Clare and Isabelle's Adventures in Greece

THE HICCUPS OF TRAVEL
You always wonder how it will go. The hope is for safe travel - smooth flights, smiling attendants, good food and great entertainment. But that's not the way it works. The stories happen when the unexpected happens. So, let me tell you about the trip to Greece with Clare and Isabelle. Anticipated for over a year, the girls' excitement was fed with Christmas gifts of journals and books about Greek mythology, outfits for the cruise to the Greek Islands for birthdays and emails to them and their parents throughout the year about various aspects of the trip:

"We're going to Mary's House near Ephesus." (The parents: "Wonderful.")
"Our hotel is near the Acropolis and the new Acropolis Museum." ("How lucky they are.")
"It's also near the Plaka." (The girls: "Hurray!!")

We couldn't help teasing the parents about our stop in Istanbul. "The girls will LOVE the bazaar. We think we can get a good price for them there." Okay, maybe not all that funny. But they perked up when we mentioned the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and the Spice Market.

So the planning and phone calls to tour companies, airlines and parents finally came to an end. We were ready. And that's when the Greeks decided to join in the dissension and unrest rippling through the mideast and Europe. We checked news stories, found the location of our Greek hotel and discovered it was about six blocks from Syntagma Square. We called Jean, our travel agent, who called the tour company who told us they could move us to the coast if events didn't improve. We held our breaths as well as our reservations at the hotel. Surely it would be okay.

It seemed so, and two days before our flight we were going through our itinerary at lunch with the Côté Family, reading it out loud and savoring the adventures to come. I glanced at Isabelle's flight itinerary and --- wait a minute! It says "July 16th" not the 15th. A quick look at all four itineraries, and it seems that Isabelle is booked to return the wrong day. How did this happen?! Thirty minutes later and a tense conversation with Rudy from Air Canada, and it is straightened out. It was their error. A close call. This is why itineraries are supposed to be inspected very closely.




And now comes a very sad part of our story Those who love their pets, especially cats, may want to skip this part. The day after we'd arrived in Kingston, it was discovered that Mama Cat, Chai, was under the weather. She just got worse. It didn't help that Celeste in California was dealing with having to put her cat down. This morning Kristin and Caroline took Chai to the Vet and left her there for tests. Then we put our packed suitcases in the car and left for the airport. About an hour later the Vet called and told Kristin that it would take extreme measures to help Chai, and she probably wouldn't make it in any case. The decision was clear. Isabelle and Caroline began to sob along with their mother. Clare comforted Caroline in the back seat, and I reached around the seat to pat Isabelle. They were inconsolable. Somehow this wasn't the way I had imagined our trip beginning those long months ago when we first envisioned the trip to Greece. `Finally the sobs subsided, and I told Isabelle that I was a bit concerned that her tears might alarm the Customs Officers who would suspect we were taking her to Greece against her will. The thought of her grandparents kidnapping her made her laugh.

Chai will be missed, but they will have her daughter Paprika to remind them of the great mother she was. Kristin said a lovely prayer for Chai and added prayers for a safe, smooth and uneventful flight to Greece.







So far it's all of those things because, it seems, as the sign says, we're going to our "Happy Place." For real.


And now Jerry and I are wondering about only one thing ---- why are the girls laughing uncontrollably across the aisle from us?





MORE FROM GREECE!




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Location:From Air Canade Flight 828 to Greece