Greece!

Okay my friends. Get ready for a long post, but don't worry it's pretty interesting (at least I think so). So I spent the first day of my trip in Greece in Athens. We went to the Acropolis and Parthenon, Hadrian's Arch, the Temple of Zeus, the National Library, and the University of Athens. We were really trying to hit all the tourist spots before we did anything else. While we were walking around we happened to pass the Parliament and got to see the changing of the guard! And to top it off I had an AMAZING Greek salad. 
Day two was definitely not my favorite due to the fact that I had a field lab for my environmental studies class and we went to a water treatment plant and a wind mill farm. Despite how boring it was, I got to eat Gyro for free. And when is free food not good?! 
Okay here's where it gets interesting. 
That night my friend Liv and I were supposed to take an overnight ferry to the island Crete. However after really thinking it through and getting slightly lost to the port station, we didn't go to Crete. Instead we met up with some other friends who were taking a 5:30am flight to Santorini. So Liv and I bought our tickets that night, walked to the airport in the pouring rain (and when I mean pouring I mean POURING), and slept in a McDonald's booth in the airport. We only got an hour and a half of sleep there until the McDonald's worker woke us up and said we weren't allowed to sleep there. It was about 3:30 by then so we just stayed up with our friends until the flight. I would've slept on the plane but 45 minutes wasn't enough time for me to really catch some rest. Once we arrived in Santorini it was 6am and we realized we had no idea what we were going to do and we had no place to stay. So we sat on a rooftop and watched the sunrise trying to figure it out. We then decided to go to a beach and take a nap because we were all extremely exhausted. We went to the black sand beach and took a good hour long nap. Still not knowing what to do with ourselves we decided to go to a cafe and grab some food and wifi. By that time we figured out a villa we were going to stay in with 14 people that had the most beautiful view of the island and had its own private pool! We headed to our place to lay by the pool and relax and get ready to go out to the town. We shopped a bit in Santorini and had an amazing dinner. Oh and we also got fish pedicures?! (That’s when you stick your feet in a tank with a bunch of fish that eat the dead skin off your feet). For the first minute I couldn't stop laughing, but after it actually was really relaxing and I enjoyed it. I am recommending this to all my friends! It was definitely something I crossed off my bucket list. That night I went out with my friends and again didn’t get enough sleep. However, it was actually a really cool time and I got a lot closer to my friends Liv and Brian. 
Day two we didn’t get up ’til it was time for lunch. So we went back to town to have our last Santorini meal before we had to take an 8 hour ferry back to Piraeus. The ferry ride really wasn’t that bad. I had originally planned to sleep the whole time, BUT my friends and I were a little sidetracked. The majority of the time was spent playing this card game called “Hearts” and it was the most confusing and difficult game to learn. After a few rounds, I got used to it and I loved it. Basically our ferry ride consisted of really intense card games, mediocre burgers, and random tv shows and movies. We got back to the ship around 12am and somehow still had energy. So, of course my friends and I decide to go out. It was a pretty fun night and we sat by the water for a bit and just talked. We didn’t get back until around 3am-ish. Now that would be okay if we didn't have to wake up early the next day, but we did. So after about 3 hours of sleep we’re back out in Athens trying to do some last minute shopping before the ship left. Thinking it was going to be a warm day, Liv and I wore our summer clothes that both included a white shirt. Yet we didn’t know it was going to rain that day. White. Shirt. Rain. Not a good combination. It was still pretty funny, but we went back a bit early and got ready for the ship to depart Greece. 

This trip is definitely gonna be one to remember and I’m so happy with how it turned out. However, I had to pay the price for the lack of sleep I got. Whenever I don’t get enough sleep, I get sick. So, I got sick, and I still am sick. I got a nice fever with congestion and a cough. Now I’m finally getting some sleep and a LOT of medication. Trying to get better before Spain (I’m so stoked for Spain). 
Also, a reminder for people; if you need to contact me, please email rachel.richens.fa15@semesteratsea.org 
If I’m on the ship I respond pretty quick BUT remember I’m about 9 hours ahead of you guys until I move closer west (and I’ll let you know my time changes as they occur). 
Thanks for reading the super long weird post!! Time to say Hola to Spain!