Celebrity Mediterranean Cruise - Athens, Greece

Monday, Aug 25 – Athens, Greece

I woke up at 5:10 am to use the bathroom and never did get back to sleep again. The alarm went off at 6:30 and we got ready for our shore excursion then went to the Oasis Café for breakfast. At just before7:15, we met Wade, Charlie, Steve, Marcy, Tony, and Claire outside of Michael’s Bar. We headed downstairs to the gangway and, after just a bit of confusion, found out that we were to take a bus from the ship to the port terminal but the ride was extremely short and we could have walked it without any difficulty. At the terminal, we easily found the guide from Spiros Taxi Service – his name was George and he walked us to a surprisingly large blue mini-bus which could have accommodated 10 more people than just the 8 of us. What a nice luxury to have the whole mini-bus to ourselves
George was originally born in Zambia but his family was from Greece and he spoke impeccable English. The traffic in Athens this morning wasn’t very bad according to George as he drove us straight to the Acropolis this morning to “beat the crowd” narrating along the way and pointing out interesting facts and structures including some of the buildings used in the 2004 Olympic Games. George dropped us off at the foot of the walkway to the entrance. There were already other tour groups making their way up the hill along pathways that were lined on either side by olive trees. When we reached the gate, it was a bit confusing but the men made their way down the hill and found the ticket booth purchasing Acropolis entrance tickets for 12 euros each. While we were waiting, a group of soldiers marched out and did a few somewhat sloppy drills then boarded a car.
The tickets for the Acropolis also include admission to the Ancient Agora, Roman Agora, Kerameikos, Temple of Olympian Zeus, and Hadrian’s Library. We headed up the hill and passed by the Theater of Dionysos then walked over to the Propylaia which, just like each of the other structures, was undergoing restoration. We walked through this grand hallway and immediately marveled at the Parthenon. It was interesting to note the natural marble that punctuated the pathway and had been worn down and polished by so many people walking this same path making the climb very slippery at times.

We circled the Parthenon in awe and snapped a zillion pictures then walked about for quite some time looking at the other structures, the Temple of Athena Nike, the Erechtheion and finally climbing up Aeropagus Hill. Climbing up the hill was an adventure as slippery marble combined with jagged rock but the view was beautiful.

We spent about 2 hours at the Acropolis then George took us to the Temple of Olympian Zeus with its massive columns of which many were still standing but one column had fallen over. We were also able to view Hadrian’s Arch pretty well.

Next, we briefly visited the Olympic Stadium where the original Olympic Games were held. George told us the only event that resulted in an award of a medal back then was the marathon and the very first winner was a young boy who ran the marathon with no shoes on.


At this point, George asked us to decide on which tour we would like to do: the Temple of Poseidon in Sounion which would be a 3 hour round trip on the mini-bus or staying in Athens to see the archaeological museum and the Plaka shopping district. The group decided to stay in Athens so our next stop was the Plaka shopping area where we (Wade, Charlie, Seth and I) walked to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier while the rest of the group went shopping for black platinum. George had told us that the guards were chosen based on their height (at least 180 meters), the “shapeliness” of their legs, and whether they were “good-looking” enough to be specially trained guards at this location. For an hour, 2 guards stood at attention in their traditional Greek military costumes before being relieved by another set of guards who took over after a traditional changing of the guard ceremony at the top of the hour. Unfortunately, we arrived at the Tomb at just past 11 am and missed the changing.

We headed back to the Plaka area and found a small taverna called Milton’s to have lunch. Other tavernas were not even opened yet as it wasn’t quite noon. We shared their version of hummus and I had the Mousaka – baked ground lamb with potato and eggplant. This was the first time I had this dish and although I don’t care for lamb, I thought the Mousaka was very good. Seth had a traditional Greek salad which included onion, olives, and huge chunks of feta cheese. We lingered over lunch for quite a while enjoying the company of our new gay friends who have a wonderful sense of humor and a really refreshing sense of themselves.


After lunch, we shopped briefly but didn’t bother to really buy anything.

We headed back towards the cathedral and quickly made our way to the bakery to pick up some baklava before boarding the mini-bus again.

Our next destination was the archaeological museum where we spent about 2 hours exploring the artifacts and sculptures. As a note, all bags must be checked in prior to entering the museum. 2 hours was barely enough time to see the first floor but we did make it up to the 2nd floor and quickly explored some of the rooms before we made our way back to the mini-bus.

Our last stop was at a lookout point near a cathedral at the top of a hill. We could view all of Athens and really appreciated how crammed in the city is.

We were taken back to the pier terminal where George dropped us off and we walked back to the ship and re-boarded. Along the way, Seth noticed the cigarettes for sale in the duty-free shop. Each box carried an interesting warning about the adverse health effects of cigarette smoking – quite a bit different than the generic surgeon general warning on US cigarette packages.

After packing our laundry in the Celebrity laundry bag and tagging it with our special Captain’s Club $20 coupon inside, we met Charlie and Wade at their cabin for drinks at the Sky Bar. Tom was working again and, as usual, was very liberal with the alcohol. I tried a mojito which was very good. At around 6 pm, we moved down to deck 6 to have drinks with Joyce and Peter. Seth and I tried a Messicano coffee with tequila, kahlua, and cream. It wasn’t sweet enough for me – I had to add Splenda. As Charlie, Wade, Joyce, and Peter headed off to early seating dinner, we went to the Celebrity Theater to see the comic for the evening who was really pretty good. We even stayed after the show to play a round of bingo but did not win the $500 prize.

We were about 5 minutes late to dinner but were still the first ones to arrive at our table. We were soon joined by the couple from England but the Kiwi family did not dine with us this night. I had the baked goat cheese with potato, Cream of broccoli soup (which I did not care for), Roquefort salad, teriyaki salmon (a little overcooked, imo) and an apple tart with butter pecan ice cream which was very good. Alexander, our waiter, seemed very rushed this evening. We did finish before 10:30 but lingered to compare notes with our English companions until well after 11 pm. Alexander waited for a little while for us to finish but ended up excusing himself and leaving which I found to be a bit of a disappointment.