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31 October - 3 November : Merhaba Turkey!

Halloween in Ancient Ephesus & the Greatest City in the World

Trippin'.
Ephesus. No visit to Turkey is complete without a journey to the remarkably preserved Ancient City of Ephesus. The presence of a number of noteworthy ruins was once the greatest cities of the Ancient world and is home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
We booked a half day tour with Nur & Ekol Travel and had a personal guide all to ourselves to take us through Ancient Ephesus. One of the most amazing sites I have ever seen.. so well preserved. You truly do see how life once was some two- thousand years ago. In an ancient city like this, having a guide is far better than any travel/ history book you can get. We were able to go at our own pace and have all of our questions answered. Lunch was included-- our first Turkish meal-- and one we cannot wait to experience again when we go to Istanbul. All in all, Ephesus was everything people made it out to be. Truly an experience and highlight of the entire cruise.
Istanbul. While you may have preconceived opinions and ideas of what to expect when visiting Istanbul, they all hold truth to a certain extend. Istanbul is a bridged between modern and ancient, conservative and progressive, religious and secular, the very familiar and at times exotic and where East truly meets West. Whatever it is, we all can agree, Istanbul is undoubtedly becoming more interesting by the day and can hold its own next to the Rome and Bangkok destinations of the world.
So glad we ended our 3- week vacation in Istanbul because it is, hands down, the greatest city on Earth! And while the weather was unforgiving at times, it was bearable. A few drizzle here and there was not enough to ruin our time here. We stumbled upon the best guide ever-- Ayse from OurExplorer while planning the trip and she turned out to be even better than what other travelers had reviewed. We only booked her for half the day for the Cistern, Hippodrome and Hagia Sophia for $30 per person and she was not only nice, but spoke English very clearly and even managed to suggest us places to eat and shop. She knew her Istanbul history. Of course we've read up on places that are a must for eats and she was able to confirm it's authenticity. She also told us how to bargain at the bazaar and that we should pay no more than such and such for souvenirs. A great start to our 2.5 days in Istanbul.
The Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar is a sight to be seen. It is every photographer's dream.. and the shopping is not bad either! I went a bit nuts and came home with 10 pashminas-- they don't make it like this anymore. It was a must! We had some of the best food, the best shopping, and the best experience here in Istanbul than our entire trip combined. Lastly, it may just be Turkey in general, but Istanbul has some of the nicest people you will ever come across. People here will literally pick up the money you drop, chase you down and hand it back to you. That has to count for something, right?!

Sleeping: Maywood Hotel, Nobethane Caddesi No:25 Sirkeci, tel: +90 212 520 21 93. Have the cab driver call the hotel for directions because it is not easy to find but is located just minutes walk from the monorail system and is two short stops to the downtown area. Convenient and cheap!
Eating: Sultanahmet Koftecisi, tel: +90 212 513 14 38. Don't be fooled by the other look- a- likes in town. This place is the real deal!

More Photos.

View full Ephesus gallery here.
View full Istanbul gallery here.

29 - 30 October : Scenic Santorini & Windmills in Mykonos

Smart Car Ride to Oia Village and Wandering Mykonos Town

Trippin'.
From Santorini's undeniably striking views to Mykonos' cosmopolitan lifestyle and cubist architectural roads leading you in circles, it is no wonder that these two island attract such great followers. Both with its own unique style delivers and exceeds all glossy picture- postcards expectations.

Most of Santorini is perched atop cliffs so from the ship, we not only had to take a small boat to shore, but have the option to either ride the stinky donkeys up to town or take the cable cars. The cable cars line was a ridiculous 45 minutes long but we had no other choice. I was not about to smell like a donkey for the entire day. Originally, we planned on renting some ATVs to ride to Oia, but after considering the distance and coldness in the weather, we decided to rent a car-- a Smart Car!
We spent a great portion of our day in Oia while in Santorini. Oia is stunning and picturesque with shops and homes clinging onto the rolling cliffs and hills. It was the perfect backdrop to a great photography day. Upon returning to Fira, the city center, we had extra time, and decided to hit up an internet cafe to catch up on some emails. Dinner was planned early, or so we thought, until it donned upon us that we had to get in line to take the cable cars back down to our cruise ship. With thoughts of missing our tender, I tried to find others from our ship ahead of us in an attempt to cut in line. We managed to get down just in time to catch the very last boat back to the ship. Missing our ship would have been disastrous but am glad it was just a very close call.

While Mykonos may be known as a party island that does not sleep, this is true only 3 months out of the year. The rest is dormant and desserted, which was both good and bad for us. We really had no big plans for Mykonos, just rent a few vespas and drive to some popular beaches, but the wind prevented us from renting vespas. And with most places closed, we were limited to the city center where a few stores and restaurants were open just to accommodate the cruise ships. Good news, I can't imagine wandering the narrow streets of Mykonos during peak season when the island is flooded with tourists. Bad news, all the shops were closed.. or so we thought. For a good portion of the day, the shops shut down for an extended lunch, nearly 4 hrs! So we were left with just the windmills and had a blast playing around with our jumping photos. Despite the extremely windy day, the windmills stood still enough for us to take some great shots.
After lunch, and our first taste of hummus this entire trip, we retreated to the ship for a nap. That's how much time we had. We made it back in town just before sunset and dinner. But before we could settle on a place to eat, we realized all the shops were opening up and G had a glimmer of excitement so we took it to the streets again, this time, for a little retail therapy.

Eating: Lucky's Souvlaki's, center of city in Fira (Santorini), may be a chain but a darn good one at that. In fact, G claims this to be the best gyro he has ever had. And believe me, he has had more than his fair share so it speaks volumes.

More Photos.

View full Santorini gallery here.
View full Mykonos gallery here.

22, 23 & 28 October : Fortresses, Olympics & Palace

800+ Steps to Palamidi, Columns in Olympia and Groupies in Crete

Trippin'.
I've come to realize that nothing beats a view of a city like the one from a cruise ship pulling into port. It's an amazing sight to be seen especially one from your very own private balcony. It's nice to know we'll have 11 more mornings just like this one.

Neither of us has heard of Nafplion until we decided to go on this cruise. The years prior, this same cruise line detoured to Corfu instead, so we were both bummed when the itinerary changed on us. However, Nafplion proved to be a worthy stop. A quaint town rich in history, it was a great and relaxing start to our trip. We even managed to get in some well needed work out when we decided to climb the near 1000 steps up to Palamidi Fortress. I nearly keeled over but the view from the top was worth every inhaler puff!

Katakolon is a dormant town primarily known for its gateway to the ancient city of Olympia where the very first Olympic was held some 2500+ years ago.

We arrived in Crete on a National holiday, Oci Day, which on one hand, allowed us to visit the Palace of Knossos for free, yet on the other hand, everything was practically closed except for cafes and restaurants. However, we had a blast wandering the city center and people watching. The youth and teen "groupies" are alive and well here in Crete and we managed to capture most of it on film-- girls in school uniforms, boys with wild and crazy hair, girls with skinny butt- crack showing denims and the list goes on.

So far, Greece has treated us well. Next up.. Egypt!

More Photos.


View full Nafplion gallery here.
View full Katakolon/ Olympia gallery here.
View full Crete gallery here.

21 October - 3 November : We're Cruising Now

12- day Mediterranean cruise

Trippin'.
After a week of trekking on our own from Milan to the Riviera to Athens, we were more than ready to settle into our balcony suite for the next 12- days without the worry of having to pack up and lug around our 40lbs suitcases.

The idea of people waiting on you hand and foot, beds made every morning and turned down every night, all- you- can- eat buffets, cafes and restaurants at whenever you wish to dine, Vegas- like shows and musicals to the nine, a parade of activities for every personalities, all the while waking up every morning in a new and fabulous city along the Mediterranean-- sounds like heaven doesn't it?! Our schedule was set for the next 12- days in terms of activities on shore-- camel riding in Cairo, scenic drive in Santorini and much more. But of the 12- days, we did have 2 days at sea allowing us to take full advantage of sunbathing at the pool, eating as much as our stomachs can handle and, of course, attempting to work it all off at the gym on board.

A typical day on the Jade
7am: Wake up and head down for breakfast. We started out dining at the grand dining room but gradually converted to the buffet style dining for convenience and time. Eggs benedict, waffles, sausages, hash browns, pancakes and the list goes on and on. You name it, we ate it.

8am: Everyday we port in a new city so to make the most of our days we were up bright and early. Packed our daypack with the daily essentials-- cameras, water, light sweater, sunglasses, etc. The other 2 days at sea gave us the chance to sleep in and go about the day at a much slower, lazier pace.

The day: Most of the day was spent on shore excursions. The 2 days at sea was all about the pool and the food-- BBQ's, Asian, Indian and everything in between. mMmm..



4 or 5pm: Return to the ship and head straight to the cafe for a light bite-- tomato soup, burger and fries, etc.-- before heading back to our stateroom to rest for dinner and night activities on board.

7pm: It's nice to have the luxury to go out onto the balcony and just relax. We spent a good portion of early evenings doing just that. Also watched a lot of movies on the television before washing up and heading down for dinner and show. I took this time and opportunity to do laundry in our sink. We weren't about to pay $5 per garment, any garment, to have it done on the ship. Having a balcony came in handy when we needed to dry all of our clothes.

9pm: Dinner for most nights was in the main dining room. Everyday is a different menu. We opted a few nights to dine at the specialty restaurants which had an additional surcharge but was a great change of scenery and food; tapas one night and Asian fusion another.

10pm: I was usually beat by this time after a long day of constant walking and sight seeing so for most nights, we retreated to our room. On the few nights where we weren't exhausted, we managed to catch the shows which were amazing. NCL Jade has great line ups and acts from musicals to magic shows to comedian acts.

More Photos.

View full gallery here.

20 - 21 October : Taxi From Hell

Parthenon, Prostitutes & Paranoia

Trippin'.
We've been looking forward to Athens for quite some time, but Athens took us both by surprise in more ways than one-- neither of which were good. Expensive, polluted and overcrowded, time certainly have taken its toll on this great city. Today, it's overrun with rebellious teenagers, street beggars, prostitutes, dealers, users and abusers. Somewhere hidden behind the graffiti plastered walls and underneath the trash covered streets is the ancient city Greeks love to hate, which leads me to wonder what Athens was like pre- Olympics "renovation" in 2004.

But through it all, what Athens lacks in instant beauty, it redeems itself in preserved history. It's probably one of the few ancient cities where the modern and classical can coexist. For this, we managed to look past all the negatives and made the most of our stay soaking in the history, food and shopping.

Taxi cab rip off
After a long day of train and plane transfers, we arrived extremely late to Athens and were not prepared to deal with cab issues getting to our hotel. But you know our luck, we managed to land a newbie driver with no sense of direction! After a quick pull over on the freeway for a pit stop (the driver, not us-- we were still in the car), he proceeded to drive us in circles asking for directions along the way, and all the while on our running meter. But alas, after a few detours, we made it. But of course we had a dispute when it came to our bill. On top of our 20 Euro bill, we were completely blindsided by a hidden "luggage fee" of 3 Euro per person. Whether it was legit or scam, I was not going out without a fight. But I failed to reason with the non- English speaking pompous jerk and managed to only save us 2 Euros for getting us lost. G is not one to be confrontational, and looking back, it's was probably pointless to get all wild up for just a couple of bucks. It only makes us better taxi travelers for next time. Tips-- we should have had him call our hotel for directions. Most if not all taxi drivers have cell phones so why not. We did just that later in the trip when we arrived in Istanbul.

Sleeping: Art Hotel. 27, Marni Str, tel: 210 524 0501. Staff will make you feel right at home. Best of all-- free access to internet! Our latest hotel's "must have" amenities when traveling abroad.
Eating: O Thanasis. Don't be fooled by other neighboring restaurants attempting to forge the signature name that is Thanasis.
A Must: Frappe- Order up! It's like instant coffee from a can but so much better.

More Photos.

View full gallery here.