Greek Isles Part 2

Day 6 (9 Jun) Katakolon, Greece
Initially, we were just going to stroll through the village, a quaint fishing village....but then we decided to hire a taxi to take us to the site of the first Olympiad in 776 B.C. Our cab driver, Nicholas, was awesome! he drove us to the olympia archeological site and then took us to his friend's house that overlooks the coast and to his friend's bar on the beach! Quite the tour!
Here is a pic of Aaron and I in the Temple of Zeus

The Entrance to the Stadium (The Krypte)

The Stadium where more than 40,000 people would witness contests ranging from foot races o the pentathlon.

The Temple of Hera in the background

Temple of Zeus in the Background.

Here is the view of the sea from a bar on the beach (our cab driver's friend owns it). We enjoyed a cocktail before heading back to the ship.
There were several dining options on the ship. We did the late seating and had a set table each night at 8:30pm. That is where we met some great people. Pat and Leslie were cruising with their two sons and are from Canada. Lowell and Louise split their time between NYC and Florida. We enjoyed evening cocktail parties at sailaway. Here we came back to our stateroom from some wine on the balcony. We really enjoyed their company!


Day 7 (10 Jun) Athens
Because Athens is such a large city with so much to see, we decided to do a tour of the major sites: Temple of Poseidon, Temple of Olympian Zeus, The acropolis (which was undergoing restoration at the time and was covered with scaffolding), and the Plaka. Our tour guide was incredible and gave us a detailed description of Greek Mythology along the way.
Overall, we were not overly impressed with Athens....very crowded, run-down buildings (okay so some of the buildings date back to 5th century BC, but I am talking about apartments and "modern" businesses....)
This is the Temple of Poseidon that sits on the tip of Cape Sounion (about a 45 minute ride from Athens). It was build in 5th Century BC...dedicated to the sea god.

The Acropolis...a bit disappointed about all the scaffolding up, but it is in need of major restoration.

A view of the Old Olympic Stadium (host of the first modern olympic games in 1896) and the Temple of Olympian Zeus (the columns to the right).

A wonderful self portrait with the city of Athens in the background.

Aaron and I at sunset on the lido deck.


Day 8 (11 Jun) Mykonos
Aaron and I were exhausted after the long tour in Athens. We pretty much agreed that we are not the kind of people that will ever be able to do tour-oriented vacations. Feeling like herded cattle, having to stick to a schedule....we are more laid back and like to do things at our own pace. So, that being said....we just strolled in the local port town of Mykonos. This is a Greek island that belongs to the island group known as the Cyclades. This island was polar opposite from the lush island of Corfu...sparse vegetation and very arid/dry soil. The white buildings in the village decorated the coast and provided a beautiful contrast with the turquoise waters.



Okay, need another break.

Greek Isle Cruise (part 1)

We returned late Tuesday night from our two week Greek Isle Cruise. We had a fabulous time and it was hard to return to reality! (although our waistlines and wallet were extremely happy to be back). I will post pics in installments, because there are a lot of them.

Day 1 (4 Jun) We departed London for Venice. We decided to arrive a day prior to boarding the ship to allow for airport/weather delays. The weather was not nice...cool and rainy (but, being from England, we were used to it). I think we would have liked Venice more had the weather been better, but we were excited to explore the town. We took a water taxi from the airport to our hotel, which was approx two blocks from San Marco Square. It was called Hotel Santuria and International--highly recommend it for those visiting Venice.
Here is the famous Rialto Bridge.

We ate at a quaint resturaunt overlooking the Grand Canal and Rialto bridge. We were going to do a gondola ride after dinner, but then it started to rain quite a bit and decided to abort that plan. Here is a pic of a canal with the gondolas. They charge about $250 for a 1 1/2 hour ride. Instead we decided to shop for a souvenir from Venice...a mask.

Day 2 (5 Jun) We awoke early to try to attend morning mass at St. Marks Basilica, but got delayed due to a torrential downpour and were unable to attend. We were able to sit in a side chapel and hear the mass...in Italian...and, see the inside of the Basilica. Here is a pic of Aaron (umbrella in hand) in San Marco Square with the Basilica in the background. The good news about waking up so early was that the Plaza was empty!

At noon, we were able to start boarding our cruise. So, we took the water taxi to the terminal and checked in. The Emerald Princess was a beautiful ship! There were approx 3,090 passengers on board with over 950 crew members. We had a balcony stateroom on the Lido Deck (15th floor) and had very convenient access to the pools, spa, and bars. They had a large outdoor movie screen (Movies Under the Stars) where you could watch a movie at 10:30pm on the pool lounge chairs, putt-putt miniature golf course, 5 pools, several pool side bars, Sushi Bar, etc. Very luxurious with a lot of ammenities. Here are some pics for the cruise ship that we took throughout our cruise.



Since we were celebrating our Anniversary, we did the Grand Occasion Package which included a welcome aboard bottle of Don Perignon, matching bathrobes, spa treatments, a formal portrait, champagne breakfast in bed on a morning of our choice, Petit Favors or Canapes each evening... Here we are enjoying our bottle of champagne on our balcony.

Everyone had to be boarded by midnight because we were going to sail from Venice at 0800 the next morning

Day 3 (6 Jun) Let the fun begin!!!
We decided to take advantage of our spa package and arranged for a couple massage in a cabana on deck at sailaway. It was so relaxing!

And, no cruise is complete without the lifeboat drill in our muster station.
There were two formal nights on the cruise, schedule for days at sea. So, our first one was this night. I love getting dressed up...especially since my daily attire consists of combat boots. This was taken in the atrium prior to dinner.


Day 4 (Jun 7) Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Our travel agent, Lee, provided us with Champagne Breakfast in Bed...Which we enjoyed on our balcony.

We did not do an organized tour of Croatia. Rather we explored the city on our own. There are still lots of reminders of the civil war in 1991 (bullet holes in homes) in which Croatia became independent from Yugoslavia. The city is protected by the Ston--one of the largest stone walls in the world. It extends approx 1 1/4 miles around the city center and provided a lot of protection during the bombardment of Bosnia and Serbia. Here are some pics of our trek along the wall.


I find a lot of humor in how people dress...This lady wore a bra with an open back shirt. Interesting in and of itself. But, if you look closer, you can see the price tag still on the shirt haning on the back.... A fashion trend I will stay away from.

And, a trip wouldn't be complete without Aaron finding a unique beer bottle cap to add to his collection.


Day 5 (8 Jun) Corfu
Corfu is a Greek Island between Italy and Albania in the Ionian Sea (western coast of Greece). Aaron and I did separate excursions today. I took Greek cooking lessons at a Greek Restaurant. We learned how to cook Moussaka, Tzatziki, Taramousalata, and Greek Salad. During the lessons, we were able to eat Feta and Olives while enjoying wine. Then, we ate the various dishes. It was a lot of fun. Here is a pic of the group I sat with in the courtyard of the restaurant.

Aaron's tour was the Best of Corfu...He visited the Achilleion Palace, Paleokastritsa (a cliff top village overlooking the Mditerranean--a place he would like to visit again), and the Monastery of the Virgin Mary. You can see how lush the island is. We would like to return for a few days in the future! Here are some pics he took.




Okay, I need a break. I will post more later.

06.01.2002

How we Met: It all started at Moose Country for my friend Shannon's 21st birthday in 1998. A girl named Betsy, who I did not know until then, stopped me and told me a guy named Aaron wanted to know if I was single...you can figure out the rest. Aaron and I obviously dated...Betsy and I became great friends. Here is an early pic of Aaron and I. (all of the following photos in this post are scanned, so the image quality isn't the best)

Here is a pic from a friends wedding of Betsy and I.

The Engagement:
Aaron proposed at a park where we shared our first kiss (across the street from a house I shared with 5 girls on University of Avenue). He got down on one knee (in the rain)... we were on our way down to Kato for Easter sunday. Due to the detour at the park, never made Mass, but were able to celebrate with my family.

The Wedding Weekend. We were blessed with great weather, the company of great family and friends, and the presence of God while we received the Sacrament of Marriage. It was an incredible weekend.
Friday was the rehearsal dinner. Peggy organized a dinner cruise on Lake Minnetonka. Afterwards, we hung out at Maynard's with our family and friends for some celebratory cocktails.


Ceremony: Basilica of St. Mary with Father Joe Gillespie presiding. We had a full Catholic mass celebrated with the Basilica Choir...It was a fairy tale wedding.








After the ceremony, the wedding party made a few stops around Lake Calhoun for some photos.


Reception: Minneapolis Golf Club

Honeymoon: Bailey Harbor Yacht Club (Door County). We enjoyed 5 days of R&R, headed back to Mpls and I left for Officer Training two days later...

I love looking at all of our wedding photos. I have never physically counted how many photos we have---two albums with over 1000 proofs in them and a box filled with additional photos. Our team of photographers from Camelot Weddings, were incredible! They were there from when I was getting ready through the last dance. The photos are amazing and captured all the little details and candid moments. Aaron and I have the tradition of looking through most of them on our anniversary.

Aaron surprised me with breakfast and coffee in bed this morning! Happy 6th Anniversary!!!
In three days, we sail the Mediterranean and Greek Isles on this....