Day 3 - April 14, 2017 (Olivia)

The luminous sun radiated into our room, as the clock read 6:20. It’s harder than I thought to adjust to these hours as we all slowly sat up. Hailey lept out of bed and skipped over to the pearl-white curtains and revealed the astounding view. Jay remarked, “I could get used to this!” Seeing the exquisite architecture and bright sky made me smile. I hopped onto Abby’s bed and starting jumping up and down like a little kid on Christmas morning, yelling, “It’s Good Friday, wake up! We have a service to go to!”

Good Friday church ceremony

Good Friday (Culture)We commuted to Church of Panagia Kapnikarea by bus around 7:05 after a hotel breakfast. Abby and I were asking the rest of the group if our outfits fit the occasion. While waiting for the bus, Gladdie had finished her research about Good Friday services all across Greece. We concluded that the services were very serious and that the day itself was generally mournful. To fit this, we were wearing dark dresses. Jordan and Hailey centered our minds and told us we had to be mature and responsible in the service to represent our home. I knew this was going to be a challenge for me. As the service began, we saw Jesus’ icon on the cross. The traditions were that the icon was taken down, wrapped in linens, and put into the Epitaph which was like a sacred tomb. The whole group got very quiet at this time to recognize the Greek rituals and traditions. It was like the sudden need for maturity flushed into my body the second I walked into the chapel. This was a service that we would never forget.

View from outside National Archaeological Museum

National Archaeological Museum (History)
Next on the agenda was the National Archaeological Museum. Having done a decent amount of research on the place, Jordan informed us that it was the largest Museum in Greece, and one of the most important places in the world to honor ancient Greek art. Hearing the subject of art, Abby and Hailey smiled in excitement. Gladdie also added that it was built in the late 19th century and had many Greek antiques, thus displaying the museums artistic, cultural, and historical value. As we entered we all gasped at the aesthetic. Huge columns and marble showed the place’s luxury. We approached the directory, and I pointed to the jewelry exhibit, interested with anything fashion or accessory related. Gladdie and Jordan really wanted to see the Egyptian art, Hailey wanted to see the prehistoric markings, and Abby wanted to see the bronze work. Jordan calmed all the excitement down and said we would visit all the exhibits that we desired. This place really opened my eyes on the importance and value of history and how much we have evolved, and not just in America.First we went to the Egyptian Art section, which I found sort of morbid. They had mummy cases up on display. Mummy cases. As in - preserved dead people's boxes with so many tiny

Trojan Headdress

figurines I thought my head was going to explode. I asked my group if they thought that the sculptor's head might have exploded too and everyone just laughed at me. The exhibit was split up into many rooms and each seemed to have the same figurines and the same jewels.We rock-paper-scissored to see who's exhibit we would go to next. I got lucky and soon dragged them off to the see the jewelry. Most of it was gold jewelry from Troy, which I found very intricately shaped. The only problem seemed to be that they looked too heavy to wear on an everyday basis. My favorite piece was easily a headdress that looked, from a distance, like a blond girl with bangs and two pigtails. It was so beautiful that I was about to ask if it were on sale or not before realizing that, being on display, the answer would probably be a no.
Chez Max French Cafe
Our entrance was definitely clear into the cafe as the sites we’ve seen so far flooded out. We all paid the fee to enter the Olympia Theatre and followed the sign to the cafe. The savory smell filled my nose as we turned the corner as my mouth watered and my stomach growled. We all rushed to order and as we were waiting for our food, we were a nonstop noise machine. We had seen so many things thus far, and now we’re processing all of that verbally. Seeing our plates getting brought out was like spotting treasure. We had all ordered the special, called "Boeuf Bourguignon". The description read beef and burgundy chicken soup with a side of baby potatoes. We all inhaled our food and not a word was exchanged as our hunger took over.

The dolphins did a lot of fascinating tricks

Attica Zoological Park
We had a private tour scheduled to of the Attica Zoo, which I have been excited for since the day we found out we were going here weeks ago. I love animals and going to zoos back at home, and I can only imagine how the zoos in Greece compared to that. My favorite animal there was probably the dolphins. I have only ever seen one in person once in Florida, and we got to see four of them up close. They were so cute and I loved how beautiful they looked going in and out of the water. Abby thought the harbor seals were absolutely adorable! Gladdie and Hailey's favorite animal was the Eurasian Lynx. It was such a beautiful cat that we have all never seen before. Jay's highlight of the zoo was seeing the Nile crocodile in all its ferocity. There were so many animals at the zoo that I grew interest for because of this trip! But despite all all the fun with the animals, our tour guide still pestered us with facts about how it had the third largest collection of birds and how it was open every day of the year, since it was opened in 2000. They even had white rhinos, which was shocking since I'd thought of them as extinct.
Olympia Theatre (Culture)We prepared for the tour of the theatre in excitement. Jordan and Hailey made sure we were all together, as the theatre was very crowded. As the tour began, the history of the place blew my mind. It was originally designed to be a small outdoor amphitheater, but was then upped to an auditorium for plays. It amazed me how the architecture of building was preserved in these exquisite designs and decor. I could imagine ballets and operas being held in these rooms. This is something that Hailey really likes and enjoys the artistic value it has to offer. Now it marveled as an artistic representation of greek plays and culture.