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More of Piraeus


Piraeus, Greece

Piraeus, Greece

We arrived in Piraeus on Thursday afternoon and stayed until Saturday afternoon.  Sailing time aboard Holland America’s MS Ryndam was scheduled for 4:30 P.M.

Piraeus, Greece

Piraeus, Greece

So, with only one full day in Piraeus, we spent most of Friday taking in the sights (click on an image for the slideshow):

Come back for Fun Photo Friday for my favorite shots of this port city serving Athens.

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It’s All Greek to Me — Piraeus


Piraeus, Greece

Well, the flight from London was anything but uneventful.  Worst inflight turbulence I’ve ever encountered.  Not only was the Airbus 321 bouncing up and down, it was hit with humongous sideways inputs.  How bad did it get?  You know it’s bad when the pilot announces over the intercom that passengers should note the location of the exit nearest their seat.

But we made it to Athens, loaded the luggage aboard a bus, and headed for the port city of Pireaus.  There, we were directed to a charming restaurant called 4 Brothers. We started with a very tasty appetizer of fried zucchini with a yogurt and cucumber dip:

Fried Zucchini with Cucumber Yogurt Dip

Fried Zucchini with Cucumber Yogurt Dip

Ursula had the moussaka:

Moussaka

Moussaka

I opted for the stuffed eggplant:

Stuffed Eggplant

Stuffed Eggplant

After dinner we were surprised with a dessert that the waiter just sprung on us.  It was a very dense, almost cake-like concoction served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some caramel sauce:

Desert

Desert

The next day, after about a five-mile hike, we stopped by the same place for refreshments.  I tried a Greek beer called Mythos, which was quite tasty:

Mythos Beer

Mythos Beer

And what did we see on that five-mile hike (more than six if you include the walking we did post-refreshement)?  Quite a bit, actually.  Click on any image below for today’s slideshow.

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Hope I Can Keep This Up for the Next Month


MS Ryandam — Home for the next month

The cat sitter is diligently taking care of Max and Pooh — the cats who reign supreme in Casa Wicker — and overseeing the old homestead.  The flight to London was uneventful (I hope, as I wrote this in anticipation of an uneventful flight).  The flight to Athens should take place as scheduled.  Our cabin aboard the MS Ryndam awaits.  Internet access will be expensive and, thus, limited.

Even so, I hope to bring to you my thrice-weekly blog.  Over the next thirty+ days I will attempt to post photos of our adventure through the Mediterranean and during our transatlantic crossing.

In mid November — at cruise end — we’ll be meeting with online friends at one of our favorite Tampa-area Italian restaurants.

The voyage aboard MS Ryndam will not be our first.  You may remember our transatlantic excursion in April, 2012, to visit the D-Day Invasion Beaches and other sights:

But the destinations this trip will be much more akin to the 54-day cruise we took aboard MS Prinsendam in April and May of 2010.

MS Prinsendam — Home for 54 Days

What destinations will those be?  Stop by for this week’s Fun Photo Friday for a hint or two.

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