When I started checking Wonders of The World off my Bucket List in 2004, I made scrapbook to chronicle my journey (I didn't realize that most 20-somethings don't create scrapbooks - guess I've always been and old soul). I went to Greece in 2005 excited to see the Acropolis but returned home having experienced so much more.
I'm by nature a private introvert but this new chapter in my life has me wanting to share and open up more about the travel experiences that mean so much to me.
Here's what was written for my scrapbook after traveling to Greece...
"Where would history touch and how will the future remember the past. At what point does the ancient become the old and the modern the new? Philosophers sowed these questions without reaping a harvest. They labored through knowledge but never realized their birthplace was the secret.
For Athens is not only the heart of Greece, but the place where time trips on itself and falls forward. Highways take you to the Acropolis, a bus travels to the ruins of Corinth, and soldiers march the city wearing tradition as uniforms. I hope you see this city.
I pray you walk the city of Athens, take a seat in Syntagma Square, look above the smog to the hilltops of the great monuments. My hope is more of a plea. Yes I make this plea:
Let your eyes see these sites.
Before you pass through existence let your eyes see these sites."
This is me finally close up and personal to the Parthenon. Wow! What an amazing feeling checking another Wonder of The World off my list.
Erechtheion is where Athena and Poseidon battled for patronage of Athens. I don't 'believe' in mythology as I'm a proud (but not religious) Christian but I enjoy the creativity of the stories - they open up my imagination.
As most of my close family and friends know I am not a fan of being in nor taking pictures so I'm quite proud of myself for being willing let my guard down and take this one. This one is taken in front of Dionysus theater on the Acropolis.
This is one of my favorite pictures from this trip (I had no idea a disposable camera could take such good pics - lol). This is a view of the Acropolis from Filopappos Hill.
I was amazed at the uniforms of the soldiers guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I'm embarrassed to admit that I thought their kilts were skirts - silly American :)
I had no idea Socrates was imprisoned in Greece before he died.
Wow I actually found the shopping center among ancient ruins! Yep I admit I'm a semi-reformed shopaholic :)
I wanted to island hop but I didn't have enough time to make it to Mykonos or Santorini so I went to the closest Greek Isle of Hydra. What a breathtaking view! I couldn't believe people actually live there. It's one of the few places vehicles aren't allowed and they use donkeys.
I'm a bona-fide seafood lover and this was some of the best seafood I'd ever tasted. Caught fresh from the Aegean sea in Hydra.
No words can describe how it feels to walk where ancient Scholars and Apostles walked. You simply have to experience it for yourself. Here's to a lifetime of exploration and discovery.
#LifeIsAJourney
Off to my next journey...