Tuesday, September 07, 2010

John, the New Jersey Taxi Driver

First of all, the international terminal at LAX wasn't as bad as I remembered from a few months ago. There is a lot of construction going on to improve the concourses and add new gates. But, just when I was about to change my mind, we found that the elevator to the Star Alliance lounge was broken. Two flights of stairs later, we made it up there. And then two flights of stairs back down - good exercise.

As expected, our Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt was right on schedule. Our connection to Athens was in an older section of Frankfurt airport - no access to the business class lounge. Aargh!

When we arrived in Athens, our car driver John was waiting for us. He sounded like he was straight out of New Jersey - he was. His family moved back to Greece more than 15 years ago. He asked how the Yankees and (football) Giants were doing. Caren wanted to ask him if his parents owned a diner in Jersey, but I told her that was a stereotype she should drop.

A shower and short nap later, we walked down the street from our hotel to a small, family run restaurant. Mom and Dad were in the kitchen and the two sons handled the tables out front. Tzasiki, zucchini croquettes, moussaka, fresh fried anchovies, and two carafes of wine. The bill came to 30 Euros (US$39). Try matching that in LA.

Now to catch up on our sleep and start touring tomorrow.

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