Semiramis Kifissia

... airline has charged us for rescheduling a flight with them. We join the Emirates check-in queue and after forty five minutes we are checked in by someone who at least speaks to us in a friendly way. As we queue we see a desk marked 'Excess baggage payments' which really portrays a picture of a passenger friendly airline. Our (slightly overweight) bags are passed through without any penalty and we go on to the baggage security and then an, also unsmiling ...

... from Athens to Paros, a hotel in Paros, a ferry to santorini, 2 nights in a hotel in santorini including transportation to and from the port, a ferry back from santorini to Athens and a plane ride to Italy for $300! Our 3 star hotels cost less than our hostels in Amsterdam or Dublin! We were so excited! We went and had brunch, complete with a grey kitten that curled up in Angies lap. I had eggs and bacon but their bacon is basically raw. We went back to the hostel and talked to ...

... det ville vaere uhoefligt ikk at drikke det - saa vi bundede alle glasset. - Jammas!!! (skaal!) - ADR!. Vi spiste paa vores stamtaverna om aftenen og senere hen paa natten fulgte vi Nette til lufthavnen . *snoeft* Her var der en mand fra et rejsebureau, som var fantastisk underholdende for os begge (maaske fordi kl. var 4 og vi ikke havde sovet hele natten). Efter at have sovet et par timer eller to, tog vi metroen til Piraeus, hvorfra vi sejlede til Milos...

... at me (!!!!) and we had the "Good day-How are you?-I'm fine. And you?-Fine, thank you" conversation in Greek. This is the second older woman living in my apartment building whom I've met. The first one knew what floor I live on, despite the fact that I'd never seen her before. I think I'm being watched and discussed. Perhaps they've concluded I don't play loud music and don't speak a lot of Greek but I try, so maybe they're going to be nice to me.

... was everything we had hoped for and more! We had five staff, Captain Costos, 1st Mate Nicoli, Chef Ryan and 2 Concierges - Verity and Tamalyn! Waiting for us was a chilled bottle of Bollinger and nibbles! Oh yes this is my kind of lifestyle. We didn't actually leave port that night as they had a problem with the steering which was being looked at first thing in the morning. This did not worry us however as we had everything we required, needed or even dreamed of right on ...

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... breath. Deep calming, tranquil breath. Athens itself is surprisingly nice. Fellow travellers, guide books and international reputation don't rate the Greek capital particularly highly as a place to stay. Yet a random stroll in any of the precincts around the Acropolis was generally leafy and had a fun cosmopolitan feel to it. The Acropolis itself is a pleasant surprise. Long reputed to have copped the horror combination of an early bad restoration and modern ...

... something, you have to get it right then and there, because odds are, you will never be able to find it again! But after that, we came back, and now we are trying to catch up on all of our internet-y things. And we have to burn a few hours before we go catch our bus to the Pink Palace at 7ish. So yes. that is it for now. Im really REALLY excited for Corfu. CLIFF DIVING IS EVER-SO-QUICKLY APPROACHING!!!!! im so excited! But yes. thats all for now. more later! CIAO!

... this time around. We took an excellent walking tour around Florence and learned a ton of great history about the city and especially about the Renaissance period during which Florentine artists created some of the most famous works of art in the world. It was interesting to hear about the Medici family of Florence and how Lorenzo the Magnificent (part of the Medici family) had discovered Michelangelo at the early age of 9. The ...

... used the mighty temple as a warehouse and almost completely destroyed it in the process when the gunpowder ignited). In addition to the Parthenon, we took some time to explore the other key sights on the Acropolis. In an effort to keep a roof over some of their more important relics, the Greeks have erected a few museums on and near the Acropolis that we decided were well worth a visit. First on our list was the Acropolis museum which boasts many of the most important ...