KUSADASI AND EPHESUS

Today we docked in Kusadasi at 8:00 a.m. We met our tour guide at 9:00 and then we were whisked away on our private tour for the day. Our first stop was the home of the Virgin Mary. It was a lovely spot with beautiful gardens and lots of bird songs all around. We were ahead of most of the tours for the day and it was so nice to be here before it got really crowded.

Our next stop was Ephesus. I really had no idea of what Ephesus was….and now that I have walked amongst the ruins of the ancient city and taken so many pictures, I am at a loss as to how to describe it. Our guide told us that we had only seen about 1/10th of what it was like originally. So to see what we saw and imagine so much more is quite difficult. So much of this part of Turkey was heavily influenced by the Greeks and the Romans. This is evidenced in the sculptures, the columns and even Greek mythology had a big role. An interesting fact is that in this primarily Muslim country – Ephesus was the birthplace of Christianity.

We were told about so many historical facts, people, places and dates that I found all of it overwhelming. I remember hearing 2,000 BC and then dates up to and including the 4th century AD. I really want to read more when I get home. I would google some of it now, except that the internet prices are so very high on the ship. I will look in the ship’s library and see if there is something there for me to start on. Speaking of libraries….I am including a picture of the library in Ephesus – amazing how well preserved it is for the age of it. Ephesus even had a water and sewage system and was all designed by a city planner with incredible talent and foresight. The planning, design, architecture and engineering when building Ephesus in those ancient times would be applauded in today’s society. They are still excavating today and uncovering amazing artifacts and structures that will continue to amaze humanity for years to come. (that is unless the Apocalypse gets us all)

We went for lunch in a farmhouse garden not far from the site. We were met by – guess what – A TURKEY in Turkey! Had to take a picture before he ran at me and scared me to death – vicious thing! We had a lovely lunch with some traditional Turkish fare and then – how lucky we were –
A cup of Turkish Mud (oops) I meant Turkish Coffee was offered to us after dessert. As it is an insult to refuse a drink offered by your host, Tina and I very graciously accepted this proffered special cup (thank God it was very tiny) and now we are friends for 40 years with our host.

After lunch we went to a carpet weaving demonstration and a demonstration where they make the Turkish ceramic tiles and painted figurines, plates and bowls. Needless to say, I didn’t buy a Turkish hanging or a carpet, but was so enthralled with their beauty and the sheen of the polished cotton and silk ones. Depending on the direction of the nap, the colour was distinctly lighter or darker and they were truly amazing pieces of art. Sadly my camera battery died before I was able to complete my picture taking for today. I will have to get the remaining photos from Tina to complete my collection for this wonderful foray into Kusadasi.

Our tour ended and we quickly went to the market. I wanted a leather backpack and after seeing one I liked, I asked the salesman how much – it was Euros 130.00. I told him I didn’t have that much to spend on one he then said Euros 110.00. Again I said how lovely it was, but the amount I had to spend on a backpack would only insult him. He asked me how much I was willing to spend and I told him Euros 50.00. I said I am on vacation for two more weeks and just don’t have those kinds of funds available to me to spend on one item. He said – alright – give me Euros 50.00. I was almost too embarrassed to take it for that much …. I said embarrassed – not stupid. I now have a lovely leather backpack!

At sea tomorrow!

THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS EXPLAINED

Today we arrived at Patmos at 2:00. We took the tender into port and then met our tour for a drive around the island of Patmos. This island is quite small - only 34 square kilometers. There are about 3,000 people that live here and there are just over 400 churches. There isn’t sufficient water on the island so it has to be brought to the island by boat. People collect the rainwater to use for gardening … but most of the island is a mixture of scrub plants and rocks. The drive around the island was one of great beauty. We went up to a high part on the island and we were able to get some spectacular pictures of the panorama below. It was truly breathtaking. On the highest point of the island, only 800 meters, is the 11th century monastery of St. John the Theologian. Which brings me to the next important spot that was on our tour.


We went into the Grotto of the Revelation. This is where St. John the Theologian received the visions that resulted in the Book of Revelations that is the last Book of the New Testament. This tells of the end of days…..the apocalypse….Armageddon….the four horsemen….all things dark and terrible when the earth as we know it is supposed to end in December of 2012. Now, St. John dictated this epistle to his scribe 2,000 years ago. I don’t think he concerned himself with the ordinary individuals who would be living under this shadow of doom and gloom.



The purpose of my visit to this sacred Grotto was to take a moment in this most holy place to ask the spirit of St. John – JUST WHAT WAS HE THINKING??? After having visited this Grotto and seeing the rock where he rested his head – I know now that all these visions were most likely terrible nightmares that came from trying to sleep in a cold, damp, dark cave with his head in a depression in a rock wall! Next I will have to visit where Nostradamus was sleeping and see if he was in similar discomfort that resulted in his horrific visions. My mission was successful and now onto Ephasus.

ABOARD THE PACIFIC PRINCESS AND CAPRI

We boarded our ship and set sail at 6:00 on Saturday. As this is Tina’s first cruise, she got acquainted with the ship and our cabin. Usually not much doing the first night anyway. Dinner was lovely and the evening passed by pleasantly.

Next morning we were up early for our tour of Capri and Ana Capri. The ship was anchored and we had to take the tender into the port of Naples. That was as much of Naples as we saw as we walked a short way to get on a ferry to take us over to the island of Capri. We learned that this is one of the most expensive places to own property in Europe and the stores indicate that this is only for the rich and famous. Fortunately there are shops with trinkets for the tourists. All the big name designer fashion moguls have their designs in prestigious shops. They post people at the door to carefully screen the potential buyers from the lookyloos. We were able to buy some postcards and a few souvenirs – those shops welcomed us!

Today we met Michelle – originally from Toronto and now with the services and deployed in Afghanistan. How wonderful to meet such a nice young lady. (I emphasize the young part!) We stayed together throughout the tour and as she is on the cruise on her own….we were able to have our dining arrangements changed so that we can be a threesome! Knowing that we will always share her company at dinner makes mealtime very special and I get the feeling she feels the same way.


We did a walking tour and it was lovely. Ana Capri means over Capri so as you can imagine – we were quite high up on this rocky island. We had a view of Mt. Vesuvius (sp) but the weather wasn’t clear enough to get a good picture. The day was hot and sunny, but there was a mist obscuring a good view.

I can’t talk about Capri without mentioning the size of the lemons – OMG anyone who says look at the melons on that one – hasn’t seen the lemons of Capri! (hmmm just realized that lemon and melon are the same letters – just rearranged hmmm). They are ginormous! One would have to be careful following a recipe there that called for the juice or zest of one lemon!! We tried Lemoncella (a liqueur made of lemons) – it was wonderful and we tasted chocolates and other sweets – all including lemon. What a delightful taste experience.

To get up to Ano Capril, we rode a tour bus and on the way down, we took a small train called a Funicular. This is an electric train that goes down the very steep grade and I’m guessing the grade would be about 45 degrees. It was only Euro 1.40 to ride it down. I couldn’t tell you how many hair pin turns the bus took getting us up to the town – but the Funicular was a straight ride down.

We took the ferry back to Naples and then our tender back to the ship and once again our feet were ready for a rest…and then dinner with our new friend – what a perfect end to a lovely day!

Oh and my nose and other part is healing nicely!

HOW SPECIAL!

After some of the bathrooms in Greece, which were lacking many of the amenities that we are used to at home, it was nice to arrive in Rome to a real luxurious bathroom. You can actually flush the paper in the toilet – that was a plus and wouldn’t you know?…. they had installed a foot soak next to the toilet. After all the speed walking we did on our walkabout yesterday, it was so nice to come back to the room and simply soak our poor tired feet for a while. They even had a bottle of special washing foam right by it so we could run a little bubble bath just for our feet! It really felt nice and our feet were so soft and clean.

Also the shower….so roomy and the water jets – they were actually jets and didn’t just dribble the water out. The pulse dial on the showerhead had 3 settings. Soft pulse, medium pulse and WHO NEEDS A MAN!

So now we are on our way to the pier to board our cruise ship – The Pacific Princess – this will be our home for the next 12 days. I think there is a bridge cam that you can log onto. Go to www.princess.com and click on the bridge cam for the Pacific Princess and see some of the views that we are seeing. I have gone there before and it is not always an interesting view….but sometimes in the ports – it can be nice.

TRAVEL DAY AND THEN ROME IN 3 HOURS

We left Mykonos by plane at 10:00 this morning and then we switched planes in Athens to continue our journey to Rome. On our way to the hotel, we were driven around the coliseum –so although we didn’t walk around the sight, I am going to say I have seen it – I didn’t even get a picture, so I will have to get a picture off the internet when I get home. I’m sure there are photos there that I can print out that will be better than any I would have taken today. We arrived at our hotel in Rome at 3:00 … dropped our bags … and then headed out the door to find the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain.

After much walking we arrived at the Spanish Steps – Rome is very busy with tourists already. It was difficult at times to walk on the street without people in your way or being in the way of someone else. They don’t seem to get the “keep to the right” thing over here. There were many tour groups that took up huge blocks of sidewalk space too. But we managed to get to the Spanish Steps and took some pictures. I would love to know the significance of these picturesque steps, but I have to pay for the internet here and I didn’t want to spend the precious time on Google. I would rather get the blog out.

.After the Spanish Steps, we wound our way around the streets to the Trevi Fountain. OMG you should have seen the crowds there. We had to wait a bit, but eventually got down to the fountain and I threw three coins in. One for me, one for Pamela and one for Matthew. I hope one day they can visit the fountain for themselves (but that wasn’t any of the wishes – I can’t tell you my wishes or they won’t come true!) The sculptures are exquisite and until today, I had no idea of the size of this magnificent fountain





I made a decision on my speed walking tour today that I would take pictures of not doors…. but door knockers. Had to try something a little bit different – I’m not here long enough to make a real collection, but I collected enough photos to do a couple of scrapbook pages! Some of the knockers are very high – so high that I’m not sure who would be able to reach them – certainly no one in the Asian tour group that we saw plodding along the streets today!
Now for those of you who remember the incident with the candle holder and me in the backyard one fall evening ….. I just want you to know that the fall I had in Mykonos and landing with a certain body part on my camera case ….. well I’m not going to mention any more! I just hope the bruise goes away before I come home on the 26th of May – oh and Colleen, you can stop laughing anytime now!!

WOULDN’T YOU KNOW….

It was raining a bit this morning….but it wasn’t very cold and it wasn’t raining very much. It was the first rain we have seen. Now the sun is shining once again and the skies are blue.

We walked into town for the last day and after being so careful, I fell on the uneven paving stones. I hurt my knee and scraped my nose, but thankfully I didn’t break teeth or bones. I know my knee will be sore tomorrow. A kind waitress from the restaurant near by came to my aid with some serviettes and alcohol (unfortunately not Masticha - it was only rubbing alcohol). I got cleaned up and on my way but I must be extra careful from now on.

Met another older gentleman in town who didn’t mind me taking his picture and then he wanted to have me sit with him while his friend took a picture. On Mykonos you don’t see lots of older people, I think it is definitely an island for the young. They call it the party island. I’m sure when we get to Santorini, I will be able to get lots of people pictures. I enjoy taking pictures of people as much as the scenery.

I tried to get some pictures of the vehicles making their way along the streets in the shopping area. There are so many little streets in the shopping area called the labyrinth. You can’t really get lost in it because there are may exits, but if you see a store where you like something, you had best get it when you first see it, cause for 3 hours today I tried to find a certain store and sure couldn’t see it again. The store might not even be open until evening and all my looking might have been in vain anyway. All the shopkeepers have their own hours and a lot depend on open hours when the cruise ships come into port. One nice shopkeeper offered to phone the store for me if I bring him the receipt I had from yesterday. So I will take that into town later and he can help me get to the right twisty turny little street of shops. I’m sure there are well over 1,000 and so so many jewelry shops! Neat little area though – glad we had more than a cruise stop to visit in Mykonos – you need at least three days to see it all and then some!

So to sum up Crete and Mykonos … beautiful seas, warm friendly people, delicious food, introduction to drinking shots, men and worry beads, narrow streets, labyrinth, sunny skies, big yachts, cruise ships, scraped nose and bruised knee!

BUS TO ANO MERA

Took the public bus to a Monastery today – pretty much in the center of the island. It is so amazing and kinda scary how narrow the roads are. I took a picture out of the bus window of us approaching a car coming in the opposite direction. More than once we have seen cars back up to let someone pass. Also you might notice that there are no sidewalks and pedestrians almost risk their lives getting around from place to place.

This island isn’t very large so it only took about 15 minutes to get to the Monastery. We wandered around and took a few pictures. We were up there for about 3hours … kinda long as there wasn’t a lot up there, but eventually the bus came and took us back to town. We walked more in the town and up to the windmills. They are neat old things. There are five of them and two have families living in them 1 has a jewelry store and the others we weren’t sure.

Saw a wonderful crusty old fella in town today. Had to take his picture. His whole demeanor epitomizes Greece. His wonderful little cap, his moustache, his sun wrinkled face, his clothing, his pipe and of course his glass of red wine – I imagine that it might even be Retsina. He evidently enjoys having his picture taken – he gave me a big smile anyway. Maybe the restaurant pays him to come and sit there to bring more customers in.

We walked all the way around the Aimani Port to a part of Mykonos they call little Venice. From the back side we weren’t sure why – but from the water side, it is quite evident. Very different from the rest of Mykonos. Even the restaurants in this part of town are influenced by Italy and offer menu items like pizza and spaghetti. I am so glad that we are seeing so much. Already 1 week has gone by and our heads are full of the traditions and antiquity of the country of Greece; our eyes are taking in all the beautiful sights of Greece; our hearts are full of the warmth and kindness of the Greek people; our tummies are full of the wonderful food from Greece and our livers ….. well you already know about that!

MYKONOS

We were up fairly early today in time to be on the ferry to Mykonos. We were on a FastCat that went 40 mph. Lovely ride through the seas and up to Mykonos. Altogether with other stops our ride was about 4:45 hours. Comfortable seats not like BC Ferries. We had a very short taxi ride from the pier to the hotel – took all of about 5 minutes.

So far what we have seen of Greece – it is very difficult for seniors. Hotels with no elevators, cobbled streets, lots of hills, lots of stairs. Today all the up and down and I am pooped too.

We walked down and around the harbour and saw the famous windmills of Mykonos. The didn’t have the little white sails on them, but they are there just the same. Prices are higher here – but we were told to expect that. Our hotel is lovely and right across from the harbour. When we arrived the lady said if you are too hot -open the window and if you want to heat your room – close the window. Sounds simple!

We had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant right on the boardwalk. We had Greek Salad, breaded fried zucchini with feta cheese and egg, pita and tzatziki and beer - the the piece de resistance - our free shot. Today it was Masticha – and that is the best so far. Made out of tree sap. It was quite sweet and delicious. It is quite windy here – I guess that why they erected the windmills.

So tonight we are going to stay close to home I think. The town is a labyrinth of tiny streets and lots of shops. We will wander and wander and see what we find. We may find that we get lost! Oh well…

MOSTLY ABOUT THE FOOD AND DRINK

We went to a beach resort town today called Kokkini Hani. It was a lovely spot and there were lots of people out enjoying the sun and even a few brave souls were in the water. Although the Cretan Sea is certainly warmer than the Pacific Ocean – it is still way too cold for me. We wandered quite a way and went in some of the touristy type shops and then had a very good lunch.

Tina had a gyro without the pita bread and I had Cretan Salad. This local salad is basically Greek salad with chopped potato, egg, chunks of dried rye bread and Cretan Cheese (like feta but even creamier) and then you put your own olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper on and just enjoy. Course the Greek Beer, Mythos goes well with all their food.

After lunch out came the dreaded Raki AGAIN – and a dessert of yoghurt, honey and chopped walnuts. I found out today that it is customary to bring you a dessert and some ouzo or raki after every meal. I thought it was just us. But every customer is treated the same way. If we ever say no – knowing that will make it easier. Ha –like we would ever say no!

We came home in the early afternoon and walked our legs off again all around the town. I am certainly doing my 10,000 steps each day. I hope I can keep up the habit when I get home. It feels so good to get out and walk like that – of course it helps that you are in a beautiful place.

There is this one restaurant and the kitchen is on one side of the street and the seating is on the other and the waiters have to make their way back and forth through traffic with orders and food. The street is fairly busy and it is the weirdest thing to see. Not sure if we will eat there, but I must take a picture cause who would believe it!

So I guess the next blog will come from Mykonos – as Raki is a local drink in Crete, we’ll see what free liquor they will give us there! I’ll need a liver transplant when I get home!

Love from me! (hell when I drink all this stuff – I love everybody!!)

TRIP TO AG. NIKOLAOS

Today we took a bus trip to Agios Nikolaos. It was about a 90minute bus ride from Heraklion. Scenery was pretty along the way. Today, May 1, is the equivalent of our Labour Day Holiday. Some places were closed up tight and there were solidarity gatherings. Lots of speeches and chants and men in and around the town – I imagine with the current situation in Greece, it was better attended than usual.



The town we went to was a seaside resort and we saw our first glimpses of what I perceive Greece to be with small boats all lined up. It was a very picturesque little place and once again we walked our feet off. We found a restaurant – actually you don’t have to look hard they are everywhere and each one has a hawker out front, “Ladies please come sit.”. So eventually you give in to one of them and take a seat. We try to settle on a restaurant with cheap looking chairs. Don’t know if it is true, but we have decided that the cheaper the chairs – the better the price. We had Greek Salad, chicken and pork Souvlaki and a beer. It was refreshing and delicious and the feta cheese here is so much better than home. Very creamy and absolutely wonderful on salad or alone.

It was extremely windy in Ag. Nikolaos – warm, but very windy. A lady we met in town said that it is very unusual for it to be this windy…she said that it was a south wind coming up from the Syrian Desert. We only had capris and light t-shirts on and were never cold. Just had different hairdos! So our return trip was only 14.5 euros and we were gone from 10:45 and came back to our hotel by 5:00. It was a pretty full day!

There was a beautiful church in the village and Tina and I went over and looked in. I don’t think there was any area that wasn’t covered by paintings of the story of Christ – it really was beautiful. I lit a candle for Peter as it would have been our 35th anniversary today.

Don’t know what we will do this evening, but we probably won’t go far. As it is Sunday, the only things open at night are restaurants. We will probably have a walk down by the water and back again. That will do us good.

CRETE AND THE TWO OF US

Today when we arrived in Heraklion, Crete we were met by our driver who took us directly to the hotel. We were here about noon and shortly after our arrival, we walked up into the market area. There are lots of really nice walks to do around the area. We stopped for lunch in a little outdoor café and had calamari, tzatziki and beer. It was very good and the calamari had just the right chewy texture. We continued to walk around the market streets until we were home about 3:00 and then both of us had a nap.

At the beginning of the evening we walked a different route. This time our walk took us down along the sea wall. That walk ends at the Museum of Natural History. We must see that before we leave Heraklion. On the way back from our walk we stopped at a restaurant with outdoor seating. The waiter asked if we wanted to sit downstairs (outside) or upstairs (inside). We chose outside and Tina enjoyed a pork chop while I had a “boat” of steamed mussels. They were good. We find that Greeks use a lot of salt in their cooking but they give you half a lemon with your meal and when you squeeze it on your food, it drastically cuts the salty taste.

When we asked for the bill, our waiter brought us a little glass bottle with ouzo and 2 shot glasses, a plate of cut apple and pear and another plate with some sort of desert on it – kind of a pudding/cake with cinnamon and honey. So he poured us a shot of ouzo each … well we didn’t want to be rude …… so we downed that. Then he came back a few minutes later and brought a third glass and refilled ours. So once again we thought we should show our appreciation. They we quickly paid our bill and continued our walk.

Our next stop was a tourist /fast ferry place and thought we would go in and ask about a sightseeing trip. He said we would be better to go on the public busses on our own if we had the time. So he wrote out a list of the things we should do and see and how to go about that. The biggest part of the list he gave us was the different foods to try and the local drink. Since we had already tried ouzo, he said they we must try raki. At which point his manager came out with 3 shot glasses and a bottle of raki and there we were again not wanting to seem impolite….So as I write this to you now, I have had 2 shots of ouzo and 3shots of raki and other than the letters being blurry – I hope I am managing to write an engaging blog.

So back to the hotel and tomorrow we will try the local buses and see where we get to. I have a feeling that ouzo and raki will not be on the menu tomorrow.

I’ll echat with you soon

THERE WAS MORE TO ATHENS

I know that I said I would I would be writing from Crete next, but I realize that I’m not finished with Athens. I never told you about the dogs of Athens. There are many dogs wandering the streets and ruins of Athens.

They don’t bother anybody and they are happy to be patted or just left alone. When I asked our guide about them, she said that they are the pets of the city. They are not wild, but they don’t belong to anyone. They are treated with medicine if needed, they are fed and they just roam and live where they want. They all seem to be shepherd / lab crosses and you can see them all over the city – usually sleeping or walking about.



There is marble everywhere. On the sides of buildings, the floors, the sidewalks, counters, walls, stairs – it must be deadly when it gets wet. It can be so slippery at the best of times – I was so glad for my rubber soled walking sandals. Up at the Acropolis – which is entirely made of marble…you are seldom walking on anything else. The patterns on the walkways are different from each other. It was really beautiful, but you had to be careful walking!



Now about the bathrooms. The first one I saw, I just had to take a picture. Just where is a lady supposed to sit??? Do a quick check to make sure it's not the men's...it isn't! Then when you close the door for privacy, there is a sign on the back of the door that says don’t throw toilet paper in the toilet….please put it in the garbage container. Ok – so picture this – you are squatting over the toilet trying to hold your purse (which if you’re lucky is already around your neck)…then while balancing carefully you have to pull of 4 or 5 squares (if they come off easily – NOT) wipe yourself. Now you have to get the lid up from the garbage container - most do have lids (there is a handy foot pedal - give me a break) pop the paper in (you are still balanced aren’t you?) …then stand up pull up your pants …and oh my god. Now that was only about having to go #1 …I don’t even want to think about #2.

Now I think to sum up Athens in a few words...traffic…cabs…vacant buildings…people smoking everywhere…(except perhaps while they are in the toilet as mentioned above – that would just be impossible)…marble…olive trees…ancient ruins…churches…sooooo many banks and keeping your balance! Now we can move on to Crete.

ATHENS ON THE RUN

Today started early. After a relatively good night’s sleep, Tina and I had a wonderful breakfast which included fresh squeezed orange juice. Our bus came to pick us up at 8:15 and we were off for a day of sightseeing.

First we went to the Acropolis to see the Parthenon. I was surprised that I made it up there. I have named the hike up the hill, The Acropolis Grind. But we did make it up and had a wonderful look around. It is quite amazing to think that it was constructed in 447-432 BC. Walking on slippery marble all day it was hard to imagine the number of slaves and oxen required to push, pull and drag all these enormous pieces of marble to these hilltops to construct these monuments. Our excellent guide was very informative and loved telling the mythology to explain how the times were back then. The design even took into consideration that the columns, many of which are still standing, had to be curved into a bulge in the middle in order for the structure to look straight and not crooked from the city of Athens down below …. wayyyyy down below!

We went to the Acropolis Museum that only opened its doors in 2009. It is an incredible structure built on columns so that the architects can continue to excavate the ruins that lie beneath the building. As you walk to the museum, you walk on glass panels and can view the work that is going on down below.

Lunch was included in the tour and we had a sampling of all things Greek – it was delicious and quite filling – then it was off to Sounio to see the Temple of Poseidon also built around the same time as the Parthenon. More stunning ancient architecture….and another hike up a hill.

We came back to the hotel to relax for a bit and then took a taxi to the Plaka (touristy shopping and eating area) – Tina popped out of the cab and bought a pin from the Athens Hard Rock Café and in the Plaka we walked and shopped from about 8:00 until 10:30. Athens is such a bustling place at all hours. Now we must go to bed. We need to meet our driver who will take us to the airport for a short flight to Crete (Heraklion) for the next 3 days.

Lesson from today – make sure when you get in a cab that they are not going to gouge you – we had to get out of one in the middle of the street cause he was going to charge us 3 x as much money to get home as it took to get there! He’s probably still looking for us!

Talk again tomorrow from Crete …

GETTING HERE

First let me say that business class is amazing! All you can drink anytime you want and you don't have to pay. Chairs that make into beds - Airbus A340 WOW! Tablecloths on our tables and a 3 course meal. Champagne as soon as we boarded and Bailey's after dinner. MMMmmm.

We arrived in Frankfurt a bit late and then we were delayed at the airport by a security breach. Good thing we had 3 hours between flights as some of the people that were in the lineup with us waiting to go through security were not going to to make their connecting flights. So thank goodness we were ok. Next flight to Athens we were seated with the riff raff!!! No room, not at all relaxing - but it was only 2hours and 40 minutes.



When we arrived at the Athens Airport, our driver was waiting for us, with a Mercedes no less, and we were whisked away to our lovely hotel in downtown Athens.

We walked a couple of blocks to a bar/restraurant and had some dinner and then it was back to the hotel to get some much needed rest! Friday is an all day tour of Athens...so we need to be rested for that!

Next post will come in a few hours ...

STARTING OFF RIGHT!

We were pulled out of line when checking in at the YVR. "Are you two ladies travelling alone?" ... was the question. OMG I thought - they are looking for us ..... maybe they are warning us ..... or maybe a police BOLO - what could it mean? "Yes..." we replied a little hesitantly. "Lufthansa would like to upgrade you to Business Class for this flight." said the attendant.

So that was our fantastic happenstance for today! This adventure is starting out in the most amazing way already! Now the 10 hour flight to Frankfurt will be roomy, relaxing and perfect in every way!

Are we lucky or what!

NEW ADVENTURE COMING SOON!

My friend Tina and I will leave for Athens on the 27th of April for a wonderful 4 week adventure. The first week will be spent between Athens, Crete and Mykonos after which we will fly to Rome and embark on a 12 day cruise on the Pacific Princess. We will visit such wonderful spots as Sorrento, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Egypt, Ephasus, Patmos and Santorini. After disembarking, we will return to Santorini for 6 nights before coming home on the 26th of May. I understand there will be good internet connections throughout our travels. So once again I will pack along my laptop and document our journey. I hope you will follow along and enjoy some of my ramblings as we wend our way in and around some of the holiest and holeyest places on the planet. We hope to visit the Grotto where St. John the Theologian lived and wrote the Book of Revelation and then we may be perched on the edge of a giant caldera. We might even visit the Dead Sea which at 412 meters below sea level is the lowest point on Earth. I can't wait to tell you more when we get there!

Stay tuned ...