Day 12 (Last day!)

It’s our last day in Europe, which means it’s almost time to come home (actually, I’m sitting on the plane from Athens right now as I write this, so it is time to come home!)

The morning started on the ship. We were woken up at 6am so that we could gather our things and leave our rooms by 7. Breakfast was being served in the restaurant and buffet area, so we made sure to fill up. We had a long day ahead of us. We disembarked at 7:30 and met our new bus driver. He took us to the hotel so that we could drop off our luggage, and then we started making our way into the city. I know LA traffic is bad, but Athens traffic was horrendous! I guess the public transportation workers are on strike for a few hours every day and today’s strike happened to be during rush hour. It took us almost 2 hours to get into a city that was only 30 minutes away…

Our first stop was the Olympic Stadium. Built for the 1896 Olympics, this stadium is also the finish line of the marathon (the one that the soldier ran from the City of Marathon to tell Athens of their victory, then immediately dropped dead). This is also where the Olympic torch gets lit and then passed out to other countries. We stopped for a quick photo op and then loaded back on the bus for our drive to the Acropolis. 

The Acropolis was way up on a hill that we had to climb. Our guide gave us detailed information about the history of Athens and all of its ancient buildings while we walked and also gave us plenty of breaks so the hike seemed bearable. When we finally made it to the top, we were given free time to explore. We saw the Parthenon which had the statue of Athena, we saw wa temple dedicated to Nike, a few other structures still standing and had a great view of the city. After our pictures, we slowly made our way back down and had our lunch break. Most of the kids had gyros, a traditional Greek street food.

Lunch ended and it was time to visit the Acropolis Museum. This is the place where all of the statues and artifacts found at the excavation site are displayed. There were so many incredible sculptures in great condition. The artistic ability and detail of the time is something to marvel at. Our time in the museum was just enough. The kids even had time to get some icees!

 We left the museum and stated making our way to Plaka, which is the main shopping area of the city. There were shops lining the road for blocks and blocks. From souvenirs, to local food products, they have everything. They even had a fish spa! And what’s more surprising is that at least half of the group decided to go to this fish spa. You sit on a chair with your feet in a tank full of little fish and they eat all of the dead skin off. I didn’t participate but the kids said it was great. You’ll have to ask them about it. We finished up all of our souvenir shopping and spend the last of our euros before being picked up for dinner. 

Dinner was at the hotel this time, so we settled in for the night and had a delicious salad and bread, chicken with rice and veggies, and a banana for dessert. You would be surprised how many kids ate their dessert! Trying to keep them healthy ;) We said our good nights, made sure to pack everything up and set our alarms for 7:30. Our flight leaves Athens at 1:05pm tomorrow and we arrive in LA at 10:29pm, which will feel like 8:29am the next day! So if they’re tired, you know why! Enjoy the last blog and pictures. Thanks for following along. It has been a blast!

The Olympic Stadium

The Parthenon

View from the Acropolis

Nike's Temple

Ready for the museum

Plaka

Montesteraki Square

Herod's Library

Day 11

thI can't believe we've made it this far! There is only one day left until we head home. I know we're all missing home and are excited to be reunited with everyone. Let me recap the day for you.

The wake-up call today wasn't as bad as yesterday, but it was still 6am...We had our breakfast and waited for our group to be called. The boat was able to dock at the port, so no tender boats. We walked right off onto dry land and immediately loaded our bus for our excursion to Knossos, the Minoan Palace. The Minoan's were a civilization that was around over 4000 years ago. They were extremely advanced and had developed things far beyond their time. For example, they had pipes to bring water into the palace. They had amphitheaters well before the Romans or Greeks. When the Minoan society was destroyed by a volcano and subsequent tidal wave in 1500 BCE, a lot of their knowledge went with them. Many of the techniques they had already discovered were lost, and had to be reinvented again.

Our guide took us through the palace and explained many of the things that were discovered as the site was excavated. She also told us about the legend of the Minotaur, which is how the Minoans came to be. After our walking tour, we were given free time in the city. A Starbucks break was in the near future. Fully refreshed, we got back on the boat, stopped in for some lunch, and then started making our way to Santorini! There may have been some naps taken to fully refresh.

We arrived at Santorini excited and ready to explore! This was the moment everyone was waiting for. Our excursion on this island was a trip to the village Oia. This is the place where all of the pictures of Santorini are usually taken. The bus ride was full of twist and turns and up steep switchbacks. Did I mention that Santorini has cliffs on 3 of its sides? Half of the island fell into the sea after a volcano erupted. Remember the Minoans? This was the same eruption that wiped them out. We made it to Oia and were immediately given free time to explore and take pictures. The views were AMAZING. I can't say I've seen anything more beautiful in my life. The houses are white, the cliffs are dark, the ocean is blue and it all works together so perfectly. Our time was not long enough. Before we knew it, the bus was there, ready to take us down. We said goodbye to Oia, but I have a feeling some of us will be back.

The bus didn't take us down at all. In fact, it took us further up! We ended near the cable car at approximately 1000 feet above sea level, the highest point on the island. It was a little scary and thrilling at the same time. The cable car definitely moved faster than I thought it should, but we made it down in one piece. The tender boats took us back just in time for dinner. Since it was our last night on the cruise, we had dinner as a family (that's what the kids like to call us!) There was pasta, mashed potatoes, salad, antipasto and so much more. I turned in after that, but I know there was karaoke and dancing to be had by the kids. Hopefully they got enough sleep for our last day in Greece tomorrow!!! Enjoy the pictures :)

Hello there

Knossos

Amphitheater (way before the Greeks or Romans)

Venetian style building in Crete

Almost to Santorini!

Postcard worthy

Lava!

Almost ready for dinner

Day 10

Happy Sunday everyone! Only 3 days left! Today was definitely the earliest wake-up call of the trip…4:15am. Our boat was heading to Kusadasi, Turkey, but we were going to Samos, Greece. That meant an early departure at 5:15am. Once we left the boat, we hopped on a bus and drove to another village on the island to have breakfast. They had the Greek yogurt again! We made sure to drink coffee, but it definitely didn’t wake us up enough.

Samos is the closest island to the Asian coastline. We could actually see turkey from the port! It is also the birthplace of the great mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras. Our guide led us through some of the main parts of town, including a traditional Greek Orthodox church. The inside was much different than the Catholic churches we had seen. There was a lot more paintings and a lot of gold! We left the church and headed to a wine museum next. Samos is famous for their Muscat or sweet wine. We learned about the process and even saw some very outdated grape presses. Everyone was still feeling really tired at this point, so it was time to liven the mood.

We drove over to one of the main squares and as soon as we got out we were greeted with gifts, fried dough in honey, and freshly squeezed orange juice. Our gift was a Pythagorean Cup. I’ll let the kids explain it to you! I don’t want to ruin the surprise ;) We sat down and enjoyed some traditional Greek dancing. It got really exciting after the finished, because they came into the crowd and pulled students up to dance with them. Faye managed to get herself chosen and got to show everyone her talents.

We left the square and we’re taken back down towards the port. There was still a few hours to kill so we had some gyros (yummy pitas with meat and french fries), went souvenir shopping, and of course, went swimming! I think that makes 3 different types seas that we’ve swam in so far! After a few hours of relaxing, our boat arrived. We had a quick lunch and then some power naps, because before we knew it, the boat was at our next destination.

We disembarked at Patmos and went off to do more souvenir shopping and sightseeing . It was a small island and easy to navigate. After a few hours, it was time to load the boats up again. We had some dinner and then made our way to karaoke. The kids performed Sweet Dreams (very well I might add!) I called it quits after that, but I know they kept going! So until tomorrow…enjoy!

Arriving at 5:30am!

Not ready to be awake...

Hera's Temple

Faye showing off her moves

Enjoying the view

Time for a dip in the Agean

Oh hey Pythagoras!

Arriving in Patmos!

Megan stealing the show

Sweet Dreams