Goodbye to Athens

We've had 5 weeks all together here in Athens. Once before the guests came and once after they left. We've taken the bus and trams into the heart of the city and seen all the sights there. After we checked that off the list, and took all the photos the only thing we wanted to do was hit the beach. We've spent quite a few days there and our tans are improving ;) To be nude or topless at the beach is apparently illegal but from what we've seen these laws are not enforced. (Don't worry Mom I kept things covered)
With 4 guests coming on tomorrow night we say goodbye to our slack schedule. When we have a couple weeks between guest trips we will wake up around 8 or 8:30 and work until 3 or 4. Taking weekends off and occasionally random days through the week. This sounds really cruisy but when we're working 7 days a week for 3 to 8 weeks it feels good to get that time. This is different than working on a larger boat, when guests are off there is much more to do. It's actually a time to catch up on the cleaning and maintenance that is impossible to do when the owners are on board.
  I'm actually really looking forward to the owners coming back. They are a great couple and have really great friends aboard the boat. They really appreciate all that Andrew and I do for them. It's great to work for people that appreciate our service instead of expecting and abusing it. I tend to get a bit stir crazy with too much time on my hands, so I'm sure Andrew is looking forward to me being busier too!
-B

Birra, Cola, Peanuts, Nail Polish?

Bethany and I had a day off yesterday so we decided we would do one of our favorite pastimes, beach day. We brought everything we would need for the day, towels, sunscreen, books, etc. It turns out that if you forget anything to have a perfect beach day there were hundreds of vendors walking up and down the beach selling just about anything imaginable. Many of these men were from the Middle East, or Africa, and their merchandise included, beverages, peanuts, umbrellas, jewelry, doughnuts, bananas, swimsuits, water floaties, pirated movies/cds  dresses and our favorite nail polish and fly swatters. These men would walk up and down the beach in the blistering sun, covered with whatever they were trying to sell. Sometimes you couldn't even see a man behind all of the blown inflatable toys! We were very thankful at times that we didn't even have to leave our spot to enjoy an ice cold beverage but at times it was a bit annoying and almost harassing. We found a couple of men from the Middle East very thankful that the USA took care of Osama Bin Laden. After a long day at the beach, we came back a bit pink but a great day none-the-less. After a great beach day we were craving some good American food. So we headed to the local TGI Friday's. It was the perfect meal to top off a perfect day. 

Why "When in Rome"?

We were wondering if any one asked why we picked the name, "When In Rome." The idea came to us last summer when we were working on another private yacht. For us it was a summer of many firsts. Like my first experience with Nutella. Once I learned a chocolate topping on toast was acceptable for breakfast, I was hooked. Or our first experience with true Italian pizza while in Naples. Needless to say our crew found it interesting and sometimes comical about how many things we have yet to experience. So, last summer when we had a few days off in Naples, we were trying to figure out what we should do and I said, "When In Rome." The next day we took a train to Rome and that saying pretty much summed up our summer. We find ourselves repeating that saying more and more as new first experiences come up. We love diving into a new culture or, "...do as the Romans do." It's the best way to explore different cultures. Although we are not in Rome or even Italy the saying has stuck with us. 
We're still cruising the Greek islands. There are over 6,000 Greek islands and if we saw a new one every day we would be sailing for 16.5 years but only 227 of them are inhabited. We will be back in Pireaus (near Athens) in a little over a week.
A&B