ATH for Athens

In my airline Athens flight was a turnaround: that means that you go and come back to base the same day. Time on ground is about 1-2h, just enough for the cleaners to reset the aircraft, for catering to load the food and for dispatchers and ground staff to give us info about the return flight. But in some periods of the year this destination becomes less frequent, therefor it becomes a layover. YAAAAAAYYYY!

I was lucky enough to get it in August, when as a tourist it would cost more, take more time to organize and crowding around. As Crew everything is organized by the company: hotel stay, transportation from the airport to the hotel and often enough a shuttle from the hotel to the city. So I just need to decide to go out and explore and that's what I have done!

I took a hop on - hop off tour around the city in order to see all the main attractions and understand the the geometry of it.

View of Acropolis on the top of the mountain

I already got excited! Loved the architecture, the colors, the atmosphere and the stories behind every single building! If I could time travel a little but further like...thousands of years, oh this would definitely be a place to visit! After all, this is where Europe was born!

As a first timer I couldn't miss to see the Acropolis from close by, so that was my main stop. It included a lot of walking and climbing, but it was all definitely worth it!

Climbing to the Acropolis

I love history, there is no better fairy tale, best seller than what actually happened on this little earth of ours. After all invented stories WERE often inspired by the reality, especially in times when it wasn't politically possible to tell the truth. Places like this HAVE seen many happenings and do INSPIRE more to tell!

Panorama from the Acropolis

Just imagine this white city and all the intriguing affairs. The first theater you will encounter is Theater of Dionysus. Today only the pavement and the grandstands are visible. Still it will give you the idea of the greatness. 

Theater of Dionysus

Panorama over the seaside from above Odeon 

But the next one is still used today for the events: Odeon of Herodes Atticus. It is quite steep, with marvelous arcades and a splendid view on the city.

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

On the very top of the hill there is a selection of Temples: Old Temple of Athena is my favorite, but what distinguishes the city is Parthenon. It is indeed very suggestive and visible from any corner of the city. It is beautifully highlighted at night.

Old Temple of Athena

After my exploring walk, just by going down the hill, I found myself in Plaka, the very center of the city, full of cute restaurants and picturesque corners. It is always alive, very colorful and sweet intoxicating: by the music and the extended selection of restaurants.

I remember having an amazing team on board which made it pretty much one of the most memorable flights. Because the atmosphere on board is 50% set by the Crew. When you have a good team that backs you up and listens, you are more likely to perform better as well. It was our leader's birthday on the way back, so we went in the Cockpit and following the Captain's PA sang a disharmonic but fun happy birthday over the interphone, followed by the sonorous clapping and cheering by the passengers. Later on we also had a surprise cake and little made on board gifts to celebrate while above the clouds. Each and every Crew on this flight was a hard-working, enthusiast, heart warming and cheerful person that I will keep in my dear memories. 

THE Team

Ready to migrate?

Deciding to change the country of residence is a tough decision that should be measured from every angle. There are many things to take into consideration and the starting point is not where you are going, but where you are right now. Are you sure that what you already have is not good enough? The "Promiseland" should have all that and more. Much more! Because at the end we all know it: there is no place like home!

So think about the reasons you want to leave. Is it work, environment, social condition, health care, everything together? Think about your specific case, because being wide (like: politics are corrupted, people are racist etc) won't help  your case. When you are in peace with what you are leaving, then you can look forward. 

What should you focus on when looking forward? Well some basics are your accommodation, transportation, social life, safety of the place and yeah, your FREE TIME. 

Let's elaborate this last one first. International Labour Organization published data revealing what we all knew: Asia dominates the list of world's average working week (all +45h per week). You might earn a higher salary by devoting your lifetime to work, but if you are a hedonist or just like to enjoy and live the life, maybe in Asia you won't have the time to do so. And TIME happens to be the most precious thing that you have in your life, it is your life. For me this is top priority.

Going backwards, safety of the place is important for your peace of mind and for your family in the future. There are some places safer than others and the other way round. 

Social life is quite logical, since we are, as Aristotle said, social animals. You might like to stay at home, by yourself (I like it too!), but sooner or later you're gonna look for interaction. And more options to it, the better. Cultural events and active social life make a place feel like home after all. Your affection to a place is connected to your memories and you make memories by going out and doing things with people. A place with no social life is like a ghost town, it has no spirit.

You might want to consider time you're spending to reach your working place, as well as your entertainment places. For me the choice from living next to the airport versus living in downtown was always the latter. Even though it meant spending more time to go to work, but I preferred to stay close to my life rather than close to work. Still it is good if you can find a compromise and stay close to both, because time spent in the traffic is wasted time of your life. If the Promiseland has a good transportation network, your whole life is going to be more smooth.

If you have a family and they will be depending on you, important factor to consider is schooling and insurance. In the Middle East this is taken care of by the company you work for and it is a huge relief. Family happiness is important as much as yours individually.

About where you live, choosing neighborhood is important for you and for your family. If you have children you want to make sure who they are hanging out with and you also need all the services nearby. Economic side of it is also important: how high is the rent you are paying? In the Middle Eastern Airlines accommodation is mostly company provided, so that is a huge benefit. But if you get used to that, learn to let it go as well: don't expect to find it elsewhere! After all to live in the humid desert under 50" degrees Celsius, far from home (and home means friends, family, 4 seasons, good food and weather, different rules) you need to get a big EXTRA benefit, otherwise it's not worth it. That benefit is free accommodation and transportation. I will not say a higher salary, since in the Middle East you are not paying taxes, therefor no pension is granted. Moreover life in the Middle East is crazily expensive, so if you do have that social life, you will also spend a lot. And that makes it even with  lower salaries in Europe where you do have a pension program and general expenses (housing, transportation, dining out, tickets for events) have reasonable price. Not everything that shines is gold.

Of course the above applies especially to a Cabin Crew job. In other  working positions (ex. pilots) or other industries (ex. teaching) the benefits might be significantly better, therefor makes it worth relocating. 

Maybe not in the Covid-19 era, but let's hope for a better future!

I am a world citizen and I like it.

Before and After

You don't need a university diploma in order to work as a flight attendant. But you do need a handful of skills to face that lifestyle. And there is no in between with flying: either you love it or you hate it! If you love it, you will always want more, you won't be able to stop and when on ground you will always be aware of the aircrafts flying above your head just by the sound. If you hate it, you will suffer and some people still do it. Why on earth?! Obviously, because of the benefits! And the pay. You'll finally be able to live comfortably and also put something aside. That's if you manage your perks wisely, but I have heard of Crew who used all their savings in drinking, partying or fancy branded bags, shoes and clothes. What to do, we are all different. What made me happy was to travel even more during my free time, that's where I invested part of my savings. And what I have out of it is beautiful memories, many of which will find their final destination in this blog!

Interesting enough is a fact that a high percentage of Crew that I flew with actually has a university degree! Some even multiple masters. Probably hoping to put it to use one day AFTER the flying career. I had my university class mate from Italy as a fellow Crew working in the same company overseas years after: what are the odds?! I helped him out for the interview and saw the positive result of my efforts when he got recruited, just a couple of years after me. It was quite comforting to have close someone from home, while so far from home. We are still in touch and always remembering the good old times in Bologna.

But let me go back to the main topic. While flying, I discovered that IT is my ideal job. That I don't want to go back to what I have studied at the university, also because I was already putting it to use on board, even though in a different way than imagined. I've studied International Relations at the Political Sciences Faculty, so foreign languages are my main asset and I do speak lot of them. Well that is exactly what I was doing on board as well! Also being diplomatic, patient, tolerant and moderate was part of the skills I learned and used on board. How to read the situation quickly and always find a solution is another skill I can brag about.
 If you love it, you will never stop. But what if you're forced to stop flying? Let's say because a certain mortal virus shows up in an epic number of the year 2020 and aviation is the worse affected industry because while the whole world is in quarantine, the aircrafts are in hangars. Period.

Then you need to reshape your future. Measure your skills and understand what your strengths are. Focus on those and look for a job that will fit your profile. Apply apply apply.
So which are the possible outcomes for a former Flight Attendant? What comes AFTER?

Here is a short SUPER FUNNY and greatly ACCURATE video about Cabin Crew trying to work from home, it is obviously Covid-age.

TRAVEL AGENT

You surely know a lot about traveling, why not starting your own business in the same industry? You have all the tips needed about places you have seen by person, contacts of trusted people, material to show the visual and even the leftover currencies (this last one is for your own memory). But get the point?

TOUR GUIDE
If you don't like organizing, let someone else do that and you go directly on the field! Get specialized about a certain place where you would like to live and go show it around to the others! If you know how to tell catchy stories and keep people's attention, not only the tourist will have fun, but you will as well.

TRAVEL BLOGGER
Hello from the other side! Here I am. If you have a lot to tell and an interesting way to tell stories along with a lot of media, this is the right job for you. It takes time, dedication and consistency, but if you are talkative as I am, it will only be fun!

PHOTOGRAPHER
If you don't like to write, but you are a good photographer, why not tell your stories through the media?! Get a network and go out there! Catch some memorable moments and places and make everyone dream with the beauty around the world.

CRUISE SHIP
If you still want to get your hands dirty, but on ground or better on water, a job on a cruise might just be right for you. It's a hard job, 24/7 availability, but it is also as fun. Camaraderie is evergreen.

AU PAIR
You are not going to earn even closely as much as Crew, but you can travel and learn new languages if you like baby-sitting. After dealing with countless screaming children on board, we all learned how to be a nanny. But not everyone likes it. If you know how to deal with children effortlessly, why not give it a try?

LANGUAGE TEACHER
Most of the Cabin Crew I have worked with know at least one foreign language, along with their native one. Some speak 3 or 4 and a niche goes beyond with 5+ (yes, I am among those! 🎓). If you like teaching, it should come quite natural to you putting those language skills to use. Surely you will need to be certified, so some studying and exams will be the first step.

UNIVERSITY
Many colleagues of mine interrupted their studying career in order to start flying. Wrong choice! EDUCATIONE COMES FIRST. But it is never late to finish your studies, because there is no age to studying! And if you still have to understand what your dream job is, put your time to use by starting a course (nowadays there are plenty online, especially because of the Covid-19 crisis, but I do prefer to go to the classroom). And if you didn't get the chance to study because you started flying early, well this is your chance to rectify. Hopefully you have some savings from your Crew life that will be helpful in this decision.

HOTEL MANAGEMENT
Some of the Crew come from a hotel management background. Going back to it is like a deja-vu, but that might just be what you like to do. Stay in the customer service industry, but on ground.

BARTENDER
It goes under the customer service, but specified with the drinks. Were you that Crew preparing cocktails and mocktails on all the parties? You had it in you all time long!

RADIO talker or CALL CENTER
Used to talk over the interphone, not only among the Crew, but addressing passengers over the public announcements, just admit it: you always enjoyed hearing your voice loud and knowing that everyone else is hearing it too (besides the distracted ones that aren't listening).
Well use that persuasive voice to talk on the radio and keep your slice of glory! Or chat all day long with random  people over the phone in the call center.

SALES ASSISTANT
Most of the airlines have a duty free on board. Therefor most of the Crew know how to sell. 1+1=2
As far as me is concerned, been there, done that.

EMR (emergency medical responder) or PARAMEDICS
There are some Crew who always play in the front line with confidence. Especially in the emergency situations such as medical ones. If you want to save people life full time, you will need to study some more and get the certification, but you will also stay in the game. A hero!

FIRE FIGHTER
You like action and you are not afraid of fire. You feed on it because you are a burning atom full of energy to give. We need these heroes in the society big time!

AVIATION TRAINER
And if you still want to stay in the aviation industry, but in the backstage, this is an interesting position to consider. But you do need to be able to transmit information in a clear and effective manner. There is much responsibility to it, so don't take it lightly. You can choose between teaching service, safety or first aid. Or simply following the ab-initio during their training weeks in bureaucracy matters.

Do you have any other suggestions on a possible career AFTER flying?
As you can see from the above, flying is not a dead-end career. It is just a beginning of your adventures. Good luck!

PEK for Beijing (summertime)

I went all the way to Chine to...

Sliding on the Great Wall of China

Correction. I went all the way to Beijing just to buy a mobile phone! ... Kidding 😅
Obviously I am talking about Huawei brand and I do use it for many years now! I happened to need a new mobile phone just the same month I had PEK on my roster, so I thought: let me go directly to the source! And so I did. I saw a new fancy model from my Taekwondo master, a purple/blue electric Nova3 and I decided I will go for the same, just a little cheaper because bought directly where it is produced.

I did all my research before the flight, knowing that Google and everything related is blocked in China, even with the VPN (at least with the free versions that I was using around the world during layovers). I went to the Huawei shop that my Chinese colleague advised me and it took me about 1h to complete the purchase, by using google translator, because nobody in the shop was talking not even a word of English! But hey, not only I made it, I also got a lot of extras for free (Huawei selfie-stick, 2 covers, LCD window shield) and I payed less than the cost everywhere else in the world, so it was definitely worth it and I am still using it!!! My Chinese colleague helped me out with the settings from Chinese to English and everything is cool.

Huawei Nova3, selfie stick and covers

Well this was the boring side of the story. Let's jump up to the exploring instead! Myself with a Crew girl from Mexico and our Captain from Spain went for the Great Wall tour: what a blast it was!
In the morning we took a driver from the hotel, but forgot to ask at the reception what was the pickup time for our flight back that was happening the same late evening! So we tried to ask the driver to use his mobile phone (of course ours wasn't working), but again he didn't speak a word of English, so again google translator helped us out, except at the certain point it translated I LOVE YOU instead of something else and the driver was quite puzzled and maybe flattered? Who knows! At the end we made it to contact the reception and plan our time accordingly.

It was an 1h30' drive and finally we got to the Wall. After the visit of the museum, we started climbing. And right there I thanked God that I am training Taekwondo, a Korean martial art involving legs more than other body parts. I had a steady trekking, but people around me were stopping frequently to rest, had heavy breathing and were frequent drinking or simply giving up. Ok, maybe the fact it was August didn't really help with staying fresh, but hey, once in a lifetime you'll make that effort, right?

Dollyo-chagi

Crew

Endless panorama of green mountains, nature and this endless wall full of mysteries.


Who knows how many stories it inspired, how many feet have walked on it, how many lives were given to defend it and how many romances it was keeping in store?! The tradition, the history, the architecture: it all has a sort of timeless magic.
No wonder it is one of the 7 wonders of the world, right? Wonderful!

Cableway

The Great Wall of China

safehouse

A new entertainment on the Great Wall is the 3-5min slippery slope for whoever is not afraid of the speed. You are by yourself on the metal slide sitting comfortably with your legs in the front with a joystick in the middle that is used for braking. I had a misfortune to have in front of me a 60 years old Chinese lady that was kind of afraid of the whole sliding (why didn't she take the stairs?!!?), so we were going quite slow. But she was creating a long queuing line, so I had to shout to her and ultimately push her myself. It involved a lot of laughing with my Crew and at the end we all had a lot of fun. Here's the video!

BCN for Barcelona

Ola! Buenos dias! Whoever visited Spain in their life, knows how relaxed the lifestyle is. Siesta says it all! And I love it 😻 I visited Barcelona in a few layovers and every time I have seen so much that besides counting hundreds of photos, my mobile phone counted around 17km of walking each time!
From the architecture to the Mediterranean weather, atmosphere on the streets, music and good smell of food, it is an inexhaustible source of inspiration and energy!

Sagrada Familia

It is very easy to move around in the city: by walking, cycling, metro or bus. Just careful about the pickpockets in the metro, it is quite famous for the fast hands! There are many museums to visit, so you will definitely need a lot of time here. I would advice to stay outdoors when the weather is good and leave the indoors visiting in the wintertime.

Passeig de Gracia

Who is the notorious architect of Barcelona, the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism? If you haven't heard about GAUDI', you have surely seen some of his works, they are all around the city: Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo', Park Güell etc. His works are colorful and quite recognizable.

Park Güell

Park Güell

Park Güell

La Rambla is the famous and most visited street where you can shop and find a lot of entertainment. That is where La Boqueria is, the colorful food market where you will want to come back again and again in order to try a bit of everything.

La Boqueria

You will never get bored just wandering around the streets and discovering hidden treasures. There are so many beautiful churches, my favorite is the gothic style such as the Cathedral of Barcelona.

Catedral de Barcelona

At the sunset time I am usually looking for water, because the reflection of the sunrays and the open view are just splendid and extremely calming, heartwarming, besides romantic. The seafront is full of restaurants with any kind of cuisine, as well as entertaining shops and playgrounds.

There is another beautiful park where in the summer time events such as concerts are organized: Parque de la Ciutadella. It has a rich flora and many centenary trees. A perfect place to relax with a book, take a walk or enjoy the ludic activities. There is a monumental Cascade, a Zoo and also the Parliament of Catalunya.

Parque de la Ciutadella

And as the journey is coming to an end, the Crew hotel happened to be quite attached to another architectural wonder worth seeing nighttime: Torre Glories, a high tech skyscraper made by Jean Nouvel intended to recall the shape of a geyser rising into the air. Indeed it does, geyser or not, it definitely is an explosion of altitude.

Torre Glories

Torre Glories

Buenas Noches Barcelona!