Mediterranean Cruise, Port 5: Santorini, Greece.

Santorini is like a dream. Our ship anchored very early, before either of us had awakened. After waking up, I pulled back the curtains and stepped out onto our balcony, my eyes wide with the sight of this truly amazing place.  I mean, our ship was anchored in the crater of what was once a tremendous Volcano.  The eruption that caused what we see today of this area was 3600 years ago. The cliffs that surround you from this vantage point, are the sides of the ancient mountain, and the towns of Fira and Oia that are perched atop these cliffs seemingly skim the sky, until of course you travel up and look down. The views from Oia and Fira are simply spectacular, and if you can take it in while eating Greek yogurt slathered with honey, you all the more likely to appreciate this place. And no we didn't take the Donkey's. Up or down.

Mediterranean Cruise, Port 3: Mykonos, Greece.

Next stop was Mykonos, the requisite port in the Cyclades. A wildly popular spot in the warmer months for the fabulous party and beach crowd, November was a lovely month to walk the whitewashed alleyways with almost none of the crowds. We walked directly from the boat, along the water, into the main town, Chora. Since we were at the very end of the season, many things were closed for business, but in a way it allowed us to not get caught up in the hustle and just take the island town for a more simple spin. We explored the churches and Windmills in solitude. We enjoyed a lovely bite along the harbor, and slowly window shopped at the places still open. Warm enough to wear shorts, but never break a sweat, I think this was the perfect time for us to see this place.

Mediterranean Cruise, Port 2: Athens, Greece.

Athens. Well really just the Acropolis. This was the one and only time we utilized an 'excursion' offered by the ship. We figured, that since the boat was docked a bit far from Athens itself, we were a bit short on time and neither of us were familiar with the city and how to best get around, it was a good way to go. 

Well we should have looked at the fine print a bit more closely because the excursion wasn't to the Acropolis itself, but rather for the Acropolis Museum. That still makes no sense to me. Totally maddening. Who goes to Athens and just goes to the Acropolis Museum and not to the Acropolis itself? 

I digress with a lesson learned. So while inside the Museum, which was in fact lovely, Todd and I realized that we had about an hour and a half before we had to be back on the bus, our absolute fill of a tour guide who constantly spouted 'So don't say it is all Greek me!' (while highlighting every word in the English language that is derived somehow from Greek - and there are a lot), enough Euros in our pocket to pay the entrance fee to the actual Acropolis and four working legs - so up the hill we went. And it was beautiful.

Once we came down, we even had a few minutes to see Hadrian's Arch. That Hadrian got around.