To the Homes of the Gods - Known and Unknown

Dear diary,

Today was A Day.

When I say A Day, I mean it was hilarious, riveting, and full of love. We climbed yet more stairs, ate more good food, and laughed until we cried.

To start the day off, we headed to the Acropolis which houses the Parthenon. On our walk there we saw beautiful flowers, cats, and street art. It finally satisfied my Mama Mia/Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants fantasy of white walls and beautiful overflowing gardens. Once we arrived at the Acropolis we were greeted by swarms of tourists. While this was initially intimidating, it proved for wonderous people watching. The buildings we saw were huge. I found it especially ironic that despite the ancient history and how long the buildings had been there, they hadn’t quite finished construction.

However, the scaffolding didn’t completely obscure my view of what I found to be my favorite building. One building (**I would insert the name here if the wifi was working and I could do a quick web search but hopefully my description will aid your own research**) caught my attention particularly because it was first used to worship Athena, then Mary, and sometime between, before, or after (again, don’t have wifi, my apologies) housed all of the emperor’s wives. (just informed – it is in fact, THE Parthenon) (enjoy researching) I think I found it so enthralling because it is charged with feminine energy, contributing to my search for a reason “why” I am on this pilgrimage and my search for my own icons to worship/study.

After a quick rest back at the hostel (with a side of window shopping to indulge my inner tourist), I headed to Mars Hill, the “temple of the unknown god.” There, the Rev. Sarah, and Wonder Voyage leader Eric led us in a “lectio divina,” or a spiritual exercise to interpret (Saint Paul’s) scripture. I connected with the phrase: “[God] does not live in shrines made by man-” and interpreted it to mean that the beauty of nature is divine. I have been surrounded by nature on this trip: wildflowers, old trees, mountains, fresh herbs, seas- and realized on Mars Hill that being connected with nature is another way of connecting with God. On this pilgrimage I have realized that relationships with spirituality are different for every person, and God presents themselves all around us.

After we descended Mars Hill, we made our way back into downtown Athens and browsed around the stores for a while. Dresses, magnets, figurines, and other fun souvenirs were bought by all. It was fun to meander and chat after a hot day of walking.

Our dinner was at Acropol, a local restaurant just a block or two from the hostel. After many meals filled with delicious, but rich Greek meat, I ordered a Caesar salad. Varieties of pasta were enjoyed by others at my table. To our delight, after many meals of plain bread appetizers, we finally received bread with olive oil and vinegar. Many laughs and good conversations were had over this meal, and it was a fun environment in the town square.

Our server was an elderly Greek man who was very attentive and kind, so I decided to give him one of the gifts I had made for pilgrimage (a beaded keychain). After presenting him with the gift, he cracked the biggest smile and pulled me into a hug. He asked for my name, shared that his was Peter, and said that my group of fellow pilgrims and I were wonderful company. In return for my gift, he picked some basil growing in the restaurant garden and tucked it into my hair- a reminder of our connection that I wore for the rest of the night.

Dinner was followed with a repeat visit to the ice cream shop from the previous night, with additional tasters of the traditional “Bagoutsa” flavor (vanilla and cinnamon) Carrie tried previously. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews and will be very much missed when we leave.

I ended my night with an interesting encounter concerning a leaky shower and a lack of towels in the hostel (thankfully this was resolved)- which led to a funny storytelling experience shared with all of the girls on the third floor. As our laughter echoed through the hallway, we joyfully ended another day in Greece.

 

Xoxo,

Madeleine, Marissa, and Catherine