Happy Birthday to Karen!!!
Her present was to be awake at 4.45am, travel to Istanul airport and then to Greece.
The usual security checks and customs. Wait for flight.
The flight was uneventful. Athens is a sprawling city of white/off-white buildings.
Immigration was a bit disorganised. The Greek officials seemed to be overwhelmed by the arrival of two flights! There were a bunch of US students (15-17 year olds). They seemed to fit all the stereotypes portrayed in movies... short guy with big mouth; jocks; cheerleaders; cool guy... all of them unable to wear a baseball cap correctly! Anyway, they provided some curious entertainment whilst we waited.
We were met by 'Bill' (a Greek born, US citizen working in Greece). Bill guided us to the Mercedes and drove us to our hotel. On the way, Bill gave a forthright summary of how Greece had arrived in economic difficulty. It was an opinion that was not very flattering to the European Union.
Once we got to the hotel, we settled in and had a nap!
We went for a walk in the evening. We are staying in the Plaka area which is the main tourist centre. There are no shortage of shops selling tourist trinkets!! There are also a variety of beggars! some pleading for money and others selling cheap junk.
We had dinner in a quaint Greek restaurant, complete with guitarist singing traditonal favourites (I think!). For the Birthday Girl ... we had: a traditional Greek salad, followed by souvlaki and finished with fruit and ice cream. The food was simple but fantastic! The guitarist had people up dancing and the majority of others in the restaurant were clapping along. Cool! eh!
Well that was enough excitement in one day for the old girl... so I took her back to the hotel!
Tomorrow, we join the tour...
http://www.militaryhistorytours.com.au/site/Greece_and_Crete.asp
Please note the 'On Tour' link which will provide a Tour blog.
PS. Keep the comments coming. We are enjoying sharing our holiday with you all!
Her present was to be awake at 4.45am, travel to Istanul airport and then to Greece.
The usual security checks and customs. Wait for flight.
The flight was uneventful. Athens is a sprawling city of white/off-white buildings.
Immigration was a bit disorganised. The Greek officials seemed to be overwhelmed by the arrival of two flights! There were a bunch of US students (15-17 year olds). They seemed to fit all the stereotypes portrayed in movies... short guy with big mouth; jocks; cheerleaders; cool guy... all of them unable to wear a baseball cap correctly! Anyway, they provided some curious entertainment whilst we waited.
We were met by 'Bill' (a Greek born, US citizen working in Greece). Bill guided us to the Mercedes and drove us to our hotel. On the way, Bill gave a forthright summary of how Greece had arrived in economic difficulty. It was an opinion that was not very flattering to the European Union.
Once we got to the hotel, we settled in and had a nap!
We went for a walk in the evening. We are staying in the Plaka area which is the main tourist centre. There are no shortage of shops selling tourist trinkets!! There are also a variety of beggars! some pleading for money and others selling cheap junk.
We had dinner in a quaint Greek restaurant, complete with guitarist singing traditonal favourites (I think!). For the Birthday Girl ... we had: a traditional Greek salad, followed by souvlaki and finished with fruit and ice cream. The food was simple but fantastic! The guitarist had people up dancing and the majority of others in the restaurant were clapping along. Cool! eh!
Well that was enough excitement in one day for the old girl... so I took her back to the hotel!
Tomorrow, we join the tour...
http://www.militaryhistorytours.com.au/site/Greece_and_Crete.asp
Please note the 'On Tour' link which will provide a Tour blog.
PS. Keep the comments coming. We are enjoying sharing our holiday with you all!
Happy birthday for Thursday Karen. Have been unable to get to a computer before this to send birthday greetings. What a memorable birthday having Greek food in the Plaka. Oh how I wish I was there too!
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