Teresa’s Top Ten:
10) Tour of St. Paul’s Cathedral - London
9) Tower of London guided tour - London
8) Sunset - Florence
7) Hiking cliff to Red Beach - Santorini
6) Sunset/foo-foo drinks - Mykonos
5) Boat ride to Murano/Burano - Venice
4) Cruise on the Thames - London
3) Promenade along the banks of the Tiber River - Rome
2) Sunset cruise - Santorini
1) Donkey ride - Santorini
TJ's Top Seventeen (in no particular order):
Mass/Communion at St. Peter’s Basilica – Rome
5K Friday run over the bridges – Florence
Navigating streets – Venice
Mass/Communion – Florence
Food on plane ride home
Tour of St. Mark’s – Venice
Boat ride to Murano/Burano – Venice
Cruise on the Thames – London
Tower of London guided tour – London
Pubs – London
Sunset cruise – Santorini
Sunset – Florence
Turkish gyros/hot sauce – Florence
Day trip to Paris
Beaches – Mykonos & Santorini
The Duomo/Bell Tower climb - Florence
Driving the ATV/Quad - Santorini
Thanks for travelling with us ... this concludes this edition of t-n-t's excellent adventure!
Ciao and good night!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The End is Near
It's our last morning on holiday. We have about 2 hours before our taxi takes us to the station to pick up the train which will take us to the airport (it is so complicated to get anywhere when you don't have friends and family to drive you around!!).
Yesterday we took a day trip to Paris. Although we would have preferred to just trudge around on our own, we did choose the escorted tour since we only had 10 hours in Paris (not counting travel time). Our driver (now we're talkin'), picked us up at 5:15 am and delivered us to the train station to catch the Eurostar train to Paris. After a zippy ride through the English/French countryside, we arrived in Paris around 10:45 and were met by our guide/escort Michel.
The tour group was herded onto the "deluxe motorcoach" and we got a non-hop-on/non-hop-off tour of some of the major sights of Paris. Our first stop was the Eiffel Tour, where we had "queue-jumping" tickets so we went to the head of the line and soon rode the lift to the second floor. The view was amazing but we've "been there, done that" so many times on this trip that we soon headed down the stairs (538) so TJ could take some pictures of the area (300+ pictures :).
After the rest of the group assembled, we took a river cruise on the Seine. It was a different perspective of the city - one I'd not done before. I really enjoyed the ride, even though it was chilly.
After the boat trip, we spent 2.5 hours running around the Louvre, lost and confused (sound familiar, Shelley?). We did see the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo as well as the extensive Egyptian collection. We would have preferred to visit the Musee d'Orsay, but our limited time did not permit.
After the Louvre, it was time to head back to the train station for our trip back to the UK. It was a quick trip, but we got to see the highlights of Paris, and TJ has an idea of what he would like to see on his next European holiday.
Now it's time to pack up our stuff and head home. It's been a wonderful trip but I am ready to sleep in my own bed and to eat regular food again.
I hope to post my top ten list later, so look for one more installment of TnT's Excellent Adventure!!
Ciao!
Yesterday we took a day trip to Paris. Although we would have preferred to just trudge around on our own, we did choose the escorted tour since we only had 10 hours in Paris (not counting travel time). Our driver (now we're talkin'), picked us up at 5:15 am and delivered us to the train station to catch the Eurostar train to Paris. After a zippy ride through the English/French countryside, we arrived in Paris around 10:45 and were met by our guide/escort Michel.
The tour group was herded onto the "deluxe motorcoach" and we got a non-hop-on/non-hop-off tour of some of the major sights of Paris. Our first stop was the Eiffel Tour, where we had "queue-jumping" tickets so we went to the head of the line and soon rode the lift to the second floor. The view was amazing but we've "been there, done that" so many times on this trip that we soon headed down the stairs (538) so TJ could take some pictures of the area (300+ pictures :).
After the rest of the group assembled, we took a river cruise on the Seine. It was a different perspective of the city - one I'd not done before. I really enjoyed the ride, even though it was chilly.
After the boat trip, we spent 2.5 hours running around the Louvre, lost and confused (sound familiar, Shelley?). We did see the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo as well as the extensive Egyptian collection. We would have preferred to visit the Musee d'Orsay, but our limited time did not permit.
After the Louvre, it was time to head back to the train station for our trip back to the UK. It was a quick trip, but we got to see the highlights of Paris, and TJ has an idea of what he would like to see on his next European holiday.
Now it's time to pack up our stuff and head home. It's been a wonderful trip but I am ready to sleep in my own bed and to eat regular food again.
I hope to post my top ten list later, so look for one more installment of TnT's Excellent Adventure!!
Ciao!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
London Times
Cheerio, mates! We're here in London, currently waiting at the train station to board our train for a day in Paris.
We arrived in London on Monday afternoon and hit the streets, looking for a likely pub to enjoy dinner and a pint (or 2). Our hotel is located in the Marlybone district, which seems to be the one district in London without "authentic, dingy, dark, hole-in-the-wall London pubs" (as described by TJ). We eventually found one that was acceptable, though, and had our fish and chips (I actually had a cajun chicken sandwich).
Tuesday was our only full day in London and we crammed as much in as possible. We boarded a hop-on/hop-off bus to see the most sights possible, toured St. Paul's Cathedral from dome to crypt, took a cruise on the Thames, visited the Tower of London and went on a "Ghosts by Gaslight" walking tour (which included stops at 2 of those "authentic, dingy, dark, hole-in-the-wall London pubs").
That's the update for now ... I'll fill you in on the Paris trip later.
Ciao!
We arrived in London on Monday afternoon and hit the streets, looking for a likely pub to enjoy dinner and a pint (or 2). Our hotel is located in the Marlybone district, which seems to be the one district in London without "authentic, dingy, dark, hole-in-the-wall London pubs" (as described by TJ). We eventually found one that was acceptable, though, and had our fish and chips (I actually had a cajun chicken sandwich).
Tuesday was our only full day in London and we crammed as much in as possible. We boarded a hop-on/hop-off bus to see the most sights possible, toured St. Paul's Cathedral from dome to crypt, took a cruise on the Thames, visited the Tower of London and went on a "Ghosts by Gaslight" walking tour (which included stops at 2 of those "authentic, dingy, dark, hole-in-the-wall London pubs").
That's the update for now ... I'll fill you in on the Paris trip later.
Ciao!
Monday, September 5, 2011
2 Days in Santorini
Our 2 days in Santorini went way too fast. There is much more to see/do here than we had time to see/do.
(side note: as I sit on the terrace typing this, a herd of donkeys passed by on their way to work ferrying tourists up and down the cliff :)
The morning of our first full day started with breakfast at a local cafe. I ordered the "pancake with fruits and honey." It was one large pancake wth an assortment of fruits on top - including kiwi, watermelon, bananas, and apples. Unusual but tasty!
After renting an ATV, we headed out to see the beaches on the east side on the island. Our first stop was the 4 km stretch of black sand beaches beginning at Perissa. The black sand beaches are really cool, more a dark charcoal gray than pure black. The waves are stronger on this side, too, but the water was warmer than the west side.
After hanging out at the black sand beach for a couple of hours, we mounted up our ATV again and headed for Red Beach, so named because the red minerals in the cliffs. We didn't have any problems finding the beach, but didn't realize that it was only accessible by hiking in over a small cliff. It wasn't a particularly difficult climb, but it was unusual and gave us a great view of the beach. It was much rockier on this side (south) of the island, so I only waded out a few feet.
After hiking back out, TJ dropped me off at our hotel and headed back out to do some more exploring. He made it back in one piece, so he must not have gone 4-wheeling!
After watching the sunset from our hotel terrace, we went into town for our final greek gyro pitta for dinner. I think I've been spoiled now - the gyros here are really, really good (and made of pork, not lamb).
Monday morning started off with my requisite 2 mile Santorini run - I'm sure all the hill work I've done on this trip will pay off when I get home but at this point, I'm tired of running hills!
Now it's time to pack up and head to London. We have a busy three days ahead of us before we head home on Thursday. We decided to throw a day trip to Paris into the mix, so we'll be headed there on the train on Wednesday. Hopefully I can drag TJ out of the Louvre in time to make it back to London so we don't miss our plane home.
Ciao for now!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Goodbye Mykonos, Hello Santorini
As predicted, day 3 in Mykonos started with us hanging out at another beach. TJ fell asleep on his raft and almost drifted out to sea before being wakened by a passing boat. I watched this happen from the shore as there wasn’t much I could do to wake him from my comfy chair under the umbrella. (I mentioned in my last post that the water was COLD, right? No way was I going in to save his foolish butt.)
After relaxing on the beach (and indulging in a fresh donut (or donut fresh) sold by a cute old Greek man), we headed back to Mykonos Town to shower and rest before heading down to the latest and greatest vantage point from which to watch the sun set. Since this point was a rocky cliff, no foo-foo drink for me. :(
Saturday morning we woke up early and headed down to the ferry dock. The 2 hour trip to Santorini was pleasant enough, except for the back-to-back-to-back episodes of some horrible Greek talent/talk show that were being broadcast on all channels.
We arrived on Santorini and were picked up by the hotel shuttle – AWESOME! Our hotel is actually built into the cliffs of Fira (the main town of Santorini). It has an incredible view of the sea and the volcano which rises out of the sea in the middle of the ring of islands that were at one time, a single round island.
After checking in, we signed up for a sunset cruise. To get to the Old Port for departure, we had to walk down 588 steps (SPA time!). These steps were treacherous for several reasons: 1) They have more turns and switchbacks than Devil's Shoehorn in the Grand Canyon (Janice knows what I’m talking about); 2) They are composed of cobbles and marble (slippery when wet!); and 3) They are wet from all the donkey poo! Yes, they use donkeys to carry cargo and people up and down the cliff! More about the donkeys later …
Our first stop on the cruise was the volcano, which is made up of several layers of volcanic rock (go figure). We hiked to the top (SPA time!), got a history lesson, and returned to the ship. Our second stop was for a swim in the “hot spring.” It actually reaches a temperature close to luke-warm! Brrrr. Our third stop was another island in the ring (I can’t remember the name), where we got to swim again. The water was very blue and very clear. TJ impressed everyone on the boat with his back flip off the top deck.
On the way back to the Old Port we stopped and waited offshore for the sun to set. It was really nice being on the water watching the sun slip away and to see the island/town start to light up for the night. When we got back to port, we had a choice of taking the cable car or ride a donkey up 588 slippery steps. Can you guess which mode of transportation we employed? If you said cable car, you’ve obviously never met either me or TJ (so why are you reading this blog???).
My donkey (Eddie), took off from the gate like lightning, passing 3 other donkeys to take the lead. As the donkeys walk up the stairs, they weave back and forth, heading for the wide side of the staircase (those darn switchbacks are really hairpin turns). The donkeys would walk up several sets of stairs then stop and wait for further commands. It was really amazing how well they were trained to do their job of ferrying lazy-ass tourists up the side of the cliff. After each brief pause, Eddie would race past any donkey that had stopped ahead of us so he could stay on the outside corner, even if it meant rubbing my legs against the walls.
This pattern of stop/go/pass/lead went on for at least 9/10s of the staircase, until Eddie hit the wall (literally) and a whole pack of donkeys (including TJ’s donkey) rushed by us and forced Eddie and me all the way to the back. I ended up in last place. TJ took third.
Thus ended day one in Santorini. Day 2 plans include renting an ATV and checking out the black sand beaches on the other side of the island. Pray for me, TJ plans to drive. :)
Ciao!
After relaxing on the beach (and indulging in a fresh donut (or donut fresh) sold by a cute old Greek man), we headed back to Mykonos Town to shower and rest before heading down to the latest and greatest vantage point from which to watch the sun set. Since this point was a rocky cliff, no foo-foo drink for me. :(
Saturday morning we woke up early and headed down to the ferry dock. The 2 hour trip to Santorini was pleasant enough, except for the back-to-back-to-back episodes of some horrible Greek talent/talk show that were being broadcast on all channels.
We arrived on Santorini and were picked up by the hotel shuttle – AWESOME! Our hotel is actually built into the cliffs of Fira (the main town of Santorini). It has an incredible view of the sea and the volcano which rises out of the sea in the middle of the ring of islands that were at one time, a single round island.
After checking in, we signed up for a sunset cruise. To get to the Old Port for departure, we had to walk down 588 steps (SPA time!). These steps were treacherous for several reasons: 1) They have more turns and switchbacks than Devil's Shoehorn in the Grand Canyon (Janice knows what I’m talking about); 2) They are composed of cobbles and marble (slippery when wet!); and 3) They are wet from all the donkey poo! Yes, they use donkeys to carry cargo and people up and down the cliff! More about the donkeys later …
Our first stop on the cruise was the volcano, which is made up of several layers of volcanic rock (go figure). We hiked to the top (SPA time!), got a history lesson, and returned to the ship. Our second stop was for a swim in the “hot spring.” It actually reaches a temperature close to luke-warm! Brrrr. Our third stop was another island in the ring (I can’t remember the name), where we got to swim again. The water was very blue and very clear. TJ impressed everyone on the boat with his back flip off the top deck.
On the way back to the Old Port we stopped and waited offshore for the sun to set. It was really nice being on the water watching the sun slip away and to see the island/town start to light up for the night. When we got back to port, we had a choice of taking the cable car or ride a donkey up 588 slippery steps. Can you guess which mode of transportation we employed? If you said cable car, you’ve obviously never met either me or TJ (so why are you reading this blog???).
My donkey (Eddie), took off from the gate like lightning, passing 3 other donkeys to take the lead. As the donkeys walk up the stairs, they weave back and forth, heading for the wide side of the staircase (those darn switchbacks are really hairpin turns). The donkeys would walk up several sets of stairs then stop and wait for further commands. It was really amazing how well they were trained to do their job of ferrying lazy-ass tourists up the side of the cliff. After each brief pause, Eddie would race past any donkey that had stopped ahead of us so he could stay on the outside corner, even if it meant rubbing my legs against the walls.
This pattern of stop/go/pass/lead went on for at least 9/10s of the staircase, until Eddie hit the wall (literally) and a whole pack of donkeys (including TJ’s donkey) rushed by us and forced Eddie and me all the way to the back. I ended up in last place. TJ took third.
Thus ended day one in Santorini. Day 2 plans include renting an ATV and checking out the black sand beaches on the other side of the island. Pray for me, TJ plans to drive. :)
Ciao!
Friday, September 2, 2011
5K Friday – Mykonos Edition
Believe it or not, we (and I’m not using the royal “we,” TJ actually ran, too) hauled our butts out of bed and went for the mandatory 5K Friday run this morning. It was a challenging run for me as there were lots of hills to traverse, but we managed to get our miles in.
Thursday was spent very leisurely – we slept in till 9 am (gasp!) then headed to another beautiful beach. The one we choose was located on the south side of the island and was very nice (not Caribbean nice, but nice). I was blown away by all the yachts (and I mean YACHTS) anchored in the bay. They were HUGE! I could picture Paris Hilton or Kim What’sHerName dancing on the decks.
We rented our umbrella hut, TJ blew up our newly purchased rafts (both bright pink) and we spent some time lounging in the crystal-clear but COLD water. The only negative thing about the beach were the sand vendors hawking their knock-off Rolex watches, Gucci bags and Ray-Ban sunglasses.
We got a little SPA (spontaneous physical activity) time in when I fell off my raft while trying to flip over and the darn thing blew halfway across the bay! I tried to swim after it, but my not-that-waterproof camera hampered my efforts (that’s my excuse, anyway), so TJ had to swim after it on his raft. He successfully recovered my raft and exhausted from the exercise, we returned to our umbrella and comfy lounge chairs to rest.
As for my camera, it apparently can survive the Caribbean Sea, but the Mediterranean Sea did it in. At first, the LCD screen wouldn’t work but it would still take photos. Later in the evening, everything stopped working. Guess I’ll be shopping for a new camera.
After spending a few hours at the beach, we packed up and headed back to Mykonos town. Since the town faces west, it’s the perfect spot to watch the sun set. We cleaned up, grabbed our cameras (mine was still working at this point) and walked downtown to find the perfect vantage spot. Here, there, everywhere we looked was another beautiful scene.
After watching the sun set (and enjoying a foo-foo drink), we wandered around until we found Niko’s Taverna, a local spot renowned for seafood. For a starter, I ordered the Greek salad (when in Greece, right??). The Greek salad in Greece is a bowl of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and kalamata olives, with a huge chunk of feta cheese on top. I had no idea what to do with it. I ended up adding some olive oil and cutting up the feta and mixing it together. It was light and fresh and yummy – and probably the first vegetables I’ve had since being on vacation (not counting the raw carrot I picked up at the market on the way to the beach).
For dinner, TJ had the red mullet (served with head and tail, yuck) and I ordered the daily special, which was described as oven-baked with lamb, vegetables and feta cheese. I was surprised when my dish came out and there was a bone sticking out. I pictured cubes of lamb but it was an entire bone-in leg/arm of lamb! I felt like I was at the state fair.
That pretty much describes day 2 of the “vacation from the vacation.” I fully expect day 3 to be more of the same, so I probably won’t post again before Santorini. TTFN!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Speedo Patrol in Mykonos
Our last night in Rome was pretty low-key. We toured some monuments/fountains/old stuff in the Trastevere district (where our hotel was located) then grabbed dinner and retired early as we had to get up and leave for the airport before 5 am to make our flight to Mykonos.
The flight was uneventful and we landed in Greece on schedule and with all our luggage. I was surprised at how barren and desert-like the island was. I pictured it more lush and green with vegetation, but my imagination was exactly opposite of reality.
After picking up our rental car (thank goodness they drive on the right side of the road), we found our way to our hotel, checked in and immediately headed for the beach. After all, this is our “vacation from the vacation.” The first beach we visited was in a quiet bay with just a handful of people sprinkled on the sand. The water was chilly but refreshing.
We spent about an hour at Beach #1, then packed up and headed out to check out another beach. For no reason, we chose Super Paradise Beach (no reason other than we made a wrong turn).
We rented an umbrella and just soaked up the sun … finally, nothing to see and nothing to do! Or was there something that needed to be done??? Yes, it’s time for Speedo Patrol (this is for you, Theresa)! Lots of speedos spotted and quite a few tickets to be issued. This man was the winner for most flagrant, though.
After leaving Super Paradise Beach, we returned to the hotel, dropped off our stuff and headed down to Mykonos Town to see the sunset. The streets are narrow and winding, with painted on “cobblestones” for decoration – pretty. From overhead, each house looks the same, white paint and a colored door, but from street-level, the houses are quite charming.
We accidentally found the best spot on the water to watch the sunset – the district known as Little Venice because the houses are actually built over the water (just like in Venice!). We found a spot at a local bar and enjoyed a drink and the sunset (as did the 3,309 people from the cruise ship that was in port).
After watching the sunset, we headed back towards our hotel with one mission – find some local dive to have dinner. Mission accomplished! Gyros and Souvlaki sticks for us, please!
Then back to the hotel where TJ got some work done and I lounged in my robe and slippers. Tomorrow is another day of beach hopping – Good night!
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