We are mid-cruise at the moment - I'm sitting in an internet café in Rhodes as the rates on board are 25c a minute and here it's free. (And you can sip and icy freshly-squeezed orange juice while you're typing. Which is yummy. - And breathe cigarette smoke, which is yukky, but I fixed 'em. I took my shoes off under the table...)

* The Acropolis in Athens was pretty good -and we enjoyed the process of finding it. We seem to often take the least trodden path, which also means the one with the fewest number of signs for tourists, which means getting lost often...

* It was heavenly to put our gear down in one place for a whole four nights!! and to not have to pay for a meal for four whole days!! (well, we have paid already, but you know what I mean.) I love this way of travelling. Eurail was great too, but this is heaps more relaxing.

So, the islands!

* Mykonos was breath-taking. We were really enchanted, walking through the white and blue town to the windmills... and then sitting on the rocks to watch the sunset... and then walking back along the water's edge when the town was lit up and all the open-air restaurants were filling up... We were sorely tempted to sit down in one of those delightful places for dinner, but which one would you choose???? and when we arrived back at the ship, our meal was delicious and there was a show to go to.

* Patmos was lovely also, although I couldn't track a delicious smell of spinach and cheese pastry to its source. It was very frustrating! There was a sign saying "To xxxx Pastries" but no arrow. I stood at the intersection sniffing for a while but whenever I tried a street the smell soon disappeared. We were there very early, so I suspect that the shop's treats were being cooked but the shop was not yet open.

* We had planned to do an excursion in Turkey to Ephesus, but ours was cancelled due to a lack of customers. This proved to be a lucky stroke as we ended up joining forces with a family of Texans and sharing a cab to the site with them. Saved ourselves a stack of money and had a ball - I feel we've made friends for life. He's a fun Baptist pastor - 'light on the Baptist!' - and his wife is an artist who is one mean negotiator. She got that cab driver right down on his rate and then put the squeeze on a leather good salesman and walked away with a 780 euro jacket for 220... They are travelling with their nurse daughter, who is continually shocked by her parents, and junior pastor son-in-law (followed his mother-in-law's footsteps and bought a jacket too. I'm not sure what he achieved on the price). (And these Texans really do say 'you-all'.)

Ephesus, by the way, was awe-inspiring. They have, among other wonders, an amphitheatre that seats 24,000 people... Lots of 'intact' ruins. And the Turkish salespeople with their 'genuine fake watches' were very entertaining also!

Well, it's time to return to the ship and have a dip in the pool before cocktails with the captain...

Love,

Liliane

PS If you think we're only have a charming time, just wait till I publish my Seamy Side of Travelling book! (My personal journal, which notes the WHOLE trip, is some 60 pages now...)