Thank Goodness for the DaVinci Code

It was time for us to leave Santorini, and what lay ahead of us seemed haunting. Because the first ferry, from Italy to Greece, lasted 26 hours, we did not want to do that again. We did some research and found a reasonably priced flight into Rome. The only catch was that it left from Thessaloniki, not Athens. So before we left for Santorini we booked a night train to get up to Thessaloniki. The night train left at 11:50 pm and then got into Thessaloniki at 6:00 am. The flight left Thessaloniki to Rome at 1:00 pm. So all we needed to worry about was getting back to Athens before our train left. Wouldn't you know it, there was a ferry that left at 3:00 pm, but arrived at 12:15 am. Too late, we would miss our train. The ferry before that was a high speed ferry that would have only taken 4 hours total and got us back in time, but it cost 100 bucks. Sorry, not happening. So the only option we were left with was the ferry that left at 7:00 am.....arriving at 9:15 pm. Yep, 14 hours haha. I title this post 'Thank Goodness for The DaVinci Code,' because Kyle had bought the book and just finished it while we were in Santorini. I asked him if I could start reading it, knowing that he was taking a different flight from Thessaloniki, so I would have to hurry to read all of it. Not only did the book totally grab me, but I had nothing else to do on the ferry! I literally read the entire book on the ferry except the last ten pages, which I finished on the night train. I knew it had taken 14 hours on the ferry, but because of the book, it went by rather quickly. It was a fast read, but what caught me and dragged me in was that the book took place in many of the places we had already visited ( The Louvre, Westminster Abbey, Paris Train Stations) it was funny to remember the exact feelings when Dan Brown described a place and remembering thats exactly how it was! We ate dinner in Athens and then made our way to the train station for our night train, not knowing the great night ahead of us (sarcasm). The cab we were in had six seats, three across from three. Kyle, Sarah and I were on one side and across from us was a Greek man (very cool, nice guy. Made the trip twice a week for work as a civil engineer. Family was in Athens and was taking care of his handicapped brother.) next to him a girl in her late teens, and next her, her mother. Sounds fine right? What I didn't tell you was that the mother had a one-year old daughter with her that cried constantly through the night. And to make things worse, the air conditioning stopped working so we were in a claustrophobic, hot, crying filled cabin for the entire ride. Not the best. I couldn't have gotten off the train any faster, only to jump on a crowded bus to the airport. Once arriving at the Thessaloniki International Airport, it could be safe to say I had had enough of people. We waited for the flight and couldn't wait to get to Rome!!!!