It was my very first time ever being out of the country and I was really excited to see another part of the world. The excitement quickly wore off as reality sat in that we were no longer in the comforts of the U.S. I ended up getting sick in the airport in Athens after a very long flight and a sketchy meal served on the plane. To put is mildly I was the last one off the plane :) I had no idea that was the last meal I would eat for the next two weeks. I don't venture out much when it comes to food and I absolutely DO NOT eat fish...ick! Turns out that's all they eat in Greece, well, that and really thick yogurt..double ick!
When we were planning our trip we were unable to find a place to stay in Athens so we found a place on the small island of Crete. Once we got to the resort they had a screen displaying all of the games, so that you could lay on the beach and watch them. Although fun we did not fly all this way to lay on the beach to watch them on TV. We purchased tickets to see weightlifting and gymnastics, but they weren't until later in the week so we spent our time on the beautiful beach awaiting the day we would fly back to Athens. In the mean time I am starving at this point in the trip. I have eaten my weight in waffles and french fries because it was the only thing American they had on the menu. Every time I would ask for syrup they brought me jam. Not sure how they don't know what syrup is, but FYI if you end up in Greece, take your own syrup :)
The much anticipated day to head to Athens had arrived and we were pumped. We arrived in town to go see the weightlifting first. We hopped in a cab, a poorly chosen cab we soon found out. As you can imagine, it was a roasting 110 in Athens and we picked the cab with a broken air conditioner. If you know Josh, you know that he is the hottest human on the planet, yes in looks, but I'm talking core temperature here people. He does not own a long sleeve shirt, he wears shorts in the winter, and sweats in AK, get the picture? Well, the traffic was insane downtown and we were just sitting/cooking in the cab. Josh is a pretty shy person and would never take the initiative to second guess anyone, but when the cab driver was trying to convince him that the air was broken, he was not having it. He was pushing all the buttons, tapping on the dash, rolling down his window trying to convince the cab driver that he could fix it. Unfortunately, the cab driver was right, no air :( We went as far as we could stand it and decided walking would be better. After a mild hike, we made it to the venue, not just any venue, a venue with air conditioning. A much needed break from the heat. We found our seats and along with the other 10 spectators (a very lame crowd) as we watched burley men grunt, sweat, and lift heavy weights. I didn't really care that it wasn't worth all the work to get there I was just excited to sit in a clean cool place. I was happy, very hungry, but happy!
After the event we headed to our new hotel (which was beautiful) to have some dinner. I was hopeful that the big city of Athens might offer some American fare. WRONG! French Fries again :( The next morning after waffles, we were headed to gymnastics. This was the day I was most excited about. When we got to the arena the smell of popcorn overwhelmed me! We didn't go to our seats we headed straight to the concession stand. Finally, a diet coke and popcorn, what is more American than that? I patiently waited to place my order only to find out that they only take Visa, yea, the commercials you see aren't lying. All I had was American Express!! Rats, the delicious smell of butter would linger the entire time just taunting me:( After Josh consoled me (I know a little weak, but I was starving and wanted to cry) we headed to our seats. It was so fun to cheer for our athletes and to see all the action in person. All in all, I would not trade any of these experiences. It was a very fun trip and I was able to see things I wouldn't have otherwise, but this year I'm excited and thankful to be watching the Olympics from my very American couch with my very American food.
I'm sure you can laugh now recalling that fiasco! I laughed BIG time reading about it!
ReplyDeleteLesson learned: NEVER, EVER leave the States without peanut butter crackers and granola bars in your suitcase!! :)