The purpose for this blog is so that I can keep a travel journey and doing so will keep my family and friends up to date with my travels. I plan to update it at least every other day or so while I have steady internet connection in Athens and Rome. With Syracuse, though, there are no guarantees! Also, if anyone would like for me to send them a postcard from any of the locations I will be visiting, send me your address in a Facebook message or in an email at rmstitt@crimson.ua.edu. My planned itinerary is as follows:
May 29: Departure Philadelphia airport at 4:20 PM for Athens, Greece.
May 30: Arrive in Athens at 9:10 AM (1:10 AM EST). I’ll proceed to my apartment which is located in the Pangrati district, on the eastside of Athens. Later that evening at 6 PM, there will be an orientation dinner at the Arcadia center.
May 31-June 17: 3 week program on the Archaeology of Ancient Athens
June 4-5: I am hoping to meet up with the AL in Greece folks, who will be in Athens during this weekend. Since the tornado abruptly ended my last semester at Alabama, it will be nice to see everyone one last time and say goodbye. Also, I plan on hitting up a few of the Athenian museums which are not part of the itinerary, such as the Byzantine, Cycladic Art or Numismatic museums.
June 11-12: My second free weekend in Athens will not be spent in Athens. I plan on taking a ferry from Piraeus to Heraklio, Crete (about 8 hours) to see the ruins of the ancient Minoan palace at Knossos and explore the archaeological museum as well. Afterwards, I will catch a ferry from Crete to Santorini for a day and then catch a ferry back to Piraeus. I had so much fun on the island of Santorini last summer that I must go back, albeit for a day!
June 17-29: 2 week program on the Archaeology of Ancient Rome
June 18-19: Although this is a Classical program, there is no way I could go to Rome and not see Vatican City, arguably housing some of the most iconic buildings and artwork of western civilization. Thus, I have scheduled myself to be part of a group tour of the churches and museum at 9:30 AM, which eliminates the two-hour long lines!! The rest of the free weekend will be spent taking in the glory that was Renaissance Rome and viewing some of the Roman museums not on the itinerary, such as the National Museum of Rome and National Etruscan Museum.
June 25-26: My second free weekend in Rome will be spent throughout Campania. First, I’ll arrive at Naples via train to visit the archaeological museum which houses the remains of Pompeii and Herculaneum…and also to enjoy the birthplace of Pizza! Then, I will visit to the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, which and eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD has preserved, giving us a glimpse into Roman city structures. Also, I will climb up Mt. Vesuvius (an active volcano) and peer over the Bay of Naples. Then, I will visit the ancient site of Paestum, which has some of the oldest and well-preserved Greek temples. Finally, I will catch a train back to Rome.
June 30 – July 23: 3 week program on the archaeology of Ancient Sicily
July 23-26: My independent travel continues, as I head back to Campania to spend a few days on the beautiful island of Capri and explore Naples a bit further.
July 27: I leave Naples at 6:40 AM to Munich, Germany, where I will have a 4 hour layover and then arrive in Philadelphia at approximately 3:30 PM EST
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