Day one in Athens Greece

 

Bill and I always try to have a plan B when traveling, but Monday's went very smoothly.  We were up at 1:30 am to allow for traffic which there was none and to take a different route to the airport since the Broadway curve project had the road closed from Friday evening until 4 am on Monday.  No lines waiting or lines anywhere.  Age does have benefits, as we were told to pre board with those that were in wheelchairs.  Maybe they have a category for those over 85.  

After we were settled into our seats I noticed the couple across the aisle had OAT luggage tags.  I asked them if they were headed to Greece.  Yep, they are in the group of 74 expected passengers for this small ship and land tour.

Our tour leader had called earlier in the week to introduce himself over the phone and ask if we had any questions.  We don't have the same tour guides as the others. We will be in the yellow group.

I noticed we had a very nice looking blond pilot but I didn't hear any blond jokes.  The flight was over 4 hours to Newark.  Although we landed early once again we had to wait until they had a gate empty.

Since we hadn't had any breakfast before left, we decided to grab a quick bite before our international flight.  Knowing that the next flight would be serving dinner shortly after take off, we shared a Cuban sandwich.  I was glad I had that half sandwich because I didn't care for the dinner but I always eat the ice cream.  Bill and I were anxiously waiting for the plane doors to close to find that we had a empty seat between us.  

The first flight was 4 hours 22 minutes, with a wait time of 3 hours 28 minutes and the final leg was 9 hours 20 minutes.  Both flights arrived early and even customs and baggage were pretty fast.

Everytime we take a flight there is something new and better.  This time the entertainment has changed.  Now if you want to start a movie it will tell you if you'll land before finishing the movie.

There were 8 people on that plane that will be on the tour.  A tour guide showed us where our transportation was.  The guide also gave us some suggestions of things we might want to see.  Of course there was a lot of gabbing from the airport to the hotel.  The tour doesn't start until tomorrow but at least 8 people came in a day early.  I think there will be more as the airport guide had another flight she had to meet the travelers.

Even though we were at least 3 hours early for check in, our room was ready.  We ran upstairs to check out the room before heading out to find an ATM.  Once we had some Euros in our pocket, we explored the area.  This hotel is centrally located in the heart of Athens. Normally, we would have gone upstairs to the terrace for a drink and a view of the Acropolis, but we need some sleep.  

I am way too tired to give any details or try posting a lot of photos, hopefully, tomorrow.  We walked to the National Library, the University of Athens,and  Municipal Culture Center, some ancient ruins of Athens, and the best place Parliment.  We were able to watch the changing of the guards.  I thought London was pretty good but these guys were much better.

Had a nice dinner in a sidewalk cafe.  Greek salad, bread and beers for less than $20 in the heart of a big city.

It's 7 pm and Bill is sound asleep and I'm right behind him.

Turtle Safely.....