Med Cruise Day 5: Mykonos

As I woke up on (I think it was Wednesday - all the days were fading into one), we were arriving in the Cycladean island of Mykonos. A popular holiday destination to to it's quaint whitewashed houses and iconic windmills near the port, it's become very trendy (and expensive) and a go to place for the beautiful people of late. Today though was a beach day for us. A short tender off the ship and a thirty minute or so bus journey brought us to Elia Beach which is know for being a popular spot for LGBT travellers and nudists, although in fairness it seemed as though nudists were at the far end of the beach (we didn't see any)!

The Edge seen from our bus

The trip came with sunbeams and a "snack" from the local restaurant. The snack actually turned out to be a beer (a 500ml bottle of Mythos - nice!), a 1.5l bottle of water and an enormous triple decker toasted egg salad club sandwich with chips. Not bad for a snack - I was expecting a packet of crisps! It made the €56 pp cost of the trip seem much more palatable, and fairly decent value -  especially as there seemed to be one couple in from of us charged €70 just for the sunbeds (although I think they must have had the same deal as us, but not subsidised by Celebrity). Anyway...

3 full hours on the beach was just what the doctor orders, and yes, we did venture into the crystal clear waters, although it was pretty fresh!

The iconic Mykonos windmills

Anne at Elia beach

Me at Elia beach

Following our trip out, it was back to the ship for the usual rest and relax before the inevitable hearty meal, preceded by pre-dinner drinks. Well, we paid for the drinks package, so I was darn well going to try and get full value from it!!!

After three ports in three days it felt like we needed to relax a bit, so we were looking forward to our penultimate day on board on Thursday with a sea day as we transited the Aegean and Ionian seas headed for the Strait of Messina to continue our journey back up the western coast of Italy towards Naples. But that was over a day away yet.

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Med Cruise Day 4: Rhodes

Rhodes windmills

An overnight passage from Santorini saw us docked in Rhodes the following morning when I pulled back the curtains in our stateroom - or rather they pulled themselves back as they were automatically controllable via my Celebrity app on my iPhone!

Another hot day beckoned. We'd previously decided that we wouldn't do any excursions today, but just go for a wander around old Rhodes, inside the old city walls. We've been to Rhodes, so knew roughly what to expect, and we only had a 10 minute walk into the old city. We'd left the ship early (ish) at boy 9.15am to avoid the worst of the heat and the crowds that would inevitably build through the day.

The old city is. fascinating mix of cultures - Rhodes is part of Greece, but lies within spitting distance of Turkey.  The small narrow streets are lined with ships selling everything from fake armour and swords to leather goods and even furs!!! 

One of the must sees is the Street of the Knights of Rhodes, an old cobbled street that still has a distinctly medieval feel to it.

Street of the Knights of Rhodes

The windmills on the harbour wall are another iconic symbol of this old city, and the thick city walls themselves, still surround the city pretty much intact.

The heat was building, and a cold drink was called for so we found a quiet friendly cafe/bar just off one of the side streets for an iced coffee which hit the spot nicely.

After this, we wandered for a while longer taking int he sights and sounds as the crowds grew as more tourists arrived from elsewhere on Rhodes or from the four cruise ships that were docked in the port. That was enough for us though, and we made our way back to the ship for some lunch, air conditions and a chilling afternoon by the pool.

That evening the ship put on a Pride Party on the sun deck, and whilst we didn't stay long (it was VERY loud), it looked like people were having a lot of fun and the deck was lit up in Pride colours.

Another great day all in all, topped off by another fabulous meal and a few drinks!

Pride on the sundeck

Pride on the sun deck

Pride on the sundeck

Tomorrow, Mykonos calls!

Twitter: @Statto1927

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