Downtown buildings are pockmarked by rifle and tommygun fire inflicted during the war. Marco also showed us caves where Greek art treasurers were hidden during German occupation. The royal palace with its colourful guards and the embassy buildings of foreign nations are grouped in one large area.

Ashore in Athens

T.R.S…
Athens is clean and beautiful. Her streets, parks, buildings and fine residences would grace any American city and she has all the ancient monuments besides. Her people are engrossed in their work and are making great strides in the modernization of their country. They are intensely nationalistic and patriotic.

Donations of large private fortunes by non-resident Greeks are responsible for modern roads, parks, schools, hospitals and a great new stadium. All known Communists have been jailed, exiled or executed.

The Greek money unit is the Drachma, now depressed to the extremely low exchange level of 15,000 to $1.00. No coins exist, only small paper slips that look like anything but money. You can buy anything desired in Athens as long as you don't run out of zeroes. Madame Helen shopped for a roll of colour film, found it priced at Dr.450,000 ($30) so she put her camera back in her case.

In my opinion, the price paid by NATO to keep the Greeks and Turks on our side in present cold war is well spent and more should be paid as required. These nations are strategically located and are natural enemies of communism and should be armed to the hilt to enable their tough fighters to strike hard when needed.

Messina, Sicily

T.R.S…
Left Piraeus Harbour at 3pm Saturday, 22 March, for the 24-hour run to Messina where the ship docked without the aid of a single tug boat, by using only winches, ropes and anchor chain. First time that feat has been done on this cruise. Afterwards learned it was because of prohibitive cost of tugboat service in this port. Landing procedure was slow so did not go ashore until Monday.

The four and five-storey buildings facing the bay appear almost American in style - yet many are hundreds of years old. One-horse shays are lined up at the wharf to take passengers on short excursions. Some buildings bear gunfire wounds and a few with roofs caved in and ragged walls still stand, showing the severity of fighting here during the war.

Taormina, Sicily

T.R.S…
We travelled by bus to Taormina over a road barely wide enough for two buses to pass. The entire Sicilian shore was an intense battleground during the war when the Allied forces undertook the invasion of the “soft underbelly” of Europe.

We had a fine Italian luncheon at the Grand Hotel, a famous resort spot which is on a shelf perched on top of a mountain, and is approached by a road with dozens of hair-pin turns. From this vantage point the black plume of smoke from Mt. Etna can be seen clearly off to the west.

After lunch we descended the road ladder and drove to the village and shopped along its single narrow street for souvenirs - another field day for the ladies. The depressed lira now stands at 650 to $1.00 and it seems ludicrous to hear quotations of 10,000 for a purse or blouse, 2,000 for an umbrella, 50 for a small piece of chocolate.

On the terraces on the slopes rising behind the dwellings lined up on “Main Street” are vegetable patches that are gardened to perfection. Even little children are good gardeners and agile as mountain goats on the terraces. Never saw finer potatoes, onions and turnips, and on occasional fruit trees, lemons grow as big as grapefruit.

After two hours here we drove back to the ship, which put out to sea shortly after sundown for the overnight run to Naples.