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Day 7: Sea Day

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We were so tired after our long day yesterday that having room service for dinner was perfect!  No need to change for dinner, and we could sit on our balcony waiting to sail away from Cyprus.  We had front-row seats as tugboats guided the ship sideways and well away from the dock. We’d never seen that maneuver before.  The ship sidled a couple of football fields’ worth that way. This morning Charlie fetched coffee because our butler has been bringing it later and later. Today it was after 7:30 before he arrived. Guess we’ll just fend for ourselves. I know, boo-hoo for us! Still, don’t agree to deliver something and renege.  I forgot to post this photo of us with the ship brass, taken at a meet-and-greet in the Retreat lounge. We enjoyed a leisurely morning, finally heading to the Retreat lounge just in time for Trivia. Alas, we didn’t win.  Lunch in Luminae was very nice. We both had a good butter lettuce salad, then Charlie had halibut and I had a campero de po...
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Day 6: Limassol, Cyprus

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This morning we didn’t dock in Cyprus until 10:00.  Our small group wine tasting group met in the auditorium.  Then we walked a LONG way to the very modern terminal and finally to our minibus.  There were 16 in our group, from newlyweds to us.  I was glad we’d checked the weather, because today was our first warm day. The wineries are in the mountains north of the port, so we rode for about 30 minutes to the first one.  Our guide Ariadne gave us a lot of information about Cypriot history.  Basically, due to the climate and strategic position, everyone wanted to control the island, and just about everyone has! They drive on the left, because Great Britain controlled them when cars arrived.  And it’s one more place on Paul’s missionary journeys.   We started at the Zambartas winery, one which started in 2006.  There we tried three wines, a white, a rosé, and a red.  They also gave us beautifully arranged plates of halloumi, smoked pork, br...
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Day 5: Rhodes, Greece

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This morning we docked at the port in Rhodes, along with another cruise ship that seemed to have mostly British passengers.  Due to some, ahem, miscommunication, we walked about 15 minutes to the Sea Gate before someone found a text sent back on March 3rd, instructing us to meet our guide at the ship. So, back we walked along the very nice boardwalk.  Yes, our guide was just outside the ship, holding a sign with TOLBERT on it…. Maria walked us through a secret gate, invisible in the long and immense wall that has protected the city for centuries.  She explained the three areas of old town Rhodes, la Juderia (Jewish area), the Hora (Muslim), and the Collachium (Knights’ Quarter), separated by religion.  She is a professor of Ancient Greek literature at the university, so was fascinating to listen to.  I’m not sure we’d pass an exam, but we heard a LOT about history and culture. I’m going to post a lot of pics, mostly to give you a the flavor of such an ancient c...
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Day 4: Sea Day

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After our brief morning walk in Thessaloniki, we had lunch in Luminae. We both enjoyed the beet salad, which I ordered thinking it would be mainly beets. Had I known there would be so much lettuce, I wouldn’t have ordered a Cobb salad for my main course! Charlie wisely chose the burger.  View from our balcony in port In the afternoon, we followed our usual routine of napping and knitting/Netflix. It warmed up enough for some balcony time.  Dinner, again at Luminae, included a Caesar salad followed by veal cannelloni.  It was delicious and meaty, but the sauce was so rich that I only managed half of mine.  Sail away was late, at almost 8:00, and Charlie captured these photos as we left.  Greek naval ship  Our ship’s position as of this morning  After a VERY leisurely morning, we finally left our room so that the attendant could come in. We did figure out a way to use our butler, who now brings us coffee and croissants at 6:30 each morning. And he brough...
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