Athens, Greece - July 12

We are up early, off the ship, and after a 20 min taxi ride to our hotel we wander around a bit until our room is ready. On the ride from the ship our taxi driver points out a few sights. It is odd to see a typical European city and then all of a sudden a Greek ruin. The Acropolis is relatively easy to see as we walk the streets - it is a short walk from our hotel.

After we check in to our 2 single bed room! we are on the go again. It is very hot - 37 degrees we see at one point. We find a cafe with misters that cool the air a bit, but still sweltering.

The rest of the day is a relaxing one wandering around, enjoying the city. We have dinner on a roof-top terrace with a view of the Acropolis.

The food here seems relatively authentic - from our tourist perspective that is. We have Greek salad, and a variety of Greek appetizers.

The temperature cools off quite a bit in the evening to where you could actually use a sweater.

Mytilene, Greece – The Island of Lesbos - July 11

When we arrive in Greece, it is very hot – 37 degrees. It feels hot, but it isn’t very humid so I’m not dying of the heat at all. I thought the heat here would kill me and have always feared Greece a bit because of this, but today anyway things were fine.

We have to tender in again today and then drive along the coast of this island to an ouzo factory. Although tendering is a pain as we have to wait for the tenders rather than just walking off of the ship, tendering is fun. We get to feel and taste the sea as it splashes into the boat. Apparently the sea is quite rough today – how would we know??

The landscape is full of olive trees and the sea, a few goats here and there and very arid land. We visit the ouzo factory (see pic of the still), have a beer in a seaside café and are back on board. Greece has siestas so when we are in town it is pretty quiet. It looks like a great place to be at night. We are back to places we are comfortable with…people who speak some English and cafes.

Tonight we pack, do some last minute laundry and get ready to end our cruise and head to Athens on our own. Although the cruise was great, we really didn’t have as much time (the nature of cruises in our experiences) as we would have liked in each port and are looking forward to being on our own to explore the cities.

One interesting experience was meeting an American women who could not stop professing her love for George Bush – she actually said she “loved George Bush”! When would I ever (or anyone) say they loved Stephen Harper??

Day at Sea…Sailing the Dardanells and the Bosphorous - July 10

Not much to report for our day spent sailing. Although I wake up early (waking up early doesn’t seem difficult when I don’t actually have to be anywhere) I am still up at 7:00 – Chris sleeps late. Because we are on the ship all day we are able to take advantage of the on board amenities we miss when we are on excursions.

We actually attend an art auction on the ship. Our ship is full of original art by big name artists – Picasso, Rembrandt, Chagall, Dali to name a few! Most of the big names are prints, but still original (supposedly). Apparently for cruise ships to have art like this and auctions is very typical – news to us. The auction results in very little buying, but there’s a lot of art info given throughout the auction about the artists and a types of art, so that’s interesting.

It is pretty much at sunset that we sail through the Bosphorous straight that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara which then connects to the Aegean. This is fabulous as we see Istanbul just as it is getting dark which is stunning. The Bosphorous pretty much splits Istanbul, so it is on both sides of us as we sail through. I am again reminded how much I loved Istanbul.

Trabzon, Turkey - July 9

Today we arrive back in Turkey. This time in the north east part of Turkey in what is described as a remote city with little services. We expected a whole lot less than what it really is. While not a Istanbul, it certainly is a city – about 700 000 ‘inhabitants’. It isn’t big for tourists and our guides have to be flown in.

We first visit a monastery that is absolutely incredible! It clings to the side of a mountain (see pic) like the last one we visited in Ukraine, but this one very, very high up (getting there was treacherous – see pic) and is FULL of frescoes (see pic). I’ve never seen anything like it – AMAZING! Not only is the monastery breath-taking, so is the scenery – within a forest thick with trees (somewhat like home in the mountains) high above a roaring creek (see pic). It takes the entire morning to visit, so after the monastery visit we head back to the ship for lunch.

After lunch we visit a mosque, a church (only a museum now as it is no longer used) and a noble’s house on a hillside. The mosque is very interesting because this time we are with a guide who gives us all kinds of info about the mosque and Islam and there are people actually using the mosque.

I again am very impressed with Turkey and will definitely come back.

Sochi, Russia - July 8

Our tour today isn’t until the afternoon and we don’t dock until shortly before the tour starts, so it is a very lazy morning. Even if we were docked early visitors either need to be on a guided tour or need a visa to be alone in Russia. We lost an hour in a time change last night, and got a bit mixed up so we didn’t have much time before the tour anyway. This was actually nice as we’ve been up at 7 each day we’ve been on the ship for tours.

Sochi is a pretty cool, modern looking place and it’s too bad we can’t explore on our own. We are on what is called the Russian Riviera and as as we come into port we see tons of hotels, cafes and tourist friendly spots. It will be the site for the 2014 winter Olympics.

After a walking tour with guides wearing the highest heels possible we drive for about an hour to a tea plantation. This is the most northerly tea plantation (41 degrees north). This is a great tour – very interesting with beautiful lush mountainous vegetation. We see the tea plants, listen to a lecture on tea production and visit a tea house for tea, poppy seed bread and a forloric show. I always try to collect a bit of local money, but although we buy some tea they take USD and give change in USD, so no Rubles for me.

Ukraine seems to be unique in its choice of fashion and we are back to men looking less ‘prosperous’ and women not looking like they belong on a street corner.

Savastopol, Ukraine - July 7

Today’s tour includes a visit to Khan’s palace and a monastery. The 16th century palace is Islamic which makes it very interesting and different from what we are used to seeing – photos are of entrance to palace, inside room and outside wall.

Again, no one here speaks a lick of English other than our guide so although difficult, we are able to spend our Ukranian money. We decide on an embroirdered pillow cover. The woman speaks to us the entire time we are barganing in Russian while we speak English and with the help of a calculator as translator we strike a deal. Somehow we were negotiating for 2 covers – what a deal.

After the palace we visit a monastery built into the side of a cliff. This is Russian Orthadox so the women have to cover our heads. Very steep steps to climb but worth it – pic is of steps to monastery.

The rest of the day is at sea, sleeping, eating, swimming and going to a wine tasting.

Yalta, Ukraine - July 6

Today in Yalta on the southern Crimea coast starts again with a ton of rain that lasts just until before we are about to start our tour, so no problem. Although it has just rained the temperature is nice – about 22 degrees.

We were originally booked on a winery tour but that was cancelled. Our alternate is a tour of 2 palaces. We start off first at Livadia Palace, the summer residence of Tsar Nicholas the 2nd - famous for holding the 1945 Yalta conference between Stalin, FDR and Churchill. Although not very old (built in 1911) very interesting and beautiful – it took only 11 months to build. The tour is full of info and stories about Rasputin and the Tsar’s hemophiliac son.

It takes us forever to get to the next palace as the roads are barely wide enough for two cars much less 2 buses and they are meant to accommodate 2 buses, one side of kiosks and a row of parked cars! After much backing up and going forward while a bus coming in the opposite direction does the same, our bus driver performs a miracle and we arrive at the next palace.

Yalta is a seaside resort with a bustling boardwalk. We wander around, change some money but can’t give it away! The city buildings alternate between huge, rundown Communist blocks of apartments and newly built or refurbished. We take in the sights, but it is hard to find a place for a beer, so we return to the ship thirsty.
What we do get from Yalta is a lesson in Ukranian fashion for women. The objective for young Ukranian women is to wear as little as possible with complete disregard for undergarments. Some of you might ask, “how could that be a bad thing?” Well…sometimes there are things no one needs to see – eeesh! And by the way…Ukranian men still love to show how ‘prosperous’ they are are by wearing no shirts.

Odessa, Ukraine - July 5

A thunder storm welcomed us into Odessa – mail language here is Russian not Ukranian. The city walking tour that is booked for the morning is cancelled. We have another one booked for the afternoon, so hopefully that will go ahead.I am having a tonne of trouble getting photos posted from the boat, so photos may be posted haphazardly.

The afternoon’s tour to the Odessa catacombs goes ahead. It takes about an hour by bus to get to catacombs used during the war to fend off the Germans. Apparently Odessa has 3500 km of human-made catacombs.

The cruise line we are on prides itself on its high level of service. This was very clear to us at lunch today. While eating at the buffet restaurant the waiters carry your plate to where you are seated! You basically walk along side the waiter while he carries the plate. Just as I thought I was being ignored by having to actually carry my own plate from the dessert buffet, the waiter swooped in from out of no where to rearrange my place at the table by moving my tea pot about 3 milimeters so that my dessert plate would fit. Perhaps this story looses something in my telling it, but my point is that we are being well taken care of!

Things I noticed about Odessa…
1. Men don’t care for wearing shirts…men of all sizes, doing any number of things.
2. Women of all sizes wear very tight clothing.
3. There is very, very little English anywhere we were. This made it painfully difficult to find a café to enjoy a Ukranian beer. Prices seemed relatively cheep however…about 1.50 CAN for a beer.

This shot is of the famous Potemkin steps – 192 steps and the view above is from our balcony in Odessa!

Constanta, Romania - July 4

We have another wonderful breakfast in our room before boarding a coach for an hour's drive to an archeological site and museum. There are tonnes of storks around the archelogical museum! Apparently they like to nest on the tops of electricity poles and can be seen quite regularly.

We also visit a folk art museum - similar things to Ukrainian, like eggs and wheat focus.

The rest of the day is spent relaxing on the ship.

Boarding the ship - July 2

Although we know we can't check into the ship until after 3:00, we figure we can check out of our hotel and leave our bags at the ship early and take off until check-in time. Were we WRONG! We showed up and were told we would have to 'wait'. Nobody (the only people there were passport control) could tell us when exactly we would be able to drop our bags, so we waited. And we waited. And we waited. This experience was made even more pleasant due to the fact that when we were first dropped off I needed to find a WC, and after 90 minutes my eyes were turning yellow! Finally, we were able to board, check bags and find a washroom! As my eyes returned to their original color a glass of Champagne comforted us.

Once we were free of bags, we hit the Besiktas soccer stadium for a couple of shirts. The service in shops in Turkey is over the top! Very friendly and right on top of you, yet not really off putting either. Chris makes friends speaking the universal language of soccer.

It has been very hot since we arrived in Istanbul and is hot again today - probably over 30.

We wander around Istanbul for the last time before boarding the Seven Seas Navigator - our home for the next 10 days. Our room is very big compared to other ship-board rooms we have stayed in. It is about 250 square feet - bigger than many land hotels we have been in! We have a bathroom with a separate shower and tub, a walk in closet, a king sized bed, a sitting area with a couch and a table and chairs and a balcony, bottle of Champagne on ice and a stocked mini bar - very nice. Departure is delayed a few hours because some passengers have not arrived, so we are able to go back into Istanbul after dinner.

There is a row a of Shisha bars very close to our ship where we share our last water pipe and try pistachio coffee. Had I known this delicious stuff existed earlier I would have drunk nothing else in Istanbul! It's more like hot chocolate than coffee - made with crushed pistachios and milk served in tiny espresso like cups. This place is great...great atmosphere (loads of people), men offering to sell fruit, yogurt and pistachios, backgammon and very friendly attentive staff.

Things I noticed about Istanbul...

1. very clean...after a day walking in sandals my feet are hardly dirty like they usually are in Europe

2. there are very few Turkish women visible...all workers we have seen (other than our chamber maid and hotel restaurant waitress) are men

3. public WCs are great...of course we have only been in tourist areas, but all but the one in the non-tourist place we ate lunch in have been fully equipped

4. street food is limited to corn on the cob (interesting), pretzels and ice cream

5. the Muslim call to prayer is pretty much ignored where we were - although this happens 5 times a day we only heard it in the afternoon and at night

6. no mater day or night I felt safe

7. I'd be happy to visit Ιstanbul again

Nessebar, Bulgaria - July 3

I have never been a fan of room service...things have changed! After a room service breakfast we tender (small boat used to shuttle passengers because the ship can't dock in the town - photo below is from the tender) into Nessebar. Nessebar is a small tourist village on the Black Sea. We have a walking tour, a wine tasting (where Chris and I are part of the entertainment - only got a photo of Chris!) and time on our own where we have a drink on a terrace over looking the sea and shop a bit.

Tonight is formal night. I like dressing up...Chris is another story. We lose some money at the casino after dinner and call it a day.

Istanbul Day 2 - July 1

Today is Mosque Day. First is the Hagia Sophia. Today this is a museum, but was a church around in the 6th century and then a mosque and now a museum. It is still under restoration, which is uncovering paintings from the church days that were covered when it was converted into a mosque.

Next is the Blue Mosque. This is a functioning mosque. The place is huge, but it doesn't take much time to actually go through - maybe 15 minutes.

The palace here (Topkapi) is closed today, but we walk around the grounds. Although it is a very hot day the huge trees here cover the entire grounds with shade. These grounds overlook the water where we stop for a drink.

We try to find the spice market which is a VERY HOT, slightly less maze-like version minus the live chickens of the market we visited in Morocco. Just when I think we will never find our way out of this sweaty, crowded laberynth we're out. The temperature really led the way. Once we were out the heat dropped!

Lunch is a place not very touristy. We have what is like a pizza called a pide. We are served a giant pita bread along with a red peper spread and shreadded cheese like we would get bread at the start of a meal at home - delicious.

We make one last visit to the Grande Bizaar for a Turkish tea set. These are small glass cups with a tea pot and serving tray. We're a bit worried the glasses may break, but are reassured as the guy selling them stands on them!

Dinner is in square with a tonne of fish restaurants, muscians and people everywhere - great atmosphere. The appetizers come in small plates on a huge tray that you select off of. We choose octopus salad - very good.

I am loving all of the different foods here. Today for breakfast I had rose flake jelly. Not bad - kind of spicy.

A day of travelling

We've arrived. After almost 20 hours of travelling from Calgary to London to Istanbul we are finally here! The hotel arranged to pick us up (will insert pic later) which made things very easy. We are staying at the Hotel Nena. It has A/C, wireless internet and roof top restaurant (like most places here seem to) where we eat breakfast. The rooftop restaurant has a great view (unbelievable really!) of the city especially the Blue Mosque (pictured below), the Hagia Sofia and the Bosphorous strait.

After breakfast we join a city tour on a bus accompanied by an audio guide. This lasts for about an hour and a half where we see the sites of Istanbul.

Lunch on a terrace consists of kofte which are essentially lamb meatballs - which come with rice and veg.

After lunch we wander around and find ourselves in the Grand Bazaar - a GIANT covered market. Apparently there are over 3500 shops and stalls here. The main things here are carpets (of course), jewelery, and leather, but basically you can get anything you want. We're not big shoppers but come away with a shall. A few other things caught our eyes so we may go back.

We head back for a nap after a trip to a grocery store for water and beer. There's not much for booze, but we are able to pick up some beer.

We don't head out again until about 9:00 and the temperature has cooled off nicely. The day was quite hot - not too humid, but hot. There are cats everywhere! Not bothersome, but everywhere you look. Dinner is a Turkish delight! Chris has a plate of various meat kabaps and I have "Iskender" which is doner meat with youghurt all on top of bread. After dinner our waiter sets us up at a cafe around the corner where we share a water pipe and play backgammon. Definately a new experience for me.