Let me say I am super proud of myself for writing this blog just a little more than a month after the trip.

This trip felt very once in a lifetime and so having these memories documented means so much. The opportunity to go seems like it randomly fell into my lap but also completely planned and coordinated.

Two things really contributed to me wanting to go.

Around last Christmas, I started reading the Bible differently. I tried instead of viewing everything I read as, “How can I apply this my life?” I began trying to simply view it as truth and history because I realized sometimes I hear a Bible story and almost equate it to fairytale. These places I read about just seemed so far off.

Around the same time I picked up a guide book to Europe at the Library and read the whole thing. I became obsessed with the idea of going. As a kid (and because of Harry Potter) I really wanted to go to London and would read coffee table books on it. But this time I was really hooked on the idea. I am pretty sure I drove Tyler crazy talking about different places I wanted to go and quizzing him on his past trips. But because of time off and just how life goes I pretty much reserved myself to not being able to go for a few years.

Fast forward a couple of months and my mom starts talking about how she wants to go on this trip but she can’t find a travel buddy. The focus of the trip was “Journeys of Paul,” and visiting sites that he went in Greece and Italy. Obviously, I volunteered.

From there the decision to go and making plans happened pretty quick. Luckily, my passport was valid.

We started in Sicily and Syracuse. Looking back at this day, I think a combination of jet leg and disbelief that I was actually finally in Europe was in full gear because if I didn’t have these pictures or my notes from that day I doubt I would remember much at all. I do remember trying to explain the color of the water to Tyler. It’s unreal. Even at at sea says the blue was bright and pretty. The prettiest water I have seen in the Caribbean has more of a green or light emerald color but this water is just blue and it was beautiful.

We took a really nice bus to Syracuse but the road was so bumpy I hit my stairs goal on my Garmin twice on the ride there. This was also where I realized how tired I was because the terrain was very hilly/mountainous and we went through several tunnels. I don’t know how long any of these tunnels were ( I don’t think very long at all ) because whenever we would come out I would wake up, having not even realized I was dozing off.

I was excited about that little blue boat in the middle named, “Giorgia.”

These are obviously some old ruins I wish I remembered more about them but it’s all foggy… I guess Paul might have gone there?

Not gonna lie. I had no idea what a “catacomb” was even as we were walking up to it. I found out they are underground passage ways and burial grounds. They were very neat and several degrees cooler than the outside so that may have made us linger a little. The history there and how extensive the passageways were was very neat. We only walked a very small portion and about half way through someone else in the group told me I wasn’t supposed to be taking pictures but I had already taken a lot by then.

We had a day at sea in between Sicily and Mykonos so the morning we pulled up to port in Mykonos I had adjusted to the time change and woke up ready to go. I sat up in bed that morning and looked out the window and saw we were close but not stopped I grabbed my camera and ran up to the deck.

It became of my favorite quiet memories of the trip besides a few cruise workers on their smoke breaks I was the only person the deck.

Once on the island, Mykonos really lives up the hype Instagram sets up for it. It’s painted white (we were told for disinfectant purposes, I need to Google how that works) with pops of color in the perfect places.

Mykonos is known for its windmills, apparently people pay more to live in those than the houses.

I don’t drink soda anymore but I found a Dr. Pepper on a Greek island so I got it and it was 100% worth the sugar crash later. I also couldn’t find anymore while I was in Greece. I am sure they had them but I was clearly looking in the wrong places.

We ended with gelato, which was great but Greek gelato I would soon find out was overshadowed by Italian gelato by a lot but still great.

Also if anyone goes to Mykonos and sees those little Mykonos Christmas villages, get me one because come Christmas time I will seriously be regretting not getting it.

My goal is actually blog this whole trip so hopefully Rhodes and Santorini will be next week!