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Published: April 27th 2006
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Ugh! Would you please move out of my photo, self centered fool! "They" say you must see it. Whoever they are. But they do not recommend how long you should stay. "IT" is the Acropolis. And it is quite impressive. Okay, not Angkor Wat, but impressive none the less. And really crowded to boot. Today we touched down in Athens on an Olympic Air flight from Tel Aviv to London. We chose this flight for many reasons and frequent flier miles were not one of them. Turns out that the company is in and out of bankruptcy so there isn't really any code-share to speak of. We also were not inspired by the newly updated website, which led us to an unoccupied office in Bangkok. Unoccupied for more than two years according to the new tenants. So we were drawn to this flight in much the same way we found ourselves on Air Asia, Lao Air, and Vietnam Air. They were the cheapest! Oh yeah and a stopover in a yet unseen destination didn't hurt either. Small side-note: For those of you not in the know- there is such a thing as the Travel Club. I'm not sure what types of perks, if any, one gets if they're a member of the club
How true it is...
Even in our rush to get into Athens, the humor of this sign was not lost on us. - it's more of a sense of accomplishment and a numbers game. The club lists all 300 and something destinations in the world which are distinguished by geography, culture, and political situation. Most people don't try to get to all destinations and, admittedly, the requirements for 'getting' a new destination are pretty weak- like an airport lay-over, for example. The majority of club members aim for getting to 100 destinations in their lives, which is exactly our goal as well. That being said, you'll probably (I know- no big shock) find us travelling again in the future- but, for now, we really made this lay-over count!
After toiling through Tel Aviv to find the Olympic Air office and actually purchasing the tickets at the office (an uncommon way to do it), which we only reserved (although a credit card was entered) online, we felt a little more relieved. Aneta's quick internet search of the safety rating of the airline only insured more anxiety. Remind me to block that website from our browser when we get home. She also recalled only a simple one lane road from the airport to central Athens. Further discussion reminded us that a poorly attended
Made It!
Quick photo and down again. Olympics just last year probably yielded some significant public transit improvements, so our fears were slightly calmed. So after dropping our carry-on bags in the bag hold at 3 euro an hour and hustling to the train terminal across the parking lot, we made our way in to central Athens following the plump and doughy pale faced tourists to the Akropolis station. 40 minutes, give or take.
Upon arrival it became evident we were running WAY behind schedule. Aneta, knowing discretion to be the better part of valor, and having already seen the site, sat under a shady tree while I paid my 12 euro and proceeded to run up the hill to see the infamous pinacle of ancient Greek architecture. Wading through a sea of high schoolers and retirees to reach the Parthenon in all its glory. Seriously, it really is impressive. Unclear is why two women decided they needed to sit in what was the center of every picture that I, and everyone around me, wanted to take. So be it. Run up, and run down. 14 minutes. Done and done.
Upon arriving back at the shady tree, feeling both awed and sweaty, Aneta informs me
Bulk Head
More leg room, less window room. Luckily this light didn't flash. that we are dangerously late. My immediate thought is that this story is not nearly as good if we miss the plane, so we immediately high tail it to the station. At which time I realize I was in such a rush to get up the hill, I never got change from the ticket window. In euros- that's a lot. Ooops.
We did make the plane, and even had time for a brief stop in duty free where I again almost left my change. Too many currencies. Back onto Olympic Air heading to London. Which we must say was both safe and courteous. So much for internet reviewers.
And off we went with fond memories, a few nice pictures, and 8 extra euros donated to the upkeep of an ancient site or the college fund of the ticket window matron. By the way, Adobe should use this experience to sell photo shop software. Cue the commercial, "Hate all those other people in your famous icon pictures. Now with Photo-Shop you can rub them out Soprano style." Just a thought.
By the way- no, we're not actually in Greece, we 're back in the USA and it's great to be back!OK- that's all for now- See you soon!
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Mom Erika
non-member comment
Welcome back!
Travel Club? 100 places? How soon? But at least for now - It feels great just to know that you are closer to home. Enjoy NY, Atlanta, Jazz in Nola and See you soon.