Headed to Sorrento, Italy

Athens on your own


Ed got up and started getting ready so I did as well. The ship was in the process of docking. The Aida diva ship was to our side scooting up to the pier beyond us. There were 5 cruise ships in port today. That does not include all the ferries and small boats, plus so many other vessels. This is the major port for Greece and it shows it. I did my internet stuff while Ed went to get breakfast. He met Tom there and he is on his own today as Jo Ann has an appt with an MD in Athens to have her foot checked. She’s been here before but this is Tom’s first time.
We met them both in the hallway and made it out to the terminal where Jo Ann left to return to the ship while we strolled out to find out how to get to the metro/subway station. As it turns out, we kept walking and decided to take the bus from Pireas to Athens and this was not only cheaper (1 Euro per person each way) but we got to see so much more of Athens and vicinity on the way. We also went by the hospital where Jo Ann had her appt and so on the way back, Tom got a photo for her album.
We made it to a square that sounded something like Smyrna and then we picked up the Hop on Hop off bus. We went one stop to the Plaka area where we walked in. You could see the Acropolis from everywhere in this area with the Parthenon on top. We also saw the brand new Acropolis museum. Clearly this was a busy tourist day. The weather was warm enough but not blazing as it has often been on this trip. We walked around various cute little streets and finally decided on a restaurant, Evisla or something like that, where we decided after a while to dine family style. Ed ordered Mousakka, we got pita bread, hummus, tzadzeki (sp) and Aubergine (I can’t recall the English name now but it’s the Eggplant dish. We also ordered a salad and the guys had beer while I had tea. We shared a bottle of water and at the end, the waiter brought us some ouzo. Yeech. What a waste on me. I can live without licorice and this is definitely strong flavored. But I do have to say it was really smooth.
This was Tom’s first time having Tzadzeki and I’m glad he liked it. This was a little more bland than I like but it was very good. We (again) asked for directions to the cathedral where Ed wanted to get another Greek fisherman’s hat from the same place. We did eventually find the place and Tom also bought one. We then wandered all around and eventually made it back to the hop on hop off bus and we took the full circuit and listened to the acoustic guide. At one point we saw bullet holes, and they looked fresh, at a metro entrance. Later we saw an impromptu memorial with lots of flowers where obviously someone had recently died. We don’t know the details about any of this.
We caught up with the bus to Pireas and off we went. I still am not impressed with Athens; perhaps the rest of Greece would be more interesting. But I am glad we did the bus and saw so much of the back alleys of Athens. We made it back to the ship with 30 minutes to spare.
The advantages of going off on your own as we did is the fun of exploring an unknown place and transport. People want to be helpful and many speak excellent English. And it’s less expensive by and large. But the disadvantages are considerable. You waste a lot of time trying to get around and find places. You’re out to sea in terms of prices and good shops and restaurants. The main thing that is nerve racking for me is the time factor. If we were staying in a hotel, it wouldn’t matter if we were late getting back. But there is simply no fudge room if you’re delayed in returning to the ship. We did very well today but we had planned on being back before we actually made it.
Ooops
In addition to the expected sweating and such, I looked in the mirror and discovered that some bird had left a rather large “present’ on my right shoulder, so I showered and changed before dinner. We are not sending any laundry out now so we can be sure that we have everything when we leave the ship so I will be doing hand laundry again tonite.
Dinner
All present. Jo Ann was very funny in telling her story of going to the doctor in Pireas. Basically he said she has a Level 2 strain and gave her some advice on how to manage it. The taxi ride to the hospital cost $44 Euros; the one back only $8 Euros. The charge for the hospital and MD costs? Zero! The other couple took a hydrofoil to an adjacent island, rented a car and travelled around that island where there is a temple to Poseidon. They had a nice lunch in a seaside restaurant.
Tonite’s entertainment
It’s hard to describe this except to say that it was the crew doing a pub night. They were very good and there was a singing competition with the Lounge divided into two teams singing two different songs. Later there was a balloon bursting game which I’ve seen before and which is hilarious. One of the poor male dancers had a pin on him to break the balloons to spare him the pounding from the women. Long story. And finally they did my all time favorite skit: If I were not upon the sea. Each time it is different and each time it is hilarious.
Disembarkation “challenges”
We have completed 3 questionnaires about our flight plans. This information is important because we must be able to leave the ship and take the transfer bus in time to comfortably make our flight. The tags were here tonite and they were wrong. So Ed went down to clear it up and picked up white tags. I was looking at the schedule and it is true our tags should be white, but they should be a different number. So Ed went down to the purser’s desk to clear it up. They would not change it which means we must get up earlier and leave earlier than what would otherwise have been necessary. He is steaming so I’m keeping busy until it passes over.
And the days are definitely getting longer as we go farther from the equator.