Day 51- 15th June. Crete->Souda Bay->Kasteli->Chania

Day 51- 15th June. Crete->Souda Bay->Kasteli->Chania

Oh, A big one today!
Woke many times in the night though, repeatedly having my travel nightmare again. Kept waking up thinking we were on the ferry and it was pitch black. Couldn’t feel Danni next to me and at one stage woke Graeme, who told me she was next door. I thought that meant next door on the ship and flew out of bed in a panic cos she was gone. Then every time I went back to sleep it would start again, it was flippin torture! Probably not helped by being hot and bothered with this bot? Anyhow, did get a few hours sleep then we got up for better things - our ‘big Journey today’.

Crete really only has one highway the whole length of the island and we drove 2/3’s of it today! It was so easy, much easier to navigate then I thought it would be after Italy. We passed through the most amazing mountain ranges that had you looking straight up to try and see the tops. Crete feels to us, very like NZ in its green environment and feel - its hard to explain but its great.
The roads have one lane on each side with a type of half lane on the right hand side. It is unspoken that you drive to the right of the right, another words on the very outside edge of the road so people can pass at will. This works surprisingly well, although a little hair raising at times when some of the English tourists drive on the inside centre line and wont let the locals pass!!

We first stopped at the Souda Bay Commonwealth Cemetery where 446 Kiwis are buried. What a beautiful place right on the bay- so peaceful and serene. We have arrived on a beautiful sunny day, with a blue, blue sky and this backdrop frames what is a wonderful show of respect to our soldiers by the Cretan caretakers. We wrote in the guest book and wandered around the graves for some time. You really notice that these men were mostly older than in other cemeteries, between 28 and 35 years. Graeme said it is because they were the first NZers who volunteered to go overseas with the NZEF. So many died between 20th May and Early June, when the Germans invaded Crete.

Gray found there were a number of NZ Flight Crew here - some graves with no names, “Known only unto God” written, in lieu of a name. He suddenly realized that my Grandfather could be one of these men if his body was washed ashore after he died in 1943, as all the commonwealth soldiers - known or otherwise, were brought here to lay. It added an element of the special ness to this memorial. I noted one wreath which had a note attached - written by an obviously old Soldier. He wrote “Sorry we had to leave without you Lads, but you are always remembered by your comrades - rest easy”. Nearly lost it then….

Later we spoke to Mum and Dad, who had rung quite by chance as poignantly, we stood in front of a grave with their surname on it. Then we drove on to Kasteli or Kissamos as it is still known to where my Grandfather is known to have been shot down with his flight crew into the Mediterranean ocean. We found a little road that wound down to the sea and got out and walked down to a deserted spot where you could see the harbour and way out to the huge cliffs, then on to the open sea. Sat in the bright sun and listened to PouKareKare Ana, there was something very serene about it, the waves were just quietly lapping the rocks and the way we had the bay to ourselves. Eerily enough, this bay is just like Cable Bay where Gran lived in her last years – the link wasn’t lost on either of us.

Stayed for a while taking pics then drove back along the highway and stopped at Chania (“Harn-e-a”) where we spent a while driving blind until we came across a parking building. It was great, you just get out and they take the car away and park it for you valet style.
They gave us a map to the old part of town where the Venetian boat sheds were built back in the 1400’s. They are still intact as is the long seawall and lighthouse.

It was So hot by then, so we stopped at a restaurant on the harbour and had lunch. Then we went down to where the big Clydesdale horses and carriages were and Danni finally got her ride! At €20 it was cheaper than the €150 in Rome and the €50 in Florence!
It was great as the man took us around all the little side roads and around the seafront in the shade of a large umbrella. Finished off a special day beautifully.

Day 49- 13th June. Crete

Day 49- 13th June. Crete

Woke to a lovely warm day again at 7.15am. Its funny here as, because we are up so high, there is a haze you look through when you look down. Graeme pointed out that we are above many of the clouds at this height- explains it!!

Tussled with the shower- its very like France where they have the shower head hung at about hip height and nowhere above that, so you end up kneeling and twisting in strange positions to get yourself washed!

We went down to the town again today to have a look around the shops. It is a very small village type setting where it all centres around the waterfront at the end of the streets. It is a sleepy, very casual setting that seems to cater for mostly Brits and Germans and is very family friendly. People rent the umbrellas and loungers and play at the waters edge – there are tons of toddlers here with their parents.

Bought a few more gifts and went to the small supermarket to get a few things, then back to our place to cool down. Had a lovely lunch of salad and ham buns, then had a little siesta before going down to the pool for a couple of hours. It was lovely laying out in the breeze and the water temperature was perfect.

Gray cooked a roast chicken for dinner, then we watch some greek tv we couldn’t understand, but the news showed the ship the Sea Diamond, which was the one we were meant to be on around the greek islands. They showed footage of it sinking last September. It was definitely more upmarket than the one we had, but since it is sitting on the bottom of Piraeus’ port, it wont be much good for cruising anymore!

Danni has had a great day with all the pregnant very young cats around here. They are gorgeous and feel sorry for them that they are all obviously pregnant so young and feeding off each other as well. But Pepy was telling us today that she lost her husband just in April to lung cancer, so guess she has had her hands full with his illness only being diagnosed in November. Feel very sorry for her as she is a very gentle person and these apartments were a joint effort to run I think. But she has help here with some younger women, so hopefully will go ok. She shut the place down over the winter so it hasn’t been open again long.

Day 49 Wednesday 13th June- Crete

Hi all- we need to use the owners computer in Crete and the connection is slow will wont be able to post photos so much, but will have a photo weekend when we get home- ha ha. We will have to lock the doors and not let anyone out till you have all seen the thousands of pics!!

Day 48 – 12th June. Athens->Heraklion, Crete

Day 48 – 12th June. Athens->Heraklion, Crete

Up at 6.30am today, ready for our transfer at 8am. Not sure why our transfer is so early as we are on a domestic flight, leaving at 11.35am and the check in is 35mins before? Others are all leaving later and on international flights but better to be sure I guess.

Trafalgar have organized a taxi for us, so that was good. In Greece they will give you a transfer at any time after a tour, whereas in France and Italy you have to be the day after the tour and at set times. That’s why we had to buy our own transfer in France at $140! Much better though than trying to navigate public transport with suitcases.

Got to the Athens airport at 8.30am and Aegean airlines had its check in open already. It was the fastest check in we have ever had, Graeme didn’t even have time in the queue to write the baggage tags!! They had 9 desks open, it was great.

Amazingly we got away with our bags being 21,22 and 26 kgs- they did write all the weights down but nothing was said – yay. Would have been painful if they had made us pay the €7.50 per kilo over the 15kg allowance. Although she did ask us where we have been, so maybe they allow for the fact that all international travellers have been allowed 20kgs on their previous flights??

Wandered through the shops, but I was feeling pretty blocked up and hot with my cold, so sat in the lounge. This airport is easy to navigate- think it underwent a big renovation when they had the 2004 Olympics.’ They have the domestic and international flights in the same place so it is probably much easier for transferring passengers, not trying to get from terminal to terminal. Sitting here now I see only about 30 passengers for this flight, so either there are lots to come in the next 10 mins or it is a pretty empty flight.

Bought a couple of little bottles of Ouzo in duty free- it is 40% alcohol!! Haven’t tried it since I was sick on it at my 25th birthday party but since it is the national drink it would be rude not to join in!

Boarded the flight and took off no problems, only a 40 min flight and we were in Crete. If we had taken the ferry it would have taken us 4-12 hours depending on the vessel! Landed in brilliant hot sunshine and straight out to our taxi waiting with our name on a board.

Up to Nymphes apartments on the coast at a mind boggling 130kms an hour on the motorway??!!! We were told there are mad drivers here! Nymphes is dazzlingly beautiful on the top of a massive cliff overlooking the small seaside town of Agia Pelagia. Pepy the owner who is well known for her hospitality was waiting to greet us and take us to our apartment, which is the one they used in the advertising for the place!

Got our rental car delivered, a peugot 206. then went down to the town for groceries. There are heaps of Brits down there, all white with singlet marks and drinking large amounts of alcohol. Graeme was very glad we are up the mountain a bit as he said he couldn’t stand it!

Graeme and Danni enjoyed a swim while I read, then we enjoyed a yummy meal of prawns, avocado and tomato pasta. Watched the sunset – the sea and sky here merge on the horizon until you cant make out which is which- is mesmerizing.

Day 47 – 11th June. Cruise Ship-> Athens

Day 47 – 11th June. Cruise Ship-> Athens

We were up at 6am today as disembarktion was to be at 7.30am. Had another rough-ish night with the partying teenagers in the next cabin- they came back from the disco I think after midnight and brought all their friends. Got sick of it after some time and thumped on the wall which stopped it – pain in the bum though.

Slow to get off the ship but good that the Trafalgar rep had got all our bags and yay!! They were intact.

Transferred by bus back to the hotel we stayed in before the cruise, then decided to go to town while we are here. Taxi’s are everywhere and only cost about €4-6 for the trip all the way downtown ( Its €3 each way for us on the bus, so much easier to get the taxi). Graeme noted today however that not many of the locals seem to wear deodorant!

We haven’t met one Greek yet who doesn’t speak clear English so its a lot easier here and the prices are definitely cheaper than Italy and way cheaper than France which is really dear for food etc.

Wandered along the Plaka enjoying all the bustle until I tried to decapitate the top of my little toe as I kicked a brick partition, splitting my toes apart and cutting a piece out of the top- ow ow ow!@#@! Couldn’t speak for a minute or two and of course it started to bleed. Sorry Dad, had to use your soft camera cover to stop it, but it has washed out fine.
Went to a chemist where the very gentle pharmacist was embarrassed to charge us 15c for a plaster- very kind and he would have given it to me anyway.

Went to subway for lunch- about the same price as home - €3 for a 6 inch sub.
Walked around the stalls and bought a few gifts then back to the hotel for a rest and wrestle more with the slow connection- at $34 for 24 hours I would expect a fast connection??!!! It has taken hours today to catch up and attach photos!

Thanks to all those who have posted comments in the past days- I have now answered them via post a comment, so keep it up!
Quiet dinner in the hotel room, we found a place that did beautiful meat and salad kebabs really cheaply. Better than the hotel where 1 boiled egg is €3 !!

On to Crete tomorrow, hopefully we can get out luggage on without extra charges- it seems the domestic flights only allow 15 kgs each and of course we all have the standard 20kg international weights in our bags (at least). We will see….

Day 46 – 10th June. Rhodes->Patmos->Kusadasi, Turkey

Day 46 – 10th June. Rhodes->Patmos->Kusadasi, Turkey

The ship travelled overnight to reach Patmos and those going off the ship were off on the tenders at 7am.
We have noticed we have had no seasickness or motion sickness this time since we embarked. Even though it is a very tired vessel overall, this is the first time on a ship that none of us have felt ill. One of the other ladies from the tour wasn’t feeling great the first day – she had that “just let me sit here and die” look on her face. Couldn’t bear to leave her like that , so gave her one of my tablets as she didn’t have anything, and she came right thankfully.
Found out later that we were meant to be onboard the ship that hit rocks and sunk late last year- hence this older ship being pulled out of dry dock!!! The captain was found to be down in his cabin drinking at the time.

Today we decided to stay onboard as Patmos is pretty barren and not much to see they tell us. Plus with the tender process it takes ages to get onshore. There was I think just a 2 hour period there, so most people have stayed onboard and taken it easy. The point of interest here is St. Johns grotto where in 95AD, he claimed to have heard ‘a great voice, as of a trumpet’, commanding him to write a book and send it unto the 7 churches. This he did – later to be known as the book of revelations in the bible.
Cant help but wonder if someone claimed this had happened nowadays, they would be more likely to be diagnosed as schizophrenic and given medication, rather than be revered as having been spoken to by God??

We sailed for Kusadasi (Koo-shard-a-cee), Turkey and arrived early afternoon where we disembarked with Jerome for the Ancient Ephesus tour, 49 nautical miles away. Picked up our local guide who is an English teacher here in Turkey.

Drove to the ancient city of Ephesus, out in the country, just sitting there in the middle of nowhere! The ruins are the 3rd city of Ephesus- apparently the ruler who built the first one, wanted to renovate the city but the people resisted- so he blocked up the sewer system in a bid to change their minds. All it did however was make them decide to build a 2nd city further away!!

The 3rd city was built around 70 BC and just blew us all away. It was unbelievable and there is no doubt why it was one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. We walked down the same road which is still visible, where Marc Antony and Cleopatra strolled on their travels to Egypt.

A lot of the outside walls are still there and the archeologists have laid out all the broken pieces on the ground where they are to go back when the excavating is finished. This gives it an eerie, awesome quality as you are walking along seeing exactly how it was.


The library was the most complete building and puts every NZ library to shame!!
The temperature was up around 40C and very humid and sticky, but you couldn’t help but stop in the sun and stare at the magnificent layout that just went on and on. Even saw grooves in the marble road made by chariot wheels!

Jerome had explained that the stalls and shops you visit at the end of the ruins, have the Turkish men who all come at you at once, trying to draw you in and as he said when you think about it, the traders here have been doing this successfully for 2000 years.

It was a bit like going to the main street in Nadi, Fiji where the Indian Fijians hassle you to come in for ‘a very good price’. It was ok though- best piece of advice we were given – if you don’t want to buy, don’t even answer them as saying No is a form of conversation starter for them!! Jerome said we are all way to polite, so we tried the silent treatment and apart from the occasional, “I have to feed my family and see my poor old father…..’ they left us alone!

Tried hot apple tea for the first time in a Turkish rug shop the tour went into, it was yummy, very crisp and refreshing after the intense heat at Ephesus.

Back to the ship and last night tonight, so we are putting our suitcases out in the corridor tonight- and praying that we get them tomorrow all intact. There are lots of people who have had their cases broken like us – wheels etc off??!!

Enjoyed another 4 course meal in the restaurant with a couple of Canadians form our tour, a lovely end to our Greek Island cruise. We certainly want to comeback again to stay longer sometime soon.

Day 45 – 9th June. Mykonos->Rhodes

Day 45 – 9th June. Mykonos->Rhodes

Nice sleep with the gentle sway of the ship, but were woken by next doors teenagers all yelling and carrying on at 6.45am. Gray gave them a short shift with a knock on their door! There must have been some serious drinking last night as the poor porters were cleaning up 2 sets of stairs where people hadn’t made it to the toilet on time this morning and had chundered everywhere – ew!

Got up and had brekky then we disembarked straight onto the port at Rhodes. It is completely surrounded by a huge stone wall – built around 400AD! It was a beautifully clear hot day and we met Clair and Grace from our best of France tour, no problems. They are staying here for a week and we had realized earlier that we would all be here at the same time!
On the france tour the TD had a call - “EW HOO” she would call when she wanted our attention. This became the groups call name, much to my embarrassment (walking down the road with many, mostly Australians all yelling ew-hoo very loudly to keep the group all together!!)
Well today Graeme sees Clair and Grace coming along the road, so calls out the call sign to them – was so funny watching them still react to it – looking for the source!!!!!

Great to see them again- it was like seeing long lost relatives ! They took us around the old city and we wandered down the streets looking in shops. Much better prices here and a bigger island than Mykonos – they both have their own magic though.

We stopped and sat at a café in the shade as it was pretty hot by 10am and sat next to a guy who had a humongous ‘boot’ of beer, a glass shaped like a boot, complete with a extra, extra long straw to drink it with. Must have been at least 3 litres in it and it was drawing attention from tourists walking past who were stopping to take photos! Was funny.

Then we walked to the new part of the city as were looking for a cabin bag that had a pull up handle and backstraps, as the large jewellery box we had bought will put our suitcases overweight on the flights. Managed to find one at a good price and the Greek merchant gave Danni a hat for free.

We have really noticed that the Italians and the Greeks love children – especially the men who are fathers themselves. They all come up and tease her and stroke her hair, so her social skills have been superbly improved since coming on tour!!!

We all stopped and had lunch outside in the shade overlooking the harbour, sitting in huge wicker chairs- Graeme actually pinched himself today! Ate gyros (pita bread, meat and tzatziki) calamari and pizza together – was great. After this we walked to the Oz girls hotel and Danni went for a swim in the pool there while we sat and talked with a cocktail each – ah the stress of it all!

Had to say our goodbyes, this time for good till they return from their round the world trip next January and the 3 of us walked back to the port and onto the ship. Had a lovely dinner, watched the greek show then off to bed for the night!

We have had such a beautiful sunny day today, was lovely as yesterday was grey and cloudy.

Day 44 – 8th June - Athens->Greek Island cruise

Day 44 – 8th June- Athens->Greek Island cruise

Woke after not such a great sleep last night as our room absolutely stunk of cigarette smoke from next door, smelt like someone had lit up a packet or two in the room?! Air con. is obviously linked, but at least it was only for one night.
Up at 5.50am as we had to be on the bus at 7.30am, ready for our cruise departure. Left Danni’s new suitcase at the hotel as will be hard to fit 3 in the cabin.

Not sure if I said before, but we have had Irish luck with our suitcases. Danni’s was wrecked at the 2nd hotel on the Italy tour, when the porters yanked the handle completely out of her case, then just placed it back in – sheered off! Then yesterday, Graeme’s basically new suitcase was delivered to the cabin with the travel strap broken through completely and the soft handle is ripping out?! We seem to be collecting forms to take to the travel insurance company!

Anyhow, queued up at the Louis lines boarding area at the port which was slow but pretty painless, then onto the ship. Quite old and tired compared to others we have been on, but its ok.
Went to the safety briefing – the life jackets you have to wear are exactly the same style as the ones on the Titanic ??!! Wandered around getting our bearings and found the internet – so to speak…. It is one p.c. on a very slow connection, this services the 750 passengers on board so wont be trying again as it took me about 7-8 mins to send an email. Will have to catch up when we get back to Athens. It is 17 euros for 24 hours use there, but it is wi-fi with the laptop and makes it easy to post photos with the fast connection – got to keep the blogpage going or I will hear from home!

We met our Trafalgar rep on the ship - a French guy named Jerome. He is great and does everything for us with excursions and tender queues off the ship etc. This is wonderful as apparently there are large groups of American teenagers on the boat. Seven groups of 30 or so, who are graduating from school.
We saw they have taken over the top of the ship where the pool and spa is – all trying very hard to be cool! The legal age for buying alcohol is 18 years here so they love it as it is 21 yrs at home I think, there were some pretty drunk kids up there by teatime. The TD said the staff hate it in March and June when they all come on board as they are such a pain wrecking things, making a lot of noise and mess and generally being a pain to the cabin and bar staff!

At 5.30pm we all met in the lounge to await the tenders to get off the boat. Lots of ships in port so waited until about 7.45pm but then off and onto the beautiful island of Mykonos by pre paid buses.
What can you say about this island? Startlingly whitewashed stone houses laid into the hills- they are postcard perfect and the churches have domed roofs rather than flat ones (for water collection) like the houses. The domes are painted either red or blue. As we arrived just before sunset, it was all aglow in a beautiful sunlight.

It is a very small island and not as hilly as we previously thought and really just one small area of shopping. The TD said the prices are a bit dear due to the cruise ships coming in. However, you could sit right on the sea front and sip cocktails for €20 each! There was an eclectic mix of old sea dogs and trendy young tourists everywhere, along with some rather unusual looking transvestites who were individually sitting on stools outside the shops – not sure why??

We had a great wander around taking heaps of photos of this magical place until the sun set and we went back to the pick up point.Take a look at the photo today of the ship and its fare?!!! on the rigging.

Back on aboard and ate again in the restaurant – what can you say about ship dining? Top of the line, silver service with 4-6 courses at every lunch and dinner. You can choose the buffet if you prefer but all the teenagers are all pigging out there, so most others came to the restaurant. This sort of dining puts coach touring food to shame!

Off to bed around 11 pm, with only 1 time out into the hallway to tell a group of 16 or so year olds to quieten down – I love my earplugs! Off to Rhodes tomorrow.

Day 43 - 7th June. Delphi-> Athens

Day 43 - 7th June. Delphi-> Athens

Wake up at 7.15am and on the road at 8.45am today.
We stopped soon after at a store which opens for Trafalgar tours. They sell lambskin gloves, jackets and long coats which were lovely. Then we drove round to a look out point – to see the true Delphi town of Arachuba- it is picture postcard perfect. Was standing outside the shop there waiting to re-board when a nasty little Greek wasp flew up and just stung me in the side- I hadn’t even touched him! Asked the TD if they had any anti-histamine in the first aid box, which they didn’t, so next thing I know the bus driver has borrowed a motorbike from the shop owner and is driving to the nearby chemist to buy some for me!! This is before I can say, no I will be ok- didn’t want to cause a fuss. Andreas returns and gives me some clear liquid to put on it and the welt and swelling was gone within an hour- good stuff!

Then we drove for 3 ½ hours on to Athens.
Meant to say the other day we saw something you never see at home. At the port of Patras when we came in on the ferry, the TD pointed out half a dozen young men who were scaling a 12 ft fence, in to the area we were in and bolting for the parked trucks there.
He said they are Iraqi’s fleeing from the troubles at home and trying to get to England. Apparently they pay the truck drivers who were bringing all their trucks across on the ferries – the Iraqis pay the drivers to stow them away in the back of their vehicles.

Problem is, a lot of the trucks have cool stores and stowaways have been known to freeze to death in them. Sad really, as they are just young people trying to find a safer country to live in and the greek government are turning a blind eye to it since they don’t want the problem either.

Arrived at our hotel, then went on a tour through the city and ended with a walking tour of the Acropolis. Not sure how old it is, but Graeme described it as “bloody old” !! The local guide told us that many of the artifacts from the site have been taken to the British Museum, where it is one of their most prized possessions. The Greek government has asked repeatedly for them to be returned but they will not. This see’s the sight fairly empty of all but its buildings and ruins.

The city of Athens is incredible and from the Acropolis you can see it spanning out everywhere and up towards the mountains – am amazing sea of white stone buildings.

There were lots of old gypsy women hawking the usual stuff outside the Acropolis which we don’t usually buy, but a couple had these beautiful thick throw rugs (or tablecloths) that they told us had hand sewn ends- this I doubt as they looked way too perfectly straight for this!! However, they were very nice and she tried to sell them for €40 each. Of course I said no, then she tried €30 – no, then she asked me what I wanted to pay. I said €10, so she came back very pained eventually with €20. Stuck to my guns and I now have a lovely throw for €10 !! Dad, you would have been proud!! Graeme said I’m better at it than him, so he just sits back and smiles!!

Later we returned and freshened up for the farewell optional tour at a traditional Greek restaurant. What a night of song and dance! It was great, with wonderful food and the costumed dancers were very energetic.
Danni ended up the most popular female there- she danced all night !! It was a really enjoyable evening of regional foods and music. We ended up losing 4 of the group on the way back to the bus, but somehow they turned up at the hotel before us?!!!

Day 42 – 6th June. Olympia->Delphi

Day 42 – 6th June. Olympia->Delphi

Wake up was at 7am today, is a good time for most to be getting up. On the road at 8.30am where we drove for 4 hours to Delphi. We stopped at lunch time at a restaurant where they bring around all the food and you choose which one you want. Wasn’t a great system as it took ages and no-one really undertood how it worked, plus it was really expensive.

Graeme had a small slice of mousaka which was € 6.50 alone, then a surcharge for sitting ! of €1 each. Danni had the best choice of a plate of spaghetti bolognaise for the same price.
We also went to the view point that overlooked the valley- it was incredibly high and rocky, with an aquaduct running down the mountain. The channeled water is quite a feat of design!

On to another Amalia hotel- same chain as yesterday, a large sprawling hotel complex which is aesthetically very pleasing. And the first view we have had from our bedroom – YAY, it is at the top of the hotel, great and after 42 days! However, to keep us in line, still not one double bed on this tour, even though the TD has it on his request form. Dad reckons it is because we are traveling with a child, so no hanky panky needed !

When we arrived in the tiny town of Delphi we all felt abit car sick as the road was really windy all the way up. They dropped about 1/3 of the group at the Oracle, which are greek ruins – not much left and up a steep steep hill. We didn’t go as it had started to rain again and the bus wasn’t coming back for 3 hours. Instead we went back to the hotel and crashed out for an hour in a lovely cosy sleep. One difference with this Amalia hotel- the beds aren’t hard, one of the other women on the tour said she woke up this morning after sleeping on the rock hard beds and thought she had dislocated her shoulder! But this one is much better.

When the shops re-opened from siesta time at 5pm, we walked into the small main street to look around. Graeme bought a statue of ‘Winged Victory’. We had seen the original in the Louvre. It is a headless figure of a women that adorned the front of a statue of a ship. A greek farmer ploughed it up in his field and there are no clues as to how it had got there or where the head is. The original was massive and Graeme took a real liking to it. He also bought a small replica of a Greek helmet, similar to the pic of one I posted earlier.
We also saw a opal and gold greek style ring that I can strangely wear on the finger I broke- I haven’t been able to wear anything on it for years, but this ring fits perfectly- must have been meant to be huh?!

Cruise - 3 days of the Greek Islands

Hi wont be able to post for a few days as we are on a ship in the Greek islands and there is one computer with a very slow connection for 750 people!!

Will catch up once we are back on Monday though- still having a ball though!

Day 41 – 5th June. At Sea-> Patras->Olympia

Day 41 – 5th June. At Sea-> Patras->Olympia

Interesting night on the ship – they started making announcements over the loud speakers around 4am in 4 languages that came on every 30 mins or so. To top it off, I was lying awake after the first announcement in the dark and I hear a staff member outside in the hallway saying to another person Ï am going to wake up all the people, ALL the people.”The other person was saying “wait”but the first guy says “No! I will wake up ALL the people.”

Now I'm WIDE awake and having a Titanic moment – should I wake Graeme and tell him something is very wrong, or should I go find Jack and a whistle to go with my life jacket??!!
I decided to lie in a a sweat and wait for a bit, then about an hour later at 5am they announce that they are stopping at the first port. Phew! Wake up call must have been for all those people getting off first?

Lay in bed till wake up call at 8am, the ship is very stable in its sway and it was nice to lay there looking out at the Greek Islands.
We got into port at lunchtime, so off the ship and onto our new bus with the greek driver – Andreas.

We drove to Olympia in the middle of a storm – apparently it NEVER rains here and guess what? This June is very strange they say. But when we got there it fined up and we had a great greek meal that I have forgotten the name of –it had pita bread, pork, yoghurt and cucumber and onion – delicious! Then we went to the Olympus where the original stadium is. The first games were played there in 779BC ! It was amazing that something thousands of years old still exists, albeit in ruins.

We even saw the track with the start/finish line! Apparently only men could attend and they all competed naked –imagine watching the sprints !@#!!
Two of the aussie guys decided to do a strip and go for a run, but only got to undoing their trousers when the local guide panicked bigtime! Apparently, the police would be called and they would be arrested! It was funny though. Also went through the museum with all the stadium artifacts displayed.

Then to our hotel which is by far the largest most sprawled out hotel yet. We are all so sick of being served pasta and fish every night for dinner as you don’t get a choice on tour, but tonight – OMG! We had the most amazing buffet meal with every meat you can imagine. We are all so starved of red meat, so we were all in heaven. Everyone said they are true converts to Greek food now as we haven’t had the regional foods of the countries that we thought we would sample, but this was fantastic!

Day 40 – 4th June . Pompeii-> Bari->At Sea

Day 40 – 4th June . Pompeii-> Bari->At Sea

We had a sleep in today until 7am, never got that on the France tour! Have to say that this tour is a great pace, we only had that one long day on the bus and its been pretty cruisey since. Most days we have only had 4-6 hours on the bus and some hardly any.

The tour had been great so far and while the TD is longwinded (at his own admittance), to give him his dues – he gives you lots of info and its always willing to point you in the right direction when you need help. Timekeeping is also much improved. He certainly does more than he needs to.

Today we say goodbye to Ferdinando our bus driver – he is a real sweety and is a gentleman to boot, we are all sad to say goodbye- but we tip him well for all his hard work. Álso have included a pic today of someone you might recognize- Robert De Niro was working at the hotel we stayed at – undercover for his latest movie!!! We blew his cover.

We then went into town to an inlaid wood factory that would blow you away. It is the only place in the world where they practice this particular hand crafting of wood. They cut out all the designs with a very fine coping saw and then glue all the pieces back into it. Then there is an intricate process that is so time consuming to come up with the original hand crafted pieces. We all fell in love with the furniture and other pieces and I bought the most beautiful large cherry wood jewellery box that has an old pianolla style music disc inside that plays different tunes. There have only been 6 of these made and will be a great heirloom for the girls one day too.

We left the hotel at 8.30am and travelled for a couple of hours out of Sorrento and to Pompeii. Its great to not have to worry about anything, no parking or buying tickets. Got our local guide who took us all through the ruins. They were amazing- 2/3’s of Pompeii have been excavated and that has taken 200 years! There were 3000 shops there, so it was a hub of trade. It was a similar feeling there to the Coliseum – eerie and awesome.

Went through the brothel – the paintings on the walls were pretty explicit!! We were surprised how many paintings there were in the city that had survived- mostly painted in ochre. It is all sitting against the backdrop of Mt. Vesuvius – the mountain which erupted 24 August, 79 A.D. You wonder how a huge city like this could simply disappear and be lost for over a hundred years before being accidentally re- discovered when people were excavating to build.

It got so hot while we were there- never happy! Drenched one day, sweating like mad the next! Wandered around a little longer though, enjoying this amazing site, although it is sad to see there are stray dogs there that have been dumped and they look lost and aren’t in good condition with no one to feed them regularly.

We looked at the stalls outside and had lunch then back onto the bus for 4 hours to the sea port of Bari where we boarded our “superfast” ferry. This is a surprisingly upmarket ship – only 6 years old and as flash as the cruise ship Pacific sky we have been on.
Michael had got in early and secured us all outside cabins- great! Had dinner in the restaurant – 4 courses and very nice, washed down with some german beer that comes in a 500 ml bottle! A great day today- Goodbye to Italy – have loved it here and having the week before in Tuscany really set the tone!

Day 39 – 3rd June. Aisle of Capri

Day 39 – 3rd June. Aisle of Capri

Up at 6.30am today, woke to rain rain and more rain. We left for our trip over to the aisle of Capri which isn’t far, but is reached by boat. We all thought the TD would call the excursion off or give us an alternative due to the horrible weather but as we didn’t know we were going to be in the rain all day, we were all blissfully unaware!

We were all glad of the umbrellas the hawkers sold us in Rome, but then most people ended up buying green rain coats for € 4 each at the harbour as it really set in – they were VERY attractive as you can see from the photo!
We got so wet that Danni’s and my shoes bled the dye onto our feet- looked like we had foot diseases!

We got into mini vans and went up to Ana Capri - literally ‘Above Capri”- there are 13,000 residents here altogether and about 50 million tourists I’d say! The trip up was so funny – it was very hair raising to say the least as the drop off the cliff was about 1200 feet ! People were freaking out as the road was very narrow, with the vehicles just scraping past each other! Got to the top and had a lovely lunch in a hotel though, view would be great on a nice day I’d say.
Apparently Tom Cruise and Mariah Carey come to this island to holiday.

Then we went to Axel Munthes villa- a Dr who wrote a book about something or other. We went there as we couldn’t do the boats into the grotto and caves which was disappointing, but would have been way too dangerous in this weather.

Then we hung around and got the vans back down to Capri and onto the ferry. Much better trip back to Sorrento than this morning as there was enough room -in the morning we were all locked outside in an overcrowded area and the rain was pelting in the sides! Not sure what was going on, but it was one of those days you say….”Remember the day we went to Capri?!!”

Day 38 – 2nd June. Assisi->Montecassino->Sorrento

Day 38 – 2nd June. Assisi->Montecassino->Sorrento


Big thunder storm at 4am this morning- Graeme said it woke him as the booms resonated in the streets here as they are high up and narrow. I was blissfully unaware thanks to good earplugs! However, we both noticed it wasn’t a very restful night, surprised me as I thought sleeping in a nuns convent would see us peaceful as babies?!

Up at 6am, bags out at 6.30am and on the road at 7.30am. There is a parallel tour running on the same tour itinerary as us, so the TD is trying to stay slightly ahead of them at toilet stops etc for obvious reasons.

On the road for 4 hours then we stopped at Montecassino for 15 mins. The Kiwis are all buried together on the right hand side of this cemetery- it is different to the other military cemeteries we have stopped at in France and England as instead of a white cross or the Jewish star, these were full grey headstones – they have the silver fern on them and for the first time, the age of each soldier.
Danni noted as we walked along 2 Maori battalion soldiers next to each other and said “Mum look - that man only lived 1 day longer than the man beside him”. Out of the mouths of babes…

We walked along and came across the grave of the only NZ’er we saw who had a photo on his headstone. It was one of him obviously taken just before he left for war, in uniform – sitting proudly with Mum and Dad - Corporal T. Wetini,
28th Maori battalion, 25 years old.
So here we stopped, it seemed that this man put a face to all the men from home.

Graeme put the song 'Pou karekare ana' on thru the laptop and I-Pod and we stood and listened to it in the silence. Hearing the beginning where Tui’s are calling out was very poignant. You don’t realise until you are away, the sounds that take you straight back home and this was one of them.
Would have loved more time here to give the respect these guys deserved to just wander amongst the graves but we were last back on the bus as it was ! It was great to have done this as it is new on the itinerary for this tour this year so we were lucky. I liked the way the cemetery looks back over a towering backdrop of mountains – it was very restful.

Travelled along for another few hours on the bus, through Naples to the outskirts of Sorrento, where we stopped at a 4 acre farm that produces all the food and alcohol it serves to the tour group. They showed us they make mozzarella cheese, then served it to us with tomato, salami, olives and bread. This was followed by pasta then a cake with the famous lemoncello poured over it – rocket fuel !! Have included a pic of the dog at the farm, he was so happy Danni patted his tummy!

We returned to the bus and through the windy streets up to our hotel in Sorrento. Quick turn around then back into town for those that wanted to shop. We went as we needed to get a new suitcase – we had found Danni’s suitcase broken at the second hotel- the porters had obviously pulled the handle up so hard that it sheered off and pulled right out, then they had just put it back in! So the TD pointed us in the right direction as Sorrento’s cases are Italian made not Chinese and are good value for money.

Ended up buying a light weight, hard shell case that the lady demonstrated to us by standing on one!!! Graeme is sick of softer ones that eventually break, so he wanted to buy a good quality case.

It had been raining, so we didn’t stay long and were amongst the first in the line to get the hotel shuttle back to the hotel which was great as others ended up paying for taxi’s or waiting ages in the rain.

Dinner was great but more pasta- we are all pasta éd out!! Heard word that the All Blacks had won their match against France and that Team NZ had won the yachting- you get ridiculously proud of such achievements when you are overseas- well the guys do when they are full of home made red wine!

We are off on an optional to the Isle of Capri tomorrow – Pompeii has been left until Monday now when we have more time. Will be good as we have 2 days here. Sorrento looks amazing clustered on the hills as you come in- very traffic clogged though, but better than Naples which was dirty and ugly. Naples has a huge refuse problem and is controlled by the Mafia wives as the Mafia heads are in prison – hence there is a lot of standover tactics it is rumoured and poverty there.

Day 37 – 1st June. Firenze->Assisi

Day 37 – 1st June. Firenze->Assisi

Had an easy day today as we weren’t on the optional tour in the morning to San Giamangio, so we could take it easier, although we still had to have our suitcases outside our doors by 7.15am.

Did emails and internet for abit as we had it in our room for 10 euros which wasn’t bad. Had breakfast then wandered down the road looking in the shops. Saw some nice leather boots but they didn’t have my size. Just as well probably!

Onto the bus and drove for a few hours to the bottom of Assisi where Michael took us to a church that had the original tiny stone church was totally encompassed inside the bigger churches walls. It was tiny in comparison and had great paintings on its inner walls. This is where St Francesco spent his life and is apparently buried under the floor- that’s what you get for building it !

Then we wound up the hills into Assisi where we are staying in an old Nuns convent called Hotel Giotto. I had heard lots about it on the Trafalgar forum as the rooms are the size of cells ! After last nights carry on with our room, the TD made sure we have a decent sized room since there are 3 of us.

Then Graeme went out on a walking tour of the large church here, while Danni and I went for a walk down the small lanes. It had been cloudy and wet, but then the thunder really started and the skies opened. We all had the umbrellas the street hustlers had sold us at the Colliseum, so we were right but it continued to pour, so we came back and relaxed until Gray came back.

Dinner at 7.30pm in the hotel tonight then to bed as we have an early start I think- we are off to Pompeii tomorrow amongst other things. Really enjoying this tour.

Day 36 - 31 st May. Venice->Bologna-> Firenze (Florence)

Wake up at 6.15am and on the bus at 7.45am after a good sleep of course- still having NO problems laying down and being asleep in 10mins!!

We drove for 4 hours today and stopped at the American War Cemetery where 4000 americans are buried. It is Memorial day here so all the headstones had an American and an Italian flag on them. This is such a beautiful cemetery, gently sloping uphill laid out in front of you. It was very moving and there were americans on the tour all coming back blowing their noses. Our turn on Saturday with Montecassino and the Commonwealth cemetery - there are hundreds of the Maori battalion buried there also.

We have brought along a recording of Kiri Te Kanawa/ Maori Mens choir version of
Pou Karekare ana, so might play that there if it feels right as it will have been along time since these NZérs have heard a song from home....

Anyhow, we continued on to Florence and guess what? We are cured of our post traumatic stress disorder form when we accidently drove in there at rush hour traffic time!! Easy as, in the bus. Stopped at a look out and had our tour group photo taken and took some pics of the city and the synagogue with its green dome, then back on the bus and into a small square. Here we had a gold and leather making demo then were set free with all the other tourists!

Its funny these cities we are visitng are like the old days where trade was strong in each city in a particular field. Venices was the hand blown glass and lace and Firenze is leather and gold work. We seem to have lost that over time and now modern cities seem to do it all but mostly machine made.

Graeme has been very keen to buy me a ring for my birthday and we found a simple dark ruby here with 2 diamonds that I loved. They made it quite a few sizes bigger for me in a couple of hours, so it was ready for picking up later.

We went on a walking tour with a local guide in the meantime and keep being told to really watch our valuables- will be happy when we get back to NZ and not worry about this! as you are constantly aware of people being close to you.

Came back and went to a local restaurant for dinner which was lovely, then out to the bus and on to the hotel.On the way danni teased me that I had stood in some doggie doo which is everywhere- I hadnt but chased her with my shoe- see the pic!

Found upon arrival at our hotel that we had a room with 2 king singles, split by a small single in between them - so we couldnt even walk in between. Graeme was down to the lobby pretty quick as he is getting frustrated with the rooms we keep getting. None have been large but this was ridiculous and we have paid 90% of the adult price for Danni on the tour! Luckily, he found an "error had been made"and we were changed to a room with 2 doubles- phew!