Flying Over

On 9 February 2024 Jeremiah and I go for a coffee date at Milly's before he drops me off at his parents house and goes to work. I work for a few hours there until it's time for my father-in-law to drive me to the airport. He gives me a hug goodbye, and I walk into Denver International Airport.

DIA has changed how they do security, and I get through in fifteen minutes. I hop on my United Airlines flight to Washington D.C. around 14:00 Mountain Time. The flight is a bit over two hours and two time zones in the future, so I land after 19:00 Eastern Time. Unlike O'Hare and JFK airports, you don't have to go back through security at Dulles Airpot in Washington D.C. I board this vehicle that is akin to a giant bus to get from one gate to another, and then walk through an underground tunnel to my gate. I trade in my United boarding passes for my Turkish Airlines ones, sit and read Lord of the Rings at my gate for a few hours, and then board my flight to Istanbul.

I have beef stir fry for dinner on the international flight. There's no one next to me in the middle seat, and the guy sitting in the window seat is asleep. The flight attendant wakes him up to see if he wants dinner, but he declines, only to wake up a bit later and consume three very large bags of beef jerky. I watch Lord of the Rings on my screen, and hours later, breakfast is served. I have pancakes. I love the food on Turkish Airlines. I land in Istanbul on the afternoon of Saturday, February 10.

I have five hours to spare in Istanbul before I board my flight to Thessaloniki. I just go to my gate, read Lord of the Rings, and snack until it's time to depart. VRBO has yet to confirm the next steps for my booking, so I give them a call. It's confirmed that the property owner I booked with is unreachable, so VRBO books me a three-night-stay at a hotel called Thess Residences. The VRBO team assures me that they will help me book a different property. The rebooking team emails me three different properties to review, and I select one, letting them know my preference. I'm very grateful for their help.

I get on my flight to Thessaloniki, and Aegean Airlines serves me a cheese sandwich for a meal. Shortly after, we land. I had already emailed Apostolos earlier in the day to book a taxi from the airport to Thess Residences, and the driver is there when I land with my name written on a tablet. I have no checked luggage this trip. I stuffed everything in a carry-on duffle bag and my camera backpack. I arrive at Thess Residences and it definitely feels more like apartments than a hotel. The gentleman at the check-in counter is very kind as he explains all of the amenities to me, but I'm too tired to truly appreciate it. He hands me my key and I take the elevator up to my room. I call Jeremy after I shower, wish him goodnight, and go to sleep.

City Center

The next morning, on 11 February 2024, I wake up in the afternoon and have a few granola bars for breakfast that I had packed in my carry on. I'm in the hotel for two more days, which isn't really enough time to buy groceries, so I decide to buy a large pizza. I figure it'll cover several meals between now and check-out time. I Google pizza-places and find one that looks good. I leave the hotel and start walking.

I walk about 1.5 miles (2.41 kilometers) to the pizza place, only to discover that they only take cash. I didn't draw out any Euros for this trip, so that's unfortunate. I walk back to the hotel and find out that I can order Domino's Pizza. Perfect. I make Greek coffee in the apartment per the instructions on a little card. My Domino's soon arrives, and I go down to the lobby to retrieve it. I get a free water bottle with my pizza, but I had also ordered. few more bottles, which the delivery man hands over to me.

I take my pizza and waters back up to my room, settle on the bed, and turn on the television. There's no sofa or chair in the room, so it's really the only place to sit. I call Jeremy to wish him good morning before he goes to work, watch The Crown, and then tune in to some streams on Twitch. There's an abandoned building across the street that I'm extremely tempted to see if I can get into, but I settle for taking pictures of it from my window instead. Maybe tomorrow? We will see. I lay in bed, eventually falling asleep.