Greece - Day 15 (Mon. 9/10/24)

The alarm was set was for 6:00 a.m., but we were awake before it sounded. We packed and got down to breakfast at 6:15. Nikos had arranged for them to have the full breakfast buffet open for us at that hour so we could leave for the airport at 6:45. 

On our flight from Thessaloniki to Istanbul, Mike and I were with Grant, a young strapping guy from our tour, in an exit row that we didn't request. The flight attendant gave us a card to study, explained our responsibilities, and asked if we accepted them. Grant immediately said yes. Mike also seemed undaunted. Since I was between them, I figured I would have zero responsibility, but then when we landed and saw a plane on fire, I was wishing I had read that card more carefully.

It turned out to be just a training exercise.

On that flight, I watched this video called The Lonely Koala that had me weeping. Thank God she found a friend at the end and was no longer lonely. 

The Istanbul airport is gigantic and overstimulating, with long lines for the potable drinking water and not enough bathrooms. There was free Wi-Fi, but it required jumping through some hoops that were difficult for my tired brain. I had to find a kiosk, swipe my passport, print out a code, and type it into my phone for one hour of access. I wasted most of that hour walking to the gate and going through a crazy amount of security (including searching through every item in my bags, scanning me with a wand, and a full body pat-down), so I barely even used it. Mike didn't bother at all. When he found out he would have to scan his passport, he lost interest.

On the flight from Istanbul to Chicago, I was in the middle seat in the middle section of seats, boxed in between Mike and a man with the worst body odor I've ever smelled. It actually made my eyes water. He was normal-sized, which is important on a long flight where even normal-sized people will be bumping elbows the whole time. Thankfully he slept a lot, and as long as he was under a blanket, the smell didn't waft as much. He was struggling to cover himself, so I tucked him in, because that's what any decent seatmate would do. But once I realized it created an odor barrier, I retucked him good and tight every time he moved in his sleep. The screen on the seatback in front of me malfunctioned, so the only movie I could watch was Planet of the Apes with Arabic subtitles. It was a little slice of hell.

 

Flying over Greenland. Lots of snow and ice. Check out the shadows cast by those mountains!

We landed on time, went through customs easily enough, and got an Uber with Marc and Allison to her parents' house where they had left their car. They graciously gave us a ride home because we realized near the end of the trip that our flight from O'Hare to Peoria wasn't until the next day. We were exhausted, thankful to have the opportunity to go on this trip, and even more thankful to be home. Shadow and Shiloh had been well cared for by our wonderful neighbors. After being up for 30 hours and flying through 8 time zones, I tried to plug in a European outlet adapter in my bedroom so I could charge my phone. The next day was a blur of laundry (very thankful for a washer and dryer), petting cats, and going through two weeks of mail. Then my body refused to function anymore so I went to bed at 5:00 pm. I have a vague recollection of Mike saying something about going to Casey’s, and I was shocked that he found a Casey’s in Greece. I had no idea what day it was, or even if it was day or night. 4:00 a.m. felt like feeding time, so I ate cookies and pop tarts because I haven’t been to the grocery store yet. It took us three days to gather the energy to go to the Peoria airport to pick up the car we left there.