ITALY & GREECE

Day 1 :  Flew over the ocean forth fist time. Not very fond of flying.
Day 2:   Arrived in Rome. Noticed things were very different than the US. The cars seemed smaller and the roads were narrow. People and traffic seemed to mix in the roads but if it were the US and people did that I'd be afraid someone would get hit. but it didn't seem to mater to them. The  hotel seemed small and very European, definitely did not feel like I was staying in a hotel from the US. My roommates were from a different group which we got along well.
Day 3: We saw the Colosseum . It was much different of an impression of seeing it in real life than in books. The size of it alone was not even compared to what was in books.  I have never seen an architectural structure that belonged to ancient times where history was made with the gladiators, the Christians an lions, it seemed  to be used for many violent events. This large amphitheater was made to seat thousands of spectators. It felt as though occupying a space in an ancient time where so many different events in history played a part. After that was the Vatican city one of the smallest countries in the world. The amount of spectacular artwork  especially by Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel was most impressive. After seeing it in textbooks so many times it was amazing actually being there and seeing it. It was quite the tour trough the Vatican city that myself and others had felt like they were going to drop but it was worth it,
Day 4: Traveled by train to Florence. The Duomo and Gitto's bell tower were quite impressive with the unique Gothic architecture with an Italian touch to it. It was quiet when we arrived but things started to get busier. Then we took a guided tour of Florence to the "Old Bridge" where people had put many locks around the gates and threw the keys in the water symbolizing a love that was locked together for a life time. Then we went to leather demonstration which revealed the importance the leather makers had in making real leather of good quality which is something not found in the US, the emphasis on quality. Then we had a chance to see either the Academia museum where the statue of David was or the Uffizi museum. I chose the Uffizi. The building itself seemed to be a work of art with its architecture and reliefs. The works by many famous artists were countless inside the museum, it was amazing. I saw works by one of many of my favorite artists was Caravaggio. Later was free time .
Day 5:  Hiked up Mt. Vesuvius which was a volcano that is still active overlooking the bay of Naples where you could see along the coastline and what appeared as a never ending sea. The hike up the volcano was worth it even though had to take a couple of breaks. The view of the sea and the bay were spectacular from that height. Seeing the vastness of the crater left after the volcano had erupted destroying Pompeii along with steam still coming out of the earth indicating it was still active was quite exciting. After that a drive to Sorrento where there was free time to shop. Noticed a lot of lemon products there.
Day 6: Seeing the famous Pompeii with a guided tour and how well things were preserved from the volcanic ash. Seeing the structures and finding out the way they lived which seemed quite promiscuous behavior which could have had something to do with their lead piping system which could have given them lead poisoning. The well preserved bodies were also something else that was exciting to see as they were frozen in time. Later, a fairy was taken over to Greece.
Day 7: The ferry docked in Patra. Later, we had lunch and went swimming in very clear blue water. Although,wearing water shoes the sea urchins were still a little scary, so we sat up near the shore where they didn't seem to be any urchins and let the waves cover us. It was refreshing and fun. Later, we went to Delphi which was situated on a mountainside. It was a very small village and the people seemed very friendly. The streets were very narrow so much so that when the bus stopped it blocked the street. We had free time and walked around the shops where we saw many worry beads and evil eye souvenirs. I had to get  some because it was a perfect souvenir because of the legends behind them. After, shopping and free time went back to the hotel and settled in for the night.It was one of the most relaxing days of the trip.
Day 8: Ate breakfast then took a 45min bus ride to the Oracle of Delphi (ha!ha! that's what Tyson said, it was really only a couple of minutes) First we went to the museum then took quite the hike to see the Temple of Apollo. Some went as far up to see the stadium others went as far as the amptheater. It was a rough walk.
It was interesting seeing the old ruins where many people use to pilgrimage to the temple of Apollo and seek the advice of the gods through a priestess who breathed in toxic fumes from the earth which was believed to give her visions and that she communicated with gods. At the time the fumes were not thought to be toxic but a way for the gods to communicate with mortals. Later, went to Athens where we had time to go to the Acropolis museum to see many aspects of sculpture from the Parthenon. There were also replicas of pieces of the Parthenon that are now in the hands of the British. One thing I thought was interesting about the museum was that you could see the excavations going on beneath your feet through the clear floor. Then we ate and went back to the hotel.
Day9: We had a guided tour through Athens by bus. Then went to the Parthenon. Again it was something to see the actual reality of the architecture and walk through rather than just seeing it in picturesand in books,Later in the afternoon we went to the National Museum in Athens. Many pictures were taken. The Parthenon was a lot more crowded than I thought it would be.
Day 10: The three day cruise through the Greek islands.First we were headed for Mykonos . While headed for the island we got to know our way around the ship, got settled in our cabins, and had a few choices of where to eat. Finally, we made it to Mykanos which was an island filled with many white buildings and a cute little church with a blue top. There was also a man with a local pelican wandering around. The island was a great place for picture taking of the buildings and along the shore looking out into the sea.. After picture taking and seeingthe sights of the island we headed back to the ship then we were on our way for our next stop Kusadasi, Turkey.
Day 11: Arrived in Turkey and took the optional tour of Ephesus. It was a great guided tour which I am glad I went. There were many ancient ruins to see and take pictures of. We boarded the ship again and headed for Patmos where some of us, including me, when we docked later that afternoon decided just to take leisure stroll on the island and swim at the beach. It was nice and relaxing and again a good place for picture taking.
Day 12:  Visited Crete and Santorini. First stop was Crete. Iwas the only one who signed up for the Knossos Palace and the others took the exursion to the Minoan Museum. I thought it was an interesting excursion and to see the size of the ruins and the decorations that were restored. It was very hot though and the walking was getting very wearing. If I made the right descision to go I won'tever know unless I did both the museum and the palace which is what I would have liked to have done but we couldn't do both. Either way I'm glad I did see the palace, I think I would have enjoyed either place just he same. Later, the ship docked at Santorini. In order to get to the village people would either have to walk the donkey trail, ride a donkey up a path, or take a lift up to the village. I chose the lift, I might have taken the donkey like som did but I'm allergic to them. Once in the village we wondered the shops, and had a couple of drinks while overlooking the sea and the islands below as we watched the sun start to set. It was a beautiful view and great picture taking time again. Then it was time to head back to the ship and settle in for our last night aboard which eveyone seemed to make the most out of.
Day 13: The ship arrived in Athens and my son and I took a taxi to the airport to catch our flight to Paris and we departed ways and said our goodbyes.