Itisallgreek2me

Viv and I – Auckland Airport

Saturday 11 October 2014 – After a somewhat challenging time back in New Zealand, last Wednesday my son Dave saw me off at Wanganui Airport, once again on my way back to Greece, a journey which would take me 45 hours door-to-door.  The most exciting thing about this trip was that I had been able to upgrade to Business Class using my accumulated Miles for the Auckland/Melbourne/Dubai sector on an Emirates A380-800. Checked in at Auckland, pre-cleared Customs then sat down to wait for my dear friend Vivienne to arrive.  Shared a bottle of wine as we always do on these occasions and had a wonderful catchup.

Welcomed aboard on the Upper Deck then shown by a crew member all the functions of my seat and the entertainment system before being served a glass of Moet and orange juice.  Before takeoff, mixed and mingled with a few of the other passengers and checked out the bar at the rear of the aircraft … already I knew this was going to be a much easier trip than I am used to in Economy Class.  With so much space allowed for each passenger, ample leg room, mini bar, large screen, privacy … even approached and greeted by name and asked what I would like for dinner.  The appetizer was Smoked Salmon, I chose the Pan-fried Snapper for my main course and a Mango Cheesecake for dessert … and the Moet continued to flow.  Sometime after takeoff from Melbourne, it was time for yet another dinner.  This time I started my meal with a lovely Cauliflower Soup with Mascarpone cheese, followed by a Seasonal Salad, then Steamed Blue Eye Cod for my main … no room for dessert.  When it was time to sleep, with the press of a button my seat folded down into a bed, they brought me a mattress and an extra pillow and for the very first time on an aeroplane, I actually had a sleep, eventually waking up to find we were just 2 hours and 30 minutes out from Dubai.  When breakfast was served, I started with orange juice, delicious fresh fruits, croissant and finishing with a Tomato Omelette and coffee.

Killing approximately 5 hours stopover time in Dubai is now a breeze as I am a Silver member which means even when travelling Economy Class, I have access to the Business Class lounges.  Completed my duty-free shopping before heading for the comfort of a lounge … a reviving shower, after which the time passed very quickly as I checked my emails, enjoyed some of the complimentary food and a little more Moet and orange juice.  When the time arrived to board my aircraft for the final leg to Athens, it was a very short walk to Gate A1, directly from the lounge.  Now, of course, I was back to Economy Class travel, however, with good company the 5 hours went in no time at all.  Sitting next to me were Di and Dave, a couple from Adelaide … on their way to a conference in Vienna, they had decided to spend a few nights on Paros and Santorini.  At one point on the journey there was an announcement to say we were at the time, flying over Egypt and if we looked out the left side of the aircraft, we would see Pyramids … amazing!

Touched down in Athens pretty much on time around 1400 hours.  It was a lovely day there, around 24 degrees C, however, I knew I had a long wait until my hydrofoil to Spetses at 1910 hours.  Caught the 1530 hours bus to the Port of Piraeus, sat there in the sun for over 2 hours, then some 3 and a half hours to Spetses via Poros, Hydra and Ermioni, finally arriving on the island around 2245 hours.  Met by Costas on the jetty … it is just wonderful to be together again.

Awoke yesterday to a beautiful sunny day, we met up for coffee at Roumani in the Dapia, had lunch at Spetsiotiko, then for me a couple of hours at Agios Mamas beach … the sea still surprisingly warm.  Last evening we were invited to a pre race party at the Bouboulina Museum which I attended.  Unfortunately, Costas needed to be at the Bar.  This weekend is the Spetses Mini Marathon and tomorrow we are both in the 5Km Fun Run as part of the Bouboulina team (we will be walking though, not running and Costas will be accompanied by not only myself, but Frix – the dog, also officially registered)!  Last night after leaving the Bouboulina Museum, I made my way down to Bar Spetsa, catching up with a few friends over the course of the night.  When the Bar closed, Costas and I went elsewhere for a quiet drink, eventually arriving home around 0500 hours … a busy time for my first few hours back on the island.  Today I have not left the house … a shame really that I have missed a day at the beach, however, I have needed to rest up in order to be ready for tomorrow – it should be a great day.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 11th, 2014 at 7:24 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.