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  • Our Mediterranan Cruise 2019
    Day 21

    Athens, Greece, day 3, part 2

    August 5, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    After our visit to the Acropolis, we headed down to meet the tour group and headed to (another) museum. Three museums in three days. I'm happy, but Robin was a bit over them. This museum and Delphi were specific to the area, but the National Archaeological Museum covered all of Greece.

    Instead of going back to our hotel in the bus we decided to walk back through the Plaka District. It's a cobblestoned village-like area with local crafts, stores, tavernas. Very pretty.

    We chilled out at the pool for a few hours and headed back to Plaka for dinner at a traditional Greek restaurant. Super popular place and great food. We had dinner at Pamet Tsipouro.    Read more

  • Our Mediterranan Cruise 2019
    Day 21

    Athens, Greece, day 3, part 1

    August 5, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Another tour today. 8am pick up for a half day city tour, including a guided tour of the Acropolis and the museum.

    Drove around Athens for one and a half hours visiting the Olympic stadium and seeing various buildings and statues. Was really interesting.

    We then got to the Acropolis and with our guide headed to the top! Was a much much easier walk than yesterday's hike to Delphi.

    The ruins are super spectacular. And of course the Parthenon was incredible to see. Massive! There are still people working on the repairs every day. It was build in 432BC.

    However, the crowds were ridiculous. The staff were hearding everyone up like sheep but it worked well. Once we were at the top we were free to wander around. It was spectacular.    Read more

  • Our Mediterranan Cruise 2019
    Day 20

    Athens, Greece, day 2

    August 4, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Early'ish start. In the foya for an 8am pick-up. We did an eleven hour tour to Delphi; five hour round trip. 2,000 metres above sea level, Delphi is a roman achaeological site dating back to the 7th century BC and where Apollo resided and had his temple. This is also where the precursor to the Olympic Games was held every four years. There's so much more history, but I don't have the room here. Fascinating mythological stories too.

    Great site with incredible ruins but very steep, and especially hard in 36c heat.

    After that we stopped for lunch at 2pm for traditional Greek food, then we stopped for 20 minutes in a tiny mountain town called Arachova, which is a huge ski town in winter.

    Driving back, again, we saw evidence of the economic crisis 11 years ago. There were sooo many abandoned commercial business in the rural areas and in Athens. Once we got into central Athens, the homeless were setting up on many of the streets and the rubbish was bad again.

    Finally got back at 7pm.    Read more

  • Our Mediterranan Cruise 2019
    Day 19

    Athens, Greece, day 1

    August 3, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Off the ship by 8am and at the Meliá Athens by 8.30am. Obviously we couldn't check in so after a wee wait we wandered up to the Museum of Archaeology. Very impressive place. We spent over fours hours there! The oldest artifacts were three millennium BC (!) and the most recent were 100 AD, Roman times. Incredible!

    We got into our room, which is very average. Then we tried to find somewhere to eat, but so many places only serve drinks so it was back to the hotel rooftop bar/pool for food and wine. We've got an amazing view of the acropolis from the pool.

    So far Athens is surprising. Its obvious that the economy is still struggling; everything is heavily taxed and therefore quite expensive. Unemployment is very high and the streets are dirty with heaps of places shutdown and padlocked. And the graffiti is terrible. It's a bit sad.

    We've booked two days of touring before heading to London on Tuesday morning.    Read more

  • Our Mediterranan Cruise 2019
    Day 18

    Mykanos, Greece, part 2

    August 2, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    After our wonderful swim, we traveled back across the island to the town centre. We tripped around with the guide through the streets, including Little Vienna. The rest of the tour group left on the bus but we stayed longer.

    Time for lunch! We had a marvelous timber plank filled with tzatziki, chicken/capsicum skewers, Greek salad and bread. Yummy!

    We carried on around to the water taxi, hopped on and headed back to the ship.

    It's our last day on board before we disembark tomorrow in Athens. Kind of sad to leave the ship as it almost feels like home now. But we've still got three days in Greece before flying to London.    Read more

  • Our Mediterranan Cruise 2019
    Day 18

    Mykanos, Greece, part 1

    August 2, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Okay, Mykanos is my new favourite place so far. It's very rustic but sooo beautiful. Every building is white with various ocean coloured or red shutters and doors.

    Had a tour that started at 8.30am for four hours. Drove up into the hills and to another monastery. This time it homed monks, of which there is currently one only, lol. Very serene.

    Next we went to the far side of Mykanos for a swim in the Mediterranean Sea. Yah! Finally got to swim in the Mediterranean sea! Omg, it was amazing; clear blue water, cold, deep and so full of salt we could just float. Could have stayed there all day.    Read more

  • Our Mediterranan Cruise 2019
    Day 17

    Chania, Crete, Greece

    August 1, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Late start today. Shipped docked at 12pm. Last night we did a quiz show after dinner with Elvis and Jeanne. We've done something with them the last couple of nights after dinner in the dining room. Last night it was a 70s music trivia. We did pretty good (thanks to Elvis), but didn't win.

    Scorcher today. Was mid 30s but felt like 40!

    We had a guided tour at 12.30pm for four hours starting with a drop off at the waterfront. Beautiful place. Old buildings, restaurants, sail boars, lighthouse and a stunning pier. We wandered for a bit then indulged in a beer (of course) and a seafood platter. At the end of the meal the waiter gave us a tiny carafe of "raki", a wine brandy. Wow, blew our heads off. Was more like vodka than brandy.

    Next stop was a lookout over Chania then off to a monastery of nuns. It was very quaint and small. But was a privilege to be allowed into their monastery. They gave us water and Loukoumi (Greek turkish delight). So nice.

    Overall, Chania is a bit of a sad little place with a lot of poverty and in need of a big clean up. But it's small and the pier area is amazing.

    Then it was back to the ship by 4.30pm. We chilled by the pool with a couple of cocktails. Quiet night. Dinner in the casual dining area then a movie in our room.    Read more

  • Our Mediterranan Cruise 2019
    Day 16

    Corfu, Greece

    July 31, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Easy day with nothing booked but a return bus from ship to city. Headed out at 9.30am. In hindsight, the €15 each return bus wasn't necessary. We only used it one way and at the port there was a local bus for €1.50 each one way - oh well, live and learn lol.

    Lovely day starting with a visit to the Old Fort from the 15th century. Then a wander through town with its beautiful old buildings, then around the waterfront to the free shuttle back to the shop. Of course there was a quick beer at the marina to cool down and admire all the gorgeous boats.

    Back on board by 2.30pm and chilling on our deck for a few hours. Dinner in the dining lounge and then hit the sack.    Read more

  • Our Mediterranan Cruise 2019
    Day 15

    Kortor, Montenegro, part 2

    July 30, 2019 in Montenegro ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Next it was off to look at the mosaics of a dug up dwelling (our guide thinks it's more likely to have been a hospital) near Kortor. The mosaic floors are original and date back at least to Roman times.

    Then we wandered through a quaint church area and back to the van.

    Final stop and where we all said farewells, was near the port and the Old Town made up of a walled town with medieval buildings. It's now full of shops, restaurants, boutique hotels and a few residents. We walked back to the ship at about 4pm.

    We splurged tonight and bought dinner. Our meals are prepaid, but for a fancy dinner it's extra. It was US$24 each, but wow was it yummy. Heavenly steaks, seafood and dessert. Sooo good!

    Robin decided to have one night in the casino so I went to a show in the theatre and saw Michael Bacala, an awesome violinist. When I got back to the casino Robin was breaking even. BUT he beat the bank! and ultimately turned US$200 into US$740, so that will pay our ship bill off nicely.    Read more

  • Our Mediterranan Cruise 2019
    Day 15

    Kortor, Montenegro, part 1

    July 30, 2019 in Montenegro ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We had another guided tour today, but we had to take a tender to the dock and find our tour guide - easy peasy.

    We hit the road with three other couples and did a bit of a drive up and then down the hills and arrived in beautiful Perast, which is where Our Lady of the Rock is located. It has limited vehicle access, sits at the base of the mountains and is spread along the shoreline.

    We did a foot tour. It was so gorgeous and picturesque. Not too hot today either; maybe mid-20sC.    Read more

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