Europe – Day 13

Naples is the port we woke up in and it is our last port and last full day on the cruise.

Naples is a huge industrial city and most people who visit, leave as soon as they can.  We have been here before so we chose to go back to the island of Capri which is about 1 hour off the coast.

We got off very early to catch the 8:30am hydrofoil boat to Capri and the boat which hold 662 people was jammed full in its 3 decks. 

When we arrived, we took the tram up half way up the mountain to the main town of Capri.  In Europe the island and the main town are often the same name.

From the town, we walked through the main walkway and through some beautiful gardens at the top.  At this point we were at the highest part and decided to tale the very winding walkway down to the other side of the island.

After about a 30 minute walk we reached the bottom and a very little tourist town with a number of very, very small beaches.  We ate lunch and then took the local bus back to the town of Capri. 

From the town, we wandered into the heart of the homes within the town and the streets were a total maze.  None of them you could drive a can on and it looked like a set from a movie.  We were lost for a little bit and finally came out in an area that we knew.

Then we took a local bus back down to the main port, walked around looking at the tourist shops and took the hydrofoil back to Naples.

There was no reason to go into Naples so we boarded the ship at about 4:30pm and went up to the buffet and picked out some snacks and sat on our balcony eating and watching the people get on.

Then we packed – UGH!   All packed, we watched the ship sail away and it was time for a nap.

We talked over our balconies with Jeff and Vera who brought us back a very special Christmas ornament – what a special couple they are and we are proud to call them our friends.  We have had such a good time with them and Barbara and David.

After a nap, we got ready and went out to pick up our pictures from the trip and then went to the casino to play a session where Ed was up a little and Barb just cheered.

Dinner was sad for the last night, but we know we will be back and it is time to go home to our family.

Our last stop for the evening was the casino where Ed down a little and Barb was up.

For the trip, in the casino, both Barb and Ed were up so it was a success.

A very special trip with old friends Jeff and Vera and new friends Barbara and David – we are blessed in knowing them.

See everyone at home – night.

Ed's first snack on Capri

Typical shop

The walkway to the beach on the other side of the island

This is where we are going

The end of the walk - the start is at the peak in the center of the picture

Down at the sea

Shops in the harbor of Capri

Part of the harbor

Europe – Day 12

This was our second day at sea and when we awoke it was a picture perfect day.  The sky was clear, the water was smooth and by 10am the tempteture was wonderful.

We were going to eat healthy and go to the Aqua-Spa for lunch but we got there too early so we went back upstairs on the deck and had lunch from the grill. 

We stayed on the deck in the sun until 1:30pm when it was time to clean up and go to the blackjack tournament.

Ed won!!!  The final hand came down three people and Ed was able to bet last.  He followed a person that who was really nice, Stephanie and we had played with several nights at blackjack.  On the last hand, she got a blackjack and the only way Ed could beat her is to double his hand, which was an 8, he did and won!  Another genuine 24 caret plastic trophy.

Then we walked around, picked out our pictures from last night, ate a little snack and took a nap.

After our nap, it was time to dress for formal night.

As always, Barb was stunning and we went first to take some formal pictures and then onto the casino where Ed was down and Barb didn’t play.

Dinner on the last formal night is always great and Barb had lobster and lamb and then Ed had Beef Wellington, of course.

Next was the casino where Ed was up a little and Barb broke even.

Tomorrow we arrive at our last stop, Naples where we have been several times before so we will take the hydrofoil to Capri.

Night for now.

The girls of the casino - Vera, Annettte - Mgt, Andrea - Host, Barb and Barbara

Last night - WOW!! This is a Great Grandmother!!

Pool deck early in the morning

Barb's lobster

A great table
In back are old friends Jeff and Vera and on the right are new friends Barbara and David
What a fun table and great blackjack partners.

Stephanie in 2nd place, Vera, the dealer, Ed and Andrea our Casino Host

Europe – Day 11

We went to bed and got up early because yesterday we did not have enough time to really enjoy the island.  Today we hoped to sightsee, shop and then go to one of the many beaches and just relax. 

It is an old volcanic island and was first inhabited in 3,000 BC.  It is listed as one of the tope 3 destinations in Greece, behind Santorini and Athens, both of which we have just visited.  It is also the most popular Greek Island in the Aegean Sea and is the original party island with all of its beaches.

Finally the October weather caught up with us because when we woke up it was 63 and had just been raining a little.  The forecast was for clearing sky and tempteture up to 68.

We took a chance and packed beach towels and set out to visit the only town on the island.

We found that this was a beautiful island and flat as opposed to Santorini yesterday.  The streets are cobblestone and 99% of the buildings are white, just like a post card.

Then the rains came and washed away our plans for the beach.  We had also packed two umbrellas so we continued to walk the streets, but we did get wet. 

We also visited some of the Greek churches and they are very beautiful inside but very, very small.

We had a snack at a pastry shop and then lunch at a neat little restaurant all while trying to stay dry, which we didn’t!

About 1, it stopped raining and by 2 we were ready to go back to the ship as the winds picked up and the tempteture never did get high enough for us to go to the beach.

So, after we got back on the ship, we spent a couple of hours on the deck in the sun soaking up the rays.

After we came back to the ship of course we did our usual:

1. Relaxed on our deck
2. Cleaned up
3. Took a nap
4. Walked around
5. Played in the casino
6. Picked out pictures
7. Ate dinner
8. Second session in the casino
9. Went to bed late

A very predictable schedule, but what a lot of fun we are having.  Barb is still feeling the symptoms of being sick but is pushing through and hopefully she will be totally well soon.

The casino was a really bright spot tonight with Barb winning $1,000.00 and Ed was really down and then split 8’s and drew another 8 with a double so it was an $800 hand.

Tomorrow is a sea day and should be very relaxing and lets hope we get great weather so that we can be on deck getting some sun as the ship heads back towards Italy and sadly the end of our cruise – for this time.

Night from the sea.

Ed with his $3 umbrella from Rome

A snack - spinish pie

Lunch

Typical street

Windmills

They call this Venice in Greece

Lots of small churches like this one

The town

Europe – Day 10

WOW! That is all we could say when we woke up to beautiful Santorini, Greece.

The pictures do not do the view justice.  Right in front of us are huge cliffs, 750 feet tall with amazing start white building perched atop the cliffs.

Santorini is a small circular piece of volcanic island.  It is essentially what remains of an enormous volcanic explosion.  It has black-sand beaches, crystal-clear waters and whitewashed villages that cling to the volcanic cliffs to make this island a wonder to behold.

There are no large docks in Santorini so we had to use tenders to get to shore and that is always fun.

We had figured the best way to get to the towns that we wanted to visit so Jeff and Vera and David and Barbara all met outside our cabin at 9:30am to go on the tender to the island.

There we boarded a speedboat to take us up the coast to the town of Oia.  First the boat took us to a dock and then we boarded a bus for the final drive up a mountain and over the crest line to the town of Oia.  It was a spectacular view.

Oia is basically a one street town right along the ridge of the mountain, so we walked from the bus station up to the ridge and along the ridge from the old castle tower to a beautiful church.  After spending time in Oia, we boarded a bus to the town of Fira which overlooks the cruise ship area.

The only ways down to the port are the take the tram, ride a donkey or walk down over 588 steps.  These are also big steps and Barb took 5 of her steps for each of the paths steps!  It looked like about an hour+ wait for the tram so Barb walked down and Ed rode a donkey!!

The views on this island were maybe, just maybe the most spectacular we have ever seen, they were amazing to see the towns perched on top of these huge cliffs.

We took a tender back to the ship and then it was time to relax for the rest of the afternoon.  After a nap, we walked around and played a little blackjack.

Ed lost a little at blackjack before dinner and Barb just watched

Dinner was delightful and then it was back to the casino for our last session of the day where Ed didn’t do well and Barb didn’t either – but we are still ahead for the cruise and that is good!

Night for now – tomorrow Mykonos, Greece

Notice the zig-zag path up

The port with the town above it

View from the town - 750 feet up from the sea

Lunch with a view

The start of the steps down

Ed and his new friend!!

Europe – Day 9

If it is Wednesday, we must have landed at Rhodes, Greece.  This is a large island at 540 square miles with a population of 115,490 and 450 taxies and all of the taxies must be parked right outside our ship. 

We are docked outside the old city of Rhodes and the sight is amazing.  Rhodes is actually closer to Asia than to Greece and has been conquered by just about everyone over the course of its existence.  The old city is surrounded by an intact high wall and you enter through one of its several gates and it is like walking into a movie set.

The island is rich in history and legend.  Its major beginning was during the 7^th century BC when it flourished as a major trading center.  This was virtually the center of the world at that time.

We have been here before and have toured the island so today we are just going into the walled old city, shop and have fun for awhile and then go to the beach.

Rhodes averages over 300+ days of sunshine a year so it is a major tourist destination for Europeans during the summer.  It isn’t as busy today as it is in the summer, but there are still 3 cruise ships at the port.

This is the first port that Barb has not bought a scarf!!  We did purchase some nice Greek placemats and napkins for the kitchen table.

After visiting the town we walked for a little bit and then took a cab to the beach.  The sun was out nicely and we stayed there for a couple of hours before taking a cab back to the beach.

We went up to the top deck for some snacks and sat on our deck eating and watching people come back to the ship.

Then it was time for a nap, before getting ready for dinner.

We played in the casino before dinner and Ed played for 1/2 hour and was up and Barb was also up.    

Tonight we are back in the main dinning room and that is just fine because the food has always been wonderful.  We had another couple join us who were also on the cruise because of the casino and they were from Pittsburg and he is an attorney.

After dinner, we skipped the show and went to the casino to close out the night and Ed played 2 hours and was event and Barb was down a little is all – so a fine night.

Tomorrow the island of Santorini which we have never visited – so it should be fun.

Night 

In the Old City

An alley

An entrance way

Looking at placemats

More placemats

Europe – Day 8

When we awoke, we were already docked at the port of Kusadasi, Turkey which is the gateway to Ephesus, which is the showplace of Aegean archaeology having been built in the 10^th century BC – now that’s old!!  While the roofs are not on the buildings, the walls and major parts of the city are still in place and it is a great place to visit.  It is also the home of the Virgin Mary and the place she died.

As we have been here twice before, we are simply getting off the ship and walking around town, and of course, shopping in the Turkish bazaars.  Barb bought a green sort leather coat here and they are know for their leather products.

There is also a great beach call Ladies Beach; however, we do not want to take the chance to go there with the medicine that Barb is taking which says to stay out of prolonged sun. 

In town we started at one end and went up and down and across the streets of this gigantic bazaar until we had walked everywhere.  The prices are amazing.  Barb bought 4 pairs of Toms, 2 scarves, placemats and Ed bought 5 shirts plus we bought some trinkets, of course.   Life is good.

We also ate a Turkish sampler platter and then later we split a great sandwich in this little out-of-the way shop.  When we stopped, they gave us a sample of their meats and we were hooked.  We also noticed that they did a huge take-out business with the locals.

We then want back to the ship and relaxed for a little, including a nap.

After a nap, it was time to walk around people watching and then we went to the early show which was a juggler.  Then it was time to play a session of blackjack at 8:00 pm

Dinner this time was in the specialty restaurant Tuscany as a guest of our Casino Host Andrea.  This restaurant is one of the restaurants that there is a separate charge because of the extra quality of the food and service and we were pleased that Andrea invited us to go as her guest.  The food was really good, but the service was not up to par for that restaurant.  But, we were with friends and Andrea joined us and also the Casino Manager, Annette and we will be with both of them on our November 30^th cruise so it was fun getting to know them in a social environment.

The entertainment was a juggler who we have seen before so we went right to “work” in the casino.

Ed did well at blackjack and Barb played a little slots but didn’t win anything.

Time to go to bed and get ready for the next city we will visit – Rhodes, Greece.

Night - Night

Please buy my scarf - of course she did!

Sampler Platter

Lots of "Stuff"

Lunch

Another scarf shop

Europe – Day 7

When we woke up we were in the Port of Piraeus, Greece, the closest port to Athens.

Before we left for the day, they pulled a large tanker ship right next to our ship and filled us up with fuel – that’s quite an operation to see.

We left the ship at about 10am and walked to the train station and took a subway to the center of Athens and the area they call the Plaka, which is part of the old city and a maze of street and shops.

What fun we had – Barb (we) bought a scarf, earrings, a neat little ring, beautiful white gauze top, a Christmas ornament a little house for our stairs and we ate our way around all day.

We went to the gigantic meat and fish market and walked around the stalls.   Then we walked across the street to the fruits and bought some beautiful grapes for next to nothing.

We then stopped to eat at a local restaurant where no one spoke any English.  We did a great job communicating with them and had a lot of food for less that $5.

Finally we took the metro back to the port and a bus from the train station to the ship.

After a nap – remember that naps are good – we sat out on our deck and saw an increditable sunset – and you think sunsets are neat over the corn fields of Illinois – you should have seen this one!!  Hopefully you can get some sense on it from the pictures we took.

We were to meet everyone at 8:00pm for a 1 hour session of blackjack.  David was the only one there on time, so he and I played and in 15 minutes, I won 12 of 14 hands and by the end of the hour had a nice winning session.

Dinner was the same wonderful food as every night.

The show was a “mind reader” who was not very good when we saw him the first night in the preview show, so we didn’t go to it.

So, we all played another session and after 1 hour, I was ahead and Barb had already won at slots so we both quite for the night.

Tomorrow we land in Turkey at the port of Kusadasi.

Night-night

The flea market

Must have that scarf!

The meat market

How about rabbitt

Lunch was ???

A leather shop

Sunset

Europe – Day 6

Today is a day at sea and since we had to set the clocks forward, we slept in.

Barb isn’t really supposed to be in the sun so Ed sat up on the deck for a little while and then Barb and Ed went to the big brunch – what a feast they put on.

Since we hadn’t had anytime to look around the ship and see the shops we did that next and even though we had been on the ship just last March, it all seemed new and fun to walk around.

The slot tournament was at 2pm and of course we both played in it and neither of us qualified for the finals – but it was fun and it is what we do.

By then the sun was really out so we decided to go out on the deck.  Barb was very concerned about the medicine she was taking that said to avoid prolong exposure to the sun so she sat (and sleep) in the shade – boring!!

At 5pm we came in and Ed took a nap and Barb read about the ports we are gong to visit next.

Then it was time to dress for the first formal night and go play first a session of blackjack where we didn’t do very well.

After blackjack, we went to dinner and once again it was a good dinner.

We had seen the show last March and so we did not go to the show but went right to “work” playing blackjack.  Ed made part of what was lost during the day and we finished at 1:30am – time to go to bed – it was a fun and relaxing day.

Night- next stop Athens, Greece.

Brunch

Lots of choices

Barb in the slot tournament

Need a scarf for the evening

Europe – Day 5

What a great day to celebrate my birthday.  First my wife gave me a wonderful, thoughtful card and then we had a great day with our friends in port.

We arrived at the island of Sicily and the port of Messina a little early and everyone met us at our cabin at 10am and we went off the ship and got a rental car that Jeff had arranged for the drive to the town of Taormina as we have been to Messina before, but never to explore Taormina.  The last time we were here we took a trip to Mt Etna and our legs are not ready to handle a climb like that again.

So we picked up the rental car at the port and off we went to Taormina which is a charming hillside town on the east coast of Sicily and is on of the island’s main tourist resorts. 

It took about an hour to reach Taormina which was quaint but jammed with tourists.  We spent a couple of hours there wandering the shops and then got back into the car and went down the hill to a little seaside town for a late lunch.

There I had the best Italian meal that I have ever had – it was wonderful and also we were eating right along the ocean.

Then it was back to the ship to take a short nap, clean up and go to a welcome aboard cocktail party up on the lawn on the top deck.

Then we went to the casino for a session of blackjack where Ed lost just a little.

Dinner was again very lovely and as usual a fun experience and we have a wonderful wait staff. 

After dinner, Ed played blackjack and won some and Barb played slots and didn’t have any fun at all.  So, we finished up for the day.

We set the clocks forward and it is now 2:36am as I type this and I am ready for bed.

Tomorrow is our first real rest day as we will be at sea all day.  But since Barb is taking the medicine she has been taking, she cannot sit out in the sun very long.

What a wonderful birthday I had!!

Arriving at Messina, Sicaly

Ed's Birthday chocolate cake

Really fresh fish for lunch

The first two courses of Ed's lunch

Main course pasta

Barb and Vera in the Ocean

 A typical street