Day 17: 2004 Athens Olympic sites, Marathon, and the beach...

Marathon Man

On our last full day of the trip we started out by going to the stadium of the 1996 and 2004 Olympics in Athens. We got to go down on the side of the field and we learned a lot about the history of the stadium and the Olympics in Greece. We learned that Greece built around 75% of its infrastructure based on the 1996 Olympic games. We also went to the practice facility for the swimming events but we weren't allowed to go inside the main competition center. This is the swimming pool that Michael Phelps went from a boy to a man and was the start of his legendary career as the most decorated Olympian of all time.

Next we went to a mound where lots of athenians were buried after a famous battle against the persians. We also saw the cup presented to the athenians after they knew they had defeated the persians in battle. We made a quick stop to look at the outside of the rowing center in marathon Greece.

Our second to last destination of the day was to a resort where we spent 3 hours at the beach, eating lunch and playing beach volleyball and soccer. We bought a volleyball and popped it within 10 minutes before professor Kim showed up with another ball and I borrowed a soccer ball from the resort. We then played 2 games of beach volleyball and 1 game of beach soccer before some of us hit the water and the rest played 1 quick game of volleyball and then hit the water, we headed back to the hotel to have our final group dinner of the trip.

Looking back, this trip was the trip of a lifetime. We had long day and there were times where a lot of us were struggling, but this was an experience unlike anything that you could ever imagine. To becoming a family with a group of 13 other strangers within the span of a few short days is something that made this trip truly incredible. All the laughs and good times and mistakes we all shared together over these 18 days was something I think none of us will ever forget. Learning about the Olympics and having fun in 4 amazing and different countries is a rare opportunity that we got to have from touring the France Olympic training center or INSEP, to going to the Olympic museum in Switzerland and going around the Olympic study center, getting a presentation about the IOC marketing by a Syracuse grad and many other things like archery within 3 weeks is something that many people interested in the Olympics will never get to experience. And we haven’t even talked about all the fun sightseeing and touristy things we did from going to the tower of London and Buckingham palace to taking a night river tour of the river seine in Paris and seeing the Eiffel tower at night, or going hiking up a beautiful mountain in Switzerland and then going to see Queen’s recording studio to name a few. The free time that we had in each place we made the most out of too. Whether it was taking a nap and then meeting up for dinner before going to explore the town at night or just sightseeing on our own and going out for lunch together, we all had fun exploring the city as a group.

I learned a lot about the Olympics not only in the games but also the behind the scenes work that goes on too. I had never really thought about working at the Olympics even though I’m very interested in working in track and field, but after this trip, I feel like my eyes have been opened to a whole new world of possibilities of job opportunities in different departments of the IOC or even partner organizations and national Olympic committees the possibilities are almost endless.

Day 16: What Day is it, honestly? The Acropolis!!

Today was my most anticipated day of the entire trip. We got to see the ancient Acropolis in Athens. And as a huge Percy Jackson books nerd with an interest in Greek mythology, the Parthenon was on my bucket list of places I had to see in my life.

We got up extra early to beat the crowds today- we were thrilled about the 8 am departure from our hotel (note my sarcasm) and we were definitely all on time as per usual (still being sarcastic just fyi). Regardless of some people (Louis and Chapman) who held us up, we still managed to make our way toward the Acropolis before 8:30. Nike, our tour guide throughout Greece, made several stops along the way to tell us about the history of ancient Athens.

On the way the group took a small detour up on a cliff and got to see an incredible view of the entire city of modern Athens.

There was never a more informed electoral process than ancient Athens, the birthplace of democracy. As we approached the We saw the Pnyx, the hill on which every decision of the Athenian council was made by the Council of 500.

When we walked inside the Acropolis, you saw the spot where a statue of Athena once stood so tall that the Athenian navy could see the gold tip of her spear from the sea. Unfortunately it was destroyed in after it was carried to Constantinople.

Then as we traveled through the ancient sanctuary, we came across the sacred Olive tree- one of my personal favorite myths which explains how Athens got its name and patron god. Athena and Poseidon both wanted to be there patron god of the city that would become Athens. Zeus proposed a contest between the two where they both created a gift for the city, and the people would choose their favorite. Poseidon struck his trident into the ground and out sprung a saltwater fountain. Athena created the Olive tree that was planted next to the fountain. The people chose Athena. They adopted the name of Athens and the Olive tree came to symbolize peace and prosperity for the city.

The Greeks really stick to their stories too. In one of the temples there is a hole in the ground where the saltwater fountain sprung up, and a hole in the ceiling where Zeus' lightning bolt struck it down after Poseidon lost the contest. I thought that was very cool.

Then we finally made it to the Parthenon. I cannot express in words how breathtaking it is. The one upsetting thing for me was the construction going on. I feel like it took away from the glory of the temple.

We saw the Theater of Dionysus, the first theater and the birthplace of drama on a stage. The followers of the wine god were the first to begin to put one person on a stage in front of crowd to tell stories.

 

Then we went to the museum and spent some time discussing more in depth about Athenian culture and the history of the rise and fall of the city. The museum has a lot of art and preserved pieces from the temples, which add to the rich detail of the city.

After that we had another authentic Greek lunch near the museum (probably my least favorite meal of the trip), but it was still pretty good. We had free time after that to buy souvenirs and enjoy Athens before our final day of the trip.