quick greetings from Athens

Hello all,

We are in Athens and we definitely have mixed feelings about this city. On one hand, with all the history, it's very cool. However, the reality is that it is smelly, crowded, full of stray animals, and thus a bit gross, to be honest. It's easy to romanticize a place like Athens, but that's calling it like we see it.

Switzerland was amazing and we had a difficult time leaving. We spent some time way up high in the Alps and it was the best day of the trip thus far. We had fun with our friend Elly, who was the most unbelievably hospitable hostess EVER. We had some good chats, excellent food (fondue, pasta, and chocolate), and it was nice to be hanging out with someone with we know and also nice to not have to stay in a dorm with strangers. The Swiss people are awesome, the cities are beautiful, the Alps were incredible, the trains were on time and clean, and therefore Schweiz gets our vote as our "adopted European homeland".

Venice was really cool to see, but far too crowded and "touristy". The throngs of people, the pigeons, the cost, and the smell made this our vote, along with Prague, as "Most Overrated City in Europe". Athens will probably make the grade in that department as well, though Caitlin says it has too much cool stuff to see to be as overrated as the other two. We thought parts of Venice were so cool, including the fact that it is a city on 118 islands in a lagoon, but we could not wait to get out of there. Matt kind of feels the same way about Athens, but has had a great day wandering around the Acropolis and Agora as well as enjoying fine Greek beer at the hostel's bar. We miss you all very much and think about you each and very day. It's amazing how traveling abroad makes you appreciate where you're from, you know. Canada is amazing, especially Victoria and our loved ones! Hope this finds you well! Cheers...