I had VERY limited internet access while I was away. My apologies for the lack of sharing and even the delay now that I have returned. I am hoping to punch out the rest of my posts in the upcoming days and get back up to speed with life in general (I think I am finally back to my normal sleep patterns).

Day 3 of my adventure meant that I needed to get out of my hotel room. I was still pretty nervous to explore the streets of a place where I could not speak their language or read their street signs. I was also told by the front desk that i would need to check out of my room by 11 and that I couldn’t check back in until after 2. I would have 3 hours to burn with my luggage and no clue what to do.

Luckily when I went to check out they gave me my key right back and told me that they’d send someone else from my tour to share. The hotel had a rooftop pool and bar that I had scoped out the night before. I knew it would be a great way to pass the afternoon. I lathered myself in sunscreen, grabbed my book and headed for a deck chair.

I sat up there for hours. I read a huge chunk of my book and had a couple of naps. The pool bar kept me hydrated and fed in the process. I kept telling myself that this is what vacation is supposed to feel like. The weather and the view was amazing, the food was tasty and I have not a worry in the world.

As the afternoon progressed I started to get a little nervous. We had our upcoming kick off meeting and dinner with the tour group. As I was there on my own I had no idea what our group would consist of. I also had to meet my roommate.

I went back to the room and started to get ready for the evening when a lovely lady from Australia came in. We hit it off instantly, bonding over stories about work and our brothers. By the time we went down to meet the rest of the group we were certainly friends.

We met our tour manager Alex and the rest of the group. I was surprised at the lack of diversity in the group. All but a couple people were from either Canada, USA, Australia or New Zealand.

After the meeting most of us got ready for the optional traditional dinner. The bus took us to the core of Athens before we went for a walk along the stone streets up to the restaurant. It was a great way to get in the Greek spirit, eating Greek salad, souvlaki and baklava while watching tradition dancing. There was no plate smashing but we did yell Opa!

After dinner Alex took us on the scenic route back to the bus. It had gotten dark and the Parthenon was lit up in all of its glory. It was absolutely beautiful. I got as many pictures as I could.

Once back on the bus it was back to the hotel and to bed. We had an adventure ahead of us that would start bright and early in the morning.