Day 10; Tuesday, July 30, 2013  Katakolon/Olympia
Link to Day 10 Katakolon and Olympia Photographs 

The first impression I had as we prepared to dock was that, unlike the rocky and sometimes barren country side of other Greek towns, Katakolon is lush with green hillsides, gardens and orchards.  This small fishing village is transformed by hordes of tourists landing on their pier but must be quite charming in the winter months when we are away.

The excursion today was the Olympia Archaeological Site - yes, another chaotic heap of marble and limestone ruin!  What made this ruin special was that it is where the Olympics started roughly 2700 years ago.  It is also home to the Temple of Zeus (not to be confused with the Temple of Olympian Zeus from yesterday).  This one was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  Everything was destroyed by the Roman Emperor Theodosis in 393 and a couple of major earthquakes finished the place off.  Like so many of the places we’ve visited, they are continuently digging deeper and discovering new (old) things. Prehistoric temple ruins can be found beneath the foundations of temples constructed during the classical period.  We walked the field where the Stadium once stood and runners competed.

The museum at Olympus contains many of the artifacts dug out from the seven or more feet of soil that covered the ruins.  There is still an active archeological effort underway; so the museum may grow.  The pediments from the Temple of Zeus were especially well preserved.  Of interest to the grandsons especially, there is the original helmet worn by the Greek general who defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon and who sent the first runner back to Athens with news of the victory  It is on display along with a bronze helmet of the Persians.

We returned to port where the streets that were lined with appealing shops of all sorts - okay, it was a “tourist trap” - but I was drawn in!  I even found a gift for my dad that he would appreciate - a bowl hand-turned with wood

from an olive tree.

Day 9; Monday, July 29, 2013  Athens/Piraeus

Link to Day 9 Athens/Piraeus Photographs

This was the one place that Charles was most anxious to see. He had been here some 30+ years ago on business and had very good memories of “discovering” the Parthenon and the Acropolis.

There has been a renewed effort to reconstruct/restore the Acropolis since 2000 and the Parthenon is now covered in scaffolding with a huge crane set in the middle of the temple.  Huge rocks are being hauled into place again after all this time and craftsman are carefully restoring the site.  Unfortunately that takes away from the forlorn beauty of the place and adds to the crush of tourists.   The footing is somewhat perilous. The Acropolis is limestone worn smooth ( i.e. slippery) by millions of feet.  The views are spectacular.  

The reconstruction work has even uncovered some of the temples that stood before the “modern” Acropolis of the 5th century BC.  Many of the real artistic elements of the area have been carted away to either the Acropolis Museum or the National Archaeological Museum for display and safe-keeping.  Sadly, much of the original carved marble artwork that survived two and a half centuries of weathering and then a massive explosion during the Turkish-Venetian wars has now been lost to modern day pollution.  Moving it to the museum has saved what is left.  I enjoyed the Theater of Dionysos where performances still take place. We’ve seen other theaters on this trip but Athens is the birthplace of theater. This is where Thespis gave what is thought to be the first solo performance (hence, our word “thespian”).    

The Cruise line provided our lunch at a lovely hotel and again we were treated to many traditional Greek foods, of course that includes Greek styled coffee and baklava!

After lunch we spent an hour or so at the National Archaeological Museum, which houses splendid pieces of gold dating back to the period of the Minoans who traded with the Egyptians in the third millennium BC.  Some works were on display from even earlier than that.  Frankly, the visit was far too short to do justice to the museum.  We flew through the centuries of Greek and Roman art and saw perhaps 20 per cent of what was available.

We drove by the Greek Parliament on the way back to the Temple of Olympian Zeus near the base of the Acropolis. Building of the Temple started in 6th century BC and wasn’t finished until 131 AD under the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who seems to have been a popular philantropist.  Hadrian’s Arch, which was erected by the Athenians themselves to honor Hadrian for his generosity (or at least not destroying the city) stands nearby.

We stopped briefly for a photo opportunity at the great Panathenaic Stadium. Originally built in the 4th century BC, it was rebuilt in 141 AD and restored with new marble for the first modern Olympics in in 1896.  The 2004 Olympic Marathon finished there - in fact there is an annual marathon that finishes at the Panathenaic Stadium, something to add to my son-in-law Jake’s “bucket list”.  

I did manage a bit of shopping at the central market at the edge of the ancient agora near an old Byzantine Church.  There were several gypsies there attempting to do two things, sell you their goods and distract you with the bargaining so that their partner might have the chance to pickpocket you.

Day 8; Sunday, July 28, 2013  Mykonos/Delos
Link to Day 8 Mykonos and Delos Photographs 

The excursions have generally been scheduled for first thing in the morning.  This is a good thing!  The mornings are cooler and we get back to the ship in the mid-afternoon and are able to enjoy a swim and read quietly for a couple of hours before thinking about another meal.  We started the day at 7:30 am and took a ferry from Mykonos to the small island of Delos.  Delos is now uninhabited - but from 3000 BC to about 88 BC it was very prosperous.  Delos is thought to be the birthplace of Apollo, god of the sun, music, beauty and light and his twin Artemis, goddess of the moon.  So it had religious significance (no one was allowed to be born or die there), well as being the center of trade activity. Excavation in the 19th century uncovered mosaics, statues, temples and tons of artifacts.  In fact, they found so much, that the entire island has been declared a National Museum!  It was very windy there and after spending a couple of hours with a very knowledgable tour guide, we boarded our ferry back to Mykonos.

All of the homes in Mykonos are painted white - the streets are very narrow, only wide enough for two people to pass.  Some of the streets were also painted white.  In combination, the village was breezy and relatively cool.  We shopped for a bit, stopped in several small churches (that were about as large as some family mausoleums) and photographed the windmills that were built here in the 16th century.  We had a wonderful lunch on the seashore, overlooking the turquoise sea and watching the restaurant owner draw in customers by recognizing the likely nationality of the tourists.  He would greet them in their language (he must have spoken at least half dozen), giving everyone the impression that he had been waiting for them, that he had saved them a table and was so glad they had finally arrived.  The guy would be an asset in any restaurant anywhere in the world!  It helped that the beer was cold and the food was delicious.  We also watched the local police bring in a tourist who looked to have been in a fight.  Later, on board our ship, we asked “what happens to tourists who are arrested?”  The crew member merely said, “Well, we don’t wait for them.”

The cruise line has a professional staff of photographers on board and we had formal portraits taken - the proofs looked so good that we decided to get a set.

Day 7; Saturday, July 27, 2013 Kusadasi and Turkish Carpet Dealers
Link to Day 7 Kusadasi and Ephesus Photographs

Charles is writing the blog today.  Kathy will be editing this one - a reversal of our usual roles.

This was the first morning for which we requested an early wake-up call.  We awakened to the morning sun streaming into our cabin and the ship’s arrival into the beautiful Kusadasi, Turkey.  Because of our somewhat tight schedule, we ordered a room service breakfast and drank our coffee on our balcony as the ship came into port.  Room service proved a bit of a let down after the superb meals we have eaten throughout the cruise.  The coffee was hot and arrived on time, but tomorrow I think we’ll return to the cafeteria.

We continue to be pleasantly surprised by the efficiency of the Princess crew in getting everyone organized off the ship and to their appropriate tour.  Today we were on Red Bus 1 and were off into the city just after 8:00 AM.  The tour guide spoke excellent English and was a great spokesperson for his region.  We had a few folks on the bus who should have read the description of long walks and steep climbs beneath the hot Mediterranean sun just a little more carefully, but the guide pleasantly recommended that they sit out the more difficult stops.

The ancient port city of Ephesus is now more than a mile and a half in from the sea.  The Meander river has built up a rich silty delta that has buried the port at least three times in ancient history.  The region is also prone to earthquakes which toppled Ephesus and forced rebuilding multiple times.  Today, Ephesus is a ruin, but the ancient city of a quarter million inhabitants still reflects the glories of its past.  Hittites, Greeks, Romans, and Turks have all lived here and helped shape the culture.  Currently the only inhabitants of Ephesus is a colony of feral cats - they are everywhere and not at all afraid of the tourists!

Our first tour stop was the “House of Mary” high on a hill overlooking the ancient city.  The “Dormition of Mary” is a well-known legend in the Eastern Church, but less well-known in the West.  St. John is said to have travelled to Ephesus with the mother of the Lord and built a house there.  The ruined foundations of the current “House of Mary” were the site of an annual pilgrimage and prayers on August 15th at least since the 4th century.  Modern excavation of the site uncovered the 1st century foundations of a house and a small church was then built on the original foundations.  Mary is honored at the site by both Christian and Muslims.  A bustling tourist trap is down from the shrine, but the site itself is quite prayerful and quiet.  There is a small prayer garden, votive candles, springs of water, and a prayer wall.  This site also featured clean rest rooms, a pleasant surprise.

Charles points out that several other cities including Antioch claim that they were the site where Mary lived prior to her Assumption into Heaven.  The fact that neither St. Paul, St. Luke, nor even Ignatius of Antioch (110 AD) mention Mary being in Ephesus is a strike against the Ephesus legend.  Still, several miracles are associated with the site and the Catholic Church describes the case as “worthy of belief”.  (Paul VI and John Paul II have prayed at the site.)  When a massive forest fire threatened the area around Ephesus some years ago, both Christian and Muslim inhabitants prayed through the night at the shrine.  The winds shifted and the residents were saved.  

St. John the Evangelist and St. Paul were prominent references for this tour.  We visited the great theatre in Ephesus in which St. Paul preached and saw where he was imprisoned after upsetting the silversmiths guild who made their living creating images of Artemis.  We also visited the ancient Basillica of St. John where John is said to have been buried.

It wasn’t all Christian pilgrimage today.  Not at all.  In fact we visited the brothels of Ephesus that were connected by tunnel to the third largest library in the ancient world. We saw the one remaining pillar from the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  We enjoyed the ruins of other temples including those of the Roman emperors Domitian and Hadrian.  We passed through the gate of Hercules and toured both shops and homes for the famous and not so famous citizens of the ancient city.

The most phenomenal part of the tour was a walk through the Roman era terrace homes of Ephesus.  The city was so rich that the streets were paved in marble and decorated with rich mosaics.  So too were the homes we visited where frescoes seemed as fresh as they must have looked 1800 years ago.  Indoor plumbing, fountains, and clever engineering made these homes into palaces well worth visiting.

After a couple of hours walking about Ephesus, we again boarded the bus to view the remains of a castle and the Basillica’s ruins before heading back to Kusadasi and lunch.  We were entertained by young Turkish dancers, fed a selection of Turkish appetizers, skewered meats, fresh fruit and desserts.  We then whisked off to a carpet showroom near the peer.  We saw silk drawn from silk worm cocoons and a young woman tying a traditional Turkish carpet by hand, knot by knot.  Then came the hard sell which included a free drink - one small sip of a Turkish traditional drink that was flavored by anise cause such a reaction that we hope to now find some for at least one son-in-law!  Oh, they were lovely carpets and a fraction of U.S. prices, but well beyond our travel budget.  If you ever want to buy a real Turkish carpet, you could fly to Ephesus, buy the carpet, and then cruise for several days on the price difference.  The price even includes shipping to your home and payment of all taxes.

By the time we returned to the ship, it was time for a drink, a swim, and a chance to read our books for a while.  When the ship began to weigh anchor, we weighed anchor ourselves and moved into the hot tubs for just a little more recovery time.  Ah, it is a hard life.

Reality check - Kathy has started a couple of loads of laundry in the on-board coin-operated laundry.  That’s why I’m writing this blog today.  In a just a little while, we’ll be off to a lovely dinner and then a show before bedtime.  Tomorrow we shall be in Mykonos/Delos, birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.  

Day 6; Friday July 26, 2013 Santorini

Day 6;  Friday July 26, 2013 Santorini
Link to Day 6 Santorini Photographs

We harbored in Santorini early in the morning and found ourselves surrounded by islands that were once joined together - until a massive volcanic eruption sometime before 1600 BC.  The area has been the home to Minoans, Egyptians, Romans, Turks, and Venetians!  From the coast, we were given three options for getting from the shore to the city; walking, donkey or cable car … we took the cable car up the 700 vertical feet!  The city itself was exactly as I would imagine Herculaneum 2000 years ago.  Narrow, cobblestone streets, busy shops, and crowds of tourists from around the world shopping for the perfect gift.  We found several things to take back for our daughters and grandchildren.  The line for the cable car down promised to be over an hour wait, so we braved it, and walked the mile and a half (700 “vertical” feet) of rough-hewn basalt rock path down to the port - dodging the donkeys - and the inevitable result of “beasts of burden”.  As we over heard one 4 year old observe “ They squeeze their bottoms and the poop comes out”’  Obviously a brilliant and well-travel young woman!

Tonight we are dining alfresco at the adult pool at the stern of our ship.  We have been promised a brilliant sunset as we leave Santorini.  I don’t know about that yet, but we have been drinking libations to the ancient Greek goddess of the volcano that guards this place. And yes, an approaching sunset amongst the Greek Isles in the Aegean Sea, with the person you vowed to share your life with, is romantic - and highly recommended.

Day 5:  Thursday, July 25, 2013 At Sea & Wine Tasting



This was a full day at sea and we took full advantage of the ship and all it had to offer.  We went to the “adult pool” which was much quieter and more relaxing for people of “a certain age”.  One of the day’s “educational” offerings was an afternoon of wine tasting.  Presented by the ship’s chief somalier.  We “suffered” through this event not for ourselves, of course, but for our daughters, who appreciate fine wines, and for my niece, Becky (who is in the business of wine) but especially for my daughter Meghan who is stocking a new wine cellar.  We rose to the occasion and were forced to drink:

1. Nicolas Feuillate, Brut, Chouilly, France
2. Chablis, Premier Cru, Laboure-roi, Coute de Beaune, France
3. Pinot Grigio Santa Margherita D.O.C, Tretino-Alto Adige, Italy
4. Brunello Di Montalcino D.O.C.G. Palazzo, Toscana, Italy
5. Ferrai-carano, Sonoma County, California
6. Robert Mondavi Special Reserve, Napa Valley, California

All the wines were served with appropriate and delicious hors d’ouvres.

There is a second opportunity to attend a wine tasting later on in the cruise.  We plan to take advantage of that opportunity as well!  As we have always promised our daughters, “Anytime, any place, any reason”!

One thing we’ve realized … at the point where one of us becomes a widow or widower, it would be wise (within about a year or so) to take a cruise among the Greek Islands.  There are plenty of widows and widowers - as well as those recently divorced - to entertain you.  Well-traveled and well-educated; interesting and excellent conversationalists.  Nothing more needs to be said.  ; - D

The evening was “formal night” - so we dressed up, had formal photos taken and enjoyed a marvelous dinner with a couple from Scotland and another couple from New Zealand.  English is a marvelously adaptable language, attempting to be universal, not always easily understood!