I know people are waiting with bated breath for the next instalment. So here we go:
The plane trip was a game of two halves, as they say in sporting circles. The first part - Sydney to Dubai was cramped and long. One of the quirks of Internet sign in is that people travelling together don't get to sit together. So Bookworm has her own tales to tell. They fed us often and closed the window shutters so we'd go to sleep like good children. Eventually, after numerous sleeps and some movies we arrived in Dubai. Which looks like any other airport except for the sheiks sitting around having their coffee.
The second part was very different. The plane from Dubai to Athens was like the ADD Express - full of Greeks going home after big shopping holidays. I got to see almost everything they bought. They all seemed to know each other and no one would sit dowm. I had a mental picture of the pilot announcing "We are not taking off till everyone sits down" It was like an unruly class. Everyone talked to someone else in another part of the plane, with much waving of arms. I wondered shy they didn't all just change seats as they clearly didn't want to talk to the person next to them. They took photos of each other and showed everyone what they had bought.
Eventually we arrived in Athens and off to our hotel. Then when we got to our room we were given a guided tour - not that it was that big, which ended with an invitation to go out on to the balcony. Where, to our left and just above us was the Acropolis!! All lit up. We were in Athens!!
Next morning - after breakfast on floor number -1, we discovered a window which showed us some excavations, right under the hotel. Parts of the wall that the Greeks built to keep out the Spartans!
The first day of the tour included a tour of Athens and a visit to the Acropolis. By this time I had broken the first rule of travel: DON'T DRINK THE WATER. So Helen (aka Bookworm) got to do that tour on her own. I hear there were 150,000 steps up to the Acropolis. I think that's an exaggeration. We have a day back in Athens after the Cruise, so I will have to go and check.
Will add to this at a cheaper internet venue!
