JOURNEYS OF PAUL CRUISE AND TOUR

Greece, Turkey and Italy

May 31-June 12, 2007

Itinerary

Thursday May 31:  San Antonio-Athens

The group will depart San Antonio for Athens on Delta 1234 at 10:50 am.  Please be at the airport at least 2 hours prior to departure.

Friday June 1:  Athens 

Arrive in Athens around 11:00 am and transfer to the Athens Intercontinental Hotel.  The rest of the day is free. 

Saturday June 2:  Athens-Corinth

After breakfast (included in the tour) we will depart at 8:30 am and spend the morning visiting the city of Corinth.  We will stop at the famous Corinth canal for a brief visit and then continue into the Peloponese to view the ruins of Corinth - the Agora, Temple of Apollo and the Tribunal, or Place of the Bema, which is the site where Paul gave his defense of the gospel before Gallio (Acts 18).  We will return to Athens around 1:00 pm.  The rest of the day is free. You might consider spending time in the Plaka area of Athens, located at the base of the Acropolis. 

Sunday June 3:  Athens

After breakfast (included in the tour) we will spend the morning visiting many of the most famous sites in Greece, including the Acropolis (Parthenon, Temple of Zeus, Theatre of Dionysus), the Agora and Mars Hill (Acts 17), Parliament, Olympic Stadium, the Royal Palace,  Sydagma Square and Hadrian's Arch.  We will then be transferred to Piraeus, the port of Athens, to board our ship, the Titanic (just kidding!)…the Marco Polo.  We depart on our cruise at 6:00 pm.

Monday June 4:  Cruising-Ephesus (Ismir) 7:30am-3:00pm

We awake to find ourselves on the Turkish coast at Ismir, where you will visit one of the greatest cities of the ancient world, Ephesus.  This is the city where both Paul and John preached and lived (Acts 19) and the city to which Paul wrote the book of Ephesians.  While in Ephesus, the most thoroughly excavated city in the world, we will visit the Fountain of Trajan, Library of Celsus, Baths of Scholastica, Temple of Hadrian, the Basilica of St. John and the ruins of the Temple of Artemis, another one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  We depart Ismir at 3:00 pm for our cruise to Istanbul.

Tuesday June 5:  Istanbul  9:00am-4:30pm

We will spend the entire day in the fascinating and historic city.  Known by three names, Byzantium, Constantinople or Istanbul is the only city to span both Europe and Asia. There are a number of optional shore excursions for you to choose from while in Istanbul or you may explore the incredible treasures of TopkapiPalace, Suleyman Mosque (the Blue Mosque) and Hagia Sofia on your own or shop 'til you drop in the huge covered Grand Bazaar.

Wednesday June 6:  Mykonos  2:30pm-9:00pm

Arrive at Mykonos and spend the afternoon and evening exploring this island of white sugar-cube houses, windmills and over 300 Elfin chapels.  There are a number of optional excursions available while on Mykonos.

Thursday June 7:  Cruise the IoneanSea

We will spend the entire day cruising the Aegean and Ionian Sea.

Friday June 8:  Taormina (Naxos), Italy 8:00am-6:00pm

We will arrive in the Sicily’s most famous resort town. Taormina has endlessly winding medieval streets and tiny passages, each with its own secrets --great restaurants, cafés and ice cream bars. Then there's the rarer spectacle of Mount Etna's nocturnal fires as lava flows along the snow-covered slopes of Europe's greatest natural wonder.  Taormina has fascinating archeological monuments, medieval homes and magnificent views of the sea.  You may wish to purchase an optional shore excursion or explore this fascinating city on your own.

Saturday June 9:  Capri/Pompeii (Sorrento), Italy 8:00am-6:00pm

We will arrive in the incredible region of Sorrento and spend the entire day in the shadow of Mt.Vesuvius.  You can choose an optional shore excursion to the ruins of Pompeii, visit the beautiful island of Capri, or take in the Amalfi coast.

Sunday June 10:  Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

We arrive in Civitavecchia, the port city of Rome, in the morning and transfer to our hotel, the ViscontiPalace.  Around 2:00 pm we will begin our afternoon tour of Rome with a visit to the magnificent Coliseum and continue with a panoramic view of the Roman Forum.  We will finish our afternoon sightseeing with a tour of St. Peter’s Basilica.  The tour will conclude around 5:30 pm and the rest of the day is free.

Monday June 11:  Rome

After breakfast (included in the tour), we will spend the morning touring Vatican city, the Vatican Museum, the Stanza of Raphael, and the incredible Sistine Chapel.  In the afternoon, we will drive out the Appian Way to tour one of the catacombs, walk through the Roman Forum to the Mamertime Prison.  The rest of the day is free.

Tuesday June 12:  Rome-USA.

After breakfast (included in the tour), we will transfer to airport for return to San Antonio.