Traveling across the world

We started out early today. I was up at 4 am and Helen picked me up at 4:50. Off to Greece and what do I do, but get all the way up to the airport and realized I left my money belt and passport at home. We had about 30 min to boarding and I had to call Corrie to bring me my passport. I did get an extra kiss good-by from him, but talk about stress. Tamara had her new hubby to say goodby to but even that was cut short because of all the security to go through.

Tamra and Helen trying to Sleep

The flight was about 24 hours. We went to Seattle, LA, then to London, Heathrow. The plane was huge but we managed to all sit together. We all had books to read and snacks but we all found ourselves stuffed into the seats and feeling like pretzels. Our flight went across Canada, New Foundland and the Atlantic to Greenland. The plane had individual DVD screens that you could follow the journey, watch movies, or listen to CD's. The food was good and offered from a chipper crew that saw us off with a Cherrio. The night proved very long and uncomfortable. Sleep was in short bits. Tamara and Helen hadn't slept but a few hours the night before so they where resembling zombies by the time we got to London. The highlight of the trip was watching the sunrise as the UK came over the horizon. Heathrow is huge. The airport is bran new and manages to get people moving pretty well. It was two hours of sit/stand/wait in line with hundreds of others from all over the world.
Heathrow Airport


The flight to Athens was an older smaller plane but just as cramped. What day was it now? We'd been taking an herbal supplement that Helen had gotten for the jet lag. It didn't do anything for sleep deprivation we where all feeling. I was able to get advice from a very nice couple who was on their way to a wedding, they said none of the remedys work, but the secret is to stay up the day you arrive and get as much sunshine as you can during the day. We didn't have much trouble staying up when we got to Athens. Our next "adventure" turned out to be Tamara bag which didn't seem to make it on the plane to Athens. We where able to track it down and it would be coming to Athens on the next plane. Poor Tamara, if she wasn't so tired she'd have cried, but Helen comforted her by telling her tales of her many "adventures" while traveling, missing luggage was nothing compared to landing in San Paulo instead of Rio.



After getting our bags we had to get Euros and somehow the exchange rate had risen to $1.58 for 1 Euro! It all works our Helen keeps telling us. The metro was next which is thankfully sleek, clean, and easy to understand. Helen managed to get us to our hostel somehow.

Helen booked us into the Athens Style . I've never stayed in a hostel before, but if this is any example, they are wonderful. We where able to book our room for 3 at $100/night. The beds are firm, but great, despite what I'd been warned. We had a long day, but we're safe and sound and sleeping like babies.