You have all pretty much summed up the entire trip. I don't think anybody that went last year or this year can say they didn't enjoy the different cultures and most importantly, Professor Ryan's accompany. I have never traveled to Europe before and this Olympic Odyssey trip really made me broaden my horizons. The different foods, getting lost in every country with Olivia, and spending my last moments with Syracuse University abroad: these will always be the memories that I will never forget about SU. It has brought me day and nights of laughter, a bit of tears, and an experience that I will never forget. We stepped foot on the grounds of the Ancient Games, the very first Olympics to the recent modern stadiums to the upcoming 2012 London games. Wow! Just typing this made me realize how elaborate and meaningful our trip was.
The meetings that we had with Mike Gillespie at Faraday House in London, Paul Deighton, the CEO of LOCOG, WADA, Timo Lumme, the VP of IOC of Marketing, Christine Moy, Head of Broadcasting Unit and James Moy, the Manager of Business Development and lastly Robert Pitt, our tour guide in Greece. There are a few people that I left out but they won’t be forgotten because they all made a special impact on this trip.
Not a lot of people can say that they traveled four different countries in three weeks. And not a lot of people can say that they have met any of these people in their lives. I am very honored and glad that I signed up for this trip. Being able to experience something like this will be a lifetime remembrance. Although my first intentions were just to travel to Europe and let this opportunity be an excuse but it really made me learn and respect the Olympic Games. I am excited for the 2012 London Games and hopefully with my background knowledge, I will potentially work for the Olympics in the future.
While everyone look through our three-week excursion, I hope everyone thinks about each moment and realize how unbelievable the experience was. With that being said, I am still going to transfer to Penn State but I will never forget that Syracuse was my first home.
Angelis
Monday, June 7, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Reflection
I can't believe I'm finally home and the trip is over! I had so much fun on this trip and I couldn't have gone with a better group of people. I've learned so much about myself and I feel like I can travel anywhere in the world now. I'm still not sure how I got through France and Switzerland with only knowing two words of french but we made it. I've come home with a lot of knowledge of different cultures and of course a lot of souvenirs. I don't think I'll ever forget this trip, not that my 1200 pictures won't help or anything :). Now when the question comes up in class about how many people have gone out of the country besides Canada I can finally raise my hand!!
As for my favorite moments and quotes:
-" hey do you know how to do this"- P. Ryan
-"you can marry my son and work in my restaurant"- Greece restaurant owner
-"this is SOOO good"- Kelsey
- "this place is bangin!!" - Ashley
-"Pause"- Olivia
-"I've left a man behind before, I'm not afraid to leave a man behind"- P. Ryan
-"hey joe you should be waldo for halloween" (me).." yea and all he has to do is not show up anywhere"- Ashley
-" Ouucchhyy"-me
-P.Ryan and Ashley at the swimming pool in Olympia***
-jumping the train in Paris, just to find out that the train stopped
- the IOC and London 2012 meeting!
-Paris- Eiffel tower, Notre Dame, boat ride
- British Museum
-Ouchy Lausanne!
-the last dinner in Athens
I can go on for days, there was so many good moments. We definitely went out with a bang at the last dinner. I'm going to miss everyone and I hope you all have a great summer. Good luck
<3 NikK
As for my favorite moments and quotes:
-" hey do you know how to do this"- P. Ryan
-"you can marry my son and work in my restaurant"- Greece restaurant owner
-"this is SOOO good"- Kelsey
- "this place is bangin!!" - Ashley
-"Pause"- Olivia
-"I've left a man behind before, I'm not afraid to leave a man behind"- P. Ryan
-"hey joe you should be waldo for halloween" (me).." yea and all he has to do is not show up anywhere"- Ashley
-" Ouucchhyy"-me
-P.Ryan and Ashley at the swimming pool in Olympia***
-jumping the train in Paris, just to find out that the train stopped
- the IOC and London 2012 meeting!
-Paris- Eiffel tower, Notre Dame, boat ride
- British Museum
-Ouchy Lausanne!
-the last dinner in Athens
I can go on for days, there was so many good moments. We definitely went out with a bang at the last dinner. I'm going to miss everyone and I hope you all have a great summer. Good luck
<3 NikK
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Post Trip Blog
Alright, so the trip is over and it feels weird to be home. I'm glad everyone made it home safely and hope they got a lot of sleep because I did. don't really know what to blog about, so I'm just going to talk about a couple good times and quotes that made my trip and hopefully I don't tear up too much.
Favorite Moments
-Wembley Stadium
-Ice Bar in London
-British Museum
-Louvre Museum in France (security incident, but also the art)
-Eiffel Tower boat ride (47 pictures Kelsey has a good pic)
-Hotel Pool in Olympia (mainly Ashley swimming and Mr. Ryan's cannon ball)
-Cab Ride from Ministry of Sound (don't hate me, it was funny)
-Last Dinner in Greece (Nicole almost getting married)
Favorite Quotes from Favorite Teacher- love you Mr. Ryan
"Do you know how to do this or should we keep doing it?"
"Freakin' French"
"If you just listen, you'll understand"
"Brandon, Brandon, BRANDON"
"Stop looking at the dogs, they'll be here for thousands of years, but you won't"
But, seriously this was such a great experience, I don't even know how to describe in words and Mr. Ryan thank you so much and I hope you had as much fun as we did. And everyone else, I'm glad I got to spend those 3 weeks with you and getting to know you a little. I know I made this the best 3 weeks of your lives, so your welcome. Have a good summer!
Peace, Love, XsOs, <3, :)
-Brandon Brandon BRANDON Rollins
Favorite Moments
-Wembley Stadium
-Ice Bar in London
-British Museum
-Louvre Museum in France (security incident, but also the art)
-Eiffel Tower boat ride (47 pictures Kelsey has a good pic)
-Hotel Pool in Olympia (mainly Ashley swimming and Mr. Ryan's cannon ball)
-Cab Ride from Ministry of Sound (don't hate me, it was funny)
-Last Dinner in Greece (Nicole almost getting married)
Favorite Quotes from Favorite Teacher- love you Mr. Ryan
"Do you know how to do this or should we keep doing it?"
"Freakin' French"
"If you just listen, you'll understand"
"Brandon, Brandon, BRANDON"
"Stop looking at the dogs, they'll be here for thousands of years, but you won't"
But, seriously this was such a great experience, I don't even know how to describe in words and Mr. Ryan thank you so much and I hope you had as much fun as we did. And everyone else, I'm glad I got to spend those 3 weeks with you and getting to know you a little. I know I made this the best 3 weeks of your lives, so your welcome. Have a good summer!
Peace, Love, XsOs, <3, :)
-Brandon Brandon BRANDON Rollins
Friday, June 4, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Couple Days in Athens
Today we had to take the bus from Olympia back to Athens which would have been nice and relaxing ride if Eric and I weren’t feeling a tad bit sick from the juice we had the night before. After the long and torturous bus ride, we arrived and the first thing Mr. Ryan said to us when we were getting off the bus was that the pick pocketing was very popular in Athens right now and to definitely not leave something for a second because it wouldn’t be there anymore. Athens was definitely a little different from the other countries we had traveled to. We made it to the hotel with all our wallets and bags and after a short rest we walked to Marble Stadium where previous Olympics had been held. After an exciting photo shoot, we walked through a market to find dinner. We also made a new friend, a dog that followed us around for 10 minutes, even though I wasn’t allowed to look at it. The market had so restaurants and stores with every person walking up to you and telling you that was the place to eat. We settled on a place with good food and free wine on the house. Mr. Ryan ordered for all of us and got a lot of appetizers. The dinner was delicious, but the table had so much food by the time the main course came to the table we were all full.
The next day we took a bus ride with our tour guide Elsa to the 2004 Athens Olympic Park. We were lucky enough to go on a day when the Special Olympics were being held, so we got to witness a couple races. The stadium was really nice holding 75,000 seats and we also really enjoyed the DJ playing some familiar songs.
After a lunch break, we went with Robert to the new Acropolis museum. After the museum, we climbed up to the top of Acropolis. It was beautiful up there and we got a great view of the whole city and “hills” behind the city. After that, we were free for the rest of the day so a couple of us went to famous Gyro restaurant that was delicious. One of the waiters really loved us and gave us free wine and dessert. It was a really good day especially the gyros.
The next day we took a bus ride with our tour guide Elsa to the 2004 Athens Olympic Park. We were lucky enough to go on a day when the Special Olympics were being held, so we got to witness a couple races. The stadium was really nice holding 75,000 seats and we also really enjoyed the DJ playing some familiar songs.
After a lunch break, we went with Robert to the new Acropolis museum. After the museum, we climbed up to the top of Acropolis. It was beautiful up there and we got a great view of the whole city and “hills” behind the city. After that, we were free for the rest of the day so a couple of us went to famous Gyro restaurant that was delicious. One of the waiters really loved us and gave us free wine and dessert. It was a really good day especially the gyros.
The End is Near
Well, it's sad to say, but tomorrow we are heading home =(
I can't even begin to explain how happy I am that I decided to come on this trip. I feel like I have grown so much as a person. I've tried lots of new things and opened up to new people. Best of all, I have experienced more in the past three weeks then most people will get the chance to in their life. This trip truly has been a once in a lifetime opportunity.
While Greece has been no Switzerland for me, I have had a lot of fun here. Seeing Olympia, the site of the Ancient Olympic Games was amazing. And even though there was just a bunch of fallen rocks and you had to use your imagination, it gave me the chills to walk through the tunnel into the ancient stadium and stand on the starting blocks.
Getting to spend the afternoon in the pool in Olympia was incredible despite everyone making fun of my swimming and Professor Ryan's cannonball made my trip!
The bus ride back to Athens was incredibly long, but much safer than the trip there. Robert made our driver, Hercules, take a flatter path than straight down the mountain!! Pulling into downtown Athens was interesting...we saw a giant protest going on and I was ready to leave before we got there!
During our stay in Athens, we have gotten to see the Zappion, named after Evangelis Zappas who created his own version of the Olympics before Coubertin. We also saw the 1896 and 2004 Olympic stadiums. It was really cool to see the contrast between the two.
My favorite part was definitely climbing up the Acropolis to see the Parthenon. The view was incredible. We even got to stand on the rock where St. Paul preached.
Tonight we had our last dinner together and it was a riot as usual. We ate so much and laughed even more. I'm really going to miss these three hour dinners...I guess I'm going to have to learn to eat slower at home!
Hoping for safe travels,
Ashley
I can't even begin to explain how happy I am that I decided to come on this trip. I feel like I have grown so much as a person. I've tried lots of new things and opened up to new people. Best of all, I have experienced more in the past three weeks then most people will get the chance to in their life. This trip truly has been a once in a lifetime opportunity.
While Greece has been no Switzerland for me, I have had a lot of fun here. Seeing Olympia, the site of the Ancient Olympic Games was amazing. And even though there was just a bunch of fallen rocks and you had to use your imagination, it gave me the chills to walk through the tunnel into the ancient stadium and stand on the starting blocks.
Getting to spend the afternoon in the pool in Olympia was incredible despite everyone making fun of my swimming and Professor Ryan's cannonball made my trip!
The bus ride back to Athens was incredibly long, but much safer than the trip there. Robert made our driver, Hercules, take a flatter path than straight down the mountain!! Pulling into downtown Athens was interesting...we saw a giant protest going on and I was ready to leave before we got there!
During our stay in Athens, we have gotten to see the Zappion, named after Evangelis Zappas who created his own version of the Olympics before Coubertin. We also saw the 1896 and 2004 Olympic stadiums. It was really cool to see the contrast between the two.
My favorite part was definitely climbing up the Acropolis to see the Parthenon. The view was incredible. We even got to stand on the rock where St. Paul preached.
Tonight we had our last dinner together and it was a riot as usual. We ate so much and laughed even more. I'm really going to miss these three hour dinners...I guess I'm going to have to learn to eat slower at home!
Hoping for safe travels,
Ashley
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Its all greek to me...
Alright so today was our first full day in Athens, we did great things. We first woke up, ate greek breakfast and then met our tour guide/translator Elsa and headed out to the 2004 Athens Olympic Park. When we walked up we heard music and found ourselves walking into the athletes entrance for the Special Olympic Games that were being held at the main stadium. It was pretty cool and we most definetly were into the games and music-the piano interlude was fantastic and we learned some valuable information from Elsa via the stadium tour guide. The stadium holds 75,00 seats and was used as the main stadium for the 2004 games and the roof covers 70% of the spectators.
After the stadium we headed out to see the basketball and tennis facilities and the aquatic center. We also saw the market place center where restuarants, shops and whatnot where held during the games. We also saw a giant white board that Elsa told us projected the games. The board showed what was going on in the stadium and displayed the athletes in over-life size. After a quick loop around the park in our van we headed back to the hotel and split for lunch/mid day break. The girls went to some of the shops and some of us ended up eating at a greek all you can eat buffet for cheap- definetly took advantage of that.
After lunch we met back up with Robert and headed out to the new Acropolis museum. It housed many of the artificats that were from the original Acropolis and Robert told us about many things, especially from the Parthenon, but since we were "British archeaology students" we actually knew most of it...false we did not. We were british students in order to get in and Robert told us all about the original intent of the Acropolis and explained what each building was used for. After the museum Robert took us up to climb to the top of the Acropolis. After the trek up we saw and learned about the Parthenon, the Erechteum and the Acropolis in general. It was a great experience and truly amazing to see. Its one thing to read about the Parthenon and how tall the Acropolis is above the city but to experience it is a totally different thing.
We were then free for dinner and 5 of us headed to the infamous gyro place in the corner of the square. We made a couple of friends at the restuaruant who provided us with entertainment and we enjoyed some amazing gyros. We then got up to leave but the waiter told us to sit and he brought us some free greek desserts. It was a great place and I highly highly recommend it. All in all, a great day.
-Kelsey
After the stadium we headed out to see the basketball and tennis facilities and the aquatic center. We also saw the market place center where restuarants, shops and whatnot where held during the games. We also saw a giant white board that Elsa told us projected the games. The board showed what was going on in the stadium and displayed the athletes in over-life size. After a quick loop around the park in our van we headed back to the hotel and split for lunch/mid day break. The girls went to some of the shops and some of us ended up eating at a greek all you can eat buffet for cheap- definetly took advantage of that.
After lunch we met back up with Robert and headed out to the new Acropolis museum. It housed many of the artificats that were from the original Acropolis and Robert told us about many things, especially from the Parthenon, but since we were "British archeaology students" we actually knew most of it...false we did not. We were british students in order to get in and Robert told us all about the original intent of the Acropolis and explained what each building was used for. After the museum Robert took us up to climb to the top of the Acropolis. After the trek up we saw and learned about the Parthenon, the Erechteum and the Acropolis in general. It was a great experience and truly amazing to see. Its one thing to read about the Parthenon and how tall the Acropolis is above the city but to experience it is a totally different thing.
We were then free for dinner and 5 of us headed to the infamous gyro place in the corner of the square. We made a couple of friends at the restuaruant who provided us with entertainment and we enjoyed some amazing gyros. We then got up to leave but the waiter told us to sit and he brought us some free greek desserts. It was a great place and I highly highly recommend it. All in all, a great day.
-Kelsey
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