athens, greece 2011

Athens was our last stop of the cruise and where we got off. We only had a half day there before jetting off to Paris but we took the morning to check out the Acropolis. It was swelteringly hot and I really don't know how the Ancient Greeks managed to build it in such conditions, but the Parthenon was fairly interesting. Though I probably didn't appreciate it much at the time, those structures are really quite astounding.

santorini, greece 2011

From the white buildings at the top of the island to the small alleyways to wander through, Santorini is by far one of the most beautiful places in the world. I think this may have been one of my favourite stops on the cruise even though, I have to admit that it did let down a little. We wandered the main shopping alleyway which, honestly, was not as exciting as I expected it to be though we did purchase a few things, took a brief cooking class and ended the day by taking the cable car back down to sea level. Despite my shopping expectations not being met, it is still one of the most incredibly scenic places on this planet.

katakolon, greece 2011

So continuing the journey on my summer 2011 Mediterranean cruise, the next stop was Katakolon. The main and only thing we did at this stop in Greece was visit a winery. We got a tour of the winery along with a rundown of its history before a tasting that came with some lunch. I cannot emphasize how adorably cute and rustic this winery was with vines and flowers creeping up the sides of the houses -- it was such a beautiful and photogenic place.

corfu, greece 2011

Next stop on the cruise was Corfu where we visited the Achillion Palace and did a spot of shopping. I don't remember much about the Palace (guess it wasn't that memorable) but it was fun to wander the small streets of the town.