holiday – The Neverending Lori

On May 18th the Explorer of the Seas arrived at the port of Mykonos, Greece. We got off the boat and got a ticket for a boat to Mykonos. The views from the boat were breathtaking. The water is the most amazing royal blue while the shore is dotted with white homes and buildings, sandy beaches, and a lush green hillside.

Drake, Sara, and I had no plans other than exploration. We looked around once we got off the boat and decided we’d follow the shoreline in the general direction of the windmills. No need for a bus here – Mykonos is very walkable. We leisurely walked around, exploring the beautiful island and admiring the incredible scenery. We stopped at a few shops, made some purchases, and wandered on.

Mykonos is a place I would love to go back to and stay a few days. While we were exploring we found a small beach tucked in between hillsides. There were a few people who were prepared and had their swim suits on. The water was so beautiful – if I’d have had my swim suit the kids would’ve lost me for the day! We watched as one of the ladies in the group swam out and you could see how incredibly clear the water was.

I loved Mykonos! Ready to go back any time!

It was amazing to walk around and seamlessly go from residential to commercial areas. A lot of the homes are painted in the stark white but they paint the trim, doors, shutters (etc) in a bright contrast color like red, blue, or even yellow. We saw gorgeous mosaics made from stones. A resident with a green thumb must get creative to have their green space, as there aren’t many “yards”, so you see a lot of potted plants on the front and in window boxes.

This patio had a gorgeous mosaic, made from stones that were laid on their side.

This resident made their own green space with plants and trim paint – and you can see the bright blue accents on the home next door. The contrast in the colors is striking.

We found a beautiful cafe on the shore and enjoyed a delicious lunch. Drake and I had Gyros, which were amazing, but nothing like what we have at home. The meat was pork, but more like bacon than tenderloin or another cut. It was served with a few small pitas on the side, used mainly to help scoop up the delicious crispy meat.

It was a really relaxing and mellow day. We walked along, stopped in shops that grabbed our attention, made some purchases, and had great food and drinks. I purchased a ring in one of the shops as a souvenir of our wonderful day on the beautiful island.

After a gorgeous day shopping and exploring our way around Mykonos we boarded the ship to set sail for Argostoli. I enjoyed our day in Mykonos but was ready to enjoy the ship a bit, so when we got to Argostoli the next day I decided to stay on board with my book, my knitting, and relax in the sun. Drake went out and explored Argostoli and said it was quite beautiful. I think we were all ready for a “do your own thing” day, and we each had a nice time independently. I took a few photos from the ship, but did not venture into Argostoli myself.

I didn’t realize my private yacht was waiting for me! Ha ha!

One of the items that was suggested to me as helpful for a cruise are the magnetic hooks. The walls are all metal, so the magnetic hooks are handy for items that might otherwise end up on the floor, bed, or couch. Drake brought hats and the hooks were great for hat storage! We also used them for jackets and sleepwear. You can hang these on the wall or from the ceiling.

It was a bit unbelievable to leave Argostoli and realize that our time at sea was almost over. Unfortunately, the port of Ravenna, where we sailed from, had experienced heavy rainfall causing flooding, so our ship was being rerouted to a different port. Royal Caribbean kept us informed and updated us when they had information. We knew we’d be docking somewhere other than Ravenna and that our shuttle (because it was booked through RC) would be picking us up where we disembarked and taking us to Venice.

In the meantime we just enjoyed the amazing food, drinks, and activities offered on Explorer of the Seas. We went to the casino (with Drake and Sara both being lucky winners), played bingo (with Sara winning), participated in some trivia and name-that-tune games, and explored the ship.

We were informed that we’d disembark in Trieste, Italy. When we woke up we realized that was a container port, not a passenger port. Desperate times call for desperate measures!

Each passenger was assigned a group number, luggage tags were issued for that group number, and your group had a specific time for disembarking. Thankfully our time was 0715 and not 0515! We had our bags tagged and packed and were ready to go at 0715. We stayed on our floor, but not in our room, and waited for our group number to be called. When our number was called we took the elevator down and were on our bus by 0820. The biggest issue causing time delays were people not following instructions and going to the disembarking area before their group number was called.

We boarded our bus and headed out. The journey was enjoyable. The countryside had beautiful farms, churches, and fields of flowers.

We arrived in Venice at Tronchetto at 1035. Now it’s time to enjoy a few days in Venice before heading back home. For this part of our stay we had rented a 2 bed/2 bath apartment in the San Polo district. The location was wonderful and offered us a central spot to explore the city.

Stay tuned for adventures in Venice – including catching a pick-pocketer in the act!

Today is Valentine’s Day and I’ve found that it’s a “holiday” that people have very mixed feelings about. Here’s what I think about VDay – and I’d love for you to comment (or even just personally reflect) on what the day means to you.

My childhood memories of Valentine’s Day are that Dad would bring Mom roses – and he’d bring me one too. I don’t remember it being a big production or anything, but it was just this nice little thing he did for my Mom and me. They may have gone out for dinner or something, but I just don’t recall it being a big deal. I remember the fun parties in school, where you’d decorate a shoe box and then put a card into your classmates boxes and then open them and enjoy all the little treats.

When the hubs and I started dating and were early married, I suppose we did some of the traditional things for Valentine’s Day, but honestly I don’t really remember. The hubs is a romantic so I’m sure he did sweet things, but that’s the thing about REAL romance – it’s NOT just about one day. I think that’s why VDay is just another day to me.

Here’s the thing – if my hubs doesn’t get me a card, flowers, candy, take me out for dinner, or any of those marketed Valentine’s Day “traditions” I do NOT think that he doesn’t love me. I don’t take it as a slight, I don’t take it as a bad sign, I don’t give it much thought. The day-to-day love and appreciation that we show one another is what matters. I’d rather him completely forget 2/14 but show me care and gratitude other days than have him go all out on VDay but then be uncaring the rest of the year.

So, what I’m saying folks is, don’t let one day define your ideas of your relationship. As a couple, do what seems right for YOU. If you’re new in love and things are all romantic and sweet and you want to make a romantic gesture today, go for it. But don’t forget that feeling on days where you’re not inundated by media and marketing with reminders that you should show that special person you care. Some flowers or a cheesy note in your loved ones car on a random Monday are just as (if not more) appreciated.

Also, if you find yourself feeling unappreciated or lonely in your relationship, think about GIVING what you want to RECEIVE. Ask your partner to do something with you – like take a walk, meet for lunch, or help cook dinner – whatever works in your situation, but just something you can do together and talk and break out of the routine that has maybe made things seem a bit mundane. Heck, try leaving them a cheesy love note in their car so they find it when they’re on their way to work! Just remember that no matter how “long” in love you may be, and how secure you are in your relationship, your partner ALWAYS will appreciate little reminders of how much you care.

On that note – everyone appreciates reminders that they’re cared for, so in the next week, I will be reaching out to 5 people in my life with a little note reminding them that I love, care, and appreciate them and what they bring to my life. Snail mail is so freaking awesome because nobody EVER expects anything GOOD to come via snail mail! So tap into the good old USPS and send a handwritten note to someone you love. Put some love and gratitude out into the world and see how that makes you feel – maybe you’ll even get some love and gratitude back.

Tag: holiday

Lovely, Lovely Mykonos

Valentine’s Day