Apparently it's ok to just park overnight, right in the middle of an intersection.

A last dinner in Greece - from our table we gaze up at the Parthenon and indulge a wonderful plate of grilled prawns. It's up at dawn tomorrow for the long haul back home.

On the street, your late afternoon snack can be roasted chestnuts, grilled corn on the cob, or spit-roasted lamb. I went with gelato.

Ok, by the time anyone reads this, we are likely in the air, from Athens to Istanbul to L.A. My depression at leaving has now maxed out. But after I'm back for a few days I will try to post links to some short videos, if anyone is interested - there was no way I could upload them to the blog, wifi was always much too slow to allow that. So if interested, give me a couple of days to get back and get them available, just check back here for links.

I think the name of this shop is "Mountains of Crap".

Someday, somewhere, archaeologists are going to unearth a vast trove of several hundred thousand marble noses.

more museum stuff II.

more museum stuff.

The National Archaeological Museum just goes on forever with wonderful antiquities.

Unfortunate amount of this in Athens.

The now-ubiquitous "selfie-stick". Using your iPhone, you can now take your own picture of yourself in front of anything (like the Parthenon) without needing anyone to do it for you. A landmark moment in the evolution of narcissism.

Looking out the Museum's windows.

Just a short walk from the Acropolis is the new (2009) Acropolis Museum. It is spectacular, and is built over ongoing archaeological sites.

We left the ship early this morning (I had to be dragged out, kicking and screaming) and have now checked into our Athens hotel for the next two nights. But in between, guess where our first stop was?

This is Petros. Petros is a pelican who has apparently decided that the sea life is not for him, so he only wanders up and down the streets and alleys of Mykonos. Everyone in town knows Petros, and they toss fish scraps his way. It appears to be a win/win situation.

A little sad to leave the sparkling Mediterranean behind, but bright and early tomorrow morning we disembark the ship in Athens. We figured, well, if we're in Athens, we may as well not leave immediately, so we'll be there two nights.

We are on the Greek island of Mykonos, utterly charming, with usual sparkling-clear Mediterranean water.

I took a charter boat across the channel to Delos, which, along with Ephesus, was a world-class trade settlement some 2,000 years ago.

More than a little depressed at the idea that it's all coming to the end. I am prepared to go the Captain & say, "look, Karlo-baby - what say we turn this bucket around and go back to Singapore, stopping at all new places? There's sixty bucks in it for you." I'm not optimistic.

The cruise ship company sponsored a chamber concert, just for those of us on this ship, at the foot of the Ephesus Theatre tonight. Spectacular experience.

And, of course, the famous Theater. Seating 24,000.

The view from our shipboard dinner table tonight, Kusadasi, Turkey. Not too bad.

The famous library building of Celsus.

The "terraced houses" of Ephesus have only been excavated and put on display (under Teflon protective tenting) since 2007. Beautiful original frescoes.

Blue dot update.

We will spend the day (and evening) in Ephesus, Turkey. Astounding Greco-Roman ruins.