Some Reflections (Albeit Comical) on How to Prepare for a Visit to Greece

We spent the last day of our Grecian vacation in beautiful Delphi at the ruins and Temple of Apollo. It is amazing what the Greeks built more than 1000 years before the birth of Christ. We then had a delicious lunch at a local taverna in a lovely little mountain town called Arachova, where we ate wild boar, a specialty in this part of Greece and lamb, which seems to be a specialty everywhere in Greece. 

As I reflect on what we have all described  as a “trip of a lifetime,” below are a few things one should to do before coming to this beautiful country:

1. Travel with a nurse. I was clearly off my medical “mo-jo” because except for a bottle of Aleve, I brought no medicines with me on this trip. I usually bring some cold tablets, but this time, I didn’t bring a thing. This was a problem, because in the last few days, I came down with a terrible cold. Thank God for Judy!  Besides handling my falling mishap, she appeared to have a “Hermione Granger” type bag filled with medical supplies! She had stuff to dry me up, to minimize my cough and to help me sleep while congested. She’s a travel keeper!
2. Lose weight before you arrive.  This is a country in which the food is integrally connected to their customs—in a good way. To understand Greece means to immerse yourselves in its food—and we have. I am now very worried about the dress I had planned to wear to a wedding on October 8. Fortunately, I have a few others..in case my enjoyment of this country’s food makes wearing that dress an impossibility. 
3. If you’re going to any of the islands, bring “flowy clothes.” LL Bean and Eddie Bauer do not cut it as Judy and I found out the hard way. Those two name brands, which seem to appear on every item of clothing they make, can only be compared with Hester Prynne’s Scarlet Letter, except she just had an “A.”  Our clothes clearly  said—without the letters, USA!”

4. Practice not throwing your toilet paper in the toilet. Except for the hotels, there are signs in every public bathroom stating not throw “paper” in the toilet. I don’t know if the Ancient Greek sewage system is still being used, but I found this bathroom requirement a little tough for me, as I felt like I had to be re-potty-trained nearly 60 years after the fact. As I did when I was 2 1/2 years old, I will admit that there were some “accidents.” 

5. Don’t travel when a Queen has died. As it turns out, our flight home is not the most significant event happening tomorrow. We are flying  from Athens to New York on British Airways with a layover in London, right smack dab in the middle of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.  British Airways has been very informative in keeping its many nervous patrons (that means us) on the types of delays we may encounter as the Queen is moved to her final resting place. But there’s a whole lot of global dignitaries that will be at that funeral and the chances of a late arrival at JFK is likely. I’m hoping for the best but I think it may be hard getting up for work on Tuesday!

Seriously, this is an incredibly beautiful country with magnificent things to see, do and eat. But what I’ve loved most has been the people. Beginning with Doris, our guide, to the family who opened their home to share a meal, to every friendly cabdriver we encountered, this is a people who love their country and love life, and they are not afraid to show it.  What a lesson for us all. I learned a few Greek words but not “good-bye.” I’m planning to come back! 🇬🇷

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