Cheerio. Arrivederci! Yiá sou. Goodbye, Europe.

Tuesday June 16, 2009 - 11:32pm

Athens
The past two days have gone by so fast!  Monday we went on a walk that took about 2 hours that went all around the city.  We at lunch at a McDonald's because we were all craving some American cuisine.  

The grass fire mountain

Before Lunch we went to Melissinos Art where they sell handmade leather sandals.  Bryce and I bought a pair but Meg was a party pooper.  After lunch we went to the Roman Agora and the Ancient Agora before heading up to the Acropolis!  The climb was steep and it was HOT but totally worth it.  The view was fantastic and it felt good to be that close to History!
Bryce cooked us a pasta dinner and it was delicious.  We saw smoke from a grass fire (on a nearby mountain) while on the acropolis and it was all over the news, but in Greek, so we had no clue what was going on!

climbing up - no shoes!

Acropolis

Athena's Temple

The view - can you see the Sea?

Ruins of Zeus' Temple (i think)

Acropolis Kitties!

It was really windy up on the Acropolis

Woke up this morning and had leftovers for breakfast.  Then went to the Archaeological Museum for a couple hours.  Meg and I left around noon for a relaxing day on the beach.
HOWEVER...

Poseidon's Temple

We missed the first bus by like 30 seconds - as in it was driving away when we turned the corner.  We ate at a small family owned restaurant right by the bus stop.  We caught the next bus and sat down for what was supposed to be a 1.5 hour ride to Sounio.  It was more like a 2 hour scenic drive on the coast which was pretty, but we really just wanted to be at the beach.  We finally arrived at Sounio only to find that we had to climb down a mountain to get to the beach from Poseidon's Temple.

My feet at the Beach

Proof that I swam in the Mediterranean

We made it to the beach and crystal blue water, found two chairs and relaxed.  1.5 hours later we climbed UP the mountain to get to the bus stop and sat on the steps to have dinner, aka the other half of lunch. The bus came and we hopped on thinking that the first bus driver was lost and this drive would be shorter.  WRONG AGAIN!  This time we took the inland route and it took 2.5 hours!!  Not only did it take longer it also dropped us off on the opposite side of the city centre than we wanted.  We had no clue where we were.  After asking 2 people, whose English wasn't great, where the Metro was we finally found it!  We had left a note for Bryce on the board (in the Hostel) saying we would be late but he didn't see it.  He was freaking out for like 2.5 hours!!  We changed into clothes and hopped on the airport bus.  I am currently sitting watching their bags as they wait for someone to check them in.  My flight leaves at 5am, theirs at 3 am.  Hope someone comes soon!  I really want to sleep but I am happy that I get to go home.

Headed back to Athens!

Wednesday June 17, 2009 - 8:17am

Amsterdam
GRRR!  I hate flying!  In Athens they put up the check-in gate numbers 4 hours before loading time, but don't staff it until 2 hours before load time.  Bryce and Meg headed up to their gate because by the time I would be able to check my luggage they should be boarding.  I slept off and on for about an hour in the airport while I waited for security to open at 3:30am.  I finally arrived at my Gate (B3) and napped for an hour before boarding my flight to Amsterdam.  I fell asleep right away and slept off and on til the 30 minutes to landing call.  I arrived in Amsterdam and found my way to my gate (E5).  I stopped to see if I could upgrade to 1st class but apparently my ticket is restricted so I cannot change... LAME!
I am currently writing as I sit at E5 watching people.  I will  wander for food at some point closer to lunch.  Next stop: MINNEAPOLIS!

10:42am

Amsterdam... still.I took an hour nap at E5 only to wake up to see that the MPLS flight has been moved to E17, so I took the delightful moving walkways to my new gate.  There is supposed to be a flight to Boston at theis gate too, around the same time so I will probably move again :(

Author's Note:  This is where my journal entries end - in the middle of my hopeless despair.  Turns out, that in my stupor, I misread the gates and went back to my original gate where I departed around 1 pm.

This flight was amazing!  I picked my seat Row 19, Seat H (Right Aisle of middle section).  I was worried about who I would sit next to - did I mention that at age 21 this was my first flight alone?  I've heard horror stories about possible seat mates.

• Guy who doesn't speak English and wants to play cards the whole flight
• Smelly People
• People who take up more than their chair
• People who fall asleep on you
• Etc.

So when this attractive young man walks down the aisle of the plane, I can't help but say to myself:  "Wouldn't it be nice if he sat by me?"  AND HE DID!  This guy is now and will forever be known as "Hottie Dave".   We had a great conversation about our travels and then I napped for 2 hours.  I learned that Hottie Dave was a gentleman - he waited until I woke up to use the restroom (or he just didn't want to crawl across my lap - too forward, maybe?)  After my nap we discovered games on the individual screens and started playing reversi.  THEN, we discovered you can request to play a game with a specific seat in the aircraft, so Hottie Dave and I played a game.  Now, usually I SUCK at reversi, but I managed to beat him in the first game. So we started a second game, we were both a little competitive, and just as he was winning - it was time to land so they turned off our screens!!  

Hottie Dave was attending Med School at U of M - Minneapolis and I hope his schooling went well and that he has the job of dreams.  Sometimes I wish I had had the guts to ask for his last name and add him to facebook, or his email or something!  And then I realize that if we had been meant to be more than an airplane friendship, it would have happened.   Wherever you are, Dave - God Bless!