Myyyyykonooosss

Mykonos, Greece: MAY 23-26, 2012

DAY 1: After a morning spent at the Spice Bizarre, it was off to the airport for a quick travel to Mykonos, Greece. It's a small Greek island known for its beauty and nightlife!  

Classic Greece

Our hotel was on top of the hill with an incredible view of the blue waters of the Mediterranean.  Walking down the hill was a bit of a challenge as we made our way to dinner at Little Venice, but we were all happy to be spending some quality, relaxing group time after traveling.

Incredible Scenery

 We had a 5 course meal for dinner including breads, Greek salad, appetizers, chicken and rice as an entree, and an array of fruit for dessert.  Our waiters were very friendly and lively as they teased our group with live seafood.

Dinner at Little Venice

After dinner we stayed in town and ended up running into a club promoter that took us under our wing and showed us the fun places to go to. We stopped in two bars/clubs before ending up at Club Skandonavia where we proceeded to dance the night away while having fun with locals and other tourists.  We weren't used to the typical hours that the nightlife began so when we looked at our watches and realized it was 4am, we left as others were still experiencing what the island brings best.

Skandinavian Bar & Disco

DAY 2: Everyone started the day a little later after sleeping in from the late night out.  We had time to do whatever we wanted, some went into town to do a little shopping and look for authentic gyros that everyone raved about while others soaked up the sun by the pool.  We reconvened as a whole group for dinner at the same restaurant and enjoyed another authentic greek lasagna like meal called Moussaka.  Since we were now familiar with the typical nightlife, we went back to the hotel to freshen up before going back out on the town.  We ended up at Club Skandonavia again but it wasn't as poppin' as the night before.  Luckily we had a large group of us so no matter what we still had a fun time and ended up staying up till all hours of the night!

Some of us even tired octopus at dinner!

The beautiful sunset while
waiting for dinner

DAY 3: Although we had planned on going sailing to various coasts, the water was too choppy so instead went to Paradise Beach.  BEST DECISION EVER!  Paradise was the perfect name for how beautiful and entertaining the beach was.  Even though the water was a little chilly, it was so clear and fresh that it didn't stop anyone from going in and swimming around.  The weather was perfect and some of us even got a little too much sun.  We had an optional group dinner or dinner on your own, so some students stayed at the beach a bit longer.

Our group at Paradise Beach!

The group went out again for a final night of Mykonos fun, and this time Tokman even joined us!  After mingling and dancing til early hours in the morning we figured it would be a good idea to catch a few hours of rest before our ferry ride the next morning. 

DAY 4: Before we knew it we were boarding our 5 hour ferry ride heading to Athens.  Since the ferry ride took up the majority of the day, once we got to Athens we checking into our hotel and had a group dinner.  It was a little rushed but still a delicious five course meal consisting of bread, a plate of cooked veggies, salad, fried fish and potatoes, and chocolate ice cream for dessert.  It was raining a little and everyone was tired from our long day of travels so we all just hung out in the hotel and had a relaxing night.

In front of the Olympic Stadium!

DAY 5: We got on a bus tour where our new tour guide, Maria, talked about some of the historical landmarks we passed on our way The Parthenon.  On the way we stopped one of the stadiums where the Olympics were held and had a chance to get off the bus and take pictures in front of it.

The Parthenon

In the Acropolis 

We then made our way to The Parthenon where we got off the bus and walked/hiked our way to the top.  It was very hot out and The Parthenon was under a little construction but it was still as beautiful as ever and everyone got amazing pictures.

(Jive) Turkey

Istanbul, TURKEY: MAY 22, 2012

Inside the Blue Mosque.

An early flight to Istanbul allowed everyone to catch some sleep on the plane for an eventful day ahead of us.  We arrived at the airport to our tour guides that were very welcoming and knowledgeable.  Lunch at a local restaurant offered us authentic Turkish cuisine including grape leaf and stuffed pepper appetizers, Kabobs, rice, and potatoes.  We also had an amazing desert called Baklava served with ice cream that everyone could not stop talking about!

Our entire study abroad group with the
Blue Mosque behind us in the distance.

We then toured Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia where we were able to learn about the history of the buildings themselves as well as the Muslim religion.  We were asked to take off our shoes in the Blue Mosque and ladies were instructed to cover there hair and shoulder with provided cloths if they were in-properly dressed in respect of the culture and religion.  During our tour, we witnessed practicing Muslims and were able to place explanations with actions.  We then went to the Hagia Sofia where we received walkie-talkie headset so we could listen to our tour guide while wondering around the inside of the Mosque.  The tour guide was very knowledgeable about both Mosques and the culture and history behind them.

Some girls that had to cover up
 their shoulders with the provided cloths.

The Blue Mosque.

Turkish Carpet Manufacturer 

After touring the Mosques, we attended a carpet manufacturer and sales pitch where they explained the different types of rugs made and how each are produced.  Hundreds of rugs were laid out for our viewing as we drank Turkish tea. 

The Grand Bizare

Before dinner we had a little time to go the the Grand Bizarre and haggle with some of the shop keepers for items such as jewelry, scarfs, purses, and spices.  Lots of students purchased faux Ray-Ban sunglasses and designer handbags.  Kelly received a "birthday discount" on a Tori Burch handbag she purchased! 

Dinner was held at a restaurant just across the street from our hotel.  the rooftop view was beautiful!  We were served cold and hot appetizers, salads (these are customarily shared between partners at each table), an entrée of mixed meats and vegetables.  We received two glasses of complimentary wine along with a box of Turkish delights! 

Several students went out to experience the nightlife in Istanbul and to celebrate Kelly's birthday!  We enjoyed several beer towers for the tables and Kelly received a few free drinks form bartenders as we sang her "Happy Birthday!"

Asia in the background!

The next day, before our flight to Mykonos we went to The Bosphorus Strait where we were able to see Asia across the water!  Most of us ate lunch right on the water and when we met up as a group again we soon learned that our bus had broken down.  We sat around and waited for another bus to come and prayed that we didn't miss our flight to Mykonos.  Luckily we made it with a little time to spare and were able to check our luggage and get a snake before getting on the plane.

Bologna or Baloney?

BELGIUM: MAY 19-20, 2012

This was our first free weekend that we were able to go wherever our hearts desired.  Nora and Danielle went to Bologna, Chuck went to Milan, Forrest went to Dussedorf and Cologne, and Kelly went to Amsterdam.  Courtney had a wedding to attend back home so she didn't even arrived to Antwerp until the following Monday.  The professors were very accommodating with her situation and it didn't really create any problems.

Brussels Sprouts

BELGIUM: MAY 17, 2012

Today we had a tour of Brussels!  We got on a charter bus at the Monty and took that into Brussels where we had a tour guide get on the bus and point out all the various landmarks around the city.  It was really interesting and we got a lot of good pictures and saw so many famous buildings without having to walk for hours and hours. After the bus tour we got off and had a short walking tour of other things that were not accessible by bus and then got free time for lunch. Afterwards we had time to do some shopping on our own and then met back up to get on the bus and go back to Antwerp.

    

Dollar, Dollar Bills, Y'all

BELGIUM: MAY 16, 2012

Antwerp & Diamonds, a brilliant story.  The diamond district was an intimidating place.  Much Curiosity sprung in the area - who has diamonds on them and how much.  Within Belgium create a value added worth 2 billion US dollars. Eighty percent of all rough diamonds and 50% of all polished diamonds pass through Antwerp.

When we went to the Antwerpsche Diamantkring (Antwerp Diamond Market) building they gave as an informational PowerPoint presentations on the process of receiving the diamonds, cutting, polishing, and selling them.  From this presentation we learned that when shopping for a diamond you want to look at The 5 C's:

- Carat

- Clarity

- Colour

- Cut

- Compliance

 

After the presentation they took us to one of their local diamond polisher's room.  When we walked in he was just finishing up cutting a diamond on his diamond cutting wheel using diamond dust and paste. He had been doing this for the majority of his life and was so skilled that he has even designed some of his own unique cuts of diamonds.  He showed us the various technology and tools that he uses in the process of cutting and polishing the diamonds including his high tech cutter and computer that shows him the exact angles need to make a cut for that specific diamond.

Pictures he had hanging on his wall of the different cuts that he designed himself using various angles and cuts

Kelly Finds True Love... In the Form of Chocolate

BELGIUM: MAY 15, 2012

Today started with coffee and class. After a few PowerPoint presentations and in informative guest speaker, we headed back to the Monty to meet up for our Chocolate Tour.

The Chocolate Shop

Our tour of the Chocolate Shop started with an informational video explaining what happens between the stages of the coca bean and the actual chocolate.  This particular shop uses beans from Ghanda, which tend to be higher quality. The owners of the chocolate shop, Raymond and his brother, showed us a few different ways they make their various chocolates and we even got to decorate a few ourselves!

Kelly and Raymond adding
decorations to some of the chocolates!

And So Our Little Adventure Begins...

BELGIUM: MAY 14, 2012

View of Belgium from the airplane!

Nora, Chuck, and Danielle in front of
the famous hand statue on Meir Street.

Arrival day in Belgium!  Not a lot of action here especially since it's Sunday.  After arriving to our dorms at the Monty, we were given a group scavenger hunt assignment around Antwerp to get an idea of where useful things and landmarks were located around the city including a laundry mat, the train station, the professors apartment, and various statues.  Unfortunately we didn't win but it was a good way to get an idea of our way around the city and get to know our group members a little better.



Later in the day we also visited a pub and experienced some new Belgium beer, it was delicious!

Tripel Karmeliet

On our way to a delicious group dinner at an Italian restaurant, we passed to Town Hall and the statue of the Giant's Hand being Thrown into the Scheldt River.