YIA SOU ATHENS!

a view of Acropolis from the city

The view of Athens from the Acropolis

The Parthenon

A side street in Athens

"Athens, the eye of Greece, Mother of Arts and Eloquence"
John Milton

Athens is one of my favorite cities of all time in the world. It is just the environment that gets to me. For me, Athens has the perfect combination of everything: history, archaeology, entertainment, sports, etc. I cannot describe how I fell in love with Athens. The best shopping district is the Attica, which consists of a couple of streets of cute boutiques whose styles cannot be found anywhere else. Another thing I love about Athens, or rather all of Europe, is that the main method of transportation is by foot. Only a short walk away from the center of Greece's capital is the Acropolis. Acropolis means a city on edge in Greek. Well, that's true in Athens' case since standing on top of the Acropolis, you can see the entire city. There is also an acropolis in many other cities, yet Athens' differentiates itself as it has many buildings still standing and its Parthenon (shrine to Athena, Athens' goddess/protector) is the largest. Also, what is there not to love about Greek food. Sure, I understand, Greek Salad can get old at times, I mean the feta cheese, the tomato, the cucumber, but still that is just the starter of the meal. Who has not heard of baklava? Olives are also a specialty to Greece. Athens is in the perfect location. It is only two hours away from Delphi ( Apollo's city), and a boat ride away from the Greek Islands. Athens is one city you definitely want to visit.

Yasou!

NI HAO BEIJING!

BEIJING WELCOMES YOU!

The Forbidden Palace

The Great Wall of China

So where do I start about the last home of the Summer Olympics? Beijing, also known as Peking, is the capital of China. Since the climate changes year round, Autumn is the perfect time to jet off to China for a great vacation. In the heart of Beijing lies the Forbidden City, the palace that was the home of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Outside the Forbidden City, there are some imperial gardens. Only a ride away from Beijing is the Great Wall of China, a wonder of the world. This border was put up to prevent invasions. Therefore, it is 4,000 miles long. A must do when you go to China: Have a traditional hotpot meal. I know what you are thinking, a hotpot, what in the world is that? It's not complicated. You have a pot of hot water boiling at the table, you order the food you would like to eat, decide how spicy you want to make the water, and boil the food! Easy as 123. China's capital also has a lot of culture to offer, don't miss out on Beijing.


Zai Jian!