Cruise Reviews

Our cruise was an amazing experience. In fact, it was so incredible that we've needed a few days to digest it all before blogging again. We were on Star Clipper, which is a tall sailing ship, with a maximum of 170 passengers. We got really lucky, and only around 80 passengers were on our cruise. So it never felt crowded. Two of our good friends, Rob and Courtney, met us in Athens and joined us on the cruise, which made it really fun. The cruise itself was very relaxing and enjoyable. There were opportunities to help raise sails (hard work on a ship this size!), help with sailing maneuvers (tacking and jibing), climb the rigging, and lay out and enjoy the sun. The food was delicious, and they fed us all the time! If it wasn't a meal time, there was always some snack available. One of our dining highlights was tasting the sorbet every night and comparing it to the others we had on the cruise. I think watermelon was the overall winner. Our cabin was a lot roomier than we anticipated so that was really nice. But the best part of all was our German cruise director, Peter, who had the greatest accent and driest sense of humor. He would refer to things as "girlie" or repeat the phrase "Why you laughing?" while giving a scary look. One day, he forced me to coil ropes because I said we weren't girlie and we could work just as hard as the guys. Stupid me. I have never learned to keep my mouth shut. He didn't appreciate my attitude, so he made me work just as hard as the guys, but then he took me to the captain, and asked to let me steer the ship. That was cool. But after that, I avoided the deck anytime they were hoisting sails! We would both highly recommend a Star Clippers cruise (they go all over the world) and hope to go again some day.

As for the excursions, it's a toss up as to which port was the best. I loved Dalyan, Turkey because it was unlike anything I have ever experienced. We took a flat boat from our ship past a beautiful beach, and up a delta to a river that was surrounded by tall reeds. The boat took us to some ruins, which we wandered through for about an hour. Then we got back in the boat and headed up the river past some interesting tombs carved into the cliffs. At the city of Dalyan, we were taken to see Turkish carpets being hand woven. They were gorgeous! Eric kept saying that he wanted to buy one and I just laughed because I knew he had no idea how much they cost. After watching the weaving demonstration, we were taken into a showroom, and it was like being in an infomercial. There was no pressure to buy anything, but it was so funny to listen to the sales pitch. Afterward, we had quite an adventure getting back to the ship, as the wind had picked up and created some sizeable swells. The highlight (other than making it back onto the ship in one piece) was seeing a loggerhead turtle swimming right next to us.

Santorini was also incredible. I don't think anything compares to the natural or architectural beauty of this place. Words cannot describe it.

We explored some interesting rock formations on Milos and we enjoyed our day on Hydra; snorkeling and exiting the little town. Bodrum, Turkey was the only stop that we weren't enthralled with. We had fun snorkeling in the afternoon. Wandering through the market in the morning wasn't quite what we expected, but it was still an interesting experience.

Greece, huh?

Many people have asked us how we chose Greece for our vacation. It started with an article, from of all places, Cooking Light magazine. Readers voted for the most relaxing vacation and it happened to be a Star Clippers cruise through the Greek Isles. I showed the article to Eric and we both thought it sounded fantastic. I then requested a brochure from Star Clippers, and we were hooked. So we booked our cruise and bought our plane tickets back before Greece's economic crisis. Around March, we started hearing news reports on NPR and thought it was interesting that we never really heard much about Greece in the news. The situation intensified, strikes started occuring, and people asked us if we were going to cancel our trip. No way! We worked really hard to be able to take this trip, and we were determined to go. It has been an amazing trip and experience, and we're both glad that we came. Are we worried that today's strike will continue and prevent us from getting back to Athens? Sure. (Well, I am, but not Eric. I think he'd be happy to stay on Naxos a little longer.) But these are the situations that add that extra layer of intrigue to the trip (along with How did my luggage end up in Rhodes for 4 days?, and Why were we in Amsterdam when that wasn't part of the plan?) For now, we enjoy this amazing island and hope that all of you are doing well. And now to blog about the cruise....

Eric's Thoughts (post cruise)

I know that we haven't updated this in a while. No, we are not in a Turkish prison nor swept up in a Greecian protest, but rather have been busy enjoying the wonderful cruise and beautiful beaches of our post cruise adventures. I am going to keep this short because the battery on my phone is running low, but rest assured, we are fine and having a wonderful time and will post more later.

Eric's Final Thoughts from Athens

First thought, I am so glad Jenny's bag finally made and apparently made a trip to Rhodes as well, very exciting. Meeting up with Rob and Courtney for dinner was great fun. I think one of the fascinating things about traveling with friends is seeing them in a context in which you are not used to seeing them. And hanging out at a Greek restaurant with the Acropolis in the background and the World Cup playing in the foreground is definitely a different context.

I was glad to see they made it safely, but their bags did not make it with them at the moment. However, their bags are in Amsterdam and should be delivered during the night. So all four of us, despite a little drama here and there, are excited for our next adventure, the cruise. Being on a ship for seven days and seeing some amazing new sights is something I have been looking forward to ever since we booked this trip, and now it has finally arrived. I am not sure when we will post next, but I hope everyone reading this is doing well.

Last Night in Athens

I was so tired last night that I couldn't blog. We had anamazing evening climbing to the Acropolis and then wandering through the Agora. We walked all over the place, over 8 miles in the evening, and finally stopped at an outdoor restaurant and watched the lights come on at the Parthenon. I wish I could upload a picture.
Today was an easy day as we had laundry to do. So we relaxed, read books, talked with other travelers, and had lunch at a fun little cafe near our apartment. Our friends Rob and Courtney arrived from Houston today and we met up with them for dinner. We had fun showing them around a little. And before we headed in for the night, we picked up my luggage!!! Yeah!!! Looks like everything's in there, although I haven't unpacked it. No point since we leave on our cruise tomorrow.
I'm not sure when we'll be able to blog again. We're headed to Bodrum, Turkey, Dalyan River, Turkey, and then Santorini, Milos, and Hydra.

Hope you are all doing well. Thanks for the comments; we really enjoy hearing from all of you!

Shopping Adventures in Athems

Good afternoon! We are taking a break from the heat for awhile. Today is the hottest day so far, in the high 90's. Our trip to Nafplio was cancelled, which was OK because it gave us a chance to sleep in and go shopping. After a leisurely breakfast at a cafe near our apartment, we headed to the stores. There is a fun, touristy area called Plaka which we walk through to get to the clothing stores. Several areas in Athens are paved (?) in marble. This always amazes me. It is gorgeous and unbelievable to be walking in large areas of marble. Other areas are covered with cobblestone. It's all very charming. So we thoroughly enjoyed our walk. Eric is a good sport and was very helpful trying to find clothes for me. Now, this is not me being self-conscious or overly sensitive about clothing sizes. They truly don't fit. Eric very sweetly said this is due to the fact that I'm taller than the average European. Honestly, I think Americans are more curvy. Anyway, we went to two stores that I thought might work: H&M (which we have in the US) and Sprider, which we had seen advertised on the side of a bus. I did find a couple of things (yeah!) and Eric was very cute. I would come out of the dressing room to ask him if something looked OK and he'd either say, "I like it - it looks good" or "Ehhhhh- that's not so flattering." It was like having a personal shopper, which was great! And he found a shirt that he really liked for himself.
So here's the funny part- I was all set to write about something clever that I figured it out, and I see that my dad already wrote about it in the comments suggestion. Great minds think alike, huh Dad?! Well my great discovery was mens athletic shorts (with an elastic waistband) fit great, and a black pair with a nice shirt look dressy. (yeah!) So I'm thinking of a concept for a new show for the Travel Channel: What to Wear When Your Luggage Gets Lost. They can take real people, in countries all over the world, and show them how to shop for clothes that would work best for them in that country. I'm thinking back to Japan and how petite all theclothes were. Thank goodness I didn't lose my luggage there! Anyway, we continue to call the airport and they continue to not know anything about my luggage. But I have some other clothes now, so I feel much better. For now, we are taking a break and then planning to visit some more ruins. We'll try to add some pictures to our next post. It really is beautiful and amazing here!

Eric's thoughts from Athens

Despite plane delays, rerouting through Amsterdam, a five hour lay over, and lost luggage, I am really enjoying myself here in Athens. Now that maybe the clean underwear talking (my bag has arrived but as you know Jenny's hasn't), but I think it is more likely that the energy of this amazing city is infectious. In the States, they call New York the city that never sleeps. Well, Athens has that same kind of feel. The Greeks have a love for life, food, and entertainment that you can't help but appreciate (even though many Greeks may not exactly have a love for work).

Initially, I must admit that I didn't immediately warm up to the city (no pun intended...yes it is brutally hot) the way I warmed up to other European cities, but after wandering up to the Acropolis and watching the sunset over Athens and wandering the streets until well after 10:00 pm and seeing no signs of the locals slowing their revelry, it is starting to become apparent why people all over the world fall in love with this city.

I also am happy to see that my best friend Jenny, despite moments of frustration over her lost luggage, is also warming up to the energy that is present in this city. I was pleased to see that smile that I love so much several times on the aforementioned night excursion around the city. I know that as our trip continues I will see her wondeful smile many more times.

Despite Luggage Drama, Still Having a Good Time

Despite the luggage drama, and really, what can I do but laugh?, we are enjoying Athens. The one draw back is that it is very very HOT! (I know I should be used to it living in Houston, but it is intense!) Thankfully, we are taking our time, stopping to rest in the shade and people watch, and drinking wonderfully refreshing slushy drinks.

After a great night's sleep, we ventured out to explore the city for a few hours. We visited the Temple of Zeus, National Gardens, and Syntagma Square. We had an enjoyable lunch at a cafe amongst fun and interesting shops. I had an amazing salad called Mimosa, which was lettuce, arugula, apples, oranges, cucumbers, and this incredible citrus cream dressing. The dressing reminded me of a yummy dessert that my mom makes.

We're taking a break to get out of the heat and watch World Cup soccer for awhile (and deal with the luggage situtaion), then planning to head to the Acropolis when it cools down a bit.

Tomorrow we are hoping to take a day trip to Nafplio, which is on the coast. It is a town with cobble stone streets, and a castle that you have to climb 999 steps to reach. In the afternoon, we will go to a beach to swim and have a picnic lunch. This is a small tour with our hotel. However, at least 7 people need to sign up, otherwise they won't go. So we'll see.

In the meantime, hope you are all doing great. Thanks for the comments - it's a nice way for us to keep in touch.

Good News, Bad News

The good news is that Eric's baggage has arrived in Athens, and is on a delivery truck scheduled to get to us this evening. I am very relieved for Eric, as he had nothing with him, and is already feeling gross and miserable today. He's been in the same clothes since early Monday morning. (It's early evening on Wednesday here now).

The bad news is that no one knows where my bag is. Continental says it's in Greece. Greece says it's not. At this point, I think we've contacted everyone we possibly can, and now it's a waiting game.

Thankfully, I have a couple of things with me, but not enough to make it through the trip, and I don't know what I will do about our cruise. European clothes are very very tiny and do not fit me. So a Euro shopping splurge won't even help.

For now, I'm trying to think positively and not get too upset. So for all my traveling friends, and especially Courtney and Rob who are meeting us here in 2 days: BRING A CARRY-ON with the vitals!!!!

Kalispera (Good evening) from Athens!

We made it! Big sigh of relief! After 28 hours of traveling, we finally checked into our studio apartment, had dinner, and wandered to the base of the Acropolis. Our luggage, however, is still in New York. Actually, it should be on its way now. Hopefully it makes it to us tomorrow afternoon because we really need our toiletries. Even though I brought a small carry-on with a change of clothes and contact solution, I didn't even think about shampoo or soap! Poor Eric didn't think he would need a change of clothes! So, we think we've stayed up late enough, it is dark outside, and we need to go to sleep. Tomorrow is a wandering around Athens day, so not a problem if we sleep in a little. What we've seen so far is amazing. We are literally across the street from the New Acropolis Museum and the base of the Acropolis (there is a very large hill to walk up to get to the Parthenon.) Food also is very good. Eric thought the food on Olympic Airlines was some of the best airline food he's ever had. And we had a wonderful dinner of chicken souvlaki, Greek salad, and zuccini bites. Have a good night everyone. More to come!

Getting to Know Amsterdam (or Four Hours in an Airport)

Well, we are thoroughly exhausted and anxious to board our flight so that we can try to sleep for a couple of hours. We have, however, enjoyed figuring out a couple of things about Amsterdam:

1. The toilet paper in the bathrooms in the airport is bright orange. I'm talking Halloween orange. We had quite a lengthy discussion about why on Earth would the toilet paper be orange, and then we figured it out - it's the color of their sports teams (and maybe even their national color???)

2. There is a little fly painted in each urinal. Eric told me about it, and then I remembered a report we heard on NPR about how the janitors at the airport were tired of cleaning up boy messes and they tried an experiment with painting flies in the urinals. No more mess. Apparently, the flies provide something to aim for.

OK - so maybe that isn't very exciting info about Amsterdam, but hey, we're stuck in an airport for four hours! Not much else to discover. Although we did enjoy sampling cheeses and eating Haagen Das. Also enjoyed looking at postcards of the beautiful and interesting sites that we aren't seeing. :)

We're in Amsterdam

If you are reading this post, scratching your head, and thinking, "I didn't know they were going to Amsterdam!," neither did we! But here we are... all part of our travel adventures from Houston. It is a beautiful day here, and we wish we had a longer lay over so that we could go explore the city. As it is, our 4 hour layover isn't enough time. But it is ample time to explore the airport, which sells tulips, wooden shoes, and cheese. We're still laughing our way through the trip (although we are exhausted today - not much sleep on the plane) and curious about our luggage. It was on the NY plane (even though we weren't) and we're not sure if/when it will make it to Athens. All part of the journey, we suppose. Hope you are all well, and hoping that the next post actually comes from Athens!

All we can do is Laugh!

We'll have to save the story of our advetures in the Houston airport for another post... we are finally on a plane...to.....Amsterdam!!!! Don't ask. More to come. For now, we are just shaking our heads and laughing our way through the day.

Amazing Race?

I feel like we are on a reality tv show and scrambling to make our connection. We are still in Houston. Delays compounded by mechanical problems (how reassuring!) because they've changed the type of plane we're on, they changed our seats. Now we are in the very last row. We will literally have 20 minutes to deplane, run to the opposite side of the terminal ("No more than 10 minutes" we were told) and hope that our luggage makes it. Thank God for Eric who is calm, easy going, and sees this as part of the adventure!

The Great Unknowns of Travel

A day of travel is always filled with excitement, eagerness, and a little bit of trepidation as well.
Will there be any delays? (Yes, 35 minutes as of right now.)
Oh no, will we make our connection??? (Hoping and praying we do!)
Will our luggage make it? (Not according to the flight attendent waiting behind us. He thinks it will end up in Phoenix with the nice plane that was supposed to take us to NY but has been rerouted to Phoenix for some unknown reason, leaving us with a downgraded plane and delay. One of the perks of waiting behind the flight attendants is finding out all sorts of information I probably didn't want to know!)

So we continue to be filled with excitement and eagerness, but that trepidation is just a little bit stronger now.

Getting Ready for Greece

It's hard to believe that in a couple of days we will be in Greece; a land with so much rich history and tradition. I remember our 6th grade history teacher made movies with us acting out the various myths and stories. (I was a soldier hidden in the Trojan Horse and she had to keep telling me to stop smiling because soldiers wouldn't have smiled while sneaking into Troy. I like to think they would have, because they knew how cleverly they had achieved the upper hand.) Reflecting on that memory makes me so grateful for all of our incredible travel experiences which have brought years of studies to life for me.