On Sunday April 20th I said goodbye to my parents and then took a train from Venice to Rome to meet my friends: Petey (BC), Erin, Kirstin, Chris and Miller who are all students at the University of South Carolina but are currently studying at Dauphine in Paris with me. Then we flew to Athens, Greece! The next day, we took an early ferry to Mykonos and checked in at Paradise Beach Resort! It has been my life long dream to see Greece and the trip was even more fantastic than I imagined.
The first day (Tuesday), we spent the day on the beach! The water was cold but I loved it! The beach we stayed at was attached to our hotel- it was perfect. There were bars, food stands, and wifi on the beach!
The next day (Wednesday), we rented ATVs for the day and explored the island of Mykonos. Everyone knows that I am not the world’s best driver so I was usually on the back of the bike but I didn’t mind because it was more scenic! For lunch we stopped at a quaint and amazing seafood place near the water. Then for dinner we rode the ATVs into town and watched the sunset from a cliff above the town.
The following day (Thursday) we took a morning ferry from Mykonos to Santorini and then spent the afternoon on the black beach in Perissa!
Friday was my favorite day of the trip. In the morning I relaxed on the beach and finished my book: The Paris Wife, which is about Ernest Hemingway’s first wife Hadley and their life in Paris. During the afternoon we took the bus from our hotel near the beach to one of the towns called Thira. Then we embarked on a four hour-long hike from Thira to Oia, which is on the end of the island and ideal for watching the sunset. The hike took us a long time because we often took detours and stopped for photo opportunities (one of them being the top of a Greek church)! When we arrived in Oia we were tired but made it with plenty of time to see the sunset! There are no words that I could use to describe its beauty.
After a good night of sleep, we spent the morning on Saturday in the town. I have never had a pedicure in my life but I treated myself to a fish pedicure! The feeling was bizarre but my feet were silky smooth after! Then we ate gyros for lunch and boarded an eight hour-long ferry ride from Santorini to Athens.
On Sunday we spent the day in Athens, saw the Acropolis, and ate a lot of meat! After a long spring break of traveling, everyone was happy to get back home to Paris on Monday.
Although I love Paris and I wish that I could stay in the city forever, I am so fortunate to be able to travel and explore while living here. After arriving home on Monday, I traveled to Amsterdam for the weekend on Thursday and then spent the week in Barcelona! My time in Europe is almost up and I am trying to fit in as much as I can. As my host mom says: Il faut bien profiter d’habiter en Europe.
Bisous à tous,
Hannah
La vie de "French Hannah" 