Venice, Italy, July 31

Most of the 490 passengers from the past week are leaving today. Our 14 day cruise is 2 7 day segments. It is lovely hearing the furry of departure morning on that boat that usually applies to us, not applying to us. For us is it another (albeit early – 8:00) morning of room service and a tour.

Venice is made up of many islands and travelling between them requires water transportation. Either you have your own boat or you take a water taxi or water bus. A water bus is about 10 USD and the taxi is about 100 USD – that’s right. I don’t know how far that takes you, but the minimum based on a government regulation was 50€. Needless to say we didn’t take the taxi. We didn’t take the bus either – basically we could walk anywhere other than our tour for which transportation was provided.

Our tour this morning is to Murano and Burano. Murano is the island where Murano glass comes from. After a 20 minute boat ride we arrive at Murano for a short glass blowing demo. It was even hotter in the demo as you can imagine, but the old guy dong the work was unbelievable! I tried to get a video of him making a horse, but I missed most of the beginning of it. Let’s just say that what I did get was about half of the demo and in the end he finished a horse. It was like magic before my eyes. I bought a necklace and earrings.

Next we took a boat to Burano (another island, see pic) this island is famous for the brightly colored houses. Each house is colored more brightly than the next.

In the evening we are towed out to sea by a tug boat (see pic). Took about an hour.

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Venice, Italy, July 30

This morning I experienced what I know will be the highlight of this trip and probably of all time for me. DOPLPHINS!!! Chris and I were outside enjoying the sea go by from our balcony first thing in the morning when he spotted them. It was spectacular. They followed us for a while jumping, splashing, leaping and slamming into the water. It was stunned, breathtaking, amazing. Just when we thought they were gone another one bounded out of the sea – WOW.

There was a California wine maker on this cruise who hosted a wine tasting that we went to before heading to the upper deck for the best views of as we sailed into Venice around noon.

In the afternoon we had a walking tour of Venice. It was another hot day made hotter by the very high humidity. Although I was drinking plenty of water I was felling a bit worse for wear after a few hours. Our boat was docked very close to the ‘action’ so we went back for a shower before heading out again for dinner. Chris had lasagne and I had pizza - delicious.

Dubrovnik, Croatia July 30

We woke leisurely this morning (although it was to LOUD Spanish kids and their nannies next door) and spent most of the morning lazing in the room and on the balcony enjoying the spectacular view of Dubrovnik’s old city.

The ship basically had 2 options of where to dock/anchor in Dubrovnik, and as we had hoped we are anchored off the old city. Anchoring means that we have to tender. Although this is quite a pain, it brings us right into the heart of where you want to be as a Dubrovnik tourist. The tenders are a pain as basically the boat is anchored a couple hundred meters off shore and we have to take small boats (100 people capacity) in to town. This means a lot of waiting for the tenders rather than just stepping off of the boats and onto shore.

As we has been a week in Dubrovnik last year we didn’t book a tour but visited a bar on the outside of the city walls (you can see Chris in the pic), had a pizza and walked the town before catching another tender back to the boat.

We have dinner with a artist from Peru and a dentist from Miami who tell us that there is an art show in Venice that although we have nothing organized to visit hope to run into tomorrow or the next day.

Corfu, Greece July 28

It’s another hot one, but not nearly so.

This stop in Corfu is replacing Albania. We were supposed to be in Albania today, but apparently the last time the ship was there is was pretty crappy, so they have moved the port to Corfu – good for most but we and some others on the ship will be in Corfu as part of the last 7 days, so it would have been nice to stop someplace different. We decide to take our Corfu tour on this stop and take the next day in Corfu off. I don’t know which the right decision was. The tour starts at a palace with a guide that is quite quiet and we have a hard time hearing him. The palace is VERY, VERY crowded. We’ve been to our share of palaces in Europe and this one is at the bottom of the list. I’m not comparing this to Versailles only. We’ve been to many small out of the way palaces that are spectacular and this one just isn’t. This pretty much ranks up (or down) there as one of the worst tours all around. It is made a bit better by a stop in the town where we visit a Greek Orthodox Church (very cool) and then) time on our own where we shop and stop at a café.

I am hoping to find an olive tree wood salad bowl to buy. I remember seeing all sorts of things made out of olive oil wood from previous times we’ve been in olive growing areas so I hope to buy one. We see quite a few, but decide to wait a bit and as we will be back in Corfu next week decide to wait and see what they have in Dubrovnik which is where I remember seeing this type of things last year.

The rest of the day is spent relaxing and napping. We are glad to be gaining an hour tonight with a time zone change and to be sleeping in tomorrow.

Tomorrow is Dubrovnik. Since we were there last year for a week we have opted for a day without a tour. We plant to visit some of the places we particularly enjoyed last year maybe even finding a salad bowl.

Olympus, Greece July 27

Today is no cooler than yesterday – when we get on the bus for our tour this morning the bus registers 29 degrees. In this heat there is no worry about drinking too much water because who knows where the next toilet stop will be - all your water comes out through your pores. The drive to Olympia where the Olympic Games originated is about 30 minutes. This area is much greener than Santorini or Ephesus. There is a whole lot more excavated here than in Ephesus. The information the guide gives is mostly about Greek gods and goddesses which is pretty cool. Although it is over 30 degrees it is not too bad as there is plenty of shade and a breeze. I’m not saying I’m not drenched – I am, but it is a lot more bearable than the last couple of days.

We decide on lunch again in town where we have calamari and a Greek salad while watching the sea. After lunch we find a café with internet where I have a baklava. WOW this thing is HUGE at least the size of my palm. It comes warm which is different than I’ve had at home, but very delicious.

I decided to take a risk on the ship’s made oatmeal. While I’m not a giant fan of oatmeal (especially not made by me when I can make it very think so as to eat with a fork) I don’t really know how others make it. I’m pretty certain I know why I don’t eat oatmeal outside of my own kitchen! Blech! I’m sure it was good as far as oatmeal goes, but it was WAY too runny. Not a surprise by any stretch, but not for me.

Santorini, Greece July 26

Today is Santorini. The city is perched on the top of an island made by volcanic eruptions. The entire island is black topped with the white of the town. Our boat is anchored so we have to tender which although not as convenient as stepping right onto shore from the ship it is a whole lot more interesting. The charm of this could certainly wear off, I’m sure, but for now, I’ll take it.
It is certainly a hot one again today. Where is Hades exactly? Maybe it is on
(or under) Santorini. The temperatures are predicted to be around 35 and later they are estimated at 39 degrees. Our tour today is to a crater of a volcano that is not really active. The last time it was active was about 50 years ago. It is a huge hike to the top. We are told by the tour information that it is for very physically fit people and they are right I don’t exactly consider myself very fit, but I’d say very was the best way to describe it. It was uphill most of the way and very steep. The tour documents suggested closed toed shoes which were definitely required.

This volcano was a bit anticlimactic as it was hardly active at all; there were a few steam spots, but hardly anything dramatic. However it is extremely HOT. It is extremely hot and extremely humid. After the volcano is a stop at some hot springs. I can’t actually say how hot these are, as we opt for staying on the boat for a beer. I’m guessing they are similar to the temps of our natural hot springs.

The tour ends at a winery where we sample some Greek wines and try some olives and cheese. The olives are terrific!

We decide to have lunch in town and share a gyro which is doner meat (different from ours…it seems like actual meat that has been shaved), a couple of pitas, tomato slices and tzatziki sauce. The tzatizki sauce it divine! I happen to love tzatizki and this is probably the best I have ever had; it is thick and garlicky and fantastic.

Because Santorini is way at the top of the island to get from the bottom to the top is either a long hike made treacherous by donkey droppings along the way, riding the actual donkey down or taking a cable car. We opt for the 2 minute cable car ride.

Ephesus and Kusadasi, Turkey July 25

All I can say is hot, hot, hot. We are told it will be 40 degrees in the town of Kusadasi (where we dock) and that it is even hotter in-land at Ephesus where we have a tour. I have not idea how hot it actually was, but WOW is it hot. I remember thinking when we were in Chichen Itza the ruins in Mexico that that must have been the hottest place on earth, but this is equally hot.

Our ship doesn’t get in until the afternoon, so we are at the Ephesus ruins for the tour in the heat of the afternoon, but this lets us sleep in. Ephesus is the site where John the Baptist spent time preaching and near one of the places the Virgin Mary is said to have lived after Jesus died. The ruins are described as Greco-Roman – only about 10% has been excavated. There is a theatre here that has been uncovered where big acts perform that holds 25 000 spectators.

The tour ends with a stop at a carpet shop where we are offered wine, raki, Turkish coffee, tea etc. We have raki which to me is exactly like ouzo. Being in a carpet shop with a tour like this lets us into the shop and we get to hear about the carpets without the pressure of having to buy because we just came along with the tour. While one guy with excellent English told us about the carpets, silk, etc about 4 or 5 others jump around to his commands in Turkish to bring out carpets one after the other. They are stunning, but we don’t buy. There is also a silk worm demo which is quite interesting.

After the carpet shop we wander around the town a bit trying to spend the last of our Turkish money (which we don’t). I buy a bracelet and we have a last iskender and Turkish beer Efes (see picture.)

Istanbul, Turkey July 24

We boarded our ship around mid-afternoon today and after having a bit to eat we find the same café near the docks we spent time at last year after boarding the boat. This is a place with a few cafes where we smoke what will probably be our last water pipe and play a bit of backgammon. Once again it is mostly men.

It is comfortable being on the same ship we were on last year. After unpacking and a lifeboat drill, we say good-bye to Istanbul from the upper deck where there is a ‘sail-away’ party.

Istanbul, Turkey July 23

Our first stop today is at the Besiktas soccer stadium for a bit of shopping. The only thing I know about this team is that they pretty much have the coolest looking gear. We get a few shirts and are on our way.

We pretty much follow our footsteps from last year and climb a very steep hill to Taksim square which is a district of shopping, cafes and restaurants. Plenty of places up here have beer, so we stop. I have to make a note about the washrooms outside of the hotel...Turkey has the best, cleanest I have ever found. They always have seats, paper and are CLEAN!

After the beer we set out to find another similar district that is between where we are and our hotel. This proves IMPOSSIBLE. We finally break out Chris' GPS and see that although we are somewhat close, the streets are hardly are very tangled and are up and down hills so we flag a taxi (very unusual for us.) Not 2 minutes into our taxi ride does the taxi collide with a moped! It was one of those moments that happened in slow motion - that we could see happening, but could do nothing about. After just a bit of yelling at each other the 2 drivers went their separate says, and we make it to out hotel.

We spend the evening at a spot we discovered yesterday that is a about 20 minutes walk from our hotel that is full of cafes and restaurants and is very busy. It seems as though this is a tourist area for the Turkish. There are about 6 restaurants next to each other that pretty much serve the same food (very easily could use the same kitchen) but only some seem to serve beer - guess which one we choose?? So with our cokes, I have another iskender and Chris has a chicken kabob. We finally get our water pipe and just watch the Istanbul evening go by.

iskender - the search continues

In the evening we are out again in search of iskender the best we can do near our hotel is a small street food like place - D-lish! The place is pretty much filled with dudes and no beer, but the iskender is terrific.

Editor's note...doner is the same as donair.

Yes, we have iskender

WOW – I'm blaming let lag for Chris (OK me actually) not getting up until 12:30! I guess that's what a ultra soft bed and black out curtains will do.

It is a glorious day of about 28 degrees and a bit of humidity. We walk and walk along the Bosphorous stopping here and there where occasionally there are groups of cafes, restaurants and shops. This kind of reminds me of Miami along the water. We eventually stop for a drink at a very locals' spot where there are mostly men drinking tea and playing backgammon and no one speaks English. Eventually I have a serious hankering for iskender.

Iskender is a dish I discovered last year in Istanbul. Iskender is a thick flat bread topped with tomato sauce with doner meat on top of that and a yogurt sauce on the side – delicious! We finally stop at one of many places where the men stand outside the restaurants, menus in hand trying to persuade you to come to his place rather than the next which looks exactly the same and has pretty much the same menu. We're convinced that each of these places uses the same kitchen. We decide on a place after asking 'doner?" 'iskender?' 'yes, yes' we are told and of course we see that it is on the menu, but a few minutes after we order the guy comes out to tell us that 'doner done', 'iskender finished' and opens the menu up and places his thumb over the iskender. Crap…how do you have no doner?? It is on every street corner. We manage to find the one place in all of Istanbul with no iskender. I end up having nothing as I'm not that hungry for anything else, so I drink my beer and eat half of Chris' meal (not iskender!)

Flying, flying, flying

After 2 flights (9hrs to London was 9 hrs long and 4 to Istanbul) we aren't all that beat since we were able to get a fair amount of sleep on the London flight. We had about 3 hrs between flights in London which we spent in the BA lounge. Beside food and drink here I am able to take a shower. Quite convenient, but quite odd at the same time.



I arranged transportation to the hotel online and it is seamless. Within 5 minutes of getting our bags we are in a car and 30 after that we are at the hotel (about 1am). The hotel is in a different part of Istanbul from where ours was last year - more residential. We are still relatively familiar with this area from last year which is near where the ships leave from. The area is less touristy and quite posh with designer shops lining the streets. The building where the W Hotel is, used to be row houses built in the 19th century to house workers from the Domabache Palace which is close by. We walk around a bit to find some water for the hotel and call it a night.

Summer 2009

It is the first day of our European vacation. We are headed to Istanbul first which as many of you know has become one of my favorite cities - I am thrilled to be visiting again! We will be in Istanbul for 3 days on our own, and will then spend 14 days cruising the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Ionian seas followed by 2 days in Monte Carlo.

I am equally thrilled to be travelling business class on points this year! Time will tell how fantastic it will actually be, but if I am able to even get a tiny bit of sleep it will be terrific. Sleep has always come very quickly for me everywhere except for planes. I hope this changes on this trip.

We (just me really) are also going to try to Twitter this year. Don't know how much I will like it, or how it really works yet. I think you actually have to join to follow us.