OOOOPAAA! GREECE BLOG

Greetings friends, neighbors and facebook stalkers!

Greece, our seventh and second-to-last port, did not disappoint. Definitely up there as one of the coolest places on Earth and just wicked. It’s hard to believe that we were there only a short week; ago, it seems like the time has gone so fast.

We docked in Piraeus on August 3rd, the day after the Sea Olympics. After departing the ship, we made the long walk from the port into downtown Piraeus, a very quaint harbor town and took the metro into Athens. Athens, and Greece in particular, have always been places that I have longed to go my entire life. I have a special affection its history and through my history courses and Greek literature classes in college, I have been intrigued and fascinated by a country so rich in history, in brutality and war, and yet a people so passionate and romantic and patriotic.

We took a quick 10 minute Metro ride into Athens, right outside the Acropolis. After walking out of the Metro station, you look up and to your left and there up on the hill, lays the “City on a Hill,” the Acropolis. You can only see the left side of the temple of Athena Nike, but it’s one of those moments that just takes your breath away, knowing that you are so close to seeing in person on of the most ancient works of civilization in the world. One that you have read about and seen and heard about dozens of times in your life. It was just like the anticipation of seeing the Roman Colosseum or the pyramids for the first time; excited anticipation.

The sun was really intense on our walk up to the Acropolis. On our way up the southern slope, we were able to see crumbling marble columns of buildings gone by, marble statues and the Theater of Dionysus, the oldest theater in the world, seating an impressive 17,000 people on marble bleacher seats and in some cases, marble thrones for the nobles. After the Theater, we walked through the Odeum of Herodes Atticus, another theater that was constructed by Herodeus, the teacher of Marcus Aurelius, who built the 5,000 theater in 160 AD. It is extremely well preserved in person, but pictures do not do it any justice.

As soon as we had reached the top of the southwest slope, there is was: The Acropolis! My first observation was of the Temple of Athena Nike, in honor of the Goddess of Victory. It is believed that the marble temple was built by Callicrates, the architect also responsible for the Parthenon, between 427 and 424 BC. The Turks destroyed the original temple in 1687, In 1835, after the parts had been discovered and identified, the temple was rebuilt in its original position. Its Ionic columns and statues are just otherworldly. After snapping off a few pictures, we came face to face with the granddaddy of them all, the jaw dropping, intimidating Parthenon, constructed in 432 BC. It is an embodiment of classical Greek ideals and spirit. Phenomenal.

Our time at the Acropolis was short-lived after savoring these two temples, we spent a little bit of time at the Erechtheum, a temple dedicated to Athena and Poseidon and then decided to leave due to the unrelenting heat and the enormous amount of tour groups that all ascended to the Acropolis at the same time. The hour and a half spent there was just a mixture of awe and wonder.

Any road leading out of the Acropolis will take you to fabulous cafes, trinket shops and rows and rows of fruit vendors. We took the southeast exit out into Athens and we were not disappointed. After doing some shopping, we sat down for a quick bite before heading back to the ship. The group, including David, Megan, John, Caroline, Marco and myself, feasted on some delicious saganaki (fried cheese), stuffed red peppers, suvlaki and Greek salad. What an amazing meal. Our tummies full, we took the metro back to the ship to quickly pack and head out to catch our ferry to the island of Mykonos.

Early on in the trip, a group of us had talked about going to a Greek island for a couple days for a little off-the-beaten path adventure. As it turns out, the entire month of August is holiday for Europeans, including Greeks, so by the time we started doing some research, the opportunities were slim in terms of getting a ferry out to an island, getting a ferry back to Piraeus, AND finding a decently priced place to stay. Thanks to some extensive research by Marco, Mykonos came out the winner. Almost every RD on staff jumped at the chance and between our different calendars, we were all able to get out to Mykonos for one or two nights. I was lucky enough to extend my stay to two nights. In a last minute change of plans, MJ joined John, Marco and I on the two-night Mykonos trip. It was pure heaven.

The ferry ride to Mykonos takes around 4 and a half hours and by the time we landed, we were exhausted. After tracking down our hotel shuttle, we made our way through the winding roads of Mykonos to the San Antonio Summerland hotel. All of the rooms were set up bungalow style, and ours had a balcony with gorgeous views of the Mediterranean. Exhausted after being in the sun all day and the bumpy ferry ride, we had a great dinner on the outdoor terrace of the hotel. The Summerland is a fabulous hotel in that its built into the side of a hill, so the hotel just runs downhill, the sugar cubes stacked on top of one another, sloping down to the amazing pool. We slept well that night with the balcony doors open and a soft breeze lulled us to sleep.

We were up and ready to go the following morning, eager to see Mykonos in the sunlight. We made a quick start and took the hotel shuttle into town, where Theodore (at least we think that’s what his name is), we couldn’t tell because he spoke in Greek and then laughed at everything we said. He was a character.

Our walk around town was fantastic. Nothing but cobbled streets, whitewashed stores and majestic views of the Mediterranean. There are no words to adequately describe the scenery other than majestic. Love it! We meandered for a little bit, enjoyed an iced cappuccino and did a little shopping along the shoreline. Mykonos, from what we learned AFTER we got there, is quite the party island for Greeks and tourists. That was evident early on, as most shops and businesses did open until noon or 1, then closed from 4-7 PM. We were able to amble along for a bit when we came across a sign for handmade leather sandals at a small store on the second floor of an old building. We walked up the stairs and were immediately struck by the tiny shop, where a lone cobbler, Nikos, and his dog, Creta, passed the time. Nikos, a business man turned cobbler from the island of Crete, had been making sandals on the island of Mykonos for 15 years.
We had an amazing time while we were there. Megan and I walked out with five pairs of sandals between us and John and Marco were sized for custom-made silver rings that Nikos fitted for them. It was a pretty great experience! After our mini shopping spree, we headed to lunch at Scarpas, a tiny café literally butting up to the coast. As waves crashed around us, we enjoyed a quick lunch. After lunch, we walked around downtown Mykonos and headed back to the hotel for a little bit of R& R. We were thisclose to renting vespas on the island, but after being scared away by some tourists that crashed into a stone wall in front of us, that idea was quickly nixed.

After sunbathing and enjoying some wine, it was time to get ready to head out to meet David and the rest of the RD crew for David’s birthday dinner. We ate at a terrific seafood restaurant downtown—roasted peppers, Portobello mushrooms, saganaki and salads were all devoured family style. The only RD missing was Justin. After singing happy birthday to David, we headed out for a night on the town. Nightlife in Mykonos doesn’t start until after midnight, so we found a couple of outdoor patios to sit in.

Midnight came and went and David and crew were tired and went back to their hotel. John, Marco, Megan and I were ready to go out, so out we went. All of the shops, restaurants and art galleries were open and alive with people, gorgeous people. Mykonos was truly the playground of Europe’s beautiful, albeit surgically enhanced, twenty and thirtysomethings. It was so unfathomable to me that as we passed the Puma store, it was packed with people trying on shoes, art galleries were full of people browsing and jewelry stores were hopping, as women and men tried on some pricey pieces of bling. We ended up at the club Joy, which was pretty fun. While Marco and John were hitting up the bar, Megan and I were enjoying the people watching. Tired of the smoke and the crowds at Joy, Megan and I decided to walk our way through the throngs of people crowding the streets. We turned off the main street, found a tiny alleyway which led to this fantastic outdoor bar/lounge, Privo. It was just terrific—everything was white, including the bar, which was made of white marble, and there was just an ink-black sky dotted with stars. I ran back to get the boys and we ended our night hanging out at Privo, enjoying some good conversation under a blanket of stars. It was one of those “Who am I “ moments that have occurred so frequently on this trip. Fabulous conversation with fabulous friends is always makes for a great evening! We got back to the hotel super late (4:30-ish) and crashed.

Marco left early the next morning to return to the ship for duty that night. Megan, John and I had a fairly early start and headed back into town for more sight seeing and picture taking. This place will never be adequately captured by any camera….it’s just so breathtaking. The weather during our stay was balmy and breezy and just perfect; not too hot, and the breeze off the Mediterranean was fantastic. Megan and I split off from John to do a little souvenier shopping. We stumbled along a little hole-in-the-wall bakery where I sampled some authentic baklava, which was an enthralling experience. It was by far the best baklava I have ever had. We continued to walk the streets; grabbed some lunch and decided to head back to the hotel for one final dip in the pool and to bask in the sun as long as possible.

After changing at the hotel, we met up with Shauhin and David, who were also booked for the return on the same ferry as us, had dinner (amazing chicken gyro) and headed to the port to pick up the ferry. I don’t remember much of the return trip as I fell into a quick sleep. I didn’t wake up until we had returned to Piraeus. Tired and sunburned, we hobbled off the ferry for the 20 minute walk back to the ship.

Our final day in Greece was spent in Athens. Given that we had to be back by 5 PM, we got an early start with the same group that went out the first day to Athens: John, Caroline, Megan, Marco, myself and David. We perused some local vendors for last minute gifts, had a fabulous lunch and ran into Zuri. The group split off after we met Zuri, some of us wanting to go to see the changing of the guard, the others to go exploring on their own. Megan, Zuri and I went to see the changing of the guard, which was pretty cool. The Greek uniforms were interesting as was the changing of the guard, very different from what I observed in Denmark and England. There is a series of choreographed movements and high kicks. One of the guards lost his fez during the process and we watched as his supervisor admonished him in front of the crowd. Definitely an awkward moment for everyone there. We walked around a bit more, but the heat and humidity were proving too much for the tired bunch. I grabbed some coconut pieces from a street vendor and sat down to write some postcards. Shortly thereafter, I met up with David and we took the subway back to Piraeus.

I had an absolute blast at this port, just outstanding and full of so many fun memories. If you haven’t been to Greece, put it near the top of your list to visit! Ooopa!!!!

The Croatia blog will be coming soon, but life on the ship has been really busy the past few days. A big shout out to everyone who has kept in touch through cards, letters, emails, and facebook messages. Love you long time!