Getting Home

The trip home included one last night in Athens, where we stayed at Hostel Zeus, quite possible the seediest place in Athens. We picked it because it was the cheapest place available and we only had one night to spend there. In the morning before our flight left we checked out the Achaelogical Museum to see the mask of Agamemnon, many sculptures, the Vaphio cups, and much more.

With that, we headed back to Zeus to collect our luggage, took the metro to the airport and boarded an Olympic airways flight back to London.

Do to our layover, we spent the night sleeping on a bench in Heathrow airport. This is what I’m talking about when I say I lead a glamorous lifestyle:

Refreshed from our very comfortable accommodations, we boarded an American Airlines flight at 7:00am and watched eight hours worth of movies to kill time until we arrived back in Chicago.

Unfortunately, our adventures weren’t quite over. I noticed a security dog sniffing around the passengers at the luggage corral. I didn’t think anything of it until he got quite excited when he got close to me and jumped up with his paws on my back! I was clearly a threat to national security! Turns out, he was actually an agriculture dog and he was only interested in the two apples I had in my backpack that Eva and I bought in Athens for a snack. I willingly gave up the apples but not before the entire airport had stopped and watched the scene go down. I got a special mark on my customs form that meant Eva and I had to get our bags x-rayed for more illegal produce before we left the airport.

Now we’re safely back in Wisconsin and happy to enjoy our own beds, hot showers, and toilets that you can flush the toilet paper in (ah the miracles of modern plumbing). According to many of the Greeks we talked to, in our three weeks in Greece we managed to more than most of the natives!

Now it’s back to the reality of school, work and responsibility. *Sigh.* It’s a good thing we’re already planning our next adventure, so stay tuned!

Getting there is half the fun!

As Eva and I were sitting in the Chicago O'Hare airport, I pondered aloud, "I wonder if there will be any celebrities on our flight today." Eva laughed and brushed me off, but as we boarded the plane a few minutes later we noticed a commotion in the first class compartment. A flamboyantly dressed black male layered with chains and tons of bling was struggling to get his luggage in the overhead bins. We noticed a huge clock hanging from his neck and realized we had our first celebrity sighting of the trip - Flava Flav!!! Mom and Dad, you probably haven't heard of him but he is a member of the 80's rap group public enemy and is currently starring on a reality dating show on VH1, Flava of Love. He graciously agreed to pose for a photo with us:

Today, we had a long layover in London so we checked our suitcases and ventured into the city for a few hours to explore. We did a whirlwind tour and caught Tower Bridge, London Bridge, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, The Houses of Parliment, Buckingham Palace, and Harrod's Department Store.

We just got into Athens late tonight and we're staying with Sophia in her cute little flat close to the center of the city. That's all for now, tomorrow we're headed to the Acropolis and the Archaeological Museum.