Category: travel

Day 10 Sea Day

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A welcome break from the daily excursion routine

No need to wake up early today

No agenda

No dashing around all day

No stress of getting back onboard before sailing

Take a long time over breakfast

Recounting the fun we had so far

Swapping photographs and laughing

Chatting with the friendly crew

Learning about their lifestyle

Take a long walk around the ship after breakfast

Find a cosy place to sit on an open deck and watch the water

Listen to the waves

Decompress

Chat to folks nearby

Small talk

Discover where they are from

Swap stories about our traveling adventures

Time passes slowly

No need to plan our meals

Pick up some tasty treats at the cafe

Graze our way through lunch on deck

Food tastes so much better outdoors

That afternoon nap is calling

Wake up refreshed

Watch to water and stare at passing ships

Imagine who is working on that cargo ship

What is it carrying and where is it going

Take a shower and dress for dinner

Stop for a cocktail at the martini bar

Meet some nice people from Florida

Meet some folks from England

Have a wonderful dinner in the restaurant

Skip the show and have an early night

leave the window open

listen to the sounds of the sea

Sleep soundly as the ship rocks gently

Day 7 Istanbul and sea afternoon

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With a mid day departure

We decided to stay on the ship today

There are over three thousand passengers aboard this vessel

You would expect it to be crowded

Its just the opposite in fact

There are never any long lines at the bars and restauarants

Lots of open seating on deck and inside

No problem to find a quiet spot to chill

Plenty of activities if you want to play or be entertained

Attentive staff ready to bring you anything you need

The crew work long hours daily for 7 months

They are always smiling though

Feeling blessed to be able to live this lifestyle

Feeling sad for those in the world enduring struggles to survive

I decided to do some research

There are around 350 cruise ships sailing today

With a capacity for 600,000 passengers

8.1 Billion people alive on the planet today

So for every single cruise passenger today

There are 1.6M non-cruising people

That makes me feel like one in a million

Day 9 Athens, Greece

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The ship docked early in the port of Piraeus

Unfortunately I had some minor gastric issues that morning

All self induced by over indulging the night before but it settled down by late morning

We decided to skip the sights of Athens and explore the local harbor of Microlimano

There we just a few taxis next to the ship and we asked the driver to take us the Microlimano

He said its a beautiful old harbor with great restaurants but very few tourists go there

He proposed a tour of the main sights in Athens before taking us to Microlimano for lunch at his favorite restaurant

We negotiated a good deal and he drove us into the city and we were pleased that the traffic was not so bad in the middle of the day

Our driver spoke perfect english and gave us a detailed guide of Athens

He parked frequently so we could step out to take pictures of the Panathenaic stadium, theAcropolis and the Parthenon

We did not enter any of these with long lines for tickets but we did get to see the city and the main sights on this drive by tour

Our driver dropped us at Zorba’s restaurant in Microlimano and we got a table overlooking the beautiful old harbor and we arranged for him to pick us up in a couple of hours

We had a delicious lunch of octopus salad, deep fried anchovies, green salad and fresh vegetables

A complimentary limoncello rounded off a memorable lunch

There was still time to stroll around the waterfront and soak up the atmosphere on a beautiful sunny afternoon

Our driver took us back to the ship and he gave us his contact information

He was confident that we would one day return to explore Athens in more detail

We made enough memories in four hours to probably prove him right

Day 8 Kusadasi, Turkey

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Kusadasi is a beautiful Turkish coastal town, a popular vacation destination

We decided to head to Ephesus, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world

There were minibuses but we knew these stopped at the lower gate only

We wanted to avoid the steep climb so we opted to hire a taxi and driver for 3 hours

Initial pricing was 240 Euros but after a few minutes of barter we agreed on 110 Euros, a good deal for four people

Our driver was a young man who spoke little English apart from his perfectly pronounced swearing at other drivers

We communicated via google translate to discover that he left school early to chase girls and was now happily divorced and still chasing girls

He took us to the upper gate and agreed to meet us at the lower gate in a couple of hours

Walking through the ruins is like stepping back in time 3,000 years

We were amazed they allow visitors to walk on the well worn stone paths and inside the ruins of buildings and open theaters seating 24,000

Touching carved columns that have survived centuries of natural disasters, wars, and human neglect

We wandered downhill, stopping to watch workers carefully excavating sections that have not yet revealed their buried contents

Its hard to comprehend that an entire city can lay in ruins and be buried over time

We reached the bottom of the hill and found our smiling driver waiting to take us back to the ship

We gave him a tip of 7 Euros, one for each of his girlfiends

Day 6 Istanbul

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I was looking forward to my first visit to Turkey

We were due to have a long first day there

Demonstrations were planned so we were advised to take extra care and be back on board before 5pm

We hired a driver to take us around the city

Istanbul is a huge bustling city with 20 million inhabitants

The traffic was horrendous but he navigated through narrow streets to avoid the worst of it

We visited a mosque dating back to the 5th century

The call for prayer went out just before we entered

Taking our shoes off at the door

The ladies covered their heads with scarves

Locals were praying oblivious to our presence

The atmosphere was calm and serene like any house of worship

We walked back via a bazar full of Turkish delights

The free samples were divine

Our driver informed us that police were closing some roads due to demonstrations

He took us to the spice market

I have never seen so many spices

A tsunami of colors and aromas

We bought saffron and baklava

One more stop at a tall monument

Istanbul throngs

Istanbul thrives

Istanbul survives

Istanbul east meets west

We got back to ship safely

Nap cocktails dinner show sleep

Deja vu

Day 4 visit to Santorini

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There is no docking for cruise ships on this Greek island

They anchor offshore and small boats ferry you to the shore

We decided to wait a few hours before heading to the departure deck

That plan worked well as there was no line at the departure deck

It was a different story when we got off the boat with a huge line waiting for the cable car

We did not want to risk climbing the steep path up the cliff

Its known to be very slippy and dangerous as donkeys take the same path

We made new friends while waiting patiently and about an hour later we boarded the cable car

The town is perched on a cliff top with narrow streets full of shops and cute restarants

The streets we all overcrowded so we opted to have an early lunch

We sat looking down at the multiple cruise ships docked below

They must have dumped 10,000 people today, far more than can be accommodated in such a small space

We enjoyed a very nice greek lunch and observed more and more boats arriving at the foot of the cliff

There was no point in trying to explore Santorini any further

It was now wall to wall people filling every narrow street

We waited in line for the cable car down and took the boat back to the ship

Its such a shame they allow so many cruise ships to anchor at the same time here

We chatted to folks on the boat returning to the ship

Those who had taken the path down talked of near misses with the trains of donkeys hauling visitors up and down

It was not all bad that day

At least we got to have a nice lunch

Day 5 Mykonos

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Some of our group took a rest day

Relaxing on the ship

Those who went to Mykonos said it was beautuful

Very easy to access and no crowds

A welcome contrast to our trip to Santorini

Those who stayed on board had a stress free day in the solarium

I decided not to follow the news today

Sometimes its best not to know about things which you cannot influence

We had a fabulous dinner followed by excellent entertainment in the theatre

More fun to come

Day 3 visit to Chania

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Our first stop in Crete

A bus ride from the port into town

Bustling with tourists

We walked down to the old port

Found a cafe

Settled down for some people watching

Lots of folks shopping

Buying souvenirs and clothing

We only purchased edible souvenirs

Everybody taking selfies

Strangers stopping and offering to take group photos

Tourists do the same things all over the world

We explored the 14th-century Venetian harbor

Surrounded by narrow streets and waterfront restaurants

At the harbor entrance is a 16th-century lighthouse with Venetian, Egyptian and Ottoman influences

We stopped to take selfies

A stranger offered to take a photo of our group

We wandered back through the narrow streets

Took the bus back to the port

Back onboard our floating hotel

We had survived our first land encounter

We ate all our souvenirs

Day 1

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Get to know the ship

Explore every deck

Visit all the bars

Sip a cold beer

Check out all the pools

Switch to gin and tonics

Nibble at each cafe

Order an aperitif

Dine in the restaurant

Enjoy the gourmet food

Sip different wines

Sample all the desserts

Move to a lively bar

Listen to live music

Have a cocktail

Stroll to the theatre

Watch a live show

Finish with a single malt whisky

Time for bed

Deep deep sleep

Civitavecchia battute

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We took the train from Siena

Heading for Civitavecchia

Two trains and a one hour bus ride to be precise

Italian trains are clean modern and easy for travellers

We were too tired to explore another city

So we opted to have an early dinner

Stopping for a drink at an Irish pub

There were no Irish people in there

But the Italian owner was very friendly

We enjoyed chatting with the locals

In Ireland we would say the crack was good

There is no direct English word for crack

The closest is probably banter

Which translates to battute in Italian

Our battute was mostly about soccer

Swapping stories of famous European cup finals

While drinking Irish stout

Its so easy to connect with people

When you combine sport with alcohol

Inhibitions fall and passions grow

We declared our allegiance to Liverpool FC

Shook hands with the Inter Milan supporters

Then headed off to a local tavern for dinner

We met a group from Canada

They had travelled through Italy by car

Recounting their numerous near death experiences

It seems like most Italian drivers treat all roads like a race track

We were glad we took the train

The next morning was the start of our cruise

A very short taxi ride and a shuttle bus to the port terminal

By 11.30 am were on board the Celebrity Beyond

No more trains, planes, taxis and hotels

No more daily unpacking and repacking

It was time to kick back and relax for 12 days