New, White and Blue

This past cruise we had an almost completely new itinerary. We went to the Greek islands, Turkey and Malta for the first time!  It was amazing.  The weather was so warm and the ports were beautiful to explore. 

Our first new port of call was Mykonos, Greece.  I went to the island of Delos, which is rumored to be the birthplace of Apollo.  It was an amazing sight to see the ruins, of which, only 15% is a restoration.  The rest is left as it was hundreds of years ago.

(The famous lions of Delos)

(In "Little Venice" in Mykonos)

(Loving life in Mykonos)

Oh boy.  Never in a million years did I imagine that I would be in Turkey. But this week I found myself in Kusadasi, Turkey.  And “when in Turkey”…I guess that means going to the Turkish bath.  And what an experience it was!  I was slapped around by a sweaty, pot-bellied Turkish man and laughed the entire time.  Luckily, I was with 6 other girls and we all did it together.  First, you go in the sauna and then the steam room which are very relaxing.  Then, you are brought into the bath room all together and two of us were put on this marble slab in the middle of the room.  The men throw buckets of water at you and then use this fluffy pillow-like thing to soap you up and make you all squeaky clean!  Finally he scrubs your scalp and then throws more buckets of different temperature water to rinse you off.  It was definitely an experience…not one that I ever need to do again, but I was super clean after!

(Bathing Beauties L-R: Me, Hayley, Domonique, Vanessa, Lousie, Hannah, Laurie)

Santorini, Greece has always held a special place in my heart because Lena went there in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books.  Those books were my life in high school and being in Santorini really made me miss Katie, Jamie, Gabbi and all my Maine friends.  You all helped shape me into the person I am today and I am so thankful for you.  In Santorini you can ride a donkey up the hill from the port.  I didn’t do it this time because I really want Andrew and I to do it when they are here!!  Haha.  Amazing pictures will come when that happens J  There are such beautiful views in Santorini, and everything is blue and white.  It is gorgeous.

(Donkey Jam in Santorini)

Athens, Greece was the center of the ancient world and the Acropolis was the center of the religious world.  I went there this week and it was so hot!  I was super sweaty and there are barely any trees in Greece, so the lack of shade made the heat even worse.  But the Acropolis, with the Parthenon on top, was a sight to see.  It is this huge rock in the middle of the city of Athens.  You don’t expect it to be there and then all of a sudden, there it is!

(Me in front of the Parthenon)

(One Grecian urn)

Our final stop on this cruise was Malta.  I went on a tour of the Three Cities, Marsaxlokk and a harbor cruise.  The paint all of their fishing boats red, blue, yellow and green and each color represents something different.  I don’t remember them all, but the blue represents the water, the green hope and red courage. I didn’t have that much time to explore the city, but the views from our harbor cruise were beautiful.  I think that Andrew and my parents are really going to love this itinerary when they come! Hooray!

(Fishing boats in Marsaxlokk)

(Valletta, Malta from the harbor)

(Solstice in Valletta, Malta)