it's all very greek.

There is no better way to start a post than with a shameless selfie. You know up until this trip I was not one for selfies... I just didn't find the appeal. But I think that's because I hadn't found the correct selfie stance, filters, and perfected my selfie face. But now that I have been abroad I can't even tell you the number of selfies I take! Whether it be to show a gorgeous view like from above and the scenery is nice in that picture as well. I kid, I kid. Anyway, I now can say that I love the selfie and I love taking them, given the lighting is perfect and I'm having a good hair day. But I can say that I will never buy a seflie stick! (Seriously the little street vendor sell them EVERYWHERE you go!) I don't want one so stop trying to sell me one. I know I may look touristy cause I get lost or look confused but I've been here for a while and I'm trying to blend in. Plus, if you know me, I have long enough arms that are going to suffice for the time being. So thanks but no thanks! Selfie rant over, but this post isn't just about how I feel about mastering the selfie, It's about how I walked where Hercules, Pegasus, Phil and Megra walked. That's right kids, I'm talking about Greece more specifically Athens. 

Aren't we precious?

Well I can say that we aren't always this beautiful. Hard to believe right?? "These ravashing beauties don't wake up #flawless erryday?" 

Yeah... each of these pictures are a little scary. I can't stop laughing at how weird we all look in these. Our flight out to Athens was at 6:30 am. Yes you read correctly, AM! We were up at 3:30 and out the door by 4:30. Let's just say I'm not a morning person. I hate getting up super early especially if I'm up before the sun, like who does that?? *sighhh* Crazy people. We took these glam shots as we were boarding our plane, it was like -10 degrees and I felt like I was standing in a cyclone. What was up with the wind??? I was not pleased. But after a two hour slumber on the plane and arriving in Athens, I was pleased as pie. 

Kay, our pose... not even planned. It's almost like we spend no time together at all. Weird....  I know. We were able to walk around and take in the Greek-ness. After getting some delicious food in our tummies, cause Liv was getting a wee bit "hangry", we took a ton of pictures and looked like your typical tourists, and we weren't even mad about it. But we had a sudden face palm moment... We don't know Greek. Luckily everyone spoke English and they were all super nice. Day one was looking at little shops, eating food, and trying to learn some Greek. We were able to check to our little place and rest because getting up at the crack of dawn isn't for everyone. Then we hit the Mediterranean Sea and took some pictures and walked some more. Our big tourist day was tomorrow, so get ready. But for now.... more pictures!

S'cute Sarah :)

Zeus's Temple

"Chan! IT'S THE CHURCH"

Okay story! We were walking around literally no clue where we were and Sarah had to use the bathroom ( I don't know if I should share that info... but it's part of the story). We were looking around for a building to be open and I was like well this one seems open cause someone just went in. As I walked up close I saw the Greek and I was being silly and trying to pronounce it. Silly but whatev! I saw the gold plate and I was like OMHEAVENS!!! ITS THE CHURCH! Then of course we had to take our picture! We ran inside and it was literally the best feeling on this earth. Imagine a bear hug from someone you love, now times that by ten! That's what it felt like! Chan and I haven't really been able to go to church much cause we are traveling literally every weekend. So this was just what the doctor ordered. Perfection. 

Oh hey there Chan..... 

So far Athens was treating us great! Plus everything was really cheap cause of the economic downfall so it was great for us but no so great for Greece... Sorry Greece. But thanks for being so beautiful! On Saturday we went on a walking tour of the city and got to see the Olympic Stadium, the Royal Park, and much more. 

Panoramic of view from mountain

After the walking tour we went to the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum! Our lovely Sarah is a classics major so this was her favorite part of the whole trip! Chan and I like the view from the top, and taking silly pictures, but the history wasn't as moving for us... Sorry Sarah. 

She's gonna kill me. 

Sarah went and walked some more while Chan and I were love struck over this view! Breathtaking right! So in love. We sat and just awed while the wind blew through our hair and we felt a little like Pocahontas. And yes I can sing with all  voices of the mountain and paint with all the colors of the wind. 

Zero to hero. Just like that

Athens full of history, good food, and jaw dropping views. Europe never ceases to amaze me. 

I probably should study, since midterms are this week... Wish me luck! Kisses.

Until next time,

-O

strut... like you mean it.

I know exactly what you are thinking.... "Is the title of this post a Cheetah Girls 2 reference?" Yes my friends, yes it is. This weekend we spent in beautiful Barcelona!! 

View from top of Park Guell

Check out that view right? Stunning. This was quite the experience. In all honestly I had no idea what to expect in coming here. I was hoping I would dance and strut around the streets of the city. But of course we had walking tours, you know the real "touristy stuff", amazing food and lots of great shopping! Sorry Rome... Barcelona totally trumps you in the shopping district. Or at least I haven't found my favorite places yet. Don't worry mom, I won't come back with an entirely new wardrobe... let's hope! But this city is just a short 16 hour bus ride from Rome. You may be asking yourself why Chandler and I keep doing this right? Why we are volunteering to get on a bus with 30+ other kids for 16 hours. Well... I say the weekends are pretty worth it. In the states you could take a 16 hour drive to another state. But in Europe... you travel to another country!! I think that's so cool, so instead of a surprise weekend in Vegas or California, you could say you went to Barcelona, Lisbon, or Monaco. Also I have no objection to weekend trips to Cali, so when I get back... if anyone wants to go to Cali I'm so down. Anyway, Barcelona really has a piece of my heart there. The people are so nice, like they smile at you and will wave back, they are patient with 2 American girls who just want some lunch after a long bus ride. (But I will warn you all now: Barcelona is a top city for pick pocketing, so be aware like you always would. Nothing happened to me but my bag was always in front of me.) The city has amazing views, art work and just a great vibe in general! Pictures are worth a 1000 words so I let you see my journey though pictures. Get ready!

Okay so small intermission while I tell ya about our first day. We got into Barcelona around 9 am, and we had a walking tour at 11, so plenty of time to shower and get presentable for the mass amount of selfies Channy and I were gonna take! Right... wrong. We couldn't check into our rooms until 2, so we had to wear what we wore on the bus and just grin and bear it, and you bet we did just that! We had a cool English tour guide, so you can say we were very happy. We saw the Barcelona Cathedral, this cool art work wall, The Columbus monument, daring park, and a ton more! We learned all about the city's history and now I feel a bit smarter! Cool fact: the Columbus monument in Barcelona is the only one in all of Spain that does not point toward America. Why you may ask?? Cause it also looks like he is pointing toward Madrid if he was facing the right way, so he is pointing a totally opposite direction instead! Feel smarter?? Boom, just dropped some knowledge on ya! After a billion pictures and lots of walking later we showered, ate lunch, and we were ready for the rest of the day. We went to Sagrada Familia (left). This is going to be the biggest church on Earth. It has taken longer to build this than it did the pyramids, and it isn't even finished yet. It is said to be completed in 2038!!! Crazy huh?!

#bathroomselfie

Kinda blurry, but hey look the ocean!

Summoning our inner Cheetahs *rawr*

Chan was seriously tickled pink to be by the ocean! So of course we took our shoes off and walked in the sand and the water. Cold, but so worth it! Such am amazing view. #noregrets This was soon to be our motto of the trip, as it should be. This was the end of our first day here and by the end of it we were ready to go back to the hostel and have a Deep Chat over some Ben & Jerry's that we saw in a little convenient store. But to our dismay our not so nice roommates, these 3 annoying boys, stayed at our hostel until like 2 am and got crazy drunk. Okay, clarification, when I saw "annoying" I mean like seriously obnoxious, not "oooh boys are annoying and they have cooties.". I mean they sat behind us the whole bus ride and talked while everyone was trying to sleep. So of course we didn't get enough of them the 16 hours but they just had to be in our hostel room as well. Luckily it was a 12 person room, so we didn't really have to be near them but it still sucked. But all Chan and I wanted was to talk, cause girls love that! But we had to stay in our corner while those boys were getting totally wasted and trashing the room, at one point we left to change into our PJ's cause it was late and they had left, so praise the heavens we could finally chat without the fear of them overhearing. But sadly the came back and started talking about the most inappropriate things! Like pure vulgarity. So we had to make a noise signalling we were still in the room... Now that was awky. Any way here is my advice for everyone out there:: If you ever have roommates, just be considerate and be mindful of others. Anyway we didn't see much of them the rest of the trip, so praise the heavens. The second day was just as fabulous as the first. We went to Park Guell and went shopping and ate good food and had the best time! Okay so here is the Strut part of my post, and for those of you don't know what I am talking about, shame on you, and watch this, it'll make your day better! The mosaic tiles?? Yes! That's the park where we spent like 3 hours at. The park is gigantic and over looks the whole city!

Models... amiright!?

Even with the rain the park was beautiful! We tried really hard to get a fun like "Strut" picture... but it was rainy and I felt super awkward... hahaha! Mostly cause our super attractive bus2alps leader was either watching us take the pictures or taking them for us and I got nervous.  (I know it's silly so sue me) so embarrassing that I just said that over the internet, and lets pray he never reads this.... And moving on! Later that day we went shopping at the Marina and finally got the Ben & Jerry's we had been waiting for! 

Barcelona was seriously the best and I can't wait for our next adventure! I will definitely be back because I can;t get enough of it. Here's a couple more pictures of us! Hope you're not sick of them! 

We are always laughing... #sorrynotsorry

Until next time,

-O