Savoy Hotel Piraeus

... Egypt took here only 1,5 hrs to fill a huge Ocean-Ferry with hundreds of people and dozens of trucks and cars - and to depart just in time!!<br><br>Arrival to Piraeus beside of Athens early in the morning. I have to drive a hundret of kilometres or so to the city of Patras to catch the next over night ferry for this evening.

... but we finally boarded the correct ferry to Piraeus. It was a very pleasant 6 ½ hour trip, apart from the constant smoking. We sat on the shaded back outdoor deck at a table and enjoyed stopping at two other island ports, Tinos and Syros, where the ferry picked up more passengers and supplies. We arrived at a smoggy Athens, farewelled our fellow traveller, and walked to our hotel where we had a late supper of bread and cheese.

This was the port of call for Athens and a lot of people went on excursions into the capital. However we've been before and decided instead to stay in Piraeus and hit the shops. Although my suitcase was packed to bursting point, I seemed to have run out of clothes to wear in the evenings. So a couple of dresses and a skirt were happily purchased to increase my already ...

... up to the Parthenon and the Colesseum, but I did manage to capture some beautiful shots from below. Hopefully next time I will be able to secure a tour and go up to the top. It is really so close to the ship though that now that I know where to go I may also be able to do a self-guided tour. I called home, completely forgetting the time change we had last night moving us EIGHT hours ahead instead of seven and called mom at 5:45 in the morning instead ...

... We also discovered in the bar a young Australian newly wed couple, Jeremy and Jenny, relaxed and happy having finally resolved their debit card woes. We'd given them a hand a couple of days before. Now all had worked out. And we were for sure going to connect with them later by email, except we forgot to exchange addresses! Still, for an hour or so, I was surrounded by friends, old and new: a wonderful conclusion to the Athens portion of our trip.

... is that when meeting someone outside of the states, they will always say what country they are from, like we do. Almost every American however will say their state or city. I've told a few that I'm from Alberta and the typical response is... "uh, isn't that in Canada?". A few know Alberta and most know Vancouver and Toronto. This has actually upset quite a few of the european travellers we've met since they feel as if they are expected to know their american geography. I think it's fun to ...

Santorini, Greece I'd seen the pictures on postcards for years, but never had any idea how beautiful this island was in person. We toured the highest point -- with views that can't even be real -- and the vineyards facing the sea. A 9am wine tasting was fun, too! :-) This is DEFINITELY an island I would like to visit again! Whites and blues so bright they hurt your eyes... Tomorrow we land in Rome!

... another week. We also had Greek wine and plenty of interesting conversation and laughter. Today we are going to a couple of museums including the Museum of Cycladic Art and taking the funiculear train to St Georges Church which has fantastic views of the city and as far away as Corinth and the Peloponnese. It is a beautiful sunny day with Highs in the 70's. Peace Dave and Nancy

... where there was a fantastic view of the city, and the ruins of the Parthenon and other such world famous historical sites. We walked around and saw the various monolith accomplishments of Hadrian, the Agora, the Harrods of ancient Greece and some of the more modern architectual wonders like the Olympic Stadium which apparently holds as many people as the MCG. All this left us quite weary, and we headed to bed early in preparation for the early start the following morning to Mykonos.