In retrospect I should have sprung for the mobile broadband card instead of relying on free wifi - that wasn't free (most places wanted you to purchase something, not a big deal) and in some cases a risk to my systems as my Facebook was hacked by someone in Switzerland. Oh well. Lesson learned.
I left off while we were in Rhodes. We had such a great experience there. We had a cab driver named Christos who took us on private tour of Lindos and dropped us off at the top of the old city wall. He was entertaining, informative, had a great sense of humor and we felt perfectly comfortable with him. The island is beautiful and I would love to go back. I found that each island had a distinct personality. Christos took us to places that either the large tour buses wouldn't/couldn't stop or he got us there after they had gone so we had more space and privacy to observe and take it all in.
Crete could have been better. My professor required the class to do a specific tour in Heraklion and the tour guide who was on our bus was not great. She was very monotone, talked too fast at times, was repetitive in an effort to be understood. I believe she was trying to do the best she could. Between her and the site itself - it was all underwhelming after being at Ephesus. The site in Crete is older and has great historical value but isn't as large or recovered as Ephesus. The site at Lindos, Rhodes was better too. Had we seen Crete first and built up to Ephesus it would have been better.
That same evening we pulled into Santorini. Too many clouds to get great shots but interesting all the same, so many islets. We had to use tender boats to get to shore because the cruise ship couldn't pull in - no dock for it and shallow waters. In fact, there was only one place to drop anchor at all. It took over an hour for our group to get on a tender boat and to shore, eating away our time on Santorini. We managed to get to shore and had a choice of riding a donkey up the hill, taking the tram/cable car up the hill, or walking up the hill on the same trail the donkey took. We were advised not to take the donkey downhill because they like to go really fast downhill and are a safety risk. We opted for the tram/cable car. Kind of a scary ride, not unlike a ride at the theme parks. Worth the journey. We had time to hit a few shops and we watched what we could see of the sunset through the clouds. My impression of Santorini is that this is the place you go to watch the sunsets while sitting in some Taverna, you play on the beaches, maybe do some water sports, wander around with no place to go in particular. This is a chill out destination.
As we were meeting our group from IUPUI for review and disembarkation procedures, those of us staying on in Athens through Friday evening were invited to meet at the Athens Cypria Hotel for dinner at 7:30pm. Alex's parents made the arrangements and we all met that evening
During the daylight hours Sheena, Danielle and I opted for the Hop On, Hop Off tour bus recommended by Alex's mom. It was like $18 Euros for a 24-hour pass. We did not optimize all of our options - we were just too tired. I have to say it was worth it because we still got to see a few things on our way to the Parthenon. Going to the Parthenon is equal to going to the Grand Canyon or seeing the White House - it's awe inspiring. The surrounding area you get dropped off at is a park setting all around. A 'licensed' tour guide tried to get us to hire her for 50 Euros - after she saw me pay the entrance fee with a 50 - and we declined. We just wanted to walk around, take it all in, take lots of pictures and just enjoy the beautiful weather. We can look up the details on line. After the tour guide experience in Crete I was over tour guides. Still not exactly sure how long we spent there but we took our time, sat down here and there to observe. It really is incredible.
Back to the square because we were just too tired and hungry. We stopped at Nikis Place for a light snack and found it very pleasant. We wandered around a bit more, found Alex's parents who confirmed dinner that night. So we get back to the hotel for a brief rest and get up to refresh for dinner.
We all met in the lobby and we had a good number of students with us, the parents and the professor. So they led the way and we made a wrong turn so the ten-minute walk became 20+, but hey, its part of the journey. It was all so worth it. We went to Filistron for dinner. Our reservation was for 2nd floor balcony dining where we could look out at the Parthenon and the Super Moon that night. It was an incredible view. The Parthenon is prettier at night from a distance than during the day. The food was fantastic too - best we had had all week. The cruise ship food is decent and will keep you going but not great. The other cafes we tried were all good, but Filistron was superior. It was a wonderful way to finish the week.
We slept in the next morning before we had to depart in the afternoon. Journey home wasn't bad, long, but no really bad. Lufthansa provides more amenities than United and has more leg room. The place was struck by lightening somewhere over Chicago/Northen Indiana. That made most of us jump. It hit on the wing on our side of the plane, was extremely loud and the flash was huge and red. In all my years of flying that was a first.
Have resumed most of my pre-vacation duties but my mind continues to wander back to Greece and I remember the motion of the ship all too well. It makes me want to be back on the water. I refused to admit to jet lag at first but it was futile. Had I been able to take another day or two to recover before returning to work but can't waste those precious vacation days. Next up is England and Germany to see Tracey and Alison. I'm excited as there is so much more I want to see in Europe - I've got a taste for it now.
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