ATHENS, GREECE
September 27, 2012
PIRAEUS is the port city if you want to book a cruise on Royal Caribbean for an Athens visit. It was here that we were put ashore and gathered together in a tour bus for a tour called, "A TASTE OF ATHENS". Our guide pointed out many notable places and explained the culture of Athens as we rode along. It was a 7 mile drive to Athens from Piraeus, and there was much to see.
We headed for The Acropolis. The bus stopped in the designated area and we walked the many marble steps of the ancient walkway to get to the top where restoration of the majestic Acropolis stands on the highest point on the hill. Other such magnificent structures were also being renovated and uncovered. Much work is yet to be done. In its day, it must have been a magnificent sight to behold!
We took a walk over and stood on top of Mars Hill, where Paul addressed the people more than 2000 years ago. It was strange to know we stood near where he stood and walked the Marble paths that he walked. It was touching. Our imaginations raced ahead of us! Large Marble stones were put down making a unique Cobblestone walkway. They were polished slick by the thousands of tourists and visitors coming here year after year.
We returned to a place downtown near the Monument of Lysicrates, where we were given about 3 hours of shopping/gawking time in the narrow streets of Athens. We stopped in a sidewalk cafe and tasted some Greek Cuisine. We visited some of the shops and bought a few trinkets that we just couldn't do without.
As we strolled alone, I spotted a couple of cute children's outfits and was trying to read what was printed on the shirt, when a Greek man hustled over to me and said, "How old your children". I said, "Say what?". He said again, "Your little children, how old?". I said, "I don't have any little children". He abruptly turned away, rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders and mumbled something in a foreign language as he walked away. Ha Ha!
After walking around and snapping off a few pics, we headed back to our rendezvous point with Tour Bus #4 for a ride back to our ship. we are relaxing for a little while. It will be dinner time in a couple of hours. That's about the same time that we head back out to se and tour next Port of Call, CRETE.
It was a good day!
P. S. Pics will follow later. Gotta go take out a bank Loan to finance Wifi.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
ANCIENT EPHESUS
EPHESUS
September 26, 2012
Today was a day spent sightseeing part of Turkey. We took a guided tour to Ancient Ephesus! What an awesome place! The area is still being excavated and new discoveries abound. Many stones have been found from an ancient city once destroyed by people and earthquakes.
It was inspiring to walk the same cobblestone street where Paul and other Christians lived, worked and taught. One can only imagine the beauty of this place as it once stood in the first century. One of the strangest parts is that Ephesus was once a seaport city. Today, the sea is 6 miles away!
After we returned to Kusadasi near our ship, we took a tour of a dealer of Persian rugs. It was very interesting! The rugs were professionally made by hand weavers from various types of wool, silk, and a combination of wool and silk. It is said that some of the rugs would take several people over two years to complete. I'm sure that the intense labor is the driving force behind the price of these rugs, yet the material is also costly!
Next we stopped in a leather goods shop. Turkey is noted for rugs, jewelry and leather coats. Nancy bought a red leather jacket and I bought a dark, reversible leather jacket.
Strolling down the mall, with shops on either side, you can barely imagine how many times someone tries to hard sell to you! It is relentless! One behind another selling rugs, purses, shoes, shirts, hats, leather works and food. I told one young man at a jewelry shop, as we walked by, "Please don't let our women see this store!". As we turned around later and walked by his store, he made a point to tell Debby to look at his store; that it was my idea! Ha Ha!
Soon, Ron and I had had enough and we decided to return to our ship and get some lunch. The girls wanted to do more shopping before they came back on board.
Had another great dinner tonight right after the ship began to pull away from town. Now we are readying ourselves for our next port excursion into Athens tomorrow.
September 26, 2012
Today was a day spent sightseeing part of Turkey. We took a guided tour to Ancient Ephesus! What an awesome place! The area is still being excavated and new discoveries abound. Many stones have been found from an ancient city once destroyed by people and earthquakes.
It was inspiring to walk the same cobblestone street where Paul and other Christians lived, worked and taught. One can only imagine the beauty of this place as it once stood in the first century. One of the strangest parts is that Ephesus was once a seaport city. Today, the sea is 6 miles away!
After we returned to Kusadasi near our ship, we took a tour of a dealer of Persian rugs. It was very interesting! The rugs were professionally made by hand weavers from various types of wool, silk, and a combination of wool and silk. It is said that some of the rugs would take several people over two years to complete. I'm sure that the intense labor is the driving force behind the price of these rugs, yet the material is also costly!
Next we stopped in a leather goods shop. Turkey is noted for rugs, jewelry and leather coats. Nancy bought a red leather jacket and I bought a dark, reversible leather jacket.
Strolling down the mall, with shops on either side, you can barely imagine how many times someone tries to hard sell to you! It is relentless! One behind another selling rugs, purses, shoes, shirts, hats, leather works and food. I told one young man at a jewelry shop, as we walked by, "Please don't let our women see this store!". As we turned around later and walked by his store, he made a point to tell Debby to look at his store; that it was my idea! Ha Ha!
Soon, Ron and I had had enough and we decided to return to our ship and get some lunch. The girls wanted to do more shopping before they came back on board.
Had another great dinner tonight right after the ship began to pull away from town. Now we are readying ourselves for our next port excursion into Athens tomorrow.
Navigator of the Seas.
NAVIGATOR OF THE SEA
We are sailing across a stretch of some of the most beautiful blue water in the world! Our Royal Caribbean cruise ship is called NAVIGATOR OF THE SEA. Debby and I are in room 7610, the middle of the middle. We have a room on the outside with a suitable balcony on the 7th floor. The large glass doors provide oceanside views of the Mediterranean Sea from any place in our room except the bathroom! Ron and Nancy have a room like ours but on the right side of the ship. Between us is the ships' library. Debby salivates every time she walks through it!
There are several places to eat meals; all of them are free. The WINDJAMMER Restaurant, located on the 11th floor, offers a very large dining area and 5 or 6 Buffet tables where you can find pretty much whatever kind of food you like. Our evening meals are in a more formal dining room on the 3rd floor. We are given a menu and we can order anything we want from that menu. My Salmon filet last night was very good! Nancy also had the Salmon, while Ron enjoyed a Steak, and Debby, the grilled pork medallions. The first night we had Prime Rib. The food has been very good!
There are several places outside the dining experiences where we can order cold sandwiches,desserts and cookies. All food items are free with a few exceptions. There are some speciality foods that cost extra but we haven't spent any extra money on food yet!
The Cruise people really push the sales of beer, wine and mixed drinks because that's where they make their money. Soft drinks, too! But they aren't making it from us! Well, I'm not totally certain about Flat Stanley!
We docked in Sicily yesterday and spent a few hours downtown looking around. It looks much like any other Italian town we've visited. It was a great day and we enjoyed the visit. The big clock in the town square was cool. At high noon it starts with the big golden lion tipping back his and growling very very loudly! This went on for 3 times. That was followed by the big golden Rooster crowing 3 times. After that, some golden statues began moving around as music played. The whole thing lasted to 12:12. The square was crowded; lots of people wanted to see it.
We returned to the ship early enough to catch a nap and rest a bit before our 6:00 PM dinner. The ship started moving again about 6:30. We have traveled all night and all of today ( so far). We are scheduled to be in a port tomorrow mid-morning.
Dining has been casual dress the past two days, however, tonight we are to dress formally for dinner. That should be fun! That happens in an hour. Why, we might even get to meet the Captain! If we are lucky, we might get our picture taken with him! Now ain't that a kick in the head!
We are sailing across a stretch of some of the most beautiful blue water in the world! Our Royal Caribbean cruise ship is called NAVIGATOR OF THE SEA. Debby and I are in room 7610, the middle of the middle. We have a room on the outside with a suitable balcony on the 7th floor. The large glass doors provide oceanside views of the Mediterranean Sea from any place in our room except the bathroom! Ron and Nancy have a room like ours but on the right side of the ship. Between us is the ships' library. Debby salivates every time she walks through it!
There are several places to eat meals; all of them are free. The WINDJAMMER Restaurant, located on the 11th floor, offers a very large dining area and 5 or 6 Buffet tables where you can find pretty much whatever kind of food you like. Our evening meals are in a more formal dining room on the 3rd floor. We are given a menu and we can order anything we want from that menu. My Salmon filet last night was very good! Nancy also had the Salmon, while Ron enjoyed a Steak, and Debby, the grilled pork medallions. The first night we had Prime Rib. The food has been very good!
There are several places outside the dining experiences where we can order cold sandwiches,desserts and cookies. All food items are free with a few exceptions. There are some speciality foods that cost extra but we haven't spent any extra money on food yet!
The Cruise people really push the sales of beer, wine and mixed drinks because that's where they make their money. Soft drinks, too! But they aren't making it from us! Well, I'm not totally certain about Flat Stanley!
We docked in Sicily yesterday and spent a few hours downtown looking around. It looks much like any other Italian town we've visited. It was a great day and we enjoyed the visit. The big clock in the town square was cool. At high noon it starts with the big golden lion tipping back his and growling very very loudly! This went on for 3 times. That was followed by the big golden Rooster crowing 3 times. After that, some golden statues began moving around as music played. The whole thing lasted to 12:12. The square was crowded; lots of people wanted to see it.
We returned to the ship early enough to catch a nap and rest a bit before our 6:00 PM dinner. The ship started moving again about 6:30. We have traveled all night and all of today ( so far). We are scheduled to be in a port tomorrow mid-morning.
Dining has been casual dress the past two days, however, tonight we are to dress formally for dinner. That should be fun! That happens in an hour. Why, we might even get to meet the Captain! If we are lucky, we might get our picture taken with him! Now ain't that a kick in the head!
Monday, September 24, 2012
SICILY
Cruised all night. Had a great breakfast this morning in the Windjammer. We docked in Messina this morning and walked around town. It's very similar to most other Italian cities. We sail again at 6:00 PM.
Having a good time. The ship has nearly everything you could want (except our grand kids!).
Having a good time. The ship has nearly everything you could want (except our grand kids!).
Rome to Civitavecchia
Traveling from ROME to CIVITAVECCHIA
If you can say that, you're NOT from Arkansas!
We left Roma about 0800 this morning for the train station. We lugged our luggage out to the nearest main street, flagged down a Taxi and had him drop us at the station. Our driver was an old man who had been an auto mechanic for 20 years and a taxi driver for 30 years after that! I got the feeling that he enjoyed driving fast and seeing how close he could come to pedestrians without actually running them down! He laughed occasionally.
It only took us minutes to board our train to Civitavecchia where we hopped a shuttle bus and were dropped at the cruise ship processing station. We deposited our luggage with them and went to a separate window to process our paperwork. They snapped a couple of photos and let us on board.
We went to the Windjammer Restaurant buffet and pigged out. After lunch we were allowed to enter our rooms. The room is very nice; small, but nice! We have a balcony unit in the center of the ship on the 7th floor. We walked around and checked out the ship. It's very nice!
We had a drill...an emergency drill and learned about donning the life vests and manning the life boats. We watched as the Captain pulled the big ship out into the ocean. This thing is HUGE!
We went downstairs to our dining room and had a great dinner! It was ALL good!
If you can say that, you're NOT from Arkansas!
We left Roma about 0800 this morning for the train station. We lugged our luggage out to the nearest main street, flagged down a Taxi and had him drop us at the station. Our driver was an old man who had been an auto mechanic for 20 years and a taxi driver for 30 years after that! I got the feeling that he enjoyed driving fast and seeing how close he could come to pedestrians without actually running them down! He laughed occasionally.
It only took us minutes to board our train to Civitavecchia where we hopped a shuttle bus and were dropped at the cruise ship processing station. We deposited our luggage with them and went to a separate window to process our paperwork. They snapped a couple of photos and let us on board.
We went to the Windjammer Restaurant buffet and pigged out. After lunch we were allowed to enter our rooms. The room is very nice; small, but nice! We have a balcony unit in the center of the ship on the 7th floor. We walked around and checked out the ship. It's very nice!
We had a drill...an emergency drill and learned about donning the life vests and manning the life boats. We watched as the Captain pulled the big ship out into the ocean. This thing is HUGE!
We went downstairs to our dining room and had a great dinner! It was ALL good!
Saturday, September 22, 2012
ROME
ROME, ITALY
September 22, 2012
Up and at 'em but not too early today; heading out for a little bit of sight seeing. We are staying in a roomy apartment in the center of old downtown just minutes away from the Colosseum, the Vatican and the Piazza Navona. Had a delicious dinner in the Piazza last night.
We made a trip to the Post Office this morning before we went too far away. That was exciting! You have to push a button on the door jam. The door opens and is big enough for four people to crowd in. That's as far as you go until the door completely closes; then the interior door opens and you walk in past a scanner. Then you take a number for packages, or a different number for paying utility bills. It's slow and crowed, so don't forget to respond when your number is called, else you start all over! Then there's the language barrier. But we did it!
Our first stop was within walking distance; Vatican City. There were a lot of people there so we didn't want to stand in lines for tours. We just looked around, snapped a few pictures and left. We had been here 6 years ago and the Pope snubbed us, so we didn't want to even let him know we were here!
The next ordeal was figuring out the Bus system. But we did it and off we go! We got off near the Colosseum and the girls wanted to go shopping to buy pedal pushers or something and to see if they could get a toe nail job. They ended up getting lost and had a British girl hold their hands and deliver them back to the square. But I will let them tell that story!
Ron and I went to the Colosseum to look around. We decided the growling noise we heard was our stomachs whining about lunch! Well, it was going on 1:00 so we stopped at a little Italian roach coach. I grabbed a bread sandwich with a little cheese and tomato on it. Ron had something similar. We ordered a little bottle of Coke to drink but they wanted over $5.00 for one. We decided to skip the Coke!
We finished our lunch and headed for the Colosseum Didn't find anyone there who remembered us from the last time we were there, so we paid the 12 Euros and went inside. Not much had changed from when we saw it last. Nothing had been cleaned up or remodeled. They still had stairways and areas blocked off as before. Everything still looked 1500 years old!
After we saw everything we headed back down to our meeting place to pick up the girls. They showed up right on time!
Back to the apartment for dinner and packing for tomorrow's departure to our Cruise Boat!
September 22, 2012
Up and at 'em but not too early today; heading out for a little bit of sight seeing. We are staying in a roomy apartment in the center of old downtown just minutes away from the Colosseum, the Vatican and the Piazza Navona. Had a delicious dinner in the Piazza last night.
We made a trip to the Post Office this morning before we went too far away. That was exciting! You have to push a button on the door jam. The door opens and is big enough for four people to crowd in. That's as far as you go until the door completely closes; then the interior door opens and you walk in past a scanner. Then you take a number for packages, or a different number for paying utility bills. It's slow and crowed, so don't forget to respond when your number is called, else you start all over! Then there's the language barrier. But we did it!
Our first stop was within walking distance; Vatican City. There were a lot of people there so we didn't want to stand in lines for tours. We just looked around, snapped a few pictures and left. We had been here 6 years ago and the Pope snubbed us, so we didn't want to even let him know we were here!
The next ordeal was figuring out the Bus system. But we did it and off we go! We got off near the Colosseum and the girls wanted to go shopping to buy pedal pushers or something and to see if they could get a toe nail job. They ended up getting lost and had a British girl hold their hands and deliver them back to the square. But I will let them tell that story!
Ron and I went to the Colosseum to look around. We decided the growling noise we heard was our stomachs whining about lunch! Well, it was going on 1:00 so we stopped at a little Italian roach coach. I grabbed a bread sandwich with a little cheese and tomato on it. Ron had something similar. We ordered a little bottle of Coke to drink but they wanted over $5.00 for one. We decided to skip the Coke!
We finished our lunch and headed for the Colosseum Didn't find anyone there who remembered us from the last time we were there, so we paid the 12 Euros and went inside. Not much had changed from when we saw it last. Nothing had been cleaned up or remodeled. They still had stairways and areas blocked off as before. Everything still looked 1500 years old!
After we saw everything we headed back down to our meeting place to pick up the girls. They showed up right on time!
Back to the apartment for dinner and packing for tomorrow's departure to our Cruise Boat!
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