Geneva and Athens!

Ciao tutti!


Statue group outside the International Red Cross Museum



The past two weeks have super busy, with classes starting to wrap up and two trips that I had planned a long time ago with friends from Richmond. The first was Geneva, where I met up with Hannah and Briana, friends that I was also able to see during my Fall Break. The first day there, it was raining, but luckily on Saturday, the day we did most of our sightseeing, it was absolutely beautiful out. On Friday, while Briana and I waited for Hannah's flight to get in, we went to the Palace of Nations, home to some key functions of the United Nations. We were able to get a tour of the building, after going through some pretty crazy security (wherein I realized I forgot my passport and Briana had to "pledge" that I would be under her watchful eye during our entire visit!), and saw the main meeting areas. The building is so interesting because it is made up of "gifts" from member states of the United Nations...throughout the tour, the guide would point to the floor, the columns, the paintings, in a specific room and say "so and so country gave this to the UN, this artist painted this for the UN...". Very interesting, like a hodge-podge of objects "pledging" allegiance to the membership established through the United Nations.



View from our walk around Geneva



The next day, we visisted the International Red Cross museum, and learned about how it was created, and the different activities it is involved with. We ended up spending most of the day in the Vielle-Ville, or Old Town of Geneva, which was built on a pretty high hill above the newer town of Geneva. This area was so beautiful! Of course, it was bit of a hike getting up there, but it was well worth it. We ate at a crepery, were able to look around the St. Paul Cathedral in the center of the Old Town, and ended up at the cutest tea shop for a little afternoon snack. The amazing thing about Geneva is that it is so walkable, and the only time we used public transportation (which was free for us, staying at the Geneva Youth Hostel) was to get to the Palace of Nations, and International Red Cross, but it really wasn't necessary. We took a water taxi that night, which was about a 5 minute ride across the lake the Geneva is on, and it was such a cool experience! The locals actually use these "taxis" on a daily basis, but had so much fun just sitting on it for the quick ride and back. That night we tracked down a restaurant that would serve us chocolate fondue (amazingly hard to find!) and ate every morsel, and walked around the city. We came across this amazing "band" of men, that attracted such a huge crowd of people, little kids running up and dropping tips in their guitar cases. There was so much energy to them, we stopped for a bit to enjoy the atmosphere. The video below is of this fun band.

The weekend was over as quickly as it came, and we left the next day, after spending an enormous time of the week just spending time relaxing in the company of great weather and great friends.

This past weekend I flew to Athens, meeting Briana there for our last trip travelling together (so crazy!). My flight was at 9:10, and I had to take a 30 minute train to get the airport from my area in Rome, so I was planning on waking up at 5:30 to get ready and finish packing, and then head out with plenty of time to spare. Did that happen?? No. I woke up at 7:45, and after looking at my phone, flew into a sheer panic. I through the rest of my things in my backpack and literally RAN out of my apartment and to the tram stop, and then to the train station. The automatic ticket machine was broken, which made me miss the 8:06 train to the airport, and the next one wasn't until 8:21. My flight was to begin boarding at 8:40, so you can just imagine my panic. The second my train pulled into the airport station, my feet hit the ground running, and I was "that girl" SPRNTING through the airport, arriving at security panting, and begging people in Italian to let me pass them, hands shaking. Luckily my gate was the very first after security, and somehow managed to get to it before it closed. The women at the desk just looked at me, and said "Emma?" and I nodded, not sure if it would be good or bad news. And then they said the magic words: "You're the last to board". YES! I was so excited, and exhausted before my trip even began.



Me in front of the Parthenon!



Briana and I spent the first day, as always, just wondering in the area around our hostel, which was conveniently almost next to the Acropolis. It was such an amazing sight to see that night! Almost unreal. I would post of photo of it, but none of them came out. We ate a traditional Greek meal of Greek salad and Moussaka that night, and still could not believe that we were in Athens.



Caryatids, part of the Erechtheium, Acropolis



The next day we got up early and beat the crowds to the Acropolis, and it was absolutely an unbelievable sight. The day was just getting started, the sun shining, and it was obvious it was going to be beautiful. But the sight of the Parthenon on the edge of the Acropolis, the Erechtheium with its famous Caryatids, and the Temple of Nike, was even more beautiful. I just learned about Greek Archeology in a class last semester, so it was exciting (and still is, as I write about it) to see all that I had learned about, laying in front of me. We walked around the top for a while, and then walked on the slopes of the Acropolis for a large part of time, and it almost felt like we were mountain climbing at some points, the terrain and "paths" being in rough shape. We also saw the Temple of Zeus, the Ancient and Roman Agoras, and the Parliament Building. Despite staying close, more or less, to our hostel, I had an amazing weekend in Athens. My "giddiness" at the archaeology remains there was comparable to how I felt when I first arrived in Rome, and it reminded me just how lucky I am to be here, spending my semester doing the things I have. I hope I never forget that feeling.

That is all for now, my friends, I will blog soon to update you guys on my life in Rome the past few weeks, including some fun stuff I did at my internship!

Hope your Thanksgiving's were amazing!