Greece Trip 2012

Photo and Story from The Coronet Athens and the Aegean 2012 

Every year an international trip is offered to the Bishop Kearney student body. This year, 21 students were lucky enough to travel to the beautiful country of Greece. This ten day trip began on April 5^th and lasted until the 14^th.

After an hour flight out of Rochester and a nine and a half hour flight out of JFK Airport, the students and chaperones finally landed in Athens Greece. Though a little tired from the long flight, everyone was ready to get started with the tour.  The first four days of the tour featured the many sights that Athens, Greece has to offer. The Acropolis, the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena, the museum, and the Parliament are just a few of the sights that were highlighted in the tour. A guided sightseeing tour to Delphi was one of the highlights of the trip which took place on one of the four days in Athens. This tour was three hours from Athens, and completely worth the long ride. The ride there was filled with winding roads and narrow streets through mountains and small towns. Delphi is one of the most prominent archeological sites in Greece which dates back to the 4^th century B.C.

This once in a lifetime trip also featured six of Greece’s most beautiful islands on a four day Aegean Cruise. First, the ship cruised to Mykonos where the travelers enjoyed the shopping and sights that the island had to offer. The white was buildings with blue trim left the travelers with no doubt that Mykonos Island was one of Greece’s most picturesque islands. Next, the ship docked at Kusadasi, Turkey where some of the students took part in an excursion to Ancient Ephesus while the others enjoyed the many shops.  Those who went to Ancient Ephesus were in for quite a treat. The ancient ruins were quite a sight and everyone was able to walk through the ruins, take pictures, and take in the beautiful scenery. After Kusadasi, the next island was the very small island of Patmos. This was a short yet satisfying visit for the students who returned back to the ship because of the cold and rainy weather. Next, the ship docked at the island of Rhodes. Here, the students and chaperones were able to do a great deal of shopping as well as eat at little restaurants and cafes. The next island that the cruise featured was the largest of the Grecian islands named Crete. The travelers shopped for a few hours and then returned to the ship ready for the most anticipated destination on the cruise, Santorini. Everyone has seen the pictures of the white wash buildings with the blue domes. This is what everyone expected and that’s exactly what they got. Though some students stayed on the island and ventured through the towns and shops themselves, others went on an excursion to the volcano and hot water springs. This excursion was filled with the beautiful sights of the island and the surrounding water by foot and also by sailboat. For most, this was not only the most anticipated, but also the favorite island.

After the cruise ended, the travelers spent the last day of the tour in Athens. A sightseeing tour and some last minute shopping wrapped up the trip. This experience is surely something that no one will ever forget.