VAGABOND ALERT - WHY IS THE FOOD SO BAD ON AIRPLANES?

AIRLINE FOOD IS ALWAYS NOT VERY GOOD, SOMETIMES AWFUL AND SOMETIMES JUST FREAKING DISGUSTING. 

Just a quickie for ALL Vagabonds who have experienced some of the disgusting food that is put on your drop down tray. I have posted numerous times about the utter lack of edible food - cashew nuts not withstanding - served on airplanes. So here is a must read for people who wish to be informed.

WHY DOES AIRLINE FOOD SUCK? Just click the link and be informed. One piece of advice - buy some munchies before you get on the plane. That will help get you through the inedible part of the trip.

Happy Trails My Fellow Vagabonds 

D.L.Stafford

thenomadarchitect

P.S. - I just flew round trip DELTA from Tallahassee to Athens then from Lisbon to Tallahassee - the Master Chefs have NOT addressed the garbage that was served on any of our flights. Actually, I think they could make a lot of people happy if they would just give everyone a bag of Mini-Snickers when seated and forget the rest.

SORRY TO SEE YOU DISAPPEAR FROM OUR VISION SANTORINI - WE'LL NEVER FORGET YOU

The photo at left, taken by my bride and fellow vagabond for 45 years, makes plain the fact - when it comes to the unfettered beauty of nature, there are few places to match the shear power of God's Good Earth in evidence everywhere on this most romantic island in the Greek archipelago - Santorini Island.

As we got into the taxi with Spyros to take us to our AIRBNB, the travails of the last two days discussed in my last post began to fade. When we arrived at The Morfes Luxury Residence and met our host, Ion, all thoughts of Athens faded into distant memory. I have said before that you must do your homework when making hotel or AIRBNB reservations. You have to find ALL of the reviews that are out there. I had done that obsessively on this particular place,since we were going to be there five nights. And, Ion and his amazing place did not disappoint. Overlooking the world famous Caldera of Santorini Island, this AIRBNB included an immaculate, highly detailed living, kitchen/dining, bedroom with a killer bed and icing on an already amazing cake, a large terrace with its very own tree and a large, warm hot tub with complete views of the Caldera, the primary reason people come to this beautiful piece of heaven on earth. And it was completely private, overlooking the small town of Fira only steps away from dozens of great restaurants but away from the madding crowd.

Like most AIRBNB hosts, Ion was always available when we had a need. He even left a cell phone with his number that we could call when needed. I called for a rental car which was delivered to our place when I requested. We even ran out of sugar and he had some delivered for us. Service to the utmost. In addition, Ion was very helpful in suggesting places to see, eat and enjoy. One of the advantages of AIRBNB is the personal care and service provided by the hosts. And in this area, Ion exceeded all expectations.

I will be bringing more experiences we had on Santorini, - but - as an Architect always looking for just the right place - this place is, by far, one of the most  well designed, comfortable and reasonably priced places we  have ever laid our heads. And, by the way, Ion has another great AIRBNB, Morfes House, that has two bedrooms if you want to bring the kids. Just click on AIRBNB for the best place to hole up for a few nights on one of Greece's most beautiful islands.

ta léme sýntoma (see ya soon)

D.L.Stafford

thenomadARCHITECT

And-Praying for the Rain:

LIKE SOMEBODY FROM GREECE TOLD ME A LONG TIME AGO - JUST DON'T GO TO ATHENS

Well, he is absolutely correct, but, we really didn't have a choice. I will make this post very simple with a point by point sampling of what happens when a trip or at least part of a trip goes completely and irrevocably south. Here goes:

As I explained in my last post, we lost an entire day in Athens due to some iffy weather and mechanical problems, returning to the gate and changing planes out of Atlanta, thus causing us to miss the connection from JFK to Athens. After a night in NYC, we got to JFK early enough to ensure that we would make the flight.

With an uneventful flight to Athens with some of the most disgusting food I have ever been served on an airplane and a very brief trip through customs, we went to collect our luggage. We all know how that works - you stand there and watch the rolling conveyor deliver the bags for 280 plus tired souls that have been cooped up in a sardine can for nine hours. And then it happens - THE CONVEYOR STOPS AND YOUR BAGGAGE IS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND! And then your day takes that inevitable turn to the dark side of travel. That's right - CUSTOMER SERVICE AND LOST BAGGAGE CLAIMS -  IN GREECE!! As I gave the very nice Delta representative all of the information I had, it turned out the bag was sent to Heathrow and then returned to JFK. Well OK then, this will be fine. I can just wear what I have had on for at least 12-14 hours for another 24-48 hours. However, due to the calm demeanor of my better half, I did not loose my mind at this prospect.

We were able to see some of the Acropolis the morning of our flight to Santorini - more on that later - and the travel gods did take pity on us and allowed my lost luggage to show up at the Athens Airport, so I was able to pick it up before our outbound flight to Santorini. When we got on the 55 minute flight to paradise, the thought of Athens began to fade and when we arrived at one of the most amazing AIRBNB's we have ever stayed in, Athens became a distant memory. So all became well. It is impossible not to feel good in this beautiful island paradise. My next post will be on the Morfes Luxury Residence and the incredible people of Greece and Santorini. All great.

tha milisoume argoter (we'll talk later)

D.L.Stafford
thenomadarchitect

And for some great listening of a new country/pop/rock artist from Oklahoma who is making his way into the big time after appearances on ACL and other critical venues - 23 year old Parker Milsap doing a little ditty called Pining.