The next morning, we said our goodbyes to Poros and hopped on a speed boat to Athens. The ride took about 1.5 hours to reach the port of Athens where we met a bus that took us straight to the Acropolis. Our Athens guide was waiting for us, and we got our “whisper guide” headsets and our tickets. I was so excited - seeing the Acropolis had been on my bucket list forever. The tour was amazing, and we even got to drive around Athens with stops at the First Olympic Stadium and the Temple of Zeus. We dropped off our luggage at the hotel around 1 pm, and everyone set out to get some lunch during our last bit of free time.

Our hotel was super close to the center of Athens in Monastiraki Square, so I also did some final souvenir shopping at the markets. I decided to spend a little bit of time packing up my suitcase for the journey home the next day, before meeting the group in the hotel lobby for our final evening program. We had dinner at a taverna in the Plaka district with live music and traditional Greek dancers – some of us even participated. It was such a good time, and we definitely got a lot of laughs out of it. After dinner the group all met on the rooftop of our hotel which had an amazing view of the Acropolis lit up. At the end of the trip, we gave our tour director a thank-you card and pooled our tips to show appreciation for all the staff’s hard work. This turned into a moment full of hugs, happy tears, and emotional goodbyes. After 17 days and over 3,000 miles across Europe, it was wild to realize the trip was actually over. It was honestly the best time of my life. I came home with hundreds of photos, a million unforgettable memories, and 30+ new best friends. If I could do it every summer, I totally would!