Jail Cell

10/4/11

Greece is already so much better than Turkey!  Don't get me wrong I loved Turkey but Greece is amazing. We started this morning with a buffet breakfast.  But this breakfast was so much better!  Butter croissants, chocolate filled croissants, greek yogurt and so much more!  After breakfast we headed about 15 km away from Kavala to Philippi.  Our first stop in the ancient city was the amphitheater.

Then we walked down to the jail where it's said that Paul was imprisoned (Acts 16: 23-40).  The entire book of Philippians was also written to the people of Philippi.  My favorite verse we read while we were there, and suggest you read, is Philippians 4:2-9, 13.  We then finished by singing "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" at the beginning of this trip the amount of singing we did frustrated me but now i find it very peaceful and a way to feel the spirit while we are on sites.

After we left Philippi we drove a very short distance to the basilica of St. Lydia.  The mosaics in the basilica were covered in gold and very beautiful with great acoustics.  This basilica is where it's said Lydia, the first women convert in Europe, was baptized.

We left the church we headed back to Kavala for some free time and lunch.  I was on a hunt for once we stopped for lunch for another gyro because of how delicious they were yesterday.  Lucky for me i found half my tour group standing outside a gyro shop.  mhmm!  They were delicious and beyond filling!  As we walked back towards the bus meeting area we spotted our teachers eating these huge crepes.  A few people i was with decided to buy one so i tasted them and oh my were they good.  Christina and I decided to split one even though we were beyond full.  We filled ours with chocolate, vanilla and bananas topped with caramel syrup.  Yumm!  Now i was on the verge of throwing up so we headed back to the bus.  As we waited for the bus we saw a shop selling leather shoes.  I found this adorable pair and had to get them.  Then back to the bus as we head to Tessalonica.  

Livin' la vida loca!

10/3/11

Greece, Greece, Greece!  Today is the day i have been waiting for since July!  We are going to Greece!  I am beyond exciting!  Can you tell?

We started off the morning crossing the Dardenelle Straight to the other side and then headed to the boarder.  About 30km away we ahd to transfer buses into this really nice new mercedes bus.  We all got really excited cause of how nice the new bus was!  While changing buses we had a small rest stop with a Burger King in it.  Normally I am against fast food but after two weeks of Turkish food, me and half the group lined up for something we knew.  I got a milkshake and french fries and boy was it good!  I forgot how good milkshakes were!  I think after being gone we all needed a little taste of home...no matter how greasy.  Now off to the Greecy boarder...haha

Turkey said goodbye to us and we said hello to Greece!  After we went through Greek customs a funny joke got played on us...We had to change buses again.  That nice new mercedes bus was just our "transfer" bus.  Now we got a nice barney purple bus with a blue and yellow interior with a funky smell.  Tight.

After about 45 minutes we stopped to exchange some money and grab lunch.  We didn't realize how good we had it in Turkey with the Dollar being higher than the Lira.  Exchanging money was fun there you got about 1.8 Lira per dollar.  Exchanging into the Euro was not fun at all!  you got 1 Euro per 0.7 Dollar.  I felt like someone had just stolen all my money!  After we got the depression of money exchange over we headed out for some Gyros and OH MY GOSH were they amazing.  Literally the best food i have had in weeks.  I cant even being to tell you!  But it was a Pita bread with a cheese spread, fresh shaved chicken, tomatoes, french fries, and ketchup rolled up together in one delicious wrap.  YUM!

After Lunch we headed towards our hotel which was about 2 hours drive.  The ride was completely worth it!  We arrived around 4:30 and our hotel was on the beach again!  This time however, we had enough time to play!  We all ran to our rooms, changed into our suits and ran out to the water!  For like 3 hours we all played in the water having a great time.  The water was beautiful and clear blue!  I fell in love already!  I can't wait for tomorrow to see more!

Troy

10/2/11

Today is Sunday.  I can't believe how quickly this trip has gone.  We woke up a little early today so we could hold a sacrament meeting before we headed out on our long bus ride to the famous Troy and then off to Canakkale for the evening.  After about 6 hours on the bus we finally arrived in Troy.  We saw a replica of the famous trojan horse and were able to climb into it and take tons of pictures.  After that we proceeded our tour around ancient Troy and much to my dismay there was not a whole lot of artifacts or much of anything there.  For the most part the only things to see were the ancient city walls of Troy.  One fun and interesting fact, however, was that Troy was rebuilt upon itself 9 times and archeologists can't agree on which Troy is the famous one we all hear stories of.  The two they have settled on is 6 or 7.  Interestingly enough one was built with city walls and one without.  In the end the famous Troy sadly didn't live up to my expectations and Brad Pitt was not there waiting for me either.  Manless, I hopped back on the bus and headed to the Hotel.

As we all arrived at the hotel much to our surprise we were right on the water.  We all ran to our rooms thew our stuff down and headed to the beach.  We all got there just as the sun was setting.  It was beautiful.  Soon we had to head off to dinner but we were all back outside as fast as we could manage to listen to music at the poolside bar and dance by the water.  After a long bus ride it was nice to be able to relax and unwind.

Greek for the day

10/1/11

Early morning!! We had to wake up at 4:30...let me day that again...4:30 this morning in order to be at the harbor by 6, for a 6:30 ferry departure to the island of Patmos. Patmos is actually a Greek island so we left Turkey for the afternoon and headed to Greece. Anyone who knows me well knows I don't exactly have my sea legs license and to top it off, it's a 4 1/2 hour ride from Kusadasi to Patmos...one way. The entire trip I spent laying inside the boat, closing my eyes, and listening to music hoping I wouldn't get sick. Lucky for me I didn't and after the long boat ride I saw how worth it the trip was. Patmos is STUNNING! Picture exactly what you think Greece will look like and you have Patmos. The water is a deep blue and all the houses are square and white surrounded by beautiful trees and mountains. Our first stop was the monastery of St. John.

After which we headed to the Holy Cave of the Apocalypse which is where we believe John went while he was banished to Patmos to pray and speak with the lord. This is also the location in which many believe he transcribed the book of revelations. It was very cool to see even the place in which they believed he knelt to pray.

Afterwards we ate lunch before hopping back on the ferry and heading back to Kusadasi for our last night there