A view of Piazza San Marco in Venice.

Okay, okay, I did say that the 26th was the final post. Well, I just wanted to tell you about our farewell dinner in Athens!! We dined at 'Daphne's'; they have an outside garden and alley area for guests; we were seated in the alley area with a beautiful nighttime view of the Acropolis. What you don't know is that when you have a meal outside in the Plaka area you also play host to the stray cats that hang out around there!!! Of course, as soon as our first course was served, we had a little friend take his/her place at our feet!!! This was a very brazen cat; trying to ignore the plaintive meows did not work; he/she would just stand up with paws on the table!!! That did get our attention and we shooed the pesky critter away!!! One of the warnings in the guide book was: DO NOT FEED THE CATS; trust me, not everyone complied with this rule!!! Our plane trip back was uneventful but dreadfully looong!!! Didn't take much time to get through passport and customs control. Now we are in the Big Apple for two nights before heading back to our respective homes. This is the end for this trip!!!

Well folks, this is the final installment!! This is the last day; we head back to NYC tomorrow afternoon. Today we walked to the Acropolis; then we made the climb to the top -- we went in a side entrance and thought we had the place to ourselves; boy were we surprised when we reached the top to find about four thousand others up there!!! Seems that four cruise ships arrived this morning and they brought all their passengers to the Acropolis all at once!!! Anyway, the sights were beautiful; to be up close and personal with the Parthenon is something to behold!! The whole area is undergoing some serious restoration; the museum at the top is closed; all artifacts are being moved to the new museum which is in town. We made our way around and then back down again. Our route took us through the more seedier part of town but at least it was quiet!!! Had lunch at a little taverna in the Plaka; did our last bit of shopping and headed back to the hotel!!

Greetings from Athens!!! It's very interesting writing this today as all the instructions are in Greek!!! I wonder why!!! Awoke early this morning and we were already docked in Pireaus (pronounced Piros); disembarked the ship around 9:30am and boarded our bus for Athens which is about a twenty minute drive from Pireaus. Our tour consisted of a stop at the Acropolis where we viewed the Parthenon (which is in the process of being refurbished -- they are putting back pieces that were there originally; not rebuilding to make it look like it used to. Then we were taken for a ride along the waterfront to a hotel for a coffee break. Afterwards, we reboarded the bus for a city tour of downtown Athens -- saw roman baths that were unearthed during construction of the rail line; Hadrians gate; the Temple of Zeus; Kallimarmaro Stadium -- this was originally built in the 4th century B.C. and was restored for the first modern olympics in 1896; the Parliament Building; the Presidential Palace and Prime Minister's residence; the tomb of the unknown soldier. We checked into the Grand Bretagne; hotel is really beautiful, however, it took us 2 1/2 hours to get into our room. Decided to partake in Afternoon Tea!!! So very ladylike!!! Will rest up and take a walk to the Plaka -- this is in the older part of Athens and is also the main shopping area!!

Well everyone, this is the last day/night aboard ship. Where did the time go. We are anchored off the island of Santorini; had to tender in; the seas are really rough (had to hit the dramamine again!!). We bounced our way over to the island and boarded the bus for our tour. The island is an inactive volcano -- legend has it that Santorini is actually the lost island of Atlantis; even our guide laughed at this!! It is really a beautiful place; would look even better if the sun was out. Went to a small town called Oia; being Sunday, not too many people were out and about when we got there -- all kinds of shops, galleries and small churches!! All of the towns are built up high -- there are three ways to get up from the pier: one can walk (590 steps), ride a donkey or take the cable car; guess which method we chose!!! After leaving Oia, we were shown the monestary; again high on the hills; it was closed today but there was a great view looking down towards the water. Lunch was at a local winery where we tasted the wine and had a buffet lunch. The wine was so so; not worth sending home. The food also was so so; we had a better lunch on Mykonos!! We headed back to Fira, which is the capital, and strolled along the shop area on our way to the cable car (you knew all along we wouldn't take the donkey!) and our awaiting tender. Now it's time to finish with packing and prepare to disembark in Athens tomorrow morning. This has been a fun time; we've made some new friends and hope to keep in touch. Crystal cruise line has more than met our expectations. I would highly recommend this line to anyone who is considering a cruise. Will keep you up to date about Athens tomorrow.

This morning we were up bright and early; as usual!! When do we get to rest on this vacation??? Docked in Kusadasi (Turkey); took an 8 hour tour to the ruins at Aphrodisia. There is a very interesting story around this site. In 1952 there was a big earthquake in this area; the village was destroyed and what they found under all the destruction was the remains of an ancient Roman city!!! Even after more than 50 years they are still unearthing bits and pieces of an earlier time. They found remains of Aphrodite's Temple and have reconstructed as best they can; they unearthed a theater and a stadium -- all still intact. Also unearthed was the entry gate to the city which they have also reconstructed. There is also a museum on site where they have stored statues, coins, pottery and metalware that has been unearthed. Eight years after the ruins were found, what was left of the small village was rebuilt about two miles away. Following our tour of the dig, we stopped at a local restaurant and had lunch -- salad, a choice of chicken kabob, trout or meatballs -- we chose the meatballs (they were ok); someone asked if they were made with beef; we said some things are best left unknown!!! For dessert we had more choices -- we took yogurt with honey & candied (I think) pumpkin. Wasn't a bad meal. Tonight we begin the process of packing!!! At least we've been good about not doing much shopping so it won't be difficult getting the suitcases closed. Tomorrow we are in Santorini.

Good Morning All. Just a few thoughts about Istanbul, etc. As I said yesterday, this is a sea day -- at this moment, we are transitting the Dardanelle Straights; it is 36 miles long and at one point is only 4 miles wide; we have taken on a pilot to get us through the straight. There are two different currents running here; one runs east/west - where the Black Sea enters and the other runs north/south!! As you can imagine, there is a lot of sea traffic and each ship has to wait its turn to get through!! Istanbul is the only city that is on two continents; half is in Europe and the other is in Asia!! Our first night in Istanbul we had dinner at Silk Road; it is one of the restaurants aboard ship; it also is one of Nobu's restaurants -- has the same dishes as we get in NYC -- excellent food!!! Have to run -- massage time!!!! Will report again tomorrow!!