Author: call me TLC

Our cruise ship landed in Athens and we’ll spend a few days exploring this city in Rome. I woke early when the port lights were shining in the window of our cabin and my body misinterpreted the light as sunshine. I love the quiet early morning yoga while overlooking a new city. I’ll maintain the numbering for ease in following the blog and I’ll post more later.

We arrived at a beautiful hotel in Athens Greece that overlooks the city and our room has a balcony view of the Parthenon. We have a rooftop pool with sunset views. It feels surreal to be here.

We met up with friends on a hop on/off bus tour of the city and toured the Parthenon and Acropolis. We walked through the market and had a traditional Greek lunch. We are now enjoying drinks by the rooftop pool and watching the sunset over the city. This is truly an amazing experience.

Greetings to my family and friends who are reading this. Please pray for peace, especially on Israel. Thank you. I love you.❤️

We started early on an excursion to Delos Island. We took a ferry from the new port in Mykonos to the island. Delos was mostly abandoned and we were walking amidst the ruins of ancient times. it was hot and dry with many stray cats that were fed by the tour guide. The ferry took us to the old port that was quaint and quirky with narrow alleys filled with small shops, restaurants, homes and hotels. After many failed attempts we found Little Venice and enjoyed a glass of wine by the seat.

We returned to the ship to play Catch Phrase with friends before our final dinner in the formal dining room. This group of travelers has been a joy. We’re packing to leave in the morning where our land tour will continue in Athens Greece.

It is surreal to think that today we walked on the roads from biblical times. We visited the house of the Virgin Mary where she lived with Saint John after Jesus was crucified. We visited the city that was being reconstructed by archeologists. We watched a fashion show from a leather shop and spent some money on leather jackets. We watched Turkish rugs being woven by skilled women using silk that was came from cocoons. Since of the rugs took years to make! We visited a UNESCO funded ceramic shop with skilled craftsmen. We ate lunch under a tree at a lovely local restaurant. I really love Turkey and the high quality craftsmanship of their products. It’s an amazing experience to be here.

We had the most amazing day riding ATV’s around the island of Santorini. We woke up anchored off the shore in the middle of the islands. We took a tender boat from ship to the island and then rode a gondola up the steep cliff. We walked through the shops and met the moto santorini people on motorbikes. They transported us to the ATV shop where we were given four ATV’s for our group of eight.

I can’t begin to describe the beauty of this place. The Mediterranean Sea surrounds these rocky cliffs and every view is breathtaking.

We spent the day traveling across the Mediterranean with everyone on the cruise ship. Thanks to Pam and Mark who unfortunately got a room beneath the 24 hour kitchen, we enjoyed a sip, tour and brunch components of the kitchen staff. The mimosa was fabulous, the kitchen tor was amazing and the brunch was delicious.

We spent some time by the pool and did a Royal mystery event with our group. We had a formal dinner and enjoyed the live music of The Barricade Boys twice. The bartender made us a mediocre caparinha and the day flew by.

We departed the cruise ship and walked to the train station. The train ride along the coastline took about an hour and then we jumped on a bus to Taormina. Once off the bus we got on the gondola that took us high into the mountain city. This beautiful beach town had some great little shops along the narrow winding streets. It was very crowded. We found an empty courtyard outside of a church and all eleven of us gathered for some wine and laughs. Unfortunately we were being disrespectful to the people of the church and we were strongly asked to leave. I felt terrible.

We departed the church and separated into smaller groups. We took the gondola down the hill to the beachside for a snack and a drink.

After searching for the bus station we made our way back to the train and followed the coastline back to the ship. John and I walked around the town of Messina and found a beautiful church. We marveled at the statues of saints along the wall and found Mattheus, Philippus, and Andreas. I asked for forgiveness for my disrespectful behavior earlier. 🙏

We landed in Salerno Italy to a beautiful horizon and the sun rising over the mountains. We overlooked a marina with lots of boats that also served as a functioning port. I enjoyed a little yoga and a walk on the front of the boat in the quiet morning. I met up with this cute guy for coffee.

I’ll post more pictures from Positano later tonight.

We made it to Italy with a layover in Frankfurt. We met nine friends in the cruise ship and we’ve been sitting by the pool all afternoon. The weather is beautiful.

We’re heading for a Mediterranean cruise followed by a land tour in Greece and Italy. At this moment Andrew is driving us to the airport and I’m trying to remember how to update this web publication. I hope you will enjoy following our travels. 😎

We are beginning on a cruise through the Mediterranean Sea. We’ll begin in Italy and tour down the Amalfi coast. We’ll make stops in Salerno and Sicily or Messina. We’ll stop in Santorini Greece and Ephesus (Kusadasi) Turkey and Mykonos Greece before porting in Athens Greece.