Opa!

I just landed in Greece and realized I haven’t done my usual pre-trip routine. I’ll be on an organized hiking trip starting in a few days, but that’s no excuse for not thoroughly surveying my target in advance.

As I prepare for a trip, I love to study maps, find my hotel relative to hot spots and plan a few “must do” outings. For me, the planning is part of the fun. I even bought a Greek Isles travel guide and barely cracked it.

I’m in a taxi speeding to the hotel and I have zero idea where it is, although I know it has an amazing view of the Acropolis. That alone, however, would hardly distinguish it from a dozen others, I imagine. (Post-taxi note: I missed the signs saying it was a flat fee to downtown Athens and my taxi driver convinced me to pay the meter. That kind of thing seldom happens to me and I’m generally impressed by the honesty of people I meet in my travels. But whatever! I’m not going to let it ruin my otherwise ebullient mode.)

True confessions: I don’t even know what “Opa!” means. I picked that title for the blog because that’s the name of a Greek restaurant near me and it’s a joyful expression used throughout My Big Fat Greek Wedding – source of knowledge of all things Greek.

Another pre-game ritual I’ve missed was to read some literature and otherwise steep in the culture I’ll be visiting. I read Turn Right at Machu Picchu before my visit there and Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk To Freedom before venturing to South Africa.

To be fair, I have tried to listen to the new novel Circe that people on audible are raving about but it’s a struggle. Seriously, I can only imagine those reviews are created by marketing bots seeking to trap the unknowing like myself. I’m about five hours in and really can’t tell you what’s been happening although I do know more about Nymphs, I guess. Anyone else out there reading Circe? Should I persist?

I’m finishing this first post as I sit awaiting my sister’s arrival at the hotel. I’m fading fast on the two hours of sleep I got on the plane. Very unBoone-like. We tend to go down hard on any moving transportation.

But I’m in Greece and life is beyond good.