périgord

our final excursion of the year! a four hour bus ride south took us to a lovely historic part of france that you just don't find up near paris. everything was so springy and green! i hope you enjoy...

this little streetside garden in périgueux became the perfect spot for afternoon ice cream.

the entrance to the breathtaking gardens of eyrignac.

the hedges were unbelievable...

...with an occasional pop of red chinoiserie. until my camera died, i was in heaven!

the beautifully preserved medieval village of sarlat.

we arrived just in time for the saturday market!

approaching the château de beynac.

views from the château. aren't they extraordinary?

the hillside town of rocamadour.

a baby goat (born that day!) at the chèvrerie/fromagerie we visited. he was too cute for words.

the view from inside the cave of padirac. very alice in wonderland, wouldn't you say?

périgord is a truly lovely region of france unlike any other i've had the chance to see in my time here. it was the perfect way to round out my five months with bucknell en france!

greece

how to sum up our time in greece? my friend valerie says this: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times... the best being our time spent in the sun on the greek islands of ios and santorini, the worst being the lingering feeling of insecurity in athens and the volcanic eruption that left us stranded there for four extra days. i think athens is a place i'll be happy to say i've been to, if only to have seen the parthenon and the first olympic stadium, but not a city i'd care to return to anytime soon. the islands, however... take me back to santorini, please! our trip went like this, so you can follow along: two days in athens, five days in ios with a day trip to santorini, and then five more days in athens.

anyone who knows me will not be surprised that our first stop in athens was this two-story starbucks. my mom would be proud!

michael and i with the acropolis behind us. excuse the crazy hair!

awesome view of athens from the hill next to the parthenon. how cool is it that you can see the clouds casting shadows over certain neighborhoods?

an ancient ampitheater.

admiring ancient ruins at the acropolis.

michael and i in front of the parthenon.

renovations on the parthenon.

the stadium where the first olympic games were held in 1896.

arriving in ios — just another day in paradise. i swear i have dozens of versions of this exact same shot...

realizing just how far out the farout beach club was.

one of my favorite pictures from our whole trip. i could (and did) stare at that view every night!

our humble abode.

watching the sun set on mylopotas beach in front of our hotel.

michael taking a break on our ATV.

sailboats on mylopotas beach.

saying good bye to ios for a day trip to santorini.

a whitewashed church on the hilltop.

how beautiful is this?!

michael enjoying the view from a cliff in santorini.

riding my baby donkey up the hill. how cute is he?!

yet another pretty sunset on mylopotas beach back on ios.

michael skipping rocks at the gorgeous beach we found during our second day of ATVing.

the awesome view from our ATV.

valerie speeds by a herd of cows.

goats along the roadside.

terraced hills that remind me of something out of south america.

pretty greek orthodox church in ios.

a student demonstration in syntagma square back in athens.

police armed with riot shields to quiet the demonstration.

greek parliament.

the fascinating changing of the guards ceremony in front of parliament. please note the pom-poms on their shoes!

the view of the acropolis from our hotel room on our last night.