DAY    1           DEPARTURE FROM CHICAGO (OR MILWAUKEE)
Enjoy full meal service on your scheduled wide-bodied flight to Greece. The cradle of Western Civilization, Greece is a land where the glories of antiquity blend with a vibrant modern culture to form a fascinating mixture of the old and the new. 

DAY    2           ARRIVE IN THESSALONIKI (2 NIGHTS)
We will be met at the airport by our Tour Manager/Guide, board our own private coach and transfer to our hotel. Then we will enjoy a walking tour along Aristotelous Square and walk east past the White Tower towards the bright lights of the city's amusement park at the other end of the promenade.  In Roman times, Saint Paul visited Thessaloniki preaching the new Christian religion, and later addressed his two well-known epistles to the Christians of Thessaloniki, and the area was home to many Byzantine churches.

DAY    3           DAY TRIP TO KAVALA AND PHILIPPI
Today we will visit both Kavala and Philippi.  Kavala, the prefect’s capital, is one of the most attractive of Greece’s largest cities, rising like an amphitheater from the beautiful harbor up to a huge Byzantine fortress.  We will enjoy a Walking Tour up to Profitis Ilias to admire the panoramic view over the city continuing on to the old district with its quaint streets, shops, and old building.  St Paul landed here while en route to Philippi.  The afternoon brings us to Philippi, the city visited by Paul in 50 AD.  Accompanied by Silas, Timothy, and Luke, Paul brought the gospel to the small Jewish community of women who gathered at the river west of the city for Sabbath.  We will take a guided tour of the Excavations including the well preserved Forum, ThePhilippian Jail that once held Saint Paul; and the Egnatian Way, the main road between Byzantium and the Adriatic Ports that Saint Paul traveled on spreading the Christian faith. We return to Thessaloniki for the night.

DAY    4           THESSALONIKI - VERINA - VERGINA -
                          KALAMBAKA (1 NIGHT)
This morning we take a Walking Tour of Thessaloniki where Paul wrote his letter to the Thessalonians.  We will see the massive Walls of Theodossius and the famous White Tower along with the Agora, the Arch of Galerious and visit the Basilica St Dimitrios.  We continue to the nearby village of Vergina where we will explore the excavation sites of the Royal Tombs of King Philip, Alexander the Great's father, and the Macedonian Tombs, underground chambered structures known for their ornate decorations.  This afternoon we will visit Verina to see the Byzantine Mosaic commemorating Paul's preaching.  Our day continues as we drive through the Valley of the Tempe and past Mt Olympus to our hotel in the Kalambaka area for the evening.

DAY    5           KALAMBAKA - METEORA - DELPHI (1 NIGHT)
This morning we will make an early start and journey into northern Greece to visit Meteora, which means “suspended rocks.”  We will begin with a visit St Stephen’s Monastery, believed to have been founded in about 1400 by St Antonius Cantacuzene.  The monastery faced many trials during World War II and the subsequent Civil War and became a nunnery in 1961. Our day continues as we visit Megalo Meteoro, the first and highest monastery founded in the region.  We will also explore Varlaam and its magnificent church; Katholikon, featuring beautiful frescoes; and Rousanou, the most spectacularly located of all the monasteries.  We will travel to Delphi on the southern slope of Mt. Parnassus, which towers 2,457 meters over the Gulf of Corinth.

DAY    6           DELPHI - ATHENS (3 NIGHTS)
Today we depart early for Ancient Delphi, which was one of the most sacred spots in the Greek world.  Its setting is dramatic, a natural amphitheater that faces the sea and lies under the shadow of Mt. Parnassus.   At the center of Delphi stands the Sanctuary of Apollo, for many centuries antiquity’s largest center of pilgrimage. Our exploration of ancient Delphi will include: a walk up the Sacred Way, which winds up the hill to the Temple; the treasury buildings of the various ancient city-states; and the spectacular ruins of the Doric Temple of Apollo, the home of the Pythia, the oracle who would deliver the prophecies of the gods. After exploring the sacred site, we will visit the Delphi Museum, with a collection of sculptures and architectural remains of an importance second only to those of the Athenian Acropolis. We continue in to Athens for the evening.

DAY    7           ATHENS
Our morning commences with a visit to the Acropolis, which has dominated the skyline of Athens for over 2,000 years. A citadel was built on the rock in Mycenaean times, and was the first of a series of temples that honored Athena, the city’s divine patroness.  In 480 BC the Persians captured the Acropolis, and the Athenian leader Pericles rebuilt the site according to his plan of unsurpassed beauty and grandeur. During our tour of the Acropolis, we will view: the Propylaia, the monumental entrance to the complex; the Temple of Athena Nike; the Parthenon, the temple to Athena which crowns the Acropolis; the Erectheion, dedicated to Poseidon and Athena; and the Theater of Herodes Atticus, originally built in AD 161.  Our time on the Acropolis concludes with a visit to the Acropolis Museum, featuring a superb collection of treasures excavated from the area.  Our day continues as we view Hadrian’s Arch, an enormous triumphal arch built by the Roman Emperor, which is still a symbolic entrance to Athens.  The Temple of Olympian Zeus is the largest temple in Athens, and we will get a sense of its enormous size on our visit when we view the 15 columns that remain of the original 104.  We will also see Areopagos Hill where St Paul delivered his first sermon and gained his first convert.  This evening we will explore and dine in the lively Plaka District, the historic heart of Athens.

DAY    8           DAY TRIP TO CORINTH
We depart early this morning for Corinth, one of the largest and most prosperous cities in ancient Greece and a site that Saint Paul visited in 52 AD.  In Ancient Corinth we will view the ruins of the Temple of Apollo, the most striking structure in the city. We will also see the Temple of Octavia, dedicated to the sister of Emperor Augustus, and The Bema (platform) where Saint Paul was accused of sacrilege by the Corinthians.  Our afternoon will consist of a visit to the second part of Corinth, a site known as the Acrocorinth, outside of the main city.   We will explore the remains of the huge rock fortress, which could withstand lengthy sieges due to the upper Peirene spring on the southeast side of the ramparts, and enjoy one of the most sweeping views in all of Greece.  Our panoramic views stretch over 35 miles in all directions, from the Geraneia range in the northeast to the peaks of the Ziria in the southwest. We return to Athens for the evening.  

DAY    9           DEPARTURE FROM ATHENS
Our enjoyable and rewarding tour will come to an end as our guide accompanies us to the airport for the return flight home.