Athens: Gallery 11 -- the Finish Line

[I just got home tonight.  I'll fill in the rest retrospectively.]

February 20, 2012, Monday

Miles flown:  1500 miles + 3452 miles

Flight time:  3h 40 min + 7h 20 min
Left:  1:30 pm from Athens ATH
Arrived:  8:20 pm at New York JFK

Before I exited the Syntagma Metro station, I glanced at the clocks.  10:58 am, two minutes before the gallery was due to open.  I emerged just in time to catch the Changing of the Guard at the Parliament Building.

My steps quickened as I crossed the road and passed the French Embassy.  In my haste I passed a street that turned out to be Merlin, where Gagosian is located.  Merlin did not seem to have a sign, so I had to head back for it.  I was surprised that #3 looked quite dark.  It certainly wasn't the airy gallery I was expecting.

I started to wonder if my quest was about to be derailed by a bit of Greek drama (or tragedy).  I had entertained doomsday scenarios where a Greek exit from the Euro and the return of the drachma precipitated cataclysmic chaos -- the worst consequence of which was that scores of people would fail to complete the Challenge.

The Athens gallery has a similar setting as the Geneva gallery.   It's located in a building that has other establishments.  I looked at the various buzzers, and well, it was all Greek to me!   Finally I spotted the Gagosian buzzer.  I rang and waited.

When my call was answered, I felt a sense of relief.  All my weekends since January 14 have involved a visit to at least one Gagosian gallery.  I have flown internationally three times in six weeks.  I was looking forward to the end of the Challenge.  I stepped inside the gallery.  I'm here for the Spot Challenge, I announced.  Well admittedly it's not as sexy as declaring I'm Bond, but I've used the same line at every gallery.

She looked at my card and took out her stamp and said, This is your last stop, congratulations!  Then she wanted to take a photo of me to post on Facebook.  Pick a painting you like, she added helpfully.  I took a quick look and stood next to one.  Ah the popular one, she said, so I wasn't scoring points for originality.  Here's my triumphant portrait in Athens, which I've copied from Facebook.

I wore the same jacket as I did in HK, but the rest of the outfit was different, I assure you...

She confirmed that I was the first to finish in Athens, as I had suspected.  I figured out later that the number of people who finished before me is between 59 and 66 (inclusive).  According to Facebook, at least one other person finished in Athens today.

As I walked briskly towards my hotel, I felt a bit of exhilaration.  So I had done it after all!   Then I heard a call and turned and saw another staff member from Gagosian who had caught up with me.  It's good I saw you, she said, as I wondered what she was after.  I thought that I had dropped something, perhaps my passport or some cash or both, as I had done before.  Though I was sure that I had checked prior to leaving, my senior moments are clearly becoming more frequent.

You have to come back and sign something.  So I followed her back to fill out a short form asking for some personal details and the personal dedication I'd like Damien to make.  I had to surrender my Spot Challenge card with them.  I'd guarded it as closely as my passport.  Now I'd need to wait for its return along with the print.

gago11's journey ended on Feb 20, 2012 in Athens

There was some Greek drama after all, which unfolded as soon as I got to the airport at 12:45 for my 2:35 flight.  I was connecting in Heathrow for New York, and as I looked at the screens, I discovered my flight was canceled.  This was not good.  I knew that being stuck in the afternoon would lessen my chances of getting home on time.

I was directed to Ticketing, and of course there was already a line.  I was doubting that there would be a connection that could still get me back home before work on Tuesday.  Then the staff called out for people bound for New York.

There were five of us, and there was an Aegean flight whose checkin was just about to close.  I was the first to be checked in, and I moved quickly when I noticed the flight was leaving at 1:30.  So I was really lucky that I would make my connection after all -- and that the Greeks are so efficient.  I was also lucky that I showed up to the airport earlier than I normally would.  And I was very lucky that this was the only flight cancellation I faced during the course of the Challenge.