The Home of the Gods

This morning got breakfast at our hotel again, got a van and went to the Rome airport.  Once we checked in and past security Aegean Air was nice enough to let us all in the lounge, even though Dad again was only supposed to have one guest.

Aegean Air is much better than the US airlines.  Our flight was only one hour and thirty minutes and we got fruit-flavored candies before take-off and a small meal during the flight.  Next we landed in Athens, Greece and had a ten hour layover.  And did you know Athens is named after the Godess of Wisdom Athena.  Since our layover was so long we decided to take a tour.  Especially because I am a huge Greek Mythology fan after reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

 

We left the airport with only our carry-ons and met our driver named Fotis.  Fotis is a very nice man who likes to share his love for his family (wife and three daughters) and his country.  First we dropped us off at a large hill and we walked up.  He had dropped us at the Acropolis and we walked up and saw the Parthenon, and several other temples.They are rebuilding the Parthenon right now to ensure it lasts another 2500 years.  The view from up there was amazing...we could see the whole city of Athens and many of the other places we would visit.

  

After about an hour we met Fotis and he took Alec and I into the market and purchased drinks.  They have a lot of fruit drinks in Greece.  In fact instead of decorative trees along their sidewalks they have citrus trees, like oranges.  Next we saw the Acropolis Museum.  We started upstairs and watched a video that told us about all the details of the Acroplis, including the layout, sculptures, and how it has changed over time including as a Catholic church, Muslim mosque, and it's destruction by war and looters.

We finished and perfect timing we were able to go see the hourly changing of the guard in front of their Parliament. The guards wore long tassles on their hats and boots.  They were wearing the traditional uniforms that looked a little like dresses with tights.  We were allowed to take pictures with the guards, BUT DO NOT TOUCH OR SALUTE.

 Next Fotis took us to a traditional Greek restaurant named Fagopoteion.  Alec and I still were able to order pasta...mine plain and Alec with meatballs.  Mom and Dad had the more traditional meals with Greek salad, beer, wine, gyros, and more.  It was yummy, including the ice cream for dessert and baklava.  We must be starting to blend in because the people that worked at the restaurant thought we were from the EU and not America.  

Next we made quick stops at the Temple of Zeus (King of the Gods) and the stadium for the first modern Olympic Games.  The torch still starts at this stadium for every Olympics and then travels to the host city by runner, plane, car, boat...and when it was in Russia even by spaceship.  They still run a marathon here every year that starts in Marathon, Greece.  Sunset was coming, so Fotis drove us to the highest point in the city called Lykavittos Hill for the view and pictures.  As we started to get our pictures taken we heard a rustle in the bushes.  It was a wild turtle.  Alec was very happy...he loves turtles.

One quick drive through the Plaka area with restaurants and shops for the tourists and we headed off to the airport.  Fotis told us to always call him for recommendations in Greece because a lot of restaurants only open for the busy season and then close down and there food is not that fresh. We were all very emotional saying good bye...in only 8 hours Fotis had become a very good friend who we hope to come back and visit some day.  He helped us cross the streets, opened the doors, bought us drinks and gifts.  I hope I see him again.

Mom's Comment: We again downloaded the FREE Rick Steve's Audion Guides for the kids' to listen too versus paying for the audio guides offered at the sites...this time Athens

Going Again to Greece

Since our last blog we did sneak in our usual addiction, a trip to Beaches Jamaica.  It's easy.  It's familiar.  But with Andy's fourth sabbatical and the kids getting older, Allyson in college and Alec a rising junior we know our time with them is growing more and more finite, so we needed to go big.  We voted as a family last summer and the kids elected for water and beaches versus lots of touring with ruins and history.

Andy has forever wanted to charter a boat and do some sailing, so initially we looked into chatering a boat with a captain in the Greek islands.  But then I, Avis, said it's my vacation too and I don't want to cook.  So by the time we booked a boat with 3 bedrooms, sailing vessels are too small to make the kids share, a room for a captain, and a cook, and all the provisions I found it priced out to some cases more than this Unforgettable Greece Small Ship Cycladic Islands tour.  So we went for it booking a B & C (smallest and cheapest and second smallest and cheapest) room on the Elysium.

Over the next several months while we awaited time to pass and our long-time friends, the Jarnac family, decided to come along.  Win-win for us allowing the kids, who arean't really kids anymore to have some friends around their age (18, 16, & 13) and us to travel with some of our best friends since college.

July 27 we were off having booked a round trip on United from SFO to Paris (and we might have planned a couple days at the end of the trip) and then a round trip from Paris to Athens on Agean.  We recommend the slight upgrade from Economy to Premium Plus.  More room, pillow, blankets, beverages, and the same meal service as First Class/Polaris.

We planned a single night in Athens as we visited it in 2014 but we wanted a little bit of experience so we utilized the the travel company and booked Elia Ermou near the Plaka, which we did not get to visit last time.  After a little delay on 2 of our 4 gate checked bags our driver, Spiros, wisked us away in our Mercedes van to the hotel where we had 45 minutes to freshen up before our rooftop dinner.  This hotel was your typical European hotel with a tiny lobby and tiny elevators, but numerous of those...at least 5 luckily as each one barely fit our family of 4.  2 rooms were required as rooms are small, but they were still more spacious than others we've had in France, Switzerland, and elsewhere.

Dinner was amazing ...the portions were large and the view was jaw dropping.  Every table had a view of the Acropolis with open windows and even ceiling.  We would dine for 3 hours and when the kids finally called it a night we joined the bartender for a round of Ouzo, a anise/licorce, flavored apertif, after he had already sent another round of fruity shots to the five of us.

Five you ask?  Allyson is legal drinking age in Greece and she even joined us in judging our first bottle of Greek wine.  The verdict...it tasted "dusty."

Finally in bed at after midnight, which was our goal to speed our transition to the time zone.  We would not be rushed the next morning.  Breakfast would be included with the hotel and our driver to the port would not arrive until 1:30, so plenty of time to slowly get up, dine, and explore the Plaka.

All Aboard the Elysium

We worked our hotel until the last possible second.  We woke and went to breakfast again in our rooftop restaurant.  Buffet style, European of course, with all kinds of breads, fruits, meats, fish, and your tradition American needs of cereal for the kids and other.  Ally was feeling the jetlag and would go back to our room where we cranked the air and she slept for over an hour, until literally 10:45.  Checkout was at 11, so I packed her bag and feeling better we stored all of our baggage and headed off the Pláka.

Pláka is the old historical neighborhood of Athens, clustered around the northern and eastern slopes of the Acroppolis, and incorporating labyrinthine streets and neoclassical architecture.  Located only a couple of minute walk from the hotel we wandered the streets popping in stores.  We finally decided a bite for lunch would be smart as we would not board our boat until 1:30 and then would not have dinner until sunset.  It was very hot, so we found a restaurant, Oinos Cafe, with large umbrellas, fans, and even misters.  Everyone found something on the menu and the adult men enjoyed their first Greek beers and myself the rage of Europe cocktails, Aperol Spritz.

Back to the hotel two sharp dressed drivers with 2 Mercedes vans picked us and and drove us an hour to the Port of Lavrio where our boat was one of 2.  The other a Club Med boat.  Greeted on the dock they tagged our bags and we were brought on board and greeted with cool towels and cold water...and a room full of Americans.  Turns out another 12 passengers were fraternity brothers and their wives who graduated ASU in 1991 and live in Cali and Arizona.  Sprinkle in a few more passengers...couples from New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, and a mother and daughter from Colorado and our 50 passenger boat only had 31 people.

And this turned out to be good fortune for us as they would upgrade all the kids from the cheapest and smallest cabins, C, to B and Andy and I to B+ from B.  The rooms were much more spacious that we expected.  And on each bed we found a gift bag full of goodies.  We had time to unpack and then had a safety briefing at 3:30 before setting sail to Cape Sounion.

At our safety briefing we were introduced to our acitivites crew as well as the bartender and our spa attendant.  Yes, there is a spa on board.  Everyone seemed super fun.  We would get interesting news which was that the winds were going to cause some changes to our day to day island plans, which means the last 3 weeks we adults have been planning restaurants and making reservations had just been upended.  But that's OK...the activities crew was ready to help us rework everything.

We finished unpacking and changed into swimsuits as we would be dropping anchor early enough to swim before dinner.  We all and I do mean nearly the entire boat was in the water below the another jawdropping view, Temple of Poseidon.  After swimming in the warm waters we were given enough time to clean up before going upstairs for welcome drinks and an amazing dinner on the deck outside.  We enjoyed a beautiful sunset and would stay here until nealry midnight.  How do we know?  Ally, Andy, and I went up on the top deck and watched the waxing moon and the Starlink satelite overhead and when we went to bed at a little after 11 we heard the motors fire up and the anchor raised and we were off to our Sifnos.

Heat in Rome

Today we woke up in the Hotel Felini in Rome.  We went to a special breakfast around the corner from our hotel.  It was the usual items...pastries, cereal, yogurt, and YEAH more tea.  BTWs Mom and Dad have really liked this hotel...the front desk has been very helpful from directions, to dinner reservations, take away pizza recommendations, and more.  

After we were finished we walked about 20 minutes including through a long tunnel to a place called the Colosseum.  In case you were wondering what the Colosseum was they would put things in a ring from animals to people called gladiators and make them battle.  Usually to the death, but if someone failed to die the people in the audience would be asked to decide the fate of the gladiator.  Those who fought valiantly were allowed to live and normally those who were cowards were executed.  They had all kinds of animals that would participate from lions, bears, porcupines, elephants, and even hippos. They would have many "acts" to the days events.  Acts you say?  Yes, as they considered many as plays and would have scenery for the battles and costumes for the gladiators.  In fact they generally acted out old Roman legends, such as Hercules, and the gladiator would die the same death.  Under the floors of the ring there were over 80 elevators that could lift props, animals, and humans to the stage/arena.  Watching these "shows" were everyone from the people in cheap seats to the members of the senate and the Vestal Virgins who are selected before the age of ten....that could be me. YIKES!  Other than sitting and looking pretty in the Colosseum and keeping some pools filled with water and a flame constantly lit they seemed to lead a boring life, never marrying or having children.  But if they messed up they were buried alive.

 I really enjoyed the Colosseum as our parents had downloaded audio guides on their phones to save us some euros.  Mom's comment: Rick Steve's Rome Audio Tours.  They had great stories and had us follow very easy directions.  There were audio tours available for purchase or if you wanted to hire a guide there were a lot who would approach you before entering.  Dad was also good and purchased our tickets in advance and we got to bypass a really long line.

We went up a hill over to the Forum next.  It was getting really hot so we sat in the shade where we could and listened to more audio talks.  It was filled with lots of large marble columns from ancient roman government buildings.  We also saw a large arch which starts to tie our journey together. Remember David from Florence.  The shepherd boy who defeated Goliath.  He would go on to become King of Israel.  The Romans went in and defeated Israel and destroyed much of the Temple of David that he had built to honor God in Jerusalem (we will go there in a couple of weeks).  The Romans brought back more than 10,000 Jewish prisoners and made them build the arch that honored their own defeat.  This made me sad.  It was getting hot and we had a long, difficult walk back to our hotel.  But we rested for a couple hours and were off again.

This time we took the Metro to Vatican City.  Did you know Vatican City is the smallest country in the world.  To me today it was the most crowded.  Luckily again we had tickets and skipped right to the front of the line for the Vatican Museum.  Dad picked us up an audio guide, but the numbers on the map made no sense, so every time we saw a red number we punched and listened.  That worked.  The Pope sure has a lot of art.  By the way the Pope is the highest person in the Catholic Church.  There were room after room of sculptures, tapestries, paintings, vases, and even bath tubs.  But we didn't really enjoy this place.  It was very crowded and as Mom said kind of felt like being stuck in IKEA. You had to go through every room before you reached what you were there for...at IKEA the cash registers...here the Sistine Chapel.  In the Chapel the boys have to wear pants and the girls wear something that covers down to their knees and their shoulders.  Shew...we made it and it was amazing!

Tonight is our last night in Rome and Italy in fact.  One last scoop of gelato, one last pizza, and then tomorrow we are off to Athens and Israel.

Oh heads up to kids and parents when visiting Rome....there are lots of street vendors and performers. They will try to put the item they want you to purchase in your hand.  If you actually grab hold you are in for a battle to get them to take it back without you paying them.  Luckily a friend had prepared us and our fists were clinched and we said "no grazie" a lot.  And even the guys dressed up like gladiators outside the Colosseum for photos would try to place their toy sword in your hand.  So tighten your fist. And anywhere in Italy carry bottles for water as there is potable/drinking water spickets everywhere for you to refill or have a water fight.

Mom's Comments...also our first evening we arrived we went to the Spanish Steps, but it was hot, lots of vendors, and hari krishna around, and the fountain was down for repair, so a little bummed.  And then we went to the Trevi Fountain...very similar except the fountain was operational, but barricaded so you could not get very close.  We read it has just occurred in the last couple of weeks and will be that way for repairs for at least a year+.  But we had a wonderful dinner at Trattoria Tratone.

Interested in our Greece Trip/Ship

Nearly everyone we have shared the Greece trip with has asked how I found it.  I honestly am not really sure.  I know I wanted a cruise, after getting Andy to abandon the notion of a chartered sailboat trip with a captain and cook.  And then I know I wanted a small ship as we are spoiled on other low ratio trips where we get to know staff and staff us.  I wanted some inclusive aspects, again me not cooking was part of my argument for not doing the charter.  I think I just Googled and Goggled and stumbled across ....

We flipped through their trips.  And wound up reaching out to them regarding three:

• Best of Bali
• Signature Greece Small Ship Cruise
• And another Greek Cruise I don't currently see on their list currently, but it was a large double masted sailboat with about 20 rooms if I recall correctly.

The kids and we quickly dismissed Bali after having spent the last sabbatical in Thailand, Cambobia, & Vietnam.  And after speaking with the agents we decided the second Greek cruise fellow passenger demographics might pose to too large of an age gap to our kids.  So we settled on the Signature Greece Cruise.

We were nervous as we didn't know much about the company, so we read reviews, read through all their policies, and placed our deposit.  We felt a little better when we received a big glossy magazine filled with all their trips and I was able to reach out several times to Nora, who is the travel specialist for this trip to work through cabin selections and ask other questions about amenities.

The trip would include wonderfully appointed rooms (ok they could be a little more generous on the bath shampoo and conditioner, but that is truly our only "even better if")), 2 meals a day on board (generally buffet, except the special ones), lots of free on-board amenities (samba lessons, pilates, cooking lessons as well as hot tub, kayaks, snorkel gear, and more), and transfers.  Additional out of pocket included of course the bar (pricing published upfront), spa (yes there were services on board), guided excusions (but our activities crew was always ready to recommend do it ourself instructions), and gratuity (also recommendations made upfront and really quite affordable).  We added an additional transfer and hotel on for when we landed in Greece before boarding the ship that they booked as well.

We would spend the months ahead researching photos of the ship, passenger reviews, and down right getting excited.  We would find later that Unforgettable Travel was a middle man for The Elysium, the Ship of Elixir Luxury Cruises  The pictures are pretty spot on of the ship.  Here's their Facebook too with videos and more.  The only thing perhaps slightly askew of all their claims was the gym....was very tiny and minimally appointed (notice there are not pictures of it), but Alec still used it a few times and didn't complain.

In regards to service again everything was pretty spot on.  Only two things to note... 1) GMT (Greece Mean Time) means things may or may not happen per the schedule.  Be flexible.  And us being used to "Island Time" in Jamaica this was no problem.  And 2) was the beach party beverages.  We really should have known they were not included, but there were two meals where a cocktail or two were included that were more special set-ups, so we thought this was the same.  Our bartender was usually very diligent about getting our charges right, but on this day our 6 beers became 11 on our tab, but really in the grand scheme of things it wasn't a big deal.

We loved the vibe and energy on the ship.  Our fellow shipmates were a big part of this and this is not always the case as the staff remarked time and time again how we were the best energy all year.  With 6 teens on board and a total of 8 nearly life-long fraternity friends and wives (our two from Purdue and the other 6 from ASU) well we brought the party for sure.  And the staff was incredibly friendly, on it, and always, I mean always, making sure we were taken care of...

We were super happy with this trip.  It was a chunk of change, but felt very much worth it.  Would we recommend it to others - YES!  We might suggest you look into booking straight with Elixir as it appears they give discounts for your 3rd and 4th persons.  I haven't done the math exactly, but it appears at first glance it would save some money.

Here's links to two videos we did of a "ship tour."

• Our Floor and Our Room
• Main Deck of Ship

And after our 7AM pick-up including the same driver we had when we arrived we were off with the Jarnac family to the Athens Airport and our next adventure - a couple day layover in Paris