Nafplio:

Nafplio is a bustling little port city that was the capital of Greece for about five years after they gained independence in 1829. This place was really cute. We didn't really go to the modern city section. We stayed toward the port, but there are all sorts of cafes and shops for us to explore. The people are so unbelievably friendly. I have yet to meet a Greek person who gets upset with you for not knowing much Greek.

In Nafplio there is a fortress called Palamidi and it's on the top of a mountain. It was a huge military stronghold for the Turks during the Greek War of Independence and it took the Greeks several years to win it over. Well, we climb over 900 stairs to get to this fortress and let me tell you if I did that every day, I would be in the best shape of my life! It is freaking insane! Take a look:

It was an amazing trip and a great way to end our orientation.

Delphi:

In case you didn't know, Delphi is an important site in history because it was where the Greek god Apollo's oracle was. If you ever go to Delphi, I highly advise going in the warmer months. It's up in the mountains and it gets COLD! The little bitty three-street town that makes up the modern city of Delphi is like being stuck in a wind tunnel. Other than the fact that there was nonstop wind and the sun never made an appearance, it was actually a good trip. We got to see the Archaeological Museum (complete with the statue of the charioteer, one of the few surviving bronze statues from ancient times), the Sanctuary of Apollo, the Treasury of the Athenians, the Gymnasium, the Temple to Athena (which is further down the mountain than Apollo's). We didn't make it to Pan's cave because it was something along the lines of a 40-minute walk up the mountain in the cold... I think I'll pass on that little adventure.

I have to admit my favorite part about the entire trip was going to one of the two clubs on Delphi. I'm not much a party person, but I love to dance and I hadn't been dancing since I had gotten to Greece, so I was anxious to check out the Greek club scene. Pretty much all 40 of us who were on the trip decided to go out the same night. It was a lot of fun to dance and here the mixture of American music and Greek. The best part about the whole night was the other patrons of the club. Allow me to set it up:

The club doesn't open until midnight. So around 12:15 my little group of friends headed two blocks from our hotel to the club called "Downtown." Wow, original. Anyway, we got there and the place was moderately full. We found a couple of other people from our program and danced with them in a big American clump. It was not until I went to get something to drink that I realized that there were two distinct groups of Greek people in the club as well. There was the group of 40- to 50-year-old "adults" standing along the wall, sitting at the bar and in the lounge area who were not dancing, not drinking, just watching the people on the dance floor. So I switched my gaze to my fellow dancers and found myself looking at multiple groups of 12- to15-year-old kids ... what?

Here we were, 30 to 40 American college students dancing in the same club as 30 to 40 Greek teenagers and the kids' parents are at the club with them! I have never felt so watched in my entire life. Could you possibly imagine going to a club, getting your groove on, with your mom watching from across the room? Yeah ... no. I think I'll pass on that one, too.