Emilio and I met in the hotel lobby at 8 o’clock to have breakfast. We claimed a table and went over to the food presentation, where I grabbed a plate, put on one of the cute little gloves supplied and then started putting food items on my plate. About halfway in the server gets well and fully in my face and asks “What are you doing?”. Um, “Getting breakfast?”, I replied wondering what was going on. He pointed to the small sign behind the serving table that guests were not allowed to handle food. Geeze, really? So I gave him my plate and he put the rest of my breakfast…

So after a couple of very pleasant days with Pam and Emilio, it was time to depart for the completion of my trip in Athens. Ever the good host, Emilio had decided to accompany me to Athens to be a tour guide in and around Athens. The bus departure was scheduled for 5:30 a.m., so we arose at an ungodly hour, finished our packing and Pam drove us to the bus station in Kranidi. I’m still not certain she was fully awake. I know I wasn’t. We were a few minutes early, and went in search of coffee and sustenance, not finding a lot. As we were ready to abandon…

The following Tuesday was Pam’s day to bop around town and do all the hum drum things in life, like shop for groceries, visit the bank, etc, except in this situation in rural Greece, which brought a new level of curiosity. So after a comfortable breakfast, we departed the house mid-morning on our adventures. None of the stops on the agenda were very far away, but the roads in this part of Greece are not exactly meant for high speed transport, so the trips could take a little minute or two as they say. The general philosophy of the local Greek’s was reinforced in my mind as we drove about…

On Sunday, after a nice Greek breakfast, Emilio (Pam’s partner) decided we were going to go and check out the some of the antiquities of Greece in the vicinity. The weather had turned a bit to the worse and it was cold and rainy when we left the villa. I was thanked, yet again, for bringing the winter weather to Greece… LOL. The first leg was to Mycenae, which is referred to as the city of the legendary Agamemnon. As I know (or remember) very little about ancient Greek history, all I could do was agree. The 38km drive to the site took something over 1 1/2 hours, which should…

So after my most wonderful day in London, the next day, I got up early-early and caught a Uber to Heathrow. The only good part of traveling at this ungodly hour is traffic in London is very light, unlike the trip when I arrived. Was fairly early getting to Heathrow, and being the ugly American that I am, I thought nothing of getting in the security line without removing all my toiletries and such. I’ve been a TSA Pre-Check forever and don’t even think about this kind of thing going to security. So, I got an up-close and personal meeting with a Heathrow inspector. I got the same one for…

My first experience at the British Museum was in 2014, the first year that Melanie accompanied me to London for Oceanology. I must have been the only person on the planet not aware of the British Museum, so it was quite amazing to visit the first time. As I recall, we spent several hours in the Museum that day, and we have made it a point to visit every time we were in London. This time was much the same, but unfortunately, I was alone as Melanie had decided to stay home with her back issues. That was unfortunate, as I enjoy travelling with her and missed her on this…