Europe Trip 2012 Day 19 (July 10, 2012): Money, Just Dirty Paper In Your Pocket
After what was an amazing day in Santorini, I know we were all excited for what was to come today in Mykonos, Greece. However unlike yesterday today we did not have an excursion which meant we didn't have to wake up at six in the morning and be down at the Palladium Theater. So instead we all had a much more leisurely morning. Jenn and I ordered room service our normal of cereal, (Special K and Frosted Flakes) a fruit plate, an order of pastries, and coffee.
We all met up at around 10AM and made our way to the bottom of the boat to take the tender over to the island of Mykonos. Jenn and I have been here before back in 2008 and absolutely loved it. That time we only had a few hours on the island and were really looking forward to going back. The weather was almost identical to how it was in 2008 with warm weather with strong winds blowing the whole time we were there. We all as a family walked for a good hour or so walking in and out of shops and through the beauty of Mykonos. One thing is for sure Mykonos is one of the most photogenic cities I have ever been to. Each street has so much character and so much beauty that around each corner we would be taking more and more pictures.
About an hour into our walk Jenn walked into a small little clothing store and fell in love with a dress. Nothing new there. However the experience in the store was one I will never forget. The store owner instantly took to Jenn and just raved not only about her beauty but also her smile and happiness. She talked about most cruise people seem miserable and how she loves making clothes and finding the right people to buy them. We got to look around her shop and see some of her sketches for clothes and when Jenn went to try on the dress you would have thought we bought the store from her because the store owner was just overjoyed with how great Jenn looked in it. My favorite moment was when she told me that money was just dirty paper in my pocket. An interesting analogy and one that had me laughing. It was a really neat experience and Jenn looked incredible in the new dress. A couple of fellow cruise takers came into the shop and too were singing her praises. It was a great moment in the trip and I just loved seeing the huge smile on Jenn's face. So yes she bought the dress.
We walked around town more and the rest of my family seemed to tire out a bit. They shopped for a little bit longer and headed back to the boat close to 1PM. Jenn and I continued to tour the island and even found the restaurant where we ate at in 2008 for dinner. It looked just as picturesque as it did four years ago. We continued walking around and landed on a beautiful little restaurant called Passaggio. We started off with one of their house specialities of meatballs which were to die for. Jenn and I both got Gyros, I got Pork and she got Chicken. Both were really flavorful, and you couldn't beat the pita bread. We also got a few glasses of their house red wine which once again was sweet and delicious.
The food was great, but the atmosphere in the restaurant was even better. We talked with some fellow tourists next to us who too were in love with both the restaurant and Mykonos. It was one of those moments where you just felt like it was great to be alive and great to be exactly where we were at that moment. The waitress was great as well just talking about how much she loves where she lives and how she had some big plans after she got off work. The whole restaurant had some good vibrations running through it and we really enjoyed our 2 hour lunch their.
After lunch we walked around a little more and boarded the tender back to the boat and into our stateroom. We both were exhausted so we took a quick nap and then quickly got ready for dinner tonight. Instead of going to the dining room tonight we had reservations at the final of three speciality restaurants onboard the ship, Chops Grill.
Chops Grill is a steakhouse and was probably the highest anticipated out of the three. The restaurant itself is decorated in a very modern theme and I know both Jenn and I were really impressed with the décor and took a few notes for our own place on some of their artwork. First we started off with a bottle of California Cabernet Sauvignon which was out of this world good. Jenn started off with mushroom soup while I started off with the Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail, both of which were great. I went back and forth on what to get for the main entree but when Jenn went with the Filet Mignon I didn't want to copy so I went with the Porthouse. Being a steakhouse we did have high expectations for the steak and they managed to meet them nicely. Both of our steaks were cooked beautifully and were extremely tender and full of flavor. They brought all the sides for the family to share and Jenn ate up the green beans and baked potatoes while I enjoyed their mashed potatoes. For desert Jenn had the Raspberry Duo which she loved and I had the Mud Pie which was great but by that time we were both so stuffed with the first two courses it was almost laughable trying to eat any of the desert. Chops Grill turned out to be another great restaurant on the ship, I can say that we really did love all three of the experiences.
After dinner it was the process of trying to figure out what to do for the rest of the evening. The show was a no go since it was once again the Royal Caribbean Signers and Dancers who we have boycotted all trip. So first we did a walk around the boat and then went up to the Viking Crown Lounge for an hour or two for drinks and just to hang out. We called it a night close to midnight for what was an incredible day. Mykonos is a gorgeous place one that we would love to actually stay at. Until then we have some incredible memories from today and four years ago. Plus you can't beat the free advice. Just remember money is just dirty paper in your pocket.
