Feb 7 Athens, Greece part 2

Tame homeless cats and dogs were everywhere in Athens and they appeared to be well fed, relaxed and so unafraid of the crowds of people that they laid down and slept anywhere and were either ignored or treated very well by all passerbys. It was awesome to see, these cats are affectionate and content, social and so relaxed they were purring and some looked as though they were so happy and content that they were smiling. Some kneaded the ground where they sat looking up at you with such gentle love and kindness on their faces it was truly something to behold. What is it that makes these cats behave so differently than the feral cats of Canada? My hubby and I have been feeding a black cat twice a day for about 2 years and have never been able to even touch him, never mind pet him or pick him up; he is as skitzy as a wild cat ever was yet makes it on time for his two meals every single day, ungrateful little bugger! Look at these cats in Athens   http://www.littleobservationist.com/2014/10/29/46-stray-cats-athens/

And then there's the homeless dogs too
http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2013/06/greeces-stray-dogs-loved-and-cared-for-by-many/

I also heard of water bottle recycling stations everywhere in Greece and for every empty plastic bottle put in the machine out comes a handful of dog or cat kibble. Is that a great idea or what? I can just picture the homeless dogs and cats reactions to the people appearing with a plastic bottle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t_NkUrlRUM

We heard some of the history and mythology of famous gods and goddesses as well as mention of Ari Onassis, his famous wife and girlfriend, tragic children and his shipping empire.

There’s amazing art as well as graffiti all over Athens, some crude, some very well done and very beautiful. I also saw many artful posters, signs and marquees on the drive back to Piraeus. We passed a wonderful big new building under construction and learned it was to be the new Opera house and city Library.

our lunch menu

ancient walking stones

 going back to the bus

 Ciao Athens

The tour guide told us of how difficult it was to construct their subway system in time to host the 2004 Olympic Games as the workers kept finding historical artifacts and had to stop work until all finds were carefully preserved. These discoveries continue to halt the progress in making the subway longer but the 20 miles of track they have completed has helped the traffic situation a lot in this busy city of 3 million people. I’d go back to visit Athens in a minute; the Plaka District was one of my favorite places in all of the Mediterranean, also known as the Neighborhood of the Gods. I could easily spend a few days in this neighbourhood.

http://www.athensguide.com/plaka.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t_NkUrlRUM

Feb. 7, Athens, Greece part 1

Feb. 7 Athens, Greece Part 1

Woke up docked in Athens this morning and the city looked lovely in the sunlight with all the white buildings against the blue sky and green water of the Aegean Sea.

After breakfast we disembarked the ship and terminal at 10:15 a.m. to see if we were close to anything of interest like shopping or a street where a “hop on, hop off” bus might suddenly appear before us. What we found were cabs with persistent non English speaking drivers offering to drive us wherever we wanted and one very well dressed chauffeur with a nice limo offering the same. But the chauffeurs price was so high we couldn’t afford him and the cabbies we had been warned about (they’ve been known to drive people a long way with lots of twists and turns and then when you’re thoroughly lost demand $100. or more to bring you back to the ship)

This was our first encounter with homeless dogs who were hanging around the port and at the time we didn’t know their story. They were mostly big breeds all wearing collars with numbers on them, obviously placed there by the city or an organization of some sort. They appeared friendly and after awhile I was able to pet one which he enjoyed and then he lay down and had a nap on the road right then and there. Eventually we saw stray dogs all over the place and figured out they had been neutered, probably been given shots and then released to live amongst the people. Most appeared to be alone but with other similar sized dogs nearby all living in harmony. They are so placid they lie down anywhere on sidewalk and people walk carefully around them not wanting to awaken them. Some were observed waiting at red lights with the people and they lead the way across when the light turns green.

We were about to go and get back onboard the ship when a group of ship mates came out and offered the info that a tour bus was waiting just around the corner and might have room for us too. So we followed them and were able to join them on a very big, very newish tour bus with a great driver and guide for less than the other tour offers had been. What a stroke of luck that was!
It was a beautiful sunny day and we toured Athens for several hours, stopping at the Parthenon, the monument to the unknown soldier with the guards doing their very unique and strangely beautiful march and then the watchman with his inspection of the guards which made you hold your breath for them but he was satisfied with their march and uniforms and then he allowed photos to be taken. 
My pics but the video is from youtube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QI_nxhf4Ag

lots of old

and new

The church doesn't look old from the outside but inside it was positively ancient. I felt it would be rude to snap pictures so didn't.

Can you see the birds and little animals hiding in the bushes?

 He just wants a belly rub and then a nap

 Looks like our skitzy Blackie but totally laid back, lame and gentle

 The old Olympic Stadium

 Just a plug I admired

 The House of Parliament

 

 

Tomb of the unknown soldier in Syntagma Square

 

 

.com/watch?v=3QI_nxhf4Aghttps://www.youtube

 Changing of the guard

The inspection

We enjoyed views of the temple of Poseidon and the Temple of Zeus, had a short stop at the Acropolis that had 16 columns the day before but now only 15 remain as one had fallen yesterday and had been sold already and removed. We stopped at the ancient Olympic Stadium, then it was time to shop and have lunch near Syntagma Square in the Plaka district which is an old historical area with a labyrinth of narrow streets that are edged with marble. The feeling of how very old this area is and how many people have gone before you just seeps right into you. The neoclassical architecture is filled with souvenir shops, boutiques, jewellery shops, cafes, art galleries and olive trees literally dripping with olives, many eucalyptus trees and orange trees all over the place that were full of ripe fruit that nobody plucked.
To be continued tomorrow...

Feb. 6, 2015 Katakolon cancelled

Feb. 6, Katakolon, Greece

The weather has been fierce all night with hurricane force winds, rain and 15’ swells. Our ship was rocking and rolling all night and this morning docking at Katakolon was cancelled as water was pouring over top of the pier. This is the tour excursion I missed out on:

Olympia

“Ruins of the great temple of Zeus was a huge ivory and gold statue that was once considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world. The statue was moved to Constantinople where it was destroyed by fire in 475 A.D. The ruins of the first Olympic Games and the sacred flame began it’s journey here as well.”

Well, I’m sure there was more than that to see but now I’ll never know. Saw more of the Jade today and the Hawaiian décor is everywhere and very opulent and I can see why it remains on the ship even after 6 years of cruising the Mediterranean. It was obviously designed and decorated to stay forever in Hawaii but don’t know for sure what caused it to make the location change. My guess is it wasn’t able to sail the islands with a full ship thereby losing money and so a smaller ship the “Pride of Honolulu” now does duty there.

The weather is cool, windy and raining off and on with some sunny breaks. Had breakfast in the main dining room with a nice couple from London and lunch in the buffet where they do an admirable job of cooking and presentation of what looks like about a million food items. So far I’ve noticed their vegetables and fruits are better than what we get unless buying organic. I eat mostly vegetarian with a little seafood or chicken once in awhile. My friend has ordered chicken and beef that she said tasted different than ours, and ditto eggs, they are even a different colour when cooked which didn’t look appetizing to me at all. They make awesome rice dishes, yayyy for me as I love rice every day. Also a plus is they have a pretty good muscelli for breakfast, maybe not quite as good as HALs but almost and I’ll eat it. Their apple juice is a dark amber colour and very delicious and all baked goods and desserts are great. Nobody goes hungry on the Jade. We returned to our cabin at 4p.m. for “a little nap” and slept for 14 solid hours….our very long travel day and jet lag finally caught up to us.