Wow, it's been a long time since I wrote the last one. Or at least it seems like it!

Florence was really nice. Good shopping, good art. The Duomo was really cool. Our last couple of days in Rome were amazing too. We made friends with this hilarious guy from China who just kept talking about how he tore his ligament and how everyone was biased against him because he was Chinese. We met some cool Australian people too. Then Troy came to meet us and we went to Venice, which was one of the biggest productions of my life. We took an 8-hour train, and we ate peaches, and while I was eating mine a giant worm came out, which was the most horrifying experience of my life. Then the train stoppedin the middle of nowhere and the conductor said, this train is stopping, the new one is over there, it leaves in three minutes, and everyone was screaming and we were throwing our four massive 60-pound suitcases off the platform and running to the other train, and we jumped on it just as it was leaving, then it took about an hour to find the hotel. Totally worth it though. I don't know why people don't like Venice. It's like a dream. Everything is old, it was sort of cloudy and sad, like this great old place that is literally just rotting and sinking and smelling like algae but it's so beautiful. We met up with Jessie from EF and her friend Vana, and we went to this great bar with bras hanging from the ceiling (?) and then took a gondola ride in the POURING rain, which was really gorgeous and hilarious at the same time. We went shopping too, Venice is amazing shopping. I got in a fight with a street vendor, which was awesome. I've been good with the money so far, but everything is crazy expensive.

The night before we left Venice, Vicky said, guys, tomorrow (the trip to Greece), is going to be the worst day of our lives.

IT WAS.

We didn't sleep all night, then we got up at 5am, walked with our suitcases (I have two 50lb ones) for an HOUR over cobblestones and through pigeons and over a MILLION bridges while the sun was coming up. Then we were like all sweaty and whiny and we took a bus to the airport, and our flight was cancelled (obviously) so we all slept on the floor for a while and ate bread. Then I went to check my suitcases, and it turns out that you can bring two suitcases from the US, but within Europe, you can only check one or else it's $250 per flight ($750 total). So I started crying on purpose (I know, I am a jerk) and the guy waived my fee, but now I have to figure out which half of my clothes to throw out before we leave Athens. We got here okay though, and it is AMAZING. Athens is the best place in the world. Everyone is so healthy and happy and relaxed, and all we do is eat amazing food and everything is cheap, which is good. We're leaving for Ios tomorrow.

Everything is amazing. We are going to the Parthenon now, so I've got to go.

Miss everybody.