Day 28 and 29 - last date in Athens then Athens to Italy.
Can’t believe that I have been away for a whole 4 weeks - the time has gone so quick!
Day 29
Journey to Italy. Kyriakos picked me up at 9 and took me to the bus station, being the first part of the journey, to get the ferry from Patras. Settled down for a 3 hour ride and stared out the window for the whole trip. OK so the bus station area and just outside Athens wasn’t all that pretty but get down the road and follow the coast round to the Corinthian Gulf and oh boy it’s gorgeous - note to come back and spend some time along that coast.
Bus pulls in at Patras and internet says Port just across the road - ha - is it heck, not the passenger terminal. Someone needs to update the web info as they have built a new passenger terminal called ‘New Port’ and its over 2km from the old one. Eventually I ask someone and the man points to a bus stop which in right on the road - no curb or standing place with just a crash barrier guarding the railway and guess what, whilst I’m waiting a train comes along and whistles past my ear I can’t move either way as I would have been killed by the traffic - now that’s really what is called caught between a rock and a hard place. Health and Safety?????
Anyway, I survived and the bus came along and dropped me right outside their terminal door. Get on the boat and get shown to my cabin. There was no way I was going to sit up all night. 2 beds are made up in the cabin but by the time we set sail no one has shown - rubbing hands together at this point - a cabin all to myself!. Before taking a liberty, I give them a couple of hours to show then spread out a bit before going to have some dinner and a glass of wine; come back go to bed and at 1am my little burglar alarm goes off (I have one that fits under doors - its really useful and this proved it worked - not a waste of money after all.). So I jumped out of bed, fully awake at this point and wondering what the hell’s going on. Switch the alarm off and ’knock knock’ - I open the door and in flaunts this women. That’s my bedshe points (of course by the point it has all my stuff on it, so as quick as I’m trying to pick it all up she is swiping it on the floor - now I’m not happy, try to question her but she is ignorant and just huffs (even if I didn’t understand her she could have at least have tried to explain why she was so bleeding late). She proceeds to huff some more so by this time I have got back into bed and cover my head. She gets in to her bed and starts snoring - by this time of course I’m wide awake and can’t sleep because the adrenalin has kicked in and I’m feeling angry.
I set my alarm for 7 (which is really 6), when it goes off she gets up and goes to the loo, so I try to be polite and say good morning and offer an olive branch which she responded with another huff got back into bed and covered her head! That was it, no more nice person so I got up and had a shower and did all the things I needed to do with my stuff and then went and sat in the bar and left her to it. When I went back later, just to see if she had emerged - which she hadn’tso I put the light on (as I said I’m fed up now being nice - if she could have understood ‘get up you lazy bitch’ I’d have uttered the words but she didn’t so I just suffice with banging around a bit. When I went back later, she had obviously taken the hint and gone, but she had left her ticket, she had obviously had a cabin move for some reason, so she was never meant to be in my cabin in the first place (Catherine Tate coming out - ‘What a f@cking liberty’.
A quick recap on countries covered so far - Belgium; German; Poland; Hungary; Serbia and Greece and I’ve met some fantastic people along the way.
This is my last day in Athens, and being honest I could have moved on today but it’s good to have another ‘down’ day, get some washing done and just chill in my apartment. Sometimes it’s not about where you are but just enjoying the moment you’re in, I guess that’s my BIG learn on this trip - OMG getting all philosophical, better move on quick!
OK, so day 28 was rather chilled, did some washing so was fully stocked with clean knickers and booked my accomodation for Matera, Italy. Very humid today and this afternoon it rained, thankfully to cut the air!
Alex, from the ebike tour had recommended a great bar which just had to be visited - Brettos. Met this great couple from LA - Eric and Lisa, think Lisa thought I was hitting on Eric to start but soon she and I got chatting so much poor old Eric was being put out (must admit Eric voice reminded me so much of my nephew James - if I closed my eyes I would have sworn it was him, even his laugh) ; tasted some great Greek wines - Alpha White (Sav Blanc) was amazing. Another learning point - Greece has some nice wines, I don’t think I’ve had a rough one, not even the ‘house wines’ (not like Croatia, T).
Day 29
Journey to Italy. Kyriakos picked me up at 9 and took me to the bus station, being the first part of the journey, to get the ferry from Patras. Settled down for a 3 hour ride and stared out the window for the whole trip. OK so the bus station area and just outside Athens wasn’t all that pretty but get down the road and follow the coast round to the Corinthian Gulf and oh boy it’s gorgeous - note to come back and spend some time along that coast.
Bus pulls in at Patras and internet says Port just across the road - ha - is it heck, not the passenger terminal. Someone needs to update the web info as they have built a new passenger terminal called ‘New Port’ and its over 2km from the old one. Eventually I ask someone and the man points to a bus stop which in right on the road - no curb or standing place with just a crash barrier guarding the railway and guess what, whilst I’m waiting a train comes along and whistles past my ear I can’t move either way as I would have been killed by the traffic - now that’s really what is called caught between a rock and a hard place. Health and Safety?????
Anyway, I survived and the bus came along and dropped me right outside their terminal door. Get on the boat and get shown to my cabin. There was no way I was going to sit up all night. 2 beds are made up in the cabin but by the time we set sail no one has shown - rubbing hands together at this point - a cabin all to myself!. Before taking a liberty, I give them a couple of hours to show then spread out a bit before going to have some dinner and a glass of wine; come back go to bed and at 1am my little burglar alarm goes off (I have one that fits under doors - its really useful and this proved it worked - not a waste of money after all.). So I jumped out of bed, fully awake at this point and wondering what the hell’s going on. Switch the alarm off and ’knock knock’ - I open the door and in flaunts this women. That’s my bedshe points (of course by the point it has all my stuff on it, so as quick as I’m trying to pick it all up she is swiping it on the floor - now I’m not happy, try to question her but she is ignorant and just huffs (even if I didn’t understand her she could have at least have tried to explain why she was so bleeding late). She proceeds to huff some more so by this time I have got back into bed and cover my head. She gets in to her bed and starts snoring - by this time of course I’m wide awake and can’t sleep because the adrenalin has kicked in and I’m feeling angry.
I set my alarm for 7 (which is really 6), when it goes off she gets up and goes to the loo, so I try to be polite and say good morning and offer an olive branch which she responded with another huff got back into bed and covered her head! That was it, no more nice person so I got up and had a shower and did all the things I needed to do with my stuff and then went and sat in the bar and left her to it. When I went back later, just to see if she had emerged - which she hadn’tso I put the light on (as I said I’m fed up now being nice - if she could have understood ‘get up you lazy bitch’ I’d have uttered the words but she didn’t so I just suffice with banging around a bit. When I went back later, she had obviously taken the hint and gone, but she had left her ticket, she had obviously had a cabin move for some reason, so she was never meant to be in my cabin in the first place (Catherine Tate coming out - ‘What a f@cking liberty’.
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