Patmos Island

 We headed back on the bus after seeing Ephesus and headed to a place where they made Turkish rugs!  OH MY GOSH - what a process they go though to make these fabulous rugs!  And no wonder they cost so much!  The guy did a wonderful job of explaining the process!

It takes hours and hours and hours to make one rug!

And after the demonstration, all the workers came to this huge back room - we were all served either juice or wine and the workers started picking up rugs and spreading them out for all of us to see!  They were all beautiful!

And of course the selling process started after that - the cheapest one started about $1000!!  No, I didn't buy one - but I think a couple of people bought small ones!  But they were quite high pressure salesman which I never enjoy!

Then it was back to the cruise ship for a late lunch AND FINALLY special coffee for me - oh it tasted SO GOOD!

We had a little bit of free time as the boat was cruising towards Patmos Island - here again, most of the groups on the boat were getting off to tour Patmos Island - we waited and waited in the auditorium for the guy to call our group - and darn it, we were the LAST group called to ride the boat in (the ship couldn't dock at this island) and get on our bus - by this time it is getting to be dusk!

Here's Patty and Janis (Janis attends Eagle Grove Lutheran Church where Patty's son in law Jason is Pastor)

And here's Marla and I - Marla also attends Jason's church!

And a nice picture of the cruise ship from our boat!

I took this picture before I got on the bus - as you can see it's getting darker out but all those white buildings sure stood out!

We started climbing up higher in the bus and soon were there - we had arrived at the Monastery of St. John where John received inspiration for the Book of Revelation!

Our guide specifically told us that as long as we could see the sky, we could take pictures - but everywhere else was off limits!  So not a lot of pictures from this monastery.  We were in a very old part of the building when I snapped these!

Finally it was our turn to see where John lived and spent out his last days - very moving - very interesting!  The pathways were dark and rocky so we really had to watch where we walked and use our flashlights on our phone!

And the view of the town from up high where we were!

By this time it's really getting late and we hadn't had dinner - but we were assured there was food waiting for us at the buffet!

This was waiting for us on our bed after we got back to the ship and had a bite to eat!

It was a ROUGH night!  The seas must have been bumpy because there were noises most of the night - clanging and banging and I don't think anybody got a good nights' sleep!

Kudashi, Turkey

 This trip was definitely NOT a trip where you slept in - if there was anything on the schedule, you were up at the crack of dawn to get breakfast eaten before you had to leave!  There were MANY tour groups on this cruise and it seemed they all were going on the same tours we were - so we would all meet in the auditorium and they would annouce when YOUR tour group was able to leave the ship to get on your bus which would be waiting at the port!

When it was finally our turn, we headed out in our bus along the sea - beautiful views!

We reached Ephesus where this ancient city was unearthed!

We walked on marble streets, saw the Temple of Artemis (which is a wonder of the ancient world) and also saw the Libray of Celsius.

It was certainly hard walking in spots and the people with canes all had people helping them to walk!  Here we are heading down to the libray!

The architecture and the carvings were amazing!

Can you guess what this is?  Yes, the latrines in ancient times - not sure I would want to sit on that NOR share this place with other people - HA!

And finally the huge arena!

What an amazing place - to walk in the footsteps of Paul was certainly a highlight!

After our walk though history, you ended up in kind of a market place - Patty and I got some gelato - excellent!  And the shop owners hounded us to no end to come into their place and buy their wares!

To Be Cont'd...

Greek Isles Tour

 This morning it was time to be all packed up and ready to drive to the cruise ship right after breakfast!  We had buffet breakfast again with some of the same strange food - but you can always count on a soft, flaky croissant with the best jam ever - served in tiny screw top jars - I loved it!

We headed down with our luggage and soon headed to the city of Lavrion to board our Celestyal Cruise Ship for 3 nights!   I remembered our Alaska cruise as we got to the port and waited in line to check in - they had loud music playing and gosh, what a festive environment!

After getting checked in, we headed for our walk to the ship - IN THE WIND!!!!  OH MY GOSH - you could hardly walk it was so bad and we couldn't get there fast enough!!  WOW - I wouldn't want to live by that port if the wind is always that bad!!

As soon as we boarded, we were able to go to our room - we were on the 4th floor and I loved that Patty was willing to do the steps every time as it was sure good exercise to go up and down many times a day!  Our room was cute - small of course but room to unpack and get organized!  We took a very quick tour and then it was time for the lifejacket meeting!  Patty and I could NOT figure out how to get in those life jackets so we carried them out on the deck (and about froze as we didn't put sweaters on) and a guy showed us how to put them on - quite a while later we were FINALLY done!

We headed to the buffet for lunch and of course it was packed, due to everyone needing to eat after the life jacket meeting!  It was nice outside so we headed out there, but all too soon the wind came up and started knocking wine glasses around - one broke right beside us so we headed inside!

By the time we got to Mykonos it was already late afternoon - Mykonos is called the St. Tropez of the Agean! Most of the houses and windmills are white - so pretty!  The cruise ship couldn't dock so we took boats to the island - I caught the sun just setting as we got off the boat!

It was quite a walk from the harbor to the town but we had a beautiful sunset to watch as we strolled along - it was gorgeous!

Were there cats on Mykonos?  OH my gosh yes!!  They are everywhere - beautiful cats - well fed - well groomed - we were all amazed!

The ships looked so pretty against that sky!

We walked around the harbor first - couldn't figure out what this building was but we assume some type of a church from the crosses on top!  But there were sure a lot of people around!

Dusk was setting and soon it was dark - we did walk around the little streets and alleys to peek in some of the shops and buy a couple of things!  I really wanted to get to the windmills but it was just too dark to figure out how to get to them!  

The whole hillside was lit up when it got dark - so pretty!

I loved this little church - quaint and very small - just what you would expect to see on an island!

Due to the darkness and the chilliness, we opted to head back to the cruise ship - Pastor and Faith were headed back too so we walked with them and definitely used the flashlights on our phones so we could see where we were walking - lots of stone pathways and uneven rocks!

After boarding the ship, we headed to eat - it was getting later so the buffet wasn't too busy and they actually had some good salads that I enjoyed!  And dessert - always great desserts!

And then it was time to see how we would sleep - I did NOT get a patch to wear on the ship, thinking the Agean Sea would not be rough - WRONG!  I ended up wearing my wrist bands all night and we did rock quite a bit but I did fine - and actually did sleep good that night!

Corinth, Cont'd

 Corinth was the most important city in the days of Saint Paul - we visited the ruins of the ancient city where Paul worked with Aquila and Priscilla.  Saw the ruins of first century shops, the agora where Paul's trial by Gallio took place, the fountain of Peirene, temple of Apollo and the Bema.  Ancient Corinth was one of the largest and most important cities of Greece, with a population of 90,000 in 400 BC.  The Romans demoloished Corinth in 146 BC and built a new city in its place - later it became the capital of Greece!

So after lunch we headed out to the ruins!  

Oh my gosh!!  SO MUCH HISTORY!!  So much to see - we were all on overload!!

It was a long, long day!!  Once again we were all very tired but tonight we were all going out to a restaurant for dinner!  As we walked there, I enjoyed seeing all the little steep streets that had restaurants on them - so cute!!  I'm sure the waiters got a workout doing those steps!

We had 3 choices to choose from for dinner - I had the chicken which was cut into strips with an excellent sauce to dip it in - they brought out salad and bread and potato slices that had been deep fried and the food just kept coming!!  One of the gals ordered a round of ouza, a famous Greek drink, so we all took a taste - oh my - I could hardly swallow it!!  It tasted like black licorice (which I don't like anyway!!)  

All in all a wonderful meal!!  On the walk back to our hotel, we stopped and listened to these guys play - what great Greek music to end the night!

Corinth

 A buffet breakfast on the 7th floor with those awesome views again!!  Lots of strange food and they are not a fan of cooking bacon till it's done - most of it is barely cooked - but plenty to eat and their coffee is STRONG!

Soon we were on the bus headed to the Corinth Canal! The Agean Sea was beautiful as we rode beside it on the bus!!  And the picture below shows the actual Corinth Canal - it connects the gulf of Corinth which is in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Agean Sea - pretty cool to see it! 

It's amazing that ALL the tour buses stop at the same places - HA - I should have realized that!!  And of course there is ALWAYS something to buy at your coffee/restroom stop!  I snapped a couple of pictures to show some of the food items that are for sale!

I liked the packages of olives but realized they would probably taste the same as what we get in the U.S.!

Then we headed to this huge place where a guy demomstrated how he paints the vases - very interesting and so much to look at!

The intricate  painting on these vases is amazing!  

We walked out later and took a couple of pictures by the huge ones!

Yes, that's our attire for all of our day trips - hats, cross-over bags, sweaters or jackets, name tags and tennis shoes!

It was a jam packed morning and we still have the afternoon.....

Greece Bound

 After lots of planning and a lot of excitement it was FINALLY time to head on our trip to Greece!!  Because Patty and I were both worried about a snowstorm delaying flights this time of year, we opted to fly into Minneapolis (where the tour group was flying out from) the day before and just stay at a hotel that night - that way, no worries!

Patty flew from Omaha to Minn. and I flew from Denver to Minns. - she arrived first and since her plane landed in a different terminal than mine, she had to figure out how to get over to my terminal which was where we were meeting!  She did just fine and met me at baggage claim!

We called the shuttle from Embassy Suites and soon were in our hotel suite for the night - happy hour was up next with drinks and appetizers and later on we headed to the restaurant to split an entree for dinner!  It was a nice relaxing evening!

The next morning we wandered down for breakfast and it was delicious!  I've always enjoyed staying at Embassy Suites since we used to stay there every year for our "Suite Retreat" on scrapbooking!

We headed to the airport about 11:30, even though our plane didn't leave till 4:30 but we were supposed to be there 4 hours early for group check-in - so that worked out perfect for us!  And where did I head as soon as we got there?  CARIBOU COFFEE!!  It was delicious!

We found the rest of the tour group - many from the area, a few from Iowa - all very friendly and easy to get along with!  I was a little concerned as 5 of them walked with canes and were elderly  but it all worked out!  Headed through the ticket agent and got rid of those large suitcases and before we knew it, we were on the plane!!  Since we weren't sitting together (groups usually are alphabetized) we went up to the counter beforehand and asked if we could switch - YES!  So we did get to sit together!

The flight over to Frankfurt was fine - EXCEPT for the fact that I couldn't sleep - NOPE - even took part of a tylenol pm and couldn't sleep - oh well!  Watched a movie and read and were fed a couple of meals - even the dimmed lights didn't seem to help me!

We landed in Frankfurt and had a 3 hour layover there - grabbed some breakfast and just hung out - everybody was looking a little weary by this point but soon we got on the next plane and headed to Athens! Customs was a breeze and we grabbed our suitcases and met our tour guide and tour bus outside - Greece is 9 hours ahead of Colorado - I was running on no sleep but did pretty well considering!  We started to head to our hotel - I was amazed at the narrow and tiny streets the bus went on!

We stayed the next 2 nights at a 5 star hotel - very nice!  But we did find all the showers are kind of strange and if there was a bathtub, it was long and VERY narrow!!  We had asked our tour guide if she would take us somewhere to exchange dollars into euros so a lot of us met her in the lobby a little bit later and we headed on our walk!  She took us through the cute shopping center - our heads were turning fast as we walked through all these shops!!  Take a peek at this LARGE sandal outside a shop!

We did get our money exchanged - walked and walked around this area which is called "Blaka" - I loved all the greenery around and all the side streets that had hills and little cafes up them!

By this time we are all fading FAST!!!  But our tour guide continues to take us past items of interest - all fun to see but boy we were tired!

We walked into this beautiful church on a huge square!  WOW!

We finally started walking back to the hotel - we were all dragging by this time and it seemed to take forever to get back as we walked by such interesting things to see!

Back at the hotel we still had a 4 course meal to get through - the dining area is on the 7th floor and the views were outstanding!!  We just couldn't stop looking out!

Dinner was very formal and very good - I don't remember a lot about it except the main course was pork chops, so tender you could cut them with your fork - excellent!!

That bed felt SO GOOD that night but we were getting a 6:00am wake up call ( which was to be the norm for the ENTIRE time there!!) so headed to bed as soon as we could!