After being strip searched by British Airport Security at Heathrow- yes 45 mins later we were cleared. Huh? The supervisor couldn't understand why Bubs had one suitcase filled with his supplements, pills and shake fixings. He even packed an icepack for his "live" raw probiotics. The Security super wanted to know if a Dr prescribed it? Bubs 2 titanium knees and metal brackets in his back kept the buzzer ringing as well. Geeeeesh Bubs.
Just in time to run, people mover, bus, and yes "transit" aka train it to the other side of the airport to catch another British Airways flight. Did you know Heathrow? It is definitely the busiest airport in Europe- in 206 it handled a record 75.7 million passengers. It is located 14 miles west of Central London. It is used by over 80 airlines flying to 185 destinations in 84 countries. The busiest single destination in passenger numbers is New York, with over 3 million passenger flying between Heathrow and JFK. Due to all that bobbing and weaving and running from one terminal to 2 others, Boca is po'd the she didn't get to stop in at Louis Vuitton and the Dior stores- among oh so many others her eyes saw on the blurry run by.
Hey, what happened to our Business Class seats Pops? You mean I have to fly 3 hours to Athens stuck in a fake Biz Class seat???? You know the one where thy put you in a regular seat and stick a tray on the middle seat to block the seat from being used by another passenger and call it Biz Class? Yup. Next time read the fine print Pops. And note to self- next time take the short plane hop then the long one over the pond straight into Athens. Wouldn't be as tiring...meaning fly to NY first then straight away to Athens.
Greece, beautiful Greece....
The Greek Flag waves proudly....
We kick off the trip in Athens- the capital and the largest city in Greece and one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning over 3400 years. The home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum, it is widely referred to as the cradle of Western Civilization and the birthplace of democracy. Bubs hasn't been here in many years and my last visit was 19 years ago. Along with the stunning antiquities this global city, because of its location and its importance in shipping, commerce, media, entertainment arts, culture, and tourism. And who knew the port, Piraeus, is both the largest passenger port in Europe and the second largest in the world. The population of Athens is about 664,000 with a greater municipal population of 3,090,508.
We check into the King George Hotel for a few days of touring around Athens before we board the Seabourn Encore out at Piraeus. Pleep is pleased they got the memo about his royal requirements.
Dinner at the hotel is a must do-a superview of the Acropolis is stunning. Opa!
Beautifully appointed.
Must come back for dinner tonight. No sandals or shorts Bubs!
Haze on the horizon?
The view from the hotel to the town square- lively all day and all night!
The Hotel location is superb. Lots of wonderful Greek jewelry stores in the hood and of course another one of Boca's favs- the Icon store!!And there is that funky Athenian haze- what is that about? The hotel staff say it is from the Egyptian desert but reality tells us it is smog from the pollution including one of the main sources -wood burning stoves and fireplaces (to stay warm in the winter- who knew Greece ever got chilly?). Bubs wants to know where they get the wood, as deforestation looks pretty rampant....if you don't count the olive trees.
Digging in a little deeper...the concentration of air pollutants in Athens have reached as much as 15 times the level recommended by the EU- yes due to that fireplace use and wood stoves. This pollution problem has been going on for years- how in the heck did they have the Olympics here in 2004??
The view from Mount Lycabettus- Bubs says Athens reminds him of Southern California- pretty dry.
AND who knew Athens is home to 148 theatrical stages- more than any other city in the world.
Back to the hotel for a lovely dinner and now time for a good night's rest.
One last peek at that Acropolis view please...remember the Parthenon sits on the Acropolis mount.
