A Day In Santorini

I’m sitting on my balcony watching the tenders go back and forth, sipping coffee, and enjoying the lovely view.

We are going to be in port until 9 tonight so no need to rush off with the crowds. Besides I’m thinking of staying a little later and maybe catching a sunset.

This cruise has been wonderful. We’ve met some really great folks from all over the world. Last night we had dinner with a man we met on tour in Athens. His wife was a little under the weather from her excursion in Ephesus yesterday. It was pretty darn hot.

One of the many things I love about Celebrity is escargot every night. Plus they have many different flavors of ice cream.

So we took the tender to Santorini and paid 6 Euros each for the cable car ride to the top. It was another 6 each to go back down. We could walk but they didn’t advise that.

We arrived at the top for a spectacular view.

We are so happy not to be on a tour today!!!

We walked around the lovely streets of Firo. A lot of very white buildings.

We stopped in The Art of the Loom Gallery which is a coop of several local artists. They have 3 locations. We were in the Orion Gallery which focuses on sculptures and compositions. The artists have created some truly beautiful and unique pieces of art!

We stopped for a cappuccino and baklava at Kamares. The baklava was delicious.

We visited the Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.

I found some graffiti but no canons!

We stopped for a smoothie and I forgot to take a picture!

And some more photos around Firo on Santorini.

Tomorrow we are off to Mykonos!

#santorini#greece#cruise#firo#baklava#artoftheloomgalleries#coopartists#kamares#gondola#cathedralofstjohnthebaptist#bluedomes#

Sitting on my Balcony

How do you know when it’s time to unplug? What do you do to make it happen?

I should be unplugged now but instead I am writing this blog. This is my current view.

I am writing as part of my morning ritual now. It clears the mind. It prepares me for my day.

I am older so my iPhone isn’t as much of an appendage as with younger people. I use for a phone. I use it to write. I use it for looking up information. But I don’t need to do that all the time.

My iPad I use to read books. I’m hooked up to my library and its much lighter and easier than bringing books on long trips. Plus I can take out books if I have wifi.

So now I am getting ready to post this blog. Enjoy your day and keep your head up.

A Morning in Ephesus

It was a warm morning as we approached Turkey. This is a new country for Bruce and I and we are excited to be here.

Again we are on a ship excursion being herded like cattle into the theater and getting our name tags. It is not my preferred way to travel but today we are number 1 so should be out of here first.

We went ashore in Kusadasi. There were Turkish dancers at the port.

We traveled by the Kusadasi castle built in 14th century and expanded in 18th century. This was used to protect the harbor from pirates.

We arrived in Ephesus to begin our tour. Ephesus was rebuilt four times and the path we walked on was the third one.

As we walked the paths were made of marble. Very slippery but they have held up through the ages.

Our first stop was the Odeon, which looks like a small theater. It was used for political meetings.

The fountain of Trajan was built in 104 AD to honor Emperor Trajan, with his statue overlooking the pool. All that is left of his statue is a foot.

The bathrooms or latrines were interesting. They were only for men and no privacy.

The Celsius Library was built in 2nd century AD by the Roman Council of Asia Minor. There was an auditorium in the open space for literary speeches and to read poems.

The Great Theatre was also built in the 2nd century AD during the reign of Emperor Trianus and held 25,000 people. St. Paul, who owned a tent-making shop, preached to the crowds from this theater.

These were some highlights of Ephesus. It was an amazing place with an amazing history.

As you can see it was a fairly long walk on marble. It was quite slippery so it was important to walk slow.

There was a parade of Roman soldiers and a reenactment.

Outside the gates, we saw the ruins of a coliseum. This is where they would have the gladiator fights.

After Ephesus we went to a rug shop. Here a woman is hand-making a silk rug.

#ephesus#turkey#ruins#carpet#celsiuslibrary#kusadasi#cruise#port#ancient

Trust Worthy

What quality do you value most in a friend?

I guess I value this the most. I value many qualities such as honesty, positivity, loyalty and respect. But if I can’t trust a person than I can’t be real with them. And if I can’t be real, there is really no friendship.

I have to know that person will hold my information in confidence. That she will not gossip or tell others about my confidences.

When beginning new relationships I don’t jump all in. I test the waters so to speak. I give a little about me and then I see if it comes back at me. If it doesn’t, I go a little further.

Once I find the person is trust worthy, I will let them in. They will be my friend. I have a few friends I hold dear. I have many acquaintances and people with whom I am friendly with but real friendships tried and true don’t come along too often. When they do its a special relationship for life.

A Stop in Athens

I woke early this morning before sunrise to watch as we approached Piraeus, known as the Gateway to Athens.

This morning it looks like a typical port.

Now we are waiting in the theater for our number to be called. One of the many reasons I don’t like shore excursions with the ship.

Another reason I don’t like cruise tours!

We drove through the port city and admired the boats in the ports.

We reached the viewing area for the Acropolis and the Parthenon.

The Acropolis was built in the 5th century BC by Pericles. It is a citadel that had structures built on it including the Parthenon. The buildings were damaged in 1687 during the siege of the Venetians during the Morean War.

We didn’t go up on the Acropolis because it is a long hike up and you have to book it in advance. But the views were extraordinary with easy access for those with limited mobility.

But we could see the Temple of Athena Nike and the Temple of Rome and Augustus built on the Acropolis in 29 BCE.

Our next stop was the old town of Plaka with shops, restaurants, and churches. During our drive Olga, our tour operator, pointed out the more modern buildings neo-classical style. These buildings were commonly built in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Olga walked us to the Athens Cathedral The Annunciation of the Virgin Mary built in 1842. She let us go on our own so we explored inside the cathedral.

There was a tiny Byzantine Church that is over 1000 years old. This church is in the shadow of a large modern hi-rise building.

As we left the city we could see the Acropolis from a different viewpoint.

We also went by the Olympic Stadium which is completely made of marble.

And several beautiful churches.

Our last major site was of Zeus’ Temple which began construction in the 6th century bc but was not completed until much later. Now it is a ruin.

It was a nice tour but we needed a lot more time to absorb the history of this ancient city.

I’d like to visit Greece again and stay for a while. The people were friendly and the food was good! We did have some baklava!

#athens#greece#acropolis#parthenon#history#ancient#athena#zeus#temple#baklava#olympicstadium#byzantine

Many Jobs

What jobs have you had?

Oh I started out baby sitting as a young teenager. I also worked as a bookkeeping assistant at a car dealership in high school. Then I was a hostess at a restaurant. A clerk at an insurance company. A secretary at Hearst Publications back when Burt Reynolds’s did a centerfold for Cosmo. I was an administrative Assistant at several companies.

I decided to go to college at that point because I wasn’t liking my career choices. I worked at the NYU Press Office while in college. Also as a photographer’s rep.

I had a great job at a large insurance company in their Corporate Communication department. It was fun, interesting and I traveled a bit.

Then I moved with my husband and did some freelance writing. I changed career paths, went firvfilurthef education and worked as a counselor in a men’s prison.

For the final 10 years of my working career, I owned an alcohol and drug treatment center working with federal BOP and state probation.

I enjoyed all my latter-year jobs. I never made a fortune but I believe loving what you do is more important than how much you make. Nevertheless, I did make enough to support my family as a single mom. And enough money to retire and travel!

How Do I Practice

Do you practice religion?

Well this is rather a difficult question since my beliefs are not normal mainstream religion. There’s Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Muslim, the Great Spirit and many others.

I kind of practice them all to a lesser or greater extent. My beliefs are the spirit is present in all and it’s man’s trimmings that made the religion. So God, Allah, Spirit or who ever you choose to call your higher power resides in all these practices.

Luckily I live in the US where I am free to practice whatever religion I choose to practice. And I can change my mind and practice one religion one day and another the next day.

So that being said, I try to practice more of a spiritual program based on love, kindness, compassion, and tolerance. I believe that this is the basis tenant of all religions and if this was practiced, our world would be a better place.

A Visit to Ancient Malta

Yesterday morning I woke early as we approached the island of Malta.

As we sailed into port, we had a glimpse of this ancient island.

Our tour started in the ancient city of Mdina or Medina. Areas of this city were inhabitated as far back as 8th century bc. As we approached the city, we took in the walls created centuries ago.

There are approximately 250 people who live within the walls of the city.

Some parts are newer than others since it had a lot of damage during bombings in WWII.

Of course, I had to take a picture of Bruce by a canon.

They had horse and buggy rides through the complex.

This is the outside of St. Paul’s Cathedral, originally founded in the 12th century but was damaged during an earthquake in 1693 and rebuilt after that by a Maltese architect named Gafa.

We did go into the Carmelite Priory, which was built in the mid 1600s which was just past the cathedral.

Some of the tight alleys in Mdina.

And then off to the capital, Valletta, which is where the port is located with statues and fountains paving the way.

Walking up to the entrance of another walled city.

We went to some gardens with beautiful views.

More canons and another of Bruce.

Our guide was very enthusiastic about his country but he did talk on and on. So long that we literally had to run through St. John’s Co- Cathedral. This is a very beautiful church.

Famous paintings by Caravaggio including the beheading of St. John.

Our last stop was the Grandmaster’s Palace. It had lots of weapons and armory.

We had walked nearly 6 miles but it felt like 10 since it was at a slow pace dodging in and out of crowds and trying to keep up with our guide.

For anyone traveling by cruise to Malta, you can walk to a lift that will take you up to the gardens. From there you have access to the city of Valletta.

There are shops and restaurants throughout and it’s quite a place to spend a day.

#mdina#medina#malta#valletta#st.paulscathedral#st.johnscocathedral#stjohn#canon#cruising#travel

Simpler Times

Do you remember life before the internet?

Before the internet, there was the World Book Encyclopedias. There were libraries with research books. Information was not readily available. Now its at your finger tips.

But with the good things come the not-so-good things. The isolation. The lack of communication between family members. The neck thing. This is most obvious with the use of phones. Heads are bent. Possibly in 30 years, people won’t be able to hold their heads up.

Also, bullying has gone to a whole new level. Children are subjected to this and it goes global instead of just local.

The surge in pornography and problems that brings to households.

And viewing horrendous things such as beheadings. What does that do to our society as a whole?

So I remember life definitely before the internet. It was simpler. We weren’t barraged with unwanted information. News was once or twice a day. It wasn’t a constant source of misinformation.

Sometimes I wish it would all go away and we could go back to those simpler times!

Listening

What are you good at?

I’m a good listener. I don’t always need to hear myself talk. As a counselor, I would listen. I let people talk. I let people work things out through my listening and their talking.

As a mom, I listened to my child. I could hear what was said between the lines, Listening requires patience. Listening requires keeping still the voices in my head. Listening requires getting out of self and focusing on others.

Listening kept me safe in a violent world. Listening is a part of situational awareness. Knowing when to move forward or retreat.

It’s a practice that can help guide one through life and it’s a gift. I am grateful that I am good at it.