Athens, Greece

Hey I'm in Italy, why not take a little side trip to Greece. :) Actually, I've always wanted to go to Greece and I'm very thankful for the opportunity. Crusade has a wonderful campus team in Athens including Catherine and her husband Paul, whose couch I stayed on. Thanks Paul for making me the best cup of coffee every morning! On my first day, I headed straight to the Acropolis, the religious center of ancient Greece. It was amazing to walk on Mars Hill where Paul gave the famous sermon of Acts 17.

"Men of Athens!...The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else...God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being."

Afterwards, I headed to the Greek temple of Zeus, only to find it closed. But I ended up meeting three wonderful gals there who I became fast friends with. Betsy is a chemical engineer with a personality of a sorority party girl. :) Jill is a theater major with a very kind and sweet demeanor and her best friend from childhood, Shannon is a spitfire. She later told me that only 2 years ago, she had a tumor IN her spine and was paralyzed for a time after having it removed. Now she lives life to the fullest. They are traveling the world. We had a great afternoon eating amazing food and enjoying the culture. Shout out also to the cafe owner who treated us to Ouzo, the worst taking drink I've ever had. I couldn't finish mine, esp since I have an alcohol intolerance. But the girls graciously drank all of theirs. :)

The next day, took a ferry to the closest Greek island, called Aegina. It was so glorious riding my little rented biked along the island by the water and seeing the most beautiful architecture. It was the most relaxing day so far in Europe. Just me and my bike and the beautiful sunny warm weather.

Hiking in Pisa

You can't go to Italy without seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa, right? I was ecstatic when I saw a couchsurfing event posted by a Univ of Pisa student named Marco for a hiking event in Pisa. I contacted him and asked if I could join the group from Florence.

Marco was amazing. He told me which train to take at what time. He even met me at the station with a couchsurfing sign, packed a lunch for me and lent me his backback. We hiked in the hills near Pisa to a 14th century monstary ruins. What a beautiful countryside. My favorite part was really getting to know these great Italians. We had wonderful conversation about politics, culture, religion, and life. I will always remember one student asking me with the deepest of sincerity and genuine curiosity how it is that Americans allow our fellow citizens to live without full access to healthcare. It led to some great conversations.

Not only was Marco hiking guide, he even took us to see the Leaning Tower near his campus. I LOVE couchsurfing.

Meeting new friends

I quickly realized one of the best parts of being in Europe is going to be meeting wonderful new friends. Couchsurfing happen to have their monthly meeting in Florence on my second day in Italy. It was so fun meeting travelers from all over the world. I especially enjoyed meeting Nico, a Frenchman studying in Germany, and Phillip and Rui, two guys from Portugal. I invited them to meet me the next day for a tour of the Accademia to see Michaelangelo's David. The next morning I got up early to visit the Uffizi Museum before meeting the guys. As I was walking thru the exhibit, I noticed a gal walking next to me. I quickly noticed her Rick Steves Florence book and realized that we were both listening to Rick Steves' audio tour of the Uffizi. I decided that she must be a kindred spirit. :) At the end of the tour, I walked up to her as I do with strangers all the time and asked, "so, how do you like Rick Steves?" That question was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. We had lunch together and she joined me in meeting up with the guys and hung out the whole day. Here we are eating gelato, again! Sadly, we lost Michelle when she went back to her hotel to get something and couldn't find each other again. I ended up having dinner with the guys lamenting our loss of Michelle and had to drink lemoncello without her. :)

Florence, Italy

Nicole is a wonderful host. My first morning in Italy, Nicole let me sleep in, making her late for work but she didn't seem to mind. She took me to her favorite coffee shop for a latte and brioche and that began a very full day. Here's the highlights:

9am: Lattes at Nicole's favorite cafe and errands. Great conversation on the way.
10am : Tour of Nicole's office.
10:30 : Wait in line at the Uffizi Museum and meet a nice Korean American family from NY. Decide to not wait and go to another museum. On the way, call in my reservation to the Uffizi for tomorrow morning, as Rick Steves advised. No waiting for me!
11 : Enjoy the wonderful Barghello Museum.
Noon : Meet Nicole for lunch. She takes me to a great sandwich stand and a fun walking tour.
1pm : Nicole puts me on the bus for a 30min ride out to the country of Tuscany to visit the Lillestrand family. Feel very blessed as Nicole tells the bus driver where to drop me off since the bus stop doesn't even have a name.
1:30 : See Charmaine for the first time in YEARS and get to hang out with her and the kids (Greg is golfing with his team that day). So fun seeing her beautiful home and the kids are so very cute, so is Franklin the dog.
4: Take a quick walk around the vineyards in the neighborhood before getting on the bus back to Florence.
4:30 Got to find the bus stop to get back to Nicole's so I can get my bags and take them over to Marti's for the night. (Nicole is going out of town tonight). Finally find the bus stop and am waiting when Marti and Kelly (I led both the girls' new staff trainings) literally walk up to the same bus stop. Haven't seen Kelly since NST, so fun. Marti makes the trip stressless by taking me to her place. I love divine intervention. :)
5pm Go get my stuff at Nicoles, come back to Marti's and have a very fun conversation with Marti about life in Italy. I never knew Marti was so funny!
8pm: Marti and I take the bus into town. I'm going to my first Couchsurfing event and Marti is having dinner with old friends.
8:30 finally found Rex Pub, after asking like 4 people. Had a WONDERFUL time meeting couchsurfers from all over the world. We all have a few things in common, we speak English, we love to travel, we are adventureous, and we like to meet new people. That makes for a fun party.
11pm Wait at the bus stop to go to Marti's place. But wait, who walks up to the bus stop, yes, it's Marti! Another fun conversation and then off to bed.

What a fun and action packed day it was on my very first day in Italy. Just wait until tomorrow!