Armchair Travel With Martha

CHRISTMAS IN YORBA LINDA 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:15:00 +0000

Hello Friends, Family and especially my faithful Blog Readers...

It's been a few months since I've posted a blog. I thought you'd enjoy a view of our Christmas in Yorba Linda, California. We live in a development called East Lake Village, development of about 2,000 homes that is centered around a 15 acre lake. We are one of about 200 homes that are fortunate enough to live on one of the eight streets on the actual lake. We each have a dock and most have an electric boat (only electric allowed) that we tool around in for fun. Also the fishing (catch and release) is great but we're really famous for our Christmas Boat Parade.

This past week I walked in the evening and spent several hours out on our boat one evening to take photographs to share with you. For those of you who live on the lake if I've mixed a few house...please forgive me...

Enjoy our visions of Christmas in East Lake Village.....(double click on photo to enlarge view)

Views of the Clubhouse and Lake....

Views of Via Murcia from the Lake....

Views of Via Andalusia from the lake....

Views of Via Apolina from the lake...

Views of Via Morena from the lake....

Views of Via Maria from the lake...

Views of Via Oporto from the lake....

Views of Via Fonte from the lake....

Views of Via Rene from the lake.....

The following is a slide show of all the street decorating in East Lake Shores...it's not a competition but we are always striving to do better each year. We each have a theme for our individual street...I have posted the name of each street on the individual photos where the photos were taken....

And the last slideshow is our own home to show our personal decorations to friends and family.....

I hope that you've enjoyed your stroll through our vision of Christmas 2009....

After the holidays I will post the journals from a trip to Ireland that we took several years ago...and then in March we're off to Spain and Italy...stay tuned....

HOME TO THE USA

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:58:00 +0000

Thursday, November 29^th, 2007 Flying Home…..

We were awake very early as we had neighbors who talked most of the night…but we were packed and ready for breakfast at 7:15 am; another nice large English style breakfast so we started the day with a full stomach. By 8:30 we were out the door and headed for the Underground Tube; so nice the weather is clear and not too cold.

By 10 am we had survived the trip to Heathrow Airport; checked in and made it through all of the security checks. Our flight left right on time just before noon and right now we are high over the Atlantic on our way home.

Do hope you’ve enjoyed our Greek Odyssey and thanks for taking the time to travel with us for the past six weeks. May you always be a “traveler” and not a “tourist”!

PRINCESS DIANA QUEST

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:02:00 +0000

Wednesday, November 28^th, 2007 British Museum and Princess Diana ….

Well we definitely had a wonderful first day in London. The expected rain didn’t arrive until after we’d finish our dinner; the day was damp, overcast but dry.

Slept through the night and woke about 7 am, just in time for breakfast which turned out to be a filling and very good full English breakfast complete with freshly cooked ham and scrambled eggs. A great way to start the morning and by 9 am we were each headed in different directions; Jim to the British Museum around the corner and I headed out on a Princess Diana quest. I’ve seen the memorial to her in Paris several times but never the ones here in London.

My first stop on the Underground Tube was at Notting Hill Gate Station for two reasons; it is near the Kensington Gardens and I also wanted to see the famous street called Portobello Road where they hold the Street Market every Saturday morning. It is a very colorful area with pastel painted townhouses and many “Retro” stores for clothing, jewelry, books, etc. Loved some of the signs: over garages: “please keep clear - garages in constant use”, “warm your cockles in our fully heated beer gardens” and many more.

From there I walked to Kensington Palace Garden Road looking for the Palace. I accidentally found myself on a street of very expensive private homes, mostly Embassies of various countries I finally determined. I tried snapping a photo and got yelled at by a security man and then he ended up giving me directions to the Palace after informing me that these are private homes.

As I entered the garden area I noticed some beautiful pieces of sculpture which turned out to be a very new memorial to Princess Diana that were installed this summer to mark the tenth anniversary of her death. It’s called “The Small Field of Flowers” and composed of ten large metal flower sculptures by Sofie Layton that have been placed inside the gates of Kensington Palace where the hundreds of floral bouquets were placed in the weeks after her death.

The staff told me that all of Diana’s personal effects were boxed and shipped to her family after her death. But, the charity auction of some of her gown before her death resulted in about ten dresses being donated back to her Charitable Foundation and those gowns were displayed in a special room in the palace. There were also about ten other rooms that held large photos of her and also videos on large screens of film taken during her lifetime and also interviews of people who knew her. It was all very nicely put together as a tribute to Diana by the Royal Family.

The rest of the tour took me through the rooms of the palace that were used by the royals as their home and the seat of government prior to moving into Buckingham Palace. Kensington Palace was also the home for the Duchess of Kent and her daughter Victoria until Victoria was made Queen. They have restored her bedroom here with the actual furniture that she used until she died. Spent an hour and half touring the Palace.

From there I headed out into the Kensington Gardens and then over into Hyde Park in search of the Princess Diana Water Fountain that was dedicated to her memory in 2004. Difficult to find but with some assistance I found it located just above the Lido area on The Serpentine Lake in the center of the park.

It was a very moving experience to view this memorial; people walking the area were very quiet and emotional. It is located on a grassy knoll and is a nearly round stone water stream. The features are varied to symbolize the different facets of Diana’s life; some are broad and others narrow, some are rough and rocky and others are smooth. People would stoop down to touch the water as they quietly walked the circle.

Back out into Hyde Park I walked southeast towards the exit of the park and then down several streets to locate the Harrods Department Store for the last of my Diana quest. There I saw a marvelous store complete with doormen and also the Shrine dedicated to Diana and Dodi and the statute of the two of them in a different area of the store. My quest complete I headed out to find the Underground Tube that would take me back to the hotel. We’d agreed to meet back at the hotel at 2 pm and I arrived just minutes before Jim returned after five hours at the British Museum.

Changed our socks and headed back out to the Underground for a trip to see the Victoria and Albert Museum and also Victoria’s Memorial to Albert in Hyde Park. A surprise in the museum was a fabulous chandelier in the entry by the artist Dale Chihuly, his designs are so distinctive that one knows them immediately. He did a ceiling in the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas and also a chandelier that hangs in the Museum in Columbus Indiana for my Hoosiers friends.

Outside the Museum we found an ice skating rink with people skating. Many Christmas decorations everywhere celebrating the Christmas Season added a cheery note to an otherwise gray day. We’ve had fun and enjoyed the unusual words and phrases. We hear over and over on the Tube to “Mind the gap between the train and platform”…our train from the airport was headed towards “Cockfosters”.

We decided to take the Tube back to Westminster Abbey as we knew that it was open for tours until 6 pm this evening. We both enjoyed walking the Abbey; it was like a large cemetery full of very important people; Jim especially enjoyed the Poet’s Corner with the famous literary people including Lord Byron who died in Greece. We spent a good hour slowly making our way around the building that is divided into three areas. Many Kodak moments but only in your memory like a true Traveler. They don’t allow any photos or videos inside the Westminster Abbey. Outside we took our last photos of Big Ben before descending underground into the Tube for the trip back to the hotel area.

Our dinner this evening was an Italian one at the Pizza Express just across the street from the British Museum; very tasty and very different from Greek pizza; much thinner crust. Tomorrow we head for the airport and our final flight home. But we did stop at a Starbucks to inquire about wireless. Its five pounds a day through the T-Mobile service so decided to go to an Internet Café and get one hour on their computer for one pound to check in with the family and any important news from home. About the time we finished there the rain started so once again we got out the umbrellas for the two blocks to the hotel.

LONDON METRO

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:28:00 +0000

Tuesday, November 27^th, 2007 On our way home...using the London Underground….

I spent some time last night after dinner at the Starbucks using up the last of my Internet time; hooked up my Skype and was able to talk with daughter Jennifer for a while before calling it a day. The kids are busy finishing putting up our Christmas lights she said and also told me they had a great time in Big Bear over Thanksgiving and that it’s cold enough that they are making snow and have a few runs open. It was good to talk with her and for free since we were both on our computers over the Internet using Skype.

Restless night, Jim had a relapse with his cold. Got up about 4:30 am, finished packing and headed out to the street for our walk to the bus stop for the express bus to the airport in Athens.

We were the first ones on the bus and took four seats with our luggage. We continued to stop all along the way and soon it was standing room only. We cleared one seat but kept the extra one for all the backpacks. By the time we arrived at the airport there were at least twenty people standing; we felt like very guilty “tourists” but there was no way we could move the luggage to clear the seat. Arrived at the airport and checked in before 6:30 am. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 8:55. Since we were on British Air and flying into Heathrow our requirements were one carryon per person; no exceptions and size doesn’t really matter if it will fit in the overhead bin. I cheated a bit and hid my very small knapsack under my coat; that way I was able to keep the things we needed on the flight under my seat. We lost two hours between Athens and London; so it was really 6:55 am when we left and we arrived in London at 11:15 am.

Everyone was very helpful in giving us directions to the Tube/Metro System; but it still took a few wrong turns before we found the right tracks. At one point we had people arguing about who knew the directions best and the one that won was wrong! It was a long slow ride from Heathrow into town, but the price was right! About an hour after leaving we arrived at the Tottenham Station and then the fun of finding our hotel after we emerged from the Underground. We had some basic Internet Maps but had to stop several times for help before we located our home for two nights that is practically across the street from the British Museum. So glad we arrived in daylight!

It’s going to be an interesting two night; we got a great rate and perfect location. It’s on the fourth floor with no lift/elevator. The room is about seven feet wide (the width of a single bed and a door) and the length is about sixteen feet…just long enough to put two twin beds end to end along the wall. We do have a TV, our own sink and the toilet and shower are down the hall. Most importantly we have heat (it’s just on…no way to adjust it) and a window over the back of the building instead of over the noisy street. Jim is calling my bluff about all the inexpensive rooms that Jenny and I did last year in Italy!

After getting settled in we went back to the Tube and headed towards Westminster Abbey. Arrived at 3:30 and it was already dusk. Got some great Kodak moments as we walked around of Big Ben, Parliament buildings, the 2000 Farris Wheel and of course Westminster Abbey from the outside only as it had just closed as we arrived. If Jim feels better tomorrow and it’s not raining maybe we’ll head back to see the inside as it is open until 6 pm on Wednesday.

Thought about going to see something else but it started to rain so we headed for the Tube and home. Had a nice early dinner at a Fish n Chips place just around the corner before calling it a night. A funny thing happened at the restaurant; we were told that the medium size order was “cold”. I was somewhat surprised and said “cold”, she replied “yes, mum, cold”. So even though it was more than we wanted we ordered the large size portions so that it would be hot. We started talking to the two English ladies next to us and after we’d all received our food. Jim asked them what size they had, and they replied that they’d ordered the median portion. Jim asked if it was cold. They said “no”. When we talked a bit longer they said “oh it’s the pronunciation problem….she was saying “cod” not “cold”. We all laughed and finished our larger than usual meal. But, I did manage to eat every bit of the fish but not all of the chips. It’s been a very long day. We did get Jim some more medication at the Airport Pharmacy this morning so the additional antibiotics should help him feel better tomorrow.

OLYMPIC STADIUM IN ATHENS

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:09:00 +0000

Monday, November 26^th, 2007 Final day in Athens……….

Woke up early and Jim feels much better so we’re off to enjoy our last day in Greece; after breakfast we started walking east towards the Olympic Stadium that was rebuilt and used for the first modern Olympic in 1896. On the way we passed by the site of the 1896 and 1906 Olympic Lawn Tennis games; it is now a private tennis club. The stadium is truly magnificent as the white marble glistens in the sunlight even on an overcast day like today. In the traditional design from ancient times the end of the stadium is totally open and was easy to view without having to enter inside. We’ve driven past it many times but I’m glad that we took the time to walk over and see it up close.

From the Stadium we had a great view of the Acropolis and the Parthenon. Walking back we entered the National Gardens and stopped first at a large exhibit hall and then continued through the park by various paths that we randomly selected. We walked over to the zoo, a small one for children, and then stopped to watch the turtles in the pond. We were walking in the general direction of the Benaki Museum. When we exited into the street, Jim said he’s sure that he specifically chose that gate to exit; we found ourselves on an empty street with lots of guards holding Uzis machine guns. Opps…what had we stumbled into? Then up the street I spotted one of the guards in his fancy uniform at a guard box. Realized that we were near the Palace; suddenly we heard the band playing and low and behold the band came marching out of the gate where the guard was standing. Another serendipity experience; the band, playing their marching song, was followed by the whole company of guards. There must have been nearly two hundred of them by the time they had all filled out past us and down the street. Both cars and pedestrians had been stopped at both ends of the street for this event!

After patting ourselves on the back we continued up the street to our Benaki Museum that was originally a private home and now a lovely building with a stunning collection. We were not allowed to have our cameras with us in the building so just enjoyed the experience for nearly two hours. It was so good that Jim asked for the name of the director for future reference.

Back on the street we strolled by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for one last time and noticed that they have on their black coat today; a sure sign that cooler weather is expected today.

Arrived at our hotel and will send this journal at the Starbucks before we head out for one last Greek dinner at a local restaurant. We leave for the airport at 5 am tomorrow morning for a 9 am flight to London.

As I bid Greece goodbye, I would like to share some of an article that we found in an old issue of “Paros Life” at the house we stayed in last week:

“What is it that makes travel so appealing? What is it that makes the image of the traveler so romantic? Whether it is a carefree windsurfer on the beach, or an older couple holding hands while they walk across the Charles Bridge in Prague, there is an aura of wondrous satisfaction about them. The traveler flows naturally with the rhythm of a place and blends in cohesively with the locals. To the traveler it is the discovery of the journey that matters; it is the adventure of the senses that fuels his motives…. Tourists, on the other hand, do not seem to offer the same appeal to most of us. The sight of a sun-burned tourist with a fixed smile on his face and a digital camera surgically connected to his hand usually provokes a slight aversion to the local population …....Travelers immerse themselves into places and cultures. They give reason and purpose to their journey. They interact in a creative and genuine manner with the local population. They want to learn about a different way of life, they endeavor to stir their existing beliefs and shake their preconceptions. The traveler returns home with a new perspective of his or her world and with a broader horizon…..Being a traveler is not only a physical exercise; it is a philosophy, a state of mind and a distinct code of ethics. A traveler fully experiences and accepts a place without judging and without wanting to change things…. “

And so the article went…we hope that we have been travelers on this trip more than tourists. But, my camera is surgically connected to me and try as I might I can’t imagine going on a trip without my laptop.

We will only be in London for a two nights; Jim wants to visit the British Museum and also we plan to go to Westminster Cathedral while we are there. Weather reports tell us that our full day in London will have rain and we know it’s going to be cold. See you tomorrow in London………..

SUNDAY IN ATHENS

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:19:00 +0000

Sunday, November 25^th, 2007 Museums in Athens

Woke about 7:30 am to the sound of bells pealing nearby; we have a small and very old Greek Orthodox Church within a block of our hotel. The patron saint is Saint Catherine and this weekend they are celebrating her feast day. We have watched people dressed in their Sunday Best going in and out of the church all weekend. The bells ring and ring and ring to announce each service. We can sit in our room and hear the priest chanting their prayers we’re so close to the church. They have flags flying, flowers all over, large lights in the courtyard and many old women and beggars selling candles. The whole area of the Plaka has an air of festivity about it this weekend.

Jim is not doing well; we’ve decided that he should stay in bed this morning. I went over to check emails at Starbucks and found out about the new fire in Malibu. Then about 10 am I headed out for a twenty minute walk to St. Denis, the Roman Catholic Cathedral for Athens. There is a Latin Mass scheduled for 11 am that I’ve decided to attend. It was beautiful, reminded me of my childhood in Indiana, a High Mass and all in Latin. I told Jim I felt like I was at an opera at times because the music was so spectacular. The Soprano was of “Maria Callas” quality. I even turned on my video of my camera to tape some of the music so I could play it for Jim. The church was packed, there is a large Filipino population here in Greece and I would say fifty percent or more of the attendees this morning were Filipino. Charlie asked me about the ratio of Roman Catholics to Greek Orthodox and only five percent of the population or about 50,000 are Roman Catholic. Consequently, it’s been difficult to find a Mass to attend on our trip here in Greece. Also the reason that most of the Catholics are found on the coast and in the Islands is because that was where the Venetians and the French had an opportunity to shape the mores of the Greek people during the fifteenth century AD.

After Mass I walked back to the hotel; it’s another beautiful day with the sun shining and the sky very blue. I’ve walked by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier each way and noted that the guards are in their white uniforms again. That black outfit must have been their coat as the day I saw them in that outfit was bitter cold; that was the day we couldn’t sail to Paros because of the storms. Each and every day is a learning experience.

Jim was not as perky as I’d hoped but said he wanted to go to two museums today as tomorrow they are closed. By 1 pm we headed out the door and back to the area of the Cathedral; yes, I think I easily put in my five miles today. Our first museum was the City of Athens Museum that is housed in the former residence of Greece’s first King and Queen, King Otto and Queen Amelia. The second floor is dedicated to them and has some of the royal families’ personal furnishings and personal mementoes.

We then walked a couple of blocks over to the Numismatic Museum. We weren’t really that interested in old coins but the building that houses the Museum; the building was built by and as the personal residence of the celebrated archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann. Some of you may be saying, “Heinrich who?” Jim has filled in my spaces with the story about this man who was a wealthy German industrialist of the Nineteenth Century who came to Greece and Turkey to substantiate the writings of Homer in archeological digs. He discovered ancient Troy, the treasures of Mycenae and the “Golden Mask of Agamemnon”. The building was a showcase for his archeological finds and was more of a museum than a home.

We then walked back to the Plaka and had an early light dinner, followed by a short walk through the Monastiraki shopping streets before calling it a day. Jim is still reading the English newspaper that he picked up last night and I’ve been busy on the computer sorting photos and updating my journal. By the way; a fashion note: seeing lots of young woman and girls with the skin tight tights and short tunic tops…they like to wear boots with this outfit. Is this fashion coming back to haunt us? Many times the tops do not cover the hips, leaving little to the imagination.

THE PLAKA IN ATHENS

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:20:00 +0000

Saturday, November 24^th, 2007 Athens….Exploring the Plaka

Last night’s journey to the hotel was very successful; Jim was a trooper and since it was his plan he didn’t complain. First of all as the ship was docking we went down into the hold where the luggage was stored during our journey. We have a small cable lock with us that we used to attached the two cases together; I had trouble remembering the combination and it looked like Jim was going to have to pull both of them together while I managed all four of the backpacks! I was trying combination after combination as we waited for the ship to dock and suddenly Jim said that he would have a standard one that he used for everything….I tried one that I use for everything and it snapped apart! Thank goodness as the gang plank was going down. I looked up and our French people who had been on the last three ships with us were standing there behind us smiling. Good thing that we have tags with our photos on them plastered on each piece of our luggage; at least we could have proved that they belonged to us if someone stopped us.

Across the street we found the Metro Station; glad for our coats as it was very cold when we arrived. We already had our Metro tickets from before that we hadn’t used the night we went to Julie’s house for dinner; so we were ahead of the rest of the pack who still had to purchase their tickets; because of this the train we took wasn’t crowded at all. It’s so nice here in the Athens Metro stations, there are no turnstiles to move through, only pillars that hold the machines to validate your ticket. The fines are pretty stiff if you’re caught without a valid ticket; fifty times the value of a ticket.

Went to the Onomia Station and transferred to the Red Line that took us to the Acropolis Station. From there we walked about six blocks to the hotel. We were checked in by 9:30 pm. We’d told them by email that we were coming in late from the islands so they were waiting for us.

This morning the hotel changed us to a different room because of some problems. This room has a view of the eastern end of the Acropolis. We’re very pleased with our Adams Hotel for only fifty euros a night including a light breakfast. This morning I went walking and right around the corner is a Starbucks; walked in and purchased an Internet Card for only 6 euros for two hours. It’s good for a month; never thought of going into a Starbucks for service…they said the card would be good all over Greece. Good to know for future trips. On the way back to the hotel I stopped and looked at leather sandals; picked up my computer and went back for emails at the Starbucks. On my way back to the hotel the sandal man came out to talk to me; he said he’d seen me looking before. He was good; got me into the shop and trying on leather sandals. Said they were worth 20 euros but he’d let me have them for only 12. I said my husband would want me to negotiate so I said, “how about 10 euros”…so now I have a pair of sandals to take home. He told me that during the Olympics the parents of some of the Australian Hockey team stayed in the Adams and all purchased sandals from him and one brought their son in with his gold medal after they won. To his constant regret he didn’t think to ask to take a photo with the gold medal winner.

This afternoon we walked the Plaka several ways looking for a small gift to take to Miss Julie this afternoon to thank her for all of her help during our trip. We walked past our favorite restaurant Vitro’s and it is closed for the season along with several others. All of the pharmacies are closed for Saturday and Sunday. Jim is in need of drugs for his cold.

Took the Metro out to Glifada and then a taxi to Julie’s house; the taxi waited while we visited for a few minutes; dropped off our gifts and her books and things that she’d loaned us during the trip. We also picked up a small bag of gifts to transport back to the states for her family. Julie gave Jim what Claritin D and a few other things that she had in her medicine kit.

Back in the Plaka we decided to walk to find a restaurant that Julie had recommended called the Plaka Taverna on Kidathineon Street. Found it and started talking to the manager, Maxamus(?), who was putting up umbrellas and things for the evening. When we mentioned Julie’s name his face lit up and he insisted we return for dinner this evening and he would give us something special in addition to the ouzo drink that he’d already promised us.

We decided to walk to the Catholic Cathedral to find out about Mass for tomorrow, it’s at 6 pm and in English. On the way we found a Pharmacy that was open as they were doing some repairs. Jim purchased a box of Claritin D and then on our return after we’d talked by telephone with Julie we asked about Zithromax that Julie had recommended for Jim to take if the Pharmacy was still open when we returned to the Plaka. They don’t sell Sud-a-fed here anymore because of the kids and the crack problem; but we were able to purchase the antibiotic over the counter without a prescription. It was 18 euros for three pills but worth the cost if he is better by Tuesday when we fly to London. Thanks Julie!

This is our first Saturday night in Athens without rain; can’t imagine what the streets would be in the summer months, it is very crowded and almost everything is open here in the city. We’ve seen many Americans here in the Plaka today that are in port for the day from the cruise ships. They’re easy to spot as they stand with maps trying to figure out their directions. We actually stopped and helped a few as we remember the frustration when we first arrived with streets that twist every which way and change their name every few blocks.

Enjoyed our dinner at the Plaka Taverna; sat outside under the awnings with heaters. Jim had Moussaka and I had roasted lamb that Jim finished for me; we also shared grilled cheeses. Everything was absolutely delicious and I can see why Julie recommends this particular restaurant. The music started to play as its Saturday night so we ordered Nescafe and shared a large pie shaped piece of Balaklava for dessert before moving inside to listen to the music for another fifteen minutes. Only two instruments but very authentic Greek music, a nice way to end our first day back in Athens. During the day the sun was out, warm enough to shed the jackets; but at sundown it was definitely jacket time again.

BACK TO ATHENS AGAIN!

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:56:00 +0000

Friday, November 23^rd, 2007

Woke about 8:30 am and Bobby, the owner, knocked on the door about 9 am to inquire what time we wanted him to drive us to the port? Check out is noon so we said we’d be ready about 11 am. It was hard to climb out of my warm bed so I snuggled down and enjoyed it for as long as I could. By 11 we were at the car and ready to go. He dropped us off at the port; outside the Blue Star Ferry office where he said we’d be able to leave our luggage for a few hours without any charge.

Dropped the big cases and large backpacks there and then headed towards town; we’d only gone a very short distance when we discovered an OPEN INTERNET CAFÉ. Yes, we went in, ordered an hour of time, wireless that we could use in the smoke free patio area; coffee and tea. We were set for the next couple of hours. We actually ended up purchasing another hour of time and one more cup of coffee before leaving. So nice and much cheaper to use this Internet than on board the ship; I was definitely a happy camper.

About 2 pm the ferry arrived and we boarded for our trip back to Piraeus, the port of Athens; we should arrive just after 8 pm this evening. It’s a long afternoon but the cheapest way to travel between ports. Just after boarding a man came by selling some food; the Greek girl next to us negotiated and it was seven of the circular things for five euro. I asked what it was and she very generously offered me a taste. It’s like two large pieces of unleavened bread, if you’re Catholic…they’re like very large hosts. We were told that they only make them on Syros. The ingredients: honey, sugar, glucose, egg whites, almonds/peanuts, vanilla and mastic. In between is a white, soft taffy substance with nuts. They call them Nougats; very sweet and good. I talked Jim into purchasing a packet of seven of them for us…it will be dessert over the next several days.

I asked the Greek girl, who spoke English very well probably because she works in hotels; about the “breaking of plates” shown in movies about Greece. She laughed and said that doesn’t happen anymore except for the tourist shows. She did say that she has one friend who owns a restaurant and when he has his friends in and they are having a really good time he may break a few plates. But it is highly unlikely to ever see that happening today in any Greek Restaurants.

After stopping in Syros we had many new people board the ferry. A husband and wife sat down in our row of seats with their grandson and his friend who are traveling with them. Very nice but don’t speak any English. We’ve used lots of sign language to communicate. The children purchased a soft ball and they’ve been playing toss with it; occasionally giving us the opportunity to catch and return it to them.

We got out our leftovers from the market trip on Wednesday and had an early supper: lukewarm Mythos beer, dried bread, bananas, nuts and now our Nougats. Plenty of food for now as neither of us is very hungry. It’s going to be a long afternoon and evening before we reach the Hotel Adams in the Plaka area near the Acropolis. We have reservations there for the next four nights. Tomorrow we will go by Metro to say hi to Julie and return her books and maps that she has loaned us. Had planned to take them to dinner but timing was wrong as she is getting ready for a trip and leaves on Sunday.

ISLAND OF DELOS

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:00:00 +0000

Thursday, November 22^nd, 2007 Thanksgiving Day!

After a restless night we woke about 8:30 am and hurriedly put ourselves together; added our breakfast items in our backpacks and headed down the hill. We didn’t want to be late for the boat to Delos. This time of year there is only one boat that leaves at 10 am and returns at 1 pm. During the summer months the boats leave every half hour all day. We soon learned that they also will not go unless there are enough people wanting to go! Monday the site is closed and both Tuesday and Wednesday there was not enough people. Fortunately we had ten people this morning and they agreed to take us today. We met a very nice young couple on holiday from Australia and also Marilyn, a woman from Denver Colorado. They had all been waiting to go to Delos for two days.

Marilyn is traveling solo and will be returning to Istanbul where she has a job teaching English as a second language for the next six months. She is very into archeological things, her previous job was as an engineer, and Jim was delighted to have her to tour this site with as opposed to me who is not very interested in old things. They were the last two to return to the boat when we were ready to return at 1 pm.

For those like me who are not enlightened on the history of the Island of Delos; let me fill in a few of the blanks. First of all, only a few caretakers are allowed to remain overnight on this island. It is small, only 5 km long and 1,300 m wide; devoid of vegetation but resplendent in the sunlight as the sun reflects off its rock formations. The highest elevation is Mt Kynthos, beneath which spreads the sanctuary dedicated to Apollo and his sister Artemis surrounded by the Hellenistic city. Something has been going on here since about 1400 BC but the real history begins during the 7^th Century. At one time there were about 30,000 inhabitants who lived on this island. It was a haven for wealthy merchants who built homes here. This is an extremely large archeological site and is one of the important sanctuaries in ancient Greece, and because it was abandoned during the Roman era the site remains have not been spoiled by the gradual accretion of later buildings as in the rest of Europe.

It was an enjoyable few hours spent wandering around the rocks of the past. There is also a very well laid out museum on the island where they are preserving many of the more important artifacts. The weather is still cold but the winds that have been blowing so hard have finally slowed down. The sun is shining today and the skies are blue without the heavy black rain clouds that we’ve had for the past week.

Returned from Delos and walked up to the Windmill Museum; closed for the season and so we continued further up until we were back at our Pension Bobby’s. This morning we timed our walk to the port and it took twenty minutes; all down hill. But we took our time walking home and it wasn’t bad at all. Rested, read a bit and then about 4:30 pm we donned our layers of clothes and headed back down the hill into town again.

Our quest was to find an open gift shop with a miniature windmill as a souvenir of Mykonos before having dinner. We walked in and out and around and through the warren of narrow alleyways that wriggle between the white-walled buildings. There are still some colorful bougainvillea plants hanging from balconies to add color to the scene. We’d just about given up when I walked into a small market and there, high on a shelf, I spotted exactly what I’ve been looking for; and only 5.5 euros. Jim proceeded to negotiate and purchased it for Five Euros. Some things never change!

We meandered back to our favorite restaurant for another round of vegetarian pizza and added spicy fried feta cheese to share. Thought about trying a different restaurant but since we knew this was so good, decided to return again.

It was dark by the time we finished so we headed for the taxi stand again and rode up the hill to our pension for only 3 euros tonight. We’d left the heater on low when we left so found a toasty warm room awaiting our return.

Tomorrow we catch the ferry at 2:15 in the afternoon and head back into Athens for the final few days of our trip. I will sign on to the Internet on the ship and send all my emails, journal and photos. It’s hard to believe that we’re nearing the end of our trip.

SYROS & MYKONOS

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:11:00 +0000

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Finally turned on the electric heater last night and then slept pretty much through the night. We got up before 8 am and headed out to explore Syros and find some coffee. We headed up to the left towards the large Catholic Church called Ano Syros but only walked part way. Best to take a bus up and walk down we learned later. Good to read those guidebooks before adventuring out. Thought we had but guess we didn’t; we did find two Greek Orthodox Churches with Masses in progress as we wander around the mostly wide and sometimes narrow marble streets; it was either up or down as nothing is level in this town. Syros is basically three sections: the port, the hill to the left with the Roman Catholic Cathedral at the top and to the right the area known as Vrodado with the Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Entering from the port you view all three of these sections at one time.

Syros is the capital of the Cyclades and its largest town.

The weather is dry, cold and windy this morning. We’ve quadrupled our layers of clothing this morning to keep warm as we walk about the city. We soon found ourselves back into the port where we found a market street; each shop handles a different item. One shop had fresh fruit, another bread, the butcher, the jam, and on and on. We purchased some bananas and then went into a small coffee shop to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy Nescafe (their answer for American coffee), tea for Jim and we shared a wonderful slice of warm apple pie covered with powdered sugar. Didn’t hear any English the whole time we sat in the shop enjoying our breakfast.

After breakfast we continued to walk the port to both ends and then found an open bookstore; we asked about “English language” books and she pointed us to the small selection she carried, much to Jim’s surprise. The cost of foreign language books in Europe is always high…they were paperbacks and ranged from 25 to 35 euros each. She asked if we’d like to see her second hand books and with a very positive response we found a novel for each of us at only 2 euros each. The shop keeper also agreed to allow us to bring our luggage back and sit in her shop out of the wind while we waited for the 12:15 ferry to arrive.

Back to the hotel for checkout; our “rooms for rent” had no front desk and we were wondering who and how we would pay our 25 euros. Sure enough at 11 am the girl appeared as we’d told her we were catching the 12:15 ferry to Mykonos. Packed our bags and headed back out into the wind for the two block walk to the port entry. People were already queuing up so we sat in the windy waiting area instead of returning to the bookstore where Jim had arranged for us to stay. Saw a French couple who’d arrived with us last night and they are also headed to Mykonos today. At 12:15 on the dot the smaller ferry arrived, we boarded and headed back out to the Aegean Sea within minutes. This is a ship that only does inter-island as opposed to the larger one that goes to Athens. The Blue Star people told Jim that it should take about an hour and a half. It’s going to be another bouncy ride as the sea is covered with whitecaps.

Then we’re off to find lodgings for the next two nights. Mykonos is known to be more expensive because of the tourists; it will be interesting to see what Jim negotiates for the rent.

Stopped at Tinos for a few minutes to let passengers off and then on to Mykonos. Many people were at the port offering rooms. Jim negotiated with a man called Bobby for a room, located in the center of town, with a television and bathroom for 50 euros for two nights. One night would have been 30 euros. He put us into his car along with his wife and another single young man that she’d recruited for a room. All the way up he kept talking about rental of scooters and/or cars; where to go and what to watch out for. He said absolutely not to rent from Muchens as they will come at night and steal parts off the vehicle and then charge you to replace them! The young man, on his third trip here, laughed and said he’d heard the story before. Bobby said he always warned his clients about Muchens. By the time we arrived at the Pension we understood why he was talking about renting a car or scooter. “In the center of town” meant in the center of the whole town…we are at least three quarters of a mile from the port; only 600 meters he said? But it’s all downhill.

When I asked about the heater he said the price did not include the central air/heating unit. I insisted and Jim paid the extra 5 euros a day so that I can have heat. It’s way too cold here not to have heat in the room. Oh well, lesson learned; get exact distance before agreeing to rent. But, it is clean and we have a refrigerator that we stocked for breakfast from the store a bit further up the hill. After the trip to the store for supplies we bundled up again and headed down the hill towards the windmills. They were absolutely magnificent and worth every penny to get back here to see them in the daylight. Remember that this was our first stop on the four day cruise and we’d arrived at night.

The town is basically deserted; very few shops and/or restaurants are open. But, the boat leaves for Delos tomorrow at 10 am and we’ll have about four hours to view the archaeological gems before having to return to Mykonos. No one is allowed to stay overnight on that island. There are many Internet Café shops on Mykonos but I have yet to find one open. So, all of this will have to be sent when we’re on the big ferry to Athens on Friday. Can’t wait to show you the photos we took this afternoon of the windmills.

Walked along the area known as “little Venice” and took more photos of the windmills from there as the sun was setting. It’s called “little Venice” because the walls of the houses rise out of the water and the waves crash against them twenty four hours a day. Then we found a restaurant on the waterfront that was open and we had a delicious dinner of vegetarian pizza for me and hamburgers covered with blue cheese sauce for Jim. We probably should have walked home to exercise some of that excess off but elected to hire a taxi for 3.50 euros for the short drive up the hills to our Pension. Yes, we got a price before we got into the taxi!

Jim is watching the soccer game between Greece and Albania as the heater struggles to heat up this room that was designed to stay cool in the hot summers. I have found some extra blankets in the closet for my bed. Jim has a built in heater and would have been fine without the heater, he said. Tomorrow’s another day and Thanksgiving at home.

LAST DAY ON PAROS

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:02:00 +0000

Tuesday, November 20^th, 2007 Heading towards Mykonos…..

This morning we actually slept in until 8 am. This is our day to leave so we ate the last of the breakfast things and then prepared the house for leaving. We stripped the beds and emptied the trash (to take with us to the main road). We were actually ready to leave before noon but since the ferry boat doesn’t leave until 7:30 pm; we finished our books, washed our hair, watched lots of television: CNN over and over and over. They have an interesting segment here on Euro News; it’s called “No Comment” and it is raw footage on extremely current events without any commentary. We really like the concept.

We were a bit worried about whether or not the boat would sail tonight as the weather stormed off and on all day and we could see whitecaps on the Aegean all day from the windows of the house. At one point we had a beautiful rainbow appear in the sky. About 2:00 in the afternoon I spotted a Blue Star Ferry sailing past our island: a very good sign that the wind was not stopping them from sailing today.

Just after 3 pm we locked the doors and headed out toward Naousa and our Internet Café for one last stop. Just before Maripass we saw all kinds of cars along the highway, lots of people standing around and a huge crane. We suddenly realized that one of the city buses had gone off the road on a hill and was lying on its side in the ditch. Do hope that no one was injured as the school kids use these buses also.

Naousa is about fifteen kilometers from the house so we were soon in our smoky little cafe with the school kids playing their online games, and music blaring so loud you could hardly talk to one another. I updated some programs that were “screaming” to be downloaded every time we were online, picked up new emails; and checked the bank account, the stock market and most importantly the weather for the next ten days in Athens. Looks like we’re in for a week of sunshine starting tomorrow!

Heading into Parikia we started getting rain and heavier wind. The skies were black with clouds; would we sail tonight or have to get a hotel room in Parikia for the night and wait until Wednesday night? We checked with the travel agent as soon as we arrived and she said a definite “yes, we will sail” to our question. We then went to find the car rental agent and pay for our rental. At that time we asked if we could keep the car until time for the ferry because of the bad weather and he said “yes”.

We left the luggage in the car and found a grill nearby where Jim had roasted chicken and fries while I had a lamb Gyro or Hero…you know…they slice the meat off the rack and wrap it in pita bread…VERY GOOD!

By 7 pm the dock area came to life with lights and people started arriving with luggage. The large trucks started lining up on the dock and we were sure we were leaving. When the whistle blew we turned in the car keys and pulled our luggage over to the dock. The rain was very light but the wind was something else. They had a very difficult time docking the ferry boat and had to realign several times before they were finally able to put the ramp down and we boarded. It was a rockin’ and rollin’ trip that lasted a little bit more than an hour. We were happy to land safely on the Island of Syros.

Jim had worked very hard this afternoon researching the guide book for possible hotels near the port that he thought he might be able to rent for 50 euros. The one he wanted was several blocks up the hill; the plan was for me to stay with the luggage while he found the hotel and negotiated the price. As we got off the ship several different people approached us about rooms. We were about a block from the ship when a very nice gentleman with brochures in hand stopped and asked if we would consider his Hotel Greco, very nice and only another block? Jim said he’d picked one out already and could he help us with directions? The man was very gracious and gave Jim directions and then I asked him: “how much is your hotel?” Only 25 euros with a bathroom he said. WOW, how could we turn that down; so we quickly followed the man and are now in a plain, but clean hotel room for the night with a bathroom and a television.

Tomorrow we’ll have a few hours to explore Syros before we leave at 12:15 for Mykonos. Such adventures we’re having on this trip! So glad I’m finally over my cold but poor Jim is just beginning to feel the full effects of his.

EXPLORING NAOUSA

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:08:00 +0000

Monday, November 19^th, 2007 Another rainy day……

We actually slept in until after 7 am after a restless night with storms coming and going throughout the night. Jim definitely has a cold and has started taking the Sud-a-fed that we have with us from home.

By morning the sun was out and although cool, Jim enjoyed several walks in the surrounding hills while I readied my photos and journal for a trip this afternoon to Naousa and the Internet for the sending of Journal # 9. I’m also busy reading my current book as it’s so good and I want to finish before we leave tomorrow afternoon.

Our supply of food is nearly consumed and we’re having the last of it for dinner tonight, with a rice base we’ll toss everything that’s left in the pot; a bit of this and a bit of that! We’re going to miss our house on Paros but look forward to getting to Mykonos by way of a night on Syros. We leave at 7:30 pm for Syros tomorrow evening where we will search for a nights lodging; everyone assures us that it will be no problem even at that time of night. Do hope the weather is mild. Then on Wednesday we will leave from there to sail to Mykonos at noon. Our family of cats is going to miss us as they've enjoyed a nightly feast of a full can of cat food. The last can shall be opened tonight. Then they will have to find another family who will continue to feed them.

Looks like rain out there right now; its noon on Monday and we’ll wait until about 2 pm to head into Naousa. Jim is hoping for another serendipity journal up a strange road to a monastery that we can see at the top of a hill along the coast from our window.

Written later in the day:

This afternoon proved to be an adventure. First we started up the mountain to see if we could reach the monastery on top. It started to rain and then we found that we’d have to hike the last portion up a very steep hill. Backed the car down a very precipitous narrow road to a spot where we could finally turn around.

We then went on to Naousa for the Internet Café. Arrived at 2:30 and found a note on the door that it would not be open until 3 pm. Spent the time walking around the port and over to the ruins of a Venetian castle. We waited from 3 to 3:30 and no one came to open up the café so we headed towards Parikia and explored the ruins of the Frankish Castle there before getting gas for the car and heading back to Naousa and the known Internet Café since we couldn’t locate one in Parikia. Arrived to an open café and while I went in to use the Internet, Jim walked around taking video shots of the village and the mushroom storm clouds in the sky. We had storms off and on all day so the clouds were truly magnificent. Suddenly, Jim came into the café and announced he’d locked the keys inside the car. They only provide one set of keys so we borrowed the café telephone and called the number on the car of the rental agency that was posted on a sticker on the car. Nick, the owner of the company arrived within about ten minutes and shortly afterwards I finished downloading journals and emails. Thank goodness for small islands!

We did take the time to email our friends and family a send wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving next week as we never know when the next Internet Café will happen. But, as the years pass they do seem to happen much more frequently than five years ago.

LOST ELECTRICITY

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:52:00 +0000

Sunday, November 18^th, 2007 Heavy storms today caused lost of power…..

Restless night with lightening, thunder and rain off and on; Jim awoke with a scratchy throat and the beginnings of a cold. Took it easy in the morning and started a new book that I’ve found here in the house: “Aegean Summer” by Mimi Lafollette Summerskill; a family odyssey about a summer spent sailing in the Greek Islands in 1965. Very interesting and well written, a true story based on a handwritten journal from the trip.

This afternoon I was reading in my new book about the Greek men and their lack of response to women; it hasn’t changed a bit since 1965. The author was divorced and traveling with her five children ages 24 to 10; a business women who owned and ran one of the largest travel agencies in California at that time. She could not get the captain to listen to her directions and soon realized that she had to give her decisions to her 24 year old son to tell the captain in order to get anything accomplished. They weren’t being rude that was just the way it was then. Today when I was trying to get some information out of the fellow that we’d rented the car though, he looked like he wasn’t hearing me at all. Suddenly Jim walked in to the office and he lit up like a Christmas tree and there was a total change of attitude and demeanor. Me thinks I’d have a difficult time dealing with that attitude on a long term basis!

About noon we had a loud clap of thunder as the lightening struck nearby and all the power went out for the whole area. The storm would stop, sun would come out and then the storm would return. But, we did have a beautiful rainbow in the sky at one time. About 3 pm we got in the car to find a telephone to call Aristo who is our property manager, to see what was happening. First we stopped at the local restaurant on the main road where we’d eaten last Sunday. I walked in to a smoke filled room with all men and told them we were staying up the hill and had lost our electricity. They all pointed to the light bulb that was burning and said that it had just come on that minute! No, I don’t think any of them knew how to speak English but we understood each other. Back in the car and up the hill and sure enough, the power had returned!

Decided to head north to our Internet Café for emails and to check the weather reports; and then continued around the bend to Paraika in hopes that they would actually have the 5 pm Mass that was suppose to happen according to the November issue of the Paros Life, the local newspaper for foreigners.

Arrived and went into the travel agency first and purchased our tickets for Tuesday and Wednesday for our trips to Syros and then on Mykonos on Wednesday. Walked around to the church and found the door locked. Since it wasn’t quite 5 pm yet we walked around town until quarter after five before deciding that they’d canceled the Mass probably due to the bad weather. It wasn’t raining right then but has been most of the day.

Stopped at the car rental office that was open to check on the return times for Tuesday and then headed back towards Drios and home. We were looking for a place to eat dinner and didn’t find an open restaurant until we reached our road and the little Travena that is located nearby. We were the only foreigners but they were very gracious. We enjoyed baked cheese, bread, beer, fries and delicious lamb fresh off the grill. Jim said that it was probably some of the “freshest” meat we’ve ever eaten; whatever, it was great!

We’re home now, the electricity is working and the lightening is far to the north of us.

And so we’ve ended another day in paradise after circling the entire Island this afternoon. It’s not a big place and we really feel like we’ve gotten to know the nooks and crannies.

THE BEACHES OF PAROS

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:44:00 +0000

Saturday, November 17^th, 2007 Driving the coastal beaches…..

Jim has decided that I should spend a day in bed. He keeps bring me coffee, hot lemon juice with honey, and breakfast in bed. Wow, am I going to be spoiled. But I do hope this helps the body mend as I am still having troubles with the cold. It’s rather nice as I sit here in bed and type as I can look out the window and see Naxos across the water. Jim has gone to the store for more Kleenex and coffee before heading over to the well for more water. The weather is clear, some clouds on the horizon but contrary to what the weather reports on the Internet said yesterday; it doesn’t look like its going to rain.

Well, my bed rest lasted until about 1 pm and then I just couldn’t stay down any longer. But I do feel better; I think that the extra liquids have helped me as I don’t drink a lot during the day because of the problems of finding the W.C. on a regular basis when we’re out traipsing around the countryside. After Jim fixed us lunch we did some laundry and then headed for a drive to see if the Internet “hot spot” he found during his morning drive was a secured or open spot. On our way to the main road we clocked the distance from the Villa to the road and it’s a distance of 1.3 kilometers; not too far and it’s all downhill but then there’s the walk back up afterwards.

Down by our local beach we found a pole with five different DSL boxes along with several satellite dishes. I fired up the laptop and it spotted the servers but all of them were secured so that ended that possibility. We did stop to watch several young men who were wind sailing on Golden Beach. Using a large comma shaped “kite” it was amazing to watch them use the wind to basically water ski as though they were being pulled by a fast speedboat. The weather is beautiful today but they were wearing wetsuits as I’m sure it was cold out there in the water.

We continued to drive along the coast until the road brought us back to the highway and then we took the next road back to the coast and a very pretty little town called Piso Livadi. The protected harbor held many little fishing boats and piles of large nets were drying along the docks. As we were leaving we pulled over to let two vehicles go around us; Jim does this because he hates “tail gating”; but, that’s just the way the Greeks drive so he’s always pulling over. The second vehicle stopped and backed up after passing us; it was Aristo, the gentlemen who takes care of our Villa and had helped us when we first arrived. It’s a small world, even on “our” island.

Our next adventure today was, you guessed it, back to Naousa and the Internet. But, we drove a completely different route to Marpissa and headed for Kostos in the hills for another route into Naousa. Jim is determined to drive as many back roads as possible while we’re here. On this one we found another stretch of the Byzantine Route with a Byzantine Bridge for a Kodak moment. The weather is becoming overcast so that storm may arrive tomorrow; but for now, we were able to sign on, get our emails and do some research on the ferry boat routes for next week. Arrived back at the house just at dusk and had another home cooked meal. Jim gets very frustrated driving at dusk as they generally don’t turn their headlights on until it is totally dark; some do use the small running lights and that help a little bit.

ISLAND OF NAXOS

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 23:27:00 +0000

Friday, November 16^th, 2007 Off to visit the Island of Naxos…..

Woke early, heater worked all night; we’re learning how to work the electrical system. Jim says that instead of a 10 amp breaker it should be at least a 25. Looks like another beautiful day outside. About 9 am we loaded the car, including the trash bag, and headed down the hill to the main road. Found the trash dumpster on the highway and then headed south through Drios towards Parikia. When we arrived we found parking for the day; walked to the port and purchased our roundtrip tickets to Naxos for the day at the price of 7 euros each way.

We now had two hours until sailing time so we first walked around to find the Catholic Church where we will go to Mass on Sunday evening. Then we entered one of the most famous churches in the islands. It is called the Holy Shrine of Panaya Ekatontapiliani, built in the fourth century somewhere around 379 AD by St. Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine. She had stopped in Paros as she traveled to Palestine to search for the Holy Cross. She prayed in a small temple on this site and promised to return and build a big Temple if she was successful in her quest for the Holy Cross. Some say that she built the temple and others say her son built if for her. She found pieces of the Holy Cross in Palestine and also other relics including the steps to the house of Pontius Pilate that now have their own church in Rome.

This is one of the oldest and best maintained Christian temples in Greece; of course like everything in Europe this is not the original building but has been repaired and reconstructed on this site over the centuries as fires and earthquakes required. The inside is truly one of the best of all the Greek Orthodox Churches that we’ve seen on this trip. There have been larger ones but this one definitely causes one to stop and investigate all of the nooks and crannies. One special spot is the Chapel of Osia Theoktisti that includes her tomb. Her story is very interesting and a part of the history of Paros and this church. They celebrate her memory on the 9^th of November each year.

I then found a spot to sit and read my novel near the pine grove and Jim headed over for the Archeological Museum of Paros. Small but he found it very interesting he said when he came out half an hour later. Purchased a bag of popcorn and then headed to the dock to await the ship that will be stopping here; it left from Piraeus (Athen’s Port) this morning and stops here before going to Naxos and then it continues on from there to Santorini.

The ship took about an hour to go around the north end of Paros Island and over to Naxos. Departed the ship and walked up the inside walkways to the top of the Venetian Fortress. There was a large Roman Catholic Church but it was locked. We found the Naxos Archeological Museum but Jim passed on that one. We finally found the Venetian Museum that we wanted to visit but it is closed for the season. Winding our way down in a different direction, we ended up at the same place we’d started from near the port. The inside pathways were probably created both as safe passages in the winter storms but also because of pirates in the ancient times. Actually, I was reading a story one day about some modern day pirates that have attacked Corfu enough times that they actually increased the number of soldiers on the island to deter possible attacks.

We then walked back towards the port and on to the tip of the bay where the Archaic Temple towers over the town and has become its symbolic icon: when you think of Naxos you think of the romantic skyline arch of a ruined temple on the causeway-linked islet at the edge of the town. The books say that the temple-topped rock provides a beguiling promise to arriving ferry passengers of things to come. We found it a Kodak moment and I shot a photo of Jim posed just so that it appears that he is holding the column apart. We also set up the mini-tripod and did some timed photos of the two of us blowing in the wind that is coming in off the Aegean Sea.

It was nearly 3 pm and we walked till we found an Internet Shop with wireless access. There were several to choose from because of the rage with Internet Gaming that we’re finding all over Greece. Yes, I’d brought my laptop with me; it’s so small I find it easy to slip into my daypack. Signed on and enjoyed a very fast connection. We then headed downstairs and into an outside restaurant for an early dinner. We ended up staying at the table for almost two hours reading our novels; the place wasn’t crowded and we were not the only ones using this as a waiting room for the return trip at 6:15 pm.

Back on Paros about 7:30 pm we decided to take the northern route home through Lefkes to our house in Drios. I was very diligent in working with Jim to watch for cows on the road; we didn’t want a repeat of the other night. A nice day but it was good to be back in our snug little home at the end of the day.

CATHEDRAL IN LEFKES

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:12:00 +0000

Thursday, November 15^th, 2007 Good weather today as we toured Paros sites….

Last night was a light show as God provided massive sheets of lightening followed by loud claps of thunder for most of the evening. The cats were snuggled up close to the windows and the power kept going on and off. By 8 pm I decided to shower before we lost power permanently as the water heater is electric. We found lots of little tea candles and some citron candles in the cabinets along with some flashlights.

Just as Jim was getting into the shower we lost all of the power downstairs, but the power was okay in the upstairs. Probably a short somewhere in the walls as the downstairs has two walls into the side of the hill. Piled all the blankets we could find on the beds and tucked ourselves in for the night.

Have I mentioned the electrical systems in Greece? Every business and home has an electrical panel built inside the building with switches and breakers for everything. The upstairs air conditioner/heater is totally separate from the downstairs. We do the power switches for the stove and hot water heaters as needed. Most of the others stay on full time. We saw this system for the first time in the brand new home, “Rooms for Rent”, that we stayed in several weeks ago on our way to Corfu. Today in the restaurant in Lefkes, we saw them using the same system, except because it is an old building the wires were visible on the wall instead of being buried inside the wall. These probably exist all over Europe but I’ve never noticed them before.

By this morning we had power back but decided not to run the television and downstairs heater at the same time as they are on the same breaker and give us the most problems. The sun was out and it’s a beautiful day outside. We went for a walk up the hill behind the house in shirtsleeves it was so warm. We saw high on the hill above us the Monastery of St. George that we’d driven towards on a dirt road while looking for the water well on Tuesday. It is a huge building but I don’t think I want to make that climb again in our little car; a four wheel drive would be perfect for getting there.

Drove into Drios to the grocery store for some things and then down to the beach in town. We turned at the sign for The Lake Restaurant and headed down a stone canyon to the beach. They have built a narrow road of stone with high walls of stone on either side. Near the beach we spotted a parking lot and walked from there. There are several hotels and many restaurants along the water. Packed with tourist during the summer; today we are the only people there. Everything is closed and even the few fishing boats at the end of the promenade looked sad at their moorings. There were lots of Kodak moments but lacking a certain amount of flavor in their emptiness.

Back on the highway we headed towards Marpissa where we were told that there was a pharmacy where I could purchase some cough drops. No medicinal supplies are sold in the grocery store. Not only found cough drops but also a jar of Vicks Vapor Rub. I’m still fighting the chest rumblings especially at night so this should help.

In Marpissa we easily found the road to St. George’s Monastery and only one kilometer later we were at the well. We filled all of our empty bottles before heading back to the main road. We then headed north to visit the village of Lefkes again; we’re going to hike to the church today.

It was a beautiful walk down the winding steps to the base of the village and the twin towered church with the unusual steeples. Located inland, Lefkes was the capital of Paros during the Ottoman rule when the pirates ruled the seas and forced the abandonment of the traditional center at Parikia, I’ve also discovered that it is sometimes spelled Paroikia. Lefkes is shaped like an amphitheater in the hills with the shimmering Parian Marble Agias Trias Cathedral as the stage at the bottom of the canyon. Unfortunately, the church is now closed for repairs and we were unable to see the frescos and mosaics inside of the church. A charming village with pristine alleyways and buildings that lined our route back to the top; along the way up we stopped at a small bar for cokes and the hard to find but necessary W.C.

Outside of Lefkes we stopped to view the five windmills on one hill; all in various stages of deterioration. Nearby we found olive trees that are hundreds of years old. We haven’t seen groves being harvested; only the occasional person out picking their own olives. We have seen a few nets on the ground but mostly they are holding a basket to put the olives into.

Turned around and headed out of the mountains to the northern coastal route for a return visit to Naousa and the wireless Internet. It’s like a magnet, drawing us back as often as possible. While I was online searching for emails and updated information; Jim found a shop for ferry boat information. We’ve discovered that there is a boat that leaves at 11:55 am for Naxos and returns the same day about 6 pm. Naxos is so close to us that we see the villages across the Aegean Sea on clear days and the lights at night. We won’t be taking the car with us as that would be an extra fifty euro each way. But, there’s a lot to do in the main port town per the guidebooks and it will be a nice change of pace. We also located the Roman Catholic Church in Naousa but this Sunday the priest is saying the mass on Sunday evening in Parikia instead of here, so we need to find the church there before catching the ferry to Naxos tomorrow morning.

Before leaving Naousa we turned down the rutted road that we’d found yesterday during the rain to view the “Tower of Hellenistic Period”; it was too muddy yesterday but today we bounced down the road with only a few problems. Yep…I was right…another pile of rocks about two feet high…but a Kodak moment for Jim.

We’ve had our dinner; Jim cooked and now I need to do the dishes. We’ll read our books and enjoy the electricity this evening.

ANOTHER DAY ON PAROS

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:10:00 +0000

Wednesday, November 14^th, 2007 Rainy day for driving to Parikia…..

Woke to storms this morning…electricity has been in and out all morning and the storms continued all day; but we were able to find an Internet Café in Naousa that offered wireless access. Made my day to be able to send and receive emails home.

Jim checked his stock market which seems to have bounced up today. We’ve both finished reading our books so yes, the television is on tonight. We fixed our dinner here at the house after we arrived back from our daily tour. We went from Naousa, on the northern tip of the island, across to Parikia. I pronounce that one like the spice but it actually has about four syllabus and is Pa ri ki a (me thinks); Jim is very tolerant about the way I massacre pronunciations.

Walked around between rain drops in Parikia and found a November issue of the Paros News; a monthly newspaper for the foreigners on the island. Gives up-dated information on the many things happening on the island; the local store in Drios was out of this months issue already. Back in the car we drove back across the hills by way of Lefkes to see the church again and see if we could figure how to drive down to it. Looks like we’ll have to hike and with the rain today we’ll save that for another day. Every town we drive through we’re looking for restaurants. Not finding very many of them open.

Back home again before 5 pm, I fed the cats and Jim fixed our dinner from the food we’d purchased at the store yesterday; delicious as always. Still raining so I think I’ll start another book. The owners of this house have a very nice library. We’re really enjoying the down time; Jim even said that if the house had wireless Internet he might consider selling Yorba Linda and living here part time. The operative word in that sentence was “might”…it’ll never happen; he just likes to dream.

EXPLORING PAROS

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:55:00 +0000

Tuesday, November 13^th, 2007 Off to the marble quarries….

Slept in a bit later than yesterday; breakfast was oatmeal again along with the rest of the hard bread. Hung up the clothes outside again, this time with clothes pins and then took them down again an hour later before heading for the grocery store after I’d sketched out a map from the main road to the house for Jim. He gets lost at the church corner.

We found Margarita and Haris’ grocery store by the name of Anoussakis Market, located in the center of town on the main road. We introduced ourselves and they remembered Julie and said, “such a nice lady”. And I was right, that was not “Harry” on Sunday!

Purchased about 60 euros worth of food that should last us until we leave; they had a good selection of American products. Found another Skippy’s peanut butter to replace the one we’ve been using, toilet paper, paper towels, nuts, bananas, eggs, etc. Even found some frozen shrimp. But, didn’t find any frozen English muffins for Julie.

We headed back to the house for a couple of hours to give the laundry time to dry outside before heading out again about 2 pm this afternoon to find the spring for water and see the marble quarries used by the Greeks and then the Romans. It is known for its translucent qualities and was known as Parian marble and was considered the world’s finest. One example is the statute of Venus de Milo carved between 150-140 BC; one of the most important works of art in the Louvre Museum in Paris France.

Took the laundry back inside before leaving, it’s nearly dry and it still looks like rain is a possibility. Headed north towards Marpissa to find the “spring water” that is free and drinkable; followed Julie’s instruction and turned off on the road towards the St. George Monastery. We followed this road all the way to the top of the mountain and didn’t see any wells. By this time we felt like a mountain goat as the road was the width of our car, deeply rutted (very few roads are paved we’ve discovered) and extremely steep. Jim reminded me that all of our weight and traction was in the back of the car so we could start slipping backwards at any moment! We finally called a halt to this quest and turned around. We’d decided to purchase our water at the store.

Near the bottom of the hill we saw another road and took that one. It led us into a canyon and we found the dam with water in the spillway; but definitely not drinkable. Back to the road…still not paved…past the turkey farm; here we stopped for a Kodak moment as I think this is as close to a Thanksgiving Turkey as we’re going to see this year. Nearly back to the paved road we spotted what appeared to be a water well. Sure enough, inside the well was a pump and over to the side was a faucet just as Julie said there’d be. And looking off the road we saw the Monastery that provides the free drinkable water for the village. We’d driven right past it on our way up the mountain as it was hidden from view on the way up by a small building. We filled our empty water bottles that we’d brought with us and should now have plenty of drinking water for the rest of our stay.

Headed back into Marpissa and took the road towards Lefkes; a town in the mountains near the center of the Island of Paros. There we had another Kodak moment of the magnificent Agias Trias cathedral; then we headed further down on the other side of the mountain towards Marathi and the ancient marble quarries that have now been abandoned. Jim’s sandal strap broke again as we walked up the marble path to the quarries; he shuffled along and we were able to see where the Parian Marbles were quarried in ancient times.

Back to the car and on down the mountain to the port city of Parikia where we hoped to find an open restaurant for an early dinner. Drove around and around and finally out of the city without finding anything. The Islands definitely do “shut down” after October. Decided to head towards the house and fix spaghetti for dinner after stopping at the store for fresh bread and the noodles that we’d forgotten this morning. Since it was only 4:30 and the store didn’t reopen until 5 pm we meandered here and there and ended up driving all the way down the road into Klyki. Found the beach with the boats moored in the bay and unexpectedly also found an open restaurant! Enjoyed a nice early dinner of pizza and then headed back towards Drios and home. It was dark by now and while driving along the highway we rounded a curve in the road and I yelled “COW”; much like Jamie in the movie “Twister”. Jim slammed on the brakes and stopped just inches before hitting the first cow whose eyes were looking inside our little car! There were three cows crossing the highway followed by an old man on a donkey and a very small dog trotting along side the donkey. Jim rolled down the window to apologize to the old man and he started shaking his long stick that he was carrying and yelling at us in Greek! We really were not speeding and I think we were more frightened by the experience that the old man….the cows hardly batted an eyelash!

Arrived home to all five cats crying for their dinner; guess they’re getting used to being fed. We’re going to enjoy our evening by reading our books. I’ve started a great little book that I found here in the house called “Tulip Fever” by Deborah Moggach. Jim is busying attempting to repair his sandal with our sewing kit just incase we don’t find a shoe repair shop tomorrow when we drive back into Parikia. And then he plans to read his book also. I can’t believe that the television has not been on once today! That’s a record!

EXPLORING THE ISLAND

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:22:00 +0000

Monday, November 12^th, 2007 Drove to Parikia….the port….

Washed my hair which may have been a mistake as the cold seems to have settled in my chest overnight; lots of coughing today and here I thought I was over it by now. Back to the Greek liquid medicine I purchased in Athens and rubbing the cream on the chest and on my feet per instructions from my friend Patti via email.

We were up early as sleeping in has not been a luxury we’ve enjoyed recently. Found a partial box of oatmeal, some honey that was going to sugar, our bread and juice and instant coffee that we’d purchased at the store yesterday, made a great breakfast. We hung some of our laundry on the clothes line outside before heading down the hill for today’s adventure.

We headed north along the coast towards the main port town of Parikia. There we checked on boat schedules for Mykonos. Opps, we learned that we have to sail first to the Island of Syros; that ferry leaves Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday only at either 7:30 pm or 4:45 pm depending on the day. Then we must stay overnight and the next day catch a different ferry to Mykonos. Another overnight stay and then return to Syros; stay overnight and then return to Paros. It’s called the winter schedules I think! So we’ve decided to stay on Paros until the 20^th, then go to Syros, from there to Mykonos and then back to Syros and the following day go to Athens (we hope). Everything depends on the weather. Island hopping is best done in the summer! Hot but predictable weather!

Today we drove around the city of Parikia before heading south to Pounda and the short ferry boat ride to Antiparos (sometimes spelled Andiparos). This is the island that the movie stars have started building homes on. Originally it was part of Paros until about five hundred years before Christ when an earthquake split it off. The sea is so shallow between the two islands that large ferry boats are required to sail around on the other side of Antiparos.

The ferry left every half hour in the morning and we arrived just as the noon boat was leaving. Half hour later it was back and we drove aboard for the fifteen minute ride in our car. The fee was only 6 euro for the car and 1 euro for each of us. Very reasonable and then we had the car to drive around the island. We found an open restaurant called Romvi in the port and enjoyed a nice meal before heading up the road to find “the cave” that is the tourist site of this island. Found the cave, but it was closed, maybe for the day, maybe for the season or maybe for repairs; bottom line we were only able to take photos of the entrance. Started to rain as we dashed down the hill to the car and it continued to rain for the rest of the day. Back on the ferry boat and home to Paros; we thought that the grocery store would be open by 4 pm but when we arrived in Drios, it didn’t open until 5 pm. Figured we had enough to eat this evening so we returned home in the rain and found the laundry had flown off of the clothesline (hanging hangers on the clothesline was not the swiftest thing we did today) so it was back in the washing machine for those pieces. We left it there overnight and hung it up this morning. Fortunately we’d only hung a few heavy pieces on the line before we left for town.

We enjoyed our tomato soup and bread that we’d purchased yesterday and also found an open jar of Skippy’s Peanut Butter that added to our little supper. Lost power a few times but overall enjoyed the evening watching CNN and CNBC for Jim and I finished reading my novel before going to bed about 9 pm.

PAROS

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:32:00 +0000

Sunday, November 11^th, 2007 Ferry boat to Paros and our little house….

Jim woke about 5 am and was dressed by the time I woke up about six. He went down to the ticket office and purchased our tickets. We took our things and boarded the ship about 6:45 am. Crowded but manageable, we found seats and purchased some coffee and chocolate to go with our apple pie that Julie had insisted we bring with us last night; made a great breakfast during our four hour cruise. I’ve been typing on my computer now for the past two hours and Jim has started to read my book, “The Kite Runner”. I’m going to bring it back to Julie at the end of our stay in Paros as she said she’d like to read it. Jim generally doesn’t like the same books as I do but he is thoroughly enjoying this one. Highly recommend you get the book if you haven’t read it. Amazing is all I can say.

I walked around while Jim was reading my new Journal and at the reception desk I found a card that said they had wireless Internet. I asked and it is ninety minutes for 9 euros. I immediately purchased some time and soon we were online for the last hour of our sailing time. This will be perfect for the trip back to Athens to send my journal and photos from our stay on Paros.

Arrived and Aristos was there to meet us. Nice man, younger than I thought he’d be; took us straight to the car rental place across the street and assisted us in renting a car. We took the mini compact, a Korean built Daewoo, stick shift; very basic but only 18 euros a day….a great price. We then followed Aristos for about a half an hour to the house. Can’t imagine how we would have found it without him. We’re located near the top of the hill just north of Drios; views to die for of the Aegean Sea and the islands along the coast. All white houses, flat roofs to catch the rain, and bright colors on the shutters, doors and fences. Water is very precious here on Paros and we need to drink bottled water unless we want to drive to a spring that Julie told us about last night.

The house is two stories on a hillside; you enter on the second story where there is a bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and dining room. Downstairs there is a living room, bedroom and second bathroom. The house has very spacious rooms, all tile floors, lots of windows but without screens and most importantly a washing machine. Each load takes over two hours as they are European machines. Jim is thrilled that there is a satellite TV with about a thousand channels! CNN is primary as many of the others are in Greek. The owner of this home actually lives in North Carolina and was just here in October. Julie has been using the house every year for more than ten years, usually during August. I must say their detailed instruction books are fantastic. Puts my little Big Bear book to shame!

We also have five friendly cats that were waiting to be feed as soon as we arrived. They don’t belong to anyone but the owners encourage guests to feed the cats while here. We purchased cat food at the store and watched them devour every bite. They’re sitting at the patio door as I type hoping that we’ll let them in but that’s not going to happen; Jim will tolerate my feeding them but not allowing them inside the house; says he’s allergic to cats. We do have a lot of houseflies. I’ve been working with the fly swatter and have them under control. There is mosquito netting over all the beds so I guess that’s a problem in the warmer months.

After checking everything out and starting a load of wash we headed out to get gas for the car, find some early dinner and the grocery store. Got lost at our first turn but soon turned around and wound our way down the hill to the main road following the “Dasco Villa” signs. There we found gas and next door a wonderful Grill Restaurant called Pateneth or something like that. Family run and very good food, again we were the only foreigners in the room. Someone told us that Tom Cruise is of Greek heritage: his cousin was sitting in the room today having lunch. At least he looked a lot him Tom Cruise. Jim had lamb that we watched the owner/chef cut up with a huge meat cleaver before grilling over charcoal. I had a Greek Salad and we both enjoyed baked cheese with spices. Two beers completed our first meal on Paros; a great meal and I’m sure we’ll go back again while we’re here.

Drove towards Drios looking for the market; saw one on the edge of town but it looked closed. Jim pulled into the parking area behind and there was a man cleaning corn. I asked him if this was Margarita and Harry’s market and when would the market be open? He motioned us to follow him, I said are you Harry? He shook his head for a yes and unlocked the door. He turned on some lights and let us purchase some groceries. There wasn’t a huge selection, no eggs or fruit; but we found enough for breakfast and lunch and cans of cat food.

Continued to drive and then found other markets that were closed because today is Sunday. We’ll come back tomorrow as I don’t think that we were at the store that Julie told us about. Checked her email again after we arrived home and found the name of Margarita’s store, I don’t think that was Harry that we met. Continued to drive around the area before heading home to check on the laundry and learn more about our new house.

ROUGH SEAS

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:45:00 +0000

Saturday, November 10^th, 2007 An extra day in Athens due to bad weather….

Up by 5 and down for the taxi that we’d scheduled for 6 am. The weather was cold and blustery, but we didn’t think too much about it. The taxi driver taught me a new word as he greeted us with a hearty “kalimera” and a few minutes later as we settled into the ride I said to him a hearty “good morning” and he repeated back to me his original greeting that sounds like “calamari”. Ah, new word for my vocabulary, easy to remember because it sounds likes the octopus when it is cooked.

We arrived at the port of Piraeus and he dropped us at the ticket office for the Blue Ferry Line. It was even windier here, and within a few minutes we discovered why the guide books tell you not to count on the ferries always running! They were shut down tight because of the brewing storms rolling in from the southeast. We looked up at the flags and they were standing at attention fulltime!

Dawn arrived and they unlocked the waiting rooms near the ship. We hadn’t purchased our tickets yet and at this point no one was selling any tickets. The rooms and dock were full of people arriving, leaving, and staying and generally in a quandary as they continued to hold out hope that if the storm let up they would sail. In the past, this type of storm wasn’t an issue and they sailed in all types of weather. But, because of several ships going down in the last few years; now they do not always sail in some types of weather. Jim is sure that it’s because we’re in an off season and this way they’ll be able to fill the ship tomorrow. About 8 am I found a telephone booth and called Julie to let her know that it looked like we were not going to Paros today. I woke her up and she suggested that I wait awhile before calling the gardener/property manager, Aristos, in Paros to let him know not to meet us at the port today.

Suddenly we saw that the rain was eminent and we had to make some decisions. Up to this point we’d only had the two tiny croissants and three cookies to share that I’d tucked into my pack yesterday at the restaurant where I’d eaten my lemon pie. I thought we might need them this morning and also; they were placed on every table with a pitcher of water when you ordered something to eat. It was about 9 am and we rushed to cross the bridge over the street that took us to the Metro Station. Yes, we could have easily ridden the Metro to the port and saved about fifteen euro; but that is now hindsight. There we found clean rest rooms and a coffee shop where we purchased cokes (for caffeine) and a large buttery croissant for each of us. That entitled us to use the table for a couple of hours. The rain poured as we entered the station and the wind was ferocious as it turned umbrellas inside out and knocked over the newspaper stands! I was amazed that the flags were not ripped from their standards. I found the telephone again about 9 am and called Aristos in Paros; he said he would meet us tomorrow.

Jim left me at the coffee shop and headed out to find an inexpensive hotel in the area for the night. It’s a rather seedy area so I didn’t hold any great hopes for something super; we’re looking for cheap and clean. He found us one two blocks away for only 50 euro for the night. We waited for a break in the rain and took our bags over to the hotel and then headed into the city by Metro. It was nearly one o’clock when we called Julie again to let her know that we’d contacted Aristos and had a room for the night. She said she’d emailed us this morning to invite us to stay at her place but we hadn’t been online. Just as well; we’ll be close to the ship in the morning and not have to get up quite so early.

She invited us to her home in Ano Glifada for dinner about 6 pm. Because of our schedule they’re dining very early and also it’s possible because Dimitris works outside and will be quitting early because of the rain.

So we had four hours for walking the city. We’d already walked the Monastiraki district, the old bazaar in the city of Athens, but decided to start our walk there. It butts up against the Plaka and Acropolis and has been there for centuries. Many antiques, we saw one open air shop with dining room chairs, definitely used, and one of a kind; out of about thirty we didn’t see any two that matched.

Headed over towards the Adams Hotel that we’d found last week and seemed like a good value. We’d emailed them and the Carolina Hotel last night on the Internet inquiring about rooms for three nights before we leave Athens after Thanksgiving. Couldn’t find it and ended up walking to Vitro’s where we’d eaten dinner twice. It was really getting cold and we’d left our sweatshirts back at the hotel.

We had the use of the WC and shared a baked feta cheese dish with our chocolate and coffee. After half an hour we headed back out into the street. One of our quests has been for a Christmas ornament from Greece for our neighbor Mary whom we met in Corfu. Now the stores are busy putting out the displays of Christmas decoration but we’ve been unable to find one that symbolized Greece. We stopped at a particularly nice store in the Plaka; the staff was very busy unpacking all their Christmas stock. I asked about an ornament that had “Greece” written on it and WOW…he had some! We were able to select from four different balls and so now we have fulfilled another quest. We also purchased a very small bottle of the Tsipouro Liqueur for us on Paros and another larger one to take to Julie and Dimitris for a gift when we go there for dinner this evening.

By this time we were both freezing and found beige wool sweaters that zipped up for a nice snug fit around the neck. Nothing special, mine is a little large, and we got them for only ten euros each. Jim showed the fellow how to tie a single and a double Windsor knot for his friend who was in need of a tie. I don’t think he made much money on us but enjoyed our company. Finally warm, we headed out towards the Adams and Carolina hotels that we now knew how to find. The Adams was very nice for the price and located in the Plaka. We made a tentative reservation with them for Nov. 24 -26. Then we headed towards the Carolina near Sindagma Square and found it was even nicer but a little higher in price. The desk clerk would not negotiate on the price. We’ve since received an email that gives us a great price so we’re in a quandary as to where to go when we return to Athens after Thanksgiving.

From there were walked to the Parliament building and the tomb of the Unknown Soldier to watch the guards as they strutted there drills. They’ve now changed into winter uniforms of black wool jackets and black, instead of red, tassels on their shoes. Then we went into the Metro Station. Looked for a WC but since we couldn’t find one we headed out to the McDonalds where we had our first coffee that early morning several weeks ago when we arrived. Used their facilities and then back to the Metro and a stroll through the art exhibit of photographs. Very beautiful and expensive, the price sheet was from a low of 700 euros up to 1500 euros for the most expensive.

The Metro ride to Julie’s area wasn’t too long. We’d had wind all day but no rain since arriving in town. She lives south of Athens along the coast and when we came up from the Metro Station it was pouring. We opened our umbrellas and headed for the taxi stand per Julie’s instruction. Had a bit of a wait in that people were very aggressive and pushed past us in line; finally found one and handed him Julie’s address. He punched it into his GPS system and we were off for a short ride to her house; arrived right on time at 6 pm.

Julie lives in a very nice flat on the second floor; she’s been there about five years. We were worried about Dimitris doing the BBQ in the rain, but the patio was covered with a tent (awning) and it was no problem. Julie is definitely used to entertaining. Being in the travel business she hosts many cocktail parties during cruises for her clients and tonight was excellent. And with next to no notice as we’d expected to visit them after we returned from Paros, not before we left! She had caviar for us, Jim had red wine and I enjoyed shots of Vodka with mine. Then it was shrimp cocktails. Dinner was a delicious asparagus soup, steak, Greek style hamburgers, baked potatoes, salad and apple pie for dessert. So enjoyed our evening, ate too much but sure enjoyed every bite. Great place with lots of family photos and mementos from her twenty plus years of travel; just before leaving Jim asked about the skull on the wall and she’d actually purchased it many years ago in California at the Bowers Museum.

Dimitris, that’s Greek for James so we also called him Jimmy, put us into the car and we thought he was taking us to the Metro Station. When he asked what street our hotel was on we suddenly found out that he was taking us all the way back to the port and our hotel. Hadn’t expected that and enjoyed the ride through the streets to our hotel. We arrived back at the hotel about 10 pm and after showers hit the bed. The sheets were very clean but the blanket smelled of smoke; but we were dry, clean and ready for the morning.

ANOTHER DAY IN ATHENS

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:31:00 +0000

Friday, November 9^th, 2007 The sun is shining and all is well…..

Woke before 5 am, finished packing and headed for the dining room for an early breakfast before six. We left the ship about 6:30 and headed for customs; a breeze since we were able to handle our own luggage and the ship had cleared customs for us before returning the passports last night. Found a waiting room with benches that was full of taxi drivers waiting for people to retrieve their luggage; they all smoke constantly. Jim couldn’t handle the air in the room so while I watched our luggage he continued to walk outside to check on our driver who was scheduled for 7:15. He arrived right on time, the same driver who had taken us to the airport for Istanbul. Or should I say, Constantinople, the Greek name; and of course it should really be the Ellinas’ name as the Greek citizens don’t refer to themselves as Greek but as Ellinas. That would be roughly translated in English as Hellenes. Have I confused everybody enough? It’s all Greek to me.

We drove straight to the President Hotel and they had a room waiting for us. This one was a triple with three single beds so we had room and beds to spare. Put everything down and headed for the Optical store across the street that the desk clerk had pointed out when we registered. It was still closed so we went back to the hotel to wait for 9 am. Then Jim went across the street and she said he would have to leave them overnight. He explained that we were leaving at 6 am and he had to have them fixed TODAY. She gave him an address in the center of the city for us to go direct to the repairman.

By then it was 9:30 and they were serving breakfast until ten so we decided to have brunch before heading to the Metro. I had to read all the maps and directions (which I generally do anyway) but we found the shop without too many detours. At one point a gentlemen stopped to help us with perfect English. He’d lived in Santa Monica for several years and easily pointed us in the right direction. The shop was upstairs and couriers were going in and out the whole time we were there. No way to redo the screws that he drilled out but since the wing was not titanium he was able to use super glue to affix the wing to the lens. Twenty minutes later we were walking out with glasses repaired. Jim called our successful quest today: “The Great Greek Optical Odyssey”.

We were about eight blocks from the Archeological Museum that we’d visited earlier and Jim wanted to return again so we headed in that direction. I found a nice outdoor coffee shop and stayed there for an hour as Jim went back into the museum to see more of their artifacts. I had a new book that I’d brought from home on the recommendation of my sister called “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini. Cracked the book and enjoyed reading while I slowly consumed lemon pie and coffee. It’s cool outside but the sun is shining and it was a great afternoon for enjoying the outdoor. After about an hour, I used the facilities and then walked over to the stone steps at the entrance of the museum and found a great, but cold, perch on the marble entrance; sitting on the map, I continued reading for another half hour before Jim arrived and we walked back to towards Omonia Square and the Metro Station. As we neared the square we noticed that the streets were block by police and when we arrived we stood and watched the university students (we assumed) march with huge signs down the main street named 28 Oktovriou - Patission; there were hundreds of them but very orderly, almost like soldiers matching as they chanted their slogans of protest for something. We have no idea what they were protesting but it was also on the Greek news stations in the evening. Back at the hotel we purchased an Internet card and signed on to send our emails, journal and photos from the Cruise from the comfort of our room using a wireless connection.

About 5 pm we walked to the Doukissa Restaurant that we’d so enjoyed before going to Istanbul last week. The owner was very glad to see us and after dinner stood and talked with us for about half an hour while he also insisted on giving us dessert and several shots of a 41% proof Greek Liqueur called Tsipouro. (pronounced Chiporo). It is made after the grapes are pressed for wine…they take the skins and continue to process them to make this high content liqueur. You drink it in small shots much like tequila, all at once. We had a special treat as he brought out the homemade bottle made by his father-in-law. He also told us never to drink on an empty stomach. Did I say, we were the only English speaking guests in the restaurant? We talked also about the Greek dining hours: Breakfast is about 10, lunch is 2 then a nap from 5 -7pm and dinner never starts until at the earliest 10 pm up to 2 am. The tourists are an anomaly in their eating hours. We asked if this wasn’t his naptime and he said yes, but they were short two girls so he had to forgo his nap and work. His wife called while we were speaking to remind him to come home to bed. He also talked with us about the Greek vocabulary and how we actually know many Greek words when we take apart the English words. Fascinating couple of hours before we headed for the hotel and an hour on the Internet before calling it a night, 5 am will come early in the morning; again!

ISLANDS OF CRETE & SANTORINI

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:58:00 +0000

Thursday, November 8^th, 2007 Last day of the tour…..

Jim decided to purchase the tour to see the Knossas Palace on the Island of Crete for this morning after we enter the port of Heraklion in Crete. So, yes, it was another early morning. I could have slept in but since I was awake I went to breakfast with him. We joined a priest from Wisconsin and a gentleman from Little Rock Arkansas for a lively meal starting with the traditional meal prayer by the priest. He is 76 years old and full of stories. We tarried longer than usual at the table as he regaled us with interesting tales.

I’ve been enjoying my time with journals and photos while Jim is out in the rain while visiting the magnificent archaeological site of the Palace of Knossos. I sent my camera along just in case there are some great Kodak moments. Yes, another wet morning. Crete is the largest island in the Greek Isles. We will definitely not be coming back here as it’s quite a ways south of the other Islands.

This afternoon we set sail for our last stop in Santorini. There we are going to tour this one together by ourselves. This particular island was formed by the rim of an ancient drowned volcano that exploded in about 1628 BC; many believe that this may have been the lost continent of Atlantis. We plan to ride the tram to the top for the spectacular view.

Jim returned in time for lunch; he’d had a good tour and had also taken several photos for me with my camera. We enjoyed lunch as we set sail for Santorini; and then headed for the room for some down time. Jim fell asleep and I went upstairs to get our tender tickets for this afternoon. When I return Jim was awake and very upset; he’d gone to sleep with his glasses on as he watched the television. Somehow he managed to break his glasses and for someone who never moves without putting his glasses on, this is very critical. Because they are rimless there is no way to tape them together. We’re hoping to find an Optical Shop in Athens tomorrow that can be creative…maybe with hot glue…and temporarily repair his glasses. Traveling light we didn’t bring any extra glasses.

By 3 pm it was raining very hard outside. The sun had come out by 10 am this morning and we’d had a beautiful sky when we sailed from Crete. Everyone kept positive thoughts and sure enough by the time we pulled into the huge bay of Santorini the sun was shining again. We had to board tender boats for the short ride into the port and then took the cable car up rather than walk or ride a donkey. The sunset was magnificent and we all spent the first half hour taking volumes of photos of this spectacular event. Then we walked around town before heading back down the cable car at dusk for our boat ride out to our ship that was sitting in the harbor. Jim was not comfortable without his glasses but he was a trooper and didn’t complain.

Dinner was served at 7 pm with open seating. We joined two California woman from north of Santa Barbara and had another very enjoyable meal in the dining room. After dinner we all went to the conference rooms to pick up our passports and then headed for the room to pack. Our taxi will be waiting for us at 7:15 am so it’s another early morning.

We’re cruising along at a fairly rapid pace and will arrive in Athens early in the morning. We’ve been told that we can depart the ship anytime after 6 am. We have one night at the President Hotel in Athens and then our next adventure will began: Our trip to the island of Paros where our Julie has arranged for us to rent a private home for a week.

ISLAND OF RHODES

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:29:00 +0000

Wednesday, November 7^th, 2007 Another early morning tour…..

5:40 am comes early but we beat the alarm clock and managed to get to the lounge by our appointed time. Heard this morning that the lady who had fallen yesterday was with the St. Paul group from Wisconsin and had to have stitches on her face from the fall. But, she is still with the tour and doing well.

The sun was shining brightly this morning; but it was still cold, especially when in the wind. Our bus took us around the city of Rhodes and then we did a walking tour through the old part of the city past the palace that was built for the Knights of St .John (after the Turks gained control they moved on and became the Knights of Malta) and museum before loading back on the bus for our main destination while on Rhodes. The city of Lindos is about an hour’s drive from the port city of Rhodes. We stopped midway for an interesting tour of a ceramics factory; watched a talented young man throw a lovely vase on the wheel during the tour. We were shown how they etch the design by hand, paint and then fire the ceramics. Interesting and several of the group purchased some pieces to take home.

Back on the tour bus we continued to Lindos where we visited the Acropolis of Lindos. Our guide informed us that in Greece “The Acropolis” only refers to the one in Athens and any others must be referred to with their name: Lindos Acropolis. The city of Lindos has been designated as a historical site and all the buildings in the village must conform to a particular style; no more than two stories and all white-washed in the typical manner that these islands are known for. The small village is located at the base of the Acropolis; a very large fort like structure at the highest point in the town. From there one has magnificent views of the Aegean Sea, St. Paul’s Bay, and the pristine beaches down below. They are rebuilding the temple of Athena and the Hellenistic Portico of the Acropolis. We had the option of taking a donkey ride up the steep steps or walking; we walked. The Danish government was one of the first to start excavating this ancient area and as a result all of the statutes and main works of art are now in museums in Denmark. Someone asked the guide if they were attempting to recover any of these artifacts as they have gone after the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. She said that first they were attempting to recover the Elgin Marbles from Great Britain and then maybe they’d try for some others if they were successful in Britain; probably not in our lifetime.

Long ride back to the medieval city of Rhodes, known as “the island of roses” because of an extravagant display of rock roses. Arrived about 1:30 pm and had a quick lunch up on the Lido Deck in the cafeteria line so that Jim could return to town and visit the museums before they close at 3 pm. Tonight is our “elegant” night. Jim has a sport’s jacket and I have a jersey knit pants suit so that will have to do. It’s hard to pack for elegant and light at the same time.

The cocktail party was very nice. Had an opportunity to extend a greeting from our Julie to Liz, the Cruise Director and also met the captain. We enjoyed the company of a new group of people from Florida along with a drink and tasty treats. Then off to dinner that was concluded with the parade of waiters holding Flaming Baked Alaska. Grigorios joined the festivities and sent his regards to Julie again.

EPHESUS & PATMOS

noreply@blogger.com (Martha) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:07:00 +0000

Tuesday, November 6^th, 2007 Back in Turkey…..

We woke to overcast weather so we packed our umbrellas and dressed warmly for our excursion today to Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary from our port city of Kusadasi. We hardly knew that we were in Turkey. The cruise ship has all of our passports and handled all of the paperwork for our visit today. Our tour director was a lovely young Turkish girl who said we could call her Rose as that was the meaning of her Turkish name. She was very animated and knowledgeable about the sites we visited.

Our first stop was at the House of the Virgin Mary. Located up the mountain about ten minutes from the town of Coressos, this is where the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ spent her last years. A chapel now stands where her house once stood. There are always four nuns and two priests (one Catholic and the other Orthodox). The Muslins respect and honor Jesus Christ as a prophet and his mother is also revered as the mother of a prophet. Therefore it has been a religious site ever since it was discovered in 1891 following the detailed description given by a German bedridden pious lady who claimed to have been shown this neighborhood during visions of the Virgin Mother. Many Popes have visited this holy place over the years. There is also a spring which is considered “holy” similar to the waters of Lourdes and Fatima. Yes, we drank the water and collected some to bring home.

From Mary’s house we took the buses down the mountain to the ancient city of Ephesus. This is actually the third location of the city as it was rebuilt several times for various reasons. The very first city was built some two thousand years before Christ was born where the modern city of Coressos now stands. Ephesus was originally a sea port but over the years the Kucuk Menderes River that flowed into a bay of the sea silted the valley until the seashore is now about seven miles away.

Built on the north slope of Mount Pion and extending southward to the slope of Mount Koressos, this ancient marble city was home to about 250,000 people. They were skilled artisans and rich merchants; extensive water pipes have been discovered underground. They had a hospital, theaters, temples; Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. After its decline, Ephesus was abandoned and forgotten for a long time. About a century ago the excavation of this ancient city began and continues to this day. It is probably the largest archeological site in Turkey. It has much religious significance to the Christians in that St. Paul wrote his “Letter to the Ephesians” to the citizens of Ephesus. Saint John lived here and was buried here in the St. John Basilica; and of course, the proximity of the house of the Virgin Mary.

By the time we finished our walking tour through the archeological site we had not only had a woman on the tour slip and fall but also rain coming down hard enough to get out our umbrellas. The ambulance arrived for the woman but no one has said as of yet how badly she was hurt. Ironically, her slip and fall took place right next to the site of the ancient Hospital!

Two interesting facts that we were told were (1) the while marble in the long road down to the sea port had white pieces of marble strategically placed on the road to act as guides when the torch lights would reflect on them at night. (2) There was a hole directly in the center of one large piece of marble that held a large torch that acted as a lighthouse to guide the ships into the port at night. The rings used to security the torch are still embedded into the marble on four corners surrounding the torch hole. One wonders sometimes how they come up with these facts?

The very large theater is still used for special performances including many of the well known performers of today. One of the most impressive views was of the Library. It reminded me of our visit to Petra in Jordan, smaller, but still very impressive.

Back to the cruise ship by bus and after navigating the shops between the bus and the cruise ship we were on our way to Patmos, approximately four hours away. We enjoyed lunch again in the dining room and then walked the ship later in the afternoon; stopping in the Stars Lounge on the top deck for the special drink of the day: “Turkish Delight”, a rum based drink that wasn’t bad but not as good as we’d expected. But, the view was spectacular as the sun had come out in between the dark clouds shining down on a brilliant Aegean Sea.

We signed up for the tour of Patmos, a small island with several very historic religious sites. First we drove in the bus to the cave of St. John where, according to tradition, he wrote the text of Revelation, the last chapter of the New Testament, in 95 AD while he was banished there by the Roman Emperor. It is a small cave that has been slightly enlarged by breaking through the wall and adding an adjacent chapel. There are many religious symbols: a hole in the wall where he rested his head while sleeping, another smaller one where he would place his hand to help himself up, a painting based on a dream of St. Johns, cracked ceiling in three sections (the trinity) caused by the loud voice of God telling him what to write plus a few more. Many steps down into the cave and then back up those same steps to the bus for our trip further up the mountain to tour the famed Monastery of St. John the Theologian. It was built in the eleventh century with permission from Constantinople who granted the entire island to the Theologian Hosios Christodoulos to be used as a Monastery with many conditions one of which was that no women were allowed on the island. The original document hangs in the Museum of the Monastery. The Monastery is a very large fort style edifice that dominants the entire island, a museum full of old manuscripts and religious artifacts, and fresco covered walls. This Monastery was built by the monk that discovered the cave based on researching the writings of St. John. It’s also a very cold place as the wind was blowing at full speed while we were there, no rain but we still had a spectacular sunset with pink clouds.

Dinner tonight was assigned seating. Julie had arranged for us to have a table near the window at the first seating and we were seated with a couple from Corona, California. A very nice couple in their forties, two children both actively involved in the sport of swimming, she is an operating room nurse and he is a graphic artist with Disneyland. They have traveled extensively and we really enjoyed the hour that we spent with them. During dinner the Maitre D’Hotel, Grigorios Triantafilou, stopped by the table and asked who knew Miss Julie. He is a personal friend of Julie and was surprised when we said we’d known Miss Julie since she was a child. As a tour director she makes many trips during the season with her groups on this particular cruise ship.

After dinner we headed for the room and an early closing to another full day. Our alarm is scheduled for 5:40 am again tomorrow as the tours start early in Rhodes.