Last Days in Athens

Athens, Greece November 12-13,2011 Our last two days in Athens have been very laid back and relaxing. As we mentioned in a previous blog, our hotel is located across from the Central Market. We started our day walking through the market. First we passed stalls with delicious looking fruit and vegetables, followed by stalls with fresh fish. Next came the endless stalls of butcher shops. They all had whole or partial carcasses that they were butchering right there. There were some incredible looking cuts of meat on display. From the market we wandered through the wonderful little streets of Athens toward the Parliament Building. We went there to see the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. We have video that hopefully we can get posted. While not nearly as impressive as the changing of the guard at Arlington Cemetery in D.C. it was interesting none the less. If you see the video you will see that the soldiers are wearing interesting uniforms. They have tunics worn with tights. On their feet are clogs with huge black pom poms on the toes of the clogs. You will also note a very goose step like step. It was fun to watch but it is hard to take a ceremony seriously when Lynda is straining to see up the tunics of the soldiers. While we have been walking about we have noticed many little Greek Orthodox Churches everywhere. After leaving the Parliament building we came across one that was open so we popped in. It was a beautiful little church. When we say little we mean 10 people filled it up. Tim would have liked to have taken pictures but he did not want to disturb the people who were praying. We were again exploring the little streets of Plaka. Along the way we passed several shops that specialized in religious garments. Incongruously, across from one of these shops was a store selling fur coats. We eventually found are way back to an art gallery we had visited on Friday and purchased a small statue for our bookshelves in the living room. We also were recommended a restaurant in the area that we went back to in the evening. To get to this restaurant we had to walk up the slope towards the Acropolis. It was after dark when we went so the view of the Acropolis bathed in light was breathtaking and distracted us from the exertion of climbing the hill. The restaurant was gorgeous and the food delicious. About 30 minutes after we arrived a trio of guitar/players/singers started entertaining. We think we heard most of the score from the musical, “Zorba” but again it was in Greek so who knows. The guitar playing was very impressive. Unfortunately, Lynda had to limit her flirting to Tim. Today we took the Metro, Athens’ subway, to the New Acropolis Museum. This museum was full of artifacts, statues, etc. that had been excavated during the archeological dig on the Acropolis. There was also an interesting movie about the history of the Parthenon. After a quick bite to eat, Tim had vine leaves stuffed with rice and ground beef with a lemon sauce on top (Yum! Really), we took a bus, chosen at random, and rode it to the end of the line which happened to be the abandon former international airport for Athens. We then rode the same bus back into town. The bus route took us along the coast of the Mediterranean. It is a cold, blustery day so the views were not as spectacular as they could have been but still it was a fun way to spend the afternoon and we saw parts of Athens we would not have seen otherwise. Not sure what we are doing for dinner tonight. There is a sign in our room offering free delivery to our room of pizza from Dominos Pizza. We assume it is not coming from Ann Arbor. Tomorrow is a very long day. Our flight from Athens leaves at 7:00 a.m. We have a cab scheduled to be here at the hotel at 4:30 a.m. We have a four hour layover in Paris and then fly non-stop from Paris to Detroit, arriving in Detroit at 4:30 p.m. or 11:30 p.m. Athens time. It’s dirty work but somebody’s got to do it. This has been another great trip for us with lots of fantastic memories. We hope you have enjoyed traveling with us.

An Athens Adventure

Athens, Greece November 11, 2011

We left the Silver Wind with a bit of sadness this morning, went into the port terminal, collected our luggage and headed for the taxi stand to find a cab to take us to our hotel in Athens. Lynda negotiated a fare of 15 Euros and we were on our way. Our cab driver, Eunysis, almost immediately started to make a deal with us to show us the sites of Athens this afternoon. Our plan had been to find our hotel, reconnoiter the area and then tomorrow take a get on-get off bus to all of the major sites. Eunysis told us the weather was suppose to be cold and rainy tomorrow and that he would show us the sites today for 20 euros an hour. After much discussion between Tim and Lynda it was decided we would take Eunysis up on his deal. So after dropping our luggage at the hotel we got back in the cab and headed for the Acropolis.

On the way he explained that we could buy one ticket for each of us that would get us into all the major sites. When we arrived at the parking lot below the Acropolis Eunysis pointed out the direction we should go to get to the ticket office but first there was something he needed for us to do. He asked Tim to take a package to his cousin who was waiting about 50 meters up a path by the parking lot offering to knock 10 Euros off the price of our tour. His cousin, Arestes, would be waiting in a small opening wearing a brown leather jacket. We agreed to deliver the package. Little did we know that Arestes name would be so prophetic. Tim found the opening in the trees and Arestes without a problem. However, as he handed the package to Arestes, a small but sinewy built man jumped out from behind a tree and grabbed at the package. Tim saw the flash of a long stiletto the intruder was holding and, with speed that he did not know he possessed, kicked at the attacker’s arm, sending the attacker to the ground and the knife skittering across the ground. Before Tim could react any further, Arestes grabbed the knife and slit the throat of the attacker. Tim fled back down the path towards the cab. He was met about half way down by police. With an immense sense of relief he stopped to explain the situation but before he could two police officers grabbed him and roughly carried him the rest of the way down the hill to the waiting taxi that was now surrounded by police cars and officers. We were loaded in one police car, Eunysis, now hand cuffed, was put in another. We were all taken to a police station where we were told to wait and Eunysis was led away, never to be seen again. The police separated us and began questioning us, ignoring our pleas for the right to call the U.S. Embassy. After several hours we were brought back together, released and taken back to our hotel with no explanation as to what had happened. Needless, to say we needed a drink so we headed to the nearest taverna and were shocked when we entered and saw Arestes sitting on a stool at the bar, smoking a cigarette and nursing a bottle of beer.

The above paragraph was for our beloved son, Jeff, who was convinced that our description of the ride through the old town of Alexandria with our driver, Mustafa, sounded straight out of a Robert Ludlum novel. Here is what really happened. We did, in fact, catch a cab at the port driven by a driver named Eunysis and he did offer to show us the sites in Athens, an offer we accepted. We spent a wonderful, albeit, tiring four hours visiting some amazing places. The first stop was the Acropolis. The Acropolis sits on top of the highest hill in Athens and was the seat of the Greek government when it was built in 430 B.C. The surviving buildings are immense and we were in awe of the views looking out over Athens from the Acropolis. As with the Pyramids in Egypt, one cannot begin to comprehend how these structures could possibly be built over 2000 years ago. It took us over 45 minutes to walk to the top of the Acropolis, wander among the various buildings and climb back down to our cab. From the Acropolis we went to the Temple of Zeus, which is also the site of Hadrian’s gate. When built, the Temple of Zeus contained 104 columns of which 16 are still standing. Hadrian’s gate separated the old, original part of Athens from the newer city. We’re talking thousands of years ago. Fortunately the Temple was on fairly flat terrain and easy to walk about. Eunysis next took us to the stadium that hosted the first of the Modern Olympic games in 1896. The stadium has a seating capacity of 60,000 people and by present day standards is not very impressive. 116 years ago we are sure the Olympic athletes of the world thought it to be quite something. From the stadium Eunysis took us to the Roman Agora and the Tower of the Winds. The Agora was the first major market built by the Romans in Athens. The Tower of the Winds was a combination clock and weather station. There was once a bronze weather vane atop the Tower that showed the direction of the wind and the tower itself acted as a sundial. There was some sort of water device inside the Tower that showed the time of day on cloudy days and after dark. At this point Eunysis pointed out a nearby square where we would find some shops and cafes and told us to take an hour to browse about. We took advantage of this time for a welcome beer and glass of wine and a light lunch. After lunch we did drive by’s of the University of Athens (the original Spartans? J), and the Parliament building and then drove through Plaka, a wonderful neighborhood of small streets filled with many restaurants and shops. We plan to head back there tonight for dinner. Our last stop was the Ancient Agora, the Temple of Hephaestus and the Stoa of Attalos. These were all on one site and very impressive ruins. In one of the displays here we saw examples of devices for timing speeches, a system for selecting jurors and an explanation of the system of ostracism where the citizens of Athens voted for the person they did NOT want to hold an office. These people were sent away from Athens for 10 years. Maybe we should use this system in the States then all of the politicians would be sent away for 10 years. Couldn’t hurt.

Our hotel, while attractive and comfortable inside, is not particularly well located. We are right in the middle of the Central Market area which during the day is abuzz with activity but after dark may not be quite so exciting. We will use a cab to get to where we want to go tonight. Who knows? Maybe we will have another adventure!

Good Evening. It is 8:30 and we are back in our room after a lovely evening out. We walked to the Plaka area and found a little pedestrian street with lots of enticing little shops. After a bit of window shopping and buying we went to dinner at a restaurant recommended by one of the shopkeepers. After the extravagant four course meals we have had on board our ship, a simple dinner of moussaka, Greek salad and wine was wonderful. While at dinner a guitar player came in and started playing and singing near our table. Lynda, as she is want to do, started flirting with him and, of course, he ended up at our table. We assume he was playing and singing Greek folk or popular songs. We couldn’t tell. It was all Greek to us! (Insert groan here.) The guitar playing was very good and it was understated. Unfortunately, he blew it because he started singing Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” as he left our table. After dinner we did a bit more shopping and walked back to our hotel in a brisk wind. Probably mid to low 50’s. When we got back to our room we were treated to a spectacular view of the Acropolis, lit at night, from the window of our 8th floor hotel room. How spectacular is it? Tim thinks it is even better than watching Keith Nichol catch a “Hail Mary” pass from Kirk Cousins as time expires in the 4th quarter against Wisconsin. We will see what tomorrow brings. We would like to see the changing of the guard at the Parliament Building, but it depends on the weather.
The next post has more pictures of Athens.

Pictures of the Acropolis

From top to bottom:

The Theatre of Dioysus
The Parthenon
The Pandrosieon
Us in front of the Acropolis
The Acropolis from our hotel room

Nauplia, Greece

Nauplia, Greece, November 10, 2011

Short blog today. We are currently anchored off the coast of the Greek island, Nauphia. There is probably some historical significance to Nauplia but we are not sure what it is. Tim went into town on the tender from the ship on his own this morning. He spent about 45 minutes at a café with WIFI and another 30 walking about town. It is a lovely town situated on a pretty little harbor. There is an imposing fort on a large hill overlooking Nauplia. Nauplia is very much like Heraklion, Crete in that there are many interesting shops both locally and chained owned. Tim did not see a market/bazaar as we saw yesterday in Heraklion. It was once again a beautiful day for a stroll about town which Tim enjoyed thoroughly. We arrive in Athens at 7:00 tomorrow morning when we will disembark the ship, so the rest of today will be spent packing. We will spend three nights in Athens, flying home on Monday, the 14th. We will undoubtedly post one more blog about the sites we see in Athens.

Someplace Familiar?

Heraklion, Crete, Greece, November 9, 2011

Today we left the exotic east and returned to the comforts and familiarity of the west. We will not miss the filth, particularly in Egypt, nor will we miss the overly aggressive hawkers on the street selling their cheap souvenirs, but we will definitely miss the atmosphere that speaks of foreign lands. Maybe we have spent so much time in Europe that it has become so comfortable that it does not feel like we have left home. We hope not.

We did not take any of the ship’s tour offerings but opted to walk on our own into Heraklion. We were joined by our friends, Gerry and Sue from Tampa by way of Brighton, Michigan. It was a beautiful day, temperatures in the upper 60’s and we strolled along enjoying the shops, and chatting like old friends. Heraklion is very clean and was filled with stores with names we recognized: Mark and Spencer’s, Zara, Ben and Jerry’s, Starbucks (Ugh!). We stopped at one or two tourist sites, nothing special, but mostly window shopped and bought some gifts for family! Is the family excited? Even the small shops were hosted by very quiet, friendly shop owners. After an hour or so of strolling, we found a café with WiFi and each of us caught up on e-mail, etc. After more meandering we discovered that Tim had gotten us semi-lost. This became abundantly clear when we came upon a lovely little square we had already been through when Tim thought we were several blocks to the east. Fortunately, there was a restaurant in the square where we could get a beer and a snack and reassess our position and further route. As we were at a restaurant it is time for a culinary aside.

We have been to several restaurants in Detroit’s Greek Town where we have had saginacki, a deep fried cheese that is brought to your table where the waiter pours booze, probably ouzo, over the cheese, sets it on fire while everyone yells “Opa”. According to Jerry and Sue this is also done in “authentic “ Greek restaurants in the Tampa area. We thought it would be very Greek of us to actually do this in Greece. We are sorry to report that this is a “Greek” tradition that must only be done in the States. We will continue to conduct further research in Athens. It is the least we can do for our faithful readers. After a delightful repast of fried cheese, minus the “Opa”, and beer, we continued our leisurely trek that eventually returned us to the ship. The afternoon was spent reading and napping in no particular order.

Tonight was the Captain’s farewell cocktail party. We have learned that crew members generally sign 6 month contracts with Silversea with little or no time off during that time. As the cruise season is ending in the Mediterranean, this is the final cruise for many of the crew which made for an interesting party tonight. This has been the nicest cruise on which we have ever been. The level of service has been incredibly high. Every time we encounter a crew member we are greeted with a smile and a “how are you today”, many times by name. Within the first couple of days all of the maitre d’s in the restaurants knew our name as well as most of the waiters and bartenders. Of course it helps that there are only about 235 passengers on board the ship, but still. The food has been excellent. Our last cruise a summer ago was 14 days long and by the end of the cruise we were a bit bored with the food. Not so on this cruise. We are already making tentative plans for another cruise with Silversea. After dinner we took in a show which featured singing and dancing from different countries around the world. As shipboard entertainment goes, it was quite good. We then went out on deck and observed the beauty of the full moon and returned to the Panorama Bar and danced the night away. Ok, it was one dance, but it was a long one.

2 Days in Egypt

Port Said, Egypt, November 6, 2011

We woke up this morning docked at the entrance to the Suez Canal. The city of Port Said (pronounced “sigh EED) was founded in 1859 at the time of the construction of the Suez Canal. In 150 years Port Said has become one of the largest cities in Egypt. Our arrival in Port Said coincided with the beginning of the second most important Muslim holiday. This Festival occurs a month and 10 days after Ramadan and lasts for four days. The first day is when the wealthy share with the poor. We were warned as we left the ship that we might see animals being slaughtered on the street. The rich people bring their animals, slaughter them and then give the meat to the poor. Fortunately, we did not witness this however are dinner companions, Jerry and Sue saw carcasses hanging in the street as they were taking a tour bus to the Pyramids. We did, however, see cars with blood on them and animals in pickups being taken for slaughter.

We opted for a two hour tour of Port Said in a horse and buggy. Our tour actually consisted of eight horse drawn carriages with a tour guide. We noticed as we left the terminal area and headed for the carriages that policemen were loading rifles in the back of a couple of jeeps. Turns out they followed us on our entire two hour tour. There were lots of cars on the street filled with young people, honking their horns, creating a festive atmosphere. The tour was a bit disconcerting because our guide seemed to be re-writing history, in particular in regards to Egypt’s wars with Israel. We planned to stay on the ship the rest of the day, however, Tim was having problems with the computer and the posting of our blog. In frustration, he called reception to find out if there would be an internet café open in Port Said. When assured that there would be he set off. Fortunately, he did not feel the least bit threatened while on the street and the man in the internet café was very friendly. Unfortunately, there was no WiFi in the café so the blog still did not get posted.

In the evening we had dinner at the pool grill. At night the pool grill becomes what the ship calls a hot rocks grill. You order your meal from a selection of meats and then a lava rock which has been heated to 900 degrees Celsius for 24 hours is brought to your table and you cook your dinner. In actual practice, your meal is partially cooked and then it is finished at the table. We both had filet mignon which melted in our mouths. It was a beautiful evening and we had interesting dinner companions which made for an enchanting night.

Alexandria, Egypt November 7, 2011

Alexandria is a major shipping port so we once again docked in a commercial area with lots of freighter traffic about. We had arranged a private tour of Alexandria before we left home and upon leaving the boat our guide, Mustafa, was there to greet us. Our first stop was the Royal Gardens, also the location of the Royal Palace. The Gardens encompass an area of 450 acres. While Mustafa called the gardens “beautiful” we thought them less than. We both commented to each other that the British would have them looking pristine. The Palace is a large building of over 50 rooms that was the vacation home for the Kings of Egypt up through King Farauk. Since the revolution in the 1950’s when Nasser became the President, the Palace has been used to host visiting dignitaries. There is a staff that maintains the Palace even though it is seldom used. Mustafa thought it would make sense to open it as a museum. When we first greeted Mustafa this morning we told him that one of the things we needed to do was find a place with WiFi so we could get our blog posted. On the grounds of the Royal Gardens there was a luxury hotel built by King Farauk where we posted our blog in royal opulence. For lunch we were taken to a restaurant that was very famous and had been open for over 100 years. It turned out to be a Greek restaurant with a nice view of the Mediterranean Sea. We could not decide if it had once been an opulent restaurant that had turned a bit seedy or if Alexandrians still considered it to be the ultimate in fine dining. Lynda had chicken which she thinks was actually chicken and Tim had fried calamari. We were also served soup, each of us getting a different kind, neither of which we could identify but were actually quite tasty. One thing we have neglected to tell you is that at all of the off ship restaurants we have been taken to we have had hummus and pita bread that is out of this world, including our restaurant in Alexandria.

The highlight of the day occurred after lunch. We were going to visit the catacombs and our route took us through the old town of Alexandria. The streets were narrow and not well paved with little sign of anyone observing traffic laws. We ended up in a monumental traffic jam with three lanes of traffic, on a street built for two lanes, all headed in the same direction with a trolley car coming towards us. There was much yelling and gesturing with passerby’s trying to help direct traffic. In the middle of all of this we heard a siren behind us. At first we thought is was an ambulance but Mustafa told us it was a funeral procession. The “ambulance” was followed by 8 or 9 men who were friends of the deceased and who also were trying to direct traffic. Women are not allowed in the funeral procession. They meet the procession at the cemetery. We followed the procession to the entrance of the cemetery where we watched the friends remove a stretcher with the body wrapped in sheets. We were told that there is no coffin. The body is placed in a vault in the ground and than a cover is put on the vault. Lynda asked if we could visit the cemetery but Mustafa said we could not because we were not Muslim. Of course Lynda tried to tell Mustafa that her Uncle Ahmed lived in Cairo and was certainly a Muslim but to no avail.

The catacombs were over 1800 years old. We climbed down 99 steps to see rooms with square openings where mummies in sarcophagi had been placed. Really quite fascinating. From the catacombs we visited the Pillar of Pompeii. According to Mustafa this pillar is the tallest in Egypt and the two sphinx guarding the pillar are the third largest in the country. During our discussion with Mustafa about Egyptian antiquities, the name Zakari Hawas came up. He was the former head of the Egyptian Department of Antiquities whom we had heard talk on our Around the World Expedition a couple of years ago. Mustafa became a bit agitated, calling Hawas a tomb robber and if it had been a choice of removing Hawas or Mubarak, Hawas would be the one to go. We don’t know if this is a widely held belief in Egypt or just Mustafa’s but we were certainly surprised.

Our route back to the ship again took us through old town and it was an exhilarating ride. There were lots of people out on the streets in a celebratory mood. Shops and grocery stores were open with their goods on display and we passed many cafes with men sitting at tables smoking hookah pipes.

The one thing we noticed both days in Egypt and which our friends on board the ship also commented on was the filth throughout the city and countryside. Everywhere you look there is litter and trash which the locals seem oblivious to. This is most unfortunate because Egypt has a very exotic feel to it and the people we have met have been very friendly.

Tonight the ship hosted a barbecue on the pool deck. We mistakenly thought it would be an American style barbecue with ribs, chicken, potato salad, etc. How wrong we were. It was a lavish buffet with many wonderful appetizers, salads, grilled meat and shrimp, as well as a carving station with beef and fish. There was also a fresh pasta station. It was another gorgeous evening. We may never get use to having to cook for ourselves again.

Tomorrow we spend the whole day at sea on our way to Crete so we probably won’t post a blog. See you in a couple of days.

Pictures

The top picture is the Sea of Galilee looking across at the Golan Heights. The bottom picture is the mosaic from Japan of the Mother Mary and the Baby Jesus. Note the oriental faces on each.

The pictures in the Nazareth blog featured the Synagogue in Capernaum where Jesus preached and the Gardens of B'iatha in Haifa.

Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee

Haifa, Nazareth, and the Sea of Galilee November 5, 2011

Today was another long but enlightening day. We left very early and took our bus to the top of the high hill the surrounds the port city of Haifa. Here we saw the top part of the Gardens of B’iatha. B’iatha is a sect of the religion of Islam that was formed in the mid 1800’s. They are a liberal group that give women considerably more rights than traditional Islam. For some reason our tour guide was unable to give us, the leader of B’iatha built a golden domed building about half way up the hill and then a series of gardens stretching in both directions up and down the hill from the domed building. They are large, very formal and beautiful gardens that we could see from our ship At night they are illuminated and as we left the harbor this evening they were very striking.

We left the Gardens of B’iatha and drove to Nazareth to visit the Church of the Annunciation. It was in Nazareth where the angel came to Mary and told her that she would be with child and she should call the child Jesus. Before 1964 there was a Mosque near the site that dwarfed the Christian church. In 1964 Pope Paul VI visited the site and announced that the Vatican would see to the building of a much larger church. The resulting structure is larger than any of the other buildings in the area and is very contemporary in design. Countries from around the world were invited to send a mosaic honoring Mother Mary and baby Jesus, resulting in a series of mosaic panels both inside and outside the church that are beautiful indeed. Of particular interest were the mosaics from several Asian countries that portrayed Mother Mary looking like an oriental woman. Again, we thought of Nazareth as a small town but, in fact, it is a bustling city of 45,000 people today.

From Nazareth it was on to the Sea of Galilee where we ended up a kibbutz located where the River Jordon leaves the Sea of Galilee. It was somewhere near this site that Jesus was baptized. One can arrange to be baptized at this center. While we did not see any baptisms, we did see many people take their shoes off and step into the river. After seeing all the catfish and muskrats swimming about, we chose not to! On our way to this site we had passed the church where Jesus performed his first miracle; turning the water into wine. At the gift shop at the River Jordan, in addition to stocking small bottles of Holy Water from the River, we could have bought “First Miracle Wedding Wine”.

After lunch our bus took us to the site of Jesus’s miracle of feeding 5000 people with two loaves of bread and five fish. There was a lovely little church marking this spot. Nearby we visited the town of Capernaum. Jesus left Nazareth shortly after turning 30 and spent 19 months preaching in and around Capernaum. Unlike Jerusalem and Nazareth, in Jesuss’s time Capernaum was a large city. Now it is just a tourist site featuring archeological digs. Parts of the synagogue where Jesus preached are still standing although recently it has been determined this particular structure was built in the 5th century, probably above the original. It was also in Capernaum that Jesus met many of his disciples for the first time.

Our last stop was at the Church of the Beatitudes, where Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount outlining the 8 beatitudes. This site also had a pretty little church that was built in the 1930’s. We also saw vestments worn by Pope Paul and Pope Benedict when they visited here and they left as gifts to the church.

At each stop mentioned in the Bible, both yesterday and today, one of our shipmates read the appropriate passage from the Bible. This certainly added to our understanding of the significance of each of the places we visited. Lynda kept pinching herself as she knew how much her mother would have liked the idea of our visiting these sacred places.

Yesterday, on our drive to Jerusalem, we passed mostly desert land. Today, on our way to the Sea of Galilee and back, we drove through a large, broad valley where much farming is being done. Agriculture is big business in Israel. They grow much fruit and produce that is sold throughout Europe year round.

While it is hard not to be a bit skeptical about the exact locations of these historical events, research shows that we were close enough to take it all very seriously. Both days in Israel there were crowds of people at all of these sites and we could tell that for many of them it was a pilgrimage of a lifetime. We are both also very thankful that we had the chance to visit the Holy Lands.

Blogging Problem

We are having computer problems. Two of the blogs we wanted to post were in fact posted but in the wrong order. We have one more post plus more pictures. Unfortunately, we don't know when we will be able to get them posted. Be patient.

Tim and Lynda

Pictures

The top picture is the upper room. The bottom picture is the altar over the site of the cross where Jesus was crucified.

In the Jerusalem blog both pictures are of the Wailing Wall. You will see Lynda in one of them.

PIctures

The top picture is the upper room. The bottom picture is the alter over the place where the crucifix stood.

In the Jerusalem blog the pictures were both of the Wailing Wall. Look closely and you will see Lynda in one of them.

Limassol, Cyprus

Limassol, Cyprus, November 3, 2011

Limassol will not be very high on our list of favorite ports of call. We were in port for only five and half hours. The ship docked in the middle of the industrial port so, unlike the past two days, we did not get a chamber of commerce view of Limassol from our ship. After lunch, we took the shuttle bus from our port to the city center. We found a small café that had free WiFi and order a beer and took care of computer business. Computer time on board is very expensive so if we can find free computer time on shore we use it to post our blog and check e-mail. After we finished our computer work we took a short walk about the city. Limassol is famous for lace and we saw many shops featuring quite detailed lace work. We also visited several small art galleries that featured locally produced art work. There were excellent examples of glass, copper and other metal works of art. Limassol was not any prettier in the city center than in the dock area. We were only off the ship for about two hours.

This morning Tim did laundry while Lynda slept in. He had an interesting encounter with another passenger who was folding his freshly washed and dried Michigan Football t-shirt. Tim quietly enjoyed hearing the Michigan fan admit that we had kicked wolverine ass again this year.

The high point of the day clearly was our private tour, with the ship’s executive chef, of the ship’s galley including a demonstration of how the fresh pasta is made. The machine used to make the pasta is quite involved. Lynda teased the chef as to whether he was a chef or a machinist. The machine the kitchen uses can make all of the pasta for the evening meals in less than an hour. It was fascinating to watch the chef switch the different bits on the machine to make the different shapes of pasta. For tubular pasta such as penne the machine is fitted with a special device that automatically cuts the pasta to the desired length. For longer, flat pastas like spaghetti the pasta is cut by hand. The chef also demonstrated the machine that makes the stuffed pasta, ravioli for example. The machine can make 60 servings of ravioli in 15 minutes. After the pasta demonstration we were shown the rest of the galley. There are 42 chefs in the galley who work in different shifts because our ship has 24 hour room service. The executive chef explained how the orders are brought to the kitchen and organized so that the executive chef can monitor how many orders of each entrée are being placed. We learned that the chef must keep track of the many regulations for each country that is visited. These regulations apply not only to the food served, but also to the bin in which each type of garbage is disposed. We were rather surprised to discover that the “soft” trash, peelings from vegatables, lettuce and the like, is crushed and put into the sea once we are over 15 miles from land. Tim asked about the meals for the crew and found out that there is a separate galley, with its own budget, that prepares the food for the crew. They are not allowed to eat any left overs from the dining rooms for the guests. While we are sure they are well fed, we are also sure the crew does not get the dining options that we choose from each evening. We felt quite special because we saw another group of about 6 passengers come in for a tour that was not as extensive as the private tour we received. It was certainly another example of the outstanding service we have been receiving.

Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Israel November 4, 2011

Today was a long, exhausting but exciting day. Our tour left port at 7:50 a.m. for Jerusalem. Lynda was not happy. It was a bit more than a two hour drive to Jerusalem with Lynda enjoying the scenery and Tim napping. About 15 miles outside of Jerusalem we stopped for a potty and coffee break. Of interest at this break was the fact that the café was across the street from the Monastery of Amasses, the first of three places that Jesus was seen after his resurrection. We than drove on into Jerusalem. There were several things that surprised us about Jerusalem. First, Jerusalem is a major city, around 800,000 inhabitants. We had always thought of it as small. Second, the terrain that the city is built on is quite severe, with major hills and valleys. Third, we did not know that Jerusalem was the capitol of Israel. We assumed Tel Aviv was the capitol. On our way to our first stop we drove by the Knesset, the parliament of Israel. We also drove by the Foreign Office where our guide pointed out that Condolesa Rice had spent much time in negotiations in this building. No mention of Hillary. We also passed the Prime Minister’s home Our first stop was Mount Scopus where we looked out towards the Judean Desert and the start of the West Bank. The West Bank that you all have heard about on the news is the area west of the River Jordan that separates Jordan and Israel, actually on the east side of Israel. From Mount Scopus we drove to the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives gave us a panoramic view of the Old City of Jerusalem and also the Garden of Gethsemane located just outside the Old City walls. Next we visited the Upper Room, the site of the last supper. Over the years the room has been expanded but we were shown the approximate size of the original room. The Upper Room is very near the Tomb of King David that we next saw. Of interest here was the fact that women and men entered from different sides of the tomb and both men and women must have their heads covered. Lynda has a picture of Tim in a paper yarmulke that he had to wear. After lunch we walked into the Old City, our first stop being the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This church contains the sites where Jesus was nailed to the cross, where the cross stood when Jesus was crucified and the location of the tomb where he was buried. At the site of the crucifixion there is an altar underneath which is a golden plate marking the location where the cross stood. We watched many people crawl under the altar to kiss the golden marker. On each side of the altar there was glass through which you could see the actual stone from Calvary. It was very chaotic and crowded around this spot where a Greek Orthodox priest struggled to keep some semblance of order. Don’t ask why a Greek Orthodox priest. It would take too long to explain and we still probably would not be able to make it clear. The church itself that was built around and over these sites is quite beautiful. We left the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and walked down the Via Dolorosa where the original stations of the cross are located. The Via Dolorosa is filled with little shops much like the bazaars in Turkey and Rhodes. We left the Via Dolorosa and followed a rather serpentine route to the Western Wall, better know as the Wailing Wall. To Jews this is the most holy of all sites. The Western Wall is actually about an 84 yard section of the original wall from the 2nd Jewish temple, over 2000 years old and the temple that Jesus visited. Given the conflicts between Jews and Muslims it won’t surprise you to learn that this wall continues on underneath a Mosque. Today people go to the wall to pray. Many write their prayer requests on a small piece of paper and than fit it into a crack or crevice in the wall. Once a month these requests are removed and buried on the Mount of Olives. Like the Tomb of David, there is a separate section for men and women and all must have their heads covered. After spending time at the Western Wall we rode in our bus to a hill overlooking Bethlehem, located just outside of Jerusalem, what we would consider a suburb. We didn’t go into Bethlehem but it is now part of the West Bank controlled by the Muslims. The Israeli’s have built a security wall around Bethlehem and it is very difficult for tour buses to go there. Again, we think of Bethlehem as a little town but it actually is a town of 85,000 people. Our guide spent a lot of time during the day lamenting the constant fighting between the Jews and the Muslims. The problem is that both religions can show proof that they should be the ones controlling the area. Sadly this has been going on for hundreds of years and will probably continue for hundreds more. We returned to our ship about 7:30 exhausted but moved by what we had seen. Fortunately, our thoughtful ship’s crew greeted us with glasses of champagne and a Welcome Back Home receiving line. Have we mentioned how much we are enjoying Silversea Cruise Line?


Tomorrow we travel to the north of Israel, visiting Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee. It will be another very early start and a long day. Hopefully it will be as rewarding as today.

An Enchanting Island

Rhodes, Greece, November2 ,2011

This past summer our friends Mike and Sue asked us to meet them for dinner to discuss their making their first sojourn overseas. During the course of the dinner, Mike asked Tim if we had ever had any travel disasters. After much thought Tim responded that we had not had any. Any problems that we had encountered were cultural problems that were our fault. Tim told Mike that the joy we get from traveling is encountering new cultures. Just as there is no bad day of golf there is no bad day of travel. We mention this because we are sure that some of you are a bit tired of us talking about another wonderful day of travel. Unfortunately for you, it was another excellent day. We had not signed up for any cruise sponsored shore excursions, planning on exploring on our own. We were at the shore excursion concierge desk discussing our options when one of the couples we had dinner with our first night on board asked if we would be interested in renting a cab with them to go up to Lindos. Duh! Did the sun come up this morning? We talked with the concierge to get guidelines on renting a cab and set off. After brief negotiations with the cab driver we were on our way. It was about an 18 mile trip to Lindos. Once out of Rhodes City the landscape became quite barren and hilly. We saw many goats along the road that our cab driver assured us were domestic and just foraging about.

Just outside of Lindos our driver pulled off the side of the road to give us an opportunity for pictures. We had a breathtaking view of Lindos below us. Lindos is a small town located at the northern tip of the Island of Rhodes. All of the buildings were white washed just like you see on the Greekce travel posters. An acropolis sits on a high hill above Lindos. When we arrived in Lindos we were immediately confronted with a stall full of donkeys available for us to rent to take us up the hill to the acropolis. Neither our new friends, Greg and Sue, nor we were interested. We agreed to meet back at the taxi stand at a certain time and explored Lindos. What a lovely, quiet little town. There were the usual tourist trap type shops selling t-shirts, etc. but none of the overbearing hawkers we had put up with in Turkey. These souvenir shops were mixed in with jewelry stores, little art galleries and the like. We also came upon a drop dead gorgeous little Greek Orthodox Church. Unfortunately we were unable to take pictures. As we sat and had a small pizza and a beer for lunch we were struck with how simple a life the residents of Lindos lead. We may have been a bit envious.

We explored Rhodes City upon our return from Lindos. It is much larger than Lindos and, as you would expect, more bustling. Because Rhodes City is where the cruise ships dock there were considerably more of the tourist oriented shops, but it was still not as frenetic as the bazaars in Turkey. We returned to the ship in the late afternoon so the rest of the day was spent lounging, having another wonderful meal and seeing another good show. Tomorrow we arrive in Cyprus. Again, we do not have any excursions planned. We only have about five hours in port so we will probably just take a shuttle bus into Limassol and explore a bit.

We did get some bad news this morning. It was announced over the intercom by our captain that because of shelling in the area of Ashdod in southern Israel we would not be docking there. Instead, we will go directly to Haifa and spend two nights in port there. The good news is this will not affect our planned excursions to Jerusalem and the Sea of Galilee. Unfortunately, the trip into Jerusalem will be considerably longer due to a longer drive. For us that simply means we’ll see more of the Israeli countryside - another bonus!

A Grand Bazaar

Kusadasi, Turkey, November 1, 2011

We have often found in our travels that the places we have enjoyed the most were the least thought of destinations; places where we have little knowledge of the destination going in and absolutely no preconceived ideas of what to expect. Riga, Latvia and Tallinn, Estonia immediately come to mind. Our visit today to Kusadasi, Turkey falls into that category. Our ship docked at the pier directly in front of the town center at 7:00 this morning. The sun was just rising over the hills that surround Kusadasi. It was a stunning view. We spent the morning at Ephesus but more on that later. After our tour we walked about the city. We were constantly passing by small groups of men surrounding a backgammon board. Two of the men were playing, the others either kibitzing or possibly waiting to see if they had bet on the correct player. As several shopkeepers pointed out to us, the middle of November is the end of the cruise season in the Eastern Mediterranean and many of the shops will close until the beginning of next year’s cruise season in the spring. So it was a slow pace. Some of the merchants just nodded as you passed by, others half-heartedly tried to lure you into their store and others showed almost desperation in their attempt to sell you something. Such was the case at a leather goods store that we stopped in front of. Tim pointed out an attractive leather ladies coat to Lynda and immediately regretted it. The owner was all over us in flash, and before you could say “Kusadasi, Turkey” had us on the second floor with Lynda trying on the coat. As proof of his need to sell the coat, the price started at $1080 and the sale was completed at $260. We imagine that the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul was like this. If you can learn to ignore the hawkers than it is great fun walking through the Bazaar.

Two thousand years ago Ephesus, along with Rome and Alexandria were the three most important cities in the world. At that time Ephesus was located on a river on the coast of the Aegean Sea. Two thousand years later it is located about three and a half miles from the sea. By the 5th and 6th centuries A.D. its glory days were long gone. About 20% of Ephesus has been reconstructed by archeologists. Probably the most interesting and impressive building was the façade of the library. At its zenith, the library contained over 12,000 scrolls and was the third largest library in the world. Tim is convinced that Stevium Jobacus’ invention of an application that allowed one to download a scroll to one’s kindlium spelled the end of the library. Actually, of more interest to the reader of this blog is the fact that the library contained a secret tunnel that led to the brothel across the street from the library. Only men were allowed in the library and you are left to your imagination regarding husbands telling their wives they would be spending the evening reading a real page turner of a scroll down at the library and to not wait up! The Grand Theatre has also been reconstructed. It seats 24,000 people and in its day hosted plays and town meetings. It has been used more recently to host concerts by musicians as varied as Elton John and Luciano Pavoratti. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view, after a concert by Sting it was discovered that there was a noticeable shifting of the stones so now only classical concerts are allowed. Of interest to those of you with an off-beat sense of what is important, we also toured the public toilets. These public toilets consisted of long slabs of marble with 42 holes cut in them to allow men to take care of their business. As there were only 16 of us in our tour group we suggested a group picture with us sitting on the toilets would be fun. Our tour leader did not concur.

From the Ephesus site we went to the Ephesus Archeological Museum. It was a small museum but had an impressive array of items that had been found at the Ephesus dig. Unfortunately, the tour ended at a rug shop back in Kusadasi. The five minute demonstration of how silk is obtained from a silk worm cocoon was fascinating but the rest was just a sales pitch. Poor guy had to move 4000 rugs in the next two weeks before he closed for the season so there were deep discounts available. We felt like we were watching an American commercial live. The rest of the day was spent relaxing on the ship.

After a lovely meal in the Italian Restaurant on board we took in our first floor show. The show featured a male singer from London who had starred in many West End productions. He was backed by a live quartet, grandiosely called “The Silver Wind Orchestra”. It was actually a pretty entertaining evening although it is hard to get use to an English singer, backed by four Philipino's singing and playing great American standards.

Tomorrow we will be on the Island of Rhodes, Greece. See you then.