Once upon a time, there were 3 ladies in their early 20's who shared an apartment near the bank where they all worked. They lived together, worked together, dined together, shopped together, partied together, played sports together, even dated together. At the time, only 1 had a boyfriend. But every Valentine's Day and other significant occasion meant this boyfriend dating out her girl and her 2 friends. In time, one married early. Another married very late. And the last one never married. That last one, by the way, was the one with the boyfriend who dated all 3 of them. Through the years, the friendship never faded. The unmarried one, the spinster over the hill (that is me) stood as godmother to all the friends' children. The friendship was sealed. We have become sisters. There is ... read more

You always save the best for last. And Santorini is truly the best. But I must say, it is not that easy to decide on that. Rhodes impressed me a lot. And Crete is something else. But Santorini took my breath away! Lost Continent of Atlantis? Imagine this. Five thousand years ago, the island was believed to be a sophisticated outpost of Minoan civilization. Then catastrophe happened. Around 1450 BC, the volcanic island erupted.....its "heart" sank below the sea, and the earth shook all around and across the Aegean. Thira, which is how Santorini was called then and even now, was wiped off the earth along with the great Minoan civilization. Atlantis, called as such to mean "Happy Isle" was a lost isle, completely submerged by the sea. Ancient philosophers like Plato wrote of this Happy ... read more

From Patmos, the island of the Apocalypse, we left the island in the evening and woke up to find ourselves in Rhodes. Now, this I've got to say. I wasn't prepared for Rhodes. Perhaps because all this time, I was more fascinated by the more popular islands like Mykonos or Santorini. All I knew about Rhodes was some history lesson marking the Colossus of Rhodes as one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. But an earthquake more than 2,200 years ago wiped out this ancient bronze statue that stood by the harbor, so there is really just a memory, if not a legend or myth about this world famous landmark. Of more "recent" history is the flight of the Knights to Rhodes during the Medieval period, only to be chased out once more by ... read more

We checked out of Athenais Hotel on a bright, sunny morning bound for Piraeus where we would be boarding our ship. We booked this cruise with Louis Hellenic Cruises months before. The itinerary includes: Mykonos, Kusadaci (in Turkey), Patmos, Rhodes, Heraclion (in Crete), Santorini and back to Piraeus, Athens. All of 5 days. Out Monday and back Friday. I know......it could have been a lot better to choose just one or a couple of islands rather than island hop in the next 5 days. But then again, we can always go back and this should serve as a good preview. After "exploring" our cabin , checking out the buffet, Shelly and I were so happy to be unpacking and packing just once in the next 5 days. The cabin is small, but it is clean and ... read more

Shelly murmured "Poor Medusa" nearly all throughout the time we visited the Basilica Cistern. While I remember the underground palace's impressive water system from years ago, still in use today, I remember poor medusa most. So many legends surround the mystery of how and why Medusa came to be. I must have read too many , I couldn't decide which one to believe. On the other hand, Shelly is more convinced that Medusa begs our compassion. I am tempted to agree with her. So we murmured our way throughout the Basilica Cistern........... But just who is Medusa? An image of this evil woman with venomous snakes on her head who could turn anyone who dared look at her into stone, readily comes to mind. Was she originally a Greek goddess punished by the more powerful goddess ... read more