Category Archives: Greece

Out Trips to Greece

Seabourn Greece

I had expected to enjoy our travels through the Greek Isles, but I had no idea it would be this exciting. From the extreme attention to detail that Seabourn strives for a delivers to the amazing towns and ruins we have visited thus far, I am amazed. On four occasions I teared up with joy at the realization of what I was seeing/experiencing. The dawn of democracy at Ephesus, the workmanship of the ancients, the quality of today’s artists and artisans be they Turkish carpet makers or Seabourn’s singers and dancers. From the most enormous historical significance to the most mundane but personally thriving, this trip has had it all. And it is not even half over.

Tomorrow, Santorini and Oia. Oia is perhaps the most photographed island in the world. We arrive tomorrow and take a shore cruise from Thera to Oia. I’m not sure how we will get from the shore to the town of Oia. It’s not an insignificant climb.

Funny, it was Oia that was the “big draw” for me. Now I think it will be dwarfed by Ephesus in Turkey, the historical significance of Patmos, and the Archeological Museum of Rhodes. Still beauty has its place front and center in life, and Oia is nothing if not beautiful.

As we pull into the caldera tomorrow, I hope to be up early to photo sunrise against the houses of Thera, take a dip in the Jacuzzi, and lift some weights. This before breakfast and our morning tour.

Every day we return exhausted, take a few hours rest then dress for dinner and the evening entertainment. I could get used to this. Every aspect of the cruise has exceeded expectations. Dinner at restaurant #2 was great, though we were told to sign up for a signature night when the chef is free to prepare his own creations. I thought that was tonight’s fare, but noooo. So we’ll sign up for a dinner next week! Food, excitement, fun, visually stunning vistas, history rooted in the formation of the democratic process, roots of the history of Christianity, the Greek Islands have it all.

R

Seabourn Day 6, Rhodes evening

I woke early today and made my way to the bow on our deck level to the small Jacuzzi. I had the sunrise and the Jacuzzi to myself as the ship steamed into Rhodes. I let Ellen sleep, tough I did take a cappuccino down to her from the “snack bar”.

Today we had a late start after a leisurely breakfast and headed inside the walled ancient city of Rhodes. The city wall is 12 meters thick. Inside there are two mosques, the Palace of the Grand Master (the city father), the temple to Aphrodite, the Museum of Antiquities, the seven homes of the knights, and more shoos and restaurants than we’ve seen on other islands.

The Knights were divided into seven sections or ‘tongues’ – England, France, Germany, Italy, Aragon, Auvergne, and Provence – and each group was responsible for defending a part of the city. They were all interconnected by the outer wall.

The Museum of Antiquities was fascinating, though so extensive that we had to stop after a few hours. On a wall to the left as you exit the first building headed to the gardens, there is an enclosure that houses very ancient mosaics. The earliest is made of river stone collected by color and size and fitted into the mosaic. It is one of three oldest mosaics in Europe. Other mosaics were made from tiles, flat manufactured pieces mass produced for these slightly less ancient mosaics.

Everywhere we looked there were fascinating articles from ancient Greece. Many of the pieces on display have not had photos published. For that reason, photography was not allowed in some of the buildings. In time that will change. Also most guide books say that a 3 euro ticket to one museum is good for all three. That is no longer the case. Each museum charges 6 euro for admission. Not something to complain about, you are supporting the archeological history of Greece. It is something to be aware of.

We docked at the port and could walk ashore. Just before we set out, a massive ship, the aida.de with 2050 passengers docked beside us and disgorged a swarm of tourists. In Patmos there were two small ships in port and we had the city of Ephesus nearly to ourselves. This was quite different. We found that by getting away from the few large shopping streets, the crowds dwindled and we could take in the beauty of Rhodes at our own pace.

Tonight there is an epicurean feast pool side. We have reservations for Restaurant #2 at 8pm. Ellen just popped a slice of peach in my mouth. Each day a “fruit of the day” is left in the cabin. Today was peach and it is perfectly ripe. We had a variety of lychee nut for breakfast that I have never seen before and it too was great.

Lunch at a restaurant on one of the busy streets was a bit disappointing. The stuffed peppers were fantastic, but the main dish of seasoned beef meat balls was just OK. I’m still looking for spanakopita.

Off to shower and join the epicurean event.

R

Seabourn Day 6, Rhodes morning

We just docked at Rhodes and the medieval old city wall and Knights of St. John Castle are visible from our veranda. Today we will walk the old city and visit its museums. Each day is surprisingly different. The islands have a personality all their own. Off to a quick breakfast and a jaunt ashore.

At some point I will break up our Europe2015 photo gallery into individual islands.

R

Seabourn Day 5, Patmos Greece

We are off to Rhodes now. This morning we awoke a bit late and had a hurried breakfast at the colonnade restaurant after a tipple monadic and cappuccino. We then headed to the Grand Salon to meet our tour of Patmos and St. John’s cave/monastery.

There were about 40 of us on this tour, when left by bus and climbed the hill to the monastery. There are 25 Orthodox Christian Monks who live there.

Historically, under the reign of Emperor Demetrius of Rome, the upstart Christian religion was persecuted. Some were killed, others exiled. So. John was exiled from Ephesus to Patmos. Pagan gods were worshiped on Patmos and John was further persecuted on Patmos. He lived in a cave high atop the hill, where God revealed himself in a voice likened to a waterfall or trumpets. At a lecture we attended, the professor pointed out that the loudest noise known to the ancients was the sound of rushing water or trumpets. It is said that the power of God’s voice split the ceiling of the cave into three fissures, symbolic of the trinity. John is the patron saint of Patmos. He lived in exile for about two years, baptizing a growing following on the island. Demetrius was murdered and the next Emperor of Rome was tolerant of Christianity. Those exiled were allowed to return and John returned to Ephesus, where he eventually converted the island to Christianity.

Now I am not a believer in all the god stuff, but history is fascinating. To know that John the Baptist (or Theologian as he is known on Patmos) lived in exile in a cave on Patmos for two years is amazing. We visited the cave, saw and spoke with monks, and toured the monastery and its museum. The monastery cataloged about three thousand books and manuscripts that it housed, though only about one thousand remain today. The manuscripts were written by scribes on animal skin then on papyrus. The oldest manuscript is on display in the museum, though it is nearly impossible to make out the writing. That manuscript was broken into parts with pages on display in Rome, in So Petersburg Russia, and here in Patmos. The illuminated manuscripts on display are fascinating. Each page contains a passage from the bible centered on the page, a painting at the bottom of the page, and commentary explaining the passage taking up most of the page.

It was fascinating touring the monastery.

We next went to a mansion dating to the 17th century. The wealthy on the island at that time were merchants who build their houses on the hillside. This house/mansion war reminiscent of Spanish homes with high wooden beamed ceilings. The great room, was once an open courtyard that was enclosed sometime later. We met the owner, an 87 year old woman who’s ancestors build the house.

Next we went to a family owned taverna for a bit to eat and a demonstration of Greek folk dance. Three gentlemen dressed in traditional Patmos garb danced three exemplary dances, then the fun began. One fellow, who looks quite a bit like my father, started picking people from the tour to come up stage to learn some dance steps. The young couple to my right politely refused, and I was selected along with about 11 others. Only later did I learn that Ellen had extended her arm over my head with one finger pointing down as if to say, “take him”. She thought since only males were dancing, she was safe. Nope, the fellow took her by the arm too.

This was embarrassing at first, but became great fun. The dance steps were not that difficult and everyone was a good sport about it.

The bus took us back to port a short time later. Ellen and I wandered the town for a while, eventually stopping at a gelato shop. Every flavor looked good. Ellen ordered and headed off to the bathroom. I had fun bantering with the young woman behind the counter, ordered gelato for Ellen and I, and explained that Ellen had the money (which she did). When Ellen came out we paid, took our gelato and the woman handed us a napkin. Ellen asked for another one, and she handed us about 10. I said, ” the gelato is free, but the napkins are extra…”. The gal, then grabbed another 10 and handed them to us with a smile. “That’ll be extra”, she said and we all laughed. She then seriously asked if we wanted the second 10, which we didn’t. We sat in the shade outside eating and after a while the gal came out to clean the tables and we got to know her a bit. She was from Rhodes, the island we are headed to now. She said Patmos was empty now, there were only two small cruise ships in port, but when one of the big ones arrives, it gets crazy busy. It’s the difference between an extra 500 people versus an extra 3000 to 5000 people. The town is small, only two or three streets.

After our gelato, Ellen searched for a pair of plain black pants to no avail. I was fading fast, a combination of lack of sleep, fatigue, and the building mid-day heat. There was no breeze to cool things down. We took the local tender back to the boat. Changed into more comfortable clothing (for the monastery we had to cover knees, shoulders, and midriff), we headed to the pool-side restaurant for a bit of lunch, then back to our suite for siesta. We almost missed dinner we were so relaxed as the sun began to set. Luckily Ellen checked the time and we arrived for dinner 30 minutes before they closed. Ellen had a prawn appetizer and sock-eye salmon, I had steak Tarik (seared steak trimmed with pepper corns, fruit, and balsamic reduction) and Filet. The ship misplaced our half bottle of wine which didn’t show up until dinner was almost over. Not a problem in the great scheme of things. I had a small glass and saved the rest for tomorrow’s dinner in restaurant #2, the chef’s choice sampler of food combinations. I’ve read this is not to be missed and requires a reservation 24 hours ahead.

After dinner we sashayed down to the Grand Salon to hear the Seabourn Singers perform old and contemporary selections. They were really good, ending with “rule the world”. We almost continued the evening with dancing at “the club”, but thought better of it. We’re worn out, but tomorrow is another day.

For tomorrow, on the island of Rhodes, we will not take a tour opting instead to wander the old city.

We could get used to this lifestyle. The destinations are stunning; the food wonderful bordering on extravagant; and the company; both guests and crew, are both informative and lots of fun. Aside from my half bottle of wine going missing, everything has been stellar and what’s a bottle of wine in the great scheme of things? From controlling debarkation and embarkation, to remembering our names and providing very personalized service, Seabourn has been in a class by itself.

Tomorrow, the ancient walled city of Rhodes.

Ron

Seabourn day 3, Mykonos evening ctd.

There was one older Greek fellow with many missing teeth and a typical Greek hat who was playing the Greek version of bagpipes. He had a goat’s stomach with a flute attached to one side and a straw-like mouthpiece attached to the other. He filled the bladder with air and played the flute as the bladder deflated, but all the while keeping the bladder close to full. The sound was unmistakably Greek. I gave him $1e and took a photo or two.

While we were at the windmills, we walked the area. Two of the windmills have been converted into private homes. At one point my Tesla hat blew off my head and over a cliff. “Oh no you don’t” I practically shouted and went down the cliff to recover my hat. It had not dropped very far. It was a relatively easy scramble over ice plant and rocks to retrieve my hat. Ellen and I got separated, each searching for that perfect perspective for a photo. I waited at the “entrance” and waited and after a long while Ellen appeared. She was worried we might not find each other. This area was crowded, but not insanely so.

The streets of Mykonos are very narrow. The main streets are maybe ten feet wide and go down from there. Some of the streets we walked were maybe three feet wide. Still there is the occasional car or small truck going through making deliveries for restaurants or for sheet rock for renovation (which we saw). By the four windmills there is no waterfront walk. The houses are build right up to the water. There are restaurants and a walkway through the restaurants and behind the waterfront homes, that leads back to the main esplanade along the shore, now west of us.f

We made our way back to the water taxi dock, were we were dropped off and continued along until we actually found the Raya restaurant. Ellen had the chicken kabob special, I ordered two appetizers: tzatzikki and a cheese filled pastry with pine nuts and honey. Ellen’s chicken was very good, the tzatzikki was some of the best I’ve had, but the cheese pastry was out of this world. I had to asks our waitress if tipping was common in Greece. She said, not really. It is very unusual for a Greek to tip. Often Europeans do, but it is up to us. It’s not like in America where a tip is expected. We left a good tip for her. I enjoyed her honesty.

Getting back to the tender and back to the Odyssey was effortless. The seas were more choppy now, but the tender was driven slowly. We had to make it back aboard ship for my scheduled hair cut. Simone had cut Ellen’s hair the day before for the formal captain’s dinner. Ellen scheduled my for a haircut with Simone this afternoon. Simone is fun. After her scalp massage after the haircut, I had visions of taking her home with us.

We did not miss the champagne and caviar afternoon show which featured a classically trained vocalist who sang a brief operatic repertoire. This actually brought tears to my eyes, he was that good. This is the same fellow whom I thought had performed so mediocrely the evening before. Clearly opera is his forte. The champagne and caviar was good too… The Odyssey weighed anchor mid-way through the show, headed for Kusadasi, Turkey.

After a brief rest in our suite, we opted for an informal dinner tonight at the pool side bar and grill. Tonight was surf and turf: filet and jumbo shrimp. It was cold, but blankets were provided pool side and Ellen was reasonably warm. We opted to take the blueberry cheese cake back to our suite.

Tomorrow we take an excursion to Ephesus and the terrace houses. We’ll see the Celsus Library facade, the Grand Amphitheatre that held more than 25,000 people, the Temple of Hadrian, and pass the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Tomorrow evening Seabourn hosts an evening classical music performance at sunset in Ephesus.

We will try the colonnade restaurant sometime this week, but formal dining is far superior to pool side dining in the evening.

Ron

Seabourn Day 3, Mykonos Evening

We’ve enjoyed the past few days aboard ship so much that I actually had some qualms about going ashore this morning. The ship is a known quantity. I love adventure, but I was unsure what Mykonos would have in store.

We took the tender into Mykonos this morning around am and wondered the streets. We were not the first off ship and we did not have the town to ourselves. Still in the early morning there were relatively few tourists around and still fewer the further away we moved from the shore-side cafes.

The winds were quite strong, blowing sand in our faces as we walked the “main street” along the waterfront. Ellen found some stairs leading away from the wind and up we went. Mykonos is beautiful. Walking the stairs through the white houses with blue or yellow or red doors was fun. Finally we came upon a narrow two lane thoroughfare. There were motor scooters, vespas, ATVs, small trucks, large trucks and even a bus at one point, all going somewhere on this road. There was no sidewalk. We walked in the street dodging traffic or watching traffic dodge us as we walked down, back to the shore.

We arrived at the west end of Mykonos on the shore. There are public WCs there. One was clean with TP. The other not so much. We turned back toward the center of town, with the breeze at our backs snapping photos as we went.

When the Seabourn Odyssey arrived at Mykonos, there was one large cruise ship at the port some distance from town. It was a huge ships, though I could not make out its name or country of origin. The Odyssey anchored offshore and used its four tenders to bring travelers ashore. While we walked up the steps to the thoroughfare, another massive cruise ship arrived and anchored quite close to the Odyssey. That ship dwarfed the Odyssey. Two things crossed my mind: how nice to have booked with a small intimate cruise line and Oh crap, we’ll be inundated in the nest few hours with hoards of tourists walking streets of Mykonos.

There was absolutely nothing we could do, the die was cast. As we walked closer to the town center, the crowds grew. Ellen saw steps heading up-hill and motioned me back as I had gone ahead. She was standing beside a shop that sold only white garments. The shop’s name: “Pure White”. The steps just to the left of this shop lead up, but not so steeply, to a view overlooking Mykonos and to a single windmill. Also near the windmill is one of the most beautiful hotels on the island or at least in Mykonos proper. The “Boutique Hotel” has views to die for. We stopped in to ask the room rates which run from budget at $50 US per night to high at $320 per night. The expensive rooms have expansive views overlooking Mykonos. We asked to see a room, but they were busy and could not or would not show a room. The hotel has a website showing each room category, we were referred to the web site. We asked if they served lunch. With their view and limited clientele, it would be a perfect place to eat a bite. No, no lunch. They did server breakfast for hotel guests. The reservation desk did recommend that we go to Raya for lunch if we wanted authentic Greek cuisine.

The views from the hotel and from the lone windmill were stunning. Any reservations I had had about Mykonos vanished. There were very few people at either the hotel or the single windmill. The modest climb up the stairs dissuaded most tourists; there were very few people around. I highly recommend the walk should you find yourself in Mykonos. We took photos of the “famous” four windmills at the east side of Mykonos and agreed that we did not need to walk there to see them.

As we walked back down the hill, we found an increasing number of tourists. Not necessarily a bad thing, after all we are tourists too. However, when we can we like to avoid crowds. Rather than making our way down to the waterfront, we took a left, a few streets behind the waterfront esplanade.

We found ourselves in a very high end shopping area. Versache, Sophia, YSL, an seemingly never ending stream of very high end shops. I heard one clearly American woman complain that the prices here were much too high. Of note, I had not packed a belt and purchased one on board. As we often do, we started a conversation with the sales gal, who suggested that we AVOID shopping in Mykonos as Kusadasi has very much the same things but at much lower prices. Mykonos is one of the jet set’s favorite hangouts. Kusadasi is relatively unknown and prices reflect that.

Anyway, we walked well behind the seaside thinking we would turn in to find Raya for a bite. We took photos of things we found interesting as we walked and lost track of where we were going. After some time enjoying our walk, we discovered we had walked to the four windmills at the other side of town. Mykonos is a very small town. There was one older Greek fellow with many missing teeth and a typical Greek hat who was playing the Greek version (continued…)

Seabourn day 3, Mykonos Am

Three tenders were lowered into the water moments ago. We are anchored off Mykonos harbor. We had our morning cappuccino and walked the windy deck. There are whitecaps further out, but we are somewhat sheltered anchored just outside the harbor jetty.

People are disembarking now. We will head off shortly.

Janos, our breakfast waiter, took good care of me this morning. We went to the windy side of the boat and found a sheltered table just out of the wind. Janos setup the table and ordered an arugula parma omlette with bacon, sausage, and another cappuccino. It was very filling.

I would have worked out in the gym this morning, but we’ll be walking enough today. We’ll have to return to the ship for my haircut at 16:45.

If booking on Seabourn, I recommend suites just forward of the main spiral staircase and suggest deck 6. The theater/stage is on deck 6 making for a very short walk “home” after a show. Deck 6 is just below the dining room on deck 7. Since the theater opens in the evening,, deck 6 is very quiet. Actually all decks are very quiet.

We proped our veranda door open last night for the sea breeze and the sound of the sea. It was idyllic and tranquil. We slept very well.

Off to Mykonos town…

Ron

Seabourn Day 2, cruising to Mykonos

Tonight is this weeks formal Captain’s dinner. Dress to the 9s and meet our captain. Dinner may be unusually scrumptious this evening.

The weather is warming up as we head south from Myrna/Limnos to Mykonos. I’m told there are no cars on Mykonos as the “streets” are one person wide, a method devised centuries ago to protect the city from pirates. I’m also told the streets are a labyrinth and we should expect to get lost, but locals are very happy to guide us “home”.

This afternoon guest services delivered our tickets to the evening classical performance at sunset in Kusadasi, Turkey after dinner on Wednesday. This is a complementary “excursion” that requires registration, something we almost missed!

Tomorrow we have no excursion and plan to simply wander around Mykonos, as we did Rome and Istanbul. It’s great to be aboard ship, but still more wonderful meeting new people and exploring the “unknown”.

Ellen is almost ready. We’re off to dinner!

Ron

Seabourn Odyssey

We are “this close” to retirement. And to celebrate, we are taking our first cruise together to “tour” the Greek Islands. Seabourn’s marketing has been very good at targeting us with fancy brochures featuring their world wide cruises. We will be taking their Istanbul to Venice cruise next year (this year’s cruise was booked). The itinerary includes Santorini, Patmos, Rhodes, Athens, Monemvasia, Dubrovnik, and eight other destinations. I have always wanted to visit the Greek Islands and Athens, home to the birth of Western Democracy. What makes this special is neither Ellen nor I have been to Turkey or Greece; we will share this adventure and its memories together.

Both Ellen and I love the Italian culture and antiquities. The cruise arrives in Venice, how wonderful. We will read about Venitian history and explore Venice then take a train to Florence and get lost in the Renaissance for a few days or a week.

We are looking into lodging with VRBO, homeAway, and AirBnB. AirBnB has a better selection, but most properties expect payment up front and have very unfavorable cancellation policies. What I hope to do is find a “target” property through AirBnB then use another source to find that property with better terms.

I am very excited to be starting our voyage in Istanbul/Constantinople, the crossroads of Asia and Europe. No city in the western world has comparable history. The Turkish food I’ve sampled in the US is remarkable. It will be fun to see the similarities and differences with true Turkish cuisine.

I had planned to tack on a four week land tour of Tuscany, Cinque Terre, and Rome. We would be too far into summer after Florence to make that feasible. Both the heat and the crouds would be our undoing. Therefore, we will be taking a second trip to Italy in the Fall of 2015 to visit the Italian Riveria, Tuscany, and Rome. Again VRBO or homeAway will be our “friends”. I would love to take the cog railway from Chamonix through the Italian Alps and on to Cinque Terre by train, but that may have to wait. Paris, the south of France, and the French Riveria await.

I love the idea of renting a home/villa/farm house for a few months in Italy and using that as home base to make day or overnight excursions. This could work for Fall 2015. For spring 2015 we will have limited time in both Venice and Florence making a “home base” moot.

And thus, our adventure begins. But first with a whale watching trip to Baja with friends in March 2015. More about that to follow.