Gorgeous Greece and new beginnings!

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Hi there everyone, it is time for a Sarah update! I know it's been quite a while since my last blog but I have people to see, places to go! Well, sort of, but enough excuses; I have a lot of adventures to talk about.

So first off, my family trip to Greece was spectacular and I am devastated that it was over so quickly. Spending 10 glorious days in the sun was such a blessing after such a horrible cold and rainy summer in Ireland, plus seeing my family after 6 months of being away didn't hurt either. We spent one and a half days in Athens and then the rest of the time on the lovely island of Crete. I have to say, while I definitely would not pick Greece as my home, it has been one of my favorite places to visit so far! I think I will be back for sure to check out some of the other islands like Santorini and Corfu.

Athens was a bit mad; cars and people and houses all on top of one another and there didn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to any of it. Driving in Greece initially made me absolutely nauseous, but once I saw how well these people could drive in manic conditions, it was surprising how comfortable you become with treating winding two-lane roads as four lanes. So words cannot even describe how fantastic the ruins in Athens are! The profound feeling of standing at the foot of the Acropolis, beholding the advanced genius of our founders of civilization is unbelievable. I thought that I'd feel tarnished by the fact that there are so many modern buildings surrounding these ancient sites and that they literally stick out like sore thumbs amongst the skyscrapers and apartment complexes but they maintain a feeling of a sort of holy, sacrosanct ground that is untouched. We spent hours just marvelling at the beautiful architecture; the Parthenon, Nike's Temple, the almost perfectly preserved Agora and the monstrous Temple of Zeus. We also go to see the refurbished stadium where the very first Olympics was held and that for me was one of the highlights; it was very inspiring.

One of the best parts was a short drive up North to see the Temple of Poseidon. Strangely enough, this one is by far my favorite and you'll see why from the pictures! It sits isolated on the top of this cliff, with nothing else around it but a magnificent view of the ocean. The marble is still almost pristine white and with the blazing blue sky all around it made for some impressive pictures. After a crazy day, we then headed off to Crete on a ferry. The week spent over there was fantastic; we stayed in this amazing villa with it's own infinity pool overlooking the bay and got to see some pretty amazing sights. We saw the impressive ruins of the Palace of Knossos, Gortys, Venetian palaces/leper colonies, as well as artifact museums and some of the most breathtaking scenery I think I've ever seen in my life. It was such an amazing trip; the food was spectacular, the weather was hot and lovely and I came back refreshed and ready to keep moving on in Ireland.

So much has happened in the past few weeks and life is starting to get interesting for me again at the 6 month mark. My job is ending in two weeks so I will definitely have a bit more instability that way, as well I just moved into my new house yesterday! It's so beautiful and in this really nice suburban area of Dublin, so I feel much more settled and relaxed here. A lot of my friends have gone back to Canada/Australia and I am especially going to miss my bff Colleen and my lovely French roommate Pauline!! 😊 On the plus side, I am going to Paris in two weeks for the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert (YAY!) and a spectacular three week tour around Europe at the end of October. After that, my life is an open book so it will be exciting to see where these adventures take me on my last leg of my European stay. I'll keep you updated on all of the goings-on and I miss and love all of you so much! God bless my family and I can't wait to see you all when I come home! With love,

xoxo Sarah

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