Athens: tourist day

Last night, we went to the ALBA business school at American College to listen to a talk from the CEO of the National Bank of Greece. It was interesting to sit in a room filled with business school students from Athens.  Overall, the CEO seemed more optimistic about Greece's current situation, but the Greek students didn't seem to agree when we spoke with them in the lobby after the presentation. 

Later that evening, Jenny and I explored the neighborhood near our hotel. It sort of reminds me of Rockport with all the boutiques and restaurant.  We split an appetizer (balsamic mushrooms), a salad and penne with chicken and bacon.  The view of the acropolis from our table was so pretty.  We then visited a pharmacy to pick up some cough syrup for Jenny.  Pharmacies in Europe are like little mini Sephoras. We had fun playing around with the different Greek cosmetics and bought facial treatments to do before bed.  We're so wild and crazy. Haha 

This morning, we drove to the acropolis, where we slowly walked to the top to see the Parthenon.  Standing so closely to such old old buildings was so cool. If only it weren't for the renovations, it would have been perfect.  Our tour guide, Lula, was awfully long winded, but very enthusiastic. Jenny and I also spent some time with our professor who pointed out a bomb shelter on the top of this hill from World War II. Being in Athens really reminds you as an American that your country is so young.  I've heard Londoners say "There are buildings on my street that are older than your entire country."  Since I have been volunteering this school year and studying American History with a high school junior, I get a renewed perspective on the World Wars.  It's been a nice refresher but also helps me see these places I'm visiting and studying in school differently.  The weather was perfect today. Apollo has clearly rewarded us with sunshine. 

Before lunch, we visited the National Archeological Museum. It is smaller than I anticipated and at this point a lot of the antiquities are starting to look the same.  There was a beautiful contemporary mosaic exhibit in the courtyard. Also, the temporary exhibit was about a ship wreck that had been uncovered a while ago.  It was a cargo ship from 220ish BCE carrying lots of antiquities.  Some of the sculptures had been partially stuck in there bed and had eroded unevenly.  There was also an exhibit about a mechanism they uncovered and how they have spent decades just trying to figure out all it does. It seems to be a astrological predictor of some sort and there were plenty of fun posters about gears.  

We had lunch in the Plaka neighborhood where we ate last night and then were released for the afternoon.  Jenny and I sauntered around, visiting various shops. We stopped for coffee and Greek frozen yogurt for a bit.  After bumping into some people from our trip, we discovered that the Greek air traffic controllers are planning to strike tomorrow and a lot of people from our trip are getting stuck in Athens for an extra day. We should be fine by Saturday though.  There are worse places to be stuck for a day. 

Right now we are relaxing by the pool before heading out to our farewell dinner. Tomorrow we are on our own and plan to see more of Athens.  

Photo: Jenny and me at the Parthenon 

Friday....

This morning we visited Bilim ilaç, a pharmaceutical company based on the Asian side of Istanbul. (Note: I thought we were staying on the Asian side, but we are staying in Europe.) As you probably already know, I love love love factory tours. The initial presentation was interesting and the General Manager met with us to discuss Bilim's many awards and its company values. They really focus on employee satisfaction and high quality. After the presentation and some tea and pastries, we were on our way.

The GMP manager (good manufacturing practices) was our tour guide. I was immediately excited because I knew he would be able to answer my uber nerd questions. We were first given a tour of the labs. They test stability (shelf life, etc) in one lab and analyze the overall composition in the other. Then it was time to suit up into our clean room suits (hair nets, tyvek suits and booties). I was surprised to see a lack of safety glasses in the factory, but didn't get a chance to ask why. We got to see where powders became pills, capsules were opened to be filled, and several of the packaging steps. I was like a toddler in an aquarium, pressing my face up against the glass looking at anything and everything. I'm a little amazed I didn't get in trouble for getting too close at times. I did get to ask some geeky questions that I'm sure none of you care about, so I will spare you. What is really really cool is that they have a completely automated warehouse. The computer program knows where's everything is and stores/picks using robotics and bar code scanners. Since there are only machines, there is no workplace accidents. After our tour, we were treated to lunch in the cafeteria. The employees are all given lunch everyday, as one of their perks.

Fun facts:
Bilim ilaç was founded in 1953 and is a family business
It is the fastest growing pharmaceutical company. but only the 3rd largest right now in Turkey
7.1% of all prescriptions written in Turkey are filled with Bilim ilaç products

After the site visit, we returned to the old city piece of Istanbul and visited the Grand Bazaar. It was way more of a labyrinth than the spice bazaar but clearly a major tourist destination. I managed to pick up a few gifts and then we were late to meet our group because we got horribly lost.

This evening, we went to the Akbank art and cultural center near Taksim square for a NU alumni reception. It was really interesting to talk to some fellow Huskies. Our professor presented a short PowerPoint about NU's growth in the last few decades. We're a much bigger deal than we were in the 80s. I spoke to some of my fellow engineering alums and I am happy to report that 2/5 were female.

This evening, Jenny and I split a pizza and now are playing in the lobby on our respective devices. Tomorrow is more sight seeing!!

Note: having trouble getting my iPhone and iPad to share pictures. I'm working on it!

A tower, a spice bazaar and a bath house.

Our program isn't scheduled to start until tomorrow so we had the day to explore Istanbul.

We started with breakfast in the hotel which was very good. Luckily, I like Greek yogurt. After a quick game plan session and a room reassignment, we were on our way. We decided to walk the city armed with paper maps instead of navigating public transportation. I am starting to experience iPhone and GPS withdrawals, but I feel like this will be a healthy cleanse for me.

We are staying in Taksim square which is on the Asian side of Istanbul. We headed toward the Bosphorus and stopped at the Galata tower. We paid to take the elevator to the top and took several pictures. It was a great way to see the city from up high. After playing in that neighborhood for a bit, we crossed the Galata bridge to head to the Spice Bazaar.

We arrived on the other side of the river around lunch time and found that we were again met with several initiations to eat. Us girls are getting much better at saying no. One guy even tried to block us from walking past, but I didn't have to push him, thankfully. Personal space is definitely different in Turkey. I'm almost getting used to having strangers in my personal bubble. Almost. We ate at what I would describe as a sidewalk cafe. I had an awesome lamb wrap. Jenny and Alyssa both had grilled chicken and Ayran drinks. It's like a yogurt smoothie. After eating, we explored the Spice Bazaar and purchased a few gifts for our families.

In the bazaar, we got to experience the wonder of Turkish public toilets. Each visit costs 1 Turkish Lire, less than 50 cents. We visited several of these "WC" places today. In the women's bathrooms, there are a mix of western toilets and toilets that are really just holes in the floor that flush. As a semi-experienced former Girl Scout and as a former Boston college student, I was pleased with how my squatting skills have come in handy in my adulthood. Most of these restrooms are pretty gross, not going to lie.

After the bazaar, we wandered to a park on the south end of the European side of Istanbul. The park had a lovely tiered cafe overlooking the Bosphorus. where we had tea and got to rest for a few minutes.

After a walk in the park, we trekked through the city to find the bathhouse we had scouted out the evening before online. I'm blanking on the name right now, but its almost 12:30am here. The bathhouse was an experience. For about 85 lire, we got a traditional bath and a clay face mask. The traditional bath involves lying on a large marble platform in a semi-steam room. When it is your turn, a Turkish woman will call you over to the edge for your bath. I should mention, that we are all lying around on small tablecloths wearing disposable bikini bottoms.....and that's it. The bathhouse is segregated by gender so you sort of pretend to not be embarrassed until you've seen so much nipple, that you forget it's unusual. The actual bath was interesting. You get a full body exfoliation, and then a bit of a massage. After, you are led to a sink and your new Turkish grandmother is washing your hair and rinsing you off with a bowl. You finish by soaking in the hot tubs, without supervision. The clay mask came after and it was amazing. My skin feels very soft and clean.

After the Çemerlitas bathhouse, we took a train across the river and ate dinner near the Galata tower. I had some amazing spaghetti bolognese. We cabbed it back to the hotel, and here we are. I got to Skype with Mom and Jeff for a minute, in case anyone is worried I have a ghost writer and have been kidnapped. Nope, I'm alive and well!!

Tomorrow the program starts, I expect less adventure but am excited nonetheless. Good night!!

Photos: Jenny & I at Galata Tower, the bathhouse from the train station, A selfie from the cafe in the park