Greek Islands Mykonos and Santorini

blood roofs of Santorini

The famous blue roofs of Santorini, Greece.

Santorini was one of the stops on our cruise that I was really interested in visiting.  I had originally hoped we could stay on the island for a few days on our own prior to the cruise.  I pictured it a much more quaint island than it was.  It was mostly packed with tourists waiting in long lines at spots made famous, or infamous, through Instagram and other social venues.  We were one of four large cruise ships invading this tiny island.  Mykonos was more of a pleasant stroll in comparison.  Both islands showed off the beautiful architecture and the white and blue of the Greek Islands.

Continue reading

Mediterranean Cruise

The iconic European Vespa scooter.

Wandering about Rhodes, Greece, on our Mediterranean cruise photographing the unique doors was a highlight on this day.  What is this home like inside?  Very few windows and the few there are seem to be boarded up.  Does the home open in the back with a grand terrace or patio?  The pipe flagpole holder is not simply for displaying the Greek flag.  Throughout Europe there are many competitions, cultural festivities, town rivalries and soccer matches, all of which may result in flying a local team or regional flag.

Continue reading

Athens to Istanbul

 

guards

The Greeks have a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It is located outside of the Greek Parliament and is guarded by the Evzones, a ceremonial assignment within of the Greek Army.

We just were not a good match for either Athens or Istanbul.  I really looked forward to visiting both.  Our several prior trips to Europe were on trans Atlantic one-way cruises. We arrived in Europe refreshed, ready to go and with no jet lag. For this trip we flew to Athens prior to boarding a cruise ship and much of our time there was spent acclimating to the right time zone.  Also, we are not much on going to museums and ancient ruins, which of course is what Athens is all about.  It seemed as if the entire city was tagged with spray paint.  Very, very few attractive painted murals, mostly sloppy tags.

Continue reading