Public Transportation Strike- A real look at Athens

Today I toured the Archaeological Museum. It was amazing! I didn't have the energy to go to the Acropolis ( I have a bad cold now)- hopefully tomorrow- if it is open- things here are very volatile- with all the strikes. When I came back from the Museum today- on the white board it informed us that all public transportation tomorrow will be closed due to union strikes. (some of us thought it was an April fools joke- it being the 1st an all! but unfortunately it was not so) So far all ferries, buses and trains are shut down tomorrow. Also- some of the air control tower operators are going on strike for a limited time period tomorrow- shutting down part of the airport for several hours. The strike is making getting to the airport for people here- an absolute nightmare. Because the buses stop ruining at 5 in the morning- and the routes are not direct at all- because of all the protesters camped out in streets blocking off the intersections. This is crazy to witness. People are so angry here because they haven't been paid for months. The government has no money to pay its workers.

I went to a travel agent today to book a ferry to an island. I plan on going to Santorini- and maybe 2 other islands- I have to return tomorrow to meet and go over the final plans- They have to locate lodging for me. Hopefully I won't get stranded on an island- hopefully there will be no more public strikes!!! That wouldn't be good!

It is a shock to see international flights actually cancelled out and a bit scary- but I guess it happens here all the time because of the strikes? I am not flying out till the 13th of this month. and I am sure things will be up and running- the strike is only supposed to be a "typical" 24 hr strike :)
I am going to try to get some sleep- although I can't breath-stupid cold! Ohh one thing hilarious about Greece is even though it is about 70 and humid- people are wearing wool coats- because it is their winter here! I am walking around in a T-shirt and jeans and sandals! Greece is very humid- and I would NOT come here in the summer! It would be stifling! And the air quality in Athens is very very very poor! Clean air in OR will be very welcome when I return! Well I am going to try to sleep a bit- 2 of my roommates are packing and leaving to the airport here to try to beat the shut down of the transportation system it is 12:30 AM here and they are hoping to leave by 3:30 am to make it to the airport. The airport is so far away from the city center where the hostel is located which makes things more difficult. Taxis are a possibility but it is expensive and the demand for them tomorrow morning is going to be huge.

Here is a link to the US Sect. of State info regarding the demonstration tomorrow! Exciting!!! I don' t think they are close to where I am.....But one of the demonstration I thought was near the Acropolis which is right next to where I am..... who knows!
http://athens.usembassy.gov/demonstrations_ann.html

X-men, confusing hotels, ancient ruins, dying men!

Well today was my first official day in Athens- it was quite interesting! I made it to the hostel- after a very confusing taxi ride there. The taxi driver was luckily amazing and although she didn't know where the hostel was- she had to park and walk me to it- because the road we had to take was under construction at last we found it though! I gave her a huge tip for her help! She had to talk the police into even parking in that area because cars weren't supposed to drive on that road- right next to the Acropolis- After checking into the hostel I went on a walk with a new buddy Nikos, that I met while checking into the hostel. We went to the National Gardens, Plaka, areas around the Acropolis, and had a wonderful lunch. Lunch was the most amazing part of the whole day. We are sitting there- eating-Exohikoo- which is pork stuffed w/ tomatoes,green pepper and feta cheese and then the man at the table next to me suddenly completely fell off his chair- his head landing on my backpack which was resting at my feet. He fell like a sack of bricks!!! He had been drinking a pitcher of wine. There was no movement- either before or after he hit the ground- he just laid there completely still. I seriously thought he was dead! He laid there for several seconds- I was just stunned- thinking oh no- this guy is completely dead! But alas after what felt like several minutes- and with the help of the waiters and restaurant help he was awakened- and ok. You see his head was saved by landing on my backpack! otherwise his skull would have hit the cobblestones and it wouldn't have been a pretty sight. Maybe he had narcolepsy- who knows- once awakened he continued smoking and was drinking a new glass of wine! It was incredible- I guess life goes on- welcome to Athens!!!I posted a picture of the almost dead man- he is the one with his hand to his nose! Sidenote- there are lots of stray dogs in Athens- I met Quasi- (short for Quasimoto) which is a gimpy dog which is dating a rather nice looking white dog. I don't have pictures of Quasi but maybe tomorrow our paths will meet again! After lunch we journeyed to the flea market- where hundreds of people tried to get us to enter their shops to buy their goods they were selling. Then we saw a turtle- which I am positive was touring the city of Athens on a small train tour around the city. The turtle- who is yet unnamed is pictured above. We came back the hostel- only to be greeted by some neanderthals from the Midwest. One was proud of his collection of a 1500 lb pig and certain unmentionable parts on his phone- and the conversation quickly got more crude from there. Needless to say I was not impressed by the intellect of my fellow Americans. One (aka Mr. Sizzler- see below)kept insisting that he needed to use my computer to access porn. I extracted myself from the situation by saying I was hungry! We left them to their beer and X-man 3. Dinner was good. After dinner- I wanted to see part of the city at night-which is my favorite time to tour around..... well I heard voices and they were students marching with candles protesting something- marching the Acropolis- I have no clue what they were saying-police were surrounding them it was quite exciting!! We decided we wanted a picture of the rally so we started following them- dodging police cars and trying not to look to conspicuous - and hiding behind bushes. Don't worry all it was a peaceful rally all was quite tame! All this for no good pictures that turned out- just blurry shapes :( After that I wanted a bit of ice cream so we found a shop that was still open around midnight. After sitting down peacefully eating my ice cream- we witnessed a motorcyclist crash into a outdoor restaurant table. After all this action I was excited to return to the hostel and relax. Unfortunately the cowboys/neanderthals- had never left and had continued drinking during all the time we were gone. The one- who I can't stand- informed me we "he and I had to celebrate and sizzle" ICK! He proceeded to wedge his rear in next to where I was sitting- I had to once again relocate. I was not impressed! His new nickname is Mr. Sizzle- Which is not a favorable nickname! He and his buddies have gone out drunk looking for a Big Mac and have yet to return. Tomorrow I will go to the Archaeological Museum and then the Acropolis! I then have to book the remaining part of my trip. PS. Does anyone know if a turtle would eat a gimpy beetle- if it could catch it?

Munich Germany

I left LA at 9:15 P.M. and arrived in Munich Germany- around 5:40 P.M. (time in Europe). The flight was wonderful- because of my new found love Dramamine! This pill is magic- and is now a must have for any travelling. I slept for about 6 hrs at least of the flight- and watched Australia- which was long- but relatively entertaining. This wing of the airport is relatively abandoned- there was absolutely no line- to go through the security check...... so hopefully I didn't take a wrong turn somewhere! It seems almost every airport I have been in is under some sort of construction. But the sign at the gate says Athens- so I believe I am in the right area! :)

Lufthansa is a fairly good airline from what I can tell- I liked it better than Air France and KLM. The food was good- serving fresh fruit with every meal which I enjoyed. I traded seats with a women in front of me so she could sit with her husband- which meant I had a window seat!! Even though it was dark for most of the flight- I still love to watch taking of and landing! It is my favorite.

I like the German airport- it is very clean and wonderfully marked as to where you need to go. It eliminates the level of confusion and I greatly appreciate it- being the lost, bewildered traveller I am! So far so good- we will see if my bag makes it to Greece later this evening. I should start boarding here in about 1/2 hr for Greece. I feel so good having actually slept some!

Chris did you do the expirement with the Cranberry Juice and the Ice Cream?? I want to know the results!

Final Travel Plans! Prague and Greece

I am returning to Europe next Sun March 29- I fly out to Athens, Greece from LAX at 9:15 P.M. I will be in Greece until April 13- when I leave to go to Prague until April 19th when I return to OR. This week I am spending in Santa Ana, CA with Chris and Dang- my step brother and his wife. Last week Penny and I returned from Rome- into LAX and then faced a 10+ hr drive to Reno NV and back- to arrange things for my step sister's funeral. We returned late Thursday back to Santa Ana, I am staying in CA until I fly out on the 29th of this month! I am not looking forward to the long flight again to head back to Europe- but I am excited to see Greece. Prague should be fun but expensive :( .... More wonderful entries will come in the coming days! It will just be me traveling alone- Penny is not returning to Europe.

Back to the US- LAX

This morning- we got a call from Chris- my step bro- that Suzannah- Penny's daughter, my step sister had passed away Friday morning. So we went to the airport in Rome- and got the quickest flight out possible- After approximately 14 hours of straight flying and being up for 25 hrs straight we arrived in LA where Chris picked us up. We are probably going to fly to Reno NV where Suzannah and her husband lived tomorrow. I have a return flight booked to Rome leaving LAX on March 21 that I will most likely take- Oh but I don't look forward to that long flight again! But that way I could see some more of Rome and Italy and then fly out to Greece. I have to see how exhausted I am over the next couple of days. Penny is doing alright- but it is such a shock to all of us. So my adventures are postponed for approximately a week or so- until I return back to Europe.

Roma!

This is Penny! It seems like we've been in Rome forever, not just 2 days. The day started beautifully clear and cool. The hotel breakfast buffet was more than adequet-cereals, fruit, a collation of Italian deli meats, ham, sausages, bacon, eggs (boiled & scramble), toast, breadrolls and of course, the sweets --6 kinds of cakes & pastries. Carolyn missed it catching up on sleep from a strenuous day before.

The tribe gathered to venture on "l'autobus". This time it was easy (after going to work hours). We knew on which side of the street to be and where to validate the tickets. We recognized streets and stores AND I'm beginning to understand complete sentences in Italian ( when I listen to surrounding conversations). .The upshot of all this is Caro and I were at the Coliseum . First I made Caro get the required tourist photoshots with the really cute Italian guy in the short skirt and armour. Then we stood in line for tickets and were asked for information re: il colossia from the Texas couple in front of us. The colossia was awesome and we took a zillion pics. On the way out we availed ourselves of the ladies/gents loo where I left my sack of souvenirs on a hook while trying to keep my skirt out of the facility. A nice Scottish lady retrieved the gift sack for me.

On the way to our bus Caro was accosted by another Roman gladiator asking if she wanted her picture taken and he broke out in an Italian love song. She didn't know what he was singing , so I translated. These fellows are really cute AND charming. I enjoy walking behind Carolyn and watching the action around her (she 's oblivious to it). I had a great dinner with Jack and Hetty- a delightful 2 hours of eating! Caro was working on a job application at the internet center in the hotel so she could use the printer and had snacked earlier so she skipped eating with us. Tomorrow we head off to Furore on the Amalfi Coast - south of Rome- the drive should take approximately 5 hour or so.

I am in love...with Rome!

Today we woke up at 5:30 in the morning to take a taxi to the bus station so we could grab a shuttle to the airport. (leaving Paris) We arrived in Rome a bit after 11 I believe. We made it to our hotel- which is really a wonderful upgrade from our Paris experience!!! We rested for about an hour or so to get settled in and then we decided to go for an extended tour. We decided to brave the local buses here- which was quite amusing. After getting detailed descriptions from the kind man at the front desk of which bus to take and where to switch- we headed out- sure that this time our navigation skills would be a success. Alas however, our sense of direction is still a bit lacking. We turned left when we should have gone right and were on the wrong side of the street- looking for a bus going the opposite direction we intended to go. A kind local set us on the right path. Now we would be successful for sure. So there we are waiting for the bus......here it comes! Great this is so wonderful- the bus stops- a few people get off and it continues right on going! We are just standing there still- oh my. We learned that you have to practically jump on the bus when it stops- it doesn't wait for anything- the door opens and you better be pushing your way on it. So we wait another...10 min or so. This time we have success- we finally are physically inside the bus which is a definite improvement to our last attempt. Now- might I mention- we didn't think this through entirely because it is going home time and the buses are packed- no one can move- people can't even get off at their stops because individuals are standing on the steps in front of the doors- it is crazy- sometimes people can't even get on the bus because the doors won't close! Anyway we are heading into downtown- again crazy traffic. We get to our stop where we have to switch buses. Alas- we go the wrong way again to look for our next connection! However, the people are so friendly here- and with Penny's Italian and other people's broken English skills we have for the most part been able understand most anyone. So we finally board the last bus and head down to the Colosseum. We pass so many many incredible buildings...well buildings doesn't really describe them- they as you can see from some of my pictures it is absolutely amazing here. So we arrive at the Colosseum- only to find out that it closes at 4 pm. (It was approximately 6) So off we walk- just looking at all the amazing things to see. It is so incredible here. We walked around till it got dark- I did a bit of exploring on my own which was awesome- I went up these crazy stairs that go forever and took a few pictures- another staircase to the right led to an amazing courtyard with a cool fountain and all sorts of nooks and crannies to explore at night! Would be the perfect place to play hide and go seek! So we finally settled down and had dinner at a wonderful little restaurant. Discussing how to get back to the hotel- we basically had 2 options- 1st. Battle the bus system or 2nd. Hire a taxi. We decided that the taxi was the best option because we didn't want to have a 2 hour ordeal on our return. This taxi driver was the best so far. He didn't speak that much English but what he did say was hilarious. First, he entered the address to the hotel in his GPS- of course when he is driving over the speed limit it yells at him. He was constantly saying "shut up, shut up" in this wonderful Italian accent. Then for some reason it moos at him- I didn't know they do that- and he says- "it sounds like my wife, she is large like that!" :) Overall, today was spendid! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!