We arrived in Greece 8 days ago – after three long flights. Of course, I really can’t complain too much since we had been able to upgrade to Business. The American flights from San Diego to Chicago to Brussels were excellent. We had long layovers in Chicago and Brussels – somewhat by design. The first option they gave me only had a 50 minute connection in Chicago which made us nervous so we ended up waiting for 3 hours – but with Business we were eligible for the Admirals Club which made it tolerable.
In Brussels it was a 6 hour wait due to Brussels Air’s flight schedule to Athens – we were again able to use their lounge but it was a long wait. Business Class on Brussels Air was hysterical – at least in hindsight. The plane was all coach seating – so Business was in the front with the middle seat not booked! Remind me to never pay for Business on Brussels Air – at least we were just using miles!!! On Southwest I always go to the back of the plane where there is a good chance of not having anyone in the seat next to me – didn’t know I was really in Business!!
When we arrived at the Athens airport, our nephew Romaric met us along with his significant other Maria Elena. Romaric is Elisabeth’s sister’s son. He is living and working in Athens. Romaric is an engineer for a Scandinavian company that makes and operates windmills for electricity generation. He is a specialist on the blades of the windmills and from Athens they have also sent him all over the world to work on problems. He met Maria Elena – who is from Peru – when working in Spain. He is now being moved to the Isle of Wight in England. Yes – this is an international family!!!
Finding our rental car and figuring out how to start it – in the dark – was our first adventure. Fortunately Romaric was "to the rescue!" After renting cars in Europe for 36years, I am pretty good at figuring things out – but in the dark and with instruction manuals all in the Greek alphabet it was not easy – it was Greek to me! There were no keys – just a “fob” – it turned out there was a small slot where the "fob" was inserted and then a button to push that started the car – as long as I remembered to put in the clutch!
The first night we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast a few miles from the airport. The owner was originally from England but had been in Greece for 34 years – she was married to a Greek. I kept thinking of the movie Shirley Valentine when talking to her!!! After being up for over 30 hours, bed was heaven! We both slept well and did not wake up until almost 10am – long after we had planned. After a Greek breakfast of cheese, bread, Greek Yogurt, etc. we were on our way to Meteora!
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