Pictures to go with Post #21

Turkish musicians outside the ship
The sign at the port entrance with Mellinnium in background
The terrain around Kusadasi and Ephesus
Our bus unloading at the home of Virgin Mary.
Entering the home (no photos allowed inside)

Levent at Ephesus
Entering the main ruins
Marble warn from years of chariot wheels
Steel rods held column pieces together

How they moved large blocks of marble
The Goddess Nike (notice the ‘swoosh’ in her gown…left middle)
Public toilets (running water underneath)
The main walkway. Library at bottom.
Terraced houses undercover on left

Terraced houses:
Overview of how rooms were divided
Nice walkway and explanation signs.
Pipes for running water
Beams (new) on top of marble columns…large places
Levent and work

The Library
More columns along another road and lots of ‘debris’
The larger ‘theatre’. Cages for animals underneath.
The market area outside

Lunch;
Levent showing us what is on the menu.
Eating outside.
Yes, I was actually there!

At Turkmen;
Separated silk for the individual cocoons.
Spinning them into yarn
Young ladies showing how rugs are made.



Breaking us in
The pitchOur purchase
Returning to the ship

Kusadasi from the port



The weather has been great...a little cool and windy on our 'sea days', but high 70's otherwise...and no rain (knock on wood!)

Post #21: Kusadasi and Ephesis

It is now 5:30pm 'ship time' Sunday,
(7:30pm PST according to my laptop)
I had hoped after being at sea all day
that the internet would be fast...NOT
Slowest time yet. Pictures not loading.
So, here is the narrative, pix to follow.
(This is Post is from Friday)
Maybe I can do the pix after dinner.
We had to set clocks forward a couple of days ago
So we get that hour back tonight. Good!


Met Levant at dock at 8:00am
Our four, Steve’s four, and Linda’s four.
Levant is a guide whose name we got from Cruise Critic
Steve, Linda and I decided to merge our four groups
It would out really well, and we saved money that way.
Nice large comfortable mini-bus
Drove out toward Ephesus
Countryside similar to So Cal hills,
Lots of agriculture: cattle, sheet, grapes, and of course olive trees
Didn’t have good picture taking seat on bus…bummer
Stopped at House of Virgin Mary. Very serene.
The Pope has said, this ‘could’ actually have been her house
Spent a long time at Ephesus…well worth it.
An ancient city on the slopes of the hills.
It ‘died’ when river silt filled the bay and boat access was lost, and an earthquake.
Essentially ignored for centuries as it slowly was covered with dirt
Only 10% has been un-earthed…on-going project. Acres and acres.
Amazing architecture and artifacts.
Layout was very similar to a city today.
Shopping area, churches, public toilets, Roman bath (our spas), library.
Large ‘theatre’ similar to Berkeley’s Greek theatre, and sports areas.
Theatre is till used to this day (added lighting and sound systems of course)
Separate (additional fee) viewing area of amazing homes (of the rich and famous)
Circulating hot and cold air, running water, ornate frescos (some erotic)
Grand architecture, beautiful mosaic floors, marble everywhere.
This was surely the Blackhawk of Ephesus!
Water source was from springs up to 7 miles away.
What a wonderful trip back into time!
Had a great lunch at a very non-touristy local restaurant
All the dishes were displayed and we all sampled different things.
Very nice local beer
On to a Museum that had the pieces of art and other ‘collectibles’ from Ephesus.
Ephesus had had quite a large medical equipment manufacturing business.
Many of their ‘products’ along with statues, urns, etc, on display at museum.
We all agreed to a stop a local loom. (Turkmen)
Saw how they extracted silk from cocoons, and made it into yarn.
Watched several young ladies weaving…takes months to make even a small rug
Were taken to a showroom, offered beer, wine, tea, water,
Shown different styles of rugs, comparing rugs of other countries
Then the sales pitch…and we bit.
Bought one…will use as wall hanging. Very nice…we’re happy
Had to wait while others finished their ‘negotiating’
All tired…no more touring
Drove back to ship
Said our goodbyes to Levant. Very nice man and very good tour guide.
Legs/knees VERY sore. LOTS of steps.
Rested, showered, then headed to dinner
It was an open seating night
You eat at same time, but different table, people, and wait staff.
This since we were in shore and they had an ‘on deck’ buffet
We experienced poor service (seated w/out menus then ignored)
Very slow wine steward.
Oh well, we didn’t have anything else to do anyway
But service had been very good up to then
Dinner options and quality were not up to usual standards either..
(Heard this as well from others from our ‘normal’ table the next night)
Sat with an interesting couple from Minnesota,
They are considering buying several rugs,
Dealer actually invited them out to dinner. THAT’s high pressure.
Quickly checked out the Turkish singers and dancers on deck after dinner
Then off to bed.
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Thanks to all for the comments.
I get a separate email for each one.

BTW, we are in cabin 9038...extra wide balcony,
But low overhang makes getting sunset shots a challenge.

Post #20: Piraeus and Athens

Parthenon at Acropolis
Typical tourists...been around for centuries (especially Rich)
Athens seems to go on forever (had a touch of the LA haze)Different angle
Temple of Zeus

The Acropolis from Zeus

Outside the Olympic stadium
Changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (very impressive)

The Plaka for a little shopping

The Tower of the Winds

Our lunch restaurant (we waited outside for it to open but ate inside)

Lunch is served

Above: Hill of Lycabetous (tallest point in Athens)

Below: Climbing the final stretch to the 'summit'

Above: The view from the top

Below: The Archeological museum.

Impressive displays of all kinds. Wonderful museum.
One of the Agouras...
One of the best preserved...all columns intact.

View up to the Acropolis from the Agoura

Janna, our driver Jimmie, and Lynn
Sunset from our balcony
Our table mates:

Pulled into port (Piraeus) while dark, got up to take pictures
Alarm at 6:30am…double yuk!
JB in shower
More pictures, waiting for room service
Good meal. Handy to have in cabin to ‘eat on the run’
Met Rich and Lynn at 7:30 and headed to dock
Sign up today about NOT bringing beer/wine back on-board (drat!)
Jimmie (our taxi driver) was waiting as planned (love it when a plan comes together)
Had set up tour with Paul of Athens Taxi…Jimmie is his son
He gave us a running narrative of history and local interest between each site
We started out by going to the Acropolis to beat the crowds.
Amazing, amazing, amazing…The Parthenon, oh my.
Many many pictures, and why not!
Good light, great angles, no people…wonderful
Doing refurbishment, so scaffolding in several places
Busses and crowds arriving as we left…sorry for them
Went by the President’s house…he was about to arrive, waited a while, then left
Parliament Building and the Tomb of Unknown Soldier for changing of the guards
That was fun to watch. The President’s guard is VERY impressive
I got yelled at (of course) “No pictures from behind!”
McDonalds so I could use the ‘facilities’…very busy place!
Temple of Zeus…what a place it must have been!
Olympic stadium…built in 1863…wide open from the street
Plaka (a fun shopping area) Bought a pin and colorful tile.
Hill of Lycabetous…highest point in Athens…nice hike and GREAT panoramic views
Greek and Roman Agouras…amazing
National Archaeological Museum…beautiful
Tower of the Winds…interesting for its design and function (look it up)
And, as an added benefit, all the ‘paid sites’ were FREE today.
This hardly ever happens, but we were there when it did.
Due to this we saved several Euro almost everywhere we went.
And in the middle of that had a great lunch.
We had a choice, touristy place, or ‘local’ place
We chose local…GREAT choice!
All the food prepared (like) buffet so can be seen as you enter
No English menu so the waitress took us up and explained each dish
We picked what we wanted and then selected our salad type.
Everything was wonderful!
We split their largest size of white wine…
Then the waitress brought us a ½ liter ‘on her’ (THAT helped the tip!)
Fresh red and green grapes arrived…we were stuffed (just like our eggplant)
Only 48Euro…OMG! Thanks Jimmie!
Jimmie was napping in cab out front (in case police came to ask him to leave)
He took us next door to a bakery for some baklava,
Didn’t know there were different ‘flavors’. VERY tasty.
This was an “I love it when a plan comes together” day,
As you don’t know exactly what you are going to get booking on your own
My arm hurts…from patting myself on the back!
Back to the ship for nap time and happy hour,
And then meet for drinks before dinner (Hey, someone’s got to do it!)
Pretty pink rose in bathroom on return…nice touch.
Comments about Athens…it is a HUGE modern City.
Very much like other very large cities.
Subway, electric ‘Muni-type’ buses, many taxis, trucks, cars…and tourists.
Lots of traffic EVERYWHERE…but it was fun none-the-less.
Within the city there are historical jewels…very lovely jewels indeed!
We didn’t get to know Greece, but I think we got to know Athens.
Jimmy dropped us back at the ship
We relaxed with a ‘happy hour’ during ‘sail away’ from Piraeus
Then joined ‘the gang’ for another fun dinner
and another anniversary cake as promised
Quite a day!