Beautiful Greece

Russ and I have always wanted to go to Greece and were able to fulfill that dream the past 11 days. It was just as beautiful and fascinating as I thought it would be. Its amazing how each country we visit truly has its own culture and unique way of life. We flew into Athens & the next morning boarded a cruise ship for four days that took us to six amazing islands. There are approximately 1400 islands in Greece which 227 are inhabited. 80% of Greece consist of mountains.
The first island we went to was Mykonos. Its known for its windmills and whitewashed houses. I loved all the narrow alleys and cute shops.
                                                                    Island of Mykonos

I LOVED this stairway someone had painted…isn't it true!!

Hmmmm…crepes with Nutella & bananas

The next day we arrived in Kusadasi, Turkey where we took a bus to Ephesus. Its considered the world's best-preserved classical city and famous throughout history for its Temple of Artemis.  Ephesus is one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. 

On our way to Ephesus we stopped at what is believed to be the final home of the Virgin Mary.

We weren't allowed to take photos inside the house of Mary.

They had a wall outside Mary's shrine where you could leave little notes.

The tallest building here in Ephesus was a library. They told us husbands use to go here and then there were underground tunnels that led to brothels. 

This was a public bathroom where the seats were made out of marble. The "rich" men would go here in the morning to do their business, while they discussed their business. Because the marble seats were so cold they would have their slaves come early and sit on them to warm them up.

This theatre held up to 25,000 people. It was initially used for drama, but during later Roman times gladiator combats took place here.

The apostle Paul lived in Ephesus for two years. It was hard to believe we were walking around a city close to 2500 years old!!

Island of Patmos

From Ephesus we sailed to the Island of Patmos, Greece where St. John lived during his exile from the Roman Empire. We visited the cave where it is believed he lived and wrote the Book of Revelations. 

A mosaic over the church where they believed John lived.

A quaint path off the side of the church. It looked liked one that many an apostle could have walked back in their day.

Overlooking Patmos from where John was believed to have lived.

We got to go see some more beautiful windmills. They were a little different on each island.

The clouds & sky were soooo beautiful that day!!

Island of Rhodes

Wed., April 30th our port of call was the island of Rhodes. We started our drive to one of the highest points on the island at a little Catholic church. I love all the architecture in these old churches and buildings.

This was a fun group of ladies on our tour that we enjoyed getting to know.

At the church we visited there were peacocks everywhere!!! They are beautiful, but sure make a lot of noise.

Here's overlooking part of the island of Rhodes.

A quick shot out the window of the coastline of Rhodes.

In the heart of the city of Rhodes is the largest inhabited medieval town in Europe.

It reminded of when we were in Old Jerusalem and walked around there.

This was a hospital that the Knights built and used.

One of the tombstones that dates back to 400 BC

The roads and walkways were so pretty. They were all rocks and so nice to walk on.

After we walked around the medieval city we walked down to the beach. We were so tired by that night. We started walking around 8:00 am until 5:00 pm I can tell I'm not as young as I use to be. We never had any problems sleeping on the ship. It would just rock you right to sleep!

It was still quite cool weather so the beaches weren't too busy.

Island of Crete

This morning we decided to do our own thing & skipped the optional tour. We enjoyed walking around Heraklion at a leisurely pace.

Russ decided to try out the fish massage, where the fish eat the dead skin off your feet.

One of the things we did WAY too much of was eat!! This is a traditional Greek dessert called Bougatsa. 

Island of Santorini

This was probably the most stunning island we visited and wished we would have had more time there. I feel bad because the pictures don't do it any justice. Santorini is a volcanic crater immersed in the sea.

All the white washed houses are built on the top of the mountain that overlooks the Aegean Sea. Its very picturesque with the white houses, blue topped cathedrals, cobble stone streets and unique boutiques that line the cliff tops.

After four days on our cruise ship we docked in Athens and then our next four days were riding a bus and walking around ruins and museums. We drove to the Corinth Canal which connects the Ionian Sea with the Aegean Sea. It was built in the late 1800's and is very impressive.

As I was crossing the bridge I saw this little old lady in front of me. Her back was to me and just as I was going to take my picture she stopped, turned around and looked at me. Of course, I purchased one of her little wall hangings made out of wheat for 2 Euros. I don't know why, but I love this picture. Just to look at her makes me want to know her whole life story.

This is the 2300 year-old theater of Epidaurus.

Unfortunately Russ and I can't remember the name of this city. We made a couple hour stop here and I loved it. I loved the narrow streets with flowers hanging off the balconies, the cute flowers by each of the doors, the colorful shutters all set along the bright blue sea.

Of course no trip is complete without gelato or ice cream….we had at least one a day!!

I have to say after several days of hearing about Greek history and Greek Mythology your mind is in overload. Russ and I couldn't keep track of what was history and what was myth. Our tour guide was excellent and really knew her stuff, but she talked about so many wars, dates, people, who ruled Greece when and why that I couldn't keep them all straight. Needless to say, everything is OLD!! Many of the things we saw were built hundreds of years before Christ was born.

This is the Lion Gate, Europe's oldest known monument. It was built in the 13th century BC.

A burial tomb 

This was our favorite place we spent the night. It was in Olympia near where the first Olympics took place.  It was a Best Western Hotel, but not like any Best Western we've ever stayed at. Everyone loved it!! It was nestled in the most beautiful little spot. It had a large rose garden and they were in full bloom and smelled so good!

This was only half the spread for breakfast. There are orange trees everywhere here and many times we would get fresh squeezed orange for breakfast. 

Our next stop was where the Olympic Games were conceived as a tribute to Hercules. The first ones were held in 776 BC. They had buildings to house the athletes, the poets, the philosophers, the judges, preachers, etc. Only men were first allowed to attend the games because the athletes would compete naked. They did this so they couldn't hide any weapons in their clothing. Later married women were invited.

This is where the Olympic torch was lit & is still lit before every Olympics.

This is the Olympic stadium where the races took place, the long jump, etc. There were no seats & everyone just sat on the ground.

The starting and finish line were made out of marble. I can actually say I ran the whole length of the track…in sandals no less.

Russ sitting on steps of the temple of Zeus.

The statue of Hermes.

A beautiful stop for lunch

A typical Greek cemetery  

Today we went to the ancient site of Delphi, the most beautiful and celebrated ancient site of all. This is where the revered god Apollo presided over the ancient world. It was built around the 6th century BC

Sanctuary of Apollo

Here is the awe-inspiring Parthenon atop the Acropolis. It began construction in 447 BC 

Most of the damage of it was from wars and people coming in taking what they wanted.

From the top of the Acropolis you get some great views overlooking Athens. A population of 4 1/2 million. Greece has around 11 million total in their country.

Greek Orthodox Church

Russ waiting patiently for some last minute shopping.

I loved their Greek salads.

Here's our last night in Greece eating our favorite thing…gyros!

I know this was a really long post, but didn't want to forget the highlights. There was so much more I could have added, but didn't. I feel so blessed to be able to go to places like this and learn about other cultures. I have found in my travels that their are so many good people still in our world working hard and trying to live good lives. Most of them are kind when we are kind & smile back at you when you smile at them. I have a lot of faults and weaknesses, but one thing I know is I appreciate God's creations and the beautiful things he has made for our eyes to behold. I got just as much joy out of seeing all the wild flowers as I did the temple of Zeus.