It's Greek to Me!

We docked in Athens before dawn.  By 8:30 we were off on our panoramic tour of the city.

Pardon me for the comparisons, but since Cairo and Rome are still so fresh in my mind, my natural tendency is to compare them. Surprisingly, Athens is the most modern looking of the three.  It did not have the ruins on display like the others. Of course, there was the Parthenon, that sits on top of a mountain, overlooking the city.  And there was another set of columns standing nearby, but that was it.  We stopped at the base of it, but the view was obscured, and not the best.  In each city, I chose the tour that would give me the greatest exposure to the sights.  As a result though, our time was limited and so climbing to the top of the Parthenon was not to be this time.  Later as were driving along, we had a magnificent view of the Acropolis/Parthenon, but I missed the shot, fiddling with my camera.  I'll download one to show you.

The traffic was exceptionally light because most of the natives are on holiday during the month of August.  Even in these hard times over here, the folks still vacation, but just shorten them.

Another thing I notice is how clean Athens is, and so was Rome.  Most of Egypt was not.  I think that has to do with the lack of infrastructure.  It was clear  the roads had not been repaired in years, old garbage lined many of the roads, and many public building were in need of repair and/or upgrading.  Their is lots of hope resting on the shoulders of the new Egyptian president.  I hope that he can deliver.

Now about my accommodations -

The cruise ship is the Navigator of the Seas by Royal Caribbean.  It is a beauty.  This is my third time cruising, and each time with a different company.  This is the best one, for sure.  My room is very spacious, the staff is friendly and attentive and there are amenities galore.  The food is fabulous.   It is exceptionally clean, too.  Can't ask for much more than this.

I wrote everything before this, this afternoon when I returned from our excursion, now I'm back in the dining room with an incredible view of the Greek Isles as we make our way to Turkey tomorrow.  The view is absolutely spectacular.  Do the folks who live on these islands understand and appreciate how beautiful it is here?  I'm guessing not.  But that's true of most of us. No matter where we live, we rarely take the time to see the beauty that surrounds us.

There seems to be lots of families traveling together, but thankfully, I'm not seeing or hearing kids running around.  I was on the bus today with a darling baby who reminded me a lot of Zadie.  This little one had just learned to walk and she was enjoying her independence.  She didn't make a peep on the bus.  She was a real cutie.

For a hot minute, I was sitting next to a family with a couple of surly teenagers.  God, I don't miss having to deal with that.

I'm reading a lot, which is a favorite pastime of mine.  And you'll be happy to note my current choices are not trashy novels, although they are in the queue.  Speaking of trashy, I'm still struggling to get through Fifty Shades of Grey, but I'm determined to finish it.  I wish I could make myself care about these characters.

Side note - I love the Italian language.  Just add a vowel to every word, with an emphasis on that vowel, and you're good to go.  OK.  Maybe it's more to it than that, but it's a fun language to hear.

Side note 2 - There is live guitar music playing now.  Very soft.  Very soothing.

Side note 3 - There's a guy sitting at a table next to me that looks just like Malcolm Gladwell, just a younger version, crazy hair and all.

More soon.

Your blogging buddy