Greece

Our trip to Greece started with a flight to Mumbai, then to Frankfurt and to Athens.


When the airplane landed in Mumbai I looked out the window and was a little shocked. There are some houses built so close to the runway that when you look down as you land you can see people eating their dinner. I couldn’t imagine the smells and noises they put up with living there.


By the looks of the corrugated tin houses I would guess that they are squatters living there illegally.


We always try to avoid the Mumbai airport. The international is separate from the domestic airport. When you land in one you have to get your luggage and take a shuttle to the other airport. India is India… so the shuttles don’t run on an exact schedule, and you can bet there will be lots of really smelly people on an overcrowded bus.


The first time we were on one of these shuttles a guy tried to touch my breasts and blamed it on the fact the bus was so crowded. I would have smacked him but the bus was too crowded to get any momentum… I settled for an elbow jab.


We were told in Hyderabad that Mumbai has made improvements to their system and our luggage would be delivered to the international airport for us… they didn’t tell us it would take 4 hours. Good thing we had a 4 ½ hour layover.


Finally we were on our way to Frankfurt. In Frankfurt we had a 6 ½ hour layover before our flight to Athens (I plan on researching a new travel agent). At least Frankfurt has a nice airport with yummy food and lots of places to window shop… and I got to play my favorite airport game. I call it “Oh God! Please don’t be American”. I see someone behaving poorly and wait to hear them talk to see what language or accent they have and this tells me what country they are from.


An example would be this guy I saw reading a magazine. After each page he read he would tear the page out of the magazine and rip the page into exactly 16 pieces get up throw the pieces away and then sit back down to read the next page. I waited a long time to see what country he was from… finally he put on a baseball cap that said Canada (Yeah).


Our flight from Frankfurt to Greece was for lack of a better word… fun. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a plane that felt more festive in my life. The isles were full of people laughing, talking, flirting and playing games (in a variety of languages)… I was waiting for someone to break out a guitar and we could all start singing. Scott and I referred to this flight as the party plane. In America the airlines might offer you soft drinks and for a price you can buy alcoholic drinks (in the coach section). In Europe, alcohol is part of the ‘package’. I have to wonder if this LKF contributed to the “atmosphere” of the plane.


I was a little surprised at how uninspired the architecture was in Athens. All of these plain buildings in need of repair nestled together under the Acropolis that sits on top of a small mountain in the center of the city.


Another thing I noticed was the considerable amount of graffiti. The only place in Athens that didn’t have graffiti was the historic landmarks and trains. (Mental note: open spray paint store in Athens)


Scott always does so much research on hotels and has never disappointed in the one he chooses. From experience I can advise you that a more expensive hotel can actually save you money on your vacation. They usually include breakfast (food can be expensive in large European cities) and they are usually located close to the sights you want to see or a train that will take you to the places you would most likely like to see. Otherwise you will need to take taxis and that can rack up the cost of a vacation.


We checked into our hotel… Wow! The Electra Palace… highly recommended!


It is so centrally located that on our trip we took two taxis, one to our hotel from the airport and one to the airport from our hotel.


After dropping off the luggage in our room (which included a bidet), we went in search of dinner. It had been a long day of flights and we were all tired. I was hoping for some food that was quick, recognizable and not far from our hotel.


The streets in Athens are tiny, one-way and the sidewalks are so narrow that most everyone just walked in the street (kind of like India). Parking is definitely difficult.


We walked a couple of short blocks and before us stood a sign… not just a sign, but an omen that this was going to be a fabulous trip… before us stood the Hard Rock Café Athens. Anyone who knows us knows that our family loves HRC. Scott has been to 21 of the restaurants, I’ve been to 20 and John 19. We even have a frequent diner card. Moussaka Hard Rock Café style… well, it ROCKS!


I would like to say we went back to our room to sleep after a satisfying dinner, but it was more like we went back to our room and passed out.


I would like to take a minute to rant here… I’ve noticed this trend at hotels lately. What is up with the firm mattresses? Mattress commercials say like sleeping on a cloud, not a slab of marble! Why even have beds if you are going to have rock hard mattresses? Just have your clients sleep directly on the floor. Different people like different firmnesses of mattresses. I would think a hotel wouldn’t go to the extreme of too hard or too soft… the smartest option would be right in the middle. Everyone would be happy.


Anyway… we woke up and had a fabulous breakfast in the hotel garden.


We spent the next few days wandering this sunny city looking at the sights and learning about the Greek culture… and doing what Smiths do best… shopping!


My favorite was the flea market… a little touristy but I loved it. Surprising how many “Made in India” things I saw. I bought some sandals (made in Greece) that have strings that wrap up your legs. I don’t know if I will ever wear them? This brings me to another subject, fashion.


There seemed to be three things in fashion in Greece; smoking, lots of bare skin and hairy women. I don’t think any of these need more explanation.


We took the train a couple of times. It’s a great place for my favorite sport… people watching. It always surprises me how many doppelgangers I see when I travel. I saw mine in Rome last year.


Now that I am 40 I now am faced with a dilemma, I have to be really careful who I offer a seat to when riding on trains. It’s customary to offer your seat to an older person, or if you are a man, to a lady. Imagine someone only a few years younger than you offering you a seat on a train… that might be considered an insult.


The food in Greece was delicious. I am so blessed to have an adventurous 9 year old boy when it comes tasting new things. At one restaurant he ordered octopus… I know you won’t believe me, but it was delicious! It wasn’t rubbery at all.


We went to the Electra restaurant for dinner one evening. Definitely in the top 10 list of dining experiences I’ve experienced. The restaurant was outdoors on the roof… the food very posh. We all ordered different things and sampled from each other’s plates. John had the steak tartare and loved it. Actually all of the food was amazing… but the best part was the view. We were under the Acropolis. As we dined the sun set giving us a beautiful show.






I don’t know why but the produce in Greece seemed fresher to me than any I have ever had. Salads and fruit and vegetables seemed to be ripe, crisp and flavorful. I will take my new love of Greek salads with me to the grave.


The bills at restaurants were kind of funny… everything was written in Greek except the total.



One of my favorite things to do was to stop at the sidewalk cafés and have a frappe (cold coffee).


A lot of them would have these fans that would blow mist. It really cooled you down, and a great place for conversation. At one of these cafés John came up with his new game idea (he invents new video games for fun), “Grand Theft Hovering Vampire Teletubbies with Battle Axes of Doom IIV”. Creative or weird… the jury is still out.


One day we were walking and saw these people next to the busy street having a formal archeological dig.


John had outgrown so many of his clothes that we decided to take a trip to the mall to look for some new clothes for him. When we got to the mall we had a pretzel from Auntie Anne’s and after shopping we went to Ruby Tuesdays for lunch. I’m learning that going to the American chains in other countries will only be disappointing. I think the opposite is true… I will never find a Greek restaurant in America that will be as good at the ones in Greece.


The mall in Athens was interesting. I’m an America living in India visiting Greece so I went to Marks and Spencer… a British store… and I signed up for a frequent shopper card just to confuse them. We bought our little fashionista a couple pair of shorts and shirts and got back on the train to town.


We passed the Olympic villiage on our ride back. Neat-O!



One day we went swimming at the hotel pool which was located on the roof… nice to swim under the Acropolis.


I loved Greece and hope to return someday.


I think I would like to see some of the isles next time. I might even come up with a new game… whoever spots the hairiest woman wins.