And now,

we return to our regularly scheduled program

The Greek Cruise

Episode One : The Ship

Tea is served on deck or in the Lounge where a grand piano accompanies the genteel tinkle of tea cups being placed on saucers


Our luxurious living room, doors lead out on to a veranda complete with chairs and a table, where tea can also be served, as well as any other little nosh you might fancy.


The pool deck, where there is a grill and a bar , but tea is also to be had.

The dessert buffet - in the center is a castle made entirely of dark and white chocolate. It is the size of a small bungalow in a modest subdivision of Smalltown, USA. Drink of choice ? Tea, of course !

Oh,yeah, in case you were wondering - there was lots of other stuff to drink besides tea ( the bar opened at 9AM and closed in the wee hours ) , it's just that I loved teatime so much....

Stay tuned for tomorrow's episode : The Sights !

Busy,busy,busy...

We cruised, we toured, we island hopped in the Mediterranean and now we're back and still sorting through hundreds of pictures. Come back in a day or so and we'll share some of the most amazing pictures with you.

The Acropolis

After climbing the steep hill up to the Acropolis, we entered through the Propylae and saw the Parthenon for the first time. What an imposing structure, even with all the scaffolding all over it.

My favorite temple is the Erechteion, however. Notice that the columns now have Ionic capitals and are much slimmer and more graceful. The whole temple is just lovely, its feminity underscored by the wonderful karyatids which gaze out over the city of Athens.

This is how high the sacred rock of the Acropolis rises above the city.

Next stop, the ancient Agora at the foot of the Acropolis, where the public life of Athens took place and where Socrates, Aristotle, Demosthenes, Xenophon and St. Paul instructed in the stalls of the building below. Many of the great debates of Athenian democracy were held here. The Agora was marketplace, administrative center and THE place to hang out in the 6th century BC.

For now, however, I must say " καληνύχτα " ( that's good-night to you ) , we must go to bed so we can get up early for our last day here in Athens. What to do - more Agora, both Greek and Roman ? or the National Museum with priceless treasures from the ancient world ( gold mask of Telemachus anyone ? )

Time is just zipping along and getting short- tomorrow we also board our ship for the beginning of The Cruise ! There is so much to do and see here, I haven't talked yet about the food ( yummy ), the people ( fun to watch and very pleasant ) and the amazing breakthrought that happened to me late this afternoon in an alley - I am beginning to be able to read Greek !!