We made it to our last destination, Athens, Greece! Around midnight we sailed up to the port, and being the only one in the lobby at this time, I got the first glace at the city. We are actually docked at Piraeus, which is only a 20 minute drive or so from the boat, but it was still pretty all lit up at night!
After spending last night playing - and winning - English scrabble against Scarlet, Rok and Ivan, and staying up to write the blog, the Friend girls had a rough time waking up, luckily our absence was noticed at breakfast and Grandpa came to get us up. By now, we are pros at getting ready quickly and spending as much time as possible asleep in the morning. So this little alarm clock problem didn't set us back one bit!
The bus took us on a 30 minute tour around Athens and we got out to snap pictures of the Modern Olympic Stadium, and ended up in a square downtown to start the walking tour. Our local guide took us through some major shopping areas, into an orthodox church which was just covered in scaffolding, and left us near the acropolis museum.
Before being let lose, our group reluctantly turned in our "whisperers" - the earpieces we used while touring - to Rok. This was just the first of many goodbyes we have made today. There is an extended tour in Athens after the cruise ends and a handful of people in our group signed up for it, so we had reached the extent of the guided tour part for us.
In attempt to get stuff done early, Grandma, Grandpa, Scarlet, and I immediately headed for the Acropolis. Our attempt was in vain. This entire trip has been planned so well that we haven't had a run in with a large group of tourists. So all that waking up early was completely worth it. Now on the way to the Acropolis at 12 noon, we were following Group 9. Group 13 was up ahead, Group B was behind us, and a few hundred independent travelers like ourselves were scattered in between.
Part of the way up to see the Parthenon, there was a switchback sidewalk that everyone had to follow. We were walking at a snails pace so a lot of people just started to climb the rocks between the switchbacks, but the staff put an end to that pretty quickly. Finally after being separated, harassed, and herded, we made it to the top!
The Parthenon is huge, pictures don't do it justice at all! Of course it was all covered in scaffolding, but still impressive. It was interesting to see what had been reconstructed, and what was being preserved. All I know is that Great Britain should really give Greece back the pieces of the Parthenon they took. Luckily, Scarlet and I had gone to the British museum and saw what statues and reliefs had been on the Parthenon, but it would have been cooler to see those pieces in Greece!
When we were fed up with the crowd and had enough pictures we headed into town to grab a bite to eat and - you guessed it - to shop! For lunch, we had a popular meal of gyros. The first time I had this meal was in Munich with PMO. I have been waiting an entire year to taste it again, and this restaurant sure didn't disappoint.
With all the shopping we did today, I'll be surprised if I can fit everything in my backpack for the plane ride tomorrow. Our housekeeper, Shali, even pointed out that we have a lot to pack in those little bags. But if I've learned anything on this trip, it's how to efficiently pack a bag.
To celebrate our shopping success, we stopped at a cafe for a drink. I was persuaded into ordering my favorite desert, baklava, and it was the best baklava I have ever had in my life. I would plan another trip to Greece just to have that baklava again.
Back on the ship, the weather was perfect for laying out on the sun deck and listening to music. We had some time before the captains dinner, so that's exactly what we did. Before the captains dinner, we had a farewell toast. The Captain said a few words, Mr. Z gave us more forms to fill out, and Rok and Ivan gave us a little pep talk about how great we all are. Before people started heading to the dinner table, Scarlet and I had a little something planned with Rok and Ivan.
Being a few years younger than everyone on board, we wanted to thank everyone for including us and being so welcoming. We thanked Grandma and Grandpa for taking us along, and all of our new adoptive grandparents we met along the way. Then Ivan whipped out his guitar and we all sand L.O.V.E by Nat King Cole. It was perfect!
Dinner lasted longer than usual with the desert parade by the staff, and everyone saying their goodbyes. Some people had to be on their way to the airport at 3 am, but that didn't stop them from having one last conversation! Luckily, Scarlet and I were not in that boat, so we stayed up with the last of them busying ourselves with giving Mr. Z a hard time, completing evals out loud in front of Rok and Ivan, and separating the hospitality desk candy by color.
Scarlet put it best today when she said "I can't figure out if I'm supposed to be happy that we are going home soon, sad that the cruise is over, or happy that we get a few more days with Grandma and Grandpa in Rome. I have too many emotions!"
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