Today our adventure began in earnest, with our first port of call; Piraeus, gateway to Athens. We met our adventure guides at 815 in Animator’s Palette where they had coffee, tea, orange juice, and pastries waiting for us. As soon as we were all assembled we proceeded down the gangway and into the port. We were escorted to the nicest motor coach I have ever been on and we were on our way to Athens.
Dusty and James went down the aisles with bottles of water and local snacks. It was fun to hear them describe what the local treats were. “These are like Oreos, these are like Starbursts, and these are like vanilla wafers.” We then met our local expert Jemma who gave us a brief Greek mythology lesson as we enjoyed the 25-iminute ride to Athens and the Acropolis. We also learned some semantics. The Acropolis is “the rock” or the mountain that the Parthenon sits on. The Parthenon, not to be confused with Rome’s Pantheon, was a temple dedicated to the goddess, Athena. And while, much was destroyed due to human events, it still offers breathtaking views as the second-highest point in Athens.
Once we arrived at the bus parking lot, we took a quick restroom break and began our ascent. While the top is high up, the walk’s difficulty was not in the number or steepness of steps, ut in the slickness of the marble used. You quickly learned to avoid stepping on the shiny marble whenever possible. We saw quite a few folks fall, but thanks to the help of our adventure guides, no one in our group bit the dust.
As we ascended Jemma gave us more details about the history and meaning of the Parthenon. She was quite knowledgeable and could answer any question. The area was quite busy with many groups making the climb, but somehow we didn’t lose each other as we reached the peak. We were then given free time to explore and make our descent. Going down was even trickier as the slick marble made us wonder how many Greeks were lost trying to offer their sacrifices to the goddess Athena.
Once we conquered the Acropolis, we returned to the bus where we were offered some more water and a moist towel to wipe our faces with. Dusty also introduced us to his concept of “Toner Time.” During Toner Time, he would come down the aisles and spritz us with Aveda toner, which is supposed to revitalize you. I am new to the world of toner, but I must say it was quite refreshing.
Our next stop was the Panatheniac Stadium, home to the first modern Olympic games in 1896. Junior Adventurers, and those that wished to join them, were invited to participate in a mini-Olympics Games. The rest of us got a tour of the site and the adjoining museum. The stadium was constructed out of marble and can hold 68,000 spectators. While the stadium is not regularly used today, it is still the ending point of the local marathon, which follows the traditional route and also houses the Olympic flame every four years after it is ignited in the city of Olympia. In the 2004 Olympic Games the stadium was the home of the archery contests as well as the finishing line of the Marathon race. After going through the athlete’s tunnel, you enter the museum that features posters and the torches, of the Olympic games of the past.
Following our tour, our guides told us that we went from zero to hero, and gave us our pins of the day. We were able to use the restrooms, which were paid toilettes but Dusty brought the money for them, before heading back to the bus. On board it was Toner Time once again, as we made the 5-minute drive to the Plaka Area. We walked down the street of Ermou, which is closed to vehicular traffic and his home to many of the world’s top brands. We then found our lunch location.
As we sat for lunch there was Greek Salad, French fries, bread with a yogurt dipping sauce, wine, water, and ozou on the table. We also had a choice of soft drinks available. Fun fact, the restaurant does not normally stock ketchup for their fries, but Adventures by Disney had the restaurant carry it they knew many would be expecting ketchup to accompany the fries. For our main course, as if the appetizers were not filling enough, we had a choice between pork or chicken “souvlaki,” which is a dish of grilled marinated meat. There was also a vegetarian option. I chose the chicken and was quite impressed with the quality of the dish. Usually when you order chicken as a group it is dry and bland, but this dish remained soft and tender. For dessert, we had baklava. As an American, I expect baklava to be little triangles, but apparently in Greece it is more common to see it come as a circle. In any case, the shape didn’t matter, as it was delicious.
We were then set free for about an hour and forty-five minutes of free time. We walked down Plaka’s winding streets to see if there were any treasures to be had. Woodworking, ceramic vases, linens, statues, and jewelry all seemed to be popular items. I found a toy of Baloo dressed in his costume from Tale Spin. While I presume it was not officially licensed, I picked it up anyway. Following our free time, we met our fellow adventurers and returned to the bus. We received more water and Toner Time as we made the much quicker return to the port. When we returned to port there was one more treat for us, warm Greek donuts!
We returned to the port around 430. With an all-aboard time of 645, we had some time to explore the port town of Piraeus or use the free Wi-Fi in the port. As I woke up quite early to write up yesterday’s recap, I took a nap.
The show of the day was the comedic stylings of ventriloquist Paul Zerdin. While I have seen better ventriloquists aboard the Disney Cruise Line, it was enjoyable enough to keep me in my seat. After the show, I went to the Lobby Atrium to see Trio Greco. This group features well-known Greet Artist Konstantinosos Venetsanos accompanied by authentic Greek musicians and instruments. It added a nice atmosphere as we waited for dinner.
Speaking of dinner, it was time to go enjoy the menu of Carioca’s for the first time. I enjoyed the Salmon and Avocado Tower for an appetizer, the tomato soup, and an amazing swordfish entree. I ordered the flan for dessert, which was unmemorable, but the consensus was that the coconut cake was the way to go. The dinner ends with two dancers and Minnie celebrating South America by dancing through the restaurant.
At midnight, the ship was proud to premiere Planes: Fire & Rescue at sea. The Walt Disney Theatre was showing the film in 3D while the Buena Vista Theatre showed it in 2D. However, with an early meeting time tomorrow morning, I thought it wise to skip the film and see it later in my cruise.
Goodnight!
