Skyros, Greece

Another beautiful town on the Greek island Skyros. Known for a Byzantine castle that protected the island ages ago, which also affords a nice view.

Since shipboard internet is slow & expensive I'm keeping the posts and photos to a minimum.

 

Mykonos, Greece

A shot of our clipper ship, and a few scenes of the gorgeous island (and port town) of Mykonos.

Debb bought a sundress from the lovely Lucas.

 

Last dinner in Athens

We had a lovely dinner tonight at a quaint restaurant housed in a 200-year-old building (new by Greek standards) high up on a hill.

The weather here is so perfect. Mild, no humidity ... California without the traffic and taxes! Well, maybe the taxes here ... and maybe the traffic too <sigh>.

Debb enjoys some Greek baklava for dessert.

"How was it?" "Fabulous!"

Still, we *had* to finish with some gelato!

 

Street Scenes

Fruit stand in Masakriaki Square

Debb buys some Greek coffee from Γεώργιος (George) at Coffee Island coffee roasters.

and a Greek "bagel" from astreetcart vendor.

Fresh meat ...

... and fish for sale at the farmer's market.

 

The Parthenon at night

Worth uploading, I thought. Hope you agree.

 

Athens: The Walking Tour

We spent most of today touring the neighborhoods of Athens with our sweet lovely guide Diana. More about culture and life here; less about ruins. Thus: A few neighborhood pics but not a lot of words ...

Though we did learn that every time a building gets built or renovated, they invariably unearth ancient Greek or Roman ruins and, by law, must build around the ruins and at the same time make the ruins visible to the public. As a result you can't walk this city without having an excellent feel for where the walls of the ancient city were located. These tombs are beneath the Zara department store. Patrons walk across the class ceiling every minute.

And, of course, the obligatory shot of Debb and her end-of-day reward: a local brew. Ahhh....!

 

Athens

Greece, not Georgia. We're taking a cruise out of Athens for two weeks, visiting many Greek isles as well as some ports in Bulgaria and Romania on the Black Sea. We *were* going to Istanbul, Turkey, as well but that was cancelled due to terrorist threats <sigh>.

We arrived in Athens a few days early, to get acclimated and see the famous sites. As always, adjusting to an eight-hour time zone difference is a struggle, but we down some caffeine at our hotel and head out into the city.

The view from the rooftop restaurant at the hotel: we can see the Acropolis (Greek for "big rock"???) and the Parthenon quite clearly in the distance....

... and later, up close and personal. It's exciting to see, given how historic it is.

We have a great midday lunch in an outdoor cafe nearby, sampling lots of tasty Greek foods. But now it's time to head back to the hotel for an early snooze -- need to catch up on missed Zzzzzz's.