C-130 Trip to Athens and the Parthenon
I’ll never forget my first C-130 trip to Athens. After landing, we found a cab to take us
downtown for dinner. Trust me, cab rides in Athens are a real thrill. They are
crazy. We ate at the most amazing place in the world. At the base of the
Parthenon is a street on a hill with the monument on the top. It was a
beautiful Greek evening with cool breezes. We ate and could see the Parthenon
at the top of the hill.
We had a tradition of picking random items off the menu in countries where we couldn’t
communicate. At that Greek restaurant, I picked a dish that turned out to be
Lamb wrapped in olive leaves and floating in squid ink. It’s an oil change with
lumps. To this day, I can’t handle greasy foods.
After we ate, we strolled around the restaurants, where Greek musicians and ethnic
dancers were playing. Wow.
The next morning, I woke up and looked out my hotel window. I was overlooking a Greek
ruin. I could see the entire layout of an ancient Greek home. It was amazing,
and I could still see the mosaic on the floor. Then, I went to the beach and
was introduced to the Greek lifestyle. Men and women were changing on the beach
to go swimming. It was no big deal for them.