Good morning! We were now on our way to Athens. For lunch, we stopped at a family-owned seaside restaurant, “Kamena Vourla”. Five minutes after we sat down, we were all up out of our seats once again. Apparently, there were dolphins visible from the shore that were leaping their way through the crystal clear waters of Greece. Excitedly, I hopped out of my chair and ran towards the water to see these dolphins with my own two eyes. And sure enough, they were there. They were pretty far away and I could barely make out the silver shapes of their bodies. I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen a dolphin in real life before, so it was pretty awesome to see them even from far away. After the dolphins were out of our sight, we enjoyed our lunch, which included a variety of Greek seafood dishes. From there, we continued our long journey to Athens.

Three hours later, we finally checked in at the Hotel Divani Palace Acropolis. For me, Athens was the city I was looking forward to visiting the most. We had gotten a brief glimpse of it on our first day at the airport, and I had been waiting to go back ever since. In many ways, Athens resembled any other big city, but it had its own unique flair. As we drove around, Eleni pointed out the gigantic murals covering the sides of many of the buildings around us. Many of them included historical references to Ancient Greece, but were also depicted in a modern street art style. Alongside professionally-done murals, there was also a multitude of political graffiti. Eleni had explained on the first day that unlike in America, the Greeks celebrated the idea of graffiti to express their different ideas. Different colors representing different ideologies were scattered across Athens, making every bland surface interesting to look at. After checking in, we had some time to explore and get settled in our rooms before dinner.

Before we had dinner, we made a stop at the top of a nearby hill, where we were rewarded with an incredible view of the Acropolis. Seeing it lit up above the city was already impressive, and knowing that we would be standing up there ourselves on Friday made me even more excited for our visit to the Parthenon. From there, we continued walking until we reached the historic Plaka neighborhood, where we would be having dinner for the night. Our restaurant was tucked alongside the famous Plaka stairs, which meant getting there was a bit of a workout. We made our way up a narrow path lined with dozens of steep marble steps, with small shops and restaurants packed along each side. People sat on the stairs eating, talking, and enjoying the evening, making the whole atmosphere seem welcoming and casual. The restaurant was pretty small, so most of us were packed together at different tables. Next to our table was the Greek band that would be playing for us that evening, along with a singer. At first, they played some music in the background while we ate, which made for a nice soundtrack to dinner. But as soon as they started playing the theme from Zorba the Greek, everyone’s faces immediately lit up. Before we knew it, we were back on our feet, joining hands and forming a circle with the Greek dancers. It was a lot like our night in Olympia, except this time we were squeezed into a much smaller space, which somehow made the whole thing even more chaotic and fun. It was really nice to experience Greek culture once again, and made me appreciate how music could bring us together even when we come from completely different places.