Almost there

 I am in Dubai waiting on an Emirates flight to Sri Lanka.

That county was not on my bucket list, but when I got a message from my good friend Damith on Christmas day 2024, telling me that he and wife Sharlene were back there and I should come and spend time with them. Who could turn down such an exceptional offer?

Not me, especially since I am crazy about elephants and curious about Buddhism. Hope they don't get tired of me before my 3 weeks are up.😁

Naturally, Dubai duty free shops are fabulous and ridiculously expensive!

So here I am in Dubai airport in transit area, killing time as I have a 5 hour layover after coming off a 13 hour flight from Toronto on Air Canada a few minutes ago.

If I have ever flown on Air Canada before it must have been many decades ago. I don't recall. But this was an excellent long haul service. Especially since I just had the experience of flying from Venice for 8 hours on that dump, Air Europa last month.

Boy I can't believe that airline which was established in 1986, could still be  flying, as their service is so terrible. It's worse than Spirit and I always thought no airline could compare.

Not even water could you get to drink on that dump outside of mealtime! 

Anyway forget them. 

I left Fort Lauderdale in a thunder storm but was happy to do so, as there was lots of news yesterday about the poor, dangerous conditions at Trump's US airports, where not even radars are functioning properly at some.

The leg to Toronto was fairly bumpy to the point where I even had to stop reading, as my hands where jumping up all over the place.

But Toronto to Dubai was a dream. 

Great food, nuff wine, lots of leg room, smooth conditions most of the way and efficient staff.

I love Emirates and am using it to Colombo so will see if they can outdo Air Canada.

Big up the airline.

Sri Lanka here I come. Hope the mangoes are riping there now too.😋

The old and the new

 I love historic Athens, but new Athens, no, not so much.

 This will probably shock Greeks and Europeans in general, but when it comes to the sea and sun, it's almost impossible to impress a Caribbean person!

You see we are accustomed to a warn beautiful sea and powdery white sands, but that doesn't exist anywhere on the Mediterranean or Aegean coasts, where the water is damn cold year round, and the sand, gravely.

However, It's places like this that the late Aristotle Onassis and Jackie O,  (Jackie was John F. Kennedy 's widow and she married the Greek billionaire Onassis) and other billionaires, millionaires and pretenders have frolicked for decades, regarding it as heaven on earth, I guess!

So, at the exclusive seaside area on the Aegean called the Athens Riviera, around 20 kms away, there are at least 23 major hotels numerous  lavish holiday homes, luxury cars etc.

We only visited this 'haven', as it's included in the Hop on Hop off system though.

You know, my life has really ironic, for when it was necessary to learn history (to get ahead in school), I hated it😡. 

I think it was only when I got to my thirties, that it became an obsession with me, so former great civilizations such as in Peru, Guatemala, Mali, Greece etc, flew to the top of my bucket list!

So, excuse me if modern cities and coastal beauty just don't excite me.

Unfortunately though, since I am having difficulty winning the lottery, most great historic areas will have to remain unvisited until I reincarnate!😥

But that's an aside.

After visiting the 'Riviera,' it was wonderful to return to old Athens with its amazing architecture and living history told through fantastic marble statues and ruins, and learning about their significance centuries ago.

 Incidentally, Athens has so many ruins, that when they were excavating for their subway system, they ran into numerous previously undiscovered treasures, so they had to change plans often. (See 2 of the accidentally discovered sites above).

This old parliament building is now used to host small conferences.

The Archeological Museum

It was great to return to the old city and especially to disembark at Hadrian's marble arch, constructed 131- 132AD. (Below).

Hadrian was considered the 'benefactor emperor' and his arch is part of the wall that was built around Athens.

Yesterday, they had a taxi strike, but they were back at work today and that is when we experienced Athenian gridlock, for many older streets are very narrow.

Now I understand why these tiny cars and  scooters are so popular here!

Despite how narrow and winding they are, I love their character and none more than the cobblestone pedestrian street below  Syntagma Square. 

Don't ask me its name though, as it's Greek to me 😊.

However here, you can get a taste of everything from roasted corn, street musicians and hustlers to high end brand name products, at the luxury shops on this street.

Man roasting his corn right there.

A musician, no doubt hoping to be discovered, performs.

And of course, internationally famous Greek dishes are available at every turn as there is no shortage of restaurants and sidewalk cafes in this beautiful old city.

Yup, this is my scene!😊