"I Feel Like Going To A Party"

I have a new appreciation for Chicago cabs. First of all, there’s a slim chance that one of them will be a gameshow in disguise.

Also, I’ve never really felt like I might die in a Chicago cab. I’ve thought I might die because of a Chicago cab, but that was mostly when I was some sort of ridiculous cyclist. Now that I’ve got a giant steel enclosure of my own, I’m generally less terrified. Mild annoyance, sure, but not terror.

We landed in Athens and got in line for a taxi, which, all in all, was a fine experience. There was, as expected, a bit of a language gap, though that’s entirely my fault, as all I’ve got down comfortably are “I don’t understand Greek” and “Thank you.” Marina’s got a Lonely Planet phrasebook app, which helpfully has things like “I’m a tradesperson”, “Are you married?” and the title of this post. Which is good, if you’re looking to seduce someone with your mastery of your trade while ensuring that you don’t break up a happy marriage.


There were a few times that my sleep deprived brain was startled at how aggressively we were cutting past guys on motorcycles, but I have absolutely no idea how traffic in Athens functions, so let’s just assume that’s par for the course (or whatever the Greek equivalent of that metaphor is. The national sport’s soccer, apparently, but they’re also really good at basketball, so I don’t know).

Currently, we’re waiting in the hotel lobby for our room to be ready because in all the desperation to actually get to Greece, we didn’t actually consider whether check in time would have happened by the time we rolled in. We also need to buy an SD card, which will be fun and hilarious. I don’t think the phrasebook has an entry for “our camera is too old to recognize this SDHC card as something that actually is useful as memory, so please sell us something that will allow us not to leave here pictureless.” We do have phone cameras and a USB cord, so if all else fails, that’ll happen.

I need a shower.