Mamma Mia!

When I was younger, my aunt Angie and I would dance around the kitchen table to Mamma Mia, alternating between a wooden spoon and a broom as our microphone. Since I was young, I loved Mamma Mia. How cliché and basic is it of me to say Mamma Mia was a contribution to why I chose to study abroad in Greece? Well, it was a big reason why I came. My mom also loves Mamma Mia. She saw it on Broadway eight times. Yes, eight times. Our goal was to go to Greece together and explore the Mamma Mia island. Finally, we did.

Two months too long, my mom finally came to visit. I took the metro and met her at her hotel in downtown Athens. Of course, we both teared up and cried a bit. I showed her around downtown Athens and took her to a few of my favorite places. For the weekend of October 18, our Mamma Mia journey began. We took a taxi to Volos, stayed the night there, and took a ferry to the island of Skopelos (the Mamma Mia island) the next morning.

Skopelos is very pretty and I imagine it to be very popular during the on season. The weekend we went there wasn't many people there and there were about three stores open near our Airbnb.We dedicated a day to visiting all of the Mamma Mia sites. We visited Agnontas beach where they shot the song Does Your Mother Know and also Kastani beach, where they shot the song Lay All Your Love on Me. While we were spending some time at Kastani beach, a few girls came after us blasting the song, Lay All Your Love on Me. Although these beaches were pretty deserted and a tad cold, it was so exciting to see the beaches where these scenes were shot. The beaches were beautiful and very picturesque. I felt like I was in the movie. And personally, I also enjoy visiting places where certain movies or tv shows were shot so the fact that I was where Mamma Mia was filmed, was a whole new level of excitement and appreciation.

That same day, we went to visit the Mamma Mia church. It’s set up on a cliff, overlooking the ocean. It’s very high up, but only about 199 steps to get to the top. But the stairway up was slightly nerve-wracking. At the top of the cliff is the church, some benches, a Greek flagpole, and a tree with a bell and different hair ties, ribbons, and locks hooked onto it. Of course, we had to ring the bell, leave a hair tie on the tree, and sign our names in the book inside the church.


Skopelos was another thing to mark off my bucket list. I definitely plan on returning to Skopelos during the on season at another point in my lifetime. Being able to see the Mamma Mia island with my mamma [mia] was a dream come true. Oh, and of course I bought a wooden spoon that was made on Skopelos island!
At Kastani Beach.
Me and my mom at the top of the Mamma Mia church.





Mamma Mia church



Kastani Beach




Agnontas Beach
My mom ringing the bell at the church.


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