Donel

Today is a return visit to Mykonos with no excursion. A much more relaxed day. Trip into the village starts with a boat ride across the bay. ( not enough space at the pier) Shopping breakfast, shopping lunch… some drinks and back to the ship. Tomorrow Argostoli.... read more

Today we get to see Corfu Greece! It is HOT! The excursion today is a Food on foot tour. Mainly a fishing village but now its main industry is tourism. Most of these towns we visit have multiple cruise ships in port each day. Today there seems to be only 3 ships. We are guided to different shops to sample liqueurs and sweets that are local. Limoncello, candied almonds, kumquat liqueur and brittles. Streets are paved in marble and we are always warned about them being slick. Every corner is packed with gift shops, taverns or clothing stores. Lunch at a “taverna” and then back to the ship. Tomorrow Athens!... read more

We get to board a shuttle that will take us to the train station in Ravenna. There are a lot of cruise passengers who take the trains rather than fly. Directions were fairly easy, one main street to the main square all others laid out on a square grid. We found a café and got 2 double cappuccinos to get our energy level up. Also got 2 stuffed croissants. Since it is Sunday the entire city was closed (????) churches included. What? Streets were deserted which was a nice change. However our main purpose was clothes shopping for Elke. No luggage yet! Total epic failure by Air Canada. We managed to find a square and discovered a crowd gathering. After talking with a Carbinieri Federali, we find that today is the 701 anniversary of the death ... read more

Shore excursion today is into Mykonos, the windy city. We were tendered again. City was built around fishing and shipping trade from all points in the east. Like Santorini it has been conquered by many empires all the way back to the Venetians. Our guide Nektarios ( a truly Greek name) had us walk from the pier to our bus. The bus ride took us to a farm winery. Impressive since it sits on only 10 acres. The tasting was well done describing the process of making wine and the science behind it. We tried a white, a rose and a red and to our surprise we both liked the rose the best! Back on the bus to go back thru the narrow roads into the old city. The narrow streets, according to Nektarios, were built ... read more

Day 3 at Sea Day 4 Santorini, Greece. Without luggage still (well you can’t expect them to deliver at sea) We arrive at Santorini, probably one of the most iconic scenes in Greece. It doesn’t seem right since it has only been popular for 60 years. Considering the Acropolis and Zeus’ temple and other ancient ruins have been in existence for over 2,000 years. We start with a bus tour and a stop at a winery for a tasting. Wine was ok. Drove around the island and then embarked for our hike thru the town. Very steep hills, narrow streets all painted white. With 7 cruise ships in port and a small town the streets were jammed. Line up for a chance to take a picture. Ray and Cindy were going to take the cable car ... read more