Wednesday September 4, 2019
ATHENS, Greece – With Hurricane Dorian looming over the entire state of Florida, the only concern was simply trying to get out.
We had an 8:40 p.m. flight out of Miami Monday September 2, and our eyes were glued to the television for updates. With the final destination as Athens and a four-hour layover in Istanbul, our anxiety was through the roof. Only when a myriad of forecasters pointed the storm was headed north and away from south Florida were our concerns abated.
By 10:30 Monday a.m., the morning our departure, news reports indicated the airport at nearby Fort-Lauderdale would close at 12 noon. At the same time, there was no mention of the Miami. Originally, we booked a car from the Tampa airport and planned to drive to the Miami airport on Monday, the day of flight. Because of the impending storm, we cancelled that reservation and decided to drive to Miami on Sunday. That way, and if we were struck in the area, he felt we had a reasonable chance to get to the Miami airport. So, we booked a room at the Hampton Inn in Coral Springs and took a chance the airport would not close.
When the news of the hurricane passing south Florida became more favorable, we drove to the airport and returned our car by 12 noon. Then, waited at the airport. Turns out, everything was fine, but the initial leg of the flight was delayed. We left Miami about 9:30 and flight to Istanbul was smooth. The flight to Athens was also delayed and we arrived in Greece around 10 p.m., local time.
Having visited Athens before, we pretty much knew our way around the metro system and took public transportation from the airport to our hotel. Arriving hot and sweaty, we both took showers and don’t remember falling to sleep; we were that tired.
Overall, the trip took about 27 hours and half-way around the world. Needless to say, we missed breakfast at the hotel but started out exploring our neighborhood in Athens.
Street food stands abound, and choices and flavors are so much different than anything available in the United States We passed one store, which had a sign in English, “we Greeks love to eat.”
In our street travels, Waynette found a juice bar and quickly ordered a pomegranate and mango smoothie. She could not rare about the juice guy or his drink enough. We gobbled down a few sandwiches from a café and polished that off with fresh pastries from a bakery we passed along the way.
Eventually, we made our way to the National Archaeological Museum, which is over 150 years old. On a previous trip, we went to the Acropolis Museum and that’s devoted only to materials found near the Parthenon. The Archaeological Museum is much more inclusive to Greece and covers the country from pre-ancient times through the decline of Roman rule in Greece during the 6th century AD. This museum is well done with a plethora of information panels and a special exhibit on the importance of beauty in ancient Greece.
We then set off to find a restaurant near the U. S. Embassy. We went there on our previous visit to Athens and loved the food. The place is still there and we had a great dinner. We shared a Greek salad. Yes, a real Greek salad which contains no lettuce.
Do you hear that, American restaurants!
Waynette ordered stuffed tomatoes and I took chicken skewers, which hung over the plate. Plus, the wifi was great and we were able to catch up on e-mails and texts.
Because we have a flight Thursday at 8 a.m. Thursday morning for Crete, we ordered a taxi to the airport. We wanted to take the metro, but it doesn’t run early in the morning. So, we hope to meet the cabbie at 5:30. The flight is only 50 minutes and the next blog should be from a beach on Crete.
WEATHER – sunny, low 90s
STEPS – 13,115
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