Athens

Our first port of call was Athens, Greece. Athens is a sprawling city that goes on forever with lots of ancient Grecian temples everywhere. This was the only port where we participated in one of the ship's tours. We wanted to see the Acropolis. The Acropolis tour was amazing as it sits at one of the highest points in the city and you're able to see all of Athens from up there. The history of the place is also very cool.

At one point during the tour however, I was getting antsy as we were standing in the one spot hearing about an ancient theater where Pavarotti and the like now perform. There are olive trees everywhere and they give off a very strong odor. Being distracted, I decided to pick some fresh olives and try them as I really enjoy a good olive and what could be better than fresh from the tree. Much to my chagrin and my wife's amusement, I discovered that olives straight from the tree are downright nasty tasting - oh my goodness are they foul. And they stain your hands and clothes as well. After decending from the Acropolis, we found a small cafe where we got beers, a soda and this flaky cheese sandwich that was delicious. When others on the tour saw me with a beer, they too ventured out and found the cafe. Soon, lots of people were enjoying a refreshing Mythos.

After the Acropolis tour, we got dropped off in downtown Athens where the tour operators suggest you return to a specified spot so that you they can get you a taxi back to the ship. After a lovely Greek meal at a small restaurant, we started wandering down in the shopping district. We got quite a ways away when we found a train station. Rather than hoof it back up to the meeting spot, we decided to chance the train. My wife was very nervous that we would get lost and not make it back to the ship on time but she put her trust in me. The train was quick and took us back near the port. From there, we just kind of wandered our way around until we finally found familiar sites and knew we could make it back on time. I got to sample several Greek beers on the way back to the ship and we made it there in plenty of time.

Click on any of the thumbnail pictures below to see a larger version: