Oh Greece, what can I say about you which has no already been said? Birthplace of culture? Home of the Gods? Lovely Island Location? None of these seem to suit you. I’m going to go with “really frikkin odd” instead.
The whole story will follow in a few days, its long and involved, and will include photos. Let me say, the beginning of the trip was wonderful. Full of excitement and not too serious fiasco, perhaps even some whimsy and mayhem. But the minute the important part was taken care of, performances were performed successfully, complete and utter fiasco ensued. This was no ordinary fiasco. We nearly had to battle the Greeks on their home turf, and that would have certainly ended badly. Out of the 7 in our entourage, the 3 guys ended up stranded in some remote suburb of Athens by a beach, in a very large, empty hotel that had the complete “The Shining” vibe, in an area that smelled remarkable wonderful, like some sort of flower.
It was perhaps the most surreal juxtaposition of treatment I have ever experienced in my life. Upon arrival in Thessolaniki, we were treated like truly important guests. We had our own baggage carousel at the airport, our own bus, driver, and handler to show us around. Venues were closed down for us to soundcheck, lovely catering was provided, pretty girls watched us from the audience. But once Olympia Airlines missed our connecting flight, that was all long gone. We were the lowest rung of the ladder. A country which invited us to celebrate their culture, was now treating us like garbage. I guess it was necessary to keep us in check, remind us of how it really is, not to let the ego get the best of us. Well Greece, it certainly worked. Overall it was a very positive trip, I’m delirious and jet lagged, so I don’t really know whats going on right now, but it was certainly more good than bad. More to follow.