Our first full day on the ship. Breakfast. A meeting/Q&A on Istanbul. Lunch. Shawna was having her facial at the spa. After she finished at the spa, we changed into swimsuits and relaxed in one of the hot tubs by the main pool and watched as we came into Istanbul. We pulled in to dock and the Nieuw Statendam was already here. All together, there are three cruise ships in the port. Dinner tonight at the Canaletto was very nice. Plenty of food. Shrimp, lamb shank, ribs, pasta and meat and desert. Next was a local entertainment group that had two belly dancers. Fun. I am so shy and reserved that I got up and danced with one of the dancers for a few seconds. Betty was done after that and headed back to her room. Paulette, Shawna and I went to the Ocean Bar for a drink. The main stage had a Scottish comedian, Geoff Boyz, who was good, not the best we have heard, but pretty good. Off to bed as Shawna had an early morning Spa appointment.
We plan to all go ashore to shop about 10am but have to be back aboard by 4pm for sail away.
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Cruise Day, well this afternoon anyway.
Up for breakfast at 7am with our great view of the Acropolis from the roof top patio. We packed up by 11am so we can be out of the room before checkout.
The hotel held our bags so we could go out one last time in Athens. The first stop was the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum just a couple of blocks away. So much ornate gold jewelry. Some amazing pieces many that were very, very large.
Next, we stopped at a local sandwich shop to have lunch.
Back to the hotel to wait for our car that would take us to the port.
Wow, driving in Athens is crazy. The drive to the port was disturbing but our driver navigated all the crazing driving of this city. Scooters and motorcycles pass between cars on the lane lines. For that matter, most drivers see the lanes are just suggestions. As you can imagine, if those driving laws don’t really matter speed limits are ignored completely.
We were too busy hanging on to take pictures or video of the drive to the Port of Piraeus.
Our boarding time was supposed to be 2:30pm. We arrived just before 2pm. Passports and boarding pass in our hands. These were check in the parking lot where we dropped off our luggage. Then they were checked by the cruise line. Lastly ,several security checks, security scans, and passport scanned for exit by Greek custom agents before we walked on to the dock. We finally boarded the ship and started unpacking.
We got onboard and found out that the ship is equipped with Starlink! Great! There are dishes on both sides of the ship. That should make for much better internet access than on a normal cruise.
Time to wonder around the ship and find out what this one will be like.
While familiarizing ourselves to the ship, we ended up in the Crow's Nest found on the front of the ship at the 10th floor which I refer to as "Ten Forward".
For Star Trek fans that will make sense as it is essentially a drinks and coffee bar with areas to relax. This ship has something else very different. A big Lego model of the ship.
We ended the night with our first introduction to the Rolling Stone Lounge band that we would enjoy for the cruise.
Up for breakfast at 7am. It was very nice with a slight variation on the choices Today, we plan to visit the Acropolis Museum. It is a bit of a walk from the hotel but worth every step. The museum is extensive and almost exclusively on the Parthenon. There were some representations of what the structures on the Acropolis looked like before being dismantled or blown up. Yes, long ago, an explosion destroyed part of the Parthenon. What person thinks "Hey this looks like a great place to make into an arms depot"? Well, someone did. The buildings are impressive now but when first completed they were amazing. The largest amount of surviving artifacts from the Acropolis are found here. Of course not including those stolen by other countries. Massive numbers of sculpture, carvings, jars, bowls, .... are on display. More sculptures. I was surprised by the details carved and still remaining today. Hair and clothing was made as realistic as possible. Many of which the faces were damaged by Christians to deface anything against the church. An area is dedicated to the Porch of the Maidens sculptures that were originally supports for the porch at the tomb of Erechtheus. The ones on the Acropolis are replicas. The London Museum has the others that survived but they will not return them to Athens. Yes, a bit of a sore point with me. If Athens had anything stolen from London, the UK would be demanding its return. Almost an entire floor of the museum is dedicated to the carvings that originally were around the top of the Parthenon. This is laid out to the same dimensions of the Parthenon. Again except for the pieces that are now in London. I know I keep bring this up but Really?! Return them already. Several gold coins were found during excavation's. After several hours, we left the upper floors of the museum to go under the museum. When the museum was being prepared for construction, a large ancient site was found. Not surprising as almost everything in Athens is over an ancient building, shop, or even temple. If everything was uncovered almost the entire city would be an archeological site and no one would have a business or home here. In this case, beneath the museum is a mansion. A very wealthy homeowner with portions built from 200 AD and newer buildings from 300 AD. Yes, the entire structure is over 1700 years old. As time passed, the buildings were dismantled and all but the low walls and floors were removed for new buildings. As I have said before ALL of Athens is built using stone, mostly marble, taken from ancient buildings. There were several baths and preparation rooms. In that day, a person would come to a room then change out of street clothes before entering the bath. Next into a warm room to allow the body to adjust in preparation to move to the hot room for a steam bath or dip in a heated pool. Afterwards, they would return back with a stop for a massage and be rubbed down with scented oils. Finally, the cold room to dip in a cool pool before drying and changing. The baths had a floor supported on short poles. This allowed heated air to flow from a fire under the hot pool. Under most conditions, males and females did not bathe together but select times were designated for each sex. Of course, there needs to be some sort of latrine (toilet). There were several holes on benches, of marble, over a trench that with water running through to carry away waste. After the museum, we went down a block to another great Greek restaurant. The food was great. Betty had Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, Shawna had Shrimp in a sauce and rice along with a dark Greek beer. I had pork Gyro which comes here as some pita bread slices, meat piled up, cucumber sauce… basically dissembled. After that, we did a bit of tourist shopping. Betty needed some socks and we bought a magnet of the Acropolis. At the end of the pedestrian street full of shops, we found Hadrian's Arch which was built in 132 AD. That was over 1800 years ago. The Pentelic marble gateway has Corinthian columns and is named for an Roman emperor Hadrian. In the past, a street passed under the arch. After a bit of a walk, we got to the remains of Zeus Temple. As some point the largest temple in Greece was broken down to boil the columns to make quicklime for concrete. Crazy to us but remember to the Romans it was not old yet and not a Roman god. The area around the temple had baths and other structures. It was a difficult to get a picture that did the baths justice. A bit more of a walk and we were at the stadium for the first modern Olympics. 1863?? The audio tour was great and gave a good explanation of the history. The small museum had many of the torches used. The two thrones are for the King and Queen of Greece. Betty was very tired so we walked back to the hotel and she stayed to rest. Shawna and I walked back to the Ancient Agora on the North side of the Acropolis. Well to the north. At least a mile walk. This is known as the birthplace of the concept of democracy. This restored building was the where philosophies and governance was discussed. One result was the concept of democracy. Some amazing renderings of the original Agora along with the building. Lots of great statues and pottery. A child's potty. Some jewelry was found on the site. After leaving the museum, we walked around the grounds seeing many of the foundations of what were huge buildings all long gone and dismantled for building materials for the city. Even so, there are several examples of carvings that originally decorated them. Across the park, a single temple still stands which was completed in 415 BC. That's over 2400 years old. The whole idea of OLD is very different here. It was a temple to Hephaestus, the Greek god of artisans, blacksmiths, carpenters, craftsmen, fire, metallurgy, metalworking, sculpture and volcanoes. That's a lot of things to be "god" of isn't it? The temple does show damage from fires which burned away the roof and earthquakes which shifted blocks. Catholic church which was built 1000 AD by demolishing some of the buildings that originally stood here. Yes, the church is over 1000 years old. So compared to the temple above, this is a new building. It was closed when we were there so we could not see the interior. We did find a few flowers and some parrots. Yes, wild parrots. As we walked out of the Agora, the path out was the original Panathenaic Way. This was the road to the Acropolis and used for thousands of years. Our final views of the Agora were great. Exhausted, we walked back to the hotel but stopped off for some sandwiches and a frozen fruit (strawberry) smoothy for Betty. We all went up to the roof for our last night time view of the Acropolis from the hotel. Shawna went down stairs to the bar and came back with a bottle of wine she shared with Betty and a liquor make from grapes for me (strong stuff).
Off to bed. Up by 6am and on the roof top for the included breakfast at 7am. Very nice. Two people working to keep everything refilled and help anyone who asked. Not just a few rolls but a wide selection of meats, cheese, breads, scrambled eggs, sausage, yogurt, fruit with juicer to make fresh juice, … AND Coffee. Wow did we need the Coffee that is made to your preference. Real plates, flatware, cloth napkins... We were impressed. The view of the Acropolis was impressive. Watching the sun rise and strike the Parthenon was amazing. After breakfast, we were off to the Acropolis for our long walk to the top. Wow, impressive even with all the damage from so many years and people remodeling to different types of churches or just blowing it up. More on that in the history lesson. The walk up is pretty strenuous. It is a pretty tall hill. The stones for the walkway up are blocks of marble. Almost everything here is marble. Even the edges of roads, that we would have as concrete are made of marble. Everything here screams ancient. As we pass through the ticket area, we come to a huge theater. Odeon of Herodes Atticus was built before 150 BC and is still used today for performances. Originally, it had a roof but that was destroyed by a fire by in 267 AD. It was restored in the 1950's and seats 5000 people. Everyone from Frank Sinatra to Pavarotti to Elton John has performed here but more importantly for over 400 years it was used for performances by the Greeks and Romans. We could easily see our hotel from the Acropolis. We pass Mars Hill where Paul preached the Gospel. Walking up to the Acropolis where we find lots of steps and then through the portico. Warning: History Ahead... Lots and lots of history. First, we pass through a fortified gate, constructed in the Roman period in 280 AD. Above and below is what it looked like originally looked like prior to the Monument of Agrippa being built and Athena's Statue was still in place. Look to the bottom right of the above picture to see the Roman gate then. Below is what the Roman gates look like today. Next the Monument of Agrippa a 30 foot tall pedestal where there was a bronze of horses and a chariot then that was replaced by a bronze of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Each time the city was taken, it was replaced. When Agrippa defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra's forces in 31 BC that statue was removed and likely melted down. Now, it is an empty pedestal. Next is the original entrance to the Acropolis is Amazing! On the right side is the temple to Athena Nike and on the Left the Pinakotheke an area where worshippers could prepare or cleanse themselves before entering the sacred areas. It was completed around 400 BC. When you see bright white that is a repair or replacement for missing pieces that risk structural stability. The rest is original and over 2400 years old. WOW! Just think for a minute. These structures were hundreds of years old when Paul came to preach the Gospel on Mars hill just down from the Roman gate. The structures on the Acropolis have been robbed of material which was used for building material in the surrounding city. Yep, most of the original entrance is now part of buildings below the Acropolis. The entrance is impressive. Imagine this was your passage to the Acropolis. The south side of the entrance is a temple to Athena Nike. A very small temple by comparison with most others here. Just past that was a pedestal with a 30 foot tall bronze sculpture of Athena that was so big it could be seen from the sea. It was placed before 450BC. The base of the pedestal was 15 x 15 feet but its height is unknown but it was likely at least 15 tall making a cube but could have been taller. All that remains is the base, everything else was removed long ago. Only two of the original buildings beyond the entrance gates still exist. The Parthenon and Erechtheion with the Porch of the Caryatids. All the other temples were destroyed and most of the material was carted off. Over time there have many more. The Shrine of Athena and Hygeia. The old temple of Athena which stood behind her statue, the Sanctuary of Artemis, and the temple of Rome and Augustus. Our first close up view of the Parthenon was stunning. We decided to turn north to view the Erechtheion named after the demi-god Erechtheus. This building was completed in 406 BC. The west side was the entrance to the Shrine of Erechtheus and the East is a shrine to Athena. On the west side there is also a 100 year old olive tree which was planted to represent the "Sacred Olive Tree of Athena". A youngster compared to the building itself. Porch of the Maidens. The south porch was supposed to be over a crypt of Kekrop's. These maidens are exact replicas. The originals are in the museum to protect them from damage. We will see them later. Originally these were very detailed and painted. The east end a shrine to Athena now only a shell of a building. To the east of the Parthenon is the Greek flag. From that vantage point we could see many of the places we want to tour while we are in Athens. The museum, Zeus Temple remains, the original Olympic stadium... From here we could see that the city was built surrounding ancient sites scattered all around. Almost every building in the city is built ON an ancient site. Maybe someday those will be uncovered for future generations. We will visit many of these before we leave Athens. The walk around the Parthenon was great. Lots to see. We took in all we could. The Parthenon is under reconstruction and has been for many years. It is likely it will be for many more. The plan is to restore the west end and leave the rest as is with some protective work to avoid any further damage. The Parthenon was competed in 432 BC. So this building has been standing here for over 2,400 years. It was a treasury and the temple to Athena. The building it a rectangle and has a 23,000-square foot base. Steps surrounded the entire building. Around the outside were Doric columns each standing on a platform create a border. There were 46 outer columns and 19 inner columns which originally supported a wood roof. The interior was painted sky blue. Because of its size straight columns would have looked bent by perspective so instead they were sightly tapered. The result was that from the ground it looked perfectly symmetrical. The columns at the corners are larger than the other columns. The result is that the Parthenon contains no straight lines and no right angles but looks to be perfectly square from the ground. Originally inside the center stood a 40 foot tall statue to Athena and the carvings on the exterior were painted. In Nashville, there is a replica of the Parthenon with as close as they can imagine statue. There were many wars fought for Athens. The Romans took Greece. The Greeks took it back. The Christian Byzantines took the city and 1,000 years after it was built the Parthenon was converted to a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. They damaged or destroyed almost every carving or sculpture. In the mid 1400's, the Muslim Ottoman Empire seized Athens and it was converted to a mosque. In 1687, the Turks sieged the city and the Ottomans converted the Acropolis to store ammo. When it was hit by a cannon ball, the explosion damaged the Parthenon. Over the next two hundred years much of the marble was removed and used as building material in the surrounding city. In 1803, many of the surviving sculptures were looted by Lord Elgin and taken to London and remain there to this day. We were able to see some of the work on the reconstruction, restoration, and stabilizing while we were touring. Much of the ground on the Acropolis is rubble. The remains of damage done over the years. Some is ornately carved and some simple wall material. All are documented and many have the original location identified for future placement. This will be the world's largest jigsaw puzzle ever assembled. As we came down, we took a wrong turn and missed the slopes and instead went out the exit. This means we did not see some of the small temples below the Acropolis. We walked back into town and had a very nice lunch. Traditional meals Moussaka, … After getting back to the room, Betty decided to rest she was very tired. Shawna and I walk around the outside of the Acropolis trying to get to the Ancient Agora. In the process we took a wrong turn but even then we saw so much. We missed our opportunity to go the the Ancient Agora an area to the north of the Acropolis with lots of Roman era buildings. The entrance is closed to entry at 4:30pm. We will try again tomorrow. We did pass the Gate of Athena and area had already closed. It is wild to my thinking that homes are right up against ancient ruins. As we walked passed several cafes Shawna was approached by a woman trying to sell flowers. She is actually trying to CON people out of their money. The tactic is to hand a flower to someone saying it is free then ask for money. If you don't give them what they want they yell at you until you do. So Shawna just put her hands down and refused to take the flower. The other tactic is by people with "hand made" (actually made in China) bracelets which they try to put on you then demand money. Of course, we are very careful of pickpockets which are usually present with these people. We walked passed several interesting sites on the way back to the hotel. The Sanctuary of Zeus. The Sanctuary of Pan. Fountain of Phyx. This is an interesting place. Homes, Restaurants, and stores intermixed with ancient sites that are as old as the time when the Apostles were here preaching the Gospel. Imagine you walk out of a cafe for lunch and right next to that is a old temple that is over 2,000 years old. Amazing but normal to the people living here. We get back to the hotel, check on Mom, and stop by the bar for some wine and a Coke to drink on the Patio. The labels were interesting. We loved our view while recovering from the day.
Arrived in Athens, Greece in mid-morning. What a long and exhausting flight of over 6,800 miles or 11,000 Kilometers. Yes, that is something we are going to have to do for a while: covert to and from Imperial measurements. So we left Amarillo just at sunrise on Monday morning and arrived in Athens at noon on Tuesday. Off the plane and to baggage to get our luggage. All our bags made it without issue. Yay! Customs was a breeze. Actually the custom officer seemed more annoyed to deal with us than concerned about our reasons to visit Greece. No questions, just a stamp on each of our passports and we are waved out of the airport. A few minutes of waiting and we meet our driver. He was great and took us right to the hotel. After experiencing the drive in, I know I will not be renting a car here. All traffic signs are suggestions including the lane separators. As we got into the city, the streets became very narrow. The Acropolis View Hotel is very nice. Very helpful staff, with nice rooms, and free breakfast. Amazingly close to the Acropolis and for about $150 per night. We even had a room with a balcony. The view from our balcony was a park. We slept as much as we could to recover from jet-lag. The 5th floor rooftop patio is fantastic with a view of the Acropolis and Parthenon. We asked the owner of the hotel where we might eat in the area. He had some great suggestions and marked a map for us noting the suggestions. A short walk away, we found a nice cafe. We stopped by the hotel bar for something to drink on the roof patio. Wow! What a beautiful night view. The weather was perfect with light breezes and 72 degrees.
The ticket counter opened just after 5am. Security was easy but for some reason Shawna did not get Pre-TSA. Weird? And she was not happy. We had a little plane, only 3 seats across. We had two seats on one side and Betty on the other side across from us on the same row. Next Houston. After a long walk, then skyway tram, then another long walk we got to the gate. This would be our first Air-Canada flight and they were very nice confirming our bags would go all the way to Athens and that we did not have to go through security in Canada just on to the next gate. They offered to gate check any bags, we did not need in exchange for priority boarding. We checked two. They were gone and not to be seen until Athens. Hopefully! We sat together and though the plane was supposed to be completely full I noticed at least 9 empty seats. Four hours later and we were in Toronto. Another long walk but this time Betty had a wheel chair and help from the airline. We were taken right to our next gate. It made navigating the airport much better than we would have done on our own. The next and last plane was enormous. The biggest I had ever been on. I know there are planes with more seats per row but this thing was big to me. There were two jetway bridges for loading. One for First and Business class and the other for Premium and Economy. Lots and lots of rows. The picture below is just from our seat to the back of the plane. It was a really long flight. I got very little sleep being next to the aisle where people would bump me every time they walked past. 8.5 hours later we will land in Athens.
We drove to Amarillo to do some last minute shopping before our trip. There is almost always something that was forgotten or missed in packing. Oh well.
Tonight, we stay overnight with James and C.J. We had a nice visit and dinner then off to bed early. We had a great visit as always. James drove us to the airport. We had to wake by 4am to make it to the ticket counter at 5am. The flight was not till 6:30 but with security and checking bags we needed as much time as we could. Logan has some very big spiders. This tarantula was walking across Gramma's yard. He or She had a 1 inch long abdomen and 3 inch legs. And a few snakes. This one was warming up on the concrete walkway this morning. It was a cold night. We have also seen Mule Deer and Quail in the yard. Of course, we have seen many birds flying south for the winter.
I may have "Granddaddy'ed" this but it is finished. Our first test was a 45 degree night and the thermometer under the RV never got below 63. Our floor should be much warmer in the mornings.
After all the decades of coming through Amarillo, we have finally gone to The Big Texan for lunch. Home of the "Free" 72 oz steak. Ok, it's a tourist trap but lots of fun. If you want a good steak there are far better places in Amarillo. We had lunch with Betty, and our friends Bill and Kelly Norrish.
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