Recap of Vaca - Part 1
Itinerary: Greek Islands, 10 days
Day 1: Thu 09/30/05:
Toronto/En Route
Was working my butt off until 4pm...then kinda realized "oh, i should pack up and get ready to go to the Airport". All of my co-workers thought I was crazy! Anyway, said my goodbyes and headed out to the Airport Shuttle bus stop, where I had to wait 45 minutes. Not impressed...I was afraid it was an omen of things to come. And WTF...it was freezing that day. For the Islands, I didn't pack anything that warm plus I was wearing flip flops. Craziness!
Day 2: Fri 09/30/05:
En Route
I don't see many movies at the theatrea anymore so why is it every time I'm on a plane, the in-flight entertainment shows a movie I've seen?
In Transit - Heathrow
Heathrow is an amazing airport, lots of trendy (expensive) shopping. Only bad thing about Heathrow - the departure gate information for the terminal I was in only listed the gates an hour before departure time! I couldn't do my usual camping-out in front of the gate for the entire duration of my layover and be woken up by the ground crew before boarding! Darn it!
Athens, Greece
Arrived in Athens, took the metro to the hostel. Got some great travel tips/ideas from people who had just come from the Islands and were heading out of Greece - got their maps, guides, unused tickets/coupons, etc. Walked around the Plaka and then had my first of many meals of lamb. Then went out drinking with people from the hostel until 2am. A nice start it was.
Day 3: Sat 10/01/05
Athens, Greece
My only full day in Athens, and that was enough to do the tourist circuit. Not a big fan of cities...love living in them but don't like visit them cause they're all the same, pretty much. I can do a few days but that's about it. And with the other wonderful offerings of Greece, one day was plenty in Athens. Did a walking tour of Acropolis, Agora, Monastriaki markets, Syntagma shopping district, Botanical Gardens, Ancient Olympic Stadium, Temple of Zeus...most of it in the rain. Pouring rain, in fact, when it came to the Acropolis. I was cursing at the Greeks, literally...cause I didn't know I couldn't bring my backpack into the site. Now, a purse the same size was permitted...so what's the difference? Are they discriminating against backpacks? I didn't read that anywhere in the guidebooks. So be warned: do not take a backpack, even a small daypack, into the Acropolis. So then, I had to use a plastic bag to hold my wallet and my camera to prevent them from getting wet. Plus, I was stuck behind all the tours that had just arrived from a Princess Cruise ship. I was not happy. They were slow, all held umbrellas, and very 'touristy' which really pissed me off.
And I'm not going to say from which country they were from cause that wouldn't be nice (it's one of our southernly neighbours in North America). So in the afternoon, for a period of 2 hours, it cleared out, at least in patches. So...I snuck back in. I lied, lied and lied...told the lady I must have dropped my ticket. They have a way of tracing whether the Acropolis portion of the ticket had been used already so I thought I was busted...but then luckily, we had to walk to the main office and were stuck behind a bunch of old ladies who were walking really slowly. So with a few well-placed comments and questions such as "is it a long walk" and "what time does the Acropolis close", the lady gave up and let me in. No guilty conscience over it...I felt I deserved it cause of the hellish experience earlier that morning. In fact, they owed me a more pleasant experience...not just of the weather but also the crowd. The pictures were worth it too!
Like I
always so...I don't so much follow rules, I just do what I think is right in my mind. My conscience doesn't always agree with the rules or the law...oh well! That night, met some other nice people at the hostel but couldn't go out drinking cause I had to be up really early to catch a flight. And I forgot my TIMEX watch in Toronto which has always acted as my alarm when I travel. So I had bought some shitty Made in China alarm clock and I wasn't 100% confident in it's ability to wake me up at 6am...
Day 1: Thu 09/30/05:
Toronto/En Route
Was working my butt off until 4pm...then kinda realized "oh, i should pack up and get ready to go to the Airport". All of my co-workers thought I was crazy! Anyway, said my goodbyes and headed out to the Airport Shuttle bus stop, where I had to wait 45 minutes. Not impressed...I was afraid it was an omen of things to come. And WTF...it was freezing that day. For the Islands, I didn't pack anything that warm plus I was wearing flip flops. Craziness!
Day 2: Fri 09/30/05:
En Route
I don't see many movies at the theatrea anymore so why is it every time I'm on a plane, the in-flight entertainment shows a movie I've seen?
In Transit - Heathrow
Heathrow is an amazing airport, lots of trendy (expensive) shopping. Only bad thing about Heathrow - the departure gate information for the terminal I was in only listed the gates an hour before departure time! I couldn't do my usual camping-out in front of the gate for the entire duration of my layover and be woken up by the ground crew before boarding! Darn it!
Athens, GreeceArrived in Athens, took the metro to the hostel. Got some great travel tips/ideas from people who had just come from the Islands and were heading out of Greece - got their maps, guides, unused tickets/coupons, etc. Walked around the Plaka and then had my first of many meals of lamb. Then went out drinking with people from the hostel until 2am. A nice start it was.
Day 3: Sat 10/01/05
Athens, Greece
My only full day in Athens, and that was enough to do the tourist circuit. Not a big fan of cities...love living in them but don't like visit them cause they're all the same, pretty much. I can do a few days but that's about it. And with the other wonderful offerings of Greece, one day was plenty in Athens. Did a walking tour of Acropolis, Agora, Monastriaki markets, Syntagma shopping district, Botanical Gardens, Ancient Olympic Stadium, Temple of Zeus...most of it in the rain. Pouring rain, in fact, when it came to the Acropolis. I was cursing at the Greeks, literally...cause I didn't know I couldn't bring my backpack into the site. Now, a purse the same size was permitted...so what's the difference? Are they discriminating against backpacks? I didn't read that anywhere in the guidebooks. So be warned: do not take a backpack, even a small daypack, into the Acropolis. So then, I had to use a plastic bag to hold my wallet and my camera to prevent them from getting wet. Plus, I was stuck behind all the tours that had just arrived from a Princess Cruise ship. I was not happy. They were slow, all held umbrellas, and very 'touristy' which really pissed me off.
And I'm not going to say from which country they were from cause that wouldn't be nice (it's one of our southernly neighbours in North America). So in the afternoon, for a period of 2 hours, it cleared out, at least in patches. So...I snuck back in. I lied, lied and lied...told the lady I must have dropped my ticket. They have a way of tracing whether the Acropolis portion of the ticket had been used already so I thought I was busted...but then luckily, we had to walk to the main office and were stuck behind a bunch of old ladies who were walking really slowly. So with a few well-placed comments and questions such as "is it a long walk" and "what time does the Acropolis close", the lady gave up and let me in. No guilty conscience over it...I felt I deserved it cause of the hellish experience earlier that morning. In fact, they owed me a more pleasant experience...not just of the weather but also the crowd. The pictures were worth it too!
Like Ialways so...I don't so much follow rules, I just do what I think is right in my mind. My conscience doesn't always agree with the rules or the law...oh well! That night, met some other nice people at the hostel but couldn't go out drinking cause I had to be up really early to catch a flight. And I forgot my TIMEX watch in Toronto which has always acted as my alarm when I travel. So I had bought some shitty Made in China alarm clock and I wasn't 100% confident in it's ability to wake me up at 6am...
posted by glor at 10:24 p.m.
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