My sister and her family (including my niece Guinn) leave in a week for their trip to Greece. I'm hurriedly trying to post the rest of my trip report before their departure!
Saturday, April 24, 2004
We had to have our bags outside our door by 6:00 a.m., so there was no sleeping in today, even though I would have found it helpful to my overall feeling of well-being. We ate a quick breakfast and then boarded buses for various tours of Athens. We chose a tour that returned us to the Acropolis and then allowed some shopping time in the Plaka.
We were so glad to have seen the Acropolis earlier in the week. When we were there on Wednesday, we didn't see another soul until we were atop the mountain, and then there were maybe a dozen others touring the site. Today I believe half of Greece decided to visit the Acropolis. It was so packed, it reminded me of Daytona Beach during Spring Break. The sense of awe and amazement that had filled us on our first visit was gone as we battled for elbow room.
Leaving the Acropolis we lost 30 minutes of shopping time waiting for one couple who was late returning to the bus, but we did have time to visit a shop selling Olympic souvenirs in the Plaka and were able to buy some things for the children.
We stopped for lunch at a restaurant near the port of Pireaus,
then we boarded our ship!
Welcome aboard!
As we had sailed on this boat (the SS Deutschland of the Peter Deilmann cruise line) two years ago when it stopped in Barcelona, Nice and Portofino, we were familiar with its grandeur. We were pleased to find it as wonderful as we'd remembered.
We settled into our room, and then I set out to get my nails done and my hair fixed in the ship's salon while Robert checked out the boat's fitness center (you get an idea of our priorities here).
Life boat drill - all hands on deck!
We set sail about 4:00 p.m. and dined in the ship restaurant that night.
Next stop, Santorini!
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