I'm here!

Isn't technology amazing?! I can be thousands of miles away but still talk to someone as if they are sitting next to me. Better yet I can keep a journal online to share with family and friends so that you can keep up with me on my travels this semester.

If you don't already know I'll be spending this semester in Thessaloniki, Greece in the northern part of the country. Its right on the water and is the 2nd largest city. I'm taking some gen ed and elective classes and of course enjoying all Greece has to offer. The city is beautiful, very much the Boston of Greece. There are fewer people than Athens and a lot of college age kids. At the same time there is a lot of history to the city, modern stores build right around ancient ruins, and some of the oldest churches in Greece.

On September 5th I flew in to Florence, Italy with Allison where we spent 2 days exploring before taking a train to Rome. We spent a full day in Rome and did everything but the Vatican City. From there we took an over night train to Bari on the coast of Italy to take a ferry over to Greece. We were able to spend a day in Bari and experienced what a small city was like in Italy, very nice and even had some cool museums and parks to visit. We landed in Patras and took a bus and a train to get to Athens. In Athens we took a great walking tour with the hostel we were staying at and got to see all the big sights and get a small history lesson. The next day Allie left to go back to work (unfortunately) and I left to travel north to my school. I've added a few pictures from that trip at the end of this post. It was a really exciting trip and a great start to the semester for me.

Classes won't start till the 21st, so I still have time to settle in and explore the city. We have orientation this week and a required trip to a TBD location. All the study abroad students are housed together so we are already making friends and working together to get acquainted with the country and especially the language. So far we know about 3 words, but its a start.

FYI, random fact, in Greece they do drive on the same side of the road as us. I know someone had asked me about that before and I wasn't sure.


In Florence on the bridge.



At the Colosseum in Rome.


In front of the first modern Olympic stadium in Athens.


Allie at the Parthenon on the acropolis.