Day 10 - Mykonos, Greece

I have no idea what time I awoke this morning. The sun was up, so I got up and finished my book. When I looked at Noah's iTouch (I should have known better) it said it was 10am, so I thought it was late and everyone was sleeping in. I got up and went to breakfast. It wasn't crowded, so I figured everyone was already finished. Then I logged into my computer and it was 9:30, so I must have gotten up early. As I was eating we pulled into a harbor and began docking - we were 1.5 hours early arriving at Mykonos.

Sally and I ran to the ship shops to get some last minute Turkish souvenirs as they were closing early (they can't sell while we are in port) since we docked early, and they weren't going to have the Turkish stuff out again (merchandise changes depending on location - possibly a customs thing). I happily got some of the ceramic bowls that I had hoped to buy while in Istanbul but ran out of time (though probably paid more than I would have in town).

Our plan for the day was that Sally, Jim and I would wander the town and get some lunch while Pat and the boys would stay on the ship. We got off the boat at a leisurely pace, took a bus shuttle to town, and went off to find a restaurant. We wandered the serpentine streets for probably an hour - scouring a few restaurant menus - finally being pointed to a great Greek restaurant with an ocean view - which was what we were looking for in the first place. We all got some house wine, I got some stuffed grape leaves and a spinach puff pastry, Sally got a Greek salad, and Jim got a Greek salad and mousaka. It was a perfect lunch in a great spot - just what we wanted. Sally wanted some yogurt with honey so we found a place for that. I wanted an internet café and needed to mail some postcards. We found the coolest bakery in a basement and bought some pastries. We found a free internet café and ordered drinks - I got a cappuccino freddo (cold coffee drink), Jim got a milkshake, and Sally thought she was ordering regular tea, but ended up with some herbal tea that tasted like grass. Oh well, we were mostly successful.

Along the way we saw two of the three island resident pelicans - huge white ones. One was hanging out in a shop, and the other was sleeping under a bush. The shop owner just went over and said hello to the one - apparently it is an honor to have him visit. The pelican is one of the symbols of the island. We returned to the ship about 5 pm - a relaxing and fun day of exploring and playing "Greek".

Jim and I returned after dinner so I could upload some more of the blog and pictures at the free internet. It was beautiful seeing the city at night, but there were three more cruise ships in port so it was CROWDED. We got to see what we are calling pelican #3 (out of 3). While blogging, I got a glass of local wine with some greek cheese - they paired perfectly together.