Saturday 2^nd May 2015

At sea today, so a good chance for a sleep-in and to catch up on the blog. Also some retail therapy on board.

A little breezy today with a 25-knot southwesterly blowing and a 1metre swell.

Tonight is our last formal evening so we have to dress for dinner.  Our table steward told me last night that lobster would be on the menu this evening.

Friday 1^st May 2015

The ship dropped anchor at Santorini about 6:00am.

The weather is continuing to be kind and woke again this morning to a blue sky, a few clouds which are expected to clear latter in the morning and an expected maximum of 23°.  Another early start had a quick breakfast in the buffet and then met out tour group at 8:30am.

AS there is no dock facilities in Santorini large enough to cater for cruise ships, we were taken ashore in tenders. Once ashore we boarded a bus for the steep trip up the zigzag road to the top of the island. Once up the top we drove through Santorini’s capital, Fira, and then to the town of Oia. Magnificent views from here and the shops were wonderful.

Lynne at Oia 

View from the old Fort in Oia

View from Oia

We then re-boarded our bus and proceeded to a winery that produces wine from locally grown grapes and we were able to sample a few of the wines that were not that impressive.

ON the bus again heading for Fira, where, had about 2½ hours to wander around the shops and take photos.

We had lunch in a little restaurant overlooking the harbour, grilled octopus and Greek salad, wine for Lynne and beer for me. The meal was excellent and the view was magnificent.

We had three options to get back to the bottom of the mountain, walk, ride a donkey or catch the cable car. We chose the cable car, which took no time at all.

Once at the bottom we boarded the tender for the 10-minute trip back to the ship.

The ship sailed out of Santorini harbour at 5pm. Next port of call is Naples but we have a sea day in between to rest.

Dinner in the restaurant followed by a show in the theatre.

Thursday April 30^th 2015

Woke this morning to another magnificent day, clear blue sky, light breeze and expected maximum of 23°.

Early breakfast in the buffet then down to deck 3 to meet our tour group in the conference centre for an 8:45 am departure.

We boarded the bus at 9:00am and drove out of Piraeus (the port) heading for the centre of Athens. We thought the traffic in Australian cities was bad but it is nothing compared to Athens. It took at least 45 minutes to drive about 15 kms round the central part of the city. At least they appear to have road rules.

The trip took us past the Parliament and other lovely old buildings including the George Hotel where Sir Winston Churchill stayed when he was in Athens meeting with other Allied leaders during WWII. The first stop was for a photo opportunity at the Panathion Stadium. Built in 1896, it was the site of the first Olympiad of the modern era.

Panathion (Olympic Stadium)

The bus parked at the bottom of the hill leading up to the Acropolis. We began our climb up to the top, passing the Odeon of Herald Atticus Amphitheatre. Built in the 2^nd century AD, it has been reconstructed and is used during the summer to host Athens Festival performances.  The Three Tenors. Pavarotti and Frank Sinatra, to name just a few, have performed there.

Finally reached the top of the Acropolis, which consists of 4 ancient buildings – The Parthenon, The Temple of Athena Nike, The Erechtheion & The Propylaea.

The Acropolis was built during the peak of Greece’s golden age in the 5^th century BC and served as a military fortress and religious centre.

The Acropolis

The Parthenon

We then walked down to the Plaka (an old area of the city on the north slope of the Acropolis), which has many tourist shops and cafés. Had lunch in a lovely traditional Greek café -  grilled octopus, grilled ocean silver bream finished off with home made walnut cake with chocolate topping (yum!!) Washed down with a glass of wine for Lynne and I sampled one of the local beers, Santorini Black. We will have to do 6 laps of the deck when we get back aboard.

The bus dropped us back at the ship about 3:00pm and we sailed out of Piraeus harbour at 5:00pm heading for Santorini.