Greece Trip

So it has been quite some time since we posted anything on here. This is partly because we have been very busy with schoolwork and partly because we haven't been doing anything particularly exciting. However, this all changed with our recent trip to Greece. It was a seven day trip, two of which consisted of 'official' class days, and the rest were largely our own to do with as we pleased. We greatly enjoyed our holiday in the sun and warmth, as it was a fabulous contrast to the typically cool and cloudy England we have been living in.

To be honest, we were somewhat apprehensive before getting there (and even just after getting there) about the social state of the country. We have been there before and felt fairly comfortable about our ability to handle ourselves, but it is a bit worrying when the newspaper you pick up on the airplane has headlines describing the 'carnage' and 'anarchy' on the streets of Athens and has photographs filled with riot police, flames, and angry violent protesters. Also, we were travelling on one of the first flights to Athens following the airport shutting down during a transport workers' strike. I'm sure many of you have seen the news stories about the economic and social woes of the country. The night we got to Greece, we were sitting in our hotel room in the Piraeus (the harbor area near Athens) watching television and seeing scenes from Greek protests, as well as the Dow Jones plummet almost 1000 points and the great uncertainty surrounding the British Parliamentary election which was occuring that day. And beyond all of this, the activity of the Icelandic volcano was uncertain and some were predicting it would wreak havoc with air traffic again soon. We really did wonder what we were getting ourselves into, what was going on in the world, and when we would be able return to England! But, thankfully, everything worked out. The volcano did cause more air chaos, but not in the areas that affected us. The Dow went back up and the British election sorted itself out. There were no strikes in Greece while we were there (another is planned for May 20), meaning there was much less social unrest. We did see many signs of the previous days' chaos (which we'll come to in later posts) and even saw a small protest outside of Parliament, but all in all the country was calm and safe.

The posts from our trip will follow in the same format as our previous trips, with pictures and descriptions of each day. After almost a month-long break, we are back to posting, so enjoy.