I went to Greece and all I got was a lousy cold

It's been close to one week since my fiance and I arrived at O'Hare Airport to take yet another long bus ride.

Only this was the final ride for a while.

Nearly two weeks ago, I informed all of you my fiance and I were taking a trip to Greece.

Heading into the trip, I was apprehensive. I had never been on a plane. I had never needed a passport.

Yet, taking a trip to Greece just seemed so exciting.

So, off we went.

And what an experience.

While in Greece, we got to see so many archaeological sites. From the Parthenon to Mycenae, from the Temple of Poseidon to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, we saw a lot.

And it was pretty exhausting.

We went with several others as part of an educational tour experience.

The 20 of us had a tour guide that did her best explaining the sites. In addition, at several of those sites, she brought along an additional tour guide to give even more explanation.

I went over there not really interested in purchasing anything for myself.

Rather, I was interested in the full experience. Breathing it all in.

And I did.

Chalk up a cold that came home with me as well.

While we were at the Temple of Apollo, which is on top of a mountain in Delphi (outside of Athens, the capital of Greece), the rain came.

It was the only day during the trip where it felt like a monsoon had scrambled across the land and decided to downpour on all of us while we were in the process of taking in the site.

Did I mention we were on top of a mountain?

Consequently, we all had to calmly walk down the mountain, which had a walkway made of stone, making it quite slippery.

Neither my fiance nor myself brought an umbrella for the trip.

She had a coat. I didn't.

By the time I got down to the bottom of the mountain, I was drenched.

So drenched in fact, that I went to our bus to put on a new shirt.

I was so disappointed, I didn't even get a chance to see the museum at the site.

Just one day later, I was starting to cough.

Talk about a great way to end a terrific trip! Heading into Thursday, Friday and Saturday with epic (pun intended) coughing fits.

But I refused to let the cold affect this trip.

We battled in private, sometimes out in the open. But for the most part, I defeated my nemesis.

It wasn't going to damper my excitement of being in a foreign country.

Other than the cold, I suppose the only other item on the trip I wasn't a big fan of was all the long bus rides.

Good grief! I don't think I've spent that much time on a bus since I was in high school marching band.

I didn't really like it then and I don't like it now.

There are some noticeable differences between the two countries. My fiance, for example, drank a soft drink while we were there and said it wasn't as sweet.

Everything is cooked in olive oil. Even eggs, which, sometimes, were just a little too runny.

Greek stores close in the afternoon so people can take a break from work. The stores reopen a few hours later for the remainder of the day.

Things are expensive and the exchange rate is horrible.

And, even though we got to spend time in arguably one of the most beautiful places in the world, like all vacations, it had to come to an end. And I was ready to get back to the swing of things. But jet lag got the better of me. At least my feet are back on the ground. Now if this pesky cold would go away.