Jun 4, 2009 - Day 4: Athens Greece

Today was beautiful. We left the ship at 8:45 A.M. We went straight to the Acropolis. After spending 2 hours there, we left for the Plaka District. The Plaka is one of the main shopping areas in the city. We left the cruise group and found our own way back to the ship. We made it, even with my challenges with directions. I will add pictures soon.

Jun 1, 2009 - Athens, Greece

This day was the 1st of June and was the first day of the European summer. I went to the Acropolis and took many photos. I walked around here all day and it was very tiresome and hot but worth it. I have more photos and may upload them on another day.

Jun 1, 2009 - Athens, the Acropolis & Awful Traffic

Kusadasi to Athens Monday & Tuesday June 1 & 2, 2009 It is pure speculation on my part, but my guess is that about a gazillion cruise ships visit Athens on Mondays. How else do you explain the fact that we surely could have reached Athens from Kusadasi in 12 -15 hours but that our Monday was another day at sea with planned arrival at 8:00 Tuesday. Because of that, all day Monday was essentially a slow cruise across a beautifully scenic bathtub through dozens of the Greek Isles as we crept through the Aegean Sea. I think our pontoon boat can...

May 30, 2009 - Athens, Greece May 30, 2009

Wow, what a trip. 23+ hours to get here. The hotel is in downtown Athens, so we plan to do lots of walking tomorrow to see the city. There is a double decker bus that we have seen but not sure if it will run on Sunday. Had supper in the hotel rooftop restaurant. The view was incredible and the temperature perfect!! Now for a good nights sleep, ahhhh.

May 25, 2009 - Day 8

Hey Everyone Today we were in Athens Greece, home of the Gods. We took a bus from the ship into town. Listening to the guy on the TV, he said that we should a mile into town and caught the train/metro. Well with our luck we got lost and had to ask people for directions. When we finally got there, we had to find someone who spoke English so we could figure out what train to take. We got on the train and finally got to Acropolis, which is the home of the Gods. We had to WALK up a huge hill/ mini mountain to get to the top. Not only did we...

May 24, 2009 - Fight and Flight

Off and running- at 6am. There is no way anyone will ever convince me that mornings are fantastic. I can count on one hand how many times in my life I’ve woken up and felt refreshed and ready to go. Today was not one of those fingers. In any case, down at the lobby to check out at 6am. I immediately asked the front desk guy where our driver was- I had confirmed and RE-CONFIRMED and the woman at the desk yesterday told me in no uncertain terms that it was not a problem for the van driver of the hotel to take us. That is his job. And part of...

May 23, 2009 - Last bits of the Grecian holiday

We had a resort kind of day and I won’t feel guilty at all….. First we packed up out things and had -for the first time on this trip I think- a really good continental breakfast. Then we dropped off our laundry next door, and were picked up by a cute guy in a Mercedes van to take us to our next hotel. He then took our bags to our room, I didn’t lift a finger. Ahhhhhhh. The hotel is much more luxurious than I would normally stay at, but for $60 euro, and our last day in Greece, I’ll be in hog heaven and not worry about it too much. We then...

May 22, 2009 - Acropolis & Marketplace

5/22 6:10pm So I get it now - Athens is more like New York/Mexico City. It can be amazing and fabulous, but its not pretty and its not easy. Its interesting Greece is the birthplace of Philosophy, art, and mathematics; but the modern city is pragmatic not romantic. Rome on the other hand is the birthplace of military campaigns, the State as an entity, and assimilating other cultures; but that modern city is totally romantic. I guess I'm a little disappointed, I wanted to like Athens better than Rome, but I don't. Still its a great city - it...

May 22, 2009 - Mykonos

I bought us tickets to fly from here to Athens, saving us a 5 hour boat ride and an expensive stay by the airport the night before our trip. We have to leave here at 7 am, but it beats the alternative for almost the same price. No more pukin' for me, thanks, They keep saying the weather will improve the next couple of days, but I'm not taking any chances! We did our regular walking around here today. I have to say, this place is a little bit like the lifestyle of the rich and the famous. High end shops around every corner, skinny young 20...

May 21, 2009 - A good a day as any for pukin'

Off to Delos and Mykonos today...up early and waiting for the shuttle bus at 7:45. The real fun began after we got on the ferry. The weather has been sketchy here, some sunny skies mixed with fierce wind and squalls. The ride provided 5 feet seas with 7 foot swells. At one point I thought we were sailing...one side of the boat was skimming the surface of the water. This was a good, solid 300 capacity ferry we're talking about. The first girl to puke did so before we reached the first port, which was about 1/2 hour away. We were only there...

May 21, 2009 - Athens

5/21 - 9:55 pm Okay, I'm in Athens - coming in on the ferry was fabulous. The bus ride from Patra was okay, although less fun. I would prefer to stay on a boat for the rest of the trip. Or just next to the ocean. I'm working on that... So I'm trying to get the photos uploaded, but the internet connection keeps shutting down. I'll do what I can, but I'm not sure how its going to work out. The plan is to spend tonight & tomorrow in Athens, then move on to either Turkey or Meteora. I haven't decided what order to do things in yet. There is...

May 20, 2009 - beautiful with a capitol B

I have to say, the Greek islands are probably best visited by boat, three or four days to an island. Since there are over 1400 islands- 129 of which are inhabited, a person could be at it for a while. We got up late and went to have a big fat breakfast downtown. After that, we wandered...what I thought was just a strip of a town actually has tiny little streets in the form of a maze winding from the shore up the hillside. Many of the streets are barely more than an arms length wide. There were shops, restaurants, pretty flower gardens to...