With checkout at 11am and our flight not until 6pm, we had a couple of hours to kill.  Not keen to wear ourselves walking around with full backpacks, instead we took the metro to the northern end of the line, Kifissia. My research told me that this is upmarket Athens – think South Yarra – and a world away from Psiri and Monastiraki. Wide leafy streets and upmarket boutiques. It was a pleasant if unexciting way to pass some time.

Earlier we succumbed and booked a taxi to take us to the airport – the idea of dragging our suitcases down those rough, narrow, traffic choked laneways between us and the station was too much, and Greek taxis are cheap. It was lovely to be picked up at the door and dropped off right at our terminal, and we got to see a bit more of outer Athens en route.

And so into the airport and through the routine – you know the drill. Queue for checkin, queue for passport control, queue for security, queue for boarding. Mind numbing stuff.  In Dubai, we checked the departures board and saw the Emirates flight for Melbourne, listed at Gate C9. It took almost half an hour to get there from the B gate we arrived at, and we flopped gratefully into the Quiet lounge for an hour’s napping. Or so we though. Turning on his phone, Ian got a ping that said “Your next flight departs from Gate A14”.  WTF?  Dashing back to the departures board, he reported that there were TWO flights to Melbourne, departing 10 minutes apart, and with very similar flight numbers. We were at the lounge for the other flight.  Groaning, we gathered our belongings and began the lengthy transfer to Terminal A, which involved stepping out into the stupefyingly humid Dubai air, and onto a shuttle bus which took an interminably long time to take us where we needed to go. No rest for the stupid.

Fourteen hours later, the unrelenting sound of screaming toddlers ringing in our ears, we touched down in Melbourne. Our arrival was delayed by high winds forcing closure of a runway, but we were soon welcomed by Pete’s “taxi” service, and home.  Sweet home.

Woke up some time this afternoon, ate breakfast, and started googling flights to Alaska. Never too early to plan the cruise after next.  It’s now 3pm and time for my siesta.