I was the only one in my 6-bed room last night, which was nice but kind of weird. I've got a private room for my 3 nights out on Rhodes too, so it'll be weird having to share again when I get back to London. Hopefully I can get my hostel/flight info printed out before then too, so I can prove to the fine folk in customs at Heathrow that I am indeed only spending one night in their country before heading home. That's going to be a pain in the ass too, after all the hassle-free customs experiences I've had since my first time through there. And of course, I think I still have to fill out the immigration card to get back into the US... I'm not immigrating, I live here! Oh well. Got about an hour left before my flight takes off (assuming these guys are more efficient than the Venetians were), so I guess it's time to get in some reading.
12:55 - Somewhere over the Aegean
They were indeed more efficient. Boarding began more or less on time, and the flight took off within a few minutes of when it was supposed to.
Surprising news, to me at least: Olympic Air actually just one the "Airline of the Year, 2010-2011 award from the ERAA (European Regional Airline Association). The service seems fine, but I'm still pissed that they wouldn't let me book my flight back from Rhodes. They were advertising one that lined up much better with my other flights on the way home, as well as being cheaper than the one I ended up with... and they wouldn't let me book it. Apparently they didn't like my card? I tried using different browsers on different computers... no luck. I contacted Capital One, and they said they didn't even show my card being declined. Tried my debit card... no luck. Sent my credit card info home to have mom & dad try it from there... no luck. Had mom & dad try with their credit cards... no luck. So eventually I ended up paying about $40 more for a flight w/ Aegean Air that leaves at 07:00, which means I'll be spending about nine hours at the airport in Athens before my flight to London leaves. And since I booked the flights separately instead of as part of a chain (cheaper that way), I'll actually have to pick up my checked bag & hang out with that until I can check it for the other flight. FAIL.
18:22 - Rhodes, Greece
So, I've got €21.73 to feed me and keep me online until I get home. It should be more, but the bus wasn't going to get me anywhere close to where I needed to be, so I had to take a taxi... €22 each way. None of my other transit expenses have been anywhere near to that; the next closest was Paris at about €8.50, and that included a bus, a commuter train & the metro. Even with the exchange rate that was cheaper than the taxis I took to & from JFK & my hotel in New York (those were over $50 each), but still... yikes. Luckily I found a place that sell pretty cheap gyros (€2.50), and I think I can live on two of those a day. Thank goodness I brought some vitamins along to help fill in the gaps in my diet. And actually, both of the Greek airlines I've been on have served mini-meals, even though they've been short flights: chicken & rice w/ tomato sauce, a roll & some weird dessert thing from Venice to Athens (2 hours) and a sandwich from Athens to Rhodes (<1>
I got in in the early afternoon today, but still took it pretty easy. It was about 25°C (low 80s [ed: more like high 70s, actually]), and even after all the nice weather I had through Italy & Athens that was pretty toasty. I wandered through the west side of the city, then outside the old city walls (the tops of which are unfortunately only open on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and I was too late for today) through part of the old dry moat. All of the city walls I've seen so far have been intact, as is the retaining wall for the glacis. I covered pretty much the northwest section of the walls, then out to the fortress/lighthouse of St. Nicholas; that's supposedly where the Colossus once stood, so I may have to go back for some pictures.
Main goal for tomorrow: the Palace of the Grand Masters. That will eat even more into my budget, but I can't not go there. After that I'll probably finish up the dry moat. It kind of makes me wish I had refreshed myself on the 1522 siege before I came. Thursday I may wander out of the Old City to an "Archaeological Park" and an "Ancient stadium/odeon/Temple of Aplollonus" that are marked on my map, then get on the net, figure oput how to get a taxi back to the airport at the buttcrack of dawn on Friday, and go to bed early.
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