Our Honeymoon ~ From London to Spain IV

Stop No. 4 ~ Athens, Greece

From the map you can see that it was a long trek between Debrovnik and Athens - so we spent our first day at sea which consisted of waking up late, happy to have a day to relax and not rush off to see the sites. Celebrity Summit is a pretty nice cruise - we felt spoiled the entire time and thought that they had a really nice layout with tons of high quality, delicious food and drinks everywhere you looked. So our day consisted of laying by the pool, reading, drinking, playing poker, eating, sleeping, etc. That night they had what was called a "White Night" party. Adam and I didn't know what that was but we did know there would be food and dessert - so when 11:00pm came around, I made Adam go up to the top deck to check it out and bring me back some delicious chocolate. He came back to report that I must go up there to check out how awesome the DJ was. I went up to the pool deck and there everyone was dancing and having a good ol' time and they were all dressed in white - thus the name of the event. But better than everything else was DJ Hollywood - mid 40's, tall, Caucasian male, who definitely thinks he was born to dance...he was busting a move, and let me tell you, those high-kicks were a little frightening but extremely entertaining to watch. Even better, was his one liners in between songs and his attempts to charm all of the older ladies. I guess a cruise line would be the perfect place for him to display his talents - good for him!

I had already heard from my friend Joni that Athens was kind of lame. Maybe it was the negative outlook that I already had, or maybe it's just because we only had time to wander around a bit and see the Acropolis, thus missing perhaps the more picturesque areas of Athens - but Athens was my least favorite stop on the cruise. Because of that fact - I will probably keep this blog post short.

We arrived in the port city of Piraeus and had already decided to walk about a mile from where we docked to their subway station to get into the city of Athens. Piraeus is a really dirty, dingy area and we were definitely the only ones walking around at 9:00 on a Saturday morning. We spent about an hour trying to find the subway station, only to learn that the Piraeus station was closed on Saturday. We then decided to hop in a taxi and prayed that it didn't cost more than the Euros we had on hand. Luckily, it only cost 15 Euro and we had still had that. Both Italy and Greece use the Euro - In Croatia we had to take out some Kuna to pay for things.

When the taxi dropped us off I was immediately surprised. The area surrounding the Acropolis is poorly maintained, dirty, with old, abandoned dogs moseying around. As most of you know, the Acropolis stands on top of a hill overlooking Athens, so its a bit steep but definitely not a hard walk from where the buses and taxi's drop you off. The reason we opted to go into Athens on our own instead of with the cruise tours is that we wanted to feel like we were experiencing the cities on our own terms and not via the eyes of the professional guide. Plus, whenever you bump into the big tour groups, you kind of feel bad for them - they have to where badges, head sets, and stay bunched up with a large group of strangers. We wanted to be more adventurous. However, during this leg it might've made more sense to take the tour. We wanted to get a little background/history book from the visitor station and even though there were ladies sitting in there, they told us they were closed and to go away. Strange, right?

To get up to the Parthenon, you first walk through the Athena Nike Temple. You only know that it is the Athena Nike Temple because of this sign, pictured below on the right - which speaks more to the renovation plans as opposed to the actual history of the building.

I guess that would be one of my biggest complaints about the Acropolis - for being one of the oldest historical sites in existence - one that is rich with stories and culture, you would hope that there would be more story boards and interactive media to help the average tourist understand the significance of the buildings. But that doesn't exist and the ladies in the visitor center might not hook you up with a book - so make sure you bring one along.

Moving along to the main attraction, the Parthenon:

I am sad to say that this was the best picture I could get of the most famous of all the buildings in the Acropolis. Heavy scaffolding throughout the structure made it nearly impossible to capture it. Also, see all of the construction materials below - I guess they have some big plans - so maybe by the time any of you visit it will be in better shape! However, they just stored all of this out in the open, directly to the left of the Parthenon which kind of distracted me from the richness I was hoping to experience at this site.
On a positive note, the views of the city from the Acropolis are spectacular and spent the majority of my time enjoying those. However, as you look out across the city of Athens, you still thousands of white washed, rectangle shaped, buildings that all look pretty much the same. Small windows, very little color, government issued/approved living...Adam speculated that the city was built under a communist regime and that's why you have so little distinction between the houses. So far I've been very hard on Athens and I think it's important to point out that the city is very poor and has been for a long time now. If you are going to Athens, prepare expectations accordingly and I'm sure you will enjoy it for what it is. Definitely 100% different than any of the Greek Isles.

One thing I really enjoyed while touring the Acropolis was the interesting shapes that you could capture with the camera, set against the bright blue backdrop of the sky.

This is the second time we asked someone to take a picture of us on the trip. As mentioned in an earlier post, we both get a little scared about asking strangers to stop looking at stuff to take our picture. This guy asked us first to take his picture so we did that and so, by the way...can you take a picture for us? Nice, right? Here we are on standing on the backside, lest congested side of the Parthenon.

On our way out I saw this poster - I thought it looked way better than any of the pictures I was able to get so I snagged a picture of it instead.
We had a delicious lunch - Greek food is amazing and very fresh. Then we decided to check out the subway to see how close to Piraeus we could get. Hands down - Athens has the most beautiful subway facilities that I have ever seen! They have LCD screens displaying the local news stations, its very clean - one of the only non-graffiti spots in the entire city, they have art on display, it's very open and spacious - not claustrophobic like NYC. Two thumbs up for traveling via subway (if it's open) when you are in Athens!

Just a side note, I have heard that the brand new Acropolis museum is one of the best museums in the world. Adam and I waited in line for a half hour to get in and still weren't anywhere near the front door. I wish we would've gone in because I've heard that it is amazing. So, if you are planning a trip to Greece with a stop in Athens, make sure you see the museum and include some other stops besides beyond the Acropolis - you might have a better experience. All in all, I think you'd only want two days (max) in Athens. Let me know if you have been before and if you had a good time/any recommendations!

Our Honeymoon - From London to Spain III

Stop No. 2 ~ Debrovnik, Croatia

A friend of mine who has traveled all over the world as an airlines employee, once told me that out of all the places he had ever visited, Croatia was by far the most incredible. Based on his feelings towards Croatia, I was very much looking forward to this leg of the cruise. If after visiting Venice I thought that there was no where in the world as beautiful and enchanted, I would've been proven wrong the moment I stepped into the coastal town of Debrovnik.

The wonderful thing about a cruise is you go to sleep in one country and wake up in the next, feeling perfectly rested and excited to see new sites. And all of this happens under the direction of someone other than yourself - which makes those who understand how difficult logistics can be when you are hopping from country to country and trying to translate a German GPS - it makes those people extremely pleasant to be around the entire vacation! Now, don't misunderstand me here, Adam and I weren't spoiled the entire trip - we made an effort to tackle public transportation in each of the cities we visited - which is pretty confusing and hectic at times, so you see, we didn't take it completely easy!

After a few rounds of poker that night and one of the corniest shows I've ever seen, Adam and I called it a evening. We splurged on a room with a balcony and that is the spot where we started and ended each day of our cruise. Whether enjoying our coffee in the morning or a glass of champagne or wine in the evening, I highly recommend upgrading to the balcony rooms and enjoying the warm breeze, the view of nothing but ocean as far as the eye can see, and a little privacy from the rest of the travelers.

Now, back to Debrovnik. We wake up, step out onto our balcony and notice that we have arrived at our destination. The ports aren't all that excited, so your first glance of the city typically just looks like a port anywhere else in the world. Except in Santorini, where you don't really port - instead you anchor the boat out in the bay and taxi in, which makes the first views upon arrival a little more exciting. Our strategy on this trip was more of a combo - see stuff in the morning and in the afternoon, go swim at the beach somewhere. We were very successful at accomplishing this strategy in Debrovnik. We spent the entire morning walking around the walls of the old city, sweating a bit because it was one of the hotter days, snagging lots of good photos and enjoying the views:

~Climbing up the stairs to walk the city walls~

~I adore the rich coppers, oranges, and crisp white blends found all throughout the city~

~a lovely old church complete with bells, a statue of St. Paul, and his unexpected friend~

~The picture doesn't even begin to capture the beauty of the old, weathered stone walls contrasted by the fresh, lime green hues of the hydrangea and other plants cheerfully sitting in front of the walls ~

After hours of exploring the city we were hungry and hot and from a distance, we could sort of make out a few beach locations. We decided to wander down towards the marina to see if boats were taking passengers out to the beaches for a swim. We found a ride and made our way across the bay to a small stretch of beach, nestled in beneath the cliff side. Luckily there was a small cafe there were we safely ordered some sort of chicken swarma/sandwhich deal, cokes, and fries :) I'm really happy that you can pretty much find french fries where ever they go...it may come by a different name, but a fried potato, by any name, is a friend of mine!

The water in Croatia is extremely clear with rocky bottoms. At first glance you may think that it's going to be really warm water but it actually is a nice cool temperature that I found to be perfect and absolutely refreshing! We laid out on the lawn chairs that we found there until some guy tried to collect $20 per chair and then we walked along the cliff side and found a more secluded spot to jump off the rocks and swim.

~The view of the old city from our beach~

I will definitely return to Croatia - it was just gorgeous and the nice thing was that it was a little more affordable than our Italian legs of the trip. I only saw one spot in Croatia, but I've heard that many of the cities in Croatia along the Dalmatian Coast are just as incredible.

Our Honeymoon - From London to Spain II

Stop No. 2 ~ Venezia

In my opinion, there are two types of people you will typically bump into while in the airport. The first type are the people who get to the airport at least 3 hours in advance to go through the entire check-in and security process with ease and happily sit at their gate, browse the airport shops, grab snacks, watch movies on their portable DVD players and work on their computers. Two examples of these people in my life are my former college basketball coach, Helen Higgs and my dear mother, Anita Mathews. Helen was always making the team get to the airport super early, and who'd blame her? Checking through a team of 15 girls, two coaches, and two trainers seems like a daunting task to me. My mother has always been perpetually early to all things and naturally, her family was always perpetually early to all things along with her, bless her heart. Now, I know you have all guessed the other type of airport traveler. These are the folks who wait until the very last minute to leave their house for a 6am flight and then choose the long-term parking lot to save a couple of bucks, wait impatiently for the always late shuttle to the airport terminal, try to find the shortest and quickest security line and always end up picking the slowest - all for the thrill of not getting to the airport early. I'm an example of this type of traveler. And since my 'missed flight' record has only increased since I have been dating Adam, I would venture to say that my dear hubby is also one of these types of people. The difference between the two of us is that I sincerely believe he wants to get there early. I on the other hand, never do. I mention all of this because believe it or not, we missed our flight to Venice from London and spent the entire day trying to reroute ourselves to Venice and it was super frustrating and an unfortunate start to our fancy trip. Instead of walking you through the entire experience, let's just point out one little tip to all - DO NOT BE LATE FOR A FLIGHT OUT OF LONDON! The Brits take 'being prompt' very seriously and do not handle rerouting passengers all that well. As devastating as this was in the moment, I find it hilarious now - isn't it always good to laugh at ourselves? And yes, I will be making a stronger effort to get to the airport early from here on out. I promise (of course, I crossed my fingers just then).

Arriving in Venezia and then taxiing - via a water taxi, along the lido into Venezia proper, really sets the tone for your entire experience there.

It was getting pretty dark out as you can see from these photos (above), so I'm not going to share too many of my low quality pics taken by my little point and shoot camera that evening . But let me just say this, I've never been anywhere like Venice and the entire time I was there, I was known to look at Adam and say, "Seriously?!!" Venezia is truly magical, romantic, vibrant, beautiful, and full of wonderful food, wine, and gelato. In fact, I know it's probably a little premature to be sharing this so soon in my honeymoon blog series but, Italy, might be my favorite place in all of Europe. I would live in Florence in a heart beat. But that's for later.

Once we disembarked our water taxi, we set out to explore the city for a bit. I immediately fell in love with all of the walkways, the bridges, the gondolas and the colorful floral arrangements spilling out of the pots on the balcony's and window sills. After wandering for a bit, we decided to search for the water taxi that would take us across the lido to the Hilton Molino Stucky, where we would be stay until boarding our cruise ship the next day. This was another 'not-so-funny' honeymoon moment of ours. We could not find the pick-up spot for our hotel water taxi. I think we spent about an hour searching for it, walking everywhere, talking to everyone and then we split up. This is not a good idea when you don't have cell phones and one of us had to go to the restroom pretty badly and the other was starving. We found it eventually - praise be to God - and made our way over to this ginormous Hilton that is set on Guidecca Island, with spectacular views of Venezia!

The next morning we woke up, had an incredible breakfast at the rooftop restaurant and bar while enjoying the views of Venezia! By the way, in one of the pictures below you will see me holding a glass of the best Sangria I have ever had in my life!

After a delightful breakfast, we checked out and caught a water taxi to our Celebrity cruise ship, 'The Summit', with a couple from Canada who had also just stayed the evening at the Hilton. Water taxi's in Venice can be a bit pricey, we highly recommend being friendly and asking someone to share a taxi with you. For example, it was nearly $60 for a 10 minute taxi to our cruise ship.

I must add a caveat here, some of you may have noticed that I have the same coral dress on as I did in London. Due to missing our flight and other mishaps, we don't have our luggage at this point in the trip...and won't find it until Croatia. Another not-so-funny at the time thing/experience that is funny now. C 'est la vie. Moving along, we spent the remainder of the day thoroughly exploring Venezia:

-The views of Venezia from the water taxi into town-

-Views from Piazzo San Marco & the tourists' crazy obsession with the pigeons-

-I loved the striking black and white colors along the Piazza's walls-



-And of course, we loved the canals, big and small-
The Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge (pictured above, and below)

When we first looked into taking a gondola ride along these beautiful canals via the internets, we saw that the average price was about $300 for a 30 minute boat ride. We were thinking about finding a larger boat and splitting the costs with some strangers just to get the gondola experience but we found out once we started asking the gondoliers that the price was actually only about $110...you know what they say, "When in Venice." It was incredible cruising along the waterways, in and out of the winding canals, enjoying the melodic serenade of the gondoliers all while sitting next to my handsome new husband. Very surreal, very magical.

After a full day of wandering around the streets, bridges, and canals of Venezia, Adam and I find a small restaurant off the beaten path for a traditional Venetian dinner and some vino. Delizioso! The grand finale of our day in Venezia was an evening in Piazzo San Marco listening to the quartets and enjoying bellini's. Fantastico! The next afternoon our cruise ship sailed away from Venezia, headed for the next stop on our trip, Debrovnik, Croatia.