2015 - Athens

Sunrise lights up the Emerald Princess - Port of Piraeus - Athens, Greece
Copyright Andy Richards 2015 - All Rights Reserved

WE FINISHED the cruise in Athens. My wife and I had been there in 2013, and seen the Acropolis, and some of the other historic sites. That excursion was done with our new friends from the Royal Princess, as a day stop. The 4 of us had a very enthusiastic guide and we saw a lot that day, but really not a lot of the modern day city. It would be 2 more trips before we would do any of that.

The Acropolis - Athens, Greece
Copyright Andy Richards 2015 - All Rights Reserved

OUR 2015 return, with Paul and Linda, was not a whole lot different, except that we would disembark the ship in the Port of Pireaus ("for Athens"). We then met our driver and guide, who carried our luggage in his vehicle for the day. With travel time from the port and the Acropolis taking up much of the day, we mostly spent our time in two places: The Acropolis and The Roman Agora and old city.

Changing of The Guard at The Acropolis - Athens, Greece
Copyright Andy Richards 2015 - All Rights Reserved

WE SAW the Acropolis again, and then spent some time down in the old city in the Roman Agora, the ancient Romans' commercial and administrative center. The Acropolis tour takes a few hours, so I had shot a lot of photographs of the primary sights in 2013. I took less photos this time, but we had the unique and very cool experience of seeing the group of soldiers marching out in single file right at the entrance to the main part of the old Acropolis. One of my favorite photos.

The Agora - Athens, Greece
Copyright Andy Richards 2015 - All Rights Reserved

WE HAD lunch in an outdoor restaurant right on the corner of the Agora. While frankly "touristic" as they say over there, the atmosphere was pretty cool. We then spent a couple hours walking around the Agora (we had seen it from a short distance, very briefly in 2013). Built around the the turn of the century (1st century B.C. to 1st century A.D.), the Agora is some 500 years older than the Colosseum in Rome. A little bit like an outdoor mall, it has several buildings on the grounds. Perhaps the most impressive is the little Byzantine Church on one corner: The Church of The Holy Apostles. Being somewhat physically small, it photographs well.

Church of The Holy Apostles - Athens, Greece
Copyright Andy Richards 2015 - All Rights Reserved

ANOTHER IN a series of long days came to an end. Our guide and driver delivered us to our hotel where we would spend our final night in Europe, boarding our plane bound for home early the next morning. We knew that we would cruise again, and that we would be back to Europe. Interestingly, our very next cruise - 2 years hence - would again be with Paul and Linda - once again in the Mediterranean "theatre." Look for our continuing adventures in Europe in the next few blog posts.

BUT THERE would be one more adventure before we were finished. We checked in and freshened up. I was still feeling just a touch of the effects of my Provence water experience. Paul was tired. He and I suggested we just eat in the hotel restaurant for our dinne that evening. Admittedly, it was nothing to write home about in terms of either menu or ambiance. My wife put her foot down. She said she was not going to spend a night in Athens and eat in the hotel restaurant. After a brief consultation with the concierge, we were in a cab and on our way right back down to old Athens City, and to a restaurant the concierge recommended and called ahead for us. We were greeted by the owner and escorted to our table, where he suggested that rather than deal with the language barrier and menu, that we just let him bring us some of their food. That turned out to be a great suggestion and the food was fantastic. Even better, the ambiance! We were seated out on a patio overlooking the street level one story down, which also had other restaurants. In the distance, we saw the lighted Acropolis up on the hill. It was an evening that will not be forgotten.

As we exited the cab, Paul paid and then said to to the cab driver: "best time ever?"

I HAVE to finish this one with yet another anecdote. Humorous? To us it is and we often reminisce. Our restauranteer called us a cab to take us back to the hotel. Our local, Greek, cab driver apparently didn't speak a word of English, but it didn't matter. He knew where our hotel was. It was a Mercedes sedan. Paul took shotgun, planning to pay for the ride. The rest of us squeezed into the rear seat. You have to image the european, narrow streets of downtown Athens, with cars parked along both sides and barely enough room to pass through. That didn't stop our cab driver. He apparently mistakenly thought is was a grand prix course. He raced back to the hotel, as we all saw our lives flash before our eyes. Not sure what his deal was, but it was by far the scariest cab ride any of us had ever experienced. As we exited the cab, Paul paid and then said to to the cab driver: "best time ever?" We still laugh (though we weren't laughing much during the ride). The silly little things you remember. 😁 With some great memories in the bank, we headed back stateside early the next morning. We would not cruise again in 2016. But ironically enough, our very next cruise would be a repeat  - the Mediterranean - with Paul and Linda again.

[As I post this, we are 2 days away from our sort of annual Caribbean jaunt, this time on the all new to us: Celebrity Ascent, which is the penultimate (I believe) Edge Class ship. Last year was sister, Celeberity Beyond and we expect it to be essentially the same, but it will be interesting to explore and note differences and nuances. Upon our return, I will start back in on the series - in the Mediterranean on the Celebrity Reflection. Until then, thank you - as always - for reading!]