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Published: October 30th 2015
BLACK SEA ODYSSEY Friday, October 3rd: And so my next international sojourn begins, when I climb out of bed around 6am and prepare for the drive to Long Beach, California to meet up with my brother Richard. I had completed all packing earlier in the week, my suitcase was in the car – now all I had to do was shower, dress and close up the house, before firing up the engine and backing out of the garage. A quick gas stop to top off the tank and by 8am I was on I-15 and headed south to the California state line.
No matter how many times I make the trans-desert drive to Long Beach, I still find the desolation of southern Nevada and eastern California totally awe-inspiring…..the vistas stretch out ahead of me for mile upon mile and before I fully realized it, I was already in Baker and ready for my morning coffee. Denny’s beckoned so what the hell, might as well make it scrambled eggs as well as java for breakfast. A quick text message to Richard to let him know I was
inbound and then back on the highway for another 170 miles, cruising in maximum comfort and rocking out to Annie Lennox on the Bose radio – geez, I love this car!
It was shortly after 1pm when I pulled up in front of his place and once we emptied the vehicle of all my “stuff”, Richard parked it in his garage for safe keeping for the next 25 days – sure beats leaving it out on the street. Prime Time Shuttle was scheduled for a 3:30pm pickup and they arrived on time. Friday afternoon on the 405 interstate highway is probably the WORST place to be bar none, but thankfully we were able to utilize the HOV lane and were at John Wayne Airport by 4:30pm – time to spare before our 6:15pm departure for Salt Lake City – the first of three flights to Athens. Checked our luggage with Delta and was told it was ticketed thru to Greece – no worries or so I thought (details on this later).
A week earlier Delta had upgraded us both to first class (thank god for my Diamond/Million Miler status with the airline) and it
was 90 minutes flying time to Utah, which equates to a 3-drink flight in my mind. Three margaritas later and feeling no pain, we land in Salt Lake and head for the Delta Sky Lounge for our 2-hour layover. It was while we will kicking back in the lounge that I decided to check our luggage tags. Don’t ask me why I did – I can’t tell you for certain – but I had an eerie feeling something “wasn’t right” – god was I ever correct! The dumbass behind the check-in counter in Santa Ana had assured me our bags were checked thru to Athens – she had only checked them to JFK. To ensure I wasn’t seeing things, I verified the fact with the Salt Lake agents and they confirmed that we would now have to collect our bags in New York and then check back in for Athens – I was pissed off big time. Now we would have to clear security again and schlep around Kennedy instead of going directly to the Sky Lounge in terminal 4. Thank god I followed my hunch about this, otherwise we would have flown to Greece but our luggage would have
remained in the States – imagine how that would have ruined our entire vacation. Once I return home at the end of October, Delta customer service will be hearing from me in volumes – they better be prepared to award a bunch of points to my account, bigtime.
Saturday, October 4th: Another upgrade to first class on the redeye across country and we hit the tarmac at Kennedy around 6am Saturday morning. Now we had a full 9-hour layover before departing later in the afternoon, but there were concessions to be had. Delta recently moved over to terminal 4 at Kennedy and they totally refurbished their Sky Lounge there. It’s gorgeous, complete with showers, sleeping recliners in a darkened room and delicious food items for breakfast and lunch. We staked out a couple of comfy chairs close to the bar and passed the day dozing, reading and catching up on emails. Having been up and around for more than 24 hours, by 2pm I was ready for a hot shower to prepare myself for yet another long redeye flight, only this time in economy comfort – no first class seats available for
upgrading, damn!
We boarded on time – the flight was totally full – and once we were in the air, we settled back to enjoy dinner and a couple of movies before trying to doze our way across the Atlantic. Not a bad flight all in all the best part being no screaming kids onboard – yes peeps there is a god. Our arrival time was scheduled for 9:30am Athens time but we were 20 minutes early.
Sunday, October 5th: As you all know I’ve done my share of international traveling but in all my years of arriving at new airports, I have never seen one as empty as Athens. The place was virtually deserted – we seemed to be the only flight arriving from anywhere. It was a short walk to Immigration and again I was amazed. We sailed thru in less than 10 minutes – the immigration guy didn’t say a word, just took my passport, flipped to an unused page and stamped it. Didn’t look at my passport photo, didn’t compare it to my face, didn’t ask for any document or explanation of where I was
going and/or staying in Greece …….don’t these folks know we are fighting a war against terrorists in other parts of the globe? Next stop was baggage claim and needless to say, I was thrilled to see both bags show up on the conveyor belt, but there was one more surprise as we approached customs. Not only did we not have to complete any declaration paperwork to present to Greek customs, but the entire area was totally deserted – not a uniform or even a warm body in sight! Richard and I just looked at one another and laughed, geez, we could have been bringing in a case of AK47s and hand grenades, but I guess they really don’t give a fat rat’s ass about what we have in our luggage…..the Greek economy must really suck! LOL. We walked out into the arrivals terminal and our pre-arranged shuttle driver was waiting. All in all we hit the tarmac, cleared immigration, grabbed our bags, walked thru a deserted customs shed and were actually driving out of Athens in less than 35 minutes – that has to a record which will stand for years to come – I was impressed.
The Port of Athens is located in the city of Pireaus, approximately 45 minutes southeast of the airport. We passed a couple of arenas which had been built for the 2004 Olympics (football and basketball) but being early Sunday morning, everything was closed up tight. Athens is shabby to put it mildly – their economy has been in the toilet for the past few years and it shows. Graffiti is on every available wall and parts of it resemble a war zone – probably was at one time or another.
Our shuttle driver pulled up right in front of the cruise terminal entrance where a Greek God (aka Holland America employee) immediately tagged our two suitcases and they disappeared into the xray machine and then directly onto the ship, which was tied up less than 40’ away from where we stood. Being 2-star Mariners for this cruise line, we were whisked to a VIP section and within a few minutes we were checked in for our cruise and given our cabin cards etc. This has been, without a doubt, the smoothest journey I have enjoyed in years – totally seamless from end to end.
Clearing customs here was what I expected – yes the agents did compare my face to my passport photo –and once all the formalities were completed, we walked out of the terminal building and prepared to board our floating hotel – our home away from home for the next 17 days. The Prinsendam is the smallest of the 15 Holland America ships, carrying a total of 793 passengers and 479 crew, making the ratio of passenger to crew member the highest in the cruise industry. I had booked our trip about two months ago but had elected to be on a guaranteed sailing list instead of selecting a specific cabin. Why do this, you ask? Let me give you all a great tip for the cruise fans out there. By allowing HA to assign our cabin in the 7 days prior to actual sailing date, chances for an upgraded cabin are very good. Naturally you are guaranteed to receive the cabin type you paid for (in our case, an ocean view H level one with two single beds), but as we waited until four days before sailing, we were upgraded 3 levels to a kickass large E ocean view cabin
on the starboard side, complete with walk-in closet, wardrobe space up the whazoo and a bath/shower combination. We are thrilled with these accommodations and really don’t miss having a balcony at all, which is what we usually have.
We unpacked completely and got settled in. We were both feeling the effects of two days’ air travel, two redeyes and long layovers but before collapsing, we wanted to get a “feel” for the boat. We headed for the Promenade Deck and had a quick bit to eat while watching the final boarding processes going on, down on the quayside. Promptly at 4pm local time the ship’s horn sounded and we pushed away from the quay, headed for the breakwater and the open Aegean Sea. Our Greek Odyssey had begun!
As always, we had selected the late dinner seating (8pm) at a table for 6, but before we could even think about that, we both desperately needed a shower and a couple of hours sleep, which is exactly what we did. I don’t remember passing out after I hit the bed, but getting back out of that was so difficult when the alarm on my phone
sounded at 7pm. We were punchy as hell and dead tired, but managed to pull on jeans and t-shirts before heading up to La Fontaine, the main dining room at the stern. As luck would have it, this restaurant is directly above our cabin, so not too far to walk for meals.
We sallied forth into the dining room (or at least I sallied, Richard brings up the rear pretending he doesn’t know me from Adam), and found our table in the middle of the vast dining room. Only one person was there, a guy called Doug from Tennessee, who promptly announced he was a 4-star Mariner and without a doubt the oldest person at the table (just turned 78, if anyone’s interested – I wasn’t). I could already tell I would probably bitch slap this sucker before the cruise was over, but that’s another story for later……
The only five seats at the table remained empty this night – probably due to passengers crashing early as we had done, but not setting their alarms to make it to the dinner table. Dinner as always was fabulous. We dined on seafood chowder, prime rib,
pork shanks, Greek salad and crème brulee before finally stumbling back to our cabin around 10pm to pass out for the second time. Alarm clock set for 6:30am Monday morning – our first land tour in Volos, Greece leaves at 8:15am and breakfast is being served on the Lido Deck beforehand.
Monday, October 6th: The alarm sounded way too early for us both but that’s what you get when you book a land tour for the very morning after you board the ship. Lesson earned for future sailings. We managed somehow to get dressed without putting our clothes on backwards, and made our way to the Lido Deck for a gallon of coffee first and foremost. A surprising number of passengers were up and about even at this god forsaken hour of pre-dawn but then we discovered our tour was the only one for the day so naturally, everyone had booked it – lucky us, NOT.
By 8am the ‘herd mentality” had kicked in for the vast majority and we made our way down to Deck 4, where our cabin passes were scanned and we finally put two feet
on terra firma. The weather did not bode well: heavy overcast skies with a definite promise of rain, not to mention fairly high winds – whoopee, way to go Linda for an introduction to these classic lands of antiquity. As previously mentioned this was the one and only tour available, so a total of 8 coaches were lined up on the pier. We were lucky enough to make the last one, which gave us more free seats and we could each have a window. By the time we rolled out into the town of Volos (third largest port city in Greece), it was evident we had somehow joined the Medicare Group…..a third were using walkers, a third won’t see their 80
th birthday again and the last bunch were definite contenders for the latest Alzheimer’s study group at Johns Hopkins. Richard and I felt like young whippersnappers by comparison – too funny, what a hoot.
No one bothered to tell us that our tour destination – Meteora Monasteries – were a 2 hour drive from the port, so what better opportunity than to grab some more sleep? Which is exactly what we did – geez time flies when
you’re snoring on a tour bus. LOL. We finally became conscious as we approached these unique and phenomenal pinnacles which tower above the plain of Macedonia. These vast granite rocks soar hundreds of feet high and most are crowned with 600-year old monasteries. These offered medieval monks refuge from bandits, but of the original 24 only 6 now remain. We would be visiting two of these.
We pull up to the first one and of course the skies open – it poured down and a thick white mist covered everything in sight – virtually blotting out the scenery we had traveled so far to view. But a little water never stopped these intrepid adventurers, so off we went climbing dozens and dozens of slick granite steps. We got soaked to the skin – I felt like a drowned rat by the time we reached the large wooden entrance door and religion was the last thing on my mind, that’s for sure. I was cursing like a drunken sailor on speed. I’ve seen many orthodox churches in my time in different lands, but this one stood out for good reason: it was featured in a James Bond movie
years ago, probably it’s only claim to fame. Once back at the coach we learned our next stop would be a nunnery – thank you but no thanks, I would hate for any undue influence for conversion to be made in my direction. I was so wet from the first climb, that I took the opportunity to dry out somewhat while Richard went to the nunnery…..from what he told me when he returned, I didn’t miss a thing. The weather was so miserable, it was impossible to take any photos unfortunately.
We had a long drive back to the port plus we hit the early evening traffic, which resulted in us getting to the ship late. Thank god virtually the entire passenger contingent was on this tour, as they probably would have left without us. It had been a long day with a lot of physical mountain climbing – needless to say, we were both totally exhausted and on our last legs by the time we reached our cabin. We considered passing on dinner but realized that the empty seats from the previous evening just might be filled with cool people, so we showered and dressed and
headed to the restaurant at 8pm. Am I glad we did! A delightful couple from New Mexico (Mary and Steve) were our new table mates – they are a hoot and even better, their daughter Jessica is the tech expert on the ship, teaching Windows 8 and other programs to the great unwashed. We had a blast getting to know them and during dessert, Jessica came over to introduce herself. She is definitely “our kind of people” and we bonded instantly. She mentioned that she would like to join us for the formal nights (we have 3 on this cruise) if we didn’t object and as a member of the crew, she would bring the wine. Did she really think we would object to that? I think not. So tomorrow, Tuesday evening, is the first formal night – wonder how many bottles she is bringing? Hmmmmm.
We thought about going to the cabaret show starting at 10pm, but were so dead tired it really wasn’t an option. We hit our beds as soon as dinner concluded and were out like we had been poleaxed. I had to set the alarm for 6:30am once more, as another full
day land tour commences at 8:15am……here we go again.
Tuesday, October 7th: Can it be 6:30am again so soon? God forbid I’m beat. But cruise trooper that I am, I literally crawled out of bed, got dressed and we headed once more for the Lido Deck to drown the pre-dawn blues with gallons of coffee. I was feeling a little under the weather (not surprising, considering the past four days), so I passed on food and just stayed with java. Richard and I were booked on different all-day tours, so we parted company at the gangway before boarding our respective coaches. We were docked at Thessaloniki which is the current and third capital of Macedonia.
He was going to Mount Olympus and I was headed for “Tracing the footsteps of Alexander the Great”, which would take me to the first (Vergina) and second (Pella) capitals of Macedonia, both of which sport fantastic museums. It was another hour’s drive before we arrived in Pella, which is the birthplace of Alexander the Great and where he spent the first few years of his life before setting out to conquer the known
world. By this time I wasn’t feeling well at all and a couple of hours spent wandering around the first museum just about did me in. I finally went to the nearest bathroom and threw up…..that helped somewhat, but I had a splitting headache which didn’t exactly make for a great day.
Realizing that I was “pushing it too far” by continuing to walk around I decided to stay on the coach for the rest of the tour, so didn’t get to see the second museum which was the tomb of Philip II (Alexander’s father) and the current dig site being excavated by the local university. I actually fell asleep on the back row of seats for about three hours and when we returned to the ship around 5pm, I was beginning to feel better.
This particular evening was our first of three “formal dress” nights and it was also the evening that our table mates’ daughter Jessica (the tech expert crew member) joined us for dinner. As she is considered a ship’s officer, she was able to have a fabulous selection of wines served thru out our meal, and needless to say, we
all got merry. She and I were sitting side by side and started discussing our respective careers. When she learned I was a consultant, the conversation turned in that direction and long story short, I will be helping her in the future to follow in my footsteps. She expects to spend maybe a year or two at the most working the cruise ships, then she is ready for “a real job”……LOL. We will be staying in touch after this cruise is over, and she is going to give me a heads up when a great cruise deal comes around (the unpublished ones which she can help me secure for a very cheap price, as a crew member friend)…..just the type of friend I like! We shall see.
After killing off 5 bottles of exceptional wines, we headed for the Showroom of the Sea to watch the Broadway musical rendition of Bravo, by the Prinsendam dancers and singers. After 30 minutes of what I would generously call a third rate performance, both Richard and I had had enough and we headed back down to our cabin. I was more than ready to call it a day.
Wednesday, October 8th: We were not due in port at Kavala, Greece until noon, so we got to sleep in – thank all the gods on high for that. I finally emerged from the bed sheets around 9:30am and staggered off to find coffee. Richard was still dead to the world so I left him to his own devices for a couple of hours. Once I had downed three cups of “get up and go juice” aka coffee, I headed for the showroom to attend a 45-minute discussion on future cruise deals and a raffle – no I didn’t win, damn it.
Our scheduled afternoon land tour to historic Xanthi departed right after we docked, and that’s when Richard finally showed up at the gang plank, ready to board our coach. Xanthi is an ancient town about an hour’s drive from the port of Kavala. It is also known as the City of a Thousand Colors and supposedly is rich in history and culture – neither Richard nor I found this to be the case, but then that’s just us I guess.
We strolled around the old section of the city and stopped in a local tavern for mezas and wine (I swear the wine was brewed yesterday, it was that raw –on a par with turpentine), and I wasn’t really impressed at all. This is my least favorite tour of the cruise so far, but you can’t have everything. By 4:30pm it was time to drive back to the ship, as our departure for Istanbul was scheduled for 6pm. As usual, we made it by the skin of our teeth and headed straight for the Lido Deck for late afternoon coffee, while we watched Kavala disappear in the mist behind us, as we sailed out of the harbor.
Dinner this evening was a quiet affair. Mary and Steve with daughter Jessica were taking advantage of her crew member standing, and were having a catered dinner in the Pinnacle Grill – apparently Jessica gets this perk once a month. So it was just the five of us – Richard, myself, the couple (Randy and Marilyn) from Canada and the blowhard Doug, who will certainly get bitch slapped one day real soon – he is driving me nuts.
Beef Wellington and seafood cerviche were my dinner choices and I topped off the meal with cherries jubilee…..ain’t life on board ship just grand?
We don’t arrive in Istanbul until 5pm tomorrow, so thankfully I will get to sleep in as late as I like. We are invited to a champagne lunch with the ship’s captain at noon, so that will keep me occupied for an hour or so. Then I plan to park my butt in the library, put my feet up and grab the latest best seller to pass the afternoon in peace and quiet. We are in Istanbul until 5pm Saturday afternoon – plenty of time to explore the city I know quite well, starting Friday morning with yet another land tour. This is Richard’s first visit to fabled Constantinople and I can’t wait to see his reaction.
Thursday, October 9th: After a rough night being unable to sleep and feeling sick, I awoke with stomach pains and a mad dash to the bathroom……yep, I picked up some type of virus and it has emerged with a vengeance. I ended up spending the entire day
in the cabin and Richard bringing me a bowl of soup around lunchtime, but I was unable to keep even that down for very long. I expect this to be a couple of days’ misery at the very least – we shall see.
Friday, October 10th: As I suspected, my gastro virus is running its course and I spent the majority of my time either sleeping or in the bathroom…..I feel really ill. We docked in Istanbul last evening and I stayed up on deck just long enough to view the marvelous city skyline and then headed back to the cabin – no dinner for yours truly, I was simply feeling too ill for that.
It was obvious this bug wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so I went down to the medical center when they opened at 8am and spoke with the doctor there. She diagnosed me with gastroenteritis and ordered me to bed and to stay in my cabin for the next 24 hours. Loaded me up with anti-nausea pills, meds for the stomach pain and accompanying diarrhea and I have begun taking all those.
Obviously my pre-planned tour of Istanbul wasn’t going to happen – I would be sleeping most of that time – but Richard left for his 4-hour exploration of the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Underground Cistern. So the day passed slowly while in port and I slept a great deal of the time.
The doctor had arranged for a complete cabin sanitizing session with gowned, masked and gloved room attendants – I felt like the latest Ebola patient being in isolation and treated like a leper! I realize how seriously Holland America takes any chance of infection spreading thru out the ship, but this seemed a bit much.
Around 4pm the doctor called and woke me out of a sound sleep. She was pleased to hear most of my symptoms had disappeared but told me to expect to be weak and extremely tired for the next 12 hours or so. I have to call her at 8am tomorrow and assuming everything continues to improve, then she will release me to leave the cabin and resume my cruise vacation – fingers crossed that happens.
No sooner had I fallen asleep
again than the sanitizing crew arrived for the second time today to clean the cabin around me. I wasn’t about to get out of bed, but they wiped down every surface and removed all linens from the bathroom – now the entire cabin stinks of disinfectant. Naturally I won’t be leaving the cabin again to go to dinner, in fact a letter was delivered just an hour ago from the captain, emphasizing how important it was I remain in insolation for the full 24 hours. Apparently I will receive a refund for every day I’m in insolation, pro-rated daily on the entire cost of the cruise – at least I get something out of being so miserable.
So here it is, sunset in Istanbul and I’m stuck in the cabin feeling sorry for myself. Richard is off taking photos of the city and will then head to the dining room in a couple of hours by himself. I can’t wait for all this to be over and I can finally continue my cruise.
There are multiple internet cafes around the port so once I’m cleared to leave tomorrow morning, Richard and I will select
the closest one to purchase an hour’s wi-fi time to upload this blog and to download all my emails – probably have hundreds by now. That’s the one bad thing about cruising, no round the clock internet access without paying ridiculous high prices.
Saturday, October 11th: A fairly decent night’s sleep but I’m aching from head to foot, thanks to being in bed for so many hours over the past two days – I feel at least a 100 years old right now. The cabin phone rang at 7:30am awakening us both. It was the doctor checking to confirm I felt well enough to return to the land of living, and officially releasing me from isolation – whoopee, there is a god.
Just taking a shower and getting dressed took every ounce of energy I had. We went up to the Lido deck for coffee – I had to ride the elevator, I simply couldn’t manage the numerous flights of stairs. The very sight of all the buffet breakfast food made me want to puke but as I had nothing inside, it would have been dry heaves anyway. Couldn’t
believe how weak and shaky I was……felt as though I had been hit by a truck, no kidding.
We had brought along our laptops so we could download emails, upload blogs and check all relative websites, once we found an internet source in port. Just trying to leave the ship was a joke. Even though the doctor has cleared me an hour earlier, apparently the news hadn’t yet made it to their computer system and as soon as my cabin card was swiped, alarms went off. Then we had to wait while the goons at the gangway called the front desk, who then apparently had to check with the medical center – what a fucking fiasco……I felt like an escaped convict making a break for freedom. I accept and realize I’m a famous personage, but this is going way too far in my estimation. It must have been fifteen minutes before everything was sorted out and I was permitted to finally put both feet down on Turkish soil – the fresh sea air felt so wonderful after two days of stale, recirculated cabin air.
Once outside the passport sections of the port, we headed
down the nearest main street looking for wi-fi and/or internet signs at the various cafes we passed – no luck. We noticed an alleyway which resembled something out of a Tale of Two Cities, with restaurants and bars lining each side…..looked promising but again no signs of what we were seeking. I had getting fed up by this time, so I approached a woman sweeping the front of a café and asked about internet. Bingo – yes they had it, yes it was free and we only needed to buy a coffee apiece to sit at one of the tables for as long as we liked. Again, there is a god for the righteous among us (meaning me of course, not too sure about my brother).
We spent the next hour getting excellent wi-fi reception on our Kindles, laptops and cell phones…..I had 239 emails to download and even with the great signal, they took almost 15 minutes to appear in my Outlook. Once I had them secured in my inbox, I completed my travel group email blog and sent it off to everyone. Enjoy peeps – I won’t be uploading the second and final installment until
I’m checked into the Athens Hilton in about 12 days from now.
We had enough Turkish lira from previous trips to Istanbul to cover the cost of the two coffees, and by 10:30am we were ready to make a move. I knew then that I had gravely under estimated my return to good health – I really wasn’t well enough to go sightseeing, I was exhausted from just a simple stroll from the ship to the internet café. I was afraid that if I really pushed it, I would find myself flat on my back in bed again, and I couldn’t let that happen. The cruise isn’t half over yet. So we returned to the ship and dropped our stuff off in the cabin. The sanitizing crew had been around for the third and final scrub of the entire room, and once again it smelled to high heaven of disinfectant.
I needed fruit juice and Richard was ready for something to eat, so back to the Lido Deck we went, where they were preparing for the lunch time rush. We spent two hours just relaxing on deck, enjoying the fresh air and watching the
hive of activity surrounding the Istanbul port. Richard composed a few text messages and just left to return to the café from this morning, to send them off. Neither of us expects to have any more internet access until we return to Athens at the end of the cruise.
We sail at 5pm today and cruise around the Golden Horn and the entire length of the Bosphorus, passing under the Galata and Ataturk Bridges, which span Europe and Asia and connect both sides of the city. Tomorrow we will be in the Black Sea and have the entire day sailing towards the port of Batumi, Georgia which is a former USSR satellite state, gaining independence in 1989.
Sunday, October 12th: My first trip back to the dining room last evening was met with applause by my tablemates and a few people I knew at surrounding tables. Apparently dinnertime just isn’t the same without my wisecracks and penetrating observations – so ended my fifteen minutes of fame. Always so nice to feel wanted, huh?
I’m still not 100% so didn’t risk chowing down on all four courses….soup and salmon with veggies were all I was prepared to give my tender stomach, washed down with gallons of ice water. Then it was back to the cabin for as much sleep as possible.
As this was a “day at sea” no alarm was set and believe it or not, Richard and I didn’t even surface before 10:30am – that’s the latest we have both slept in since we left California. God it felt so good. I feel stronger with each day but I tire easily – that bug really kicked my ass bigtime.
By the time we arrived on the Lido Deck they were preparing for lunch which begins at 11:15am each day and runs thru 1:30pm. Richard loaded up on fresh fruit and yogurt, and I decided to spoil myself with a helping of raisin-laced bread pudding topped with hot vanilla sauce. Talk about delicious – I thought I had died and gone to culinary heaven. It’s my absolute favorite dessert of all time and as I wasn’t having breakfast or lunch, what the hell. Considering my almost non-existent
food intake for the three days, I can have it, so there!
Next we headed to the library and picked up a couple of best sellers to kill a couple of hours. It had turned quite cool outside with heavy overcast skies and a brisk breeze, not really comfortable for sitting out in the fresh air, so we chose the Explorers’ Lounge instead. I found a deep overstuffed leather armchair with ottoman and made myself comfortable until the 2pm Indonesian Afternoon Tea was served in the dining room of La Fontaine. We both went for the jasmine moonlight tea but decided that it had obviously been picked during an eclipse – didn’t see any moonlight in my cup and the jasmine was non-existent – go figure.
Consulting our daily seaboard guide (arrives in our cabin every evening during turndown service), we saw the latest Tom Cruise movie “Edge of Tomorrow” was starting at 3pm in the Wajang Theater – off we went and spent a pleasant two hours watching that sci-fi flick. Then it was back to the cabin to read more of our best sellers before dressing for our second formal night dinner.
Once again Jessica joined us bringing wine – I really like this girl! Again an excellent selection of both red and white but I passed on partaking, still not completely ready to resume normal eating and drinking habits. The conversation as always was lively and fun, we really lucked out with table companions this cruise.
We had an early call for a city tour so after dinner, headed back to the cabin and read for a couple of hours before turning out the lights.
Monday, October 13th: 7am and my cell phone announced its presence with the gentle sound of breaking waves (yes, I’m obviously being sarcastic) which dragged us out of bed. No wonder we were still tired – we had moved into another time zone and had lost an hour overnight. We were taking separate tours this morning – Richard was doing the city highlights with a side visit to a local artist studio, I was doing a more extended city exploration one only.
After coffee and fresh fruit, we went up to the Crow’s Nest to watch the port city
of Batumi appear on the horizon – probably the most modern-looking town since leaving the States. The closer we got to port, the more skyscrapers we saw and were surprised at the different styles of architecture the downtown buildings presented. They ran the gamut from the traditional Russian square blocks, brightly painted, heavily ringed with gilt and onion-topped steeples, to 21
st century round glass towers at least 20 or more stories high. One building in particular looked somewhat like the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (the highest building in the world), with its gradual tapering of one spire, mirror-like glass sides and dancing fountains at the base. There were numerous Old World style clock towers, stark white minarets, dark brooding gothic churches and perfectly manicured gardens right at the dock – even the port terminals were painted bright blue and white – really a very attractive area.
Once the ship had been cleared by local customs, we were free to disembark and head for the tourist coaches. As per usual I got the “over 95 and demented” group sharing my coach – I swear it’s my deodorant or something which attracts them. Two of the women were pushing
walkers and probably weighed around 300lbs each – I will leave the sight of them trying to board the buses to your imagination – it got even worse when we arrived at the first museum and they realized they had to climb a couple of flights of stairs. Why do they always sign up for tours which require a normal amount of fitness and ability to walk? I just don’t get it. Half or more of the time they remain in the coach – how is that worth $80 or $100 of vacation money? And before you ask, NO I didn’t offer to assist them and have no intention of doing so in the future either!
During the 4 hours of tour time, we explored two museums, two churches, main town square where a statute of Medea is holding the Golden Fleece of Jason and the Argonauts fame, and a final stop at the White Restaurant which was built upside down. Apparently everything inside this restaurant is upside down and the actual building is resting on its roof’s edge – really weird. On the way back to the dockside, we past a brand new building which was
completed just a few weeks ago and has yet to open. I was really surprised when I saw the name by the front door – Hilton and on the next block is the recently-built Sheraton, with Marriott on the opposite corner. All three hotels just a couple of blocks from the port and the beaches of the Black Sea. I can only imagine this area of Georgia is being prepped to be a major resort destination in the near future, otherwise these major American hotel chains wouldn’t be located here. Just as we approached the dock, my cell phone locked onto an unsecured wi-fi signal and I was able to download 35 emails which had arrived since my time in Istanbul. Probably the highlight on the tour, far as I was concerned.
Back on board by 1pm, I headed for the outside area of the Lido Deck and found Richard who had also just returned from his city tour. As we hadn’t bothered with breakfast we decided to have pick and choose lunch from the buffet. I went for sushi and Chinese curried chicken salad, Richard opted for mushroom and barley soup and a plate of assorted
cheeses, veggies and bread sticks with various sauces. The weather remains warm and humid but the skies are overcast enough that I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw rain before we cast off and leave port at 5pm today.
Jessica is holding a Windows 8.1 class later this afternoon which I plan to attend. My tablet has 8.0 and I want to find out if the upgrade has enough new features to make it worthwhile downloading when I get home later this month.
Richard is catching a few early afternoon zzzzz’s down in the cabin and I have my new book ready to go when I finish updating this travel blog. Probably a lazy evening ahead which is just fine with me – it’s another early alarm morning tomorrow followed by an 8-hour tour of Trabzon, Turkey. Here we will visit the city of Trabzon and the Greek Orthodox Sumela Monastery, which apparently was constructed within a cavern in the middle of a steep slope above dense forests. God forbid the walkers didn’t sign up for this particular tour – it’s definitely going to be a three-ring circus event if they did! I’m taking
photos and even video if necessary. Stay tuned………
Tuesday, October 14th: Today has to go down as the very BEST one so far of the entire trip……we got an early start and the coach we were assigned came complete with wi-fi, usb ports and a color screen…..definitely the right way to get me interested. I promptly turned on my cell phone and downloaded all emails to date……I’m a happy camper. Even Richard was thrilled he could text his girlfriend back in San Jose.
Our first stop was the Trabzon Ethnography Museum, which was originally built in the early 1800’s as a private residence in the center of town. Each room on the three floors has been recreated as it was when first built, with mannequins in local costumes. Worth 30 minutes of my time, I guess. Then it was off to the city’s Archaeological Museum which is the best one so far. The icons displayed on the walls were simply magnificent and an entire room was dedicated to amphora found on the floor of the Black Sea and dated back to the third and fourth centuries BC.
Following a quick snack and hot tea break, we piled back into the coach and drove for the next 90 minutes into the Black Mountains to visit what the local people call The Virgin Mary Monastery, but which is known nationally as Sumela Monastery. This is a 4
th century Greek Orthodox monastic center that includes within its structures, a natural cavern in the middle of a very steep slope that towers over dense forests. Considered one of the most important Byzantine monasteries, it was finally abandoned by the religious order of monks in 1923.
We started driving up into the mountains and the scenery changed dramatically. It went from flat fields under cultivation of crops such as wheat, barley and oats, to soaring peaks of granite, densely coated with tall pines for as far as the eye could see. The road was serpentine in nature and about one third of the way up, we came across an open-air restaurant built across a fast-moving mountain stream. Here we stopped for an hour to enjoy a lunch of typical Turkish fare of hummus, stuffed cabbage, yogurt, eggplant and flat bread, followed by a fabulous baked rice pudding topped
with nutmeg. I downed three glasses of ice water, plus fresh peach juice and two glasses of hot tea. Normally I would never drink this much liquid on a full day tour, but I knew what was happening immediately after lunch, and I would be sweating it all out.
First a trip to the nearest ladies’ bathroom – what a riot, they only had Turkish style toilets, which to the unaware reading this blog – it’s a hole in the ground over which you squat. God help those with bad knees, hips or backs – you’re doomed! LOL I managed very well and then boarded a minivan with Richard that drove us to the base of the stairway leading to the Sumela Monastery, some 1200’ directly above our heads. Our guide had been very clear on the subject of climbing these steps up to the structure: if you are not in reasonable shape physically and/or have any fear of heights, DO NOT attempt this climb under any circumstances. Well you all know me well enough that his statement then became a challenge which I couldn’t resist, so off I went. Never in all my years have I
climbed such a vertical mountainside, over 400 steps which include tree roots, broken slabs of granite and uneven rocks, with one side being a drop straight down to the valley floor. I was both scared to death and totally exhilarated at the same time – and when I finally staggered thru the wooden doors of Sumela, I was pouring in sweat (probably dropped 10lbs in the 30 minutes it took to reach the summit), completely exhausted and totally proud of my achievement – I honestly didn’t think I had it in me. Even Richard was shocked I had made it to the top! I am so glad I did it. The monastery is beyond belief, it is probably one of the most stunning I have ever seen. How the hell those monks built it, I can’t imagine but they created one incredible structure. The main altar of the church is covered in painted frescoes and certainly don’t look more than 1600 years old. It is all built into the actual mountainside and looks over the wide valley far below. I took some fabulous photos which I will attach to this blog when I send it from Athens next week.
We spent about an hour exploring the site before it was time to make our way back down. Having the bum left foot that I do, it was actually harder going down than it was ascending – the pressure on my foot was intense and by the time we reached the staging area for the minivans, my ankle was swollen to twice its normal size from the stress of the descent. But it was all worth it and I was still on a “high” from the incredible climb which lasted thru the rest of the day.
Certainly didn’t need to squat over the hole before climbing into our coach – I had sweated out at least a gallon over the afternoon, but I did down two bottles of ice water before returning to the ship. During the 2-hour drive, we watched the sun set over the Black Sea and the lights of Trabzon coming on along the coast road. We were all dead tired but it had been a marvelous day all round.
That evening we joined our tablemates for dinner and only 4 of the 8 had made the mountain climb
up to Sumela…..we ordered a bottle of wine to celebrate. Then we returned to the cabin – I could hardly keep my eyes open, I was so tired.
Wednesday, October 15th: An early morning arrival in Sinop, Turkey and we watched the ship kiss the dockside at 7am while drinking our morning java. Our half day tour today includes the local archaeological museum and a drive out to the only Fjord in Turkey. Both Richard and I have had our fill of museums and churches for sure, but as they are included in almost every land tour, we really don’t have much of a choice overall.
We were delighted to find the same coaches we had had the previous day for Trabzon, had been driven overland and were being used once again for the Sinop tours. We lucked out once more and had the wi-fi equipped one, so that made up for yet another museum stop.
Neither the museum nor the drive out to the fjord impressed Richard or myself, so other than giving both a cursory looksee, we spent most of the morning in the
coach browsing the internet and downloading emails.
Once back onboard shortly after lunch, we headed to the top deck where the Crow’s Nest bar is located. With its 180-degree floor to ceiling windows and plush seats, it offers one of the best viewing areas on the entire ship and today, they were holding an early Happy Hour with 2-for-1 specialty cocktails. Today’s special was a Blue Coco Mojito – I ordered two as did Richard – they arrived loaded with fresh mint and lots of rum…..god they were delicious and went down easy. We curled up in two of the loungers with foot rests and sipping our mojitos, we watched the ship slip its dockside bonds and head out of the harbor, into the Black Sea. Is this paradise or what?
I really didn’t feel like waiting until our normal 8pm dinner sitting, so I stopped off at the Lido Deck buffet around 6pm for salad and soup and then headed to the cabin for an evening of finishing off my latest best seller. Richard went up to dine and found that all the women from our table were doing the same as me
– he was left with a couple of guys to chat with, until he too called it a night.
Thursday, October 16th: We got to sleep in a little this morning. We didn’t dock in Constanta, Romania until 10am and our first tours were scheduled for 10:30am. Even though Romania joined the EU in 2007 they still recognize their national borders, which means we had to take our passports with us and clear immigration before we could board the tour coaches at the pier. More stamps to add to my massive collection – almost filled up this recent passport.
Constanta was founded by the Greeks around 2,500 years ago and the city is rumored to have been the place where Jason and the Argonauts landed after securing the Golden Fleece. At that time it was called Tomis and being located just 185 miles from the Bosphorus, made it a major trading center. The Romans conquered it in 71 BC, naming it Constantus in honor of the Roman emperor, Constantine the Great. After the fall of Rome, the city fell to the Ottomans and was largely ruled by the Genoese
during the 13
th century until it was once again retaken by the Ottomans. It became a resort spa town during the Soviet Regime and today, it is the 4
th largest port in Europe after Rotterdam, Antwerp and Marseille. It remains a very popular summer tourist resort for Eastern Europeans and is considered a jewel of the Black Sea.
I had selected Histria, the Ancient Citadel tour and Richard was signed up for Romania: the Communist Era one, so we parted company in the port terminal building and climbed aboard our separate coaches. Unfortunately no wi-fi equipped bus this trip and overall, it really was a waste of time and money. We drove almost an hour to the middle of nowhere and the museum/ruins which awaited us were really not worth our time. I took another cursory look at both – disappointed – so returned to the bus to read my best seller instead. Apparently quite a few of my coach mates felt the same.
Thankfully it was a 4-hour tour and before long we were headed back to town and it started raining. What better time than to grab a few zzzzz’s in the
middle of a rainstorm? So I did and by the time we were pulling up in front of the dock, I was feeling much refreshed. Dropped my backpack off in the cabin and headed up to the Lido Deck for coffee and a snack with my brother, who had also just returned from his day trip.
Hopefully this evening everyone will be present at dinner and we can catch up on activities during the past two days. Tomorrow we dock in Burgas, Bulgaria around 8am and we have a 5-hour tour booked together……stayed tuned for those fun and games.
Friday, October 17th: Dinner last evening was relaxing and fun as usual…..everyone but Jessica was present (late classes in the tech lab) and we swapped tour stories thru dessert. I had read that the latest Liam Neeson movie – Non Stop – was playing on the cabin television starting at 10pm, so Richard and I parted company in La Fontaine dining room, as he went to spend an hour or so listening to his favorite classical group, Adiago up in the lounge.
We
were able to sleep in this morning as we were scheduled to join the last tour group leaving the ship at 10:45am. This time, we had booked a 5.5 hour tour of Scenic Sozopol, located approximately a 50-minute drive outside the city of Burgas. As with Romania we had to take our passports to clear immigration at the port (more stamps, whoopee) and with only about 30 people on this tour, we had just the one coach. As always we grabbed the back row of seats and virtually had the back of the bus to ourselves, which is exactly the way we planned it. Unfortunately again not a wi-fi equipped vehicle, but you can’t have everything I guess.
Once a Greek colony and later a Roman one, Burgas was sacked by the Goths in 373 AD and later became an important trading center during the Byzantine period. When Bulgaria gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, Burgas experienced decades of prosperous growth before declining during the Soviet Regime. Burgas is now one of Bulgaria’s largest cities and its largest port, with a population of more than 230,000.
Driving thru the city on our
way to Sozopol, the Soviet reign here was very evident in the dull, grey and gloomy communist era architecture – they are in stark contrast to the decorative historical buildings dating back to the period of independence.
We took the coast road and followed the Black Sea to the ancient city of Sozopol which was founded by the Greeks over 3,000 years ago and is reputed to be the oldest city in the Balkans. We stopped at the harbor and left the coach to walk thru the old part of this coastal town with our first visit being the impressive archaeological museum. They had some fantastic early Grecian vases and coins dating back to the 4
th and 5
th centuries BC and just behind the building, was a reproduction of a Grecian sailing vessel – reminiscent of the ship which is featured in the Odyssey.
From there we went to the Holy Virgin Church built in the 17
th century AD, but there wasn’t that much to see and no frescoes painted on the inside walls. We had an hour of free time to explore this village of timbered houses and cobblestone streets, but I was
more interested in returning to the harbor area where I had been able to get a decent internet signal. Richard took off to explore and take photos – I spent the next hour wandering around the dockside and marina areas, but had no luck in downloading any emails.
By 12:30pm we piled back into the coach and headed for the new part of Sozopol where we would enjoy a typical Bulgarian lunch at the Hotel Selena. It was pretty decent considering. We dined on diced chicken breast topped with local white cheese and oven baked, followed by their famous yogurt and green fig jam….this dessert was definitely the best part of the meal.
Richard obtained the password for the restaurant’s internet and we were able to check our cell phones for emails, text messages and various updates. I went immediately to Delta’s website for upgrade information on our return flights to California next week, but no joy yet. Fingers crossed we are flying home first class – time will tell.
The weather today has been the best since we arrived in Europe almost two weeks ago and once we were back
onboard, we dumped our stuff in the cabin and immediately headed to the Lido Deck to enjoy the warm sunshine and fresh air. Of course we had our books with us and spent a delightful 3 hours relaxing and watching the city’s port activities. Up on the Lido Deck is the “Dive In” burger and hot dog shack which cooks these items to each passenger’s order. We decided to split a burger loaded with fried onions, lettuce, tomato and their special sauce (Richard said it was probably Thousand Island), but whatever it was, it was delicious. We didn’t want to spoil our regular 8pm dinner, so we were satisfied with half a burger as a midafternoon snack to keep us going. It is now almost 5:30pm and sunset is less than an hour away. The ship’s horn just sounded and we are slowly pulling away from the dock and back out into the Black Sea. Our next port of call is Cesme, Turkey but that won’t happen until Sunday morning. In the meantime we will be sailing back thru the Bosphorus, passing Istanbul on the way and going around the Golden Horn into the Sea of Marmara. Following this, we
begin the 33-mile long Dardanelles cruise before we finally enter the Mediterranean. Our captain just described this as being one of the sailing highlights of the entire cruise, so no doubt Richard and I will be up on deck for most of the day Saturday, taking photos by the boatload! We both enjoy having “sea days” – no alarm clocks and sleeping in late – works for me.
Saturday, October 18th: We were awakened at 8am by the sounds of screaming gulls which can only mean we are very close to land. Opening the blinds, we realized that we were cruising thru the Bosphorus, with the city of Istanbul on either side of the ship. Within 20 minutes, we were showered, dressed and leaving the cabin for our morning cup of java up on the Lido Deck.
We found an advertisement sheet for a 75%!o(MISSING)ff sale at the Signature shops starting at 10am, so after a relaxing hour in the fresh air, we headed down to see what just might be worth buying. It was while I was selecting a couple of t-shirts (reduced from $25 each to
$9) that I happened to overhead a woman discussing how crowded the self-service laundry room was – there are two on the ship and the one she was referring to is our deck, #6. Unbeknownst to us, laundry on this ship is free – we were shocked as we have always have to pay on previous voyages. That was all I needed to hear. I immediately grabbed Richard and we returned to our cabin to collect every piece of soiled clothing we have stuffed in bags during the past two weeks. We had been washing out underwear in the bathroom but that never seems to keep fabric as clean as a washing machine, unfortunately.
I decided to first check out the second laundry room up on deck #10 and really lucked out. There are 3 washers and 3 dryers in this smaller facility but only one of each was currently in use. I spent the next 3 hours getting two full loads of laundry done. It was a pain in the ass but when you have nearly all your vacation clothes washed, it certainly feels great. Richard was fast running out of underwear, so he was more
than ready for freshly-laundered boxer shorts!
By 2pm I had all our clean clothes hanging in the closet and put away in the wardrobe drawers, and decided to join Jessica’s second class on navigating Windows 8.1 which is the follow up class to the one I took that week. Here I ran into her mom Mary (one of our tablemates) and she has invited Richard and I to meet her, her husband Steve and Jessica at their favorite Athens restaurant for dinner next Tuesday evening. We dock back in Greece early that same morning – Mary and Steve fly home to New Mexico on Wednesday morning – Richard and I are spending a couple of extra days in the city to sightsee first. Tuesday night is the only time we will all be in the city together, and we are really looking forward to it – we have become quite close friends with Jessica and her parents……who knows where all this will lead?
This evening is the third and final formal night for this cruise and of course Jessica will join us once more, bringing more wine…..such a treat all round. Tomorrow morning we
dock in Cesme, Turkey and Richard and I were booked on a 6-tour of this ancient city.
This last formal dinner was simply unbelievable – we dined on duck pate, caviar, escargot, lobster, filet mignon and topped off with Soufflé au Grand Mariner – we thought we had died and gone to culinary heaven, what a fabulous meal. Without a doubt the best served on this entire cruise, and considering how fantastic the food on board is, that’s saying a lot. This was also the last time Jessica would be sitting with us in the dining room, as everyone at the table except her would be disembarking Tuesday morning in Athens and returning to the USA. Unfortunately she would also not be joining her parents, Richard and I at the planned dinner in Athens Tuesday evening, as the Prinsendam sails at 3pm the same day for Rome, where it begins a 14-day cruise of the Holy Land, stopping in Egypt and Israel. The next time we see Jessica will probably be on another Holland America cruise somewhere in the Far East in 2015.
Sunday, October 19th: The alarm dragged
us awake at 7am and after coffee on the Lido Deck watching the sunrise, we joined our “Best of Cesme” group at the gangway. No joy once more as this tour bus didn’t have wi-fi, but the weather was definitely cooperating with a brilliant blue sky and wonderful warm sunshine.
We began by driving along the coast road paralleling the harbor and bay. This is called the Turquoise Coast and it lives up to its name – the water here is a beautiful bluish green, with bands of corresponding colors as the depths descend towards the Aegean. We stopped first at the Cakabey monument celebrating some Turkish Pasha Hero of an 18
th century war in the region, and the scenic views from the hill top were awesome. The city of Cesme lay spread out at our feet and there were mountain ranges and water as far as the eye could see. The city was ranked 8
th by the New York Times out of 31 Places to Go in 2010 and is one of Turkey’s most prominent centers of international tourism. The name “Cesme” means fountain and is probably referencing the many Ottoman fountains scattered thru out the
area. It was also the region’s major port and marked the end of the Silk Road.
Then it was on to the Eritrai ruins at Iidiri which is located some 45 minutes inland. The walls around this ancient city are still standing from Roman times and exceptionally beautiful Hellenistic floor mosaics can be seen in one of the buildings.
Just before the seafood lunch stop in Dalyan, we drove thru the famous Alacati Bay where the world championships for windsurfing and kitesurfing are held every year. The open air restaurant was just outside of Alacati Bay and was situated right on the water in the marina area. Here we were able to connect to the restaurant’s wi-fi signal and of course, I immediately checked the Delta website to see if we have been upgraded to first class on our flights home. Nothing yet but as the upgrade window opened just a few hours ago, we still have an excellent chance of that happening.
Our final stop was Cesme Castle across the harbor from where our ship was docked. The views from the top battlements are the focal point and we managed
to photograph the Prinsendam as she bobbed gently against the dock in the afternoon sun. We were back on board her by 3pm, just in time for afternoon tea and then our favorite daily activity: best sellers in hand, we went up to the outside Lido Deck to pass a couple of hours reading and enjoying the warm afternoon in this delightful coastal town. I found the latest Wilbur Smith novel in the library and that will keep me enthralled for my remaining time on board.
Monday, October 20th: The rumbling of the ship’s engines awakened us just before my cell phone was about to chime 6am – we had an early tour time of 7:15am to visit the famous city of Ephesus, about 18 miles outside the port city of Kusadasi. It was still dark outside, only the lights of the dock and harbor were visible from our cabin window, but dawn was breaking on the eastern horizon – that only makes it harder and harder to come fully awake and try to get ready for the day ahead.
As
always the first stop was the Lido Deck for coffee and as the ship had already docked at the pier, we watched the sun peek over the surrounding mountainside behind the city walls. Kusadasi is an extremely attractive resort city located on the western coast of Turkey and attracts tourists from all around the world. Since the area was first settled by the Leleges in 3,000 BC, culture and art have been at the forefront. Ancient ruins can be found at virtually every turn. Offering a Mediterranean climate with hot summers and mild winters is the key to the city’s international tourist industry. The streets along the waterfront are lined with restaurants, bars, stores of every product imaginable, including silk weaving and carpet looming factories. And of course souvenir stalls by the gazillion!
A short 20-minute drive inland had us at the gates of the Ephesus, known as one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World, which opened at 8am. There were at least a dozen tour coaches already parked by the entrance when we arrived – obviously the most popular attraction around here.
For the next three hours our Turkish guide walked
us thru the entire excavated site…..apparently only one third of this site has been uncovered – they estimate a massive area remains underground and it will be years before the complete city is revealed to the public. Passing under the Magnesian Gate, we began a slow downhill walk to this ancient Roman provincial capital of what was previously referred to as Asia Minor and Anatolya, long before it was the current Muslim country of Turkey. The highlights of this site: the Temple of Hadrian, the magnificent fountain of Emperor Trajan, the Odeon Theater, the beautiful Celsus Library facade and the dramatic and awe-inspiring Great Theater are all too much to describe…..they are everything you have seen in photos, but pictures can’t do this place justice. It is simply incredible and I strongly suggest it be put on everyone’s bucket list. Between Richard and myself we probably took 500 pictures…..many of which will end up being my wallpaper slide show on this laptop after I return home.
Upon returning to the waterfront we left the group and struck out on our own to explore the local shopping markets – Richard adores Turkish Delight (I can’t stand it) and
wanted to buy a few boxes to bring home. We had tried to find an open wi-fi signal all morning but to no avail. I will end up spending a few hours at the Hilton hotel in Athens tomorrow afternoon, probably downloading 250 or more emails when I have a decent connection.
After 30 minutes I was ready for lunch and lemonade so returned to the ship. Richard stayed in Kusadasi to continue his hunt for his favorite snack and we would meet up again later onboard. It was a beautiful day weather wise. Brilliant sunshine and bright blue skies but a cold wind was blowing in off the Aegean making a long-sleeve sweater necessary for comfort. I spent a relaxing two hours up on the Lido Deck soaking up some rays, enjoying a light salad and soup lunch before returning to our cabin.
We had arranged with our cabin steward on the first day, to store our luggage so as not to waste space in our cabin – we need all the inches we can get in here! He had delivered our empty suitcases after making up the room in the morning, and
I wanted to get a head start on packing before dinner. We have to have our bags ready for pickup outside our cabin door no later than 11pm this evening and hopefully we will retrieve them around 10am during disembarkation tomorrow. We sail today at 5pm and cruise across the Aegean and back once more to Piraeus. I don’t know where the past 17 days have gone but I do know I have had a fantastic time and I know Richard did also. We will be sorry to say goodbye to our tablemates (with the one exception of Doug of course) this evening, but at least I will be keeping in touch with them all and we do have plans for dinner tomorrow night in Athens with Mary and Steve.
Fingers crossed we are ungraded to the Executive Lounge level at the Hilton tomorrow (I have NO doubt we will be), so my next entry will be from there……..
Tuesday, October 21st: It was certainly a bittersweet evening as we bid adieu to everyone at the table last night…..no doubt we will remain in contact with the majority but
ending such a great voyage is always hard. A restless night as the Aegean was quite rough and the ship docked early (4am) – once the engines shut down, we missed the vibration!
Our cabin stewards were banging on the door at 7am, apparently they didn’t get the memo that we weren’t leaving the boat until almost 9am but what the hell, we can always go to the La Fontaine dining room and have our final breakfast on board, which is exactly what we did.
The weather was glorious…..bright blue skies, brilliant sunshine and a cool wind blowing – bodes well for our stay in Greece and flights home. We saw Jessica, Mary and Steve at the adjoining table and we confirmed we would be meeting up with them at 8pm this evening in Athens.
Our pre-arranged shuttle driver arrived on time at 10am and by 10:45am we were walking into the spacious lobby of the Hilton, on embassy row in the downtown section of the city. We were directed to the 11
th floor where the executive lounge is located and of course we had been upgraded – needless to say,
Richard was thrilled at the prospect. We were assigned a beautifully-appointed suite with a large balcony overlooking most of downtown, but not unfortunately with a view of the Acropolis – that’s on the other side of the hotel.
We dropped all our stuff in the room, grabbed our cell phones and laptops and immediately took up residence in the executive lounge……a fabulous room with direct line-of-sight to the Parthenon off in the distance. Fantastic views from the open air balconies where we will have breakfast tomorrow morning and an expresso machine with a great selection of “goodies”…..we will be spending a little time here I think. LOL
After a couple of hours downloading emails and responding to urgent ones, we returned to the suite to prepare for our evening with Mary and Steve at their favorite Greek restaurant. We get to use the Athens Metro tonight to reach this place – that should prove an adventure for sure.
By 5pm we had showered and dressed….made a beeline back to the executive lounge where we downed a few glasses of white wine and watched the glorious sun set over the Acropolis…..can life
get any better than this? I think not. The city is simply incredible and I can’t wait to explore it fully tomorrow.
By 7:15pm we were making our way to the nearest Metro station. It was a delightful time of day, right after dark – clear skies, cool breeze but the humidity and air pollution were high. Traffic here is crazy and the amount of yellow cabs, reminds me of NYC.
It was a short 5-minute hike the station and once we entered, we realized the fares are based on the “honor system”…..they are definitely not talking to me. We figured out which way to go and waltzed onto the nearest subway train and three stops later, we emerged in the Gazi District where we were to meet Mary and Steve. They arrived a few minutes later and we proceeded to stroll a couple of blocks to the restaurant.
What an eclectic place this turned out to be. It’s located down in a basement of a ram-shackled building. The steps leading down are at such an acute angle had I not been totally sober, I would have been ass-over-tea kettle and
head first into the corner bar. The building is at least 100 years old, held together with paint and good wishes. We were the only customers – not surprising as they had just opened and most Greeks don’t think about eating dinner until at least 9pm and much later on weekends. The owner recognized Mary and Steve from their visit the previous week so of course, we got the table closest to the bar.
Naturally the printed menus were in Greek and the owner didn’t speak a word of English, but one of her waitresses knew just enough to be able to convey our desire that they make the selections for us. And so the parade of dishes began. We started with regular green salad soaked in virgin olive oil and sprinkled with olives and goat cheese, followed by a yogurt and cucumber salad. Both salads were big enough for the four of us to share. The obligatory basket of fresh bread was largely ignored by all, but when the Greek cheese blitzes arrived, we all dove in. A platter of sliced potatoes and pork cutlets came next, accompanied by what I can only describe as a
small round pizza, covered in ground beef and chopped parsley (no cheese in sight). Each dish was delicious and we really couldn’t finish it all. We finished with a baked sesame and cinnamon dessert which looked to be soaked in honey and super sweet –but neither was true. It had an odd taste and consistency but not something I would want to eat again. The total bill came to 51 euros which considering how much food we were served, was extremely reasonable.
A short stroll back to the Metro station where we had to make our final goodbyes to these delightful folks from New Mexico – they really did contribute to our wonderful cruise. By 10pm we were back at the Hilton and climbing into bed, eager to start our exploration of this ancient city in the morning.
Wednesday, October 22nd: Neither of us slept well again – we are both so ready to return home and climb into our own beds, but it won’t be long now. A quick shower and we were in the executive lounge by 8am for breakfast. We took an outside table on
the balcony and drank our morning java while gazing across the city rooftops to the Parthenon in the distance.
Back to the Metro station and headed for the first stop of the Hop On/Hop Off bus. For the next five hours we covered most of the city and the 13 bus stops. The stops are located as close as to possible to the major historical sites, museums and monuments – I don’t think we missed one! Took dozens of photos and by 3pm we were exhausted, not to mention hot and tired as the temperature had climbed into the mid 80’s with very little wind to cool things off. Decided to return to the Hilton and spend the rest of the afternoon being totally lazy in the executive lounge, plus I wanted to finish off this travel blog and get it emailed out before we left Europe.
So here we are, kicking back in the lounge sipping on white wine and watching the city far below us. This will be an early night as we have a wakeup call set for 3am and the limo service picks us up at 4am to connect with
our Air France flight to Paris at 6:30am tomorrow. It will be a very long travel day, as I plan to drive home to Las Vegas from southern California as soon as we get back to Richard’s place around 7pm……no doubt I will spend the next two or three days in a total haze, trying to re-acclimate to Pacific Time Zone.
We have had another fabulous vacation…..now it’s on to Dubai for me next month……stay tuned for that blog!
Cheers…………………………
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