LTG the pyramid scheme? Will QF LTG (Lift Their Game) ?? Europe 2024 for tipping over LIFE TIME GOLD

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It’s been a long trip
Only joined QFF when Ansett went under

That was helter skelter so it’s been a Long time in the journey. That said without AFF and the tricks and tips it would still be a long time to go

Bearing in mind burning points with JASA was brilliant but there was a time gap between them being withdrawn and Points Club arriving (for which I’ve never qualified nor an ABN - not had the cash to spend - yknow things like PAYG taxes and mortgages and divorce and child support yadda yadda

It IS Definitely not for the impatient and once Lifetime Gold is achieved I don’t feel the need to

“toe their line”.

The top of the pyramid is for most an impossible pipe-Dream and perhaps that’s why they like it. Doesn’t really cost them much to offer it and most of us can only “dream of getting there”

A bridge too far unless you or your business are a seriously big spender (oh that’s the federal Parliament - who’d a thought ?)

 

[CaptJCool]

So it was a late Sunday night out to the Roman Agora adjacent Monastriki
By train
And the crowds were enormous


Hadrians Library


Roman Agora

And up the hill…

 

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And after the hike up !



Gum trees (at Sygrou Fix station)


Some more modern artsy


This photo was taken on a bluff adjacent to the Parthenon and I quite enjoyed a late night moon rising too !

 

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Monday 24th
And it’s a trip to the Coin museum just down from Symtagma station

Floors and ceilings in this mansion once owned by a German called Schliemann who was a coon collector
And the best coffee in Athens round the back in the garden café

 

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Can’t really do justice to this wonderful exhibition but here’s a few

 

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The 1896 Athens Olympic medals


Then street scenes from the backstreet walk across to the next museum
An interesting cafe idea - no profit and way cheaper than the average cafe - Athens being cheaper than anywhere


This was a decrepit mess Graf everywhere

 

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Just got a pic of the archaeological museum before I ran out of phone battery

Staying in a pseudo hotel Airbnb at Attiki it was a short trip back to recharge
And some more street scenes

Local suburban train

Noticethe manually lowered and raised boom gate
Moving art piece in the Metro

 

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Up The funicular at Mt lycabettus

St George’s church at the top

 

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Steep hills





Manic sights
Get out the big guns

 

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In the Penthouse tonight



Tonight’s huge meal

Couple of local wines for the starry night journey

 

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Today Wednesday 26th was an on the Metro day - open air track

Monastriki station had excavations
Originally built in 1895 ahead of the 1896 Olympics


Then onto Piraeus and the port

Also my run of closed railway museums continue as the museum at Piraeus well and truly shut

 

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Quite some fairytale going on in north Monastriki
And classy stores all over

 

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It’s Orf to an authentic armenian restaurant for dinner

Magnificent. Cooking the Khorovats over hot coals

 

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Later that evening
Surreal
At the 1896 Olympic stadium
This is a must do
Remember reading of this as a child and dreaming of one day seeing it. And here it is

 

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Thursday 27th and it’s a morning walk through the Athens National Garden
A black n white Pidgeon pause
And some Australian trees !



The. Some knees high at the Presidential palace (which was the Royal palace)

 

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And an in-depth view of the 1896


Eucalyptus behind the Olympic symbol

 

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No OH&S back in the day

 

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The athletes entry 17% gradient


Athens 2004
And todays white




Melbourne broke the mould
First host city WITHOUT an athlete image on the official poster

Munich my first TV memory and I have driven by that stadium (whoosh)

Barcelona a wonderful Olympics and good memories

Sydney - who wasn’t scene there ?

 

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Those athletic poster images

Of course Paris 1924 means Paris 2024 is the 100th anniversary !

 

[CaptJCool]

Getting your Parthenon on !
But only at the time on the ticket
No early entries