In Tucson

Papa and I returned to our Tucson home on Tuesday, after flying from Athens to Philadelphia on Monday, and from Philadelphia to Phoenix on Tuesday.  We spent a couple of hours with Claire’s family in Phoenix before driving the last two hours of our trip home.  We arrived in the dark, around 7 pm, and woke on Wednesday morning to sun and the big sky of Arizona!  Friends brought food for our supper and breakfast.  We are slowly getting back to “normal living,” with laundry done, a trip to the grocery store, walking with my friend Ornella at 7:30 every morning, and going for lunch today to a favorite Oaxacan restaurant. These are a few scenes from our back yard and my morning walk.

By the Aegean Sea

After the cruise, we are staying a few days in a house we rented with a beautiful view of the Aegean Sea.  We are relaxing, watching the sunrise, reading, going for long walks, and sleeping.  We have also visited the Ancient Theater of Thorikos, several Greek Orthodox Churches, and beaches.  We’re eating lunch out each day, at local Greek restaurants.  We are enjoying every moment!

This little beach was nearest our house.  

Serifos

We spent the last full day of our Cyclades cruise on Serifos.  With just 1200 residents on the island, it is a quiet and simple island.  We arrived in the port and saw Chora, the island’s capital perched on the hill, about 4.5 km above the port.  Papa and I hiked to the top, along the narrow lanes and white washed houses.  The lanes are a maze!  It was beautiful!  Sprinkles fell along the way, and just as we got back down to sea level, the sky opened.  Thank goodness for umbrellas!  We had a late lunch at a local taverna, and set off in very rough seas about 15h.  We had a multi course last night dinner on the ship, just as we were arriving back in Lavrio.  

Sarakiniko from the Sea and Sifnos in Afternoon

We left our spot in Adamas Bay this morning and spent a few hours exploring Sarakiniko from the water side.  We went in Zodiak dinghies to visit shallow caves.  It was a beautiful day and the colors of the sea were magnificent!  

After lunch on the ship, we motored to the island of Sifnos by 16h00, stopping in the port village of Kamares, and promptly went on a bus tour of the island.  We visited the Monastery of Chrysopigi, the island’s most famous religious site.  We then traveled to the village of Apollonia and took a walk along the stone paved streets.  Our last stop was in the medieval village of Kastro, dating back 5000 years, with most of the current buildings built under Venetian rule in the 14th century.  We walked out to the Church of the Seven Martyrs, located on a rocky outcrop in the Aegean.  We were amazed along the drive at the miles of terraced stone walls on the hills of Sifnos.  We ended our day with ice cream and a crepe in Kamares.