Travel Agent Speaking

In the past month, I have spent countless hours researching, researching, researching for my parents’ trip to Greece in April and my own options for my last few holidays in Greece.  I vastly underestimated the difficult of a travel agent’s job.  From trying to determine which islands are connected by ferry routes on the appropriate days to determining whether the Peloponnese should outrank an island vacation, I have spent an unseemly amount of time online, leaving me to wonder how any of this was ever possible without the internet.  (Wait, did you actually have to talk to people?  What a quaint idea!) 

Me, my mom and dad at the airport when I returned to Greece after Christmas.

My parents and I considered a myriad of different options: the island of Rhodes for the Old City and castle, Santorini for its iconic beauty, and Milos for its dramatic coastline and snorkeling – not to mention Kea and Hydra for their convenient proximity to Athens.  Then there’s the whole of the Peloponnesus, with historic sites from Olympia to Mycenae, the caves on the southern coast, and the popular coastal city of Napflio (which boasts the best gelato in Greece).  You could always travel north from Athens, as well – to Thessaloniki and its famous pastries or Meteora and the Hanging Monasteries.  How is it possible that such a small country has so many places to see that I can’t visit them all in a year?  Then, of course, Italy is so close…  The wealth of possibilities was exasperating rather than advantageous, and everyone I asked had a different opinion about the best way to spend a holiday in Greece.  The only thing everyone seemed to agree upon was that a week was too short.  (How much time do they spend on vacation?)

Santorini.  So pretty.

So, it turns out that nothing is yet set in stone.  How very Greek of us!  But I’ve tried to move forward in mapping out my solo trips for the rest of the year.  A proposed ski trip to Bulgaria in early March ran into too many schedule conflicts, and I was disappointed to learn it wasn’t a safe destination for a person traveling alone.  Struck by the sudden desire to visit somewhere beautiful and unusual, I started looking into the possibility of spending a four-day weekend in Croatia.  Though Croatia isn't that far from Greece, it is a bit of a “can’t get there from here” situation.  There’s a choice between a time-consuming and sometimes unreliable train ride over the mountains and unreasonably expensive flights that tends to take up to 24 hours – not due to distance, but the way they are routed.

illustration created by TheEmirr; obtained at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Europe-Croatia.svg

I finally booked the last seat Expedia had on a flight with truly crazy departure and arrival times – leaving Athens at 4:30 in the morning, and returning at 1:30 in the morning on a day that I have to work!  But, I am happy to be routed through Prague on my way to Zagreb with a six hour layover each way.  Hopefully, this will give me a little time to explore this fascinating city, as well.  In Croatia I’m looking forward to seeing the famed Plitvice National Lakes with their many waterfalls. 

Plitvice Lakes, Croatia.

To top it all off, my sister is coming to visit Athens this weekend!  She nearly panicked at the prices of the plane flights, but as I told her, spending an unreasonable amount of money on a flight gets easier with practice.  (I only had to tell myself to breathe slowly a couple of times as I booked my flight to Zagreb!)  Despite the chilly, damp weather that’s predicted, I’m excited to show her Athens: the Acropolis, the shopping district of Monastiraki, and my new favorite taverna; hopefully, we’ll even be able to fit in a daytrip to Hydra. 

So, anyone else planning a trip to Europe?  If so, tell me all about it when you get back, but please don’t ask me to plan it!


Photo Credit: To Wikipedia and those who took the photographs of Santorini and Plitvice Lakes.