Saturday, October 24, 2009
Back to Athens
We got off our ship bright and early Friday morning and were transferred to our hotel in Athens, the Metropolitan. The Metropolitan is a very nice hotel nicely situated in Athens. They are in almost the center of Athens, but yet it is somewhat of a quiet area for the most part. The hotel offers a free shuttle into the city center where there is a huge concentration of shops, restaurants, and museums. This makes it really easy for us to find our own way at our own pace, especially since the next two days are on our own.
Since our room wasn’t ready quite yet, we took the shuttle into town and wandered around for a few hours and then went back to check in and take a nap. Neither one of us had very good sleep on the ship so needed to catch up a little. Afterwards we walked to a restaurant about three blocks from the hotel for lunch. Meal times are very different than the U.S.- we had lunch around 1:30 and that was very early here. Typically breakfast is nothing more than coffee (although we have been given huge breakfast buffets) and lunch and dinner will be huge meals. Lunch will be around 230 or 3pm and dinner is around 10-11pm. So I guess when we have been going our for dinner, the Greeks must think we are having a late lunch. Either way, that just means when we are ready to eat- it is not busy in the restaurants which is nice actually.
This evening we opted in to join a dinner group going to Psiri. The tour company organizes these optional dinner evenings for an extra cost and they arrange a menu with a good local restaurant in a different part of town and offers it the tours. We have done a couple and they have been some of the best meals we have had and well worth the money- especially since they are inclusive of beverages (wine, soda, water- yes, you typically pay for water over here). Last night was phenomenal, to say the least. To each big table they delivered about 10-15 different appetizers to sample from salads, to grilled mushrooms, to cheeses…etc. They kept bringing bottle after bottle of wine, and again more food. After appetizers we were so full, but knew what was coming next. They then brought out these huge platters of grilled meats; pork, chicken, beef, sausage. All were topped with grilled pita bread, fried potatoes and a bunch of other stuff. What was really neat about this place is that there were so many different foods that what we have been eating at other places so it wasn’t like we were getting the same things over and over. Dessert we have this chocolate cake, with ice cream and fresh fruit, and more wine. But then the most difficult part of the evening was walking back to the bus after having consumed all that food and wine. The streets in Athens are very tiny and busses are allowed on the main streets because they are big enough, but the majority of these local streets are not wide enough for a bus to get through so walking is involved- which is typically not a big deal.
Falling asleep after yesterday and especially the dinner was not hard Saturday is our last day in Athens and we have a lot to pack in! I can’t believe we have to back home in a day….
Since our room wasn’t ready quite yet, we took the shuttle into town and wandered around for a few hours and then went back to check in and take a nap. Neither one of us had very good sleep on the ship so needed to catch up a little. Afterwards we walked to a restaurant about three blocks from the hotel for lunch. Meal times are very different than the U.S.- we had lunch around 1:30 and that was very early here. Typically breakfast is nothing more than coffee (although we have been given huge breakfast buffets) and lunch and dinner will be huge meals. Lunch will be around 230 or 3pm and dinner is around 10-11pm. So I guess when we have been going our for dinner, the Greeks must think we are having a late lunch. Either way, that just means when we are ready to eat- it is not busy in the restaurants which is nice actually.
This evening we opted in to join a dinner group going to Psiri. The tour company organizes these optional dinner evenings for an extra cost and they arrange a menu with a good local restaurant in a different part of town and offers it the tours. We have done a couple and they have been some of the best meals we have had and well worth the money- especially since they are inclusive of beverages (wine, soda, water- yes, you typically pay for water over here). Last night was phenomenal, to say the least. To each big table they delivered about 10-15 different appetizers to sample from salads, to grilled mushrooms, to cheeses…etc. They kept bringing bottle after bottle of wine, and again more food. After appetizers we were so full, but knew what was coming next. They then brought out these huge platters of grilled meats; pork, chicken, beef, sausage. All were topped with grilled pita bread, fried potatoes and a bunch of other stuff. What was really neat about this place is that there were so many different foods that what we have been eating at other places so it wasn’t like we were getting the same things over and over. Dessert we have this chocolate cake, with ice cream and fresh fruit, and more wine. But then the most difficult part of the evening was walking back to the bus after having consumed all that food and wine. The streets in Athens are very tiny and busses are allowed on the main streets because they are big enough, but the majority of these local streets are not wide enough for a bus to get through so walking is involved- which is typically not a big deal.
Falling asleep after yesterday and especially the dinner was not hard Saturday is our last day in Athens and we have a lot to pack in! I can’t believe we have to back home in a day….
Friday, October 23, 2009
And on the 15th day, God gave us Starbucks and it was good!
This morning since we did not book an excursion on Crete we got to sleep in a little bit which was needed since last night was a rather restless night with all the waves and rocking. Our tour guide offered a walking tour of the port city if anybody wanted to join her. We opted in to go and left around 830am. We had a short shuttle bus to get us out of the docking area since it was so large and then we walked for about 25 mins to a main street that had shops, churches, and a market. On our guides recommendation, we tried these lovely doughnuts that were covered lightly in honey, cinnamon and sesame seeds. We also finally purchased our worry beads.
Worry beads are a big thing over here- almost every Greek has them it seems like. They are just these beads on a string- looks like a cross between a rosary and a necklace. People just hold on the them, fling them around their fingers, whip them back and forth- it is quite odd actually. But we felt compelled to make the purchase for ourselves. Brad got black worry beads, and I got ones that were blue with eyes on them- apparently it is for good luck...maybe they will help me find a job…unless the shop keeper was pulling my leg and they are bad luck and therefore I may be unemployed for awhile.
After we wandered around for a bit, we met back at our meeting place on the main street, Starbucks. Seeing a Starbucks was magical. It appeared to have bright lights around it and if you listened carefully you could hear angels singing. It was calling to us….two and a half weeks of bad coffee…all to be rewarded with the precious, delicious grande nonfat latte with caramel. It was all good.
After enjoying the precious for a few short moments outside on a sunny morning we started the leisurely long walk back to the port. When we got back, we had a few moments to rest before we had our disembarkment meeting (for tomorrow morning) and then lunch. By this afternoon, we would reach Santorini one of the highlights for me on this trip.
As scheduled we reached Santorini on time and what an island it is! One big crescent shaped mountain. We were called off the boat first to take a smaller boat into the port. We got right on a big tour bus and started up the mountain. I could not watch as the huge bus zig zagged up the mountain with other busses driving the other direction down- the road was barely wide enough for a car, let alone two big busses. I focused on our local guide who was telling us about the island and it wasn’t hard to do cause he was so funny! He had my dry sense of humor. We drove up to the cliff that you always see pictures of when you see pictures of the Greek Islands, the white houses with the blue windows and domes overlooking the sea on a cliff…well we were there and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Amazing. I think that it was at this point where we both decided that this was a place we were coming back to- without any doubt. We took a million pictures- both of us and the sun was about an hour from setting so we were there at a perfect time. The streets in that area were all pedestrian streets that were like a labyrinth with all of these unknown turns all lines with cafes, shops, kiosks, art galleries…our guide dropped us off at a square and said it was a 7 minute walk to the end and for the ladies it was a 2 hour walk (because of all the shops- he wasn’t kidding and I had to really resist given the timing of the sunset and to be able to see what we came here to see) Another thing about this city was that it was completely non-commercial- no chain hotels, restaurants, etc…all locally family owned establishments. In fact, we were told that you would be hard pressed to find a hotel that had over 50 rooms in it. They also make their own wine in Santorini and we got to sample a bit- it was fabulous, kind of like a port wine and is only sold in Santorini- we bought a bottle to take home. They also sell a bunch of roasted pistachios, and sesame seed encrusted peanuts that are slightly sweet- amazing!!! We bought those to. The only downfall to this island, is how you leave it (when you are on a cruise). There are 3 ways down, 600+ stairs, donkey, or cable car. While I was not fond of the cable car idea, it was the quickest and safest way and it actually wasn’t that bad, nothing like the cable cars I rode to the top of the Matterhorn in Switzerland, but that is what I envisioned when they told us we’d be taking them and I scared myself with the thought.
We had to get back on the boat for dinner, and to pack and pick up our passports. We were sat at a table with this very nice couple from Australia. They will be traveling around Europe for about 3 months! They seemed to travel a lot. We ended up getting on the topic of politics (which I know is always a bad idea…) but it was very interesting to hear their point of view on the world and what they think of America. The general opinion from what we have heard from almost everybody is that they love Obama as our president- even when we were in Egypt, the people selling stuff would ask if you were from America and then they’d say “Yeah…Obama!” and give us a thumbs up. While many people may not like him very much, he seems to have quite a following all over the world and that can’t be a bad thing!
Anyway, much left to do tonight and tomorrow we have to get off the boat early so I’d better pack it up for now.
Worry beads are a big thing over here- almost every Greek has them it seems like. They are just these beads on a string- looks like a cross between a rosary and a necklace. People just hold on the them, fling them around their fingers, whip them back and forth- it is quite odd actually. But we felt compelled to make the purchase for ourselves. Brad got black worry beads, and I got ones that were blue with eyes on them- apparently it is for good luck...maybe they will help me find a job…unless the shop keeper was pulling my leg and they are bad luck and therefore I may be unemployed for awhile.
After we wandered around for a bit, we met back at our meeting place on the main street, Starbucks. Seeing a Starbucks was magical. It appeared to have bright lights around it and if you listened carefully you could hear angels singing. It was calling to us….two and a half weeks of bad coffee…all to be rewarded with the precious, delicious grande nonfat latte with caramel. It was all good.
After enjoying the precious for a few short moments outside on a sunny morning we started the leisurely long walk back to the port. When we got back, we had a few moments to rest before we had our disembarkment meeting (for tomorrow morning) and then lunch. By this afternoon, we would reach Santorini one of the highlights for me on this trip.
As scheduled we reached Santorini on time and what an island it is! One big crescent shaped mountain. We were called off the boat first to take a smaller boat into the port. We got right on a big tour bus and started up the mountain. I could not watch as the huge bus zig zagged up the mountain with other busses driving the other direction down- the road was barely wide enough for a car, let alone two big busses. I focused on our local guide who was telling us about the island and it wasn’t hard to do cause he was so funny! He had my dry sense of humor. We drove up to the cliff that you always see pictures of when you see pictures of the Greek Islands, the white houses with the blue windows and domes overlooking the sea on a cliff…well we were there and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Amazing. I think that it was at this point where we both decided that this was a place we were coming back to- without any doubt. We took a million pictures- both of us and the sun was about an hour from setting so we were there at a perfect time. The streets in that area were all pedestrian streets that were like a labyrinth with all of these unknown turns all lines with cafes, shops, kiosks, art galleries…our guide dropped us off at a square and said it was a 7 minute walk to the end and for the ladies it was a 2 hour walk (because of all the shops- he wasn’t kidding and I had to really resist given the timing of the sunset and to be able to see what we came here to see) Another thing about this city was that it was completely non-commercial- no chain hotels, restaurants, etc…all locally family owned establishments. In fact, we were told that you would be hard pressed to find a hotel that had over 50 rooms in it. They also make their own wine in Santorini and we got to sample a bit- it was fabulous, kind of like a port wine and is only sold in Santorini- we bought a bottle to take home. They also sell a bunch of roasted pistachios, and sesame seed encrusted peanuts that are slightly sweet- amazing!!! We bought those to. The only downfall to this island, is how you leave it (when you are on a cruise). There are 3 ways down, 600+ stairs, donkey, or cable car. While I was not fond of the cable car idea, it was the quickest and safest way and it actually wasn’t that bad, nothing like the cable cars I rode to the top of the Matterhorn in Switzerland, but that is what I envisioned when they told us we’d be taking them and I scared myself with the thought.
We had to get back on the boat for dinner, and to pack and pick up our passports. We were sat at a table with this very nice couple from Australia. They will be traveling around Europe for about 3 months! They seemed to travel a lot. We ended up getting on the topic of politics (which I know is always a bad idea…) but it was very interesting to hear their point of view on the world and what they think of America. The general opinion from what we have heard from almost everybody is that they love Obama as our president- even when we were in Egypt, the people selling stuff would ask if you were from America and then they’d say “Yeah…Obama!” and give us a thumbs up. While many people may not like him very much, he seems to have quite a following all over the world and that can’t be a bad thing!
Anyway, much left to do tonight and tomorrow we have to get off the boat early so I’d better pack it up for now.
No more smooth sailing
Today was an entire day on the island of Rhodes. Rhodes is the 4th largest island in the Mediterranean and there is a bunch to do and see. We woke up early; actually Brad woke up really early to a shower from the window. Apparently they were washing the windows really early (4am) and when they sprayed the window; it dripped some water in on him as his bed is right up against the window. However, it wasn’t like we both haven’t been up at about 430-500 am when the lounge chairs are arranged on the sun deck which is right above us. This is a very old and noisy ship and oddly the ship is VERY rocky. Meaning, you can feel every wave- even though this ship is large, for some reason it rocks back and forth a lot. I had to purchase sea sickness pills the first day on board- which I have never had problems with before. Tonight as I write this I wonder if the ship is going to go down Titanic style…there are 8-10 foot waves and we are moving all over the place, our room is also situated near the front of the boat.
Anyway, we left our boat this morning and got on our bus up to Lindos which is a city on the island of Rhodes. It was about a 50 minute drive and we were going to visit an acropolis, which the Greek translation literally means city on the rock. Which makes sense since the other acropolis, the major one in Athens is on a big mountain that we hiked up. This was the same, but a scarier hike to the top. So we were warned in advance that there were approximately 300 steps to the top and we had 2 options, by foot the whole way, or half the way by donkey and the rest of the way by foot. I rode a camel and that was enough for one trip- I do not trust donkeys...regardless of how cute they are. So we “hoofed” it (our own hooves, not the donkey’s hooves) all the way up the big rocks. Now when they say 300 steps, these are not nice shallow stairs with a railing…oh no. These are big marble or sometimes broken up slippery rocks that are uneven and inconsistent in size- without handrails. In fact, there is no guard rails going up or when you get to the top- so you can just walk right off the top if you’d like and as an added bonus, it is very windy. Brad was not a huge fan of this as he has a small fear of heights. I am quite certain that my knees hate me right now. This was very interesting to see and I am glad we went to the top, although we are paying the price now.
After the acropolis we drove to see a pottery demonstration which was neat to see. I had taken a pottery class in the past using a pottery wheel and it would take me over an hour to make what this guy made in about 3 minutes. After this we drove back towards the port to the old town of Rhodes. The old town is still surrounded by gates, moats (dry) and the old brick fortress wall. Inside there are a bunch of shops and restaurants, museums and churches. That is one thing that is interesting about all these islands- the amazing number of small churches. Mykonos literally had 1 church per day of the year- 365 small churches in an island that had less people than the city of Minneapolis- maybe even Crystal. These churches are however very very small- I could not imagine some of these holding more the 50 people in them. It would probably be easy to get married over here- there is always a church available!
Instead of going back to the ship right after our guided tour, we stayed behind for lunch to taste the local fare. I of course ordered a Greek Salad and a slice of cheese pie- Brad ordered a mixed meats kabob that had fried potatoes and veggies and also tzasiki which came with the fabulous seasoned grilled pita bread. We had so much food and it was delicious! We hobbled back to the ship for our daily nap and woke up to the rocking and it has gotten worse as we continue to sail. More motion sickness pills for me…
Tonight we had the Captain’s cocktail party where we could meet the Captain and then our formal night in the dining room. We had a special dessert tonight, baked Alaska. They turned out all the lights and walked in the dining room with the flaming dessert singing the song “hot, hot, hot”.
Tomorrow morning we are taking a walking tour of the island of Crete and have some free time. We are then sailing to Santorini which is what I am most excited for- I can’t wait to see the blue domed houses and white washed homes on the cliff. Friday we get off the boat early in the morning and Friday and Saturday we have free in Athens. I can’t believe that our trip is nearing the end. It has gone by so fast and we have done so much, but I am also looking forward to getting back to normal. I may actually miss the dog a little bit…but maybe I am just not feeling well…who knows?
Anyway, we left our boat this morning and got on our bus up to Lindos which is a city on the island of Rhodes. It was about a 50 minute drive and we were going to visit an acropolis, which the Greek translation literally means city on the rock. Which makes sense since the other acropolis, the major one in Athens is on a big mountain that we hiked up. This was the same, but a scarier hike to the top. So we were warned in advance that there were approximately 300 steps to the top and we had 2 options, by foot the whole way, or half the way by donkey and the rest of the way by foot. I rode a camel and that was enough for one trip- I do not trust donkeys...regardless of how cute they are. So we “hoofed” it (our own hooves, not the donkey’s hooves) all the way up the big rocks. Now when they say 300 steps, these are not nice shallow stairs with a railing…oh no. These are big marble or sometimes broken up slippery rocks that are uneven and inconsistent in size- without handrails. In fact, there is no guard rails going up or when you get to the top- so you can just walk right off the top if you’d like and as an added bonus, it is very windy. Brad was not a huge fan of this as he has a small fear of heights. I am quite certain that my knees hate me right now. This was very interesting to see and I am glad we went to the top, although we are paying the price now.
After the acropolis we drove to see a pottery demonstration which was neat to see. I had taken a pottery class in the past using a pottery wheel and it would take me over an hour to make what this guy made in about 3 minutes. After this we drove back towards the port to the old town of Rhodes. The old town is still surrounded by gates, moats (dry) and the old brick fortress wall. Inside there are a bunch of shops and restaurants, museums and churches. That is one thing that is interesting about all these islands- the amazing number of small churches. Mykonos literally had 1 church per day of the year- 365 small churches in an island that had less people than the city of Minneapolis- maybe even Crystal. These churches are however very very small- I could not imagine some of these holding more the 50 people in them. It would probably be easy to get married over here- there is always a church available!
Instead of going back to the ship right after our guided tour, we stayed behind for lunch to taste the local fare. I of course ordered a Greek Salad and a slice of cheese pie- Brad ordered a mixed meats kabob that had fried potatoes and veggies and also tzasiki which came with the fabulous seasoned grilled pita bread. We had so much food and it was delicious! We hobbled back to the ship for our daily nap and woke up to the rocking and it has gotten worse as we continue to sail. More motion sickness pills for me…
Tonight we had the Captain’s cocktail party where we could meet the Captain and then our formal night in the dining room. We had a special dessert tonight, baked Alaska. They turned out all the lights and walked in the dining room with the flaming dessert singing the song “hot, hot, hot”.
Tomorrow morning we are taking a walking tour of the island of Crete and have some free time. We are then sailing to Santorini which is what I am most excited for- I can’t wait to see the blue domed houses and white washed homes on the cliff. Friday we get off the boat early in the morning and Friday and Saturday we have free in Athens. I can’t believe that our trip is nearing the end. It has gone by so fast and we have done so much, but I am also looking forward to getting back to normal. I may actually miss the dog a little bit…but maybe I am just not feeling well…who knows?
Turkey anybody? Gobble Gobble
This morning, bright and early we left the boat and set foot in Kusadasi, Turkey. We had a shore excursion to visit the home of Virgin Mary- this is the home that she lived in after Jesus’ death and where she spent the last days of her life. I had no clue that was in Turkey to be honest, or the fact that we’d be given the option of going to visit it. Oddly we were the only people that were interested in our tour group in going so we had to go with another group for this part, which was fine. At this point we had gotten real good at meeting new people and sharing our story with everybody- you know that typical- “what’s your name, where are you from, what do you do?” I love answering the question, “what do you do for a living” because I haven’t an answer for anybody but hope that changes soon after we get back (with any luck).
The home of Virgin Mary was as you can imagine quite small and obviously no pictures were allowed inside, but we got a few outside and around the home. I think that what was most impressive was how high into the mountains it was and to imagine them going up there without a nice air conditioned motor coach, but rather a donkey…that would have taken days. Talk about a place out in the suburbs! But it was absolutely beautiful around the home, very green and in the woods almost.
We spent about 30-45 mins there before we loaded on the bus again to travel down the mountain to Ancient Ephesus, one of the Ancient wonders of the world- in fact we believe this is like the 4th one we have seen on this trip and have to Google what all of them are to make sure we check them all off in our lifetime. Ephesus was ruins of an old city which they claim to only be partially uncovered and that the majority is underground and not discovered yet. Which is amazing to think of because we had walked down the hill a little over a mile and that was just the length down- not even all the side roads and side areas of the “town”. We ended up ditching our local guide of the area because we started to feel like zombies following him around when he was spouting out names, dates, and figures to us. Quite honestly, these are really interesting facts and numbers and I am sure are very significant…However, after 2.5 weeks of this, it all blurs together. We took our pictures and left the gate and did a little shopping. In Turkey you have to negotiate the price of anything you buy, similar to Egypt EXCEPT they do not harass you and follow you around OR send their children after you crying and begging for money- I prefer this method over the Egypt style. We got on the bus and they took us to a carpet making demonstration- evidently all cruise ships that dock are required to go through this. It was fine, interesting and quick. They gave us a glass of Turkish Apple tea and we both loved it so much we purchased a box at a local store to bring home. The carpets were very expensive and the environment was a high pressure sales thing which I am not fond of. So we shopped our way back to the cruise ship in time for lunch.
After lunch we took a nap and woke up in time for our next port, Patmos Greece. This is a very small island that has only a few thousand people living year round on it. It was nice to visit it for a few reasons, #1 you truly got a feel of life on a Greek Island. You get to see the small winding roads up the mountain and the little towns that are not full of gift shops and tour groups, although we were one there- but it was not a popular island and it was a nice change. #2. This was where St. John wrote the book of Revelations and we got to visit the grotto where that took place- which is pretty significant in most major religions- especially Christianity.
This island reminded me of the island of Burano in Venice- a little of the path of major tourism and a real life snapshot of life there. Patmos provided us with many very artistic photography opportunities and I have to admit- I finally got the National Geographic shot of the day…I will show you all when I get back.
When we were done touring the island, we were provided a free drink and cookies at a little bar seaside. It was nice to sip a drink while the sun was starting to set and just relax a little bit.
When we finished our drink, we went back to the ship and got ready for our Greek themed dinner night. We were told to dress in Blue and White- the colors of the flag. Then we had a huge menu of Greek food options- and Brad and I ordered almost one of everything! Yum! As dessert was being served, a bunch of the waiters came over to Brad and I as well as another couple at our table that were celebrating their Honeymoon, tied our hands together and sang Elvis to us, “Can’t help falling in love with you”- The WHOLE dining room was staring at us and snapping pictures. I was so surprised and embarrassed- I was so red…they then presented us with a cake for the table- it was delicious.
After dinner, we went to the lounge to watch the Greek dancing show for awhile. But knowing that we had another early morning we left halfway though to get ready for the next day in Rhodes.
The home of Virgin Mary was as you can imagine quite small and obviously no pictures were allowed inside, but we got a few outside and around the home. I think that what was most impressive was how high into the mountains it was and to imagine them going up there without a nice air conditioned motor coach, but rather a donkey…that would have taken days. Talk about a place out in the suburbs! But it was absolutely beautiful around the home, very green and in the woods almost.
We spent about 30-45 mins there before we loaded on the bus again to travel down the mountain to Ancient Ephesus, one of the Ancient wonders of the world- in fact we believe this is like the 4th one we have seen on this trip and have to Google what all of them are to make sure we check them all off in our lifetime. Ephesus was ruins of an old city which they claim to only be partially uncovered and that the majority is underground and not discovered yet. Which is amazing to think of because we had walked down the hill a little over a mile and that was just the length down- not even all the side roads and side areas of the “town”. We ended up ditching our local guide of the area because we started to feel like zombies following him around when he was spouting out names, dates, and figures to us. Quite honestly, these are really interesting facts and numbers and I am sure are very significant…However, after 2.5 weeks of this, it all blurs together. We took our pictures and left the gate and did a little shopping. In Turkey you have to negotiate the price of anything you buy, similar to Egypt EXCEPT they do not harass you and follow you around OR send their children after you crying and begging for money- I prefer this method over the Egypt style. We got on the bus and they took us to a carpet making demonstration- evidently all cruise ships that dock are required to go through this. It was fine, interesting and quick. They gave us a glass of Turkish Apple tea and we both loved it so much we purchased a box at a local store to bring home. The carpets were very expensive and the environment was a high pressure sales thing which I am not fond of. So we shopped our way back to the cruise ship in time for lunch.
After lunch we took a nap and woke up in time for our next port, Patmos Greece. This is a very small island that has only a few thousand people living year round on it. It was nice to visit it for a few reasons, #1 you truly got a feel of life on a Greek Island. You get to see the small winding roads up the mountain and the little towns that are not full of gift shops and tour groups, although we were one there- but it was not a popular island and it was a nice change. #2. This was where St. John wrote the book of Revelations and we got to visit the grotto where that took place- which is pretty significant in most major religions- especially Christianity.
This island reminded me of the island of Burano in Venice- a little of the path of major tourism and a real life snapshot of life there. Patmos provided us with many very artistic photography opportunities and I have to admit- I finally got the National Geographic shot of the day…I will show you all when I get back.
When we were done touring the island, we were provided a free drink and cookies at a little bar seaside. It was nice to sip a drink while the sun was starting to set and just relax a little bit.
When we finished our drink, we went back to the ship and got ready for our Greek themed dinner night. We were told to dress in Blue and White- the colors of the flag. Then we had a huge menu of Greek food options- and Brad and I ordered almost one of everything! Yum! As dessert was being served, a bunch of the waiters came over to Brad and I as well as another couple at our table that were celebrating their Honeymoon, tied our hands together and sang Elvis to us, “Can’t help falling in love with you”- The WHOLE dining room was staring at us and snapping pictures. I was so surprised and embarrassed- I was so red…they then presented us with a cake for the table- it was delicious.
After dinner, we went to the lounge to watch the Greek dancing show for awhile. But knowing that we had another early morning we left halfway though to get ready for the next day in Rhodes.
Back on a boat again…a bigger boat this time
Before I start to describe our day today, I wanted to recap our fabulous evening last night. We had a Greek themed dinner show last night in the Plaka area of Athens- big shopping and restaurant area which is the neatest place on earth- it reminded me a little bit like a cross between St. Paul de Vance in Nice and Brussels. The shopping will be amazing but I promised myself I am going to wait till we get back to Athens because I don’t want to lug around a bunch of stuff…patience is a virtue right?
Our dinner was fabulous- we were served about 6 appetizers to get a little taste of everything- and we tasted everything. While eating we were entertained by folk dancers and singers and traditional music. If you have seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding- you pretty much have the general idea of our evening. We had a entrée of our choice, Brad and I both chose the lamb since we were in Greece- this lamb was not as good as the lamb we had earlier today- maybe cause this was roasted lamb, and we had grilled before.
We also were provided unlimited wine and beer- Brad and I finished off a bottle a red and it was excellent- light and a little fruity- kind of like a Pinot Noir for all you wine snobs. For dessert, which we could hardly fathom since we were so full- we had baklava. Best ever!!!! I am not a huge baklava fan, I could take it or leave it. But if I could eat this everyday for the rest of my life, I would be a very happy person. Brad bought me 3 red roses from a woman who was walking around selling flowers, they were beautiful.
When we got back to out room, our local hotel guide had sent up to our room a bottle of wine, fruit, nuts, chilled water and a card wishing us a happy honeymoon. We were both really shocked and while we really wanted to pop open the bottle, we decided to save it for back home- hoping it travels alright. But overall, a perfect evening.
This morning we woke up and packed up our things again to leave for the cruise for 4 nights. It was a quick drive to the port and boarding did not take too long at all, not at all like Carnival Cruise- but then again, this boat only holds 1000 people and is considerably smaller. It is larger than the Nile River boat we were on last week. This ship is…well…the best way to put it is that the ship is old. I bet this was an old Royal Caribbean that was sold off when new ones were built, this one is probably circa 1981. But the positive thing is that we are not here for the boat, we are here for the Islands and the sights.
We got situated on the boat and had our required life jacket/emergency drill which is always loads of fun! Afterwards we had the afternoon to ourselves to eat, explore the ship, unpack and participate in any of the ship activities. We decided to eat in the main dining room for Lunch since we were tired of buffets and our guide told us that the main dining room for lunch is usually not busy at all- she was right. The meal was nice and we got to meet some more Americans on another tour at our table.
Our ship left about 90 minutes late because there were about 120 Canadians that had a late flight and needed to get on the ship- so we waited. Since that is a large % of our ship they needed to wait, but that meant that we wouldn’t get into Mykonos until after sunset…big bummer. We were so excited to get pictures of the sugar-cube houses and blue domed churches, but now we had to explore at night. Regardless, we went to the island and our guide gave us a mini walking tour of the island and pointed out the most popular things to see, Brad got some really decent pictures of the sights using a bunch of different setting on the camera- so all was not lost. We finally got to do a little shopping which was fun- we got some paintings of the city to hang in our bathroom, by far my favorite purchase. And then after taking a few more shots, we went back to the boat.
Tomorrow will be an early morning as we leave the ship at 7am for Kudasai, Turkey. We are going to see the Home of the Virgin Mary and Ancient Ephesus. Then in the afternoon we go to Patmos to see where the book of Revelations was written. I am calling tomorrow our pilgrimage day.
Our dinner was fabulous- we were served about 6 appetizers to get a little taste of everything- and we tasted everything. While eating we were entertained by folk dancers and singers and traditional music. If you have seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding- you pretty much have the general idea of our evening. We had a entrée of our choice, Brad and I both chose the lamb since we were in Greece- this lamb was not as good as the lamb we had earlier today- maybe cause this was roasted lamb, and we had grilled before.
We also were provided unlimited wine and beer- Brad and I finished off a bottle a red and it was excellent- light and a little fruity- kind of like a Pinot Noir for all you wine snobs. For dessert, which we could hardly fathom since we were so full- we had baklava. Best ever!!!! I am not a huge baklava fan, I could take it or leave it. But if I could eat this everyday for the rest of my life, I would be a very happy person. Brad bought me 3 red roses from a woman who was walking around selling flowers, they were beautiful.
When we got back to out room, our local hotel guide had sent up to our room a bottle of wine, fruit, nuts, chilled water and a card wishing us a happy honeymoon. We were both really shocked and while we really wanted to pop open the bottle, we decided to save it for back home- hoping it travels alright. But overall, a perfect evening.
This morning we woke up and packed up our things again to leave for the cruise for 4 nights. It was a quick drive to the port and boarding did not take too long at all, not at all like Carnival Cruise- but then again, this boat only holds 1000 people and is considerably smaller. It is larger than the Nile River boat we were on last week. This ship is…well…the best way to put it is that the ship is old. I bet this was an old Royal Caribbean that was sold off when new ones were built, this one is probably circa 1981. But the positive thing is that we are not here for the boat, we are here for the Islands and the sights.
We got situated on the boat and had our required life jacket/emergency drill which is always loads of fun! Afterwards we had the afternoon to ourselves to eat, explore the ship, unpack and participate in any of the ship activities. We decided to eat in the main dining room for Lunch since we were tired of buffets and our guide told us that the main dining room for lunch is usually not busy at all- she was right. The meal was nice and we got to meet some more Americans on another tour at our table.
Our ship left about 90 minutes late because there were about 120 Canadians that had a late flight and needed to get on the ship- so we waited. Since that is a large % of our ship they needed to wait, but that meant that we wouldn’t get into Mykonos until after sunset…big bummer. We were so excited to get pictures of the sugar-cube houses and blue domed churches, but now we had to explore at night. Regardless, we went to the island and our guide gave us a mini walking tour of the island and pointed out the most popular things to see, Brad got some really decent pictures of the sights using a bunch of different setting on the camera- so all was not lost. We finally got to do a little shopping which was fun- we got some paintings of the city to hang in our bathroom, by far my favorite purchase. And then after taking a few more shots, we went back to the boat.
Tomorrow will be an early morning as we leave the ship at 7am for Kudasai, Turkey. We are going to see the Home of the Virgin Mary and Ancient Ephesus. Then in the afternoon we go to Patmos to see where the book of Revelations was written. I am calling tomorrow our pilgrimage day.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
We’re moving to Greece
This morning we woke up and got ready for our city tour day. We had breakfast in the hotel, a breakfast buffet and it was marvelous! The food is a million times better than Egypt and the best part of it is that we can have ice again and tap water. I can eat fruits, vegetables that are not cooked, and SALAD!! We ate breakfast and then met out local guide for the tour of the city.
We stopped first at Zeus’s Olympic palace and Hadian’s Arch. It was amazing to see how high the pillars were built and how much in ruins they are today. And they are not as old as the pyramids- the pyramids are in great shape and are bigger….so if we are keeping score: Greece wins on the food, Egypt wins on the architecture. We had a partially cloudy morning but it improved throughout the day- maybe reaching 75 degrees today?? After Zeus’s palace, we drove to the parliament building where the tomb of the unknown soldier was and we got to see the changing of the guards. This was not as elaborate as the program in London at Buckingham Palace- this changing of the guards only involved 5 guards, but was still interesting. Their costumes were a hoot- they had big poofly pom poms on the toes of their shoes- I want a pair! Brad does too..just kidding.
After that we drove to the Acropolis which was the highlight of the morning. The Acropolis had a lot of restoration happening to it so sadly about half of it had scaffolding around it. When we arrived we were informed that the busses can only take you so far and that we were going to hike to the top in phases since there were so many. So there was a warning in advance and I was worried. How bad is it, I wondered. But there was no way I was going to miss this. So were started out with the group and eventually walked ahead of them and made our own way to the top. Along the walk to the top of the mountain, there were many panoramic views that were beautiful- you could see straight through to the sea. Athens is actually a very mountainous area which I guess I never knew or even thought about. We spent about an hour at the top going through all the buildings (actually walking around the roped off areas) and taking a lot of awesome pictures that we can’t wait to share.
After we made out way down the mountain, we stopped for a soda and then met the rest of the group at the bus. Afterwards, we had 2 options: go back to the hotel, or get dropped of in the Plaka which a major shopping and restaurant area where the hotel guide would be to quick show us around. We wanted to explore so we decided to take the second option and find a really great restaurant, sit outside with a glass of wine good greek food and “people watch”. We found a fabulous place right in the heart of everything and I had a traditional greek salad (which had no lettuce which I was not expecting- just veggies, olives and a big block of feta) and Brad had grilled lamb and fried potatoes- the lamb was the best we have ever tried.
We walked around for a bit longer and then waited for the free shuttle bus to pick us up to go back to the hotel. We are back at the hotel now to post this message, take a nap and get ready for out Greek dinner tonight. They are taking us to this special restaurant that will have Greek entertainment, food, desserts, and wine. We are looking forward to this.
Tomorrow we are leaving in the morning for the ship. We will not have access to internet most likely but will still be updating our daily log to post later when we are able. We are on the ship until next Friday and then back in Athens for a couple nights. Tomorrow we will be in Mykonos what I have been looking forward to the most (that and Santorini). Hope you are all well, and you will hear from us in a few days.
We stopped first at Zeus’s Olympic palace and Hadian’s Arch. It was amazing to see how high the pillars were built and how much in ruins they are today. And they are not as old as the pyramids- the pyramids are in great shape and are bigger….so if we are keeping score: Greece wins on the food, Egypt wins on the architecture. We had a partially cloudy morning but it improved throughout the day- maybe reaching 75 degrees today?? After Zeus’s palace, we drove to the parliament building where the tomb of the unknown soldier was and we got to see the changing of the guards. This was not as elaborate as the program in London at Buckingham Palace- this changing of the guards only involved 5 guards, but was still interesting. Their costumes were a hoot- they had big poofly pom poms on the toes of their shoes- I want a pair! Brad does too..just kidding.
After that we drove to the Acropolis which was the highlight of the morning. The Acropolis had a lot of restoration happening to it so sadly about half of it had scaffolding around it. When we arrived we were informed that the busses can only take you so far and that we were going to hike to the top in phases since there were so many. So there was a warning in advance and I was worried. How bad is it, I wondered. But there was no way I was going to miss this. So were started out with the group and eventually walked ahead of them and made our own way to the top. Along the walk to the top of the mountain, there were many panoramic views that were beautiful- you could see straight through to the sea. Athens is actually a very mountainous area which I guess I never knew or even thought about. We spent about an hour at the top going through all the buildings (actually walking around the roped off areas) and taking a lot of awesome pictures that we can’t wait to share.
After we made out way down the mountain, we stopped for a soda and then met the rest of the group at the bus. Afterwards, we had 2 options: go back to the hotel, or get dropped of in the Plaka which a major shopping and restaurant area where the hotel guide would be to quick show us around. We wanted to explore so we decided to take the second option and find a really great restaurant, sit outside with a glass of wine good greek food and “people watch”. We found a fabulous place right in the heart of everything and I had a traditional greek salad (which had no lettuce which I was not expecting- just veggies, olives and a big block of feta) and Brad had grilled lamb and fried potatoes- the lamb was the best we have ever tried.
We walked around for a bit longer and then waited for the free shuttle bus to pick us up to go back to the hotel. We are back at the hotel now to post this message, take a nap and get ready for out Greek dinner tonight. They are taking us to this special restaurant that will have Greek entertainment, food, desserts, and wine. We are looking forward to this.
Tomorrow we are leaving in the morning for the ship. We will not have access to internet most likely but will still be updating our daily log to post later when we are able. We are on the ship until next Friday and then back in Athens for a couple nights. Tomorrow we will be in Mykonos what I have been looking forward to the most (that and Santorini). Hope you are all well, and you will hear from us in a few days.
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