Mamma Mia – Here we go again!
Spain, Andorra, France, Monaco, Italy, Malta, Greece
I want my daughters to experience the world, so for each milestone (16th birthday, high school graduation and college graduation) I offered to take them on a trip. They would tell me where they wanted to go, and as long as I could find a good deal, I would make it happen. Our youngest daughter turned 16 and our middle daughter graduated high school in 2021 during the pandemic, so we weren’t able to take them on a celebratory trip – but now that travel is in full swing, we decided to take that make-up trip! Our oldest daughter and her fiancé, my mom and step-dad, my aunt and my best friend decided to join us, making it even better.
Greece was on the top of their lists, and since we were traveling all the way to Europe, we decided to do a Mediterranean cruise. I both love and hate cruises. What I don’t like is that we typically get only about 8 hours in port, and that isn’t enough to see very much. What I love is that you can see several countries on one trip and decide where you may want to go back and see more of. It’s also a floating hotel, so you don’t need to pack up your luggage and tote it around every day. It’s a preferred mode of vacation travel when we have the kids because if they are not fans of the food of the country we’re in, the picky eaters can always come back to the ship and have the chicken nuggets, pasta and pizza they’re used to. Plus, on sea days everyone can do their own thing and take a break from all that togetherness 😉.
We chose to sail on the Celebrity Infinity out of Barcelona. There are times when we choose a cruise based on the ship’s amenities, but this time we picked the cruise based solely on the itinerary. Our 10-day cruise started in Barcelona, and visited the ports of Marseilles, Nice, Rome, La Spezia, Malta, Mykonos, Santorini and ended in Athens. I have to be honest, my cruise limit is about 8 days, but if you go that far you may as well see as much as you can. Deb, Brynna, Aislyn, Liz and I flew out on a Saturday from Miami, while Grandma, Grandpa, and Tobey flew out on Sunday. Kaleigh and Austen flew out the same day from North Carolina but had a layover for a few days in Paris prior to meeting us in Barcelona.
We flew TAP airlines from Miami to Barcelona, Spain (Country #1 on our trip). The flight wasn’t direct, (we had a layover in Portugal) but we chose to book it through Celebrity because a) it was cheaper and b) they claim that they have 24/7 customer service so if the flight was delayed or cancelled they will help you get to your cruise. I was a little concerned about Deb flying all that way in the international version of a low-cost carrier with her back, but we upgraded our seats for more legroom for $49 and were pleasantly surprised at how comfortable it was.
Most flights to Europe leave the USA in the evening and arrive early the next morning, and ours was no exception. We took the Tri-Rail from Lake Worth, Florida to the Miami International Airport – it takes an hour and a half, but at $8 a ticket, it drops you off at the MIA terminal, and we didn’t have to pay to park at the airport for a few weeks. We had a two and a half hour layover in Portugal which we thought was enough, but began to panic when we realized that a) most of the planes at this airport deplane on a moveable staircase and then they bus you to the terminal and vice versa on your way out, and b) Customs was on strike so there was ONE person checking passports with a line of hundreds of people waiting. Somehow, we got lucky and made it to our new gate with a few minutes to spare, but there were many people who did not. As a personal preference if I have connecting flights on an international trip I try and make the first leg from the USA to an international location rather than a flight within the USA if possible. The reason is that if you fly within the USA first (for example if we had flown West Palm Beach to JFK to Barcelona) and that first flight is late causing you to miss your connecting international flight – odds are the next international flight won’t be until the following day at the same time, so you miss a whole 24 hours of vacation and that’s only if there are seats available on that next flight. Whereas if on our current itinerary our flight to Portugal was late and we had missed our flight to Barcelona, there are usually more of the short flights from Portugal to Barcelona throughout the day that would get us there just a little bit later than planned.
We finally arrived in Barcelona at 10:30 a.m., and then had to find something to do until our Airbnb was ready at 2:30 p.m. We chose an Airbnb in the Eixample district near Las Ramblas so that we had a nice area to walk around and were able to find a luggage storage place nearby. (I typically book a hotel on our first day in a country because they will usually hold your bags at the front desk while you explore until check in time, but in this case the Airbnb told us we could drop off our bags early and then changed that once we arrived, which was annoying and expensive – but hey, things happen and we weren’t going to let it get us down!). Once we checked our luggage we wandered around and had lunch. Our Airbnb was very cute with enough room for the four of us and for Kaleigh and Austen to join us the last night. There was a (very) small elevator that brought us up to the 3rd floor, and it had a balcony overlooking the street. One word of caution for those visiting foreign countries. While the USA uses a Type A electrical plug and most appliances run on 110 volts, Spain and most of Eastern Europe use a Type F plug and appliances run on 220 volts. Some electronics like newer Macbooks or iPhone chargers have dual voltage, which means they can use the power coming from the European socket and automatically adjust the voltage in the new destination, but you will need an adaptor so that the plug will fit into the wall socket (and many countries have different type plugs so make sure you look up which type you need before you buy an adaptor). If the electronic device is NOT dual voltage, you will need a converter so that it will convert the power from 220 volts to 110 volts so that you can use it. If you try to use that blow dryer or curling iron with only an adaptor, it will not only blow a fuse, but it will ruin your device. Honestly, many devices don’t work as well with a travel converter so sometimes it’s easier to have a dual voltage device or even buy a cheap replacement at your destination. I thought I had imparted this travel wisdom to my family several times, but someone who shall remain nameless tried to plug in a heating pad with only an adaptor that subsequently blew all the fuses in the Airbnb and fried the heating pad, so she had to buy another one in Barcelona.
Most retail stores in Barcelona are closed on Sundays, so we did a lot of wandering our first afternoon, and a lot of eating. We had empanadas at Tio Bigotes, and Gelato at La Palau but the oddest thing we saw was the Caganer store (and there was more than one) otherwise known as the pooping man. The Caganer is a figurine depicted as a peasant wearing a traditional red Catalan cap with his trousers down showing his backside and defecating. Apparently in Catalan culture he is put in nativity scenes because it fertilizes the earth and doing so will bring you good luck and joy. Anyone want to take three guesses as to what Brynna chose for her Christmas ornament this year?
One of our goals is to see ALL. THE. COUNTRIES., and when we realized Andorra (Country #2) was so close we decided to take a country run on our first full day in Barcelona since we had no idea when we’d be back. Because it was a three-hour bus ride each way and we had been flying all day the day before, Deb opted to stay in Barcelona and give her back a break. We purchased bus tickets through FlixBus because we had a really good experience with them in Germany. The Barcelona train and bus stations are in the same location, so we got there early to make sure we were on time. It’s a good thing we did as it was a large station, and no one we asked seemed to know where to go for the FlixBuses (they’re bright green so it should have been obvious). Finally, someone pointed off to the side of the station, and we saw a green FlixBus nearby, so we walked over. The bus station is located in a small building outside the main station, and we had to check in for our bus ride and then wait for our bus. Our departure time was 8:15 a.m. and at about 8:14 a.m. I started wondering where our bus was. I looked at the ticket the agent gave us (which was not in English) and saw the word “Julia” on the bottom, which just happened to be written on the side of a bus that had been idling near the station for the last 15 minutes. As I looked up, the bus started to pull off, and it dawned on me THAT was the bus we probably should have been on so the four of us started to run after the bus yelling for it to stop like a scene in a movie. Brynna caught up to it just as it was about to turn onto a cross street and pounded on the door. Luckily the driver stopped and let us on – off to a great start!
Andorra is a very small country and covers about 181 square miles. It is a landlocked sovereignty in the Pyrenees Mountains and is bordered by France to the North and Spain to the South. Although Andorra is not in the European Union, they do use the EU’s currency, the Euro. Its Duty-Free status ensures that Tourism is the mainstay of its economy and is visited by 10.2 million tourists annually.
We were dropped off at the bus station in the capital, Andorra La Vella, which is small enough to walk around. Seeing such a tiny town nestled in the mountains was pretty cool. Initially we wanted to spend a few hours at the Caldea Spa which is an amazing complex of thermal spas and baths, but it was closed in May, so we missed out on visiting by a few weeks. Instead, we set out on a walking tour of the city where we got to see the amazing architecture, the river and of course the Andorra LaVella sign. We visited St Esteve of Andorra Church, the Placa de La Rotonda, Pont de Paris and the Calidea I la Dama Del Gel. There were so many stores for such a small city, and the girls quickly realized that perfume was much cheaper here than at home. I’m pretty sure we visited dozens of perfumeries that day in search of the best price. Perfumeria Julia had 21 stores in the small downtown area alone! It should be mentioned that many restaurants are closed on Mondays, but we had a great lunch at Restaurant L’Informal – my goat cheese pizza with honey and walnuts was delish! After a great day of shopping and sightseeing, we made our way back to the bus for our ride home.
As we were waiting for the bus, I got a call from Deb who instead of resting her back decided to go sightseeing throughout the city of Barcelona adding a personal best of 19,204 steps on her Apple Watch and at some point, stepped on a loose cobblestone and broke her ankle. If you’ve been here before, dear reader, you know this is not the first time that she has broken her ankle at the beginning of a trip. Knowing that all the Farmacias would be closed when we got to Barcelona, I sprinted to the nearest one for bandages and icepacks. Needless to say, most of the rest of my time in Barcelona was spent visiting every Farmacia and Ortopedica in the city to find crutches, painkillers, a boot and ice packs!
On Tuesday morning we decided to have breakfast at EatMyTrip, which is one of the most colorful brunch restaurants in Barcelona – it really is an instagrammers dream! The menu is fun, with imaginative dishes that are not only pretty, but delicious. Brynna and I shared a pancake party, which is a big stack of pancakes with toppings, fresh fruits, merengues & a tower of cotton candy. Liz had the Macho Iberico – poached eggs covered with truffled hollandaise sauce, crispy iberian jamon, and spinach on top of a cheesy bikini with a side of roasted potatoes and homemade BBQ sauce. Aislyn had creamy scrambled eggs with chives, guacamole, creme fresh, kimchi, jalapenos and potatoes on sourdough with a green Matcha Latte. Deb had a cappuccino and an acai bowl with banana and coconut milk, homemade granola, fruits, berries and nuts, and a cookie. We sat at a table outside and so many people walking by stopped to see what we were eating!
After breakfast we visited the Sagrada Familia which is a basilica designed by Antoni Gaudi, and probably the most famous building in the city. The basilica construction began in 1882, and today more than 140 years after the laying of the cornerstone, construction continues on the Basilica. Visitors come from every corner of the planet to see the beautiful architecture and stunning stained-glass windows. We met up with Grandma, Grandpa and Tobey here and hopped on a bus Grandpa chartered to drive us around the city. Because walking was tough for a few of us, this was a great way to see some of the sites like Casa Batllo and Casa Mila (two other buildings famous for Gaudi architecture), the Arc de Triomf, the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya and the Olympic Stadium. We also stopped and got Aislyn the Paella she’d been craving. Kaleigh and Austen arrived that afternoon and were supposed to take the tour with us, but someone (*cough*, *cough*, Kaleigh) overindulged the night before in Paris and instead the two of them went straight to the Airbnb to sleep it off. By the time we got back they were awake and wanted food, so we took a walk through Las Ramblas where they had Catalonian Popeyes (such Americans) and a churro at Dick Waffle, yes, I said Dick Waffle🤣!
You’ll notice that we booked private excursions at most of our destinations. When Deb and I travel alone we typically can’t afford that, but because we had so many people it just made sense. Most of the cruise sponsored all-day excursions and tours were $150 plus a person, and with 10 people that works out to $1500 a tour. Even when only 6 or 7 of us went, most of the time our private excursions cost much less, we could stop whenever we wanted to, the smaller vehicles could get into places the cruise buses couldn’t and it was just us. So, if you’re traveling with four or more people – it is definitely something to look into. One word of caution though – if you are on a cruise booked excursion and don’t make it back to the ship on time, the cruise line will make arrangements to get you to your next cruise port or even hold the boat if possible. If you are on a private excursion and miss the ship, you are on your own. When booking a private excursion, I always make sure we leave at the earliest possible time and come back with a few hours to spare in case something goes wrong. If possible, I choose a company that offers a guarantee that if you don’t make it back to the ship in time, they will get you to your next port. One other thing I look for is free cancellation if your ship has to skip a port, which happens sometimes depending on winds.
Wednesday morning, we said goodbye to Barcelona and our Airbnb to board our cruise. We initially requested a large Uber to take 7 of us to the port but found that drivers kept cancelling the rides. You could also call for taxis through the Uber app, and we tried ordering 2 separate smaller Ubers, but the same thing happened. This happened to us all throughout our trip and we found it much easier to just walk to a busier street and flag down a passing cab. Keep this in mind and leave early if you need to be somewhere at a certain time, we almost missed our Sagrada Familia time slot because of it.
We sailed on the Celebrity Infinity, and even though it was not as large as some of the ships we’ve sailed on, it was still pretty big. I think Celebrity caters to older cruisers in this market as there weren’t many kids on the ship, and no waterslides or play areas like you’ll see on Royal Caribbean or Carnival. I think there was also a bit less entertainment, but it turned out not to be a problem for us as we had 11 days on the ship with only 2 sea days, so we were basically gone sightseeing all day, and then were pretty tired at night. We did manage to go to a few of the shows, and enjoyed the fact that one of the girls who graduated with Kaleigh from the School of the Arts was performing. There wasn’t any karaoke which we are big fans of, but there was trivia and a game show every night and we managed to be in the top 2 for almost all of our trivia attempts. We of course went to the Abba dance party to get in the mood for Greece 😊. The kids enjoyed playing pickleball and watching movies on the back deck. The ship had two pools and a solarium area where they had a large thermal pool along with smaller hot tubs. There was a large couch in the corner which we claimed as “ours”, and anytime you wanted to look for the group you could find some of them conversing on the couch. It was a large ship but had a smaller feel. We came to know the entertainment staff and the cruise director so well that they would call us the Florida folks and when we entered an activity the cruise staff and other cruisers alike would say, “hey, the rest of the Florida gang is over there!”. One night the comedian called out Aislyn for being the youngest person in the audience and spent the show talking directly to her so the cruise director would call her out at other shows while on stage and say, “Right Aislyn?”. We only ate in the main dining room a few times, the food was ok, but not amazing. The only thing I didn’t like is that the suites had their own dining room, which was presumably better, it felt like the different classes on the Titanic! The buffet was your standard cruise buffet and the fact that Pizza and Made to Order Pasta stations were open late made the kids happy. There were a couple of specialty restaurants onboard as well and we thoroughly enjoyed the Italian one.
Our first official port was Marseilles, France (Country #3). We weren’t 100% sure what we wanted to do in Marseilles, and prior to the trip the cruise lines had a sale where you got 30% off the excursion price, so we bought tickets for the Petit train to tour the city. Most of Celebrity’s cruise excursions are 100% refundable up to 48 hours prior to the tour, so had we found something else we wanted to do instead we could have cancelled. We never did find anything better and luckily we purchased the tickets during the sale because Grandma and Grandpa tried to buy tickets the week before and not only was it much more expensive, the time slot we had chosen was not available. The day we arrived it was a bit rainy, but since it wasn’t pouring, we were still fine on the train. We visited the Old Port and Notre Dame de la Garde passing by the Palais du Pharo, the Abbay St Victor and took in the breathtaking view from the Pont de la Fausse Monnaie. The city itself was a bit far from the cruise port, so once the train ride was finished, even though a cruise bus had taken us to catch the train, we opted to stay in Marseilles to wander a bit then take an Uber back to the ship. We enjoyed walking through the Le Panier area with its charming squares and artsy Corners. One of the things we found on Instagram before we visited and made sure to make time for was Les Freres Brioche. They made delicious sandwiches with Chicken or Grilled Cheese on Brioche bread – there was even a caramel dessert brioche. I’ve heard that the storefront closed shortly after our visit and is now only available at festivals and events.
Our next stop was Nice, France. We were all excited about this port for different reasons. Deb, Liz and I wanted to see the French Riviera and its little towns, Kaleigh and Austen who are big F1 fans realized it was only about 20 minutes from Monaco where the practice round of F1 was being held the day of our visit, and Brynna, who is a big tennis fan wanted to see the Monte-Carlo Country Club where the Monte-Carlo Masters was played. We decided to hire a driver so that we could see all of the above. We used Star Tours, and for €450 we had a driver/tour guide for the day who took the 7 of us wherever we wanted to go. We started off in Villefranche-sur-Mer which is actually where the Nice cruises dock. Next, we visited the beautiful little town of Eze which is perched on the mountainside above the Mediterranean Sea. The architecture is stunning with exquisite stone-work and wrought iron streetlamps. There are no cars allowed within the city, so you do have to walk up to the city on the cobblestone streets. Unfortunately, with Deb’s ankle and Aislyn’s knee neither of them could make the steep hike and instead stayed back at a café sipping lattes. There are a number of little shops and restaurants to visit in the city along with Le Jardin Exotique and the views are divine. We enjoyed our morning until the large cruise ship tours started arriving and the little passageways became crowded with people, so we quickly took our leave. Our next stop was Monaco (Country #4), and another country to add to the list. Our driver showed us the town and my one regret on this vacation was that we weren’t able see the casino due to the F1 races. Kaleigh and Austen found an F1 area with interactives and merchandise as well as interview panels with some of the drivers, so they decided to hang out there for a while. The rest of us hiked up to the top of the Rock of Monaco which is a 203-foot tall monolith overlooking the Mediterranean that houses the Prince’s Palace, the current home of Albert II. (And yes, somehow Deb hiked all the way up the very steep incline in a boot and crutches). There were a number of souvenir shops and restaurants on top along with an amazing view, so we decided to stay and have lunch and were pleasantly surprised when Kaleigh and Austen joined us after they realized you could also get a view of some of the racetrack and watch the practice rounds. After a jaunt to Starbucks to get Deb a Monaco mug, we were back in the van to check out the Tennis Club, and then a tour through Nice itself where we sampled Gelato by the sea.
The next port was Civitavecchia, Italy (Country #5). Most cruise lines advertise this as Rome, but in actuality it is an hour and fifteen-minute drive from the port to the capital city so keep that in mind when you are booking excursions. We decided on a tour with Rome Excursions, who actually did very well under the circumstances. We found out close to our sailing time that many of the Rome excursions provided by the cruise line had been cancelled due to the final leg of the Giro d’Italia bike race ending near the Colosseum and many of the roads were going to be closed. We contacted Rome Excursions who said they would still take us and do their best. We started out with just Liz, Austen, Deb, Brynna, Aislyn and I, as Grandma, Grandpa and Tobey had already been to Rome and Kaleigh, who had also been to Rome became the first of us to come down with a nasty cruise flu. Our driver took us to Rome and stopped at a coffee shop not frequented by tourists where he bought us the most amazing pastries. We then drove to the Spanish Steps, the Trevi fountain and by a few other Italian landmarks before arriving at the Colosseum. In each place roads were closed, and our driver had to back track in order to get us as close as he could, even sweet talking the police in a couple of instances to let us onto roads that were already closed. The race itself circled the Colosseum, so he had to park on a small hill just above and let us down that way. There were barriers around the entire Colosseum, and one small area where it looked like crowds had removed one of the police barriers so that they could make it across. Every few minutes, a large group of people would wait for an opening, then run across the track being screamed at by bikers who now have obstacles in their way. Luckily, we made it across, but it was touch and go there for a few minutes! We marveled at the inside of the Colosseum and of course took the obligatory pictures. Our driver then took us to have lunch and a quick visit to the Vatican. Most people don’t realize that the Vatican is actually a country and the smallest one in the world. (Country #6)
Whenever you think of Italy, undoubtedly the images that come to mind will include the colorful stacked cliffside houses of Cinque Terre, or the five lands. Cinque Terre consists of five little villages nestled into the cliffs on the coast, including Riomaggiore, Manarola, Vernazza, Corniglia and Monterosso. Our next cruise port was La Spezia, Italy, which is pretty close to Cinque Terre, and we thought it would be an awesome opportunity to visit this area. There are a ton of stairs to climb (especially in Riomaggiore) so we split up for this excursion with Liz, Austen, Kaleigh, Brynna and myself visiting the villages and Grandma, Grandpa, Tobey, Debbie and Aislyn staying back to enjoy lunch in La Spezia. There are a number of tour operators offering trips to Cinque Terre, but we went with Bellaitalia tours. Visiting Cinque Terre consists of the tour guide picking you up from the ship in a minivan for the 20-minute drive to Riomaggiore. Once there, you’ll walk down a TON of winding stairs to get to the tiny little harbor at the bottom. Riomaggiore is the smallest of the villages we visited and probably the most picturesque as a harbor with its stone buildings and walkways. The tourist area, however, is very small with just a few cafes as you wait for the ferry to take you to the next village. We sat there enjoying the view, and watching the tourists who were staying in Riomaggiore lug their suitcases down the steps and struggle for breath after the long walk down the stairs, feeling VERY glad that was not us. Note: If you choose a romantic stay in one of the villages, pay extra to have your hotel/B&B carry luggage down, you’ll be VERY glad you did! Because we chose a guided tour, our guide visited the islands with us and purchased our ferry tickets to make sure we got on at the right time. The villages got bigger as we went, with a ton of shops and restaurants to choose from. The focaccia we got as snack at Cambusa Foccacieria in Manarola was dubbed the best ever by the finickiest eaters of the bunch. Kaleigh and Austen even bought more in Monterossa, carried it all the way back up the hill and kept it safe on the ride to the cruise port only to find they couldn’t bring it on board and the cruise personnel confiscated it! (I’m pretty sure they ate it 😉) The scenery with the buildings nestled into the mountains and views from the top were unreal. We had lunch at Causapersa, a little outdoor cafe in Monterossa which had great pasta for some of us and great pizzas for the pickier ones. The little harbor was so inviting that Austen decided to take a dip so he could say he swam in the Mediterranean. The only village we didn’t visit was Corniglia as it is at the very top of the mountain so ferries can’t reach it.
Our next port was the island nation of Malta (Country #7). Malta is the 10th smallest country in the world and is located in the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and Libya. Its official languages are Maltese and English, so it was easy to communicate with people there. We used maltaprivateguide.com to hire a tour guide and driver for the day. It was €500 for 10 people, so it worked out to about €50 per person. We drove from the port to the Blue Grotto and initially stopped at an overlook for a view of the sea and the grotto. We decided to take the boat ride into the grotto, which cost €10. The hill to walk down to the dock was pretty steep, but luckily there was someone with a golf cart who would take those who couldn’t make it for a few Euros. The boat ride was quick, but it was nice to see the water in the grotto up close which was such a such a bright blue and so different than what we see in Florida. We then visited Hagar Qim temple and finally the Mdina. The Mdina is a fortified city on a hill in the Northern end of Malta that used to be the country’s capital. It is known as the silent city as no cars but those belonging to its 300 residents are allowed within its walls. The medieval town is a beautiful example of Norman and Baroque architecture and contains a number of palaces. We had lunch in the Mdina at Coogi’s. Their pizzas were amazing with 48-hour leavened dough in your choice of almond, rice, or whole-meal flour, activated vegetable charcoal powder or organic green spirulina crusts. Our pizzas varied from simple cheese to things like a BBQ pizza with Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Onion, Chicken Strips, Sweet Corn and BBQ sauce or a Del Sindaco with Mozzarella For Di Latte, Gorgonzola, Toasted Walnuts and Honey. Our only mistake was realizing the personal pizzas were so big we could have shared. We also tried Imqaret, a traditional Maltese dessert which was a fried, thin, sweet pastry filed with spiced date and a citrus paste served with vanilla ice cream – yum! We finished the Mdina visit at the Saluting Battery with its 8 cannons which form the lower tier of the St. Peter & Paul bastion and are fired daily. Next, we headed to the capital city Valetta and wandered the streets and of course got Deb a Starbucks mug. We even tried a Maltese traditional pastry – the Pastizzi a filo-like pastry filled with ricotta or mushy peas. We definitely went for the ricotta over the mushy peas!
Our travels hit a snag at this point during the trip. Deb and I remembered that for the return flight home on Turkish air we had booked Exit Row seats for more space, but with her broken ankle she would not be able to sit there as you have to be able assist other passengers in the event of an emergency. I went on to the Turkish app only to find that all of our flights had been cancelled. I spent several hours on the phone trying to figure out what happened, and it turns out we received an email regarding a minor change to our flight (they adjusted the time by 12 minutes, and we figured no big deal), but if you did not go into the app to accept the changes, your flight was cancelled. Luckily there were still seats left and they were able to get us back on the flight, but we had to repay for our seat upgrades and are still waiting for the originals to be refunded. We would have arrived at the airport without a flight and who knows if seats would have been available then. So BIG travel tip, randomly check your flights to make sure nothing has changed and read all emails carefully in case you have to confirm the flight changes.
The next day the ship arrived in Santorini, Greece (Country #8) at about 8:00 a.m. This was a tender port, so we had to wait for tickets for the tender to bring us to land. If you’re booking your own excursions keep in mind that no matter the port, cruise ships let passengers who are going on cruise organized tours on the tenders first. Everyone else has to get a timed ticket for the tenders, and depending on the port and the size of the tender it can take several hours to get everyone to shore. So, if you have an early tour, you’ll have to get up early to be the first in line for tender tickets. In Santorini, once you’re on shore, the tender drops you off at the bottom of the cliff where you’ll find a few cafes and souvenir shops, but to get to the top of the cliff where the actual city of Fira lies, you have to queue for a cable car to take you to the top. (This is another consideration if you’re booking a private tour). If you’re in a hurry, there are also two other ways to get up those 588 steps to the top of the cliff, the first being a donkey ride. There wasn’t much of a line for the donkeys, but we decided they looked very sad and couldn’t ride them. The last option was walking up those 588 steps which didn’t sound TOO bad, until you considered the entire route was filled with shit from said donkeys. Watching the donkeys slip on the steep, shitty, steps was enough for all of us to say nope, the cable car is fine with us! It took us about 30 minutes to get on the cable car and it cost €6 a person one way.
Once up top you are in Fira (also called Thira), which is the capital of Santorini. There are narrow cobbled pathways winding through restaurants and shops which would be a nice way to spend the day. Keep in mind it’s a bit hilly so those with mobility issues will have a tough time here. We chose another path for today, and instead booked a private power yacht ride with the Santorini Yachting club. We had to walk to the nearest road that allowed cars, where they picked us up in a Mercedes Minibus. We have rented a few buses on this trip, but none of them compared to this one. As we were climbing in the party music was playing amid the mood lighting and there were comfortable seats for up to 16 people so we could all spread out – complete with USB ports at each one. The kids immediately started dancing and deemed it the best bus yet, but even better was our bad ass driver Ana. Driving in Greece is an experience in and of itself, but Ana did it like a pro. She drove us the 20 minutes from Fira to the town of Oia where the yacht club was located at the base of another cliff. Imagine our surprise when she got to the one-way road leading down to the yacht and she turned the van around, so she went down the hill BACKWARDS at 30 miles an hour with about an inch clearance on either side. Needless to say, we gave her a standing ovation when we arrived. The boat was large, nice, and clean – and easily held the 10 of us. The girls immediately claimed their spot on the bow for sunbathing. We were offered wine, beer and sodas for the ride. Our first stop was the hot springs where we swam out into the springs to experience the warm sulfur water. They had everything we needed from floating noodles to towels and because they were a tiny bit smaller than some of the catamarans and had a motor, they were able to steer us up close before letting us off. We then spent the day floating around the islands with George at the helm, listening to Mamma Mia tunes and relaxing on board. At lunch time we anchored for a bit and Elina grilled our lunch – fish and chicken along with a number of Greek dishes including olives, warm pita bread with tzatziki, pasta, potatoes and a burrata salad to name a few. All homemade, and all DELICIOUS. After 11 days of constant traveling and sightseeing this was exactly what we needed, and everyone dubbed it the best day of the trip. I feel like this day will be a core memory for them forever. Ana drove us back to Fira where we walked around a little bit and explored before going back to the cable car. It seemed like everyone was going back at the same time and what was a half hour wait to go up, was an hour and a half wait to get down. Keep that in mind so that you get back to your ship in time.
Our next stop was Mykonos, which was also a tender port. Luckily, we decided that Mykonos would be a nice port to walk around, so we slept in, and then got off the ship at about 10:00 a.m. at which time tender tickets were no longer needed. When I think of the Greek islands, Mykonos is what I picture. The area has white, marble, cobble stone passageways with pops of blue and red color scattered all around. It truly is beautiful. The main portion of Mykonos is a bit flatter than Santorini, but those marble stones are VERY slippery. We were in port on a drizzly, gray day and walked carefully just waiting for one of us to fall. We wandered around making a special visit to Giora’s pastry cafe which is the oldest bakery on the island. We bought 3 different kinds of baklava and made sure that we hid them well so we could take them back on the ship! We visited the old windmills and art stores, looking for the perfect souvenir. Deb collects mugs from Starbucks and since she stayed back and had lunch with the grandparents due to her ankle, we volunteered to get one for her. Note to self: Next time see where said Starbucks is before agreeing to that! We started following the map with Austen in charge and he kept leading us away from town and up and up and up. We were all huffing and puffing when we came across a rather large, disheveled, man carrying a Starbucks bag who was coming down and said, “don’t do it, that was the worst decision I’ve ever made in my life, it’s 30 minutes more straight up the hill”. We debated for a minute but figured if he could do it, we could – so we marched (more like dragged) our way up the hill only to collapse at Starbucks silently cursing Debbie the whole time. We saw that they had an Athens mug as well so we got both so that we wouldn’t have to do that again! Since we came up, we had to go back down, and those pretty marble cobblestone streets became slippery minions of death in the rain. We tried to pick our way carefully around the cobblestones, but I lost the battle and fell and landed on my backpack with the mugs in it. Luckily, they didn’t break!
We arrived in the Port of Athens at about 6:30 AM and exited the ship at around 7:30 AM. Since our hotel wouldn’t be ready until 3:00 PM and Kaleigh and Austen had a 1:00 PM flight we booked a van with www.holidayplan.gr. For €420 they picked up all 10 of us from the cruise port at 8:00 AM and were able to fit all of us and our luggage (some of us packed more than others🤣). They would then drive us anywhere we wanted to go and drop us off at our respective hotels at 3 when the rooms were ready. So, for €42 per person, we got transportation all day, we were together in one vehicle, we didn’t have to find a place to store our bags and they even arranged for a taxi to pick Kaleigh and Austen up at 10:00 a.m. to take them to the airport so they could see a little of Athens before they left. We considered this a bargain! The €420 was just for a driver, so you could either plan your own route, or for an extra €250 you could hire a guide as well. We drove to the Olympic Stadium, and saw Hadrian’s Arch, the Acropolis, and a few other sites. I had been looking forward to visiting the Acropolis and the Parthenon, but I can say it’s something I will NEVER feel the need to do again and had I known the particulars, I might not have done it in the first place. The Acropolis (which means highest point) is a flattish-topped rock that rises 490 ft above sea level and has a surface area of about 7.4 acres. It is an ancient citadel that contains several buildings of architectural and historical significance, the largest of which is the Parthenon. The only way up is the steps, There is technically an elevator for those with disabilities, but you have to have paperwork proving your disability and at the time we visited, the elevator wasn’t working anyway. If this is important to you, I suggest asking when you buy the tickets, because the ticket was not refundable. We went in early June, and another time of the year might not be as bad – but it was 92 degrees, and you were literally shoulder to shoulder with other tourists the entire time you were climbing up the steps, one step at a time. When you finally reach the top there is a great view and the buildings are very interesting but be forewarned there is not much shade. When we found out the elevator wasn’t working, Deb, Tobey and Aislyn, opted to stay at a café at the bottom of the hill and have breakfast. Make sure you find out if you are able to utilize the elevator first as there were no refunds. Grandma and Grandpa chose to make the climb with us and I’m not going to lie, I was very worried about them by the time we got to the top. Perhaps in cooler months when there are less tourists it would be more enjoyable, but about halfway up we all found ourselves wondering if it was really worth it.
Following the climb our driver took us out to the seaside town of Vouliagmeni to have lunch on the water at the Lasithi restaurant. The food was excellent – I had a Tomahawk porkchop about the size of my head! When our hotel rooms were ready the driver brought us back to Athens where we said goodbye to Grandma, Grandpa and Tobey who were headed to Ravello, Italy for a week.
So, here’s where I admit that I did NOT research our Athens hotel very well. At that point, I was overwhelmed with planning things and booked one at the Art Hotel Athens that supposedly had a decent rating and would fit all four of us in a room. We ended up in a not so nice area that kind of smelled like urine. There were what appeared to be drug dealers on the street (albeit very friendly ones) and during dinner at a nearby outdoor restaurant we got to see a homeless man meet up with a “friend” where they shared a quick snort of a suspicious looking white substance. The hotel itself had an institutional look and was definitely no frills, but I will say the room was clean and much larger than your typical European hotel room with three beds, which was perfect for us. The odd thing was that there was a giant jacuzzi tub in the room with no shower curtain and no wall to block it. It’s a good thing we’re a close family! Pro Tip: Read ALL the reviews!
On Sundays in Athens most stores are closed, so it’s not a great day to “experience” Athens. The exception is the area known as “Plaka”. The Plaka is a large area in the shadow of the Acropolis that has a smaller Greek village feel with cobblestone streets and narrow passageways. Here you’ll find a number of good restaurants and stores selling souvenirs, clothing, jewelry and food items that are all open late. When we arrived, we had lunch at Erato where we all had Greek selections from Souvlaki to Gyros. We spent the day enjoying the ambiance searching for postcards, spoons and ornaments to add to our collections. We split up for a few hours as Lizzie went and got her traditional vacation tattoo and met back for dinner. At that point we were a little over Greek food and had a yummy Mexican dinner at Mamacitas. Since we had an early flight the next morning, we headed back to the hotel to pack and get ready for our journey home.
We got to the Athens airport early to make sure that we had enough time because Kaleigh and Austen spent 2 hours in line at security a few days before. As we were waiting the girls went to get a snack and when they came back, they were excited because apparently TikTok royalty, influencers Alix Earle and Xandra Pohl were in the airport. (We of course had no idea who they were talking about) The girls were talking with two other teens who had taken pictures with the TikTokers, when the four of them realized that they were also on our plane and sitting a few rows ahead of us. Our layover was in Turkey, and we wished we had more time there as that airport was beautiful! As it was, we only had enough time to grab some food and go wait by the gate. In Turkey they have you go through security when you get off the plane, and then again to get into the waiting area for your gate so you need to allow enough time for that. As we were waiting for our next plane I was sitting across from the girls and Alix and Xandra entered the waiting area and sat down next to me. I could see the girls pretending to take pictures of me while surreptitiously taking pictures of them, and I feel like there are now some really bad pictures of me out on the internet! Aislyn has a friend who loves Xandra, and Xandra was gracious enough to record a video with Aislyn during the flight and the friend was thrilled. The only problem we encountered was that the flight attendants determined even though Deb’s seat was in the middle of the plane, it was still considered an exit row and she couldn’t sit in it with her boot. They moved her to the front of the plane and into a bassinet seat so when she sat down there were babies crying on either side of her – at one point she sent pictures of a baby laying in the bassinet directly in front of her sleeping and one to the side of her trying to type on her laptop 🤣
We took the Tri-Rail home and although it was fine on the way there, on the way home it was a pain. On weekends the last two Northbound trains leave at 6:17 and 9:42 p.m. Because we arrived at 8, we had to wait for the 9:42 p.m. train which got to West Palm Beach at 11:30 p.m. We had all been up and traveling for about 36 hours at that point, so we had Terry pull into a McDonalds drive-thru, and then went home to sleep.
All in all, we enjoyed our trip. It was a great way for different generations to travel together and still get to do their own things. The only thing I might have done differently was to spend a little more time in Barcelona …. But we can always go back! We’re back at home working and dreaming of traveling again, next stop – Amsterdam!
