2023 Italy Turkey & Greek Islands BevLarry

July 5, 2023  –  At Sea Naturally today was a very quiet and restful day on the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas as we made our way from Greece to Naples, Italy where we will be tomorrow.  Mostly, I worked on the blog and did some strategic planning retreat work so that would not have to be done as soon as we got back to Birmingham.  The others spent the day around the pool partaking of the many activities the ship sponsors.  I joined them after lunch. We ate dinner at the Oceanview Café and just as the sun was about to set, we passed through the narrow strip of water that separates the “toe” of Italy from Sicily.  Lights were beginning to shine on the shores, and it was a pretty sight.   Italy's "Toe" Sicily We then attended the Broadway show production done by the Stage Door group of Beyond performers.  It was a most enjoyable program of singers, dancers, and acrobats doing hits from famous Broadway shows.  T...

  July 4, 2023  –  Athens (Piraeus), Greece Docked: 6:00AM to 6:00PM   Today we spend the entire day in Athens, which is the birthplace of democracy and the cradle of Western civilization.  So, Athens was an interesting place to spend the 4 th  of July.  The Beyond docked at the Port city of Piraeus.  After an early breakfast, we left the ship at 7:30 am and immediately made connection with our guide/driver for today – George.  He was amazing with his fluent English and knowledge of history.  We had about a 7 mile drive into the heart of Athens and he related that in the early days of Athens, there was a walled entryway from the port to the heart of the city as a way of protecting the ancient city/state and its inhabitants.  The port was heavily bombed in WWII and most of the buildings are post WWII.   Although we were going to start with a visit to the Parthenon that sits atop the Athenian Ac...

  July 3, 2023  –  Mykonos, Greece Tendered: 8:00AM to 8:00PM   We tendered at 8:00 am at Mykonos, which is one of the Cyclades islands off the coast of Greece. Today was an extremely relaxing day spent on the Greek island of Mykonos, which is known for its whitewashed villages. It's one of the most popular islands in the Cyclades islands with its beautiful alleyways and sandy beaches.  We disembarked at 9:30 am and tried to become oriented to the location of the bus station on the island to take us to the beach at  Platys Gialos.  We got directions to the central bus station and began walking. By the time we arrived at the bus station it would be 30 minutes for the next bus to depart to our selected beach.  So, we engaged an uber driver who took us there in a few minutes.  The beach is lined with numerous establishments that have beach lounges available for “rental”.   Rental means finding your umbrella and 2 lounges...