mellobear

Corfu (or Kerkyra or another name which escapes me)

Unfortunately we hit bad weather as we were arriving and our planned trip of chugging around the coastline in a fishing boat to see some beautiful beaches, sea caves and grottoes, was cancelled. We were offered, and accepted, the alternative which was a visit to the old town. Sounded ok but we didn’t account for buses running on Greek time, 4 other cruise ships arriving into port on the same day, pouring rain and howling wind (a mild exaggeration but not by much).

Our first stop was to the Monastery on top of the hill.

Our bus was practically empty which made me think the other passengers must have known something we didn’t. Turns out they did.

Along the way to the Monastery we passed a shop called Olive Wood Carving and outside was a full sized carved wooden motorbike.

Carved wooden motorbike. Impressive, no?

Naturally we didn’t stop but I found this picture on Google.

Our guide was lovely – born and raised in Corfu so we received a slightly one sided view of the charms of her island.

Everything was “world famous” from the World Famous International cricket ground (no bigger than a small oval) to the World Famous town square to the World Famous beaches. The 30 minute drive to the Monastery was taken up with Greek Mythology (great but we’d heard it before in Athens and Olympia) especially a long winded story about how Ulysses was washed up onto the shore, naked. This seemed very important as the guide reiterated it numerous times.

During a rare moment of sunshine I was able to capture a potted rose and a jasmine vine

Me being all artistic with a photo from inside the Monastery into the courtyard

Ok, being facetious as this was a hand written religious text from the 1500s. BTW, did you know that the word facetious is the only word in the English language that has all the vowels in the correct order? I remember that from a Trivia quiz. My team didn’t know the answer but we won anyway because I knew the words to “the Beverly Hillbillies” theme tune plus I got double points because I sang it.

Part of the Priest’s outfit that was handmade and dated sometime in the 1700s.

Glenys demonstrating that they were probably quite short when the Monastery was built. Not that she’s short, you understand…

We left the Monastery and headed back to town where we were to be “amazed” (the guide’s word) by the beauty of the World Famous town square.

We zoomed past Prince Philip’s birthplace, saw the church where he was christened (I didn’t realise he had been christened as a Greek Orthodox) and prepared to be amazed by the World Famous town square.

The church where Prince Philip was christened

It started raining again and the wind hadn’t stopped howling so we decided to head back to the ship and get dry.

We passed a small statue of Lawrence Durrell, an equally small statue of Gerald Durrell and saw a plaque on a very run down building that claimed Edward Lear lived there from 1863 to 1864. In case you are unaware, Edward Lear is most known for his art, his nonsense poetry and was the creator of the limerick although I don’t think he wrote “there once was man from Nantucket…”

Leaving Corfu now and heading for Montenegro.

Heading to Katakolon.

It is now 10.45am and we are motoring towards the port of Katakolon. The weather is beautiful and the sea is calm so all is good.

The port of Katakolon. Another photo I would have loved credit for but this was saved from a google search.

We expect to arrive at noon and then it’s off to the ancient site of Olympia, 34km away from the port. The town looks lovely (thank you, google) but unfortunately we won’t get to see it as the trip to Olympia takes 4 hours (there and back) so just enough time to give a cursory glance at the pretty town and then back on board for more food. Then we depart for Corfu.

The visit to Olympia looks interesting and I’ve read it is being well cared for, plus there is (another) museum – Yay!

I know there is a well documented condition called Stendhal Syndrome which affects visitors to Florence, in particular, and is caused by overexposure to the abundance of great and stunning art. Symptoms are heart palpitations, sweaty palms, hallucinations and panic attacks.

As much as I have enjoyed seeing the many museums I think I have hit museum overload and I feel I am now suffering from Museumitis. Maybe it’s the combination of the amazing archaeological displays with the, frequently monotonous, voice of the tour guides but I now remove the earpiece and walk around in silence, admiring the splendour of the past without the long winded commentary and not even remotely funny jokes.

On the bus now and are being entertained by our guide as we travel through the Peloponnese region heading towards Olympia.

She is lovely but has a slight lisp, similar to Sean Connery, so her words come out like “we will get dare berry, berry shoon” and “dare was much hoshtilities in the area” (a quaint way of saying there was a war).

Along the way I noticed that the bricks face the wrong way so narrow gate pillars have the dimple facing outwards. I’m no builder but even I know the dimple goes the other way so you only see the flat side. Oh, and the Greek builders love cement….and incomplete buildings.

We had a lengthy talk on olive oil (extra virgin is good, virgin is ok, traces of olive oil not good and may kill you). I now know that the harvesting is still done by hand however, the olive grove owners use a battery operated hand on a stick (I am reminded of Joe, the Gadget Man) and, after harvesting 4 trees they have a rest because they have to re-charge the batteries.

Going back to our guide… I must have nodded off and had trouble tuning into her way of speech. All I could hear was “bubble-a-bubble-a-bubble-a-beeeeutifullll-bubble-a-bubble-a..” Her words have a tendency to run into one another. Anyway, she came into her own when there was an accident in the toilets (not what you think and no, Glenys was fine). The tour participant was whisked away by ambulance but we haven’t heard any more so not sure if she is back on board.

The following are some photos from the site of Olympia.

We set out on our own because I was tired of hearing her comments about the first olympians competing nude. You can do a joke to death, you know…

Wandering back to the small town we passed this tree so I had to take a photo as I couldn’t identify it.

I’m relying on you, Brian. What is this? English please, not Latin.

The town was quite lovely and we stopped for a soft drink. Old men seem to like me (no idea why) and the old chap who owned the cafe was quick to try out his English “hallo”, “yes” and “a million dollars” was the extent of it. I asked for a Coke and he said “diet?” (Ok, another English word). “No way”, I said, forgetting his English wasn’t very good, “I’ll have the extra strong”. He understood and when I went to pay he said “a million dollars”.

His wife handled the till and did a bit of muttering which I assume was something like “bloody old fool, shut up”.

As we left he gave me a toothless grin and a happy wave, saying “You come next time, I charge you a million dollars”. We won’t be back.

Magnificent bougainvilleas lined the road and climbed up most of the buildings

After scouring the shops for a decent Greece t-shirt we left for the bus trip back to the port. I noticed that the t-shirts were either football teams or Pythagoras theorem which would be so not appropriate due to my lack of understanding of maths.

Glenys wants to see Zorba the Greek in the tiny cinema but I’m not keen so I’m getting an early night. Tomorrow we go on an old fishing boat to see the coast of Corfu. The mind boggles at what boat we’ll get.

Hope you’re enjoying the travel blog. I’m certainly enjoying writing it.

Ooops, forgot to say… our tour guide announced that everything at the Olympia site was imitation, even the stones. I’m not sure she’s completely right so there may have been a breakdown in communication.

Athens

A doll, because we didn’t see the real thing

We arrived in Athens and had booked to see the New Acropolis Museum plus sights along the way which supposedly allowed for “photographic opportunities”. I don’t know why but I assumed this would mean a stop at Parliament to see the guards with pom-poms and even, if we were lucky, the changing of the guards. Not so although we did see 2 guards being escorted back to barracks. I should have taken a photo from the bus but I still thought we’d be stopping.

We drove from the port through areas that seemed to be stuck in a 1980s time zone, some buildings gutted and many in a state of disrepair. The traffic was crazy and it appeared that few motor scooters stuck to their lane. BTW, motorbike helmets look to be by choice.

Our guide was very keen to show us the many stadiums (mostly new) and we had a lecture on the various basketball and football stars (or hero’s as she liked to call them) who obviously played for her teams.

I would love to say I took the above photo but the traffic was so chaotic that I couldn’t get a decent shot.

We stopped in the Makrygianni district which is where the New Acropolis Museum is situated. It is described as a “hip and happening” area (so me, right?).

We walked through Plaka, one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Athens and right at the foot of the Acropolis hill.

This led to the museum which was the star attraction.

The museum is built over ruins of an ancient neighbourhood and they, very cleverly, installed thick glass floors so you can see the ruins when you walk around the ground floor. There was a subterranean walkway which brought you feet from the ruins and I was looking forward to that however we weren’t given the opportunity to go there and so I missed taking some interesting photos.

I managed to take this photo which shows the excavations

Once inside the museum the tour began and, I have to say, the museum is absolutely amazing. The Parthenon has been totally stripped and everything is now in this museum, including the 6 statues that were at the entrance of the Parthenon.

Obviously I was super impressed with these

We could have stayed in the museum all day but only had a couple of hours before we were moved on to the shopping district of Plaka.

I was always told never to wear spots and stripes. I can see why

On the way back to Plaka we passed Athena and a friend.

We wandered through Plaka and ended up in a cafe (8 Euro for a soft drink) where we waited for the rest of the group.

There were quite a number of tours of the city ranging from walking tours to electric bike tours to Segway tours, electric scooters and private cars. We came across the following collection of electric bikes and motor scooters, this one using some high tech security measures – a brick and 2 witches cones.

We bid farewell to Athens.

Tomorrow we go to Olympia.

Follow the lollipop

I should explain the title of this post is a phrase used regularly by our guide.

Today we visited Crete. Gotta say, we didn’t get what I was expecting.

We had selected a visit to the Palace of Knossos but were advised by the organisers that this may be a bit taxing for us with very uneven ground and lots of steps. We accepted their advice and picked another day trip but, in retrospect, I feel we should have gone to Knossos, even if we didn’t get to scramble around the site.

This is what we were expecting when we arrived in Heraklion. Looks good, right? The following is a reasonable representation of the journey to the museum, our alternative visit.

“Ok, ladies an’ gennlemens, if you look to your right youse will see the ammmmazing venetian fortifications that welcome you to our town of Heraklion.”

What we saw only blurry and if you were on the right hand side of the bus.

“Hold on, this road part a little twisty. We go fast, yes? Hahahaha (maniacal laughter)”

We visited the Archaeological Museum which was lovely but it would have been better if we’d been given an hour to look around ourselves.

I was fascinated by this hat, and the woman underneath it, quite frankly. She was all terribly Audrey Hepburn with an air of casual disdain, floating around the displays and giving a cursory glance before floating onto the next display.

Our guide spent a bit of time explaining the importance of the Dablax. It took me a while to realise she was saying Double Axe.

We were guided around a few rooms showing items from Minoan history but whisked away before we were able to view other rooms and other eras.

Off to the town centre where we assumed we would have some time to potter around the shops and see some hand made items. How wrong we were! Our guide walked us, at pace, to the town centre (I lost Glenys in a jewellery shop – she didn’t realise we weren’t stopping). At the town centre (not terribly interesting) our guide exclaimed “the TOWN CENTRE!”and threw her arms out wide and head back as if it were the absolutely best place you’ll see.

“I’m going now. You have 20 minutes free time to, you know, look around”

She was absorbed by the crowd but managed to call out “watch out for pickpockets here, there are lots of them”

Our earpieces went quiet and she disappeared. Her legs were a blur.

Our visit to Crete has ended and we are off to a 2 day stay in Athens.

More later…

All Rhodes lead to, well, Rhodes.

Arrived in Rhodes around 6am. Breakfast with all the other early risers. I meant to say this before but I have noticed a lot of hearing aid wearing passengers. We should form a club. Unfortunately we have to take our hearing aids out when we use the Tour Headphones so there is a lot of “WHAT?” and “where are we going?”

We should also form the “heavily medicated” group. “Meds” would be sufficient. I say this because just about everyone coming to breakfast has a pill box. Day one and most of us were hiding the pill box, digging into bags or pockets to get the morning meds. Now, 4 days into the cruise and piles of morning medications are mounded up on the breakfast tables. Sometimes I think people search for their table based on what meds are on display. And wow! Some people take a LOT of medication.

After breakfast we headed off for a guided walking tour of the old town. Probably could have done this without a guide but it was free so….

Crystal clear water the colour of crisp turquoise. No matter how tempting it was we were advised against swimming. 2 men did jump in and swam around and, according to Glenys, they were English. She could tell by their poor rendition of the Aussie Crawl.

Rhodes is probably another tax haven for Russian Oligarchs, if this tiny motor boat is anything to go by.

It was a lovely place to visit and, as I had read many Knights Templar stories over the years, I was keen to see the fortifications and the Palace of the Grand Masters of the Knights.

A side street leading to the main square. Foot traffic had started to build but it was manageable. I did notice that most people get around on motor scooters…without helmets.

Another side street leading to the main square and then the palace

Sculptures on the walls were created in Italy and brought to Rhodes in the 19thC, I think but I could be wrong.

I’m probably getting the information slightly incorrect but the tour guide was Greek and her accent, well….. anyway, I’m sure I’m mostly right.

The Church of St John which was adjacent to the Palace of the Grand Masters of Knights blew up sometime in the 1700s. A store of gunpowder was kept in the basement and the church was hit by lightning and poof! or bang actually as the explosion almost destroyed the palace.

It was re-built by Italians which explains all the statues. You can see the line where the old building ended and the reconstruction began. Amazing that something built in the 1400s is still standing.

Apparently the Palace was re-built for Mussolini. He wanted a summer holiday shack so this was it. Sadly a war happened and he was rather busy being a Fascist so he never enjoyed the palace as he had hoped. Anyway, he was executed in 1945 so missed the opportunity to experience his opulent weekender. “A fitting end…” as they say.

The palace has vast rooms and slightly over the top interior design with carvings, sculptures, mosaic floors and tapestries. The room that was eventually used by the Prime Minister for signing documents and things has an enormous desk and heavy wooden chairs, all from the 16thC.

Not sure who this woman is but she wouldn’t move so I have used her as a size reference. She was about 5’7” or so. As she wouldn’t move when I asked her to I doubt she would have told me her height.

I had FOMO so I went in here expecting it to be this amazing room. Toilet. I didn’t stay long.

Managed to capture the Greek flag unfurled. As luck would have it I had put my camera away when a Greek Airways plane flew over. It looked like striped blue and white socks. How disappointing that I didn’t get the photo

All the statues got together for a game of cards. He threw his hand in.

Everyone went “oh wow!” I figured this was important so I took a photo.

Model of the boat that carried the Knights Templar to Rhodes. My camera is amazing but it has a 14-42mm lens so sometimes I can’t get everything in.

More Italian stuff. This time a Murano glass chandelier.

No idea of age but I thought it looked lovely but uncomfortable. My mother would have said it could do with a good clean.

The rooms were really dark so it was difficult to take pictures of the tapestries and floor mosaics. They were lovely, nonetheless. You’ll just have to take my word for it.

Lunch time Sunday crowds had started to build so we made our way back to the ship.

Rhodes was lovely and, despite the vast crowds, it was relatively relaxing, in a full on buzz kind of way.

There were loads of jewellery shops but it was difficult to decide if the prices were tourist prices or not. Personally I think they were but as I wasn’t planning on getting any jewellery, I didn’t mind.

For those of you interested, today’s step count was 9k. Felt like 20k but there you go.

Tomorrow we invade Crete.

How to make friends with the kitchen staff

So, tell me, how many of you know how to eat a spiny lobster? (except you, Jane, I know you know how to eat it)

I ask because that’s what we had for dinner tonight. I must have had the “I have no idea” face because no sooner had I stabbed at it a few times than the waiter came over to help.

She lifted it deftly off the plate, did a bit of slicing and bingo! It was out of its shell and ready for consumption. I laughed it off, saying “our lobsters at home come undressed”, chortle, chortle.
Soon after, another waiter came over and said he had another lobster, cooked especially for me so would I like it. I distinctly heard laughter from the kitchen. I felt sure they were crowded around the door, waiting to see me struggle with the second lobster.
At least I accepted help. The chap on the table next to me refused assistance and I watched, surreptitiously and with some glee, as he stabbed and pulled his lobster without trying to defrock it (wrong term, I know…).
“Ain’t much in there, hon”, he said.
As we left we got a big wave from the kids in the kitchen. And more laughter.

Nike, Goddess of Sneakers

Ephesus, 10th May

Ok, slightly out of sequence but this is a carving of Nike, Goddess of something but I missed this so I have renamed her Goddess of Sneakers.

I started this post with Nike as I thought it was a great title. Who am I to complain when a catchy title grabs you?

Apparently the Nike company used the swish of her dress as the swish on their sports items. I know I’ll never look at another pair of Nike shoes in the same way.

My friend Sue said it was odd that she was the Goddess of Sneakers as she wasn’t actually wearing any shoes. I said that was because Gods and Goddesses are above such worldly things.

So back to the beginning.

We floated into Ephesus and I was able to capture this lovely sunrise. Unfortunately I was standing on our deck in my PJs when the tug boat chugged past. I waved a cherry good morning. I mean, what else could I do?

Our expedition today was to the ruins of the Elite Roman houses in Ephesus. I commented (more than once, I have to say but when you find a funny phrase it seems rude to not repeat it) that I was a good fit. You know, ruins, my age… No one found this amusing. Boring lot. The Ephesus authorities are doing a wonderful job restoring and re-building some of the properties that have been discovered.

At the entrance to the collection of Roman ruins.

Mosaic pathway alongside the road which has “traction” grooves cut into the limestone to assist with foot traffic.

Difficult to see but there is a pipe on the left towards the back of this picture. This was part of the original plumbing works. My outside plumbing was in a worse condition 🙂

Beautiful mosaic floor that led from the entrance to the lounge

The entire structure is covered by specially designed roofing to protect the site. It was like walking through a greenhouse – insanely humid.

Upside down, I know, but I don’t have my edit programme so I had to leave it as is.

The Orient Arcade. Sorry, I just thought this sign was classic.

I had a Daily Pet Peeve but I forgot to write it down so I don’t remember it. If I think of it later I’ll update.

I managed to resuscitate my hat by ironing the brim so I wore that today. Unfortunately the brim now is a bit wavy. I tell people that I did Jillaroo work (a lie) and my horse (don’t have one) threw me (never happened) and trampled my hat (also didn’t happen) which is why the hat is in such poor condition.

Did I mention that stocky (read overweight) American chap who was very grumpy because I was taking too long in the food line? Well, he was there again this afternoon so I managed to position myself in front of him and dithered for an extended time over the salad bar.

Harrumph all you like, pal.

Tomorrow we go to Rhodes.

We say farewell to Troy

9th May

So far we’ve had 3 go down with a tummy bug; 1 hospitalised and 2 confined to quarters. All fine now.

Day 3 and conversation has segued to medical complaints, current illnesses and joint replacements. Our team won because Buddy (not his real name but he’s American so why not) was able to dislocate his titanium thumb and relocate it. Double points because Fergie (not her real name either but she has red hair) used to be a medical parts supplier and she was able to identify the titanium joint by description and model number. Go team!

Yes, we’re a wild and crazy bunch.

I mentioned to Glenys that it felt like we were on one of those All In Holiday Camps where every minute was accounted for and there was no actual down time. We are currently hiding in our cabin to avoid the dinner crush.

Forgot to mention that we located the laundry which was a blessing and I made a new friend. Jenni from Atlanta and I swapped stories about possums, rats, raccoons, wolves, cane toads and other species brought in to control rodents, etc. I almost made a crack about guns and hunters but decided against that, just in case. I also haven’t mentioned Donald Trump although I have made regular cracks about Meghan Markle and her flower sprinkles. She seems fair game the world over.

The current game is called “Guess Where I’m from, y’all” (that bit was added due to the high proportion of Americans on the ship). So far no one has guessed Wales for Glenys and I keep changing my accent so they have no idea. My new friend Jenni can speak a bit of Klingon 🤷🏻‍♀️ so others have trouble with this too.

BTW, these stories are mostly true or at least based on fact.

Anyway, we are leaving Troy and, to end on a somber note, the following picture is of the Gallipoli Memorial. Quite spectacular in its simplicity, guarding the coast and acting as a reminder to us all of the tragedy of war and the affects it has on all of us, both immediate and for future generations.

A life on the ocean breeze

Troy, continued, May 9th

Two days into the cruise and I think I’ll create a team for Competitive Eating. There are some BIG eaters here. Quite difficult to find vegetables although salad is abundant. You’ll be pleased to hear we have found a tea and coffee place where, I’m told, they provide a nice afternoon tea so we’ll be trying that tomorrow.

So far cakes have been a disappointment, probably because I am comparing them to things I usually bake. Clothes still fit so I’m ok with keeping the weight off however I have already pulled back on food consumption.

Pet peeve: UHT milk. I know fresh milk is difficult to keep on board a ship and we can’t all have a cow (I don’t, just saying…) but the UHT milk makes my tea taste yuck although it is better than powdered milk.

Troy

Friday May 9th

This morning I got up at 6am so I could experience the journey through the Dardanelles. The sea was very calm and no breeze so quite eerie.

We are now docked in Troy and seem to be the only people on board ship. Everyone left for the day or else we’ve been taken over and the kidnappers didn’t know we were still in our cabin.

We’ve had a wander around and can advise you that we have found the Bayeux Tapestry, although I wasn’t aware that it was missing.

Always on my mind, I have found a new toy for Taffie. I’m sure she’ll love it. Seems perfect. No price which is always a concern however….

Conversation I had with Glenys while enjoying a leisurely breakfast with no-one else in the cafe…

Glenys: “look, I think that’s the Hagia Sophia”

Me: “we’re in Troy, not Istanbul”

To be fair, we are both still quite tired and each day is currently blurring into the next.

More later when something interesting happens or when I have something to say. Or not…