Sean and I decided to devote the following weekend, this would be late mid-July, to Operation Warehouse Vacation. Feeling a bit unfocussed, we opted to seek help from the experts and so went online in search of a local travel agent. Over the next few days, we called as many as we could and, in the process, discovered something interesting – travel agents don’t really exist anymore. Due in large part to online booking sites like Expedia and Travelocity (which we always use too), the travel agency industry was swiftly going the way of the mighty dodo. Most agencies that had actually managed to stay in business spent their time working with big corporate clients, not wasting precious resources on little guys like us. The few travel agents who did talk to us tried to sell us pre-packaged vacations that sounded, honestly, lame and cost many, many more yams and goats than we currently possessed. Not to be discouraged, we turned again to the internets.

That’s when we found an immense website written by a guy named Matt Barrett, who, as it turned out, was an American ex-pat and vocal Greekthusiast. His online travel guide covered everything about travelling to Greece and the Greek Islands in exquisite and loving detail and Sean and I devoured every last page.

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Sean and I embarked on a 15 day trip to Greece on September 15, 2006. The trip meant a great deal to both of us and turned out to be spectacular (even with a mishap or two included). I intend to write about each day in travelogue form using random notes I kept (many on napkins), my feeble memory, and our 400+ pictures on our flickr site. With any hope, one person (if I get lucky, 2!) will stumble upon the travelogue and say, “Honey! We should go to Greece! Check this travelogue out. Doesn’t it sound fun?” Thus, random people similarly embark on a wonderful vacation and I bank a shitload of good Karma points. Everyone wins.

But, before I start the travelogue portion, I would like to discuss a few things: 1) the decision-making process involved in choosing our destination, 2) once the destination was chosen, the sometimes frustrating and sometimes wonderful adventures we had booking the trip, and 3) why this trip meant so much to both of us. With any hope, my curious reader and fellow traveler might find nuggets of wisdom and, more importantly, practical aid and advice so that their booking goes more smoothly. So.

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