Santorini, Greece

On May 23 we went to Santorini. The only way to get to the city is by burro (which Di and Karena did) or gondola. The city sits high on a cliff overlooking the ocean and is so beautiful. We wandered through the streets and climbed to the top of the city to see the famous blue-domed church. Laura, Rodney, Shane, Ed and I had stopped at a cafe and were talking about what a great moment in life we were having when Rodney pulled out a ring and asked Laura to marry him!! We were all speechless (except Laura, who said "YES!") Poor Di and Karena were off shopping and missed it, but Rodney said, "I was waiting for the right moment and there it was." It was a great day. And a bachelorette party to plan in the future!!

Walking on the walls

Isn't this just the cutest patio ever?
Santorini
Celebrating on the ship that night - champagne and beer! The girl on the right is Areselli - we met her on the cruise
Singing karaoke (Love Will Keep us Together). We were so bad people clapped when we left the stage!
A church in Santorini
Boys drinking Greek beer
All of us drinking ouzo

These doors were in the side of a cliff!

The view from the gondola
Eddie
Another church
I lit another candle for G - the one on the far right

Rhodes, Greece

Rhodes has walls around the city that look like an old fort. We wandered through the city and went through the Palace of the Grand Masters. Great day!

Two handsome men posing in a very sophisticated manner

Me and a guy I met
Part of the Palace of the Grand Masters
We are in the courtyard of the Plaza
Sidewalk cafe (of course!)

Palace
Shopping, shopping, shopping
Rodney and Karena. What are they doing?????
All of us at the Palace courtyard

Kusadasi, Turkey

We took a tour to Ephesus and the Virgin Mary Shrine, where the Virgin Mary lived out her last years. I wasn't too excited about the shrine, but it was actually pretty cool, but very crowded. Ephesus is an ancient city that has only been 20% uncovered. They have an amazing library building and amphitheater. We went back to Kusadasi and I accidentally bought a rug!!! (Ed made me, though.) The hillsides of Turkey were beautiful, really green. It was an unforgettable day!

The ancient library

A burial crypt
The amphitheater. I am standing on the steps, but kind of hard to see
The amphitheater
Stopping for Turkish beer. That's our ship in the background
The Virgin Mary's house
I lit a candle for G
Ephesus ruins

This was the community toilet!
I think this picture is funny!

Mykonos, Greece

On May 20 we went to Mykonos, a Greek island. We took a tour to Delos, a little island that is called "The Birthplace of Apollo and Artemis." The ruins were amazing. Then we went into Mykonos town and had lunch at an outdoor cafe. Mykonos is famous for its windmills so we walked around and found them (accidentally!) Then we had a Mythos (Greek beer) at a sidewalk cafe and came back to the ship. This place is so beautiful!

He is so romantic!!!

Karena and me. I love this picture -- look at the doors!! The famous windmillsA door on one of the windmillsA little church

Ed took this. Isn't it artistic? Statues at the Birthplace of Apollo This is a table where fish was prepared in one of the shops
This is bank window (see Shane with his dollars?)
One of the sidewalks in the city
You can see our ship in the background. What a cute village! Having a Mythos with Karena

Athens

May 19 - We went on a tour of Athens and saw the Olympic Stadium, the Acropolis and the Parthenon. We then went to Poseidon's temple. It is incredible how in a huge city there will be ruins in the middle of everything!

A street in downtown Athens. You can see the Acropolis in the background.

Tough boys at Poseidon's TempleSweet girls at Poseidon's Temple
Athens
Olympic Track
View of Athens from the Acropolis
The Parthenon