Day 4 ~ Piraeus, Greece

August 31
When we woke up on Day 4 it was still very dark outside. During the night we moved our clocks forward 1 hour, so we lost an hour but we didn't let it affect us for the day. Once we woke up we got ready and headed to the Windjammer for breakfast. The amount of food they have on the buffet was crazy but most of it was pretty good!

As the crew on the ship put it this was the baby to our ship. It was a smaller Royal Caribbean Cruise ship.

Getting ready to pull in to Greece

Watermelon sculpture at breakfast

By the time we got through eating we were finally docked and tied up in Piraeus. I was so excited to finally be in Greece. Greece was the last place on my top 4 places that I wanted to visit while livingover here. We headed up to the top deck so we could see Greece and see the sun coming up!

Docked in Piraeus, Greece

The small Royal Caribbean Ship docked

Sun rising over Greece

We waited around up top until it was time to head to the room, grab our stuff and head to our meeting point. That day we signed up for the Acropolis tour, that was really the only thing in Athens that we really wanted to see.

On our way to the Acropolis we were informed that there were 6 other cruise ships in port that day. We watched a couple of them pull in but didn't realize there were that many. I had never been to the Acropolis before so I wasn't real sure what to expect, but by the time we got to the parking lot I knew we were in for a crazy couple of hours. The parking lot was not very big and there were buses and people everywhere and it only got worse as we got to the entrance of the Acropolis. It also stayed that way the whole time we were there. I am so glad we did it, but I could have done with a few less people.

Driving through Athens to the Acropolis, there were many marinas along the wayAnother marinaThis building was in built for the 2004 Olympics

Our first view of the Acropolis

Back side of the large theater

The Parthenon

The small theater

Athens in the background ~ there is a law in Athens, saying they can not build towers or tall buildings, because they can not cover the view from any point of the Acropolis.

Remains of the Temple of Zeus

Roof top restaurants

John and I in front of the Parthenon

The Erecthion

Anyone read Greek?

This column looked a little sketchy

Temple of Nike

More ruins

View of the inside of the large theater

Mars Hill

Looking at the Acropolis from Mars Hill ~ So many people

Panoramic of Athens and the Acropolis

I love my Arches!

Once we left the Acropolis we drove around part of Athens and got to stop at the original Olympic Stadium. We had a few minutes to walk around and take some pictures. This stadium was built in 1896 for the first Olympics held in Athens. In the past, I don't remember how many years; they have not used the stadium for sports. They did make an exception during the 2004 Olympics and had the finish line for the marathon in the stadium, and also used it for the archery competition. This stadium was also able to accommodate around 60,000 people.

Greece FlagOlympic FlagOlympic StadiumMedal Podium

Bronze Discus thrower right outside the stadium

Soldier guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Navigator of the Seas

Getting ready to board the ship

After driving around Athens the bus dropped us back of at the port so we could get back on the boat. John and I headed to the Windjammer to grab some lunch. We ate lunch at the Windjammer a few times and each time they had different food. It was nice that it was buffet and always different. After lunch we changed and headed to the pool to relax for a couple of hours. That day we were able to find a couple of chairs together and in the sun in the Solarium, the adult's only pool.

Strawberry DaiquiriDaiquiri, Sun and Pool = A Great Afternoon

When we looked at the compass we saw that they were going to have a Wii Bowling Competition in the Ixtapa Lounge that afternoon. John wanted to stop by for a little bit and see what it was all about. We got there when it was supposed to be starting and were the only people in the lounge. A few other people started slowly getting there so when the first four that wanted to play got there they started the first game. Since there were not very many people there John decided to go ahead and play. They played each game as a single competition that way they could play as many games as possible in the hour they were set up.

John Bowling

He won his game, he got a medal and a key chain

Once John was finished with his game of bowling we headed back up to the sports deck to play around for a little while. We played a little table tennis again, then we headed into the Sports Bar to watch a little ESPN for a little while. On our way back down to the room to get ready for dinner, there was some International Line Dancing going on by the pool. John and I stopped on the top deck to watch for a little while. It was called International Line Dancing because they were playing both American songs and Italian Songs. Some of the American songs they "line dance" too were crazy but John and I did get a pretty good laugh.

Italians Line Dancing

Once we finished watching the dancing we headed to the room and got ready for dinner. We did have dinner in the dining room again that night. After dinner we walked around the boat for a little while and waited for the night's activities to get started. We started off the night in the Ixtapa Lounge with the Battle of the Sexes game show. They split everyone in the Lounge, with guys on one side and girls on the other. They had many different activities for us to do and in the end the WOMEN WON!!!!

After the game show we headed to the Metropolis Theater for Bingo for Lovers, if you kissed your significant other you got a free bingo card. Nope we didn't win that one either, but we had a good time. After Bingo we went into the Love and Marriage game show. It was a play on the game show, The Newlywed Game, and they took 3 couples out of the audience to play the game. No John and I didn't do this one.

Getting ready for dinnerBefore the show we headed back to the room for a little bit and this guy was waiting on our bedJohn and I before BingoThe Game Show