We have been visiting mum's friends in Athens over the last two days and I have to be honest and say its not exactly the way I wanted to end my holiday. I've been listening to three widows debating each other over who's got the most pains, who's taking the most medication, who's children don't care about them the most and who's the most alone in the world. *sigh*
The last week in Crete was over in a flash. We had all these last minute things to take care of and before we knew it, we were having our last meal in the village with my Great Uncle Chris (my maternal grandfather's only surviving sibling of 13) and Great Aunt Katina. He is 81 years old and all of us held onto a piece of the sombre and dampening feeling of dread as the time approached to leave them. Tears and well wishes flowed like the natural drinking springs we found all over Crete and with a heavy heart, Great Uncle Chris acknowledged that due to his advanced years, this was the last time we would ever lay eyes on each other.
When left Crete, mum and I wrestled for window real estate on takeoff to watch the mountains and coast of Crete disappear behind us. Without a word, we looked at each other when the island was no longer visible and with tears in our eyes, silently acknowledged our sadness that we may in fact never return and if we did, too many things would be too different.
Now, I am just looking forward to the upcoming fights and the last few hours in Athens. Its horrible wishing days away now but I just want to get home. There is nothing more to be done here. Nothing more to see and no one else to greet with big bear hugs.
London tomorrow for an overnight stay and then onto Sydney and a third summer in a row!! Gawd help us with the heat!
Thanks for dropping by and reading my rantings over the past 2 months! I hadn't anticipated being anywhere near a computer but its been fun recording (albeit sparsely) and sharing my experiences with you.
Cheers!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
A word on Egypt Air.... >8-(
Subtitled: Cranky Pants time.
Undoubtedly the worst airline on this earth.
Going to Egypt:
1. Chaos getting on and people bringing on hand luggage that eerily resembled loosely wrapped goats and bee hives.
2. Pilot decided it would be a good idea to make the roughest turns he could possibly do in the air without a wing coming off.
3. During the "meal" from the most unfriendliest female flight attendant with attitude... "Oh you want vegetarian, never mind" and walked off.
4. The same attendant opened a big bottle of lemonade; spraying its contents all over me... "Oh, never mind, its just like water!" I was half expecting to be inundated by the above-mentioned bees once they got a whiff of all the sugar contained in the "water" that I had just been bathed in.
5. The plane was taxiing for both take off and after landing and passengers are strolling around the plane, opening overhead luggage compartments.
6. My personal favourite: the guy from the last row; overhead bags in hand heading to the front of the plane just as the wheels touched the ground so he could be the first one off.
7. I am vindicated in my comments about the pilot because everyone on the plane clapped when we touched down.
Leaving Egypt:
1. Same chaos, same goats, different looking beehive type packages!
2. This time grumpy male attendant who didn't bother with cooler lemonade. Instead, he decided to splash what was left in the coffee cup of the person sitting opposite me all over me and then walk off without acknowledging my baptism.
3. Same same when the plane landed... Everyone was up and about whilst the plane was hitting the ground and not a single word from the flight crew.
Traveller beware... DO NOT FLY EGYPT AIR.. EVER!!
You have been warned
Undoubtedly the worst airline on this earth.
Going to Egypt:
1. Chaos getting on and people bringing on hand luggage that eerily resembled loosely wrapped goats and bee hives.
2. Pilot decided it would be a good idea to make the roughest turns he could possibly do in the air without a wing coming off.
3. During the "meal" from the most unfriendliest female flight attendant with attitude... "Oh you want vegetarian, never mind" and walked off.
4. The same attendant opened a big bottle of lemonade; spraying its contents all over me... "Oh, never mind, its just like water!" I was half expecting to be inundated by the above-mentioned bees once they got a whiff of all the sugar contained in the "water" that I had just been bathed in.
5. The plane was taxiing for both take off and after landing and passengers are strolling around the plane, opening overhead luggage compartments.
6. My personal favourite: the guy from the last row; overhead bags in hand heading to the front of the plane just as the wheels touched the ground so he could be the first one off.
7. I am vindicated in my comments about the pilot because everyone on the plane clapped when we touched down.
Leaving Egypt:
1. Same chaos, same goats, different looking beehive type packages!
2. This time grumpy male attendant who didn't bother with cooler lemonade. Instead, he decided to splash what was left in the coffee cup of the person sitting opposite me all over me and then walk off without acknowledging my baptism.
3. Same same when the plane landed... Everyone was up and about whilst the plane was hitting the ground and not a single word from the flight crew.
Traveller beware... DO NOT FLY EGYPT AIR.. EVER!!
You have been warned
Athens and Ferry Boat to Crete
I arrived back in Athens on the 16th August and travelled by bus, train, bus and feet to a family friend's house to stay; recover and head back to Crete.
As soon as I slipped inside the apartment, all gloves were off:
OK Tina... you will now have a shower and when you finish you will sit down and eat 7 times your body weight before bedtime. I have every kind of food known to man in the fridge and by the time you shower and change into your jammies for the designated afternoon snooze, it will be laid out on the dinner table in front of you.
Hello!!!! All I want is a cup of tea and a biscuit.
You can have that after you eat everything on your plate.
Oh God help me!!
That conversation was repeated for two days until I was scheduled to leave on an overnight ferry cruise to Crete.
Overnight trips to Crete are actually quite lovely. You leave when all the lights at Piraeus come on and watch them fade in the distance as you set sail south. Then if you're lucky and have a smooth sea, 9 hours later you're heading into Souda Bay at dawn and watch the coastline in the dim light come into view. If you got up early enough you can be sipping a coffee from the many food stores on board whilst watching the boat dock and everyone offload themselves and their cars, trucks and packages that again look like loosely wrapped goats... hmmm!
I'm back home!
As soon as I slipped inside the apartment, all gloves were off:
OK Tina... you will now have a shower and when you finish you will sit down and eat 7 times your body weight before bedtime. I have every kind of food known to man in the fridge and by the time you shower and change into your jammies for the designated afternoon snooze, it will be laid out on the dinner table in front of you.
Hello!!!! All I want is a cup of tea and a biscuit.
You can have that after you eat everything on your plate.
Oh God help me!!
That conversation was repeated for two days until I was scheduled to leave on an overnight ferry cruise to Crete.
Overnight trips to Crete are actually quite lovely. You leave when all the lights at Piraeus come on and watch them fade in the distance as you set sail south. Then if you're lucky and have a smooth sea, 9 hours later you're heading into Souda Bay at dawn and watch the coastline in the dim light come into view. If you got up early enough you can be sipping a coffee from the many food stores on board whilst watching the boat dock and everyone offload themselves and their cars, trucks and packages that again look like loosely wrapped goats... hmmm!
I'm back home!
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