The start to my birthday vacation in Greece. The first 2 flights were on AA in first class. Not to sound snotty, but they were nothing special besides they feed you on one of them. The second one we got a bag of nuts. These planes had no wifi and no tv.....at all. WHAT? Maybe I am used to flying on delta but I thought all planes had wifi and at least some sort of tv entertainment. It was like being transported back to the past. Shocking. But I luckily survived, whew, it was close. Our second flight was so late that we thought we had missed our connection to London. But they told us to run. So we hauled across the airport, through 5 terminals to barely have them let us in the door. Thank you for the other flight leaving late. It was so close. But we were rewarded with a real first class experience. Pod living is amazing. I had an extra seat in my pod for another person with seatbelt and all. The private TV were huge and had a million movies to choose from. It was a fine dining experience for dinner. They make your seat into a bed for you with a sheet under and duval on top. They give you pjs to change into and a travel bag of supplies. First time I truly slept on a plane. Amazing.
My pod. It has a spare seat for someone to seat with you.
Full service meal.
Also the first class lounges in the airports were nice too.
British airways business class looked a lot like economy but we did get a meal. We made it to Greece, our baggage did not.
The Lotus hotel is small but nice enough. The thing about Greece is that it is still so authentic. So hard to communicate. It makes me wish I could speak languages ..... We walked around the acropolis last night and either they have done some major improvements over that past 8 years since I have been here or we missed out on the huge nightlife here before. There was street after street of tourist shops and restaurants which I never expected there to be. There was a huge crowd of people listening to a dj in the middle of a square by the metro station. We were going to get a gyro to eat but ended up with a plate because the fries looked good. The chicken was amazing and the pitas and the whole thing was so delicious. It made me excited to eat. The owners of restaurants stand out front and tell you to come in to the restaurants. And people in stores, etc.
British people are so friendly. I love listening to accents and different languages.
Day two - we slept in a bit, thankfully, because I woke up at night and was awake for a few hours. So it was nice to have a little longer to get up. Then we seriously walked around for close to 7 hours. We went to he Acropolis. Walked around town and to some other ruins. They are doing a lot of restoration work. We got pedicures, that were so,so. We stopped at a few of my favorite European stores, like h&m, Zara, and Pull & bear. Wasn't much in a shopping mood, but managed to buy a few items form Pull & Bear. Then we ate dinner at quick pita and it was so tasty. I love the freshness of the food here. Tomatoes have such amazing flavor. Then grabbed some dessert and are now checking email, and Facebook in our room. Crazy that we go without electronics all day. My vacation rule is that you have to walk up all stairs, hotel, or metro. Got to get a little burn in, but after walking all day long not sure how necessary it is. But still doing it.
Day 3- lack of sleep is catching up with me and making me cranky, sorry Jim. We had to get up at 4:30am today to catch our flight to Santorini. But a few bumps in my plan over here and I got a little grouchy. One being our hotel, afroditis Venus, in Old town, looks nice but the beds are uncomfortable, which I hate, and the room they gave us was the loudest room in history of my hotel stays. Not looking good for sleep tonight. Next, Jim should have learned by now but he hasn't. We are on vacation eating schedule, which means he feeds me maybe twice a day. He pushes it till I am ready to faint and kill him then I stuff my mouth. So today got off to a rocky start but then we went to Fira, I ate we walked around, we walked down the 584 donkey steps to the port, the donkeys make me nervous. Then we came back to our hotel and laid by the pool for a bit. In true European style there was a large woman sunbathing topless. I got a bit of color from walking around this morning not as much from the pool. Then walked along the beach, which is more like a black rock beach, and ate at the sunshine restaurant over looking the beach. Caprese salad and homemade pasta were delicious. Not sure what tomorrow holds since we have no hotels or flights booked from here on out, except for our flight home. Adventurous.
Day 4- We checked out of our hotel and took a hike to Ancient Thira. It was a pretty good little hike up the switch backs to the top. Learning about civilizations from 3 BC or even 6 AD is fascinating. There was so much of the city left a few feet up from the ground. The wind at the top was crazy. It literally blow my shirt up. Then we walked/ ran down, which was a lot easier. We found a place to have lunch a long the beach. The lady that owned/ started the restaurant sat out and oversaw and said hi to people as they walked by. The female version of Jim's dad in a way. After we got some gelato and walked along the beach and up to this cave. Then drove around the island for a bit then found our new hotel, pantheon villas. They upgraded us to a villa. A two story house. We have a roof top terrace, entry floor has a bathroom, bed, couch, and balcony. Downstairs has another bed, bath, couch, kitchen. Then outside we have our own pool and lounge chairs. It is a gorgeous hotel and so quiet. Pretty amazing upgrade. We may not leave here tomorrow. We went to Oia for dinner, it is a tourist destination for sunset. We missed the sunset but ate at a sister restaurant to the ambrosia nectar that I went to last time I was here. The restaurant I went to last time had amazing food. The menu was different, so it wasn't what I was hoping for but it was still very good. It is fun to remember streets I have been down before and places I have been about 9 years ago with fondness.
Day 5- today started off interesting and then added a lot of fitness. We got massages this morning, which was an experience. We got them out by our pool and normally there is offered a bit of privacy and modesty protection, but not in the case. I disrobed right in front of her and was covered with a towel some of the time. Let's just say I was exposed and vulnerable more than once. It was more of a rub down instead of a massage, but it was okay. A little different from what I get in the states, but if am not in the states, so....after a shower we decided to walk to Oia. Just a 1 1/2 hike across the island. That is known for watching sunsets and where I stayed last time I came. But it was very different this time. Way more tourists and the higher end shops etc. the hike there is basically walking along the top of the cliffs and it was a work out. Then we ate lunch and walked down over 200 steps to the port, which of course offered donkeys on the way up but we walked. Thene We had the 1 1/2 hike back to our hotel. Our legs earned there rest last night. Then we tried to watch the sunset from our hotel but it was too cloudy. Santorini is only open for tourists 6 months out of the year and we are at the tail end of it. It is chilly at night and in the morning. Glad we rented the car instead of driving ATV like I thought we would. We went to Thira for dinner then back to he hotel for the night.
Day 6- we watched a few conference talks this morning. They really seem to be focusing on getting your own self/ family in order and strong. Really good talks so far. We checked out of our hotel. So far the staff there were the nicest and most friendly so far. We then drove to karma where we stayed the first night and walked along the beach. Ate at the Irish pub and watched the final rugby game. Fun to watch although I don't understand much of the rules of the game. The. We returned the rental car and got a taxi to the port to wait for our ferry to Crete. Goodbye Santorini. Half of the tourists here have been Chinese. At lunch in Oia yesterday I saw a last a dozen Chinese brides taking pictures one right after the other. Santorini is the Vegas for China. And the Greek locals have made fun of how bad they drive. There are SO many of them. Our taxi said they have only been coming here for the last few years, but they come in packs. The ferry over was huge and we felt a little like cattle but it was fast. We sat in the very front of the boat, amazing how smooth the ride was. It was a pretty fast trip around 1 1/2 hours. Hordes of people getting on and off, we were armatures so we didn't know to go get our bags early. Basically one of the last ones off. Then got a taxi to get our rental car. Then it was an hour to our hotel. Crete is much bigger than I thought. It's more like its own continent, so not sure how much we will really be able to see in two days. It was close to 10 when we got near our hotel so we saw a little family restaurant and stopped to eat. It was a local place with good food. It took us a little bit to find our hotel but it is a fairly new place and really nice. Jim is loving the shower and it is right across from the beach. It was after midnight before we got in and settled then watched a little of conference and went to bed.
Day 7- the guy that checked us in last night said we should head south a half hour to the beach. Without asking for a name or further directions Jim and I started heading to parts unknown hoping to find what he was talking about. We did find a much less touristy beach and it was awesome. The sand bars went out a long way into the water. So we walked along I the water with waves crashing around our legs. It was cool. Then we relaxed and read. I was planning on sleeping but my book is really good. It really was a quaint little spot between rethm and chinia. A family ran a restaurant and bar out of their home and were the only house for miles. Lots of older bigger topless sunbathing, not pretty. Next our adventure took us into chinia. There are so many small street and it is hard to find where you want to be, so we parked and started walking. Eventually we found the harbor and lighthouse and tourist. It was a picturesque little harbor but there are a million restaurants, each with a guy trying to convince you to come to his restaurant. Exhausting! We walked along the little streets away from the tourist traps and find the beauty in the buildings here. Then we drove the hour home and ate when we got back,
Day 8- it will be our last night in Greece, which makes me a little sad, but I am really missing my kids. I will enjoy the last few days of our trip but my heart longs to be home. Today we walked to a fortress and walked around souviner shopping. That is not a part Jim and I are good at we normally don't do it for ourselves. My past trips to Italy and Greece are all about shopping, linens, olive oil, purses .....one of the reasons I love it here. We managed to find a few things for my mom and Tami that they hopefully like. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon reading on the beach. It was hot this morning while we were shopping then cooled off while we were at the beach, but I finished my book and we have still managed to get a nice tan. For our last meal we ate Chinese food. It was good.
Day 9- it took most of the day to get to Paris. The airport in Crete was crazy and we almost missed our flight. They were calling our name when we were still in the security line. Of course the dire panic we felt was really not necessary since at least 20-30 people came after us. We did cut a few lines, scream Jim's name across the airport and plane and basically become the annoying American tourists people hate, oops. But we made our flight. Then Jim wanted to take the metro to our hotel, so an hour or more later we made it. Luggage switching trains and manuring around was not as easy or fast as we thought. We checked in to the marriott which is very upscale. Had to wait to be checked in so they gave us complimentary drinks, which would normally cost 10 euros. After settling in to our room we started walking around. First we went to the arc de triffon and walked up to the top to see the city view. Paris is huge but I love the feel of the city. The buildings are beautiful and we only got lost a few times. As walked around then it started raining. That didn't stop us from walking around the louve and trying to find the Effie tower the rest of the night. We had to have been so close but could not manage to find it. We did manage to eat and get an umbrella. But my feet and shoes were soaking wet. We finally gave up and headed back to the hotel. Soggy in Paris.
Day 10- we found a cozy little cafe that had delicious croissants and petit dejuner/ breakfast. Then we took a train to see Versailles. It is amazing the size of that place, not just the palace but also the gardens. Also the people from history that have stayed or lived there. Fascinating. We walked around there most of the day. Then came back to Paris to walk around some more. We saw the Notre dam chapel and then walked to the Effie tower. Not sure how we could have missed it the night before. We ate dinner before going up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, we wanted to walk up the stairs but it was closed. So we took the elevator to the top. Then we took the stairs back down. By the end of the day our backs and legs were so sore from all the walking.
Day 11- our last day in Paris. We tried to walk to see the Latin quarter but it didn't seem much different than the buildings we had already been seeing. We did start buying gifts and a few clothes at mango and promod. Then buy macaroons for supposedly the best place in the city. It was a great way to end our stay because the city is beautiful and we saw more of it. Now we are on our flight with some great seats again. We have enjoyed many fantasy experiences on this trip. It has been a fantastic trip.
