An American in Athens part 1: Arrival and First Day

Well kids, I made it to Athens in one piece and with all my luggage in tact! As anyone who has made an overseas plane trip can attest, there is always a good story that comes out of the 15+ hours of travel. Lucky for me, I made my journey with Swiss Air, which I must say is the best airline I've ever flown. I was seated next to a very nice Swiss engineer named Cyril, so I had a chance to practice my German a bit. When the flight attendants came on the intercom and I heard the words "Guten Tag, meine Damen und Herren", I had major flashbacks of my previous two European plane trips.
I only managed to sleep about 3 hours on the flight, but when I arrived at my connection in Zurich, I felt fresh and energetic. Sitting next to me in the waiting area was an adorable little woman holding a Greek passport. She smiled at me, and I decided to try out one of my newly learned Greek phrases on her -- "Milate Anglika?", I asked her (Do you speak English?). "Ohi", she replied (No), : "Yermanika, Elenkia" (German and Greek). Jackpot! So I had my second set of German conversations of the trip. I don't know why speaking German gives me such great pleasure -- but it does.
After what seemed like an interminably long flight to Athens, I finally arrived, gathered my 75 pounds of baggage, and rushed out into to the arms of my Nick. Although I'm not one for public displays of affection, the other people in the aiport disappeared for several minutes while I kissed and hugged the man I love.

My first night in Athens was incredible. A delicious dinner of dishes from Crete, white wine, raki (sort of like ouzo); then drinks in the Plaka neighborhood backlit by the Acropolis in the distance.


Today we hiked up the Acropolis to take in the ancient ruins. It was an experience that I will never forget. I'm pretty speechless, so I'll just include these pics:


Ancient Theater of Dionysus:


Parthenon: