I do have to show you one more photo from Crete. When we were kids mum had a beautiful garden of pink roses, edged with cat mint, and cats would do their business in there all the time so mum put kebab skewers, spiked side up to deter them. That along with quickly lighting Tom thumbs and throwing them out the kitchen window was enough to defend her garden. (For those toyoung Tom thumbs were a little fire cracker you used to be able to buy. They were red and green and came stitched together through the fuses, mum would stockpile them Guy Fawkes) Wandering the lanes of Crete I find these pots, there were loads of them guarding the soil to ensure it remained cat poo free.

Finishing up on a cruise ship happens like military precision. You are given bag tags which dictate when you need to get off the ship. Your bags have to go out the night before and EVERYONE must be off the ship by 0900. The taxis lie in predatory wait snaking out of the entrance to the port as the recently homeless have hours to kill before their flight, or being able to check into a hotel. Our flight wasn’t until 2 so we opted for a morning tour with an airport transfer. It promised us city sightseeing and then the Acropolis, before heading to the airport. At least we weren’t homeless when we left the ship and we got pointed along the chain of pointers to our bus . We saw some city sights and then headed up the acropolis. I was thinking this wasn’t too bad, crowd wise, as we entered the first levels. WH and I had been last year but did it on our own so this time our thoughts were we might learn something new whilst we also filled in the time. I was glad to be ahead of the pack as I looked back to see the other 100’s of cruising homeless and hotel deportees packing in behind us, wedging there way through the turnstiles. We at least had a clear run tho the top. No sooner had I been thinking that when our guide decided to pull us over to the side and give us the most uninteresting run down on stuff I did not care about and was not remotely interesting to WH and I, whilst standing in the very hot sun, as hordes and hordes of umbrella guides and there devout followers packed past us in a mass of moving bodies.

When the lecture was finally over we once again begun our trek up however instead of being at the front of the pack we were now firmly enmeshed in the middle as pushy umbrella wavers dragged their flocks forward. WH and I gave each other the eye, then with a wink and a nod we made a break for it. We told the groupie next to us to please inform the guide we would meet them at the bottom and then we were off.

We escaped the chaos and found a great cafe next to the bus park which had big shady umbrellas, a great view of the Acropolis and served a really nice Cappuccino and a glass of home made lemonade. We were definitely very ready to leave the crowds and the touring behind.

Cruise review of Athens to Athens with Silver Sea

We got it on special and the price was great

the cabins are really nice and we got an upgrade which was brilliant, but as it was forward under the bridge with the anchor going up and down late at night or early morning I think I would have preferred an ordinary balcony one more mid ships.

Love the all inclusive with no tipping.

Was a great thing to do when arriving in Europe to de jet lag as it’s all very stress free and enables a cruisey transition to the time zone. For us worked better than a stopover on route.

We don’t do the fancy dressing and WH doesn’t take a jacket which is all good. The bar grill is informal and has great food.

Athens to Athens itinerary was good and I liked most of all walking and dining in the little villages. The tours, except for Bodrum in Turkey, were all pretty boring unless you like religious or Greek history.

It’s time to go to Nice but we can no longer go direct as that flight got cancelled so we go to Zurich where we stop over for what is supposed to be an hour but turns out to be three and when we finally board we see our suitcase and not at all waterproof bag sitting in the rain on the tarmac for the next 30 minutes. I wonder how long it’s already been there and then as I gaze some more I wonder why they don’t put the cover on as it sits neatly rolled up at the end. So as I sit there in the hurry up and wait travel day, the kicking off the cruise ship seems a long time ago. I think of my dad and his “Never mind.” Never mind I think there’s worse things in life than wet clothes which will dry easy in the Nice sun.

We wake very early and read the local at home news until the breakfast opens at 7. With coffee on board we wander and that about sums up our day. We wander and wander and wander.

We wander For so long that its nearing lunch so we wander back to where we had a delicious lunch a couple of years ago and are both pleased that our aging brains of allowed us to seek it out. Sitting under the umbrellas we once again order the zucchini blossoms stuffed with feta, followed by lamb cutlets with crispy lemon potatoes. Even though we only order one portion of each its way enough especially with the rustic bread and olives. Everything here is so non rushed. I remind my mind to slow to its pace and not worry if the waiter takes too long or the food takes a while or the bill takes forever. There is no rush to clear our table and move us on our way. In fact when we finish our lunch they present the bill with a piece of fresh Madeira cake and a shot of something that I can’t pronounce that certainly warms the throat and makes the eyes water.

We wander too far and then wander back. We wander through the front streets and then through the back. We wander down the lanes but not down low enough as the book with all the answers sits tantalising us just below the street.

The book of answers

It’s nice to be wandering in another land. I love the chat all around, with all the different languages. You can tell when you transit through the tourist trail to the neighbourhoods where life is lived and then back to the trinket lanes again. It’s busy but not manic, the sun is warm but not stifling and I have decided its very good season to be here.

We wander back to our hotel but its big sister one once again calls us to its rooftop bar and with the easy excuse that we need to stay awake until at least 9pm we oblige. It’s lovely up there and when it gets a bit cool in the evening breeze, without solicitation I am handed a warm wrap for my shoulders. We indulge in a glass of wine, which is lovely. We order an absolutely delicious tomato salad with burrata and focaccia followed by some chips and steak. I am struck by how lovely everything is. It’s such a nice feeling when everything is lovely and nothing remotely disappoints. I am a lucky girl.

So as the sun sets over the distant hills I feel so grateful to be here and then my daughter sends me a pic like this which reminds that with the jet lag still clinging to my frame its way too early to be homesick but there really is no place like it.

It’s an 11 hour flight to Singapore, a 4 hours layover, a 13 hour flight to Frankfurt, a four hour layover and then a 3 hour flight to Athens. Add the get to Auckland airport and hotel in Athens and the extra 10 hours seemed like at least 9 too many. Although feeling like a bit of a spoilt brat as was telling, alright lecturing, my grandkids that sometimes you just have to be bored in order to get to where you want to be. It’s not all exciting all the time, It’s the end game that counts.

As I now sit here, the next day with it all behind us I shall admit it actually wasn’t that bad. It was long, boring and apart from getting lost in Frankfurt pretty uneventful. We flew Singapore airlines and they were good and Singapore airport does it well. You can wander the airport , look at the butterflies in the butterfly gardens, watch the fish in the Koi pond, and generally while away the time and best of all the transit is so easy.. By the time we reached Frankfurt the brain fog had definitely kicked in and we wandered off the plane and asked someone if we had to clear customs as we were just a transfer. An official pointer lady asked us if we were EU or non EU and we said non and followed her point. The passenger behind us asked the pointer lady if Australia was EU or not and I thought he has worse brain fog than me or I hope he has a good map.

We cleared customs out and then went in a circle and cleared customs back in but evidently at the wrong in place so then had to get on a bus, go somewhere else and then go through customs again to get back in. It’s here you finally realise that you are away from home as the pointy pointers and grumpy X-ray scanner men and the indifferent passport polizei don’t want to engage with your smile or hi or hello , they have heard it all before, just move along lady, on your bike. I am happy to oblige. As we wander the grey Frankfurt airport, with no butterfly gardens or koi ponds, in order to help stay awake and keep the blood circulating it is here in these final travel hours that I have to reign in my wandering thoughts of gloom with “but waits there’s more” as the toll of the journey is felt by everyone of my 61 years in my hips and butt and back and shoulders and neck and head. Take a Panadol, nearly there.

Rooftop bar the other hotel in the pic is across the road and the Acropolis in the distance.

We arrive. Yippeee. We get to our hotel and they cannot find our reservation. My heart sinks and my gloomy mind nearly has a panic attack but turns out we are at the sister hotel a block away. A smiley porter so likes our smile and hi and hello that he kindly jumps up to show the way. He takes my bag and we follow his chatter up the hill to our little hotel. The hotel is quaint and cute and we are given home made lemonade with ginger whilst we check in. All is well with the world.

It’s late afternoon and the plan is to stay awake until at least 8 pm. We wander back to the not sister hotel and go up to the pool bar where I have an Aperol spritz and WH has a beer and we eat nuts and olives and stare out to the view of the Acropolis.

With too many nuts and olives eaten to even contemplate dinner we simply go back to our quaint sister hotel and pretend to watch TV but promptly fall asleep.