3 Days and Counting
David's stress level is increasing as D day approaches. The Itinerary has been written and rewritten many times. Most all necessary bookings have been made right from the Scottsdale computer is the spare bedroom. All systems are a GO and it's time to saddle up and giddy up.
The last minute decision to do this trip was inspired by David's poker buddy Muharem Beqaj or Burrito Mike as we know him. He mentioned he was returning to Montenegro, his birthplace , with his two teenage boys for two months to take care of some property he owns. He invited David to visit and after a week or two doing research, the trip in the planning stages and a round trip flight to Amsterdam was booked. David's longtime friends in Amsterdam were leaving the day he arrived so the first few days would be short so more time could be spent there before returning to Phoenix. David was unable to find a place to stay with such short notice and finally called his friends for assistance. They agreed to postpone their trip a day so he could get a key and stay in their apartment for a few days before departing to Belgrade Serbia to start his Odyssey.
It was to be an Odyssey through the land of Alexander the Great with over 7000 years of history. Belgrade to Zagreb....on to Split , Dubrovnik, Shkoder, Budva, Ohrid, Athens, Tuzi, Sarajevo, Kosovo, Macedonia, Istanbul, Varna, Bucharest, Plovdiv, Sofia ...back to Belgrade before returning to Amsterdam.
OK .. "D" Day
David is packing....and packing...and re-packing....and going to the casino to play poker! I'll be flying over your house tomorrow! David wants to wish his darling Grand Daughter, Ellie, a Happy Birthday as he will be in Amsterdam that day. Bon Voyage all!
David's Delta Departure left Phoenix at 3:30 pm and arrived in Minnapolis , Minnasota at 8:30 pm with his boarding time for Amsterdam at 8:44 pm . Sitting in Row 32 made him very anxious with only 15 minutes to make a Gate that he didn't know where or even what Gate it was. Pushing his way up front he disembarked the plane in time to see he had to make it to G4 and he was at F9. Well this was the best exercise he has had in the last six months. Arriving at Gate G4 he discovered the departure time was delayed an hour. His plane departed at 9:40 pm for Amsterdam. The Aisle seat was fine except the row in front and the one behind left about 18 inches for his long legs. Well nothing to be done as the plane was full. Thanks to Delta that they served dinner and his personnel Video computer in the back of the seat in front of him had a free selection of games, movies, news, documentaries, travel shows, etc . The best part was his flight attendant kindness. She poured him three LARGE glasses of wine while he ate and watched the new movie...The Adjustment Bureau. Excellent Si-Fi Movie with lots of twists and turns and a great ending. He watched Jamie Oliver , a chef that Jeannette and he highly admires. His seat mate, a young lady from L.A, was on her way to Amsterdam then on to Warsaw to visit both her Grand Mothers in Poland for two weeks then back through Paris to L.A. It is time for David to Nap before arriving in Amsterdam at 1pm tomorrow. It is hard to sleep when Dr Oz is on.
THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU
2 comments:
Hi David,
So, you're on the road now, I imagine? I must say I admire your stamina and resolve to capture the world around you! As we discussed earlier, I'd like to connect with you at some point, at least for a couple of days, but it all boils down to economics and the difficult situation I'm in right now domestically - but let's see what we can do.
In Europe there's a good and healthy competition going on amongst the airlines, so I'll keep an eye open for opportunities in sync with your schedule.
Have a nice one!
Best,
Leif
Try YAT or LOT or Baltic Air? Hope to see you along the way. I'll post a map but who knows. david
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