Go to Greece and fall in love

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October 24, 2009

By Joy Crutchfield The McAlester News-Capital Sat Oct 24, 2009, 01:23 PM CDT

I just returned from an incredible 12 day tour of Greece, accompanied by 24 people who began the trip as my clients and ended as my dear friends.

Our departure from Tulsa International Airport was without incident and unhurried. Several of us met for breakfast before arriving at the airport. We arrived in Atlanta for our connecting flight. After an overnight flight (the Alps were beautiful) we arrived in historic Athens. Both flights were completely full and pulled away from the gate on schedule.

Erik, our tour company representative, was waiting for us at the baggage claim area holding a sign with my company name on it. He assisted us with our luggage and joined us onboard our air conditioned motorcoach. During the 40 minute drive to our Athens hotel he gave us lots of do’s and a few don’t about Athens and Greece in general. We arrived at our hotel on time and amazingly our rooms were ready. (It was noon).

The Kaningos 21 Hotel is a solid property with extremely comfortable beds, all new surfaces including new white duvets. The BBC was the only English speaking channel on the TV. There’s a free safe in each closet, an ATM machine and a bank across the street, and a variety of delicious restaurants are a mere two blocks away. I couldn’t have asked for a better location.

We walked to the National Museum and were amazed at the priceless artifacts inside. While photographs are allowed, I found out the hard way there is no posing. That night we ate authentic Greek food (gyros and Greek salads) just blocks from our rooms, and slept soundly on very soft beds.

The next morning I was delighted to discover that our complimentary breakfast at the hotel was excellent. Fresh fruit, dried fruit, cold cuts, cereal, hot eggs and bacon, rolls and bread, and most delicious yogurt I have ever eaten. It’s the consistency of rich sour cream, drizzled with honey-it is amazing.

After our satisfying breakfast we climbed aboard our motorcoach for a tour of Ancient Athens. I promptly nicknamed our tour guide “Olga the Lion Tamer”. We took a quick tour around town then drove to the Acropolis.

We exited the bus and started to climb, stopping for great pictures of the Ancient Agora. We rested at the ticket booth where the guide purchased our entrance tickets. Note: our tickets were also good valid for the Ancient Agora, the Theater of Dionysios, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which saved us money on our free day. There is also a restroom, money exchange/post office and gift shop at the ticket booth area.

From this point we continued our climb. Once on top, the plateau is level and you can visit multiple buildings. There is a water fountain here. The Acropolis is magnificent and worth every step of the climb! Olga made sure we could hear every word she uttered, and there thousands. Olga knew the answer to any questions, and other visitors to the Acropolis tried in vain to horn in on our group.

After our amazing tour of the Acropolis we stopped at the Olympic Stadium from the 1920’s, made a stop to see the changing of the guard, and then got off at the Plaka where we enjoyed the remainder of the afternoon bargaining and eating.

We walked back to our hotel from the Plaka, a nice stretch of the legs, freshened up, and then walked about three blocks from the hotel and ate at an outdoor café, where I enjoyed yet another awesome Greek salad, and chicken on a stick. Of course we found a delicious ice cream/pastry shop for dessert after our meal.

That evening many of us ended our day on the rooftop of our hotel, enjoying a fine glass of wine and the view of the dramatically lit Acropolis. St. George’s church is also clearly visible from here, adding to the already wonderful atmosphere.

The journey continues next week with our free day in Athens.

Contact Joy Crutchfield, owner of The Joy of Travel www.thejoyoftravel.us or 918-339-4805.

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