Intentional traveler: In the Air and On the Ground!

Our destination to meet our OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) "Pre-Trip" tour is Tirana, Albania. Although it is a European capital city we discovered that it isn't easy to get to. We added two hotel nights a a tour by air of Eastern Europe to arrive on time and use well-known airlines. Oh, and why is pre-trip in quotations? Because it may be pre the main tour, or in addition to what you have booked but it is the trip. I am on it and traveling and enjoying. In my book, the pre-trip was at home last week making preparations to fly and "trip!"

Because we are joining a Viking River Cruise at the end of our prescribed tour Viking graciously extended our air travel by 23 days so that they could book us a flight to Bucharest where that cruise begins and home from Budapest at the end. By graciously I mean they added only $100 to our already very cheap Lufthansa ticket. The connecting flights were booked by Elva and have worked out well. We flew from Atlanta on Saturday, April 6 at 4:10 pm. Karen picked me up at 12:30 and since it was a weekend there was not much traffic and even once I got to the international terminal there were not many passengers.


Ready for 34 international nights!

Elva arrived a head of me by MARTA and texted me that she had checked her bag. We were torn about whether to do that or carry on but since she did I did. Once one person has to deal with baggage claim might as well have everyone in the same boat, so to speak. No line at the check n counter and TSA PRE-CHEK is a frequent traveler's friend. No one in my line! I didn't know where Elva was eating and I had a cream cheese and jelly sandwich in my pocket so met her at Gate 5. We plugged in our phones to keep them fully charged for the long flight ahead and caught up on the grand kids.

Out Lufthansa plane took off on 11 minutes late. It was nice 2 by seating so I had the window and Elva the aisle. After dinner we switched so she could lean and sleep and I could wander the aisles. Flight crews love me! Service was great but a little funny. As soon as we reached cruising level out came the beverage carts. Great, after all we had been away from home about 4 1/2 hours. No sooner did everyone have a drink than the dinners were served. I chose Chicken in mushroom sauce with rice and carrots while Elva chose the pasta dish with her red wine. The salad was large leaves of fresh greens, cheese and a few hidden slices of black olives. I thought it was weird when I bit into that texture and didn't even know what it was. A nice roll, and a baked fruit bar for dessert. I saved the cheese and crackers for later in the flight. Took my last bite and Mr. Triptrack was there to whisk away the tray. The beverage cart was fast on his heels. The whole dinner service was complete by 6:00! This seemed unusually quick to us. Now we had six and a half more hours to fill!..

I found the movie The Favourite which won a lot of awards. Maybe from my recliner at home it would seem better. I watched less than half of it then went to the new version of Mary Queen of Scots. It was okay but I really enjoyed seeing Tom Hanks in The Terminal again. If you have never watched it, find it and enjoy! I also listened to a two hour podcast of Michael Ball's interview with Andrew Lloyd Weber. No song clips but full renditions taken from various other BBC programmes were played. It followed the timeline of his career and life so made for informative retrospective.

We landed in Frankfurt slightly ahead of schedule so had a good three hour layover. After going through passport control and security to reach our next flight we stopped in the restroom of course, then made our way to the McCafe for Elva to get coffee and wifi. There was not a good signal so I hooked her to tether off my phone service. Good old T-Mobile International Plan!

After a time we went downstairs to a waiting area where we realized that we would be boarding a bus, crossing the tarmac and climbing on to our plane. And that we did. Lufthansa again and again the lunch service was as though the crew was trying to set a record. It was a surprise at at 10:15 am flight had any food served but apparently it is expected because I noticed the other passengers all flipped their tray tables down almost simultaneously with the seat belt sign off light! An attendant practically flew down the aisle handing out pre-wrapped sandwich choices of salami or cheese. The beverage cart was hot on her heels. And they definitely wanted you to take two drinks on the first pass, so I did. Coke Zero and they offered ice and lemon with it! We took cheese sandwiches but after one bite I passed mine to Elva - Mayonnaise! My friends like to sit by me at meals and wine tastings because they know I will be passing something away.

I read through my Solvenia guide book, my favorite brand of guide books. By read, I mean I looked at the pictures and read about the things that interested me and particularly the places I remembered that we were going to visit. Elva napped. She has no trouble sleeping on planes at all whereas I do not sleep at all. We landed safely in just a few hours and then hit our first glitch of the trip. I had understood from the emails that the hotel shuttle would meet our flight. There were many groups being picked up and two different Viking Greeters tried to find us on their lists. We told them that would be three more weeks.

We found the elevator to go down to where we would meet the shuttle and a very nice guide who was taking a large group to theirs then led us to where our hotel, Vienna House Easy Airport, usually waits. He was not there and we waited for about 15 minutes then I emailed them, which has always had a fast reply but to no avail. A text to the driver's phone didn't work either. I hesitated to call but finally asked one of gate guards if he could call the number for but no. Neither one could.

After about an hour I approached a guy who had been waiting a long time for his ride and he started to dial but then asked that same gate guy to do it. He did on his phone and Stephen answered right away and said five minutes. And about ten minutes later he was there with someone to drop off! I should have bitten the bullet and called right away because I know it is cheap to do so - only 25 cents a minute. I thought I might mis-dial or the driver might not have good English and understand. I will never make that mistake again!

The hotel literally was five minutes away! It was very nice, all decorated in black and red and gold. We had a tea and coffee service in the room and a beautiful, giant shower. Free Wi Fi and, of course free shuttle, and looked forward to the included breakfast. Those are our top three must haves when picking a place. This also had a good TV with some English speaking channels which came in handy after dinner.

I was really zonked! I did not sleep well before a trip and this was no exception. Then up at five on Saturday it it was now about 10:00 Sunday in Atlanta! I really would have been happy to lie right down but we all know better. The downside of the hotel was that since it is practically in the airport there is nothing nearby to walk to or see. We like to walk about or take a hop on bus around just to stay awake. This was not an option and it was drizzly anyway. No fast food places or small local restaurants were close so dinner was going to have to be in their steak house. It was nice but we were the only ones there. Elva ordered a normal vegetarian dinner and I settle for an order of fries and bottled water. Since the attendant in Frankfurt had made me throw out my plastic bottle, not just empty it, I knew I needed one for Monday. Didn't help. They used glass bottles and you can't take glass on the plane.

Such a cute little fire hose I bet!

Back in the room Elva showered and was quite sound asleep by the time I was in my jammies! I watched a few episodes of M.A.S.H. then just couldn't keep my eyes open. It was probably about 8:00 when I fell asleep in the very comfortable bed. I know it was still light out. I slept quite soundly but woke up and thought it was morning. It was only 100:00 p.m. I was afraid I was doomed but took a Tylenol PM and fell back to sleep until about four in the morning and then dozed on and off until seven. Elva hardly moved all night long and felt really rested this morning.

We had breakfast which included a nice variety of hot and cold items. Bacon, sausage, eggs, crepes, oatmeal etc. as well as hard rolls and breads. Cereals and juices were on another table and coffee and tea was do it yourself. We each made a sandwich to take with for lunch. After checking out we met our 8:45 shuttle and returned on back roads to catch our next flight.

We had plenty of time which was good since we are not familiar with the layout of Henri Coanda - OTP. We found the check in counter for Aegean Air and received our boarding passes with no problem. The only trouble was that our carry on bags were deemed two large to carry on. This was although we have successfully carried them on many airlines, many times over. Oh well. I could persuade the young lady otherwise. I did see, once we were on the plane, that all the carry on bags were were stowed wheels in and none were turned sideways. So maybe that one inch too long on mine would have not worked. Elva's is smaller but she also was charged the 35 Euro fee. Good thing the tickets were from Cheap Tickets. So that was glitch #2 on our trip. One a day, I guess!

The flight was fine and in what I am recognizing as typical European fashion the flight attendant came immediately upon reaching altitude and sort of flung a wrapped sandwich, no choice today, and cooking onto our waiting trays. Beverage girl came an served up warm Coke Zero! Again though, this was a 10:15 flight lasting an hour and 25 minutes! We were not hungry after our big breakfasts so tucked them away for later at the hotel.

We had clouds the whole flight so no surprise it was raining in Athens. Downside was deplaning away from the terminal and going down the metal steps in an horrendous downpour. Really quite glad not to be carrying our roll aboards. Maybe it was worth $39.37 cents to avoid that! Going through immigration control was so fast. We seem to be the only non-EU passengers on these flights and therefore have our own lines... one each! Wee followed the email directions to find our ride. Trepidatious after yesterday's experience we were pleased that today was smooth as could be.

There was a little bus shelter. I asked Elva to wait with our wet bags - the baggage delivery carts from the tarmacked plane must have been open ones. I knew we were looking for a dark grey Land Rover and I thought I spotted one across from the entrance to the Soffitel Hotel which is where we were to be met. It was indeed George who then walked with me back to the bus stop. He carefully confirmed our names to be sure we were who he was looking for and quickly took our luggage and us to his very comfortable, if a bit well worn, vehicle.

The ride to the beach town of Porto Rafti was about 30 minutes. Deep puddles caused passing cars to swoosh water up over the passenger door's windows. Trenches of muddy water were along the road and scenery had to be presumed as it could not be seen! The little towns looked charming even under their grey veils. The shop windows of the local stores seemed to display very 1950ish looking ladies clothes or very nice boats!

George was very nice and certainly took a lovely route driving for several miles along the Adriatic coastline. Porto Rafti is tucked into a peninsula as though it were in the space between your thumb and first finger. Seven long beaches boost its identity as a resort town and family favorite. The Infinity White Complex turns out to be perched a short walk above the water affording a view of the sea and the mountains in the distance. George unlocked the rusted gate and we climbed rusty looking iron steps to the top floor of the modern, square, white stucco building. What a great surprise. It looks very much like the pictures on line. We are on the back of the hotel and our 'room' is a two bedroom apartment! The hardwood floors gleam and the furnishings are modern but comfortable. George quickly demonstrated all the features of the heating, hot water, balcony and TV. The fully fitted kitchen boasts even a dishwasher and washing machine! There is even a carry with you cell phone for calls and internet at no charge! It is stocked with goodies for this afternoon and breakfast for tomorrow morning. The fridge boasts yogurt, rice pudding, bananas, hard boiled eggs, butter and home made jam. He made it very clear that everything was free. There is milk, cream and water. The full coffee and tea service has Earl Grey and other teas, cappuccino and regular coffees and hot chocolate. We definitely recommend Infinity White Complex outside of Athens.

Cloudy view with cable. I am dreaming sailboats on the water!

George made a note of what time to collect us in the morning, 6:45, for our flight to Tirana and then called the Panorama Restaurant to have the owner, Mike, pick us up for dinner at six tonight. Rainy days are perfect for naps so Elva enjoyed hers while I wrote to you. Mike picked us up on time but on the way out we met the people across from us. A young couple from Edison, N.J.checked in just a little bit ago. They were going to the same place for dinner but chose to walk along the beach since the rain was letting up.

The restaurant was very nice and Mike, the owner and chef, told us what was on the menu, fish soup and fried fish. Elva enjoyed the soup but my three kinds of tiny fish were served with heads and tails! For me that is a no no. The young couple were the only other people dining and I heard her ask for the fish. I quickly told the chef not to fix hers and she took mine. She seemed to enjoy them. The guy ordered a pork chop. So when Mike wanted to know what to bring me I asked for the chop but apparently there was only one so he said he would bring me the nice hamburger steak. It was nice, both of them. The fries were super delicious, crispy disks and so many. I took the hamburger and some of the fries home. I have a sandwich waiting for me to take tomorrow. Yum.