2008 Woodie Awards
A Greek Voyage
Kelly Castino
Issue date: 1/29/07 Section: Life & Times
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Attention…Attention… Those are the words that my fellow travelers and I will never forget. On December 28, 2006, I and sixteen other people journeyed to Greece to start our discovery of the ancient world. Before we left for the airport a team picture was taken of Team VI. It was a long journey but the experience was definitely worth it. Brian LeMay, a sophomore who went on the trip with me, said, "traveling to Greece and London was an amazing experience. We were so lucky to be able to visit all the sites of the ancient Olympic Games. Gordie was such a great leader and he did so much for our class. I recommend this trip to everyone and can't wait to go back to London some day!" Our two weeks in Greece were amazing and here it just a little glimpse of everything that we did.
It was a long journey but I am glad that I did it. I was out of my comfort zone and was ready to learn and experience the splendor of a different country. It took about eight hours to fly from Orlando to Gatwick Airport in London. Then we took a bus from Gatwick Airport to Heathrow Airport where we waited for a few hours before boarding our plane to Athens, Greece. It took about three hours to fly from Heathrow to Athens. By the time we arrived at our destination, the Divani Palace Acropolis in Athens, we had traveled for thirty hours. That same night we walked to the Acropolis in Athens and performed a tradition which prior groups have done. Each person held arms and shared something.
The first day we started our visit of Athens, met our bus driver Minos and our guide Marisol. We went to the Acropolis, Parthenon, Agora museum and Syntagma Square. Syntagma Square was near the Parliament House where the changing of the guard occurred. In Syntagma Square there are little shops and restaurants. The next day, New Year's Eve, we had a Classic City tour. We visited the Stadium, Hadrian's Gate, Old Parliament, Jupiter's Temple and the National Archeological Museum. That night people did different things because it was New Year's Eve and we had a free day tomorrow. At midnight, though, everyone was on the top of Gordie's "secret spot" to see the fireworks. At Gordie's "secret spot" a person is able to see beautiful, panoramic views of Athens. I couldn't believe how cool it was to see fireworks from a different perspective. After that we had a free day, but no museums were open due to the holidays, so Gordie recommended visiting the Port of Piraeus. In order to get there we had to take the train from Athens to Piraeus which was about a twenty minute ride. At the Port there were cruise ships, and freighters. My colleagues and I then decided to venture further and walked to a smaller port. At the smaller port we were able to see rows of huge yachts and the sea. It was so beautiful I wished I owned a yacht. I wondered if anyone famous that we knew owned a lot where we were standing. We were able to sit on the edge of the barrier and look out into the sea. The only thing we could see for miles was the Greek Coast Guard. The next day was just as exciting because we were going to meet a world renowned archeologist named Dr. Stephen Miller. Dr. Miller had met Gordie on previous trips and had kept in touch even though Dr. Miller worked at California Berkeley half the year and the other half in Nemea, Greece. Before we drove to Nemea we stopped at the Corinth Canal and Isthmia. Unfortunately for our team, Isthmia was closed because of the holidays so we had to see the ruins from a distance. At the Corinth museum, we saw The Temple of Apollo, St. Paul the Apostle's altar, and Roman baths and fountains. At Nemea Professor Miler gave our team a personal tour of what he and his team had discovered. It was amazing because we were talking to the same man who was in the videos that we had to watch before we left and he was one of the people who first discovered the ruins. Professor Miller showed us the Temple of Zeus, Roman baths and the Stadium. That night we were at Hotel Rex in Nauplia.
It was a long journey but I am glad that I did it. I was out of my comfort zone and was ready to learn and experience the splendor of a different country. It took about eight hours to fly from Orlando to Gatwick Airport in London. Then we took a bus from Gatwick Airport to Heathrow Airport where we waited for a few hours before boarding our plane to Athens, Greece. It took about three hours to fly from Heathrow to Athens. By the time we arrived at our destination, the Divani Palace Acropolis in Athens, we had traveled for thirty hours. That same night we walked to the Acropolis in Athens and performed a tradition which prior groups have done. Each person held arms and shared something.
The first day we started our visit of Athens, met our bus driver Minos and our guide Marisol. We went to the Acropolis, Parthenon, Agora museum and Syntagma Square. Syntagma Square was near the Parliament House where the changing of the guard occurred. In Syntagma Square there are little shops and restaurants. The next day, New Year's Eve, we had a Classic City tour. We visited the Stadium, Hadrian's Gate, Old Parliament, Jupiter's Temple and the National Archeological Museum. That night people did different things because it was New Year's Eve and we had a free day tomorrow. At midnight, though, everyone was on the top of Gordie's "secret spot" to see the fireworks. At Gordie's "secret spot" a person is able to see beautiful, panoramic views of Athens. I couldn't believe how cool it was to see fireworks from a different perspective. After that we had a free day, but no museums were open due to the holidays, so Gordie recommended visiting the Port of Piraeus. In order to get there we had to take the train from Athens to Piraeus which was about a twenty minute ride. At the Port there were cruise ships, and freighters. My colleagues and I then decided to venture further and walked to a smaller port. At the smaller port we were able to see rows of huge yachts and the sea. It was so beautiful I wished I owned a yacht. I wondered if anyone famous that we knew owned a lot where we were standing. We were able to sit on the edge of the barrier and look out into the sea. The only thing we could see for miles was the Greek Coast Guard. The next day was just as exciting because we were going to meet a world renowned archeologist named Dr. Stephen Miller. Dr. Miller had met Gordie on previous trips and had kept in touch even though Dr. Miller worked at California Berkeley half the year and the other half in Nemea, Greece. Before we drove to Nemea we stopped at the Corinth Canal and Isthmia. Unfortunately for our team, Isthmia was closed because of the holidays so we had to see the ruins from a distance. At the Corinth museum, we saw The Temple of Apollo, St. Paul the Apostle's altar, and Roman baths and fountains. At Nemea Professor Miler gave our team a personal tour of what he and his team had discovered. It was amazing because we were talking to the same man who was in the videos that we had to watch before we left and he was one of the people who first discovered the ruins. Professor Miller showed us the Temple of Zeus, Roman baths and the Stadium. That night we were at Hotel Rex in Nauplia.
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