http://www.daleyrant.com Tales and tirades from The Girl Who Never Grew Up™ Thu, 19 Aug 2010 02:53:18 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://www.daleyrant.com/2009/12/31/be-a-quitter/ http://www.daleyrant.com/2009/12/31/be-a-quitter/#comments Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:11:42 +0000 keira http://www.daleyrant.com/?p=839 http://www.daleyrant.com/2009/12/31/be-a-quitter/feed/ 0 http://www.daleyrant.com/2009/03/20/waiting-to-erupt-part-4/ http://www.daleyrant.com/2009/03/20/waiting-to-erupt-part-4/#comments Fri, 20 Mar 2009 01:25:17 +0000 keira http://www.daleyrant.com/?p=531 all one big, expensive mistake? I take one look at the bedroom with its low, dug-out ceiling and no windows. With great relief, I recall that I'd slept on the last available big bed and, so, this time it was Marilyn's turn. "You can take the big bed this time," I say. "Plus, I'll have an anxiety attack in here." 'Here' being a cave. But, I guess, we asked for it. And then there's the bathroom - aka "that f--king bathroom" Marilyn wanted so badly. I guess it kind of looked like the brochure. But what do you get when you coat a cave's walls in that same shade of cement they use in beach toilet blocks, with no windows, no ventilation, and lots of water? Ah, so that's where the smell is coming from. Back in the livingroom, meanwhile, there's a TV – plus satellite, with hundreds of channels! Of course, these are in every language other than English. We pass the evening, exhausted, watching music videos and attempting to drink local wine that tastes like liquid raisins. Sleep time arrives. We say goodnight and retire to couch and cave respectively. All of five minutes passes. Read more...]]> http://www.daleyrant.com/2009/03/20/waiting-to-erupt-part-4/feed/ 2 http://www.daleyrant.com/2009/03/19/waiting-to-erupt-part-3/ http://www.daleyrant.com/2009/03/19/waiting-to-erupt-part-3/#comments Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:19:40 +0000 keira http://www.daleyrant.com/?p=521 just like the Canadian couple said. Our thespian hotel manager points toward an open door to the left of the closet-sized reception office. It looks like a storage room - no, wait a minute, it IS. That's where the unmarked man put our luggage! "Take a look at this one. It's bigger than what you were promised, but I'll give it to you for the same price." We walk inside and, to be fair, it is kind of big. But it's also dark, dank, claustrophobic and full of other people's luggage. It's nothing like the brochure. "Is there anything a little less... dungeon-like?" I ask. "We really want this bathroom," Marilyn says, showing the woman the brochure. "For that same price? No. I can't. I can't do it. I feel so bad... It's not your fault that the guy you talked to on the phone was an idiot. But there's one more room upstairs. The people are checking out today if you don't mind waiting. 15 minutes." She runs off and we plant ourselves back at the tiki-hut bar. We're drinking this nice red fizzy booze which has made the whole thing slightly comedic. At least, for me. "Dude, I'm happy to just go back to Atlantis," I tell Marilyn. "I want that f--king bathroom," she says. Medea returns, hands clasped, ready for Act Two. "Okay, the room upstairs will be free soon. I can't give it to you for the same price, but I can still give you a discount. Do you want to see it? I feel so bad for you guys. You're on vacation..." She's giving us a performance aimed at bringing 5000 ancient Greeks to their feet in that oh-so-steeply-tiered amphitheatre back in Athens. Instead, she's got a two Aussies with flip-flops and blank expressions. Read more... ]]> http://www.daleyrant.com/2009/03/19/waiting-to-erupt-part-3/feed/ 1 http://www.daleyrant.com/2009/02/12/waiting-to-erupt-part-1/ http://www.daleyrant.com/2009/02/12/waiting-to-erupt-part-1/#comments Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:30:08 +0000 keira http://www.daleyrant.com/?p=405 Nea Kameni is a volcano that was once part of the land mass of Santorini. When it erupted, it sent a large chunk of the island hurtling to the ocean floor, leaving the island in a ball-and-cup formation called the Cauldera - a circular volcanic mass accompanied by the crescent-shaped main island. That main island is a spectacular place that's famous for its clusters of dramatic cliff-face buildings, wedding-worthy sunset, association with the Atlantis myth and Minoan civilisations, and tasty tomato patties which my best friend and I feasted on at a ouzoeri in the main town of Fira. "Our friendship is like that volcano," Marilyn muses over our lunch. "They don't know when it'll erupt. All they know is, it will." Read more...]]> http://www.daleyrant.com/2009/02/12/waiting-to-erupt-part-1/feed/ 3