The Cherry Trek: Athens

June 29, 2016

athens travel photos on film by charlottesville photographer amy nicole photogrpahy

Where do I even begin.

It’s hard to believe that I’m sitting in my office in Charlottesville curating these posts from #TheCherryTrek. This trip was on our hearts for over four years, and we’ve already been back for a month and a half.

The last couple of months have been a whirlwind with moving, unpacking, packing, commuting, apartment searching, moving to Charlottesville and getting a hang of life.

I daydream about this trip often, and love going back to favorite little parts on our trip. I didn’t bring my DSLR on this trip, only a couple film cameras and my Fuji X-E1 for fun personal photos, and it was the best decision I think I’ve ever made. These film photographs take me back instantly. To the sights, the smells, the breeze, the temperature, the colors, and how we felt.

This trip truly was a trip of a lifetime. It was years in the making and it was every bit of challenging and beautiful that you may expect. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing posts from our trip broken down into each leg of the trip.

First stop, Athens.

We arrived in Athens and our driver from Welcome Pickups met us promptly and drove us into the main city. Athens was unlike anything we expected. It had such urban beauty among ancient ruins. You couldn’t help but dream about who had walked the steps you were walking and what life was like at the Acropolis. We grew up reading about Greek history, and to actually experience it was truly a treat. Jeremy and I both love a bit of great history, and I’m endlessly inspired by architecture, which this city was full of.

We only had two days in Athens, but we packed it full. The weather was a beautiful 70 degrees, so after each historical site, we’d simply roam the streets to see the life amongst the windy pathways. Our AirBNB was in Monastiraki Square, where ancient and urban meet head on. We ate juicy gyros while watching kids run around a man creating giant bubbles (as you’ll see below). People were in and out of the square constantly, during all hours of the day and night. The streets were filled with restaurant owners begging you to come inside, along with street vendors begging you to buy a quirky toy that you know ends up in the nearby trashcan only a few days later.

The acropolis lit up at night, which could be seen from the square. The train ran right near the square, right in between an alley of modern, local restaurants and Ancient Agora. An H&M stood on the corner near a church in the center of the street that was thousands of years old. Some streets were pavement and some streets were stone. You could feel the age of Athens while seeing the tension with endless graffiti. There were school field trips of teenagers running around ancient ruins, which simply made me laugh that this was no big deal to them.

Our stay in Athens was short and sweet, but so full  since we knew we had limited time. We finished our last night off with one of my favorite desserts of the trip at Lukumades  – basically warm donuts topped with endless options. We chose fudge and oreo ice cream with pistachios – talk about indulgent.

Enjoy a few favorite photographs below, and if you’d like to see more behind-the-scenes photos throughout the blog posts, you can see more at The Cherry Trek gallery where I’ll be sharing more!

 

Have you been keeping up with #TheCherryTrek? Missed a post? See all parts of our trip here:

 Santorini // Rome // Cinque Terre // Lauterbrunnen // Paris

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Hello, I'm Amy! I'm known for my spunk, wild curls and endless love for all things nostalgic. Here you'll find a glimpse into my work and my world. Don't be a stranger, I'd love to hear from you!

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