May 11

May 11 –

Hello again.  Today is Wednesday and to tell you the truth I have to look at my watch everyday to remind me what day it really is.  My previous cruise experiences have ALL been 7 day cruises that repeated, so I ALWAYS knew where I was because of the port we were in.   Well, today we were in Zakynthos, Greece.  It is pronounced Zah-keen-tohs and it is commonly referred to as Zante (Zahn-tee).  This Greek Island is rather small and doesn’t offer a plethora of things to do.  Especially if you only have 4 hours.  BUT… after my gangway duty greeting guests and wishing them well, I made it ashore with Danielle (Danny).  We were anchored, so we had to tender (refer back to the earlier blogs if you forgot what that is) and on the tender we saw Ryan (the other male singer in the cast) and we explored a bit.  We walked along the shore line and I saw a building in the distance worth visiting.  It was a church and I think it was Greek Orthodox.  It had a very unique public area outside with MANY rectangle flower pots with many different types of flowers.  Yes Mom, I took photos J  The inside was so amazing with hand painted depictions of many stories.  I am a bit ashamed that I didn’t take more notice of the stories.  I did take pictures, but on the way out a saw the sign that no photography is allowed.  Sorry…  The bottom line is that every church I have seen so far is simply breathtaking and truly a place to visit.  Much like the Downtown Presbyterian Church I attend in Nashville, but for different reasons

After the church we walked around to see what else might be in the area and didn’t see much, so we found a nice restaurant for some lunch.  Well, I didn’t eat as I ate on the ship, but I did enjoy my first Greek coffee (non-filtered) and really enjoyed it.  VERY unique!  Danny had an “English breakfast” (she is from Kent England).  This breakfast includes 2 eggs, sausage (not the small link sausage, but more like Kielbasa , bacon (Canadian style), mushrooms (sautéed), baked beans (yup, just like the baked beans Americans eat ate cookouts), toast and juice – she cleaned it up!  AFTER eating with me on the ship – the girl can eat!  Ryan had some Slouvakie (sorry, still don’t know what this is except to say that is is the style they make the meat – he had chicken).  He also ordered Grilled feta cheese – um……. 2 words  YUMMMMMM…. MYYYYYYY.  I had some with the bread they brought, so I guess I did eat a little.

We decided to take a train tour and that was a mistake.  It was more of a taxi from the central part of the town to the resort area of the island and then back.  We met some Brits staying on the island and enjoyed their company during the ride.  Apparently, this island is VERY popular with the English folk.  They said that there are some nice beaches. 

After we were dropped off, we toured the other side of the port and the streets were all stone and incredibly well maintained with many shops (coffee, restaurant, eateries).  We decided to stop at a place that had free wi-fi (that’s the internet) and was joined by Yanna (remember her from Venice?).  We had juice, ice cream, milkshake and beer (we all didn’t have that by the way, we all had one – you all choose who had what).  I tried calling a few people, but it was early (in America), so I didn’t get through to anyone EXCEPT my sister!  Yeah!!!  It was so nice to talk to her briefly.  It was 7am in Nebraska, so the first thing she said was “is everything okay” – hee hee.  The connection wasn’t great, so we only spent a few brief moments talking and I had to “work” at 4:30, so I left before everyone else and did my duties, followed by dinner, then a GREAT workout!!!  After some time on the internet doing some bill paying and posting my new blogs, I took a long hot shower and right now, I am writing this blog and then to bed early!!!

I hope everyone that is following my blog is enjoying my travels.  I certainly am.  I was asked recently what my favorite port is and I have to say that it is not what you would think.  Yes, Florence was (is) an amazing place with so much history and Pisa does have the Tower.  Spent 3 days in Venice and I will re-iterate that is absolutely the most unique city I have ever been to, but… My favorite port thus far is Kotor, Montenegro.  There really isn’t much to this port, but where we docked is literally 100 meters from the city center.  We literally are “parked” downtown with mountains framing us on either side.  Where else in the world can you find that?  If it exists, PLEASE let me know, I want to go there.  The topper to this story, is that it was rainy both times we went there and when I climbed to the top of the fort this first time we were there I got SOAKED!!!  Maybe that is where I got my cold… BUT… the view of the fog on the mountains and the sound of the REAL mountain goats is something unforgettable.  I did it in Montenegro.  This is truly a dream come true and I can’t wait for the next chapter.  Tomorrow Monemvasia, Greece