Kalimera for the second to last time!  It was hard to believe that this was already our last full day in Greece. After more than a week of traveling, sightseeing, and performing, we were finally reaching the end of our trip. We still had a busy day ahead of us, though, so there wasn’t much time to be sad just yet. Our morning started with breakfast before we headed out for one last look at some of Athens’ most famous sights.

Our first stop was the Acropolis, where we finally got to see the Parthenon up close. After hearing about it throughout the trip and catching glimpses of it from different parts of Athens, standing there on the last day felt bittersweet. The Parthenon is a temple dedicated to Athena, the goddess of Athens, and was constructed in the 5th century BC during the height of Athens’ power. Construction began around 447 BC under the leadership of the Athenian statesman Pericles, as part of a major rebuilding project after the Persian Wars. What makes the Parthenon especially impressive is that it wasn’t simply built to be large, it was carefully designed to look perfectly balanced. The architects used subtle curves and adjustments to the columns and foundations to create the illusion of straight lines and perfect symmetry. Standing inside, I couldn’t help but wonder how much history had happened around this one building. The Parthenon has survived wars, fires, earthquakes, and even an explosion in the 17th century that caused significant damage. After taking in the Parthenon, we continued around the Acropolis to the Erechtheion, another important temple on the hill. Its most famous feature is the Porch of the Caryatids, where six sculpted female figures take the place of traditional columns.  After seeing so many ancient temples and columns throughout the trip, it was amazing to see architecture used in such a creative way. After seeing so many incredible places throughout the trip, the Acropolis felt like a fitting way to end our sightseeing.

Once we finished exploring the Acropolis, we headed back to the Megaron Concert Hall for another rehearsal with the Underground Youth Orchestra. This time, however, we got to hear internationally renowned flute player, Stathis Karapanos, perform the solo in Zorbas Suite with us. We had performed it for Greek audiences several times, but watching a Greek musician bring his own style and energy to the piece made it feel completely different. At this point, we were getting more comfortable playing alongside each other, which made it even more exciting to hear how the combined orchestra was coming together.

At 4:30pm, we left the hotel for our last concert venue in Greece, the open-air Rematia Theater in the northern Athenian suburb of Halandri. This concert venue was bigger than any other place we had performed, and there was going to be more people watching us. After the Underground Youth Orchestra arrived and we had our sound check, we were served our last dinner in Greece, pizza. When it was finally time to perform, the fact that this was our final concert was really starting to sink in. Just a few days earlier, performing in Greece had still felt new and unfamiliar. Now, we were getting ready for our last performance, but instead of performing by ourselves, we would be sharing the stage with the Underground Youth Orchestra. I could feel a mixture of excitement and nervousness building as we waited to go on stage. We had spent weeks preparing these pieces back home and now were about to perform them one final time. Once the concert began, everything seemed to fall into place. Performing with the combined orchestra felt magical, we were all so into the music and in sync with each other. At that  moment, it felt like those long hours of rehearsal the week before the trip were all worth it. As the concert continued, I started to forget that this was supposed to be our final performance. It wasn’t until the final piece came to an end and we received our last round of applause that it really hit me: this was it. After all the rehearsals, bus rides, concerts, and countless hours of practicing, our final day in Greece was over. As the final applause faded, I felt a bittersweet mix of pride and sadness. I was proud of what we had accomplished, especially since we had gotten to perform alongside incredible musicians from Greece, but I also wasn’t ready for the trip to be over. As we were packing up for the night, I said a quick goodbye to my stand partner and made my way back to the tour bus.

On the ride back to the hotel, Eleni finally gave us the test we had been preparing for throughout the trip, prompted by Mr. Stickley singing “I need to pass the test. I need to pass the test, but it’s all Greek to me!” It covered all the Greek words, history, and random trivia she had taught us along the way. As we answered the questions, we kept remembering where we had learned each fact, whether it was on one of our long bus rides or while exploring an ancient site. Even though we were all exhausted and half asleep, the test somehow felt like a little recap of the entire trip.

Back at the hotel, we were going to have to wake up extra early for our 5am call. I didn’t get much sleep that night, mostly because I was making sure everything was inside my suitcase. As I folded my clothes and packed away the souvenirs I had collected, I realized I was finally going to be leaving Greece. Just over a week ago, I had been unpacking the same suitcase in Nafplio, wondering what the trip would be like. Now, I was attempting to squeeze everything back inside while thinking about everything that had happened since then. I knew I was exhausted and had to wake up in just a few hours, but I wasn’t quite ready to go to sleep because I knew that when I woke up, our Greek adventure would officially be over.