Authentic lunch near the market.

A3 and Nat liked their choices!!

We ordered the items highlighted with a yellow mark!! What a feast!

We rode on an open top bus…we knew we would be tired from not sleeping much on the plane.

Catnaps on the bus…

We got off the bus after a whole round of the tour and prepared for our walk up the acropolis. \240What’s the best way to prepare? Beer (Al), milkshake (A3), and coffee (Nat and Heather). Of course some sorbet and backlava proclvoded quick energy too.

It was time for our walk up the acropolis and tour. It gave me goosebumps to think about how many people have been there—-thousands of years ago.

The acoustics at the amphitheater were unbelievable. We were fortunate to hear some musicians warming up there and could hear it clearly from across the hill.

We hiked the west hill next to the acropolis. It was definitely worth it. The views of the city and the acropolis were amazing.

We walked back to the hotel to freshen up, and then we were off to find a light dinner.

We came upon a place called All That Jazz that was in a fun area. We ordered some plates to share. Our server was named Phillip and he asked us question after question about life in the US. Nat loved her fried Zucchini balls! Alan’s cheesy bacon fries hit the spot, but the kebab plate was amazing!

Yum!

The group next door kept signing! They sounded great!

We found a vieww of the acropolis in the dark and headed home!

Waffle with Peanut Butter and chocolate syrup!

Moms freddichino and cute Nat with her purple hat!

We boarded the open top bus and headed for a few monuments and the Olympic stadium in Athens. It is confusing because there are 2:one in Athens and one in Olympia. This stadium was used in the modern Olympic Games from 1896 to 2004.

After our tour we headed for a quick stop in the market to pick up a few souvenirs:a gold crown, olives, a statue and of course a deck of cards!

Our transfer picked us up from the hotel. Fun story:his name was Yaz and he actually played a game of basketball with Giannis in Athens! \240True fact!

We boarded the Norwegian Getaway.

Athens in the background.

We grabbed an appetizer to hold us over and explored the shop. Of course we had a few drinks! The drink of the day was the sail and sustain (pineapple drink).

We had dinner reservations at a restaurant. Then we played in the arcade and did an escape room/puzzle box adventure with another family (Jim and Helen). We didn’t get the last clue in time and another team beat us. The arcade soothed our hurt egos.

We went searching for a late night snack. Got some more food at OSheenans. They have the best smoked BBQ wings.

It was past midnight and we went to crash.

We got all showered and cleaned up for our evening adventures.

We had a reservation at the ice bar…yes…a bar made of ice! \240They loaned you gloves and ponchos because it was freezing! Even our drinks were served in an ice mold.

Then it was time for our special dinner. We had reservations at the Brazilian Steakhouse-A3’s pick. It was pretty amazing…lots of awesome food. Nats fav was the sushi on the salad bar. Al and A3 loved the Brazilian sirloin. We all loved the pineapple that was covered in cinnamon and brown sugar and slowly grilled. Desserts filled in the cracks—chocolate coconut tres leche cake and coconut flan. Both amazing. The views as we finished dinner were amazing. We entered into narrow straits of Turkey.

Unfortunately the blue mosque was closed becasue it is Friday and they do not open until 2 (our time to leave port). Our tour guide did a great job giving us a variety of experiences aside from that.

We walked the grounds and saw the 4th largest mosque—Sophia Hague.

We also saw the Blue Mosque and did get to walk inside the tomb

The blue mosque behind us

Our guide Orchun brought us to the middle of old town where the stadium (chariot races) used to be. We saw some obelisks that were there during the time of the stadium. We got to go down below a shop and see the aqueduct that used to provide water to the city. It was pretty amazing.

One of the shops above the aqueduct was a Turkish rug shop. We got to see and learn about the process of making these rugs from wool, silk, cashmere or angora and see a few in process. We also had time with the rug seller who served Al Turkish coffee (fine, unfiltered) and me apple tea. He had his men lay out rug after rug for us to view and feel. It was disappointing not to purchase such a fine piece-but we weren’t prepared for that adventure, so we thanked them and went on our way to the palace.

The old palace

We toured the palace grounds and saw the treasures and arms. There were some biblical relics that we weren’t expecting to see: Moses staff, arms bones from John the Baptist, and David’s sword….kind of thinking…how can that be?

We then walked to the Grand Bizarre. There are reportedly 5000 shops there, but many look the same. We did make a few purchases: a Turkish lamp, a scarf for Nat, hat for A3 and both guys got watches. It was a little strange when we walked in a scarf shop and they closed the door with us inside. They wanted to keep the air conditioning cold tai yes. The gentleman started putting g scarfs on my neck and sling all sorts of questions. I kindly said no to the $300 scarf (silks d cashmere?), and we settled for Natalie’s scarf ($7 for silk??? Probably not

We rode back to the ship with 30 min before All aboard sweaty, tired, and hungry. Did I mention that it was in the high 90s?

We ate at the buffet and then watched the boat leave Istanbul. Nat and Al watched from lounge chairs on the top deck. Heather watched from our room balcony, and A3 watched with his eyes closed! Heather did get in a great nap on the balcony as we headed away from Turkey.

Tonight we had reservations dinner in the Tropicana room and the late dance show called Burne the Floor. Nat wore her fancy dress and the boys wore their new watches!

Dinner was ok, but the music was nice in the Tropicana room. After dinner we had time to play darts, duckpin bowling, air hockey, and of course Big Buck Hunter (A3). Nat wanted front row seats at the show, so we lined up early.

The show was amazing—lots of great dancing and singing.

We sat at the back of the boat.

We had a lazy morning. Nat went to the teen club for a bit and played some games. The rest of us played cards outside in the deck and watched as we approached Santorini.

As we were waiting to doc we sat on our balcony and got our things ready to leave for the island.

View from our balcony

It was chaotic trying to get off the boat. In Santorini you have to tender, so we impatiently waited for our turn (group 22). \240We waited 1 hour 45 min for our turn. But the problem was getting up the cliff!! The cable car line was backed up for hours—so we missed the tour we had booked. Al found a boat option to Oia which is where we wanted to go anyway….so we punted and took the boa option rather than waiting for the cable car!

Taking boat to Oia

Once we got to Oia-we found a restaurant with a view and had an early dinner. The view was breathtaking. One of the best we had ever seen. We enjoyed some great Greek cuisine as well. Well worth all the effort!

We went from Oia to Fira (port) via bus. We got to see the lower side of the island that has shoreline that is more accessible than the cliff side.

In Fira we did a little shopping, had some gelato, and saw the sunset. We waited in the li g dreaded line for the cable car to go down, but it was a fun ride.

Sunset from Fira, Santorini.

Back on board we grabbed a super late dinner in the buffet and scoped out the mixed decades dance party. Nat and I did a little dancing, but then the kids went to the arcade and Al and I listed to music until 11:30.

View from our balcony

View from our balcony

We took a bus 35 km to Olympia-home of the original Olympic Games. We toured the grounds.

This is the original stadium. The first race was 600 feet and only men would compete. The winner would receive an olive branch crown.

Olive tree

The heart of the founder of the Olympic Games is at Coubertin Monument. This is also the route of the Olympic fire.

Temple of Zeus

We grabbed a quick gyro in town before boarding the ship. Nat said it was the best thing ever! It was pretty great—but we were quite hot and hungry!

We boarded the ship and passed out for a bit in the room.

Nat and Al tried some gelato onboard while A3 napped and Heather rested.

We had dinner in the Tropicana room with dancers from burn the Floor to entertain us.

We caught the magic comedy show after dinner. He was pretty funny!

Al and Heather watched some of the Bond movie No Time To Die while Nat and A3 played some guitar hero in the arcade.

To end the evening—Nat wanted to stay for Salsa lessons with the dancers from Burn the Floor.

We ended up ordering a major load of room service when we got back to the room.

Tonight we get to turn the clocks back.

Now we are cruising fast to Catanania, Italy!

View of Catania from our balcony.

Trying to walk to the beach….

We thought we could walk there—so we passed on a taxi offer. Very industrial city—especially alon the port and towards the beach side. At one point we ran out of sidewalk. A taxi came by and picked us up in the middle of a round about!

Antonio took us to a private beach club (no chair or umbrell options at public beach). It was 9 euros each but included chair, umbrella, bathroom, and more.

This is the view from the marketplace. Mt. Vesuvius is on the left and Mt. 🙃🙃🙃 is on the right. At one time they were 1 mountain.

A photo of part of the market where we met our group after the tour.

We had a few spare minutes to grab a slice of margarita pizza.

Then we took a train to Rome.

We saw a few more sights along the way….

Our last Roma meal—of course pizza and sandwiches for breakfast….