Istanbul to Athens Cruise

Hello All,

We are traveling once again, this time a cruise from Istanbul to Athens on Oceania with friends Tomi & Bryan Storey and Mary Jo McMaster & Barry Schaffer.  We are all having a wonderful time – if not tired all the time.  It is very hot and we are going lots of places every day.  But let’s start at the beginning.

We departed from Dallas on July 31^st, arriving in Istanbul on August 1^st….nonstop on Turkish Air!  That’s the good news.  We spent one night in Istanbul at a hotel, then went to the Zeyrek Cinilli Hamman.  We had been to the oldest hammam in Istanbul in 1995 and emerged the cleanest we had ever been.  In 1995 no one had anything on; the woman who scrubbed me had on a loin cloth and nothing else; this time I was given a paper bikini and top of two tiny triangles with strings to tie it on.  It was pretty funny on this body!!!  However, the bath/massage was just as wonderful.  I really recommend a Turkish bath if you ever have the chance.

We then boarded the Vista ship.  It’s a wonderful ship; then the  ship spent another night there. On our first night we took a sunset cruise on the Bosphorus; it was beautiful and relaxing.

 We had been in Istanbul twice before in 1995 and 2013, but we still took a  tour of the highlights the next day – and enjoyed it!!! 

Decadent……and delicious!!!

We visited the Cistern in Istanbul — a sight that I had not seen before.

The first stop was the island of Lesbos and that is quite a story.  I had set up a rental of a nine passenger van – the idea being that we would drive around the island.  We walked to the auto rental sight.  After some time we received our vehicle – a manual van.  The problem was that it was a very, very difficult gear shift….and, it had been a long time since I had driven a manual car….and, there were tons of hairpin and uphill turns – resulting in a number of times that the car stalled and I had to restart with cars behind me and the car really, really hated first gear!!!  The planned first two stops were skipped by accident, but we did end up in a great restaurant for lunch on the edge of the coast with great food.  However, everyone was really tired of my not-so-stellar driving.  So Bryan took over and, to my delight, while he drove a lot better than I, still had some problems with the terrible gear shift.  We were all delighted when we got back to the ship and some cocktails.

Not so much to see, but we did discover a great and unusual beer at lunch. It is beer and lemon (maybe lemonade). The name is Radler.

A selfie taken by Marina, our waitress.

After Lesbos, we arrived in Ephesus.  It was 98 degrees and bright sunshine.  We did take an umbrella from the room and did have it up some of the time.  Ephesus is marvelous.  The ruins are great.  John and I have a picture at home on the wall of the two of us in front of the Ephesus library; we tried to replicate it even though the crowds were part of this year’s picture.

We then visited the Ephesus Museum.

The next day was Santorini, Greece.  What a stunning island!  However, every cruise line stops there when in the area – it was MOBBED!  The gorgeous white buildings, some topped with the bright blue roofs are so beautiful.  Lorenzo was our guide and he was the very best guide possible.  He took me on a special route that had only a few steps to navigate.  We stopped in three areas, the first being the poshest part of the island,Oia (pronounced la). 

Then we went to a winery and tried a most interesting wine; it was a white wine but reddish in color and it was more like a dessert wine – really sweet.  Not my favorite, but an interesting thing to try.  Our last stop was at Fira, a less fancy part of Santorini but with great views.

I took a picture of the bus parking lot to show how crowded it was. This does not include all the cars!

And an example of the hairpin curves — all along the way!

The next day was Olympia, Greece, the sight of the original Olympics. They began in 776BC and ended in 400AD. During that period the Olympics were always held in Olympia. The athletes entered the stadium through a tunnel and were cheered by 40,000 to 45,000 spectators. The excavations in Olympia were started in 1870. The modern day Olympics began in Athens in 1896.

I picked up my tickets, got to the bus, sat down and was then told by the guide that I would not be able to get to either sight, the latter being only a one block strip of shops and cafes. The ancient sight, I was told, was very interesting and had LOTS of steps to navigate. It was also VERY, VERY HOT (I was told later). She told me that I would have to stay on the bus — so I got off! Now, we pay on Oceania for our excursions, so I’m hoping for a refund!!!

So these are pictures from either John or Tomi or Mary Jo. Here’s the start and finish of the race, then the tunnel.

He left the other guy in his dust!

Each passenger was given an iPad like tablet with images in 3D to show what each site would have looked like prior to its destruction.

They all arrived back just drenched and parched. August might not have been the best choice for this trip. Might as well be back in Texas…..except there we are NEVER outside unless at the pool.

That’s all for now but there is lots more to come.

Bye,

Beth