Day 5 Mediterranean Cruise Piraeus (Athens) Greece

Because we didn't get to bed until after 2am, we slept right through breakfast. We all ate at the buffet for lunch before we got off the ship. We ported in Athens around 1:00pm so it worked out perfectly to eat an early lunch so we were ready to go for our amazing excursion at 1pm.  I was so excited we got to check another country off our list  We are in GREECE!!!  We made it to Greece.  Kayden, was so excited to finally see all the Greek mythology he has read so much about it.  He had lots of legends/myths to share as we explored Athens. Some fun facts about Athens. Athens is Europes oldest capital. Athens has the most theatrical theater in the world. Athens represents millennia of Architectural styles.  Greco-Roman to neoclassical to modern. It's also the birthplace of western philosophy.

We got to eat lunch together (Brooklyn is taking the picture)

Love this Baby Girl!

The boys killing time playing chopsticks while we wait for
everyone so we can leave the ship together.

At the Port of Piraeus.
Our group of 16, we are so excited to explore Athens.

Brooklyn's buddy for the day was Briggs. Awe

Look how narrow the roads are.  I swear we were going to side swipe one of these cars.  

Zeus' Temple from the Bus.

The Acropolis from the bus.

BastianClan and Briggs in front of the Panathenaic Stadium this ancient stadium is completely covered in white marble.
It held the first ever modern Olympic games in 1896

Matt, Kayden, and Briggs listening to our guide.

Brooklyn (15) Kayden (17) and Chandler (12) infront of the Olympic Stadium.

That's a big group.

Brooklyn and Tina.  Having a blast exploring Athens. 

Here is some of our Group at the Olympic Stadium.  That guy in the middle was our Tour Guy.
He was photo bombing us.  ha!

Olympic Discus Statue
Representing the Summer Olympics 1927 

Changing of the Guard at the Syntagma Square in front of the Hellenic Parliament.

We were parked right out front of the square and were able to watch the entire changing of the guard,

Academy of Athens Library

Theater of Dionysus
Dionysus is the God of wine.  They named this theater after him because he was the Party guy.
The Theatre is built at the bottom of the Athenian Acropolis. It is still used today for different productions.

Brooklyn and I in front of Dionysus' Theater. 

We are walking up to the Acropolis.
Our Tour guide explained The Parthenon is the Building, and the Acropolis is the hill that it's on.
Kayden had lots of myths about the Acropolis.

The Acropolis had the most Incredible views of Athens.

The kids just chilling while we learn a little history from our guide.

Breathtaking Views. 

BastianClan on top of the Acropolis with Athens in the background
Probably one of my favorite pictures on our vacation.  LOVE this beautiful family of mine.

Erechtheion Temple dedicated to both Poseidon and Athena.
Kayden called this the Lady temple. 

The Parthenon
This was The Temple Of Athena.  They would pray to the Godess of Athena
and give her olive oil, fruit, and vegetables.    

Nike, The Godess of Victory Temple.

Jermey, Brooklyn, Kayden, and Chadler.
Just exploring the world together. 

Zeus Temple from the Acropolis.  Because we were on a tour we didn't
get to see Zeus temple up close.  Sad.

Kayden, Tina, Brooklyn, and Chandler
We are in Athens, Greece.

Love this Man of mine, we have been married for 19 years.
Jeremy Bastian, I love you and all our adventures. 

Tina, Sarah, and Sheri on the Acropolis with the Parthenon in the background. 

You know just dabbin in Athens, Greece
Benjamin and Chandler.

This is the Front of Nike's Temple

Another angle of the Dionysus Theater.

Most of the kids hiking up to the Acropolis.

Chandler's favorite part was hearing all the stories about Athens.

Brooklyn loved being on top of the Acropolis.
Look, I'm in Athens, Greece!

Athen's Greece 

Tina, Sarah, and Sheri
On the Acropolis with the Parthenon in the background.
I sure love these girls.  Such a fun cruise with these two.

They had 7 different colors of marble used throughout the temples. 

Plaka is a historic neighborhood we got to explore in Athens.
Plaka has dozens of cafes and plenty of shopping

We had these amazing Gyros. 

Eating our yummy gyros in the City center of Plaka. We originally purchased two to share with everybody; however, they were just too good and we had to get one for everybody!

Brooklyn enjoying her gyro too.

Our ship was so pretty all lit up.  The line to get back on the ship was CRAZY!
It took us about 35 minutes to get back on the ship.  We thought we were going to miss the night
show.  There was only one show tonight because it was the Voice of the Sea. 

Sheri and I at the Voice of the Sea

Sarah and I at the voice of the Sea.

We got to listen to 7 people sing 1 song and hear what the three judges had to say
They brought the finalist out again and we all got to vote for our favorite.
It was really fun.

Jer and I took Chandler, Denny, and Levi to the gaming area.  We have not spent a lot of time with them
on the ship because they have just enjoyed their freedom and roaming around the ship and enjoying all the teen activities.
So it was fun to spend a couple hours with the boys.  They also loved that we paid for them to play some games.  Best Night ever.

Look at these big smiles.

Jer and I decided to take the boys on. 
This packman air hockey shot out a bunch of pucks at one time.  It was a bit bazaar. 

Even Kayden and Brooklyn had a great time. 

Kayden and Tina going head to head.
Man, I love Air hockey.

Kayden trying to school me.  But We tied 7/7

Jermey and Brooklyn going head to head.

Kayden and Brooklyn enjoyed playing a couple games as well.

Chandler was in heaven.  I love this smile and this boy.