"Come away with me..." - Nora Jones

A trip to Thessaloniki, Greece was my most recent excursion. Since a young age, I have wanted to live in Greece. Visiting Greece was a big achievement for me, because it was the realization of a life-long dream. I was not disappointed! We stayed with a Greek family (friend of my friend) and we were treated with such hospitality that we really felt guilty at the end of our stay. We arrived on Friday and were picked up by our Greek friend and taken to his house. We cooked some dinner in the kitchen and met some of his friends at a “disco party” he hosted. (Complete with wigs and all!) On Saturday, we ventured out into a day of sightseeing. We found a church from the 3^rd Century and ruins in the center of town. There were old towers and statues throughout the city. The modern city is literally built around the ruins that you can walk around in. We walked to the sea and took a tour of the harbor on a ship. The water was crystal clear, but cold! After walking around the city, we wandered to various shops throughout the city. Then, we headed back to our house to meet up for an authentic Greek dinner. We arrived first at the restaurant, because Greeks usually eat very late (9-11pm are rush hours for restaurants!!!) Our Greek friend ordered for our whole table- what a feast!! It was fantastic, there was soooo much great food to choose from; we left the restaurant very happy indeed! We were supposed to depart early that next morning, so we went home to bed. However, when we arrived for our 8am bus, we were told that our tickets would not cut it- we had to have a reservation as well. We were never told this, so we were quite confused and since the bus was full, we began to ask about other options. 9 phone calls, 3 taxi rides, and 14 hours later…we caught a bus back to Blago. So, we gained a extra day in Greece, were we relaxed on the roof of the house and enjoyed the view of the water and the city and soaked up some sun! Then, our friend cooked us another Greek meal for lunch and Greek pizza for dinner. Then, his mom came home with fresh Greek fish and made us eat some more! I don’t like fish, but some of it was really tasty. She made fresh sardines baked in the oven with oregano, and a local Greek fish that can only be bought there. Our time in Greece was very rewarding, and we felt as if we had really experienced Greek life at the end. Because we missed the morning bus, we were forced to relax and enjoy being stranded in Greece! It turned out to be worth it, even if we didn’t get back to the school until 3am….

Out on the boat!

Harbor

Ruins in the city

3rd Century church

One of the views from the house we stayed in

"See the world." - Gomez

Barcelona. Rome. Florence. Bologna. Milan. Four girls. Five cities. One amazing Spring Break.

Barcelona was our first destination on our non-stop adventure that was our Spring Break. Sangrada Familia has to be one of the most beautiful and intricate buildings on the face of this Earth. Sangrada Familia is a cathedral built by the famous architect Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi’s work (which attracts tourists from all parts of the world) can be seen on display throughout Barcelona. My pictures of Sangrada Familia do not do the cathedral justice. It was also impossible to fit the whole thing into my picture. They are also not as good as they could be because it is currently under renovation to preserve the very detailed outside. Therefore, I encourage you to Google some images so you can see the full amazing work that is Sangrada Familia. The English translation of Sangrada Familia is the Church of the Holy Family. Barcelona really is a beautiful city and there are many gardens tucked away in various locations. One of the gardens we visited had a maze to explore before viewing the rest of the gardens. We also enjoyed walking near the water and the beach. There were groups of people working on building amazing sandcastles- one even had a fire burning inside. From Barcelona, we headed to Rome! We saw so many amazing things in Rome. The Trevi Fountain (where I made my wish!), the Roman Coliseum, the Arch of Constantine, the Roman Pantheon, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican City Museums. St. Peter’s Basilica was amazing and sadly, many of my pictures are too dark to be able to see the magnificence. However, I absolutely recommend that everyone spend at least one day of his or her life in Vatican City. There is so much to see and take in. I never realized that in order to reach the Sistine Chapel, you have to walk through a series of Museums full of uniquely painted ceilings and walls. The Roman Pantheon was also very interesting for me to see especially because I had just studied it in my art history class. The Italian gelato and blood red orange juice should also not be forgotten! We lost count on how many times we stopped for both of these items! J Rome really is a History major’s dream…everywhere you turn, every street you walk down…you cannot help but “ooh and ahhh” and take 1000 pictures! One neat thing occurred right after our visit to the Trevi fountain- directly opposite the fountain is a church. We decided to enter the church just to check it out; on our way in, I thought I saw the word Bulgaria in Cyrillic. But, my friends convinced me I was crazy…However, we discovered that it was the National Bulgarian Church!! Right there in Rome...it was as if Bulgaria found us – Again! From Rome, we flew to Florence and fell in love! By this time, I was asking myself if it was possible to love one city more than the last. We took a tour of Florence and saw many of the sites. Along the way, we saw the city bazaar and stopped for a tradition- you rub the boar and you will come back to Florence the Italians say! (Well, I rubbed it..and will be returning in May!) The church in Florence is green and white marble on the outside and has a double dome. The dome construction is still a mystery to modern architects and really is a remarkable sight. Throughout Florence, there are visible landmarks that alert visitors to the powerful influence of the Medici Family. The Medici Family was a powerful family from Florence and their crest may be spotted on buildings throughout the city. On our way to Bologna, our flight was redirected to Pisa because of bad weather (unfortunately, it was too dark to see the leaning tower). Once we reached Bologna, we were out sightseeing again! We walked through the city and saw one of the oldest Universities in the world. We walked up Bologna’s leaning tower and viewed the whole city from around five stories up. We then were ready to sample what Bologna is really well known for- FOOD! I had the best meal of my life. Freshly made spinach tortellini stuffed with cheeses and tomatoes…fresh baked bread…and the best tiramisu of my life…All of our meals in Bologna were heavenly! It is worth a trip solely for the food!! Our last stop, Milan was short, but sweet. We cooked our own fresh pasta for dinner and enjoyed meeting new people. We were able to walk around the city some, but our time here was very limited.

I hope that this blog entry was not too hard to follow. Ten days of sightseeing is hard to summarize. Especially since there are so many things worth mentioning. I can only encourage everyone to visit these cities on his or her own. My words and pictures cannot do them justice.

 

Gaudi's work..also the cover of my art history book

Garden in Barcelona

Outside of Sangrada Familia

Making a Wish!

Church in Florence

Rub it and You'll come back...

Fresh pasta...yum!

Sangrada Familia

Entrance to Sangrada Familia

Inside

Inside

Inside

View of Barcelona's skyline

Christopher Columbus in Barcelona

Barcelona

Maze garden in Barcelona

Sorry!!

Hey,

Sorry everyone...there was some confusion about my blog and the fact that I'm in Bulgaria...they believed that there was "unusual activity" on my account. Therefore, the temporarily shut down my blog. However, I think this has been cleared up and I will post a new blog very soon! Thanks for your support and patience!

"Traveling is almost like talking with men of other centuries." - René Descartes

My time in Plovdiv was filled with visits to many historical sites. The Thracians established Plovdiv on three hills in the 5^th Century BC. However, it was captured by the Romans and prospered until the Huns destroyed it in 447 AD. In the 6^th Century AD, Plovdiv was occupied by Slavic peoples and passed between the Bulgarians and the Ottomans. In 1885, Plovdiv was  reunified with Bulgaria and it is now the second largest city in Bulgaria. Plovdiv is the history major’s delight because of the plethora of history on each corner.

The sites we visited were many…here are the ones off the top of my head… the Monument of Philip II of Macedonia, the ancient Roman Stadium, the church of the Holy Virgine, the Dzhumaya Mosque, the Ethnographic Museum, the Hissar Kapiya, the Roman Amphitheater, and the Sveta Nedelya church. We saw many many other sites, but they are too numerous to recount.

The ancient Roman Stadium is at the center of the Old Town of Plovdiv. The Old Town is lined with shops and cafes as two of my favorite things merge—history and shopping! The Ethnographic Museum houses regional costumes of Bulgarians through the ages and provides a history of Bulgarian crops. It was also known as the Kuyumdzhiogh House and it was built in 1847. The Hissar Kapiya is the best preserved gateway of the fortress walls that once surrounded Plovdiv under the Roman Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Marcus Trajanus. One unique experience I had while in Plovdiv was my trip to the Dzhumaya Mosque. This was my first trip to a Mosque, and I thought it was beautifully decorated and it was interesting to see one of the effects of the Ottoman Empire on Bulgaria. I was able to share the experience with my roomies and I discovered that one of my roomies is a Christian and the other is a Muslim.       The Sveta Nedelya church was one of several churches we visited in Plovdiv. This church was unique because it is one of the few ancient churches dedicated to a female saint.

The Roman Amphitheater was my most favorite part of Plovdiv. It was built in the 2^nd Century AD and could hold 5000-7000 spectators. The stone seats had names of city quarters written on them so that the spectators would know where to sit. I took a picture of what I think was the inscription of a city on the bench…Being in this amphitheater was one of those life moments for me. I took a moment to picture what the amphitheater was like when it was first being used. Walking around the amphitheater that was utilized by Romans so long ago…I had the distinct feeling like “this is exactly why I studied abroad, for this moment.” I could be a part of the history too…if even for a brief moment.

Mosque

Ethnographic Museum

City Quarters (I think)

Seating

Roman Amphitheater

Roman Ruins in the City

Mosque

Thracian Ruins

Church of the Holy Virgine

“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign." - Robert Louis Stevenson

The Rila Monastery is a “Must see!” gem settled in the Rila Mountains in Bulgaria. Rila Monastery was established in the 10^th century by Saint Ivan Rilski. The Bulgarian people believe that Saint Ivan was a miracle worker and honored for his wisdom. As legend has it, Saint Ivan (880-946) retreated into the mountains to escape from what he saw as the decline of society. He and other monks then established the Rila Monastery. After his death, pilgrims traveled to the Monastery to view his remains for the healing powers they possessed. The hand of St Ivan is preserved on display and stays inside the Monastery as a relic.

Another interesting note is that the heart of Tsar Boris III, who was poisoned by Nazis in 1944 for saving Bulgarian Jews, is also buried in the chapel of the Monastery. The entire Monastery is just beautiful. There are murals covering all of the ceilings of the Church of the Nativity in the center of the Monastery. Services are still held every day by monks that inhabit the Monastery. Only the monks may open the box that holds the hand (and possibly the rest of Saint Ivan…not sure on that point). I had the opportunity to witness this event…Some worshippers had come to pay their respects, and the monk opened the box right in front of me. The worshippers placed items in the box like money, jewelry and some even left oil. It was really a unique experience that I would not have had if I had been with the rest of my group…I often lag behind in museums because I am interested in reading the history. The museum open in the Monastery is wonderful and has much information printed in English (YAY!) Therefore, I had not quite reached my group yet…

A little more history about Rila…It was attacked often by the Ottomans and in the 15^th century, it was destroyed by them. However, the Russian Church paid for the  rebuilding. Then, in 1833, the Monastery was consumed by fire and was again rebuilt. This time, wealthy Bulgarians paid for the construction in hopes of instilling national pride while the Bulgarian people struggled for freedom from the Ottoman reign. There is so much more I want to say about this amazing place…but words do not do it justice. So you will just have to come experience it for yourself!

Mural on the ceiling of the Church of the Nativity

Monks Quarters

Hrelyo's Tower: built in 1344 and used as a fortress when under attack.

Church of the Nativity

A Monk who suddenly appeared in my picture...

Entrance to the Monastery

Entrance to the Church