(no subject)
Right, I think I'm a little more together now...... Just about....
So, Athens, yes. Meeting went well, no death, no destruction, no greek mafia chasing me for passing comment on their toys; all in all better than we could have hoped for in fact. The city itself was hot (obviously given it's June) but fairly entertaining. In a stunning feet of conformity the two palaces I explored in my free afternoon were Plaka and the Acropolis but I excuse myself for this on the basis that you can't not see them if you go to Athens, besides which there were lots of interesting challenges to taking original pictures of things that heavily photographed and with that much scaffolding.
The traveling was, well interesting... Lufthansa (who are normally flawless) managed to miss both of my connecting flights through what can only really be described as feats of sheer incompetence, one of which involved a broken toilet and failing to park the plane next to a working air bridge. The result of this was that I had two, five hour waits at Munich and Frankfurt airports while I waited for the next available flights, a detail that didn't really amuse me as it meant I arrived at my destinations very late in the day indeed (door to door approximately 12 hours each way - that can't be right!). Then, when I arrived in Athens at some God forsaken hour I discovered the Metro was on strike and therefore not running as far as the airport *headdesk*. €90 on taxis going onto expenses then, accounts are going to love me! All that said, it did make for an interesting trip and I finally got around to reading a book cover to cover, which is something I really don't do very often these days (it normally takes me months, I just don't have the time!). I'm also feeling remarkably relaxed by my standards; the nice normal chaos caused by this sorta thing is a pleasant change from the drama at work and I rather thrive on it.... That's probably a bad sign!
When I got back I discovered a threatening letter from the University demanding a thesis with menaces. I'm seriously tempted to tell them what they can do with their paperwork; I don't take kindly to being threatened, particularly not by people who are sufficiently stupid that they don't realise their own deadline is 2 weeks before the date they printed the letter!
Barcelona next week.
So, Athens, yes. Meeting went well, no death, no destruction, no greek mafia chasing me for passing comment on their toys; all in all better than we could have hoped for in fact. The city itself was hot (obviously given it's June) but fairly entertaining. In a stunning feet of conformity the two palaces I explored in my free afternoon were Plaka and the Acropolis but I excuse myself for this on the basis that you can't not see them if you go to Athens, besides which there were lots of interesting challenges to taking original pictures of things that heavily photographed and with that much scaffolding.
The traveling was, well interesting... Lufthansa (who are normally flawless) managed to miss both of my connecting flights through what can only really be described as feats of sheer incompetence, one of which involved a broken toilet and failing to park the plane next to a working air bridge. The result of this was that I had two, five hour waits at Munich and Frankfurt airports while I waited for the next available flights, a detail that didn't really amuse me as it meant I arrived at my destinations very late in the day indeed (door to door approximately 12 hours each way - that can't be right!). Then, when I arrived in Athens at some God forsaken hour I discovered the Metro was on strike and therefore not running as far as the airport *headdesk*. €90 on taxis going onto expenses then, accounts are going to love me! All that said, it did make for an interesting trip and I finally got around to reading a book cover to cover, which is something I really don't do very often these days (it normally takes me months, I just don't have the time!). I'm also feeling remarkably relaxed by my standards; the nice normal chaos caused by this sorta thing is a pleasant change from the drama at work and I rather thrive on it.... That's probably a bad sign!
When I got back I discovered a threatening letter from the University demanding a thesis with menaces. I'm seriously tempted to tell them what they can do with their paperwork; I don't take kindly to being threatened, particularly not by people who are sufficiently stupid that they don't realise their own deadline is 2 weeks before the date they printed the letter!
Barcelona next week.