20K and a Year Away

I had an amazing trip. I can say the arid, dry climate put me off the islands in the Aegean, but I did go in July with temperatures already in the 100s. That’s on me. I will go in June next time…

Let’s start at the beginning. I got to Athens Wednesday, July 5. I was super tired because of the overnight flight and the generally long day of travel. I managed to get to my Airbnb on the metro with no trouble. It was great. I love the metro and urban trains. It is so easy to get anywhere. Driving in that city would have probably driven me bonkers.

I laid down for a little bit then hit the grocery store on the corner to get water and snacks. I was dreading all of this because my Greek is so basic I didn’t even want to try it. The exchange was simple, though, scan the groceries, show the price, scan the card, done. The most verbal interaction I had was with the guy in the produce area who had to weigh everything before you took it to the cash register. He said the fruits and veggies I got out loud like a vocabulary class. It was very nice of him. He even marked my bananas as oranges, at an extreme discount, wink wink.

I got all situated in my little apartment and started plotting out my days. I planned to meet Panos in the evening and go sightseeing in the main square, Monastiraki, grab some traditional food, and then hit a rooftop bar to see the Acropolis at night.

The next day, I had planned to go to the National Library and see what else was around. I walked forever. It was blazing hot outside and I was looking for every piece of shade I could find. My sunscreen was being put to the test!

I walked until I saw something new then walked in another direction. It was so hot. I was so sweaty. It was like a battle between needing to see all the cool stuff and needing to find shade and something cold to drink, or ice cream – always the better option. I saw so much. Eventually, I was too hot and decided to use the metro as a cooling station. I hopped on and rode it all the way to the port town of Piraeus, one of the world’s busiest ports. It was a 45-minute ride in air conditioning! I got out and walked all over again. The mission was twofold. I wanted to see the port, but I also wanted to scope out where I would be going to catch the ferry to the islands on Sunday. I finished walking around and, just as I was heading back into the subway, a lady with a bag of cold iced tea samples handed me a bottle. All my needs were met. haha! See, the metro is always a good idea.

On the 7th, I went to the Acropolis. I had purchased tickets online to avoid a line, so, of course, the line for people with tickets was longer than the line to buy tickets. I got tickets for 8am because of the heat. It was supposed to be around 102F that day. It was already warm enough to start sweating at 8am. It was an amazing day. I was up there for a few hours. There were tons of people. When I walked down, the line to get in had grown to over three blocks long! Holy! Glad I went early.

I also visited the Acropolis Museum. It was interesting. I did something I never do while I was there. I got an iced cappuccino. That’s how hot it was. It drove me to drink cold coffee! With a great view! I then hopped back on the metro and went to the National Archeological Museum. So much to see!

On Saturday, I did some random walking around and found myself on the metro again, this time heading to the mall. I didn’t need a mall, but I thought it would be interesting to see how different a mall in Greece was compared to one at home. Let’s just say there is no difference. There were all the usual suspects, H&M, Zara, Clair’s, Famous Footwear, etc. There were a few Greek stores, of course, but I can safely say a mall is a mall no matter where you go.

And that brings us to Sunday! Sunday was the day I headed to Paros on the high-speed ferry. I decided I wanted to experience the ferry at least once in my Greek adventure. I opted for the high-speed one because I did not want to spend all day on the ferry just to have the experience. 3 hours was going to be plenty! It turned into 4 hours because an engine blew halfway there! Oh, well. What can you do?

Paros was dry and hot, but the beaches were great and the little towns around the island had lively entertainment. Some of them were not my kind of entertainment – loud and obnoxious – but it was entertaining nonetheless. Panos came with me to the island and it was great that he did. I had my own language and culture interpreter everywhere I went. Ok, I admit I did not do as well as I could have using Greek. I wasn’t avoiding it, really, I swear, just absorbing my surroundings. Eventually, he told all the waiters that I was there to practice and the pressure was on. They did not relent! I did half ok. Or maybe a little better than half? One thing that I had joked with Panos about before leaving home was that I had English and Spanish, what else does one need?!? Really. HA!

We were able to go to Antiparos for a day and Naxos for another day. Panos drove the whole time. I would have been good driving out in the open areas, but once you get into a town, the driving takes on a whole other attitude. It feels a little like a cage match. A funny conversation I had with Panos was about actually stopping at stop signs. I said we do that in the US and he said, “Even when you see no one is coming?” Ah, Greece. I would have caused an accident just following traffic laws.

The islands in the Aegean are all dry and hot. For whatever reason, I did not realize this until I started planning this trip. Every movie I have seen about Greece features lush and green islands surrounded by impossibly blue water. The water was absolutely amazing. Clear. Clean. Bluuuuue. The climate, not so much. It was an incredible week there, regardless of the scrub grass and cacti.

The week flew by and we flew back to Athens on Friday. It was really nice being able to hang out with Panos in real life there, rather than on the screen. I think my vacation was even better because I got to visit with a good friend, and bonus, a friend who speaks the language and can show me around the country. That language exchange turned out to be a huge benefit for me, well, except I did not excel in the language part – HAHAHA! I am still committed to learning Greek for my next trip out there. No, really. Quit laughing. I am serious.

The flight from Paros was delayed, of course. After we got to Athens, Panos went home and I went to the airport train station to find my next apartment. This one was right next to the downtown train station because I had to catch the 8am train to Kalambaka to visit Meteora. I only missed the stop by a little bit but decided to get a taxi the rest of the way because the area I was in was pretty sketchy. I didn’t really want to hang out at night waiting for the next train. The taxi was there in 3 minutes. Great service! I got to the apartment at 10PM.

The apartment was fantastic. Clean, A/C worked like a charm, and it was a 6-minute walk to the train in the morning. They even provided coffee and snacks so I could just go straight to the train in the morning. The train ride was 4.5 hours. I was tired, to say the least. I was still in island mode. I spent most of that time doing my Greek lessons on Duolingo. All right, maybe only about an hour. That’s still a lot! The rest of the time I just listened to music and audiobooks. I just enjoyed the quiet time and watched the scenery pass by.

Now this is one of the most magical parts of the trip. It made me laugh so hard and I still find it pretty spectacular. Let me tell you about it…

I arrived in Kalambaka, which is the last train station on the line when you go visit Meteora, the area with the monasteries high up in the mountains – as featured in James Bond, For Your Eyes Only. I needed to get a taxi from the train station to my hotel in Kastraki. I went to the first taxi in the line, discussed the price, and hopped in.

As we were pulling out of the parking lot, he said to me, “English only?”

I said, “Yes, English.”

He then said, “Español?”

And I said, “SI!!!” HAHAHAHA!!

We had a great conversation in Spanish! I learned all about the area and why he could speak Spanish, he lived in Barcelona for three years, and what things there were to do besides tour the monasteries. He gave me his card to call if I needed to go anywhere or if I wanted to hire him to do a tour around the area. It was great being able to have a real conversation instead of the halting, one-word responses I had been giving. I knew that Spanish would come in handy one day! I ended up calling him on my last day there to take a ride around the area to kill some time before the train. It was great. I then immediately texted Panos and told him that I did not need Greek after all. HAHA!

The train ride back was delayed, again I was not shocked at this point. I was supposed to get to Athens at 10PM to meet Panos for one last visit, but I didn’t get in until 10:30. Fortunately, Athens never closes and we were able to go down to the square where we met the first night I was there. We ended up eating at a place called Cuba Libre. It cannot get any better than this. The food was a mish-mash of Latin America and Italian, with a spring roll thrown in for good measure. The margarita was just drinkable, definitely not my favorite. The Cuba libre Panos got was not much better. The music was salsa, merengue, and a bit of Latin pop thrown in for fun. So hilarious to end my trip to Greece immersed in Spanish. It just seems fitting, somehow. I got a Greek version of a quesadilla and he got a burrito. These were loose interpretations of the originals. I will not be going back for tacos.

I wandered back to my hotel at 1:30AM to lie down before I had to catch the train at 8AM. My flight wasn’t until 11:45, but the train ride was 50 minutes and I didn’t want to chance a delay and miss it. The line to passport control was really not that long and I got right in to find my gate. I wandered around the souvenir shop and got coffee and breakfast. I waited until closer to boarding time to go to the closed waiting area – there was no leaving that after you went in. Boarding was simple and fast. I had my window seat and my pillow, put on a movie, said goodbye to Greece, and settled into my 10-hour flight to Dulles.

I left Athens July 18 at 11:41AM Greek time with an arrival time of 3:45PM (Eastern) July 18 in Dulles. The plane landed 15 minutes early. I have global entry, so I wasn’t really concerned about the line to get through customs, and I had an hour and, now, 35 minutes to get to my connection with no luggage to collect. I was in a right-on-time frame of mind. Until… I got a text from United telling me that the plane was delayed by 20 minutes. 20 minutes, not a big deal! I will just meander to my gate. It took me all of 3 minutes total to get through customs. I found the route to the gate and set out in search of something to drink. While I was heading to the gate, I received another text. Another 30 minutes had been added to the delay. I think we can all see where this is headed. I got to the gate and heard the gate agent say that the plane was being reviewed by a mechanic and they were waiting for the go-ahead to commence boarding.

I don’t know about you, but a mechanic checking the plane is never something I want to hear. The agent then announced another delay. The plane was supposed to leave at 5:05PM Eastern and arrive at DFW at about 7PM Central. First, the delay was until 6PM, then 6:30, then 7. Finally. the agent got on the loudspeaker and informed us that the plane was broken and being taken out of commission. We were going to be assigned a different plane. With that, we were sent to another gate and told our flight would not leave until 10:00PM, 4 hours and 55 minutes late. I was just happy that we were leaving that day.

Did I mention that I was supposed to go to work on the 19th? It is true. My flight was not scheduled to arrive until midnight now. Lawrence, who had been all ready to get me at 7PM, was a trooper and picked me up after midnight, drove me home, then drove back to his house. I got into my house at 1:30AM. I wasn’t tired, even though my body was exhausted. Being the type-A personality that I am, I unpacked and put things away before entertaining the idea of bed. I had to convince my brain it was sleepy time and took a nap. I got up at 7AM, got ready for work, and set off for the day. I made it until 2PM, then brought work home with me that I could do from my dining table with my eyes half shut. I was able to reset my sleep schedule fairly quickly, probably all thanks to a five-hour delay provided – for free – by United Airlines! HAHA!

There are two things I still have to do in Greece. One, I have to see the islands on the west coast. I understand they are green and less arid. I think I would like that climate a little better. I have set my sights on Corfu for next year. And two, I have to take the train to Sparta and push someone down the big hole while yelling, “THIS IS SPARTA!”

Bonus photos: Some food and drink.