Most of us have had the pleasure of taking our kids or grandchildren to Disney, and of course we took them on the “It’s a Small World” ride. . .after all! We’ve been to Disney several times, and ran into someone we knew almost every time. It does seem to be a small world. Perhaps not so amazing. . .the Disney parks are consistently rated one of the top attractions in the world. On our trip to Greece a couple of years ago, we had some amazing “Small World” encounters. . .one of which was meeting someone we hadn’t even met before!
The Parthenon, Athens, Greece
Mrs. Exceptional, our youngest daughter Janie and I had planned a college graduation trip to Greece for Janie, visiting Athens, Mykonos and Santorini. After landing in Athens, we took in some sights, had a great dinner and retired to our very nice hotel, The Athens Marriott. Before turning in for the night, Mrs. E checked her Facebook and found a post from our good friends Jeff and Dan. . .”Just landed in Athens, looking forward to our cruise!” I jokingly said “Make sure it’s not Athens, Ohio.” Of course it wasn’t. After a great small tour the next day (see picture above) we met them for drinks and dinner and had a great time catching up. They had joined a small group of friends that travels every year together, and their small cruise ship was leaving the next day for seven great Greek island stops.
View from our room at the Myconian Ambassador, Mykonos, Greece
We left a couple of days later by ferry for Mykonos, a four hour trip that would have been enjoyable had it not been for my having to endure an exceptional case of food poisoning. Mykonos is beautiful. . .great beaches, great restaurants, beautiful scenery. We stayed at the Myconian Ambassador, a Relais & Chateaux hotel, where we had our own private plunge pool overlooking the Ionian Sea. On a Sunday evening, we found a great restaurant with a balcony overlooking the harbor, and toasted a beautiful sunset. A young man from London named Andrew took the seat next to me and we started a conversation. It turned out he had spent a gap year at a private school in the States. “Where?” I asked. “Western Reserve Academy, in Ohio.” That happens to be the high school that oldest daughter Chrissie graduated from, in Hudson. She is a few years younger than Andrew, so they hadn’t crossed paths, but he told me he had stayed for a while with the Rogers family.
Bud Rogers had been a director for the company with which I worked for 17 years, and I knew, liked and respected him and his family. The truly ironic thing is that Bud had passed away a few months before, and his memorial service was going on back home at that exact moment. Andrew had wrestled with whether to fly back to the States for the service, but decided to join his friends on this trip to Greece to celebrate a friend’s birthday. He had seen Bud a few months before he passed, and had a few good days with him. Bud would have wanted him to have a great trip. Andrew and I were absolutely dumbfounded, and of course raised a glass or two to Bud’s memory. Oh, and the sunset was beautiful, too!
Sunset, Mykonos, Greece
Next, we hopped a quick ferry over to Santorini, a volcanic island that is one of the most picturesque places in the world. It’s very hilly and arid, and the villages are carved out of the sides of those cliffs and hills. We stayed in the village of Oia at Mystique, a Luxury Collection Hotel in the Marriott family, that was breathtakingly beautiful. We hiked from Oia to Fira (where we met Andrew for a well-deserved beer), took a fabulous sunset cruise, and enjoyed a private tour of vineyards and wineries. At one of the wineries, as we were walking in, Janie looked over and called out to a young man walking out with his parents. Turns out they had interned together the previous summer and they caught up while we chatted with his parents. They were amazed at the odds of our kids running into each other thousands of miles from home. By that time, Mrs. E and I were no longer surprised.
Mystique Hotel, Oia, Santorini, Greece
Have you had similar chance encounters while traveling? Please share your “Small World” experiences with the ET community by leaving your story in the comments section below. And, by the way, you’re welcome for that song that you can’t get out of your head!