Day 11- October 21 - Athens

Today was not good. The government strike was on. I never heard back from my driver, so I had no idea what would happen when we got off the ship.

The Acropolis and other tourist sights were open. Our driver, Dennis, did show up to take us to Athens and show us around. But it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I told him we needed to get to an ATM to get Euros, he said we could do it later. We were supposed to go to the Acropolis first, to beat the crowds, but he was afraid of traffic, so he changed the order of things. I told him I wanted to see the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier in front of the parliament building. He said it was better in the back of the building. As he drove, he told us about some of the stuff we saw, but I had to ask him to stop so I could take photos of the old Olympic stadium. He drove past things so quickly we barely had time to see them. He took us up Lycabettus Hill to take photos of the city skyline and the Acropolis. Then, as we headed back down the hill I asked him to take me to the Hard Rock Café to buy Bobby a t-shirt. He couldn’t park, so he dropped me off, I bought the shirt and met him back outside. Because of the strike the roads were open and it was easy to get around. I can’t imagine what it would have been like with normal traffic.

Then we went to the Acropolis. I had hoped he would have told us something about it and what to expect, but he didn’t. He just said, “here we are, I’ll meet you back here when you are done.” We got to the entrance and the place was packed. By then, Rick wasn’t feeling well due to some medication he had taken earlier in the day. We asked around and finally found the kiosk to purchase our tickets. The ticket was good for the Acropolis and other sites in the city. A guide was trying to hustle up business, but we said no. We just followed the crowds and made our way into the site and took photos of the Parthenon and the other buildings. It was bigger than I thought it would be. It always inspires me to be amonst ancient buildings and think about who stood in the same place I was standing. The view was really nice, but the smog was awful. Rick found a place to sit for a bit while JoAnne and I wandered and took photos, then we headed back down to find our driver again. By then Rick was really in bad shape and we asked to be taken back to the ship. The driver really didn’t want to do that and Rick said he would be ok, so we decided to head to the Plaka (old shopping area) to find an ATM.

Once there JoAnne and I started talking about if we wanted the driver for the whole day or not. But first we had to get money. The ATM said the transaction was accepted, but it did not give me money or a receipt. Same thing happened for JoAnne on a different ATM. We were in a bank, which was open, so we tried to talk to the banker. Of course, conveniently he didn’t speak English. Right. The state bank of Greece, main branch at the major tourist shopping area and he didn’t speak English. Our driver came and asked us what was happening and we explained what happened. He spoke to the banker who said that if we didn’t get a receipt, we wouldn’t get charged on our credit cards. I wasn’t convinced, so I asked if we could use the phone to call the credit card number on the card, no charge. He said no. I asked our driver if I could use his cell phone, he said no. I was getting really angry now. We found a pay phone and tried using it, but the call wouldn’t go through. It turned out that only local calls would go through. Because of the strike you couldn’t make a long distance or collect call.

Luckily JoAnne had enough Euros to cover the half day cost of the driver, so we had to go back to the ship since we could not pay him for a full day. We explained to Dennis that it was past noon and our four hours were up so please take us back. Now he was angry, which I didn’t understand. He said he was told I had emailed saying we wanted him for the full day. I explained that I asked if we could request the full day after our half day was up if we still wanted him. I told him we never received a response so we assumed we were still only booked for the half day. He didn’t want to take us back, he insisted on us going the whole day. I explained that since we could not get money out of the ATM, we did not have enough to pay him for a full day. That did it and we headed back to the ship. In silence. He called his home, apparently his mom makes all the bookings. His mom was mad too. Then I had to talk to his brother on the phone and explain it all to him as well. He said he did email me back, but to this day I never go that email. He finally stopped arguing the point with me when I said I had no more money.

I was never so glad to get back to the ship. Between the fiasco with the driver and Rick not being well I was feeling quite stressed again. I was ready to go home right then and skip the rest of the trip! The half day with the driver cost us 150euro plus tip. That was the worst money spent the whole trip. At least we got to see the Acropolis. It really is a shame because there is so much to see in Athens it could have been a great day in spite of the strike if we had a better driver/guide.

Once back on the ship I logged on to see if my credit card was charged, and nothing showed up yet. Same with JoAnne. Hopefully the strike prevented the transactions from going through. The meds were starting to wear off, so Rick was a little more coherent, but he still didn’t feel well so he went right to bed for a nap. I joined him, the stress of the morning had worn me out.

Dinner on board was good tonight, with three good choices: fettuccine alfredo, beef kabobs and veal scallopini. The ginger ice cream for dessert was excellent! After dinner we went to the martini bar and shared the sampler of 6 different martinis. I liked the appletini the best. Rick like the murano and JoAnne liked all the fruity ones. I was the only one who could handle the traditional one made of gin with a hint of vermouth and an olive.

The show tonight was the best. I don’t remember his name, but the entertainer was a comedian/magician. I really needed to laugh that night and he did great.

Stewart came through with our invitations and the next day we could do the bridge tour and the central engine control room tour. I also had the reidel wine tasting booked for the morning, so I was going to have to pass.

Tomorrow was a sea day finally and I was looking forward to sleeping in a bit.

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