Madrid to Athens

Saturday, August 15, 2025

The hotel, Zleep, is quite close to the airport which in large part excuses the “industrial chic” decor, though not the twin beds (gosh that’s tiny) or the thick, hard pillow, or the temperature.  But the linens are clean and the bathroom is modern.  A couple of hours sleep is all I really need, I guess!  The good news is that the clothes are dry and I’ve got lots of time for yoga and packing and all.  Ginger wakes up around eight fifteen and since our cab is due at nine thirty, that’s fine, too.

   Here's your puzzle pic!  Figure out which way is up and what you're seeing!

           And here's the full shot of that strange machine in this atrium Zen garden.

The kids have sent me photos and videos from the festival they attended last night.  It looks like they are having the time of their lives and it makes me happy beyond words!

Dressed, packed, downstairs - and we’re early and our cab is even earlier!  Yay! He delivers us right to the door of Terminal 2 and we step inside to look for the Aegean check-in counters.  Hmmm.  Don’t see Aegean on any of the screens above the counters.  Off to the information desk and she give us the numbers. We didn’t see Aegean because they aren’t open for business yet.  And won’t be for another hour and a half or so!

We watch all the comings and goings and eventually people start to line up behind us.  The first couple asks if this is the Athens line and since we’ve both asked information and found it on the check-in board, we’re pretty sure the answer is “yes”.

Whew!  There are people at the desks, the sigs now say Aegean Air, and it looks like we’re in business.  We ditch our suitcases and go through security but we won’t know our gate until it’s posted at 11:40.  In the meantime, we find a snack counter that has fresh salads and sandwiches, including one with blue cheese, white raisins, and an herb of some kind.  Yum!  By the time we finish the gate should be posted so we check back at the board and after only a couple of minutes, there it is!  And it’s close!

There aren’t seats at the gate, but there are at the adjacent eating area, so we take two of those.  Most other people here aren’t eating either, so I guess this is the way it’s done! Boarding should begin in just a few minutes and then we’ll be off on the second half of our adventure! 

People are starting to line up by group and I go and join the queue for Group 3.  Ginger is Group 4 and she doesn't pop up as quickly as I do and before I know it my group is boarding.  That's cool and all, but I lose track of where Ginger is and I just pray she actually got on the plane!

I have a middle seat but it's fine.  My seat mates are well behaved.  There aren't seat-back screens but I've got my Kindle and finish one book and get half way through another before we land.  We had forgotten about the time difference between Spain and Greece and the flight is an hour longer than we thought.  That means there is time for a meal service!  I have moussaka and quinoa salad with a chilled red Greek wine and then there is dessert!  A packet of cute little bite-sized oats and raspberries clusters!

We land without incident and because we are still within the EU we don't have any passport control to deal with.  We just go straight to baggage claim.  Many bags are claimed and then the carousel stops.  Hmmm. But presently it starts up again and our bags have, indeed, made the trip with us!  We head toward the exit and just outside the baggage claim area is our driver holding a sign with Ginger's name on it!  Yay!  He  takes our bags outside and goes to fetch his hybrid Mercedes!  A smooth and quiet ride from the outskirts of Athens into the heart of the city.  Our hotel, the Amalia is just down the street from the Greek parliament and the national museum!

Checking in is easy and we stop in the lobby for some line water before taking the elevator to room 308. It's a bit bigger than last night's and much more nicely appointed, although we still have twin beds that we have to push apart.  We get all settled in with our electronics and such and are considering whether to go out for dinner;  but we're really not hungry after the meal on the plan!

The hotel has a new roof top bar and restaurant, Whispers, and we think we should at least check that out before the gan arrives tomorrow.  It's just sunset and that's a treat.  But OH that's the acropolis that we can see and not very far away!  I guess we'll be staying here for a while!  After checking the cocktail menu we both decide on the Athenian Spritzer, with Ottos' vermouth, prosecco, and soda.  It's beautiful and tasty and comes with an orange slice.  And it adds greatly to the show that Mother Nature is putting on for us.  Every few minutes the view changes as the sun goes down the the new moon gradually changes from white to orange as it sets.

We're not leaving!  Guess we'll order something to eat!  Our adorable waiter, from Crete, tells us sadly they do not have a cheese plate, but we order the bread basket with olives and olive oil and the appetizer that consists of stir-fried calamari with spring onion, fennel, white tarama sauce, and squid-ink mayonnaise.  It's the perfect amount of food and makes our mouths and tummies very satisfied. It's only when we have paid our bill and are leaving that we realize how tipsy, er, happy we are and the giggles set in.  We barely make it to the room for all the giggles and it's a good thing we didn't go out for dinner!!

Not much more is going to happen tonight!  I'm hoping to blog and Ginger is doing her Duo Lingo. Jan has arrived in ATL and Art is going to find her, so all our little chickies are together.  They'll arrive here tomorrow and will probably make it to the hotel around twelve thirty or one.  We've made dinner reservations for the eight of us on the roof top so they can be as awed and amazed as we have been.