5 May 2009

We are HERE!

My sweet daughter and her hubby came down from Tulsa and brought Whitney’s son James – they arrived Saturday afternoon. I took the girls (Yvonne, Tobey, Elizabeth and Christina) shopping while Sergio, Glen, Chad and James went to see X-Men! Afterwards, we all gathered (with Shawn and Dave and Caleb) at the Cottonpatch Cafe for our “last supper!” What a great send-off! We drove over to Elizabeth’s and Dave’s to have a private goodbye with Alex and Jacob – who quite frankly, find going out to eat a bit too tedious – tee hee!

Sunday morning, Tobey and Chad and James were standing in the driveway, waving at us – so sad! And when Sergio and Yvonne said goodbye, we all had the sniffles!


We left Dallas/Fort Worth airport about 3:10 on Sunday afternoon. The people we are travelling with (Glen’s team lead and his wife) just keep telling folks they cannot believe how smoothly our re-location went and how fantastic all the details were! Of course, it’s smooth – look how many of you were praying for us!

The flights were AWESOME! We flew KLM from DFW to Amsterdam – business class J! Glen and I had the front seats in the 2nd section – lots of leg room. We’d ordered vegetarian meals and they were quite tasty. We had a big tail wind that kept us hurtling along through space – and we arrived 1 hour early! (Jill, they DID give us a Dutch house on this flight – cause it was a KLM plane!!!) We had plenty of time in the Amsterdam airport – even visited the business class lounge briefly.


We were quite surprised when we boarded the plane from Amsterdam to Athens! Of course, the company had paid for us to have business class – it was a smallish plane (6 seats across – even in business class!). We were jammed in like sardines – thank goodness it was a comparatively short flight (2.5 hours)! Glen and I had the front seats again so at least we had some leg room! No vegetarian food on the European flights, said our flight attendant. But we had the most delicious “egg roll” (hey it really was a roll made of egg and cheese) in a tomato sauce – totally without meat!


We arrived in Athens and oh my what culture shock! The cargo guy walked out with a cat cage in each hand. When I said those were mine, he put them down and walked off – that was IT! Ken and Marsha came along with their huge dog crates – we literally stopped traffic! They have a Golden Retriever and a Sheep Dog!


Ellie was waiting for us – she’s the Lockheed rep in Greece. After helping us collect our stuff and rent our cars, Ellie took us out to a coffee place to give us our phones and internet cards. Glen is using his Blackberry so he didn’t need anything but a SIM card. I got a new full bells and whistles phone! Now I just have to try to understand the operating directions!


Then we were on the road – our suitcases and cats and Ken’s huge dog crate in our car. Not one peep from the boys! We got pretty lost on the way – but before we got lost, we were able to squeal properly at the unbelievable view of the mountains on both sides of the road – and the sea! It is just GORGEOUS here!


Next, we arrived at our hotel and unloaded. OH I FORGOT SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT! While we were at the airport, loading all the gear, I managed to SLAM THE CAR DOOR on my right hand. (Okay you Abu Dhabi girls – I can hear you laughing) It got really banged up and is swollen and sore – but I can type, write, and drive – so I think I’m okay. Going to get an x-ray just in case!


We had dinner – a chicken souvlaki pita – YUM! And then came home to crash! Glen and I took melatonin and we all slept – the boys, too.


Today we had breakfast, ran some errands and then met up with a realtor. The realtor took us (both couples) out to look at houses and flats. The first one we saw, I told Glen “this is it! Look no further!” WE TOOK IT! It’s on the 1st floor (that means 2nd floor to Americans), 150 sq meters, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. HUGE balconies – every bedroom looks out on the majestic mountains! Screens on the doors. Corner fireplace (a teeny one but it IS a fireplace). I am spazzed out! The kitchen MAY not hold the IKEA island – but I am determined to make it fit! The balcony off the dining room is big enough for a whole dining room set AND our firepit! We get the keys on the 11th and can move in as soon as we buy some furniture.


SO, let the games begin! Now that we have a house – y’all come see us! And don’t stop praying – we really need it!


Love from Patras - M