Thank you Char!!! There is so much to say.....
First this the letter I sent my friends and family this morning:
I knew that 3 days in Athens would not be enough, but I had no idea how comfortable I would feel being there. It probably helps that many people speak at least a few words of English, and that restaurants with great food are always near by. But it’s there’s something about the atmosphere that just made it bittersweet to leave.
Phil was able to get into a vacation state of mind almost immediately, and it usually takes several days for that to happen. Instead, I am the one who needs to unwind, but that is happening.
We had crummy weather in Athens, but the rain didn’t dampen our trip at all. We got there on Wed, met our driver, and set up a tour for the next day to see the major sites, I had planned for us to do most of this on our own, but it is probably just as well that we had a driver, because this way we got up earlier than we would have normally, and got to get to see quite a lot despite the rain. Our driver also took us up to a hill over Athens, to get some great views for pictures. He was upset that is was raining, because “Athens without sun is terrible!”
In addition to the Acropolis with the Parthenon and ruins, we went to the Panathenic Stadium - built for the 1896 Olympics and where the Olympic torch is lit for each of the games, the remains of the temple for Zeus in the old Roman area next to Hadrian’s Gate, and the new Acropolis museum. The museum is fantastic. It is set up just like the Parthenon, with respect to dimensions and is easy to get around.
For our second day, we took a tour outside of Athens down to the Peloponnese peninsula. Rain made some things harder to do in the morning, but at least we didn’t get the hail that they had in Athens! We visited Corinth, which is an old Greek and Roman city, but also the site of a neat canal, Epidaurus, which served as a medical spa in ancient Greek times, Mycenae, where there are some of the oldest ruins in Greece, and Nauplion, which is where Greeks started their revolt against the Ottoman empire back in the early 1800’s. It is now a vacation town, and we could see why. It has beaches, great views, good restaurants, and it’s not too far from Athens. After Greece got its independence, the first government was started there, and some of those building are still used. There is also a huge fort built by the Venetians on top of a cliff there. Phil climbed all over it like a mountain goat, and decided it had a very weird plan, since it has bastions for the guns pointing inward.
Yesterday we got to take in 2 museums before leaving for our ship. Both the Byzantine and Military museums are well done, and had some good exhibits.
The port of Piraeus, where we met our ship, is closer to Athens than Galveston is to Houston, and we had the same driver take us to the pier. He gave us a bottle of Greek wine as a going away gift and we were charmed. We really liked him too.
Our ship is the Rotterdam, and while it has some old styling, it has lots of modern conveniences, most important of which is internet in our cabin. Last night, we met the other people at our dinner table. We are at a table for 6, and all 3 couples have a Jewish wife and a Christian husband. We don’t know how the cruise line managed that. One of the other women wants us to be a trivia team, so we should all get along very well.
Phil stayed up late last night to watch the Texas-Oklahoma game, and to listen to the Univ. Houston game. He is sleeping late today, but since we are in Rhodes, I need to wake him soon to make sure we don’t miss this great port.
We are having a great time so far, and I could write so much more. But I thought this was enough for starters. More later!
@ Yonnie - I met the Captain last night at the suite welcome reception. His name is Rik Krombeen. Do you know him?
@ Sheila - I had Mango Gazpacho at dinner last night. It was not too spicy and it was Very Good.
And now for the stuff cruisers want to know:
There are constant announcements about washing hands,etc. During the fire drill the Capt. asked us to refrain from shaking hands, and recommended we hug and kiss instead. All invites so far include the words: "For health reasons, we ask you to refrain from shaking hands." I think that the big plus for this stand is that people will think more often about making sure they are careful about germs.
The manicurist missed the ship yesterday, so it is complicating things in the salon.
I went for the morning walk earlier and got to meet Patti Honacki, the Cruise Director. Dam Dollars have gone away!!! They are starting a new program, the Lifestyle Program, and have a special Lifestyle Coordinator who came onboard yesterday. She will start her stuff tomorrow. Apparently, there will still be prizes, but they will be earned differently. There was a Yoga class today, and that is supposed to also be part of her emphasis.
I will write more about today's port stop, Rhodes, later. I have to start getting ready for dinner now. But please ask questions. I love finding out things.
DH hogged the computer tonight, so I still need to put together info/notes about Rhodes. Tomorrow is Antalya, which is a great jumping off town to see some old Roman towns, and a typical Turkish town. But since this is such a hectic itinerary, and we have seen LOTS of Roman stuff and have been been to Turkey before, we plan to take it easy tomorrow.
Trivia was supposed to be hard today, but we were in town so we missed it. Since they are doing it every day at 3:30, and we will have all aboard tomorrow at that time, I plan to make it to trivia then.
No morning walk tomorrow, but the Lifestyle events will be Tai Chi and an Evening Stroll. My complaint last cruise that the morning walk always took place at 9, and most port tours left before then. Don't get how they can schedule an evening walk during dinner! (It's at 6:30!)
Still no word on replacing the missing manicurist.
They sent out a survey today for us to let them know our disembarkment plans for Rome. What a bummer! Don't remind me that this vacation will end!!
Thanks for keeping us up-to-date. We will be stopping for the day in Athens on our December cruise. We will see the new museum. Is that the same one you saw? We will also stop at a great wine bar for some tasting. I look forward to your report on Rhodes as we will stop there also. We spent 2 weeks in Turkey and although it has lots of historic interests it is not our favorite vacation spot. Lee
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Live from the Rotterdam Oct. 17, 2009 Athens to Rome
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Hi Mindy! Glad you're enjoying your cruise! 
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