Julie said she had never been to Greece or on a cruise. She was excited when I suggested the 7-day Athens with 3-day Iconic Aegean Cruise with Gate1. We booked about ten months in advance. It was a good thing her internship happened to start three days after we are scheduled to get back from the trip. Otherwise, it would have been the second time she couldn’t go with us after the trip was paid for.
We looked forward to visiting Greece, the “cradle of western civilization” and the birthplace of democracy, with deep traditions and
rich culture in religion, music, language, food, and wines.
Tùng and Vy came to take care of my mom. They came a day
early. My mom was excited to see them. Tùng took Tom and me to the airport early
in the morning before everyone got up. We flew to Newark where we met with Thal and
Julie, but they had to pick up their checked luggage and couldn’t get back to
the gates right away. Tom and I spent our time at the United Club while Julie and Thal caught up with sleep in a hotel room. We got back together
to catch the non-stop Emirates flight to Athens from Newark.
It’s interesting to note that Emirates gets high marks
from the Gate1 representative, my brother Tùng, and the Uber driver for Thal
and Julie; but I didn’t have the best experience with their service. Its
terminal in Newark Terminal B is crowded and not nearly as nice as Terminals A
and C. They didn't respond in a timely manner when I called for help with the screen at my seat blanking out, and then they did not reset the screen as they said they would.
Day 1 – Athens
After we cleared passport control and got our luggage, we
met with the Gate1 guides. George was our driver and Stella
was our welcoming host. On the way to The Golden Age Hotel, Stella gave us some
information about the people and the culture of Greece. Big mountains cover about 80% of Greece. The country is surrounded by deep blue seas with 6,000
islands of which only 227 are inhabited. Stella and other tour guides were eager to
show us what Greece has to offer and encouraged us to tell others about Greece
and to come back to visit again. Stella gave us a map of Athens which was very helpful because she had highlighted the interesting
areas. She told us how to use the metro system.
I didn't expect a 4-star hotel, but the Golden Age Hotel sign indicates that it is. We rested a little before exploring the streets and finding a place for dinner. We came back to Tabepna, a restaurant a block away from the hotel, to eat. I enjoyed the meal very much. We shared sourdough bread on ember, cheeses, potato salad with pickled eggs, fried giant beans, moussaka, cabbage dolmas with egg-lemon sauce, grilled octopus with fava, and ekmek with mastiha cream and tsoureki (very delicious dessert). Thal wanted to try Mastiha, a Greek liqueur, but we didn’t have to order it since each of us was given a complimentary shot, which was nice.
We had stopped at a grocery store before dinner. Thal
bought some snacks and I bought a bottle of red wine. We shared chocolate and
wine when we got back to our rooms. I was so tired and fell asleep quickly at
10pm. But I woke up two hours later and had trouble falling back to sleep.
Unlike me, Tom slept very well.
Day 2 – Athens City Tour
I didn’t fall asleep again until about 4am and was awoken
by my friend Tâm Thành with a phone call at 5:30am. After I texted her to let
her know I’d call her when I get back from vacation, I could not get back to
sleep. Tom‘s alarm went off at 6am while I was still trying to fall asleep
again.
I lay in bed a little longer before getting up to get
ready. There was a soft knock on the door. It was Thal who brought over
pastries for us. He let me taste his Greek coffee. I didn’t eat everything he
gave me because I wanted to go down for breakfast. Tom and I left at 7am for
breakfast. Thal and Julie joined us a bit later.
We were picked up by G.O. Tours for a half-day Athens
city tour. Evan was our tour guide. We spent the first part of the tour on the
bus driving through city streets. The rest of the time we were on foot at the Museum of Acropolis and at the Acropolis itself.
Evan pointed out Dromeas (The Runner), a sculpture portraying a runner in mid-stride. I recognized it because we saw it on our walk the day before.
We drove by the Panathenaic Stadium (Kallimarmaro), the only all-marble stadium in the world, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympics and was the venue for 4 of the 9 contested sports in 1896. It is the finishing point for the annual Athens Classic Marathon. We'd see the stadium again in the evening when we were on foot.
Along the way we saw beautiful purple flowers of the jacaranda trees and beautiful architecture and interesting art.
We were dropped off near the Hadrian’s Arch, built to celebrate the arrival of the Roman Emperor Hadrian.
We walked to the Acropolis Museum where many of the original statues from the Acropolis, an ancient citadel built during the Gold Age of Athens (460-430 BC), are displayed. From the front of the museum, we could see the Parthenon and the Lycabettus Hill with the Chapel of St. George at its summit.
The ruins of an ancient Athenian neighborhood are displayed underneath the museum. The area was uncovered during the museum’s construction in the late 1980’s.
These are some displays in the museum.
Through the large window on the third floor of the museum, we could see the Acropolis. The Acropolis was the main place of worship for Athena, the goddess who protected Athens. The greatest celebration in her honor was the Panathenaic festival with athletic contests, horse races, and competitions for music and poetry, culminating in a festive procession leading to a ritual sacrifice at the top of the Acropolis.
The museum houses five of six original statues of the caryatids which supported the south port of Erechtheion, a temple on the Acropolis. One of the five statues had been damaged by a cannonball. The 6th statue is currently in the British Museum (As a Greek, our guide is not happy about this).
After spending time in the museum, Evan led us on a walk to the Acropolis. The first structure we saw after climbing the hill was the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a stone theater built in 161 AD. Today it serves as a venue for concerts and theatrical performances during the Athens Festival.
At the center of the Acropolis is the Parthenon (Temple of Athena Parthenos). Its construction began in the year 447 BC and took 15 years to complete. It had the richest sculptural adornment of any Greek temple. The statue of Athena Parthenos was placed inside the temple. The temple had sculptures and carvings proclaiming Athens’s leading role in the Greek world, consisting of the metopes, the frieze, and the pediments. It was converted to a Christian church in the 6th century AD and to a mosque after 1458 when the Ottoman Turks occupied Athens. It was damaged by a Venetian bomb in 1687 during the Morean War.
Another temple that was dedicated to Athena is Erechtheion. Its construction began around 421 BC. The Eastern section was dedicated to Athena and housed her wooden cult statue. The Western section was dedicated to Poseidon-Erechtheus, Hephaistos, and the hero Boutes and housed the sacred serpent the Athena (oikouros ophis). Its south port was supported by six sculpted female figures (caryatids). It was burned in the 1st century AD and was repaired later.
After the tour, we ate at Opos Palia which was recommended by Evan. We had fava and that was prepared differently than the fava we had the night before. Julie and I liked this version of fava, which was grittier and more flavorful.
After lunch, we entered the National Garden by walking around the
Zappeion, after trying to walk through it. We walked the Southwest part of
the garden. The garden was fragrant and it provided us with nice shades for a relief in a hot day.
Afterwards, we explored the shopping district on Ermou Street. Tom
got Julie a hat to help against the harsh sun in Athens in mid-June. Thal got
some kitchen souvenirs. I wanted to find an ice cream place but didn’t find one
on our way to the Syntagma metro station. We took the metro back to our hotel
where all of us took a nap around 5pm.
I was hungry at 8pm. I woke Thal and Julie up for dinner, but they said they were not hungry. They walked with us to find a restaurant. Tom and I decided to try the Cookoovaya Restaurant (Wise Cuisine and Coffee). While we were enjoying an excellent dessert of a pear tarte tatin, Tom asked if I wanted to go to an 11pm movie. I thought it was so sweet that he was spontaneous like in the old days when he impulsively asked if I wanted to go to San Juan Islands over the weekend on a Friday evening after watching The Black Stallion at a Richland movie theater. I said yes then, but I was about to say no when he said Thal and Julie invited us. I was delighted that they wanted to spend time with us. I didn’t even know what movie it was and didn't even care that it involved going downtown at a late hour (way past my bedtime), I said yes. We quickly finished our dessert and paid for dinner. We first went back to our hotel to change and leave my bag behind. We ran part of the way back to the hotel and to the metro. The sign indicated that the next train would come in 12 minutes, and we were happy that it changed to 1 minute. I didn't realize we would have to change trains to go to the station Julie suggested. Someone told us that we needed to change to the green line. I didn’t know how long we’d have to wait for the green line train, so we decided to walk. I had some problems exiting the platform because it took two scans of the metro ticket for me to enter the station we came from (This had happened to me in the NY metro before). The turnstile didn’t move when I scanned my metro ticket the first time. I had to scan it again and that used up the two scans of a one-way ticket. As I was frantically asking Tom to see if he could talk to a metro staff person, someone told me to quickly walk through the turnstile right behind him. I did. We must have looked like cheaters. He calmly told the onlookers that everything was cool. I hope I had thanked him profusely enough. It was almost 10:30pm, the time Thal and Julie said we’d have to be at the theater. We were using GPS and that took us through some curvy uneven-surfaced street where we had to turn on a flashlight to see our way. We walked and ran. I didn't even have time to worry if we were safe on a dark and practically empty street.
We got to the theater around 10:40pm and didn't see Thal and Julie right away. When they came, they asked if we had seen the lit-up Acropolis. I said we ran and didn’t stop to see anything. They said the theater website said to be there at 10:30pm but that is probably to assure that customers secure tickets to the show.
The theater wasn’t even open for the 11pm show yet,
so we walked around and the sight of the Acropolis and Parthenon from below was
amazing.
The movie Backrooms turns out to be a horror movie. I said it was a good thing I didn’t know because I probably would have said no to the movie. But it was a really nice experience going out late at night and be with my son and daughter-in-law. The metro no longer ran when the movie was over. We walked back to our hotel, past the Hadrian's Arch and the Olympics Stadium.
Day 3 – Mykonos Island
Today we checked out of the hotel and went on a cruise
with Celestyal Discovery. After breakfast, we were transported to the ship.
Isidoros was our guide on the way to Port of Lavrion. He gave us information
about our cruise, including recommended optional excursions. We decided to sign
up for the two excursions on the last day of the cruise. Isidoros helped
facilitate the embarkation process which went smoothly. We were welcomed by the
cruise staff with water infused with fruits before boarding.
After we boarded, we met with Nicholas who helped answer
our questions and collected the excursion form. He was our guide for the
duration of the cruise. Our rooms were ready shortly after 10:30am. Tom and I had
lunch at 11:30am in The Taverna, following by a mandatory mustering session at
12:30pm.
After taking a nap, I watched a little soccer at the
Casino Bar. I met up with Tom, Thal, and Julie at the Martini Bar for a
romantic violin session with Melody at 3pm. She played very well, but never said a
word. Tom wished she would talk and introduce the pieces she played. I left
half way to go to the Greek Language session. The only word I remember is kalimera,
which I used a few times. I had fun watching a Greek dance lesson followed by a
Latino dance at the pool afterwards.
Tom and I went to the top deck to watch the ship
coming into the New Port shortly before 6pm.
We were in the third group to disembark after the
priority group of people who signed up for excursions. We took a shuttle bus to
the Old Port. Nicholas had given us a map.
We walked along the waterfront promenade past the Angia Anna beach. We hugged the water and found the Angios Nikolaos Church on the way. It is a small Orthodox church built around 1700 in honor of St. Nicholas, the protector of sailors and fishermen.
We continued our walk to the
Church of Panagia Paraportiani (Our Lady of the Side Gate) which consists of
five separate churches. It is a symbol of timeless traditional Aegean
architecture and a landmark in Mykonos Island. The complex was part of the
original medieval Kastro of Mykonos and is probably connected to its sea gate.
We continued along the water and walked through Little
Venice with charming shops and restaurants and churches.
We walked to Kato Milli Hill where six Mykonos windmills
stand before returning to Leonidas, a gyros place, that we saw earlier. We
ordered some gyros and found a place to sit near the Church of Panagia Paraportiani to eat.
Julie said she liked the gyros here more than the one at Cavvas, which was
recommended by Isidoros, where she and Thal ate at the day before.
Afterwards, Tom and I walked back to the shuttle bus to go back to the ship while Thal and Julie explored the town further.
We got back just in time for a quick dinner at Thalassa Restaurant before the Grand Circus show. It was a great show. There was always at least one singer for each act.
Day 4 Morning – Kusadasi & Ephesus (Morning) and Patmos Island (Evening)
We arrived in Kusadasi, Turkey around 7am this morning. We
were supposed to meet with Nicholas at 6:45am at Martini Bar for our included
excursion to the ancient city of Ephesus. I set the alarm at 5pm instead of
5am. It was a good thing Tom woke me up after 5am to ask what time we wanted to
get up. We went to a buffet breakfast at Thalassa Restaurant at 5:30am.
Then we went to the top deck to watch the ship coming to port.
After we disembarked, we got onto a bus to go on a tour of Ephesus with a local tour guide. She said we could call her Susan (her mother’s name is Suzanne). She told us good things about Turkey and implored us to tell our friends about Turkey before it becomes more popular and crowded.
Ephesus is a city in Ancient Greece. It was founded as an Attic-Ionian colony in the 10th century BC by Greek colonists. It came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BC. It was one of the wealthiest cities in the Greek Empire, being a major center for commerce and trade. It played an important role in Christianity, Judaism, and other religions.
We entered Ephesus at Magnesia Gate (Upper Gate).
The State Baths (some sources call this the Varius Baths) was situated at the main entrance to allow
people to wash before entering the city. They also served as a social hub where
people gathered to relax, exercise, and discuss daily affairs. The baths were built in the 2nd
century AD and was restored several times throughout the centuries.
The State Agora (Ephesian Angora or Upper Angora) was not
used for commerce but as a meeting place for government debates and
discussions. It was surrounded by marble colonnades.
The Odeon is an amphitheater with a capacity of 1,400 seats. It was built in AD 150. Its back side leans against the slopes of Mount Pion. It served as an odeion during concerts and theatrical performances and as a bouleuterion for political meetings and social events. Our guide pointed out the lion paws carved into the staircases leading up to the seating. In Roman and Hellenistic art, lions were the symbol for strength, courage, and imperial power.
The Prytaneion served as a town hall where religious ceremonies, official receptions, and banquets were held.
The Temple of Domitian is a tribute to one of Rome’s most
brutal emperors, Domitian. It was built between 81 and 96 AD during which time
Domitian ruled the Roman Empire. It was adorned with intricate details, marble
columns, and ornate decorations, reflecting the opulence of the Roman Empire.
At the Domitian Square, we saw the relief of the Winged Goddess Nike (Greek Goddess of Victory) holding a laurel wreath in her left hand (symbolizing the honoring of victors in battles or athletic competitions) and a palm branch on her right hand (representing peace). It is considered to be a decorative element on the upper part of the Heracles Gate.
The Memmius Monument was built in the 1st century
AD during the reign of Augustus. It has a four-sided victory arch to celebrate
the liberation of Ephesus by the Roman dictator Sulla.
The Heracles Gate (Hercules Gate) can be seen as a gate that divides
Ephesus into a political and a commercial part. The gate is narrow to block wagon traffic into the political section of the city. The Hercules reliefs on both sides of the gate also intimidate those who want to enter.
Curetes Street begins at the Heracles Gate (Lower Gate) and ends at the Celsus Library. It is paved with marble and lined with fountains, columns, temples, monuments, statues, and public buildings. There was a well-developed sewer system under the street. It was the principal ceremonial and civic boulevard, used in religious festivals for processions honoring the city’s chief goddess Artemis. It takes its name from the priests who would walk the street during religious ceremonies.
The Trajan’s Fountain was built in the 2nd century, in honor of the Roman emperor Trajan, to supply the city with fresh water and serve as a monumental ornament. The Ephesians built six tunnels to supply water to the fountain.
The Temple of Hadrian was dedicated to the Roman emperor Hadrian who ruled the Roman Empire from 117 to 138 AD. It was constructed in conjunction with the Varius Bath complex. The Keystone relief decorated with floral patterns in the middle of the curved arch is Tyche, the Goddess of Good Fortune.
A stoa (hall) dated to 4th and 5th century AD borders the two Terrace Houses (luxury Roman villas belonging to the upper class of ancient Ephesus). A polychrome mosaic floor with geometric, floral, and figurative designs covers the floor of the stoa.
The Latrine was a public restroom built in the 1st
century. It was a single rectangular hall lined with stone seating along three
walls with a continuous trough of running water in front of the seats for
washing. A second water channel beneath the seats carried waste out to the sewer
system beneath the marble paving of Curetes Street. This was the place for Romans
to socialize or read books. Mosaic covers the entire floor. Our guide said only
men used these toilets.
At the end of Curetes Street is the Library of Celsus. It was
built in the 2nd century and held over 12,000 scrolls.
The interior was destroyed by fire. Only its façade remains with the four
virtues symbolized by the statues of Sofia (Wisdom), Arete (Virtue), Ennoia (Insight),
and Episteme (Knowledge). It was destroyed by a series of earthquakes in 415
AD.
We walked past the Augustus Gate and walked on the Marble Street which was one of the city’s main shopping and pedestrian streets. The Commercial Agora was founded in the 3rd century BC. It was protected from flooding using a rebuilt canal system located beneath it. It was damaged earthquakes and was repaired several times.
The Grand Theater is located at the end of Marble Street. It is built on the slope of Mount Pion (Panayir), facing the Aegean Sea. It has a
capacity of 25,000 people. It is known as the place where Apostle Paul preached
the Ephesians. It is used nowadays for concerts in the summer. World famous
performers including Elton John had performed here.
We ended our tour walking along the Harbor Street (Arkadiane Street – named after Emperor Arcadius who restored the street during his reign during 395-408 AD). The street was paved with marble, lined with covered porticos, decorated with statues, had a drainage system on its sides and below its ground, and was illuminated by candle-like street lamps at night.
After visiting Ephesus, we went to Turkmen Weave where we watched a demonstration of their hand weaving method and a short lecture of the silk production. We got to taste raki, Turkey's national spirit, with a strong taste of anise. We were shown a sample of carpets in different designs, materials, and sizes and were invited to walk barefoot on them to check out the feel of different fibers (wool, cotton, silk, or a combination of them). They are all beautiful.
Before we left, we got to sit down at a picnic table to enjoy Turkish snacks of cheese, vegetables, bread, and olives.
When the bus dropped us back to Kusadasi, we had some time before embarking. Tom and I walked with Thal and Julie for a little while. Then we split because I wanted to walk along the water and Thal and Julie wanted to walk in the bazaar shopping section where merchants were more than eager and ready to entice you to enter their shops.
Back to the ship, we went up to the Taverna for a light lunch and desserts. I took a nap until 2pm when I went up to the pool to watch a demonstration of fruit carving. While there, I had a sample tasting of Skinos Mastiha (sweet, clear liqueur made from resin of the mastic tree), Rakonmelo (used as a remedy for coughs and sore throats), and Ouzo (anise-flavored liqueur widely consumed in Cyprus and Greece). The bartender told me the ouzo would turn like milk if we put ice on it. I read later that it is related to the Turkish Yeni raki, which I assumed was what we had at Turkmen Weave. I’d love to take some samples home but we probably didn't have room in our luggage.
Day 4 Evening – Patmos Island
Tom and I got up at 4pm when the ship announced it would arrive to Patmos Island in 20 minutes. We went up to the top floor to observe. Patmos is where the apostle John, exiled by the Roman emperor Domitian in 95 AD, received the vision that became the Book of Revelation, the final book of the New Testament. According to Greek mythology, Patmos originally existed at the bottom of the sea, but Zeus was persuaded to allow it to rise from the water.
The tender boat dropped us off at Skala, the main port of the island. Thal and Julie boarded the tender boat after us and got off before us and we couldn’t find them at first. They found us but split off to find a coffee shop. Tom and I walked to the Skala Town Beach where we could see the Monastery of Saint John up the hill. We entered the water and enjoyed the cooling off in a hot day. Tom swam some and said you could easily float in this water.
Thal and Julie showed up when we were about to leave the beach. We walked with them through the Skala shops and restaurants. I got Tom an ice cream cone at Daphne's and bought some dried fruits at Nektar. Then the four of us walked to a rocky beach. The houses here are white-washed rectangular boxes with flat roofs.
We had dinner at the Thalassa Restaurant and went to the Amphitheater to check out the live concert with the Three Ribers Concert Band, which is an adult community band from Wisconsin. We had planned to come back for the Welcome to the Cabaret show at 10pm, but Thal and Julie had a different idea. They asked us to join them at Star Bar & Lounge for cocktail time. We ordered Queen Bee (vodka, Frangelico, Baileys, Amaretto, cacao blanc), Lovers Blossom Elexir which consists of two cocktails (the first is cherry brandy, lychee, aperol, bitter lemon, sparkling wine - the second is yuzu & dark rum), and Dragon's Kiss Delight (rum, malibu, lime, hibiscus, coconut cream, passionfruit, Himalayan salt). We each tasted all four cocktails. Tonight we went to sleep at midnight.
6/7 Morning – Heraklion (Capital of Crete) and Stironas
Today we arrived in Crete, the largest island of Greece and birthplace of Zeus according to mythology.
We woke up when my alarm went off at 5:25am. We got ready and went to breakfast at the Thalassa Restaurant at 6am. We saw a beautiful sunrise from the dining room.
We met with Nicholas at 6:50am to disembark as a group for our excursion. Veta (short for Elizabeth) was our tour guide this morning. We learned that Crete is about half way between Athens in Cairo.
The bus dropped us off at Plateia Eleftherias (Liberty Square). We had a walking tour in Heraklion. Veta guided us to the Morosini Fountain at Lions Square and gave us some free time. The fountain was built during the Venetian era in 1628. Originally, a statue of Poseidon adorned the top of the fountain, but it was later destroyed.
We continued our walk to the old port of Heraklion at the site of the Koules Fortress (Rocca a Mare), built by the Republic of Venice in the early 16th century. Tom dipped his feet into the sea water.
After the tour of Heraklion, the bus took us to the village of Stironas with a population of 30 people. We visited the vineyard of Vasilis who welcomed us and told us about the history of his vineyard and his method of making wine. He does not use machines except when separating the fruit from the stems and he doesn’t add sugar or any preservatives. He showed us the stone vats they used to get juices from grapes and olives.
The vineyard is on top of a hill, offering a beautiful view.
Afterwards we went to the shop and had a taste of lighter raki (40 proof) with lemon or pomegranate and honey. We bought some olive oil and raki and jam to take home.
6/7 Evening – Santorini Island
We met at 3:45pm to disembark and visit Santorini. Nicholas told us about the different layers of rocks of the island, from the top of pumice of about 100 years old to the bottom layer of 1,500 years old. Winemakers tie the grape vines together to make baskets on the ground because grapes couldn’t be grown the normal way here due to dry summers and strong winds. There are cave houses that have been converted into 5-star hotels and most owners are women who became rich. Nicholas said that was karma because cave houses were not considered of value and therefore were given to women.
We took a tender boat to the island. We could see the zig-zag roads that the bus would take us to the top of the island. That reminded me of Holden Village, except there are trees to hide the road leading to Holden Village and the road there is much longer.
We took the bus to the top.
The four of us walked around to find a place to eat. We settled at Skala where we ordered domatokeftedes (Santorini style tomato fritters), Santorini fava, lamb kebab, and spanakopita. We all tried skala and sima assyrtiko white wines.
The sky was beautiful and the island was lit up on our way back to the ship on the tender boat.
We got back to the ship about 9pm. We all went up to Thalassa Restaurant for dinner. We didn’t finish dinner until about 10:30pm and therefore missed the Greek Treasures of Music and Dance Show. I was tired and fell asleep quickly.
6/8 – Athens
Today we got off the ship and flew back to Newark. Thal and Julie joined us for breakfast. Nicholas guided us through disembarkation and said goodbye once we got on the van to head back downtown Athens. Stella was our guide again. We had about four hours in Athens. The van dropped us off at the familiar sight of the Hadrian's Arch. She led us on foot to Plaka where she suggested that we go uphill for a nice view and away from the crowd. We did until we saw the Acropolis above us and didn't see any more hill.
Tom and I went to an "Eat the Film" event at Viata Hotel where we had a six-course dinner with five cocktails while watching Mama Mia 10 days after coming home from the trip. Sweet timing as a way to extend our trip to Greece.
Images of olive trees, pomegranate trees, jacaranda trees, white-washed buildings, blue domes, and flat-roofed rectangular houses will remind me of Greece.
