Cultural trip to Athens, Greece

That time has once again arrived. That time of year when the college take the art block on an exciting cultural trip to a historical, artistic beautiful country. This time of year comes where it brings the students together and treats gives us the pleasure to explore art in a different country. This years place of choice was Athens, Greece.When I first heard this I had no up or down feelings as I had no idea what to expect as I have never looked into the history of Greece.
On 10th February the day had arrived. The bus to pick us up from the college had arrived at 2:00am. I remember this vividly as I felt exhausted then had a long kip on the bus journey.
When we finally arrived in Athens, I remember being amused by the view and architecture. Compared to my last college trip to Venice, this felt more like a holiday as the sun was shining.
The atmosphere was filled with excitement and luxury. When arriving I was put in a room with the first years. At first I felt awkward about this as I hadn't yet spoke to them but I knew I knew we would get on just fine. It was a time to get to know others and make new friends. After packing our bags we went to explore the restaurants. When doing this I first realised how dangerous the city actually is as there are wide roads and skinny pavements with not enough traffic lights and too much motorbikes. Before going off on our own we were warned to keep our bags to our sides and locked up as the place is known for people pickpocketing. After being told this I felt paranoid and uncomfortable walking the streets.
My group and I headed off to our first restaurant and had a whale of time. Although  we felt pulled in by the restaurant waiter we later on appreciated it. Reasons being as we were served delicious cheap food with white wine and the luxury to be aloud to smoke inside. My group and I are heavy smokers so this came as a delight to us.

As my journey went on I felt more amused by Greece as I walked past a number of sculptures, graffiti and architecture. The weather also made everyone's mood rise. We walked for miles up hills to explore museums and the see the view of Athens, Greece.

Lycabettus Hill

Walking up this hill was surprisingly a thrill. We walked for miles and felt our legs weakening but there was not one moment where I felt regret. I felt high appreciation towards this walk as I was amused by view and what was seen on the journey up. The picture below shows a row full of caterpillars we had come across. We were fascinated by these caterpillars that were walking in a row one behind the other in singular line as if they were on a march. The higher I got the more pleasurable the experience. 

War Museum 

"The fun is over"

The third day had come and we all had just come back from visiting the war museum and the contemporary museum. I remember enjoying this day as I fell in love the contemporary art and afterwards had free time to  hit the city centre and visit markets.This is an important part of the journey to me as I get to show others at home how much I'm thinking of them when I'm away. It's always a great gesture!

We were on the way to the tube and I was waiting on the escalator. I got my camera out of my bag as I thought the view looking up of the escalator would look interesting. The very moment this picture was being taken I got pick pocketed. I caught the man who I think was Greek, I confronted him as a friend of mine actually witnessed his actions. I remember my feelings vividly. I was in shock and so was everyone around me. I got angry but speechless over how to react to it. Before I knew it the guy had ran off in the other direction. At this point I felt on edge, the most angry I had ever felt. "the fun is over" I thought. I've had my wallet with my money and debit card stolen. What am I suppose to do on holiday with no money?!
My group had decided for us to pros pone the markets to another day. I felt guilty for spoiling what we had planned. At this point I had realised how important it is exactly to keep your bag closed at all times and I mean ALL times.
Hours later when we were back at the hotel, my tutors had come into the rescue. They spoke it over with me, cheered me up and lent me money for the rest of the trip.They also helped me call home and cancel out my card.
I knew from there on out that I would be extra safe for the journeys ahead.

 The Theatre of Dionysus stands
2,500 years old

Walking on up to the Acropolis I came across and ancient Greek theatre. 

The Acropolis

Before we got to Athens I I had no idea about what exactly the Acropolis was and what the storey is behind it. I knew there was a great historical storey to do with the Greek Gods, but that was all. I was fascinated when I read on a sign on the way up that this building is a temple where the Greeks use to go to worship the biggest ancient Greek gods such as Hades, the King of the Underworld.I was fascinated by what I had heard and It felt an honour to visit such a great historical building. I was a slight disappointed about how this day went as the weather was picking down with rain. This way we was unable stick to our original routine and draw outside in our sketchbooks.