Entries about acropolis

The day isn't over yet, but I have to do my notes when I can. I write this sitting on my balcony in the moonlight off the coast of Greece. So today is Athens. We did see the protesters camp, but things are quite enough for us to go into port, apparently a few weeks ago the ship did not go in, then the next time then were given cards with emergency contact numbers in case of an emergency. Anyway we did a ship tour just because that's the way things worked out. Joyce and Doris did their own sites of Athens for those with limited mobility and we did a drive by sites with the main stop at the Acropolis. So much history to see and it is so hard to keep it all straight. The ruins were pretty amazing and are being restored. You can see what has been done already because of the colour of the stone; the white stone would be the recent repairs. One thing is amazing to think about how slippery the rock surfaces are due to the thousands of feet that have worn the rocks down. The other thing that I found interesting is all the big, well-fed and unleashed dogs. They are there to guard. At night they will leave police alone, and workers but will go after the illegal immigrants who pilfer from the ruins.
We hesitate to call them Gypsies, but we are warned time and time again by the locals to not buy their products and to safe guard our personal items from pickpockets.
The temp is 36, but it is manageable. I managed to get into the WC during a lull. Just as I was warned, squat toilets and no paper.
We dozed a bit during the return trip. They dropped us off in Piraeus to get some stamps and mail some post cards. I also tried to get Euros, but no luck. It appears they have canceled my cards. Good thing I had a second one on the ship and it worked just fine.
Lunch, line dance, nap, lots and lots of water and Tracy and I took first place in the Bocce tournament. Roger and I went for a tour backstage where we learned about the audition process, rehearsals and life of a dancer and singer in the shows. One month of rehearsals to learn the big production shows and three more weeks if you are one of the dancers who fly. You may not gain or lose more than five pounds, as one of them said, you are a commodity.
We picked up Tracy from the Cha Cha class and headed to dinner. Another fun night with our excellent servers! More tricks tonight. The balancing pop can, the precut banana, and the pop can stuck in the can and the upside down glass.
The seniors have gone off to see the comedian, while we hit the dance floor and play the night away.