Lisbon Day 4 and Flying Home

07-15: We were up late and sleeping in when the phone rang in our room. We had been trying to set up a “Sprunch” (massage and lunch) but it was never confirmed. This call was to inform us we have that set up and we needed to arrive in 30 minutes. Since the massage part is only 30 minutes we had to choose from head-neck-shoulder or legs-feet. I chose legs and feet; Stuart chose the other. It was nice enough. Then we went downstairs for the brunch part. It was astonishing. There was so much food: Rolls of all sorts, pancakes, toppings, cheese, meats, fruit bowl, muesli with yogurt. Aside from that we each chose a main dish. Stuart had Eggs Benedict and I had chicken salad. All was accompanied by a glass of sparkling wine. We took the chicken salad and the fruit bowls back to our room to have for lunch later.

I spent a great deal of time filing a claim for my lost bag. I need to fill it out now, but they said they will wait 28 days to submit it, giving that long for my luggage to show up. I am told it will be sent to my home when (I say IF) it is located. I am very doubtful it will ever show up. It is much more disturbing to fill out everything than it was to just lose the luggage. Who can come up with receipts for everything in the suitcase? Not me. It will be daunting to begin the replacement process when I get home. Of course, several things cannot be replaced, such as dresses I bought in Africa and Hawaii.

We played Rummikub this afternoon and Stuart packed in preparation for our departure tomorrow morning. We plan to leave about 7-7:30a.

07-16: On our way home today. Still no luggage, I have very little hope it will be found! We had a taxi to the airport because we couldn’t connect with an Uber. We breezed through most of the airport. I was thankful to get a wheelchair ride the last long walk of the day. Everything was fine after the very long line to double check passports. Back on the plane. We have a layover Newark but no time for the club. We took an Uber from the airport and we were home at 10:45p.

Lisbon Day 2 and Day 3

07-13: There is no word about my luggage. I have connected via FB messages and online at the website. They are good to acknowledge quickly on FB to assure me they are searching for it. Off we go for our next day of HO-HO. We went in a little clothing store across the street from our hotel and I got a few things to get me by. Panties, sports bra, socks, top, and pants. All of it was less than the $40€ they say I will get daily until my luggage comes. Stuart took the stuff back to our hotel and I walked on to get us a table at Confeitaria Victόria. Sadly, it was closed on Sunday! Just across the street was another café so we went there. They had some similar foods but no the same rustic atmosphere. That’s okay because we are fueled up for the day to begin. This time Stuart got the correct directions on his own instead of trying to follow those given to us by the hotel. Soon we were on the Blue Line bus and out for our adventure. We also did the Green Line today; it was my favorite. It was a much smaller bus to take us through the small, winding cities of the old part of Lisbon.

Walking back to the hotel we stopped at a Lebanese café for a beer and French fries. As planned, we went to Aldi’s next for a few things. We are stocked for water, wine, cheese, salami, nuts, chips, and fruit. We played Rummikub (Phase 10 is in my suitcase), had a few snacks, and called it a day. They did clean our room today but they did not and do not restock the little coffee packets. We only got one towel as well. The 2-star hotel in Thessaloniki was nicer that this 4-star hotel for sure! The people are very nice here but lacking in service. They have a massage brunch offered. We have been trying to sign up for that for 2 days to no avail.

07-14: No luggage. I think I will never see my nice Away bag and contents ever again. We are off for a late breakfast to Confeitaria Victόria. It was almost noon by the time we made it there. Time must be set aside for daily laundry! We discovered that they also serve lunch and perhaps dinner. We decided to have lunch. Stuart had a meat skewer from the grill and I had ½ order of pork from the grill. Both were huge, included a small salad, delicious, and satisfying. Neither of us could finish! We went to Aldi again, but we didn’t buy much, we don’t need much. We spent the afternoon playing Rummikub and on our laptops.

Tonight, we have a cooking class. We are excited about that. We left in time but the traffic was horrible and we barely made it at the exact starting time. There was one other couple, Ben and Susie from Miami, but they were late. Beatrice our host was delightful. Lisbon Affair was clean and inviting, with a cozy atmosphere. Bea had all the food we will use at each station with utensils and everything we will need. We made a delicious soup for an appetizer, a pork dish for the main, and ended the meal with an amazing dessert. Wine and a charcuterie board were first offered just before starting. We cooked and then ate the dinner together about 9:30p. Feeling stuffed we got an Uber to return to the hotel and off to bed.

Thessiloniki to Lisbon and Lisbon Day 1

07-11: Checking out of the hotel was a breeze, and oh yeah, I put in yesterday's blog that even though there was no elevator here, the staff carried everything upstairs, like it weighed a feather, and this morning they did the same. 

They suggested taxi to the airport for a flat price of 25 euros, instead of Uber, which was more. When we got to the airport, we were treated with luxury. The nice man helped us get our boarding passes for Aegean Air, and then ask us if we knew where the club was. Well, of course we didn't. He personally took us through security through A. Gate or it was just a us and then walked us on right to the club. I've never had such service such personalized service! We have a couple hours until our flight. But we're sitting comfortably in the club and there is food. I haven't taken a look at it yet, but I see there are lots of choices.

Arrival in Rome was uneventful, also went to the club and awaited the next leg of our trip on TAP Air Portugal. Flight was uneventful. Arrival was fine until my luggage didn’t arrive. Stuart got his. I waited by the baggage belt and he went to lost luggage and filed a report. There is nothing more we can do. Uber to the hotel and had a snack in the lobby before bed. Nice hotel but boy that bed is FIRM! Tried other ways online to find and report the missing luggage, but they say they are “searching” for it. I have the clothes I have on, nightgown, medications, and a small toiletry bag. I guess I will be washing undergarments every night! Ugh…

07-12: Still no luggage. However, we are off to see Lisbon! We skipped the hotel breakfast, I think it was $20€, also just the same foods we have been eating. We wanted something Portuguese! I was thrilled when we walked just down the street and found a little café. It has many things I recognize from Brazil. A cochina was my breakfast with coffee. Stuart had a sort of tiny, flat meat pie. It reminded me of a pastel in Brazil. We added 2 cups of coffee with milk for $6,90€. So delicious! I want to go back there tomorrow!

On we walked for the HO-HO starting point. Somehow the 15-minute walk turned into almost an hour. We took a wrong turn somewhere. We did stop for some cheese and wine along the way because we wanted to use their restroom! That was $29€ but that was 4 glasses of wine with the cheese board. Still recovering from our wrong turn in the very hilly city of Lisbon! We finally got there and bought a 48-hour pass. Today we did just the red line. We were going to shop for some things for me, but I wanted to wait in hopes the luggage shows up. Tomorrow we will do 2 or maybe 3 lines. I’m not sure of our plans for the rest of the days.

Another up and down walk back to the hotel. No luggage… I am exhausted from all the walking; seems we were always going uphill! We stopped at a shop near our hotel and bought fresh cherries and a couple cold drinks. Also, a bottle of wine for our room.

For dinner we ate a hamburger in the hotel, I am much to tired to go out somewhere. It was huge and I could only eat half. Off to bed in total exhaustion. Even this hard bed did not stop me from sleeping!

 

Last Day on Cruise and Welcome to Thessiloniki

07-09: Thessaloniki, Greece. We are staying on board today and taking care of laundry and more. I caught up on this blog and organized things for packing. We were also warned last night that it is going to be very hot today. Apparently, Greece is having a heatwave. I just read online where they have closed the Acropolis in Athens due to heat being 107.6F. We will see about our plan after disembarkation tomorrow. We plan to go to our hotel and drop our bags and see Thessaloniki by HO-HO bus. That should be cool enough.

After laundry we headed to Beefbar for lunch. It was delicious as always. We did more organization and packing in the afternoon then headed to Crystal Cove. We had a bottle of champagne (Veuve Clicquot) to celebrate the sale of Stuart’s house in Boise.

We finished it off in Waterside with our last dinner onboard. Entertainment tonight was in Starlight Lounge with the singers and dancers, it was great. Then back to Crystal Cove and to our cabin to put luggage out. It’s been a great cruise.

07-10: Today we disembark. It was easy to find our luggage when there are so few passengers on these smaller ships. The hotel was easy for our taxi driver to find. Taxis were waiting at the gate. We were able to check in very early. The hotel is not fancy but the people are so nice. The carried all our heavy luggage to the room. I was grateful for that because of the steps and no elevator. For whatever reason we are exhausted and took a good long rest, even sleeping for a bit. After noon we tried to get the HO-HO bus but missed it. Instead, we walked around the city, saw St. Demetris Cathedral, the largest in Greece. We also saw some Roman Forman ruins with parts of an amphitheater left. We had a very different pizza for lunch. They called it Mediterranean but it mainly had feta cheese, peppers, and sauce with a few olives. Anyway, it was good. Back to the hotel for a rest, we are feeling so tired. We ventured out later for a small bite to eat and a drink. Off to bed at a decent time after playing Phase 10. We will fly to Lisbon tomorrow, via Rome.

Patmos, Greece and Sea Day

07-07: Patmos, Greece. After a quick breakfast, we took the tender to the port where we boarded a bus and drove a short distance to the cave of the Apocalypse. There were fantastic views. The Cave of the Apocalypse is located approximately halfway up the mountain on the Aegean Island of Patmos, along the road between the villages of Chóra and Skala. This grotto marks the spot where St. John of Patmos received his visions that he recorded in the Book of Revelation. The cave is now part of a complex of monastic buildings protected by UNESCO.

You can see the rock where John put his head, but they have it surrounded by metal and also a metal gate. But we saw it, and I never thought I would be able to see a place like this. This is the cave where he received the Revelation. After that we drove on to the to the base of the monastery of St. John which is a big hike up a hill. I stayed at the cafe at the bottom and Stuart went up the hill to the cathedral. At the cafe, I bought an iced coffee and a piece of spinach pie. I'm not really hungry, but I don't want to sit here and take up the space without buying something. Stuart took some great photos. We also saw and took a picture of the windmills of Patmos. These are 3 windmills that were built-in the 1500s and 1800s. When flower production ceased in the 1950s, the windows were abandoned and fell into disrepair. Now they've been restored, and they're a landmark One mill still grinds, some small quantities of wheat and there's a small museum, we did not go in.

Back on the bus and it was just a few minutes until arriving to the restaurant, Aloni, for our snack and Folklore show. The place of food call Meze (also spelled mezze or mezé). Just like our other food in Greece, it was delicious, accompanied by very tasty white wine. The short Folklore dance was nice. I felt sorry for them dancing in heavy costumes. Now back to the ship.

Dinner in the dining room, my sole was outstanding. I ordered a half portion, but I am sure it was the full portion. I could not eat it all.

07-08: Today is a relaxing pool day. It is our ONLY sea day as well. Stuart spoke at 10a about the Seven Wonders of the world, both original and new. It was well attended and enjoyed by all. After that he was free of any obligation. We headed to the pool. We split a hot dog for lunch from the Trident Grill. We have Beefbar dinner tonight so we don’t want to eat too much before that. Today there were a lot of people around the pool since it was the only day at sea. We played Phase 10 all afternoon. We skipped the Captain’s Reception and opted to rest before dinner. Again, Beefbar did not disappoint. Afterwards, we went to the show and also the casino. It was a nice and relaxing day at sea.

Two days in Kusadasi, Greece

07-05: Kusadasi, Turkey today. We slept in and skipped the breakfast, heading right into the city for a nice lunch at 1453 Osmanli. It was quite tasty trying some different foods, a huge platter with a lot of choices. We took quite the walk out to the Kusadasi Castle on the other side of the port. It isn’t too hot and there was a breeze on the walk there. Not much of a breeze on the way back. We stopped at Molly Malone’s, strange as it may seem, they did not have Guinness Beer! However, they had other beers and a nice cooler to sit in front of!

We have our Turkish Lira left over so we walked around and found some goodies (Turkish Delight) for the crew. They guy who owned the shop was so proud of his shop and the things in it. He even offered us some watermelon. The walk back to the ship seemed very hot so we were happy to find our cabin nice and cool. After freshening up we had a predinner cocktail in Crystal Cove and then on to the dining room. Fish and chips was the choice tonight. Later on it was listening to Jazz in the Avenue.

07-06: Today was a relaxing pool day. We're still in Kusadasi, but since we were out all day yesterday, we stayed in today and enjoyed the pool and relaxing. We had a wagyu pepperoni pizza for a snack from Beefbar. Once we finally got warm, we went back to the cabin. Tonight is a treat again in Umi Uma. We refreshed for dinner and had another epicurean delight! It was really outstanding. We had delicious dishes – sashimi, tempura, lobster and some shell crab spring rolls. We went to crystal cove, afterwards and listened to Inga play for a little while. Then we moved on to the starlight for dancing music and a few people in there. The Ambassadors were there to dance with the ladies.

Santorini and Rhodes, Greece

07-03: Today we're in Santorini. Since there's at least three other cruise ships, the crowds will be huge. We decided to have a lovely and relaxing pool day. We have both been here before. Looking up at the sparkling white villages up on the cliffs, enjoying champagne, and freshly baked pastry - what more could we want? We played Rummikub up there until it got pretty windy.

When it was close to dinnertime, we went to Crysyal Cove to listen to Inga on the violin. Every evening, they pass out tiny appetizers. We are careful not to eat most of them or we can’t eat the dinner. Dinner was in the main dining room and even ordering half portions, it is just more than we can eat. The comedian at the show wasn’t too impressive (mark Palmer). Jade was extra loud so we didn’t stay. Instead, we went to the Avenue Saloon to listen to the piano for just a little while.

07-04: It is sunny, but it's not supposed to be too warm today. So, we're headed out with a short walk to the beautiful walled city. Like most Greek water, we've seen, it's clear and sparkling, and a beautiful color blue. We skipped to breakfast on board to be able to have a nice breakfast in a cafe in Rhodes. That's exactly what we did after the brief walk to the city. Stuart had a waffle with banana and whipped cream, and I think strawberries. I opted for a crepe with feta, tomatoes, and olives on the side. Everything was delicious. The Greek coffee is pretty strong. Thankfully, I had a sweetener packet in my purse. We walked around looking in shops and had a stop for a glass of cold wine before heading back to the ship.

The ship is beautifully decorated today for 4th of July. I was surprised to see that since we're not in the US. The cake that represents the day is absolutely beautiful. Everything was handmade on it, and edible. Tonight is the White Party. Of course, we will check that out later.

We had a quick, small lunch in the Beefbar. They do have some delicious items! Dinner was Waterside but we only had a few appetizers. Time for the White party and it was really fun to watch. Cruise Director Vicky really did let her hair down! Fun Night!