Our first day of travel is finally at a close. It began at 6 a.m. in New Bern where our journey began. We dropped the dogs at the kennel, drove to Raleigh and boarded a flight to JFK in New York. I dreaded going through JFK as past experiences were less than pleasant; however, we landed at the same terminal we were to fly out of so it was surprisingly easy. Our flight on to Athens was delayed because of weather but once in the air, it was smooth sailing all the way.
It is hard to describe how exciting it was to look out the window and see the mountains and seas of Greece below us. There are small amounts of snow atop some of the peaks but the water below was turquoise and beckoned us to come. I have to say, moving through the airport was the easiest international arrival I have ever experienced. We moved through immigration in a flash, collected our luggage and exited — easy, easy. The airport is relatively new and very efficient. It was built in 2004 when Greece hosted the Olympics. We were met by a lovely, soft spoken petite woman who was our escort on to our hotel, a short 45 minute drive away.
Our hotel is located in the city center, easy to walk to most everything. Needless to say, we were exhausted when we arrived at the hotel. After checking in and storing our things, we all fell into bed for a much needed two hour nap. Afterward we forced ourselves to dress and head out to walk about the city and enjoy the sunshine.
Athens is a very social city. Everywhere you look, couples and families are enjoying the day. We went to the National Gardens. Intersperse among the flowers and trees are lots of little areas with grass or benches where the locals shed their shoes and enjoy sitting on the grass. We saw young couples with the babies and older couples (our age) holding hands and strolling along. Some of the trees are ancient. Their limbs are so large and long, a series of cables were used to hold them aloft. One in particular looked like something from a Halloween story. It’s big trunk, long arm like branches and a section with knot holes that looked for the world like a face made me think of a monster. Too funny.
After strolling about for some time, we decided we should head back to the hotel. Of course, we had lost track of exactly where we were — not lost mind you, but displaced. We had a map but of course everything is in Greek which made it challenging. In the end, we found our way back easy enough. We stopped at a sidewalk cafe and had an amazing dinner; our first Greek fair. Jim had a grilled fish and Debi and I shared a yummy salad. Greeks are known for their breads and also milks products, cheeses in particular. The bread was chewy with a crisp crust and the accompanying Tzatziki delicious.
The sunset was beautiful. From our balcony, we watched the pinks, violets and reds fade giving way to the indigo sky that will soon host a multitude of stars.
