Greek Island Cruise and Athens

Blue and White Greece - Greek Dancing Evenings - Soflakias at Street Cafes - The Parthenon - Islands I flew to Athens on the direct services of Olympic Airlines. Once in Athens, the Titania Hotel was our home and very well situated. In Athens, there are so many sites to see, walking tours to do and evening entertainment to enjoy. The Parthenon is awesome and is situated on top of the Acropolis. The Acropolis museum is also a must see. One can spend a lot of time wandering through the streets of Athens, where you can enjoy a beer and Soflakia at some of the excellent street cafes and browse through the many shops around the Plaka. Only a short bus ride from Athens it brings one to Piraeus, the port city where all the cruises and ferries depart. Greece is a country of thousands of islands; therefore the ferries make up a very important way of travel as many islands can only be reached by boat. Our 4 day cruise, on Louis Cruises, called the Aegean Discovery Cruise, started off over the very blue, calm Mediterranean Sea. This must be the best sea for cruising. Our itinerary included the islands Mykonos, Rhodes, Patmos and Kusadasi (Turkey). Mykonos needs no introduction with its cosmopolitan and sophisticated lifestyle. It is great to wander through the narrow streets and photograph the whitewashed houses and tiny chapels. The famous windmills of the postcards can be seen there. Rhodes, the home of the medieval city and the picturesque St Paul's Bay is steeped in history with every step that you take. Patmos is the sacred island where St John the Divine wrote the Book of Revelations. The Monastery of St John was built over 900 years ago and has outstanding interior frescoes. At Kusadasi, there are some markets and nearby one can do a tour of the magnificent Ephessos, the ancient city founded by the Athenians.

The Greek Amphitheatre is still eminent for its remarkable acoustics. The cruise ended in Piraeus again.

The next day we explored some of mainland Greece seeing interesting sites such as Mycenae and Epidarus. Greece is truly an excellent tourist destination, and I can't wait to go back!