If you read my last- I mean, first blog post, then you're probably waiting to hear how I'm doing in Crete. I'm doing pretty darn well. It's rather hot, but I'm okay with that.
You'll have to forgive my messing up dates now, but be aware that I'm seven hours ahead of Boston. So like I said yesterday(?), my flight to Philly was delayed. It wasn't that big a deal though, because it didn't give me too much down time in Philly while I waited for my flight to Athens. As I waited to board, I saw a bunch of people dressed in jammy pants, with big pillows and blankets. Where did they think they were going, a slumber party? I mean, Greece used to be known for toga parties and the like, but I don't recall anyone wearing jammies to a toga party. Boarding was uneventful, but I had to call Wifey one last time before they made us turn our phones off. I thought two weeks wouldn't be that difficult, but in the course of the traveling today, I realize how far away from home I am. As good a time as I may have here in Crete, I think I'm already counting down the days till I come home.
The flight itself went pretty well. I had an aisle seat, and the guy sitting next to me didn't have to get up that often. In fact, he only climbed over me once. He climbed over the guy on the other side a couple times, but overall not too bad for a nine-hour flight. The meal actually wasn't bad: started off with a small salad, some sort of chicken with a red sauce with olives and capers (and I actually ate it, and it was decent), rice, green beans, and bread and a blondie. I was surprised that I had to pay for an adult beverage, but I did it anyway. They showed three movies: Water For Elephants, the latest in the Big Momma's House series, and A Night At The Museum. I watched none of them. I read two magazines and listened to my iPod, then tried to get some sleep. It tripped me out how it was midnight by my internal clock, yet I saw the sun rising over the wing of the plane. We landed right on time in Athens, but I didn't take any pictures inside the airport as I was trying to find the guy who is doing the AT with me. Plus, I didn't have as much knowledge of the Athens airport as I thought I did, and some of my "travel panic" started to set in.
The Athens airport does have quite a lot of nice shops, and apparently they're all duty-free. Not bad for a Nike store, a Ermen-something Zegna, and a Bulgari store, to name a few. One thing I noticed as well: they sell Cuban cigars here. I'm pretty excited.
My flight to Chania left on time, but I got stuck in the middle seat between a big guy with a cast and the Greek version of Hagrid from Harry Potter. When I say this, I mean he had the crazy hair, the crazy beard, and he was about the size of Hagrid. I was uncomfortable, but at least the flight was less than an hour long. And now that I'm here safely, I suppose I can let this out: I play Microsoft Flight Simulator regularly, and I simmed these flights, and I crashed on landing in Chania. Good thing I wasn't flying today.
My sponsor from the base was able to meet me at the airport, and after getting a rental car, he took Mitchell and I on base so we could check in. That took all of five minutes, and so we were able to get to our hotel rather quickly. Yes, it's called the Sissy Village. It's also phenomenal for Crete. It's no Four Seasons, but when I post pictures, you'll understand why I say it's phenomenal. And it has decent Wi-Fi with which I've already Skyped with Wifey once, which will probably make this two weeks a little easier.
Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to re-sample any of the fine Cretan cuisine yet because Mitchell got food poisoning on his flight from JFK to Athens, so we'll probably lay low tonight. Stand by for more updates, but I'm here safe and sound. Good night, and good luck!
You'll have to forgive my messing up dates now, but be aware that I'm seven hours ahead of Boston. So like I said yesterday(?), my flight to Philly was delayed. It wasn't that big a deal though, because it didn't give me too much down time in Philly while I waited for my flight to Athens. As I waited to board, I saw a bunch of people dressed in jammy pants, with big pillows and blankets. Where did they think they were going, a slumber party? I mean, Greece used to be known for toga parties and the like, but I don't recall anyone wearing jammies to a toga party. Boarding was uneventful, but I had to call Wifey one last time before they made us turn our phones off. I thought two weeks wouldn't be that difficult, but in the course of the traveling today, I realize how far away from home I am. As good a time as I may have here in Crete, I think I'm already counting down the days till I come home.
The flight itself went pretty well. I had an aisle seat, and the guy sitting next to me didn't have to get up that often. In fact, he only climbed over me once. He climbed over the guy on the other side a couple times, but overall not too bad for a nine-hour flight. The meal actually wasn't bad: started off with a small salad, some sort of chicken with a red sauce with olives and capers (and I actually ate it, and it was decent), rice, green beans, and bread and a blondie. I was surprised that I had to pay for an adult beverage, but I did it anyway. They showed three movies: Water For Elephants, the latest in the Big Momma's House series, and A Night At The Museum. I watched none of them. I read two magazines and listened to my iPod, then tried to get some sleep. It tripped me out how it was midnight by my internal clock, yet I saw the sun rising over the wing of the plane. We landed right on time in Athens, but I didn't take any pictures inside the airport as I was trying to find the guy who is doing the AT with me. Plus, I didn't have as much knowledge of the Athens airport as I thought I did, and some of my "travel panic" started to set in.
The Athens airport does have quite a lot of nice shops, and apparently they're all duty-free. Not bad for a Nike store, a Ermen-something Zegna, and a Bulgari store, to name a few. One thing I noticed as well: they sell Cuban cigars here. I'm pretty excited.
My flight to Chania left on time, but I got stuck in the middle seat between a big guy with a cast and the Greek version of Hagrid from Harry Potter. When I say this, I mean he had the crazy hair, the crazy beard, and he was about the size of Hagrid. I was uncomfortable, but at least the flight was less than an hour long. And now that I'm here safely, I suppose I can let this out: I play Microsoft Flight Simulator regularly, and I simmed these flights, and I crashed on landing in Chania. Good thing I wasn't flying today.
My sponsor from the base was able to meet me at the airport, and after getting a rental car, he took Mitchell and I on base so we could check in. That took all of five minutes, and so we were able to get to our hotel rather quickly. Yes, it's called the Sissy Village. It's also phenomenal for Crete. It's no Four Seasons, but when I post pictures, you'll understand why I say it's phenomenal. And it has decent Wi-Fi with which I've already Skyped with Wifey once, which will probably make this two weeks a little easier.
Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to re-sample any of the fine Cretan cuisine yet because Mitchell got food poisoning on his flight from JFK to Athens, so we'll probably lay low tonight. Stand by for more updates, but I'm here safe and sound. Good night, and good luck!
Glad you made it there safe and sound and good thing you weren't piloting.
ReplyDeleteSo, do the TV stations in your Sissy room play only Greek Musicals? And I'm told the bell hops have quite a hop skip and jump!
Enjoy the Grecian sunset...it's almost noon here!
- M