High pressure for adventure
Drury duo begins semester of Greek living
Lara McCambridge & Molly Hague, For the Mirror
Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: Perspectives
Hello and welcome to the adventures of Molly and Lara while we travel abroad in Greece! Drowsy and jet-lagged while traveling from London to Athens, I (Molly) was abruptly awoken by a noise similar to gunfire. Along with the rest of the passengers, I jolted forward in my seat and frantically looked around to see nothing but chips and giggles filling the cabin.
I (Lara) was the culprit of the commotion on flight 632 British Airways, destination Athens, Greece. Earlier that day, I felt a rumble in my tummy for a bag chips, kettle chips to be exact.
After taking a little snooze on the plane, I decided a crunchy, salty bag of chips was my desire. I pulled out the bag of kettle chips and noticed the altitude change had inflated my bag of deliciousness.
I was perplexed by such an event, so the Greek man beside me offered to open the unique, inflated bag. Note: previously this man explained that he was in the Greek Army, and was trained as a black belt.
I assumed this would be the first of many chivalrous gestures that Greeks would perform. I willingly handed my bag of scrumptiousness over to this nice gentleman. He immediately burst the bag open, debris flying everywhere. This blast was followed by startled looks and possibly a scream. May the adventures begin…
If you do not know either of us, one of us is of German descent and the other of Irish descent, traveling far from home and are arriving at a destination with an extreme language barrier. We were F\fairly excited, but challenged, in this new world.
For example, we brought one huge suitcase each because we knew that we would be traveling around the country. Our suitcases were portable and easily controlled by our buff arms. On the other hand, some students had a different perspective on traveling light. Let's just say three large suitcases were too much!
Anxious to reach our hotel, our fearless leader Molly led a small group of women to the Metro. All was well until we were led up an escalator to the wrong train. As we reached the top, we realized we were on the wrong side of the track. Turning around, we had to proceed downward, but we soon noticed there was no escalator down, just a staircase was provided. This was an issue. As a result, we kept pressing on, dragging our 70-pound suitcases down three flights of stairs. Clunk, clunk, clunk was all we heard for a while.
The locals' astonished faces upon viewing the our overloaded American suitcases were unforgettable, especially when the three suitcases arrived at the end of the staircase. Unfortunately, after the "battle of the stairs" all of the suitcases did not survive. It was a sad day for all of us, but also very entertaining.
As a consequence of Molly leading us astray, we were obligated to carry the broken suitcases across town to our Acropolis View Hotel. Great friendships, however, began to form in such strange circumstances.
Athens is a city of unspeakable beauty, and our experiences continue to be surreal. We have already seen many sites and witnessed many unforgettable moments, ranging from seeing the Acropolis and hiking up mountains, to taking a day trip to a nearby island (Aigina). All of these experiences have been life-changing events.
I (Lara) was the culprit of the commotion on flight 632 British Airways, destination Athens, Greece. Earlier that day, I felt a rumble in my tummy for a bag chips, kettle chips to be exact.
After taking a little snooze on the plane, I decided a crunchy, salty bag of chips was my desire. I pulled out the bag of kettle chips and noticed the altitude change had inflated my bag of deliciousness.
I was perplexed by such an event, so the Greek man beside me offered to open the unique, inflated bag. Note: previously this man explained that he was in the Greek Army, and was trained as a black belt.
I assumed this would be the first of many chivalrous gestures that Greeks would perform. I willingly handed my bag of scrumptiousness over to this nice gentleman. He immediately burst the bag open, debris flying everywhere. This blast was followed by startled looks and possibly a scream. May the adventures begin…
If you do not know either of us, one of us is of German descent and the other of Irish descent, traveling far from home and are arriving at a destination with an extreme language barrier. We were F\fairly excited, but challenged, in this new world.
For example, we brought one huge suitcase each because we knew that we would be traveling around the country. Our suitcases were portable and easily controlled by our buff arms. On the other hand, some students had a different perspective on traveling light. Let's just say three large suitcases were too much!
Anxious to reach our hotel, our fearless leader Molly led a small group of women to the Metro. All was well until we were led up an escalator to the wrong train. As we reached the top, we realized we were on the wrong side of the track. Turning around, we had to proceed downward, but we soon noticed there was no escalator down, just a staircase was provided. This was an issue. As a result, we kept pressing on, dragging our 70-pound suitcases down three flights of stairs. Clunk, clunk, clunk was all we heard for a while.
The locals' astonished faces upon viewing the our overloaded American suitcases were unforgettable, especially when the three suitcases arrived at the end of the staircase. Unfortunately, after the "battle of the stairs" all of the suitcases did not survive. It was a sad day for all of us, but also very entertaining.
As a consequence of Molly leading us astray, we were obligated to carry the broken suitcases across town to our Acropolis View Hotel. Great friendships, however, began to form in such strange circumstances.
Athens is a city of unspeakable beauty, and our experiences continue to be surreal. We have already seen many sites and witnessed many unforgettable moments, ranging from seeing the Acropolis and hiking up mountains, to taking a day trip to a nearby island (Aigina). All of these experiences have been life-changing events.
Article last update: 2/2/10 at 8:34 PM CST
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Rachel
posted 2/04/10 @ 6:41 AM CST
Already sounds like you are having a great experience.
Visit http://pinkpangea.com, a travel blog devoted to women travelers like you!
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