Julie said she had never been to Greece or on a cruise. She was excited when I suggested the 7-day Athens with 3-day Iconic Aegean Cruise with Gate1. We booked about ten months in advance. It was a good thing her internship happened to start three days after we are scheduled to get back from the trip. Otherwise, it would have been the second time she couldn’t go with us after the trip was paid for.
We looked forward to visiting Greece, the “cradle of western civilization” and the birthplace of democracy, with deep traditions and
rich culture in religion, music, language, food, and wines.
Tùng and Vy came to take care of my mom. They came a day
early. My mom was excited to see them. Tùng took Tom and me to the airport early
in the morning before everyone got up. We flew to Newark where we met with Thal and
Julie, but they had to pick up their checked luggage and couldn’t get back to
the gates right away. Tom and I spent our time at the United Club while Julie and Thal caught up with sleep in a hotel room. We got back together
to catch the non-stop Emirates flight to Athens from Newark.
It’s interesting to note that Emirates gets high marks
from the Gate1 representative, my brother Tùng, and the Uber driver for Thal
and Julie; but I didn’t have the best experience with their service. Its
terminal in Newark Terminal B is crowded and not nearly as nice as Terminals A
and C. They didn't respond in a timely manner when I called for help with the screen at my seat blanking out, and then they did not reset the screen as they said they would.
Day 1 - Athens
After we cleared passport control and got our luggage, we
met with the Gate1 guides. George was our driver and Stella
was our welcoming host. On the way to The Golden Age Hotel, Stella gave us some
information about the people and the culture of Greece. Big mountains cover about 80% of Greece. The country is surrounded by deep blue seas with 6,000
islands of which only 227 are inhabited. Stella and other tour guides were eager to
show us what Greece has to offer and encouraged us to tell others about Greece
and to come back to visit again. Stella gave us a map of Athens which she had highlighted the interesting
areas. She told us how to use the metro system.
I didn't expect a 4-star hotel, but the Golden Age Hotel sign indicates that it is. We rested a little before exploring the streets and finding a place for dinner. We came back to Tabepna, a restaurant a block away from the hotel, to eat. I enjoyed the meal very much. We shared sourdough bread on ember, cheeses, potato salad with pickled eggs, fried giant beans, moussaka, cabbage dolmas with egg-lemon sauce, grilled octopus with fava, and ekmek with mastiha cream and tsoureki (very delicious dessert). Thal wanted to try Mastiha, a Greek liqueur, but we didn’t have to order it since each of us was given a complimentary shot, which was nice.
We had stopped at a grocery store before dinner. Thal
bought some snacks and I bought a bottle of red wine. We shared chocolate and
wine when we got back to our rooms. I was so tired and fell asleep quickly at
10pm. But I woke up two hours later and had trouble falling back to sleep.
Unlike me, Tom slept very well.
