Mykonos, Kusidasi, & Patmos (Day 8 & 9)

Our first stop on the Greek Island Cruise was the Island of Mykonos. It took us 5 hours to get there so Phoebe and I had time to explore the boat - the shop, spa, restaurant, buffet (where we had lunch and it was so windy on the deck our food almost blew away - my butter packet actually did and is now floating in the mediterranean somewhere), the club, and the pool... which was little bigger than a toddler pool.


When the boat finally anchored at Mykonos, it was amazing!!! Mykonos is my favorite island of all!!! So beautiful



Every street we turned down looked like it belonged on a postcard!






One of the things Mykonos is known for aside from being breathtakingly beautiful is large pink Pelicans that are seriously the size of a Golden Retriever

Phoebe and I picked out our house and will be buying it soon... I think... you can all come visit :)
It was hard for us to head back to the boat... we loved this place SO MUCH!

But Phoebe and I had plans for the evening on the boat to enjoy the musical show "New York to Paris"... it was absolutely awful!!! the dancing, the singing, the song selection.... AWFUL!! But I laughed really hard, more at them than with them... but a good time all around!
Downside of the day... pretty sea sick after taking a shower... not a good sign.

Our next stop the following day was Kusadasi Turkey!! Phoebe and I bought a tour of Ancient Ephesus, one of the two tours we purchased. So excited to see Ephesus and walk in Paul's footsteps!!
Our call to be on deck was at 5am though - NOT OKAY!!
But Ephesus was SO WORTH IT!!


This was carved in the marble on the ground... it is the secret symbol of Christianity - the Ikthus. It is hard to describe without pointing, but within this symbol is all the letters of the Ikthus - IXΘYΣ

We also hit up the ancient public toilets... we didn't actually use them of course, but we discussed how many political decisions in Ephesus took place as the men sat around and went poo together... how sweet huh

More of Ephesus




The theater in Ephesus where Paul preached in Acts 19... known for it's incredible acoustics... it was a trip to imagine Paul standing in the center of that stage preaching the gospel... amazing!!


Playing in the stands...


Other famous people who came to Ephesus happen to be none other than Anthony and Cleopatra who traveled here on their honeymoon... this is Phoebe and I reenacting what they must have looked like walking the streets of the city... you can decide who is who... cause we actually never decided

Goodbye Ephesus

After Ephesus our tour continued in the city of Kusadasi where we learned how Persian rugs are made... with silk!! These rugs were phenomenally beautiful! The manager of the factory laid out rug after rug and even encouraged us to take off our shoes and test them out to see which one felt the best to us

They even gave us traditional turkish apple tea to sip while we tested

Then Phoebe and I took picture like we were Aladdin on a magic carpet... cause we're nerds


Did you know a Turkish woman use to be require to complete 5 rugs before she was married as gifts for her mother in law as well as a test for the woman to learn patience with Turkish men... a rug can take up to 3 years to make because they are ALL hand made! No machines!

We wandered through the market for a little while before we had to head back to the boat. Next stop - Patmos!!
The Island of Patmos is most famously known as the Island where John the Apostle was exiled and where he was inspired by God to write the book of Revelations! There is the monastery dedicated to him and you can also go into the cave and see his writing desk and the crack in the stone created by the voice of God. The crazy thing is that I didn't know ANY of this about the island until that morning before we disembarked and got a guide to the island! The Monastery and Grotto are quite a hike up hill, so Phoebe and I split a cab with 2 other girls from our boat... both names Katie.

Entrance to the Sacred Grotto

no pictures were allowed in the Grotto, so here is a photo from the net

It was pretty amazing to be in there and know it was within those walls that John saw the end of days... amazing!
After the Grotto it was on to St John's Monastery. It is still an active monastery and most of the work done by the monks is to keep the frescos in good shape - no lie


In this church for over 9 centuries a service would be held EVERY DAY without fail from 3pm until 6am! That is devotion!

So that was pretty much all there was to see of Patmos... so we hopped back on the boat and took some time to sun bathe before dinner. We decided to try dinner in the restaurant - all 4 courses!! Appetizer, entre, dessert, and cheese platter to finish... my favorite?? the fruit and cheese platter!! I am also in love with Greek Salad!

We were even serenaded by the servers... La Bamba... nice!

A conga line began and although Phoebe and I were too wedged in the corner of our table to take part, we danced in our seats and twirled our napkins in the air in true Greek fashion... and no plates were broken - disappointing.