend, Jacquieta's fish and chips! With smashed peas and tartar sauce!

The pub the next morning... My camera wouldn't take a good picture at night... especially because we ran home in rain!

My soup, baguette and ketchup (Heinz was a treat!) and my chips!

The next morning we woke up, had breakfast at the hostel, then walked through Hyde Park to the famous Harrod's department store. It is huge, beautiful, and contains some of the most expensive, bags, gowns, and pastries I have ever seen. It was BEAUTIFULLY decorated for Christmas though!

A red telephone booth with a Subway behind it! Loved the 3£ meal!

 

Me, a telephone booth and a McDonalds coffee! Whaaawhoo!

The outside of Harrod's.

Chanel No. 5 sitting out for use in the bathroom.

Finally we met up with a free walking tour! Our cute little guide Rachel did a great job, and kept us entertained for the whole 2.5 hours! She told great stories, and gave awesome historical background but didn't chatter on and on... which was great, given almost everyone on our tour was a young backpacker, like us.

The tour was the perfect way for us to do Saturday morning, we saw everything quickly without having to figure out a map or decide where to go on our own.... AND we had someone to ask at the end of the day how to get to the station to catch our Eurostar train to Paris! 

Buckingham Palace (all the people because it was in the middle of the Changing of the Guards!

TAXI!

Trafalgar Square (I took this picture from the very center of London!)

House Guards Parade... also incidentally where beach volleyball events will be held in the 2012 Olympics!

Me and Big Ben.

Westminster Abbey

What a great day! Now I just have to figure out how to go back!

Family Visit!

I'm telling you, I have a GREAT reason for having been absent from blogging for a little while! My family was here!

My dad, mom and my younger (although, no longer littler) brother Topher came to Greece for the week! They arrived on Sunday morning and for the whole week we had a blast discovering (and re-discovering) Greece together! We were lucky to have a much warmer, and sunnier week than the past few have been so it was the perfect week for touring around!

It was SO fun to share all my favorite places with them! We saw just about everything there is to see in Athens and we were also able to travel (thanks to Dad's awesome driving) to Meteora and Kalambaka together. I feel so blessed to have been able to have them here to visit me and to be able to say that I really love to spend time with my family. I had such a blast with them and really and truly enjoyed every single day. I admit, I was a little stressed under the pressure of having to plan activities each day, but it wasn't a stressful visit at all because they were so relaxed and easy-going about everything!

OOPS! I didn't take any pictures on my own camera of them here! My dad has a much nicer camera, so I admit I let myself relax on the picture taking. He has all the pictures at home- so I promise to post them after I go home... but trust me... we had a great time!

Love you Mom, Dad, and Toph. Thanks for coming!

(See you in three weeks! Crazy to think I'll be home three weeks from today!)

Looking forward to a GREAT week!

I'm finding myself heaving a huge sigh of relief this Thursday morning at 11:30. Thursdays are usually my toughest day.  I usually spend the whole day at school since my classes are sort of packed in back to back. I have Greek Language from 9:30am-11:00am, Professional Communication from 2:00pm-5:00pm and Advertising from 6:00pm-9:00pm. Today, however, is the day of annual student protests, so because of demonstrations that are all throughout the "center" today (Syntagma, marching to the US Embassy) our evening classes are cancelled. I just finished a Greek quiz (yikes!) and finished booking hostels for a trip I am taking to London and Paris in a couple of weeks. 

In London we're staying at the Astor Quest Hostel.

In Paris we're staying at the 3Ducks Hostel. (Pretty goofy name, I think!)

Anyway... Personally, I'm really glad to have that booking over with. I always worry that we will miss out on the hostels we have in mind if we don't get our names in the book... so it's a relief to have those done! I'll let you know how these hostels turn out, of course, as soon as I'm back from the trip!

The OTHER reason I'm so excited to have these bookings done is because it means I won't have to think about them when my FAMILY ARRIVES on Sunday!!! Whaaawhoo!!! I am so excited to share Athens with them (and Meteora and Corinth!) and to be able to simply spend time with them. I always think about how blessed I am to have a family that I love to be around and spend time with! I know not everyone can say that and I can say it boldly! (I'm also looking forward to the treats mom is bringing with her from home! Crunchy peanut butter included!... we pay about 7 dollars (5 euro) for an 8 or 12 oz jar of peanut butter in Athens... so it's quite a luxury!

Also.. a little side note and something that I'm really pretty proud of! Yesterday I made English Muffins from scratch! English muffins cannot be found in Greece and I LOVE them, so I decided to try out a recipe I found from BudgetBytes. They had nooks and crannies and everything!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Sunday afternoon thoughts...

It's been a slow weekend. My roommates and I just keep saying how thankful we are that we decided to leave this weekend open. We've gone to bed without alarms set Friday and Saturday night and we all keep saying what a great decision it's been.

Yesterday and today I woke up on my own around 10 am, made coffee and breakfast and simply enjoyed the morning. Both days I've still been the first one up (even at 10!) and have been able to journal, read my bible and listen to some sermon podcasts. I've been downloading podcasts by Steven Furtick, and a close family friend and brilliant pastor, Bryan Wilkerson, and I've just been eating them up here.

Coming into this trip I knew that I would struggle with homesickness and loneliness sometimes. It's just in my nature, just the way I'm wired up. I've found so much comfort in spending time with a cup of coffee and my Heavenly Father... who would've thought!? ;) God is molding me, stretching me, challenging me and changing me. I've learned more about His word, and His promises in the last two months or so than I ever would have imagined learning while here.

The Lord has been so faithful in bringing comfort, and rest. I've encountered Scripture that I have known beyond a shadow of a doubt that God placed my my lap to speak into the situation of that day, or the circumstance of a friend here or elsewhere. I've been able to rest in the Lord's presence, and in that rest I know that I've grown into a better woman of God. I feel more equipped, more prepared, more excited instead of anxious, about going out and pursuing God's plan for my life.

Who knew this would come from a semester in Athens, Greece (of all places!)

----

ALSO a little update for you all! I'm about to explode with excitement as I keep looking forward to the weeks to come... a little check up on my agenda for the rest of the semester...(!!!)

11/20-11/25 (ONE WEEK!)--> My parents and Toph are here!

12/2-12/5 (19 days!)--> A trip with friends to London and Paris!

12/7-12/13 (24 days!)--> Ben is coming to visit!

That last one is probably news to a lot of you! My boyfriend, Ben, has been in Freetown, Sierra Leone since the beginning of September volunteering with Mercy Ships . He goes home (back to Buffalo) on December 1st and is going to come to Athens on the 7th! It will be a lot of traveling for him, but I am so excited to have him here and to show him some of the hidden gems of Athens.

Please keep all the traveling that is going on in this next month or so in your prayers. It's a lot of the ones I love over the ocean a whole lot... Pray for safety and no strikes!

Woo! Can't believe how fast this semester is flying by now!

Halloween in Greece!

I'm not usually one to make any sort of deal out of Halloween. I usually think about dressing up.... Google a few things... decide I don't want to spend any money or put forth any effort on a costume and give up.

But... when the girls upstairs (the other apartment of BCA girls in my building) said they would have us over for Halloween... my roommates and I decided to dress up! I was the Hamburgler! This blog is mostly for the sake of pictures and laughs!

I made my tie from brown paper bags (the hamburgers!) and an old protest flag we found in a closet in our apartment! Someone from a past semester must have found it on the street and decided to bring it home! My mask is from a shopping bag one of my roommates had.

This is Elena, my roommate from Juniata College.

My roommates Emily (Pippy Longstocking! I did her hair!) and Jen, an 80s aerobics instructor.

Some of the girls from upstairs. Paris Hilton, (I forget who Aubrey was,) and Amber from Teen Mom.

A Crayon, a Cat and Snooks.

Emily and Me!  (Can you tell the mask got a little uncomfortable?)

What a fun Halloween! We didn't go far... just up two flights of stairs! But it was fun!

Ciao Rome!

This past weekend I went to Rome with 6 other girls from the BCA program. What an adventure. It's so wild to think that one of the long-awaited trips is already over! We had a great time walking the streets of Rome, getting caught in the rain, sleeping in a hostel and enjoying one other's company!

I heard mixed reviews of Rome going into the trip; but I was excited to make a decision about the city for myself. Although it is SO touristy, and I honestly think I heard more English being spoken around me than Italian... I thought it was buzzing, beautiful, and just enthralling. I threw a coin in the Trevi Fountain... so I should be heading back!

The first night we arrived we headed straight to the Spanish Steps and to the Trevi Fountain. I had heard great things about the Trevi Fountain at night. The piazza was PACKED but people watching there was half the fun. There was also a beautiful (and delicious!) gelato place right next to the fountain. It was hard to get pictures without tons of other people in them... and even harder to get clear pictures because of the time of day... but I did my best.

(Side note... I think something may be going wrong with my camera... and advice? I keep getting blurry pictures... not matter what time of day... flash or not... it seems to just be temperamental because sometimes my pictures are great and sometimes they're an utter disaster! Anyway... it's frustrating. End of side note, onto the pictures!)

The Spanish Steps... you can't tell that behind me there are TONS of people.

This place was SO full!

Trevi at night. Packed also. Good thing we like to people watch!

Gelato is everywhere. Seriously it's easier to find in the streets of Rome than bottle water.

Does it look great! I actually didn't but any from this place... you'll see pictures of cones I had later on. I did taste a friend's chocolate gelato from here though... man oh MAN it was awesome.

Back to the Trevi...

A coin for luck and a coin to return...I admit it, I'm not actually throwing it in this one... the real picture turned out really blurry AND a man walked into it. 

On Day 2 (well 1.5) we got up and headed straight to the Vatican Museum. The lines for the Vatican are notorious but we only ended up waiting like 15 minutes, which was great! Again... packed... but the highlight was definitely the Sistine Chapel... where I admit I snuck a picture or two. 

The Vatican museum is HUGE and has tons of different exhibits and courtyards. We went to all of them I think. We ended up spending about 5 hours in the museum! Never thought that would happen in my life! (I enjoy a good museum on the rare occasion... but it's honestly not a passion of mine.)

Anyway... pictures.

The line at the Vatican

I just never thought about turkeys in the garden of Eden... so i took this picture.

St. Peter's Basilica... don't rub it in that we didn't make it over there. Story to follow.

Courtyard.

ALL the hallways in the museum look like this. I couldn't believe the details of every square inch. Everything around you, from the floors to the walls, to the handrails, to the ceilings, had something exquisite about it. It really was amazing.

SHHHHH

The story behind this cone of gelato... prior to heading into the Sistine Chapel there were huge crowds EVERYWHERE and one of the girls we were with got separated. Phoneless, we walked everywhere and all took posts trying to find her. Finally we decided to wait outside the ONLY exit for her hoping she would eventually just come out. We waited there for two hours (and got gelato at a little cafe across the street) hoping to catch her on her way out.

We were pretty anxious (not only to keep sight seeing... but that we wouldn't find her!) only to find out she had coincidentally run into some other girls from our program and was ACROSS THE STREET two blocks down, getting pizza. We were SO relieved to know that she was okay and wasn't wandering the streets of Rome alone...but admittedly a little frustrated with our inability to communicate or use cell phones. Our hands were really tied and museum security couldn't/wouldn't help us find her because we're adults. 

Anyway... it's over... we're safe, (still have pathetic cell phones)... and at least I got a super yummy cone of tiramisu and menthe stracciatella (mint chocolate chip!) gelato.

Day 3 was jam packed because of the time we lost looking for our friend... but we got everything in and everything went smoothly! Day 3 visits included the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Piazza Venezia, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and Campo De Fiori! What a great day (with of course, another cone of Gelato!)

The view, right after walking out of the metro station.

Arch of Constantine.

Inside the Colosseum

Again!

Palatine Hill

Looking out across the Roman Forum (Piazza Venezia is back there!)

Roman Forum

Piazza Venezia (and this was when we got caught in the downpour!)

Pantheon from the outside.

Ceiling of the Pantheon... we were sad that it STOPPED raining by now. It would have been cool to watch the water draining into the floor.

Piazza Navona

The fountain in Piazza Navona.

Me... with GELATO ( who knew!?) and Piazza Navona.

Last one. Piazza Navona. 

I bought a headband in Campo de Fiori in a cute little boutique (the old roman market... it's full of cute restaurants but had pretty much cleared out of the "market" thing by the time we got there on Sunday) Unfortunately... my camera was acting up and my pictures from there were all pretty bad.... it also wasn't all that picturesque it seems. Anyway... that was Rome!  

Ciao!