27 Years Ago

I spent most of the summer of 1979 in Europe, traveling the continent with a tour group called American-European Student Union (AESU). We arrived in London on 16 June, stayed there a few days and then headed out across the continent. I kept a journal throughout the trip. Here's the entry recorded 27 years ago today:

11 July (Wednesday): Day 25
Thessaloniki, Greece – Delphi, Greece
JOURNAL:
This morning I was a little late for breakfast. Finally on the road but no stations have gas. We run out of gasoline in the country outside Thessaloniki, but coast to a station, also out. We are near the sea, so I take a walk. . . . After several more tries and donations of 15-120 liters, finally had enough to make lunch and Aegean Sea (actually an inlet of Mediterranean). Here we swam and played Frisbee for about 45 mins.; then ate a large lunch with watermelon and then swam with Frisbee for 1½ hrs. We left and rode through beautiful countryside, winding roads climbing up out of the plains (remember the fortress on hill overlooking sea). Tolkien must have been here for many of his descriptions; it was really undescribable. Huge mountains rising tall, rugged and sheer out of the plains. Only bushes (80 million olive trees) grow on them and most show almost half solid rock.
NOTES: Rooming with Joe in #3 Delphi, Greece
Tonight walked streets, went to shops and finally back to hotel to rest
We arrived in Delphi, Greece just before sundown

I was 20 years old and in Europe for the summer!

If you'd like to read more about the trip, here are a couple of links. The first will take you to a basic description of the trip; the second leads to my day-by-day journal.

http://faculty.etsu.edu/codym/autobiography.htm#SumrAbrd_text
http://faculty.etsu.edu/codym/auto_AESUjournal.htm

NWT 244.0