Today John and I rented a car and drove around the island we saw the nicest homes which were located on a secluded part of the island. There was only one way in and one way out which was pretty neat. We also visited some of the cool beaches that I have heard about for many years.
Today we took the tender boat to the cable car ride which takes you to the top of the mountain where you can walk around the town. We decided to rent a car from Hertz and drove to Oia.
While we were there, we walked around for about an hour and then drove to Perissa which is where the famous black sand beach is. We had a lovely lunch at a place called Perigos the food was delicious. After that, we drove back to Fira (Thira) and returned the rental car walked around town a little bit and then took the cable car back down to the tender boat to get back on the ship.
July 23, 2018Â – Second Visit to Santorini
Today we walked around Santorini with our good friends Nano and Mariya, and since we had already rented a car and driven around the island, we decided to stay back and find a nice spot with a great view and have a cup of coffee and a glass of wine and beer. We walked with Nano and Mariya to the rental car place, and they rented a car and drove around the island.
We found a great spot overlooking the beautiful water hung out for about an hour and then went back to the ship.
Afterward, he drove us up to the Monastery of St. John and we walked around a bit and then we went back to the ship had lunch.
After lunch, we decided to take another cab to a little town called Kambos to have a glass of wine by the beach. Afterward, we met up with Samantha, Evan, and Frederic in town and had some coffee with them and then took the tender back to the ship.
Today we visited the Palace of Knossos, and then we went to the Monastery of Kera, and then we had coffee at Hersonissos afterward we went to the ship had lunch and decided to take an afternoon was to the Koules Fortress with our friend Samantha.
The first thing John and I always do while in Athens is walk through Plaka. We always stay at Hotel Grand Bretagne which is in the heart of the city.  After grabbing a bite to eat we decided to burn off what we ate and walked to the old Panathenaic Olympic stadium and we also visited the Temple of Hephaestus,  Stoa of Attalos, Zappeion and lastly the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The next day we woke up and got a transfer to the port to board the ship.
July 22, 2018 – Second time visiting Athens
Today we took a taxi to Syntagma Square with our friend Samantha and saw the official changing of the guards with the band after that we walked to Plaka which is my favorite place to visit while in Athens. We decided to have lunch and then took a taxi back to the ship.
This trip was my mom, and we visited Athens, Greece we decided to walk around the Acropolis of Athens and take pictures. I wish the pictures were better, but that was a long time ago my camera is much better now. The only problem is that there are a lot of people visiting currently, so it’s impossible to get pictures without crowds of people.
I had a great time with my mom in Greece we went to visit the rest of our family in Kalo Nero, Messinia but unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures we will have to go back so that we can have some pictures of my aunts, uncles and all my cousins.
Changing of the guards at the Acropolis of Athens
Parthenon
Maria and her mom GeorgiaParthenonMaria
Maria
Erechtheion
Theatre of DionysusOdeon of Herodes Atticus TheatreSyntagma Square
Flying to Greece to visit my godmother, Roula, and godbrother, Basili. It is exciting; I haven’t seen them since September 2000 I was looking forward to a great reunion.
Maria – with My God Brother Vasili & My God Mother Roula
John has heard so many stories about them but has never met them. Unfortunately, my lovely Godfather Evangelos passed away a few years ago he was an unbelievable person. He was Greek but was born in Egypt, and he spoke nine different languages. He had so many great stories enough to last a lifetime.
We flew into Athens two days before we were supposed to board the cruise ship for our 18-day voyage.  Our itinerary was from Athens, Greece to Dubai, UAE.  This was the first time I was going to be on a cruise which made me nervous and excited. I wasn’t sure how I would do with the rocking of the boat at night so wish me luck. The next day we had a private tour of the city.  I had seen all the monuments already, but I thought it would have been a good idea to hire a guide to explain things better especially dates and facts.
The first place we visited was the Acropolis sitting high above the city. You can’t miss this archeological site. It is truly spectacular to see it in person. I just can’t imagine how difficult it must have been to erect these structures. We primarily spent most of the time at the Acropolis and at the museum there is so much to see.  I have posted some pictures of the main monuments that we saw at the Acropolis such as The Parthenon, Temple of Hephaestus, the Erechtheion, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus & the Theatre of Dionysus.
When I was younger, you were able to walk up to the Parthenon and touch it, but over the years people were destroying the structures with graffiti, so they have all of the monuments roped off.
We also had a chance to visit Syntagma Square it was right by our hotel when we first arrived in Athens it was at night, so John didn’t get a chance to see the soldiers guarding the building, so we made sure he saw that. After the tour, we decided to meet my godmother and godbrother for dinner at one of the local restaurants that Roula loved.
The one disappointing thing was that we were staying at Hotel Bretagne and that is right next to the Parliament building, and at night there was a lot of protesting going on. Â The people were breaking off marble from the surrounding buildings and throwing them at the presidents home.
Temple of HephaestusErechtheionOdeon of Herodes AtticusTheatre of DionysusPhoto courtesy of Greek GatewayPhoto courtesy of Greek GatewayPhoto courtesy of Greek GatewayRiot Police
