At my school they call them Dream Trips and a dream it was. Seventeen people from my school were going to fly to Rome, Italy. Then with thirteen days we would see major historical sites. Pompeii was amazing while the ferry to Greece left me a little sick. In Olympia we ran the race then that night we partied on the beach. Those thirteen days we did things we would have never done, saw things that were printed in our history books, and I lived the dream that I had always dreamed of, but there was one day that was as sweet as a summer cherry and that was our last day in Athens.
We were all tiered but our tour guide was determined to show us to the perfect spot in Athens, Greece. As we walked down the alley ways each of us picked places to remember to come back to for our last minute souvenir shopping needs. “I want that shirt,” one of the girls in the back said.

“Look at that purse,” the girls next to her pointed out in another store as the guide rushed us out of the alley and into an open courtyard like place.

“Alright family,” as well as being our guide he insisted that we were a family as well and he was our uncle. “We have made it to this beautiful place. Now remember there are places to eat right up that street then the flea market is behind us. Well enjoy your day and I will see you at five!” Those words were the sweet words of freedom. The eight people that I usually hung out with during the entire trip gathered around in a little circle.

“I need food!” Victoria one of three seniors that came on the trip said. I don’t think there was one person there that didn’t agree with her. It was three in the afternoon and the last time we had eaten was eight in the morning, but between then we walked around the Acropolis and took an hour tram ride where most of us had to stand. We went back up the street that had all the restaurants. Tall, lean, Greek men stood on the side of streets beckoning us to come and sit. We sat down and stared at the menu.

I was sitting with the menu in my hand and almost knowing what I want but not too sure when David came leaned down and asked me “Do you want to get out of here? I found a better place right up the street,” at first I was a little afraid of going and leaving the group but I knew between mine and David’s sense of directions we could get our way back.

“Let’s go,” we left the other six people sitting at the table. We went back to the little courtyard where our guide took us. In the courtyard we bought some Gyros and they were wonderful. We sat on this bench by beautiful pink flowers with a bag of cherries that David bought from the street vendor that had many different colored fruits. As we sat there two little Greek girls came around playing their accordions. David was sweet to them and gave them cherries. They were really cute as they bit around the seed in the cherry.

It has been a month since the cherry day in Athens but I can still taste the sweetness of each cherry I ate that day and I can still hear the laughter of the little girls as they played and chatted. This trip will always be in my memory some spots may stick out more than others but the cherry day in Athens will always stick out the most.