Nov
2024
Turkey
at 20:30
Nov
2024
Turkey
Orthodox
Churches
Nov
2024
Turkey
Didyma
Nov
2024
Greece
Jewish
Heritage
Nov
2024
Crete
Greece
& Arkadi
Monastery
Nov
2024
Greece
bicycle
tour
Nov
2024
Greece
Sounion
| Flag: | Date: | Port: | Comment: |
|---|---|---|---|
|
14th Nov 2024 |
Istanbul Turkey |
On board at 20:30 |
|
15th Nov 2024 |
Istanbul Turkey |
Three Orthodox Churches |
|
17th Nov 2024 |
Kusadasi Turkey |
Miletus & Didyma |
|
18th Nov 2024 |
Rhodes Greece |
Rhodes Jewish Heritage |
|
19th Nov 2024 |
Heraklion Crete Greece |
Rethymnon & Arkadi Monastery |
|
20th Nov 2024 |
Piraeus Greece |
Electric bicycle tour |
|
21st Nov 2024 |
Piraeus Greece |
Cape Sounion |
| Flag: | Date: | Port: | Comment: |
I awoke at 6:30 and left the house at ten o'clock by Streamline Taxi. The driver was a Bulgar, so we talked about Nessebar. The National Express coach left nearly on time, but took time to load up at Ringwood and SoToN, so we were twenty minutes late arriving at LHR T5.
I then caught the Piccadilly line tube to Hounslow East for the first time. The eastbound lift was working, but the westbound elevator, which I would need the next day, wasn't working. I walked a quarter of a mile north to the White Bear public house, where I had a double room for the night.
After having a mug of tea, I walked into Hounslow Central. Having done some shopping, I bought the £1.99 wrap of the day in McDonalds. In ASDA I found a computer mouse for a fiver.
Back in my room, I watched the five o'clock news on my Nokia phone. Unfortunately the wi-fi was flakey, so I had to watch the programme about the Russian beluga whale that evening using my mobile phone tariff. I went to sleep at 10:30, but had a disturbed night.
I awoke to my alarm at 6:30 ready for my Boots ham sandwiches and a mug of instant coffee. I then caught the 7:30 tube train to LHR. I was all checked-in by eight o'clock and at a charging station by 8:40. Here I updated this blog but, as usual, the power sockets didn't work. I then had to prepare two FOCL bids for the Baltic & Iceland respectively.
At 9:40 gate A20 in the main building was displayed and here I found a hidden power socket which did work. We pulled back on time, but had to queue for half an hour on the taxiway. After takeoff, we got given a small packet of roasted corn pieces and a bottle of water. I then slept for half an hour, before updating this blog. I spent most of the flight reading my old cruise blogs.
We landed on time, but passport control took half an hour. It was not necessary to buy a visa here, as it had been in the past. The new, huge airport is a long way out of town, so the coach took an hour to get to the ship. After checking in, I offloaded my things in my lovely state room and dined out on the aft verandah. I had the carrot soup, the roast pork and a sugar cone with cherry ice cream to eat. I had just one glass of sparkling water to drink. I went to sleep at 11:30, which was only 8:30 GMT on my body clock.
I awoke at 7:45 ready for my usual cooked breakfast minus any eggs to eat. I had just one glass of apple juice and one of sparkling water to drink. In the corridor I bumped into Dr Fenella Bazin, the Viking Resident Historian (VRH).
At nine o'clock I touched base with ACD Tara in the back office, before leaving the ship. I photographed the bottom station of the world's second oldest underground railway, the Tunel funicular. I walked over the Galata bridge across the Golden Horn waterway into the old city.
I followed the waterway to the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St George. It had a fine icon screen (iconostasis) as expected. The Greek Archbishop here must be a Turkish citizen, which cuts down the number of potential candidates to be Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church!
Next I went in the prefabricated iron church of St Stephen of the Bulgars, which was full of Bulgarian, Russian and Japanese tourists. It too had a fine icon screen (iconostasis). At the Theodosian walls of Constantinople, I followed the old moat inland. I went through the Egrikapi gate to trek along the inside of the walls.
I then stumbled across the fabulous Tekfur Byzantine Palace purely by chance. This cost only 50 Turkish Lira (about £1.10) to go in to the four storey museum. There were fabulous views of the Theodosian walls in both directions from the rooftop.
When I got to the Chora former orthodox church, I discovered that when it had reopened on the 6th May 2024 as a mosque, it was only open to Muslims on a Friday, so I didn't get to see the fabulous Byzantine mosaics that I had been heading for all morning. I walked back through the bustling Balat side streets to catch the new tram from Fener station back to the Galata bridge. These use the Bordeaux third rail electrification system, so I trod carefully when crossing the tracks!
I then walked passed the Peninsula hotel and wound my way through the labyrinthine underground cruise terminal. Back at the ship, I had my favourite bean soup, the roast beef and a sugar cone with one scoop of coconut ice cream for lunch. I had just one glass of sparkling water to drink.
I then slept for just twenty minutes, before threading my way back down, through and up again to get out of the huge cruise terminal. I walked north as far as the Taksim underground funicular, but foolishly wasted one of my three tram tickets on the turnstile. I turned back to the tram station to use my third ticket to get back to the Galata bridge. I walked passed the famous Peninsula hotel for the third time that day to get back to ship. Here I updated this blog, whilst drinking a can of Coke Zero from my minibar.
At five o'clock I did six lengths of the cool pool with the roof firmly closed. Unfortunately the nearby hot tub and the spa pool downstairs were both closed. At six o'clock I hosted the solo travellers on my own in the Explorers Lounge. We had Carla, Susan, Theresa, Janine and Ken turn up and we were given a glass of champagne to drink. Some had dinner reservations and some wanted to go to Fenella's Ottoman talk at 6:30.
I went to the Main Dining Room (MDR) where I asked for a sharing table. I sat with Sandy & Stan originally from Wisconsin, but having lived for some years in Riverside, California. Now they reside in Kentucky with their eldest son and his NINE natural children. Their youngest son has adopted FOUR children. I had the parsnip soup, the steak Diane and the no sugar added strawberry panna cotta to eat. I had just one glass of red wine.
During the meal the Captain announced that the bad weather forecast would prevent us berthing at Canakkale, so I offered a couple of extra lecture titles to Tara. Umar my steward arrived back in my state room with my newly laundered shirt. At 8:30 I went to the Star theatre, where I met CD Matt from Texas. I had my second glass of champagne of the day here. The singing duo entertained us, as the audience arrived.
At nine o'clock we had the Welcome Aboard show time with the Swedish Captain and his senior officers. The three vocalists, minus Daniel the Roumanian from Transylvania, sang a few songs and closed the show. CD Matt sang an Elvis number and ACD Tara sang the Natural Woman waltz. Dr Fenella the VRH and myself introduced our programmes of lectures. We sat and chatted after the show had ended. I went to sleep at 10:45 having done over thirty thousand steps, equal to over twelve miles of walking around Istanbul during the day.
I awoke at 7:45 ready for my usual breakfast as we passed the Gallipoli monument. It was too cold to sit outside, so I sat at the back of the buffet. Back in my state room, Umar had already been busy.
At 9:30 I went to Dr Fenella's interesting talk on the Bayeux Tapestry using her own slides. Back at my desk, I had to complete and submit four more Viking Culture Curriculum Forms for my cruises next May & June. At noon I lunched on the carrot soup followed by the fish, chips, mushy peas and battered vegetables with tartare sauce. I finished with a sugar cone and one scoop of no sugar added raspberry sorbet. I had just one glass of sparkling water to drink.
I then slept for half an hour. I spent the afternoon working on my laptop with a can of zero sugar Coke. At 4:30 I went to the Kusadasi port talk. CD Matt gave an eight minute introduction using a computer monitor on the floor of the theatre. Shorex Manager Leon then spoke for eighteen minutes on the ship's tours. Finally Matt gave a nine minute conclusion.
Owing to the windy weather, which had prevented us from visiting Canakkale, the outside decks were closed off, so I had to walk around the middle level of the central atrium. At 5:30 the Explorers' Society loyalty toast took place at the bottom of the atrium and Lucy sang the aria Oh Babbino Caro.
At six o'clock Sanjeev tried to set me up, but my laptop didn't notice that it was already displaying on the big screen. He then went to the back office to get one of their Macbook computers, which I had never used before. We copied my files across and they all worked, but each video had to be acknowledged first. One lady, a librarian, told me about the burning of the pagan books at Ephesus.
At 6:30 CD Matt introduced me and I gave my forty minute talk on Ephesus to a nearly full house. At the end, one gent questioned me about giving the name Ephesus in both the Greek and Latin alphabets. In the bar outside the theatre, I met Dr Fenella's husband in a wheelchair.
As my lecture had been so popular, there was a long queue for the MDR, so I headed up to the buffet. Here I had the French onion soup, THREE lamb chops with green beans & a small jacket potato and then THREE small lemon meringue tartlets. I had just one glass of sparkling water to drink.
At nine o'clock I went to the excellent ABBA Songbook production show with Lucy, Ellis, Barrie and four musicians. Back in my state room, I watched my Ephesus talk on the telly. One video had right and left audio tracks, only one of which had worked. I went to sleep at eleven o'clock having done only seven thousand steps, equal to less than three miles of walking during the day.
I got up at six o'clock, half an hour before my alarm. I had my usual breakfast in the buffet consisting of a toasted muffin topped with Gouda cheese slices & baked beans. I also had one half of a large grilled tomato, a hash brown and FOUR rashers of crispy bacon to eat. I had just one glass of sparkling water to drink.
Back in my state room I updated this blog. At 8:15 I had to queue up to get off the ship, ready to escort the tour to Miletus & Didyma. I met guide Kamber and driver Ibrahim by their minibus. I had just thirteen guests to look after.
We drove out past Pirene without stopping. Our first stop was the Miletus Museum which was new for me. We then explored the large Ancient Greek theatre nearby, which I had visited on the 4th of May this year on board the Regent Seven Seas Splendor.
Our final stop was at the Temple to Apollo at Didyma, which I had also been to recently. This has the tallest columns of any Greek temple and was very impressive. I splashed out TL100 (£2.25) on a paper cup of freshly squeezed pomegrante juice. Unfortunately the fruit acid upset my stomach on the return journey.
Back at Kusadasi, I gave the optional carpet demonstration a miss and escorted a New York gent back to the ship. He had lectured on Transcendental Meditation, which he had studied in India, on board one of the Cunard cruise ships. My tummy had recovered enough for me to have a late lunch of chicken broth, lasagna and one scoop of no sugar added canteloupe sorbet in a cone. I had just one glass of sparkling water to drink.
I then slept for nearly one hour awaking at 3:30, which was too late to go ashore again. Instead I completed my tour escort form and updated this blog. At 4:30 I went to the Rhodes port talk with a 7+18+5=30 minutes format. At six o'clock I went to the Explorers' Lounge in case any solo travellers turned up.
At 6:30 I went to the MDR, but the Maitre d' said I couldn't have a sharing table. I had the thick red lentil soup, the huge Wiener Schnitzel with potato salad and the baklava to eat. For the first time this cruise I was stuffed. I had just one glass of Rioja red wine and several glasses of sparkling water. I chatted to a couple from Stony Brook the University town on Long Island and to a couple from Ottawa, Canada.
Back in my state room, I worked on my laptop. At nine o'clock I went to the Torshavn Dance Soiree where I sat with Catherine, Grace and another lady. I did a social foxtrot and a west coast swing/ballroom jive with the former. At 10:45 at the end of their second set the two singers and the four piece band played YMCA. I went to sleep at eleven o'clock, but it was now only ten on Greek time, having done just ten thousand steps, equal to four miles of walking during the day.
I awoke to my alarm at 7:30, but it was now only 6:30 on Greek time. I had my usual cooked breakfast al fresco a la veranda as we berthed in Rhodes harbour. Self-service had been introduced for the first time this cruise.
I was one of the first guests off the ship ready to meet my guide Costa and driver Alex. We had just twenty three guests to look after on the Rhodes Jewish Heritage Tour. Our first stop was at the Jewish cemetery. Some of us also crossed the road to the Commonwealth War Graves. Unfortunately our coach had broken down, so we had to wait a few minutes for an older bus to arrive.
Our next stop was on Monte Smith for the view of the northern end of the island all the way to the Turkish coast. We got off the coach at the Marine Gate of the old town to begin our walk. We saw the two famous fountains and the Jewish martyrs memorial. The latter had inscriptions in various languages including one in Ladino, the version of 15th century Castillian Spanish, spoken by the Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in 1492.
At the synagogue, we explored the various rooms and courtyards. The museum was particularly moving with the 1944 deportation of the local Jews to Auschwitz. Most guests then stayed in town, but Costa led the remainder and me back to the ship.
Here I had the clam chowder soup and the Caesar salad with extra shrimps al fresco a la veranda in the warm sunshine. I then slept for 35 minutes before venturing back into town. I went in the Tourist Information Office to pick up some maps, before walking around to the Amboise gate into the old town. I recorded my piece to camera in front of the magnificient Palace of the Grand Masters of the Order of the Knights of St John. I walked down the street of the knights' hostels (auberges) and then up Socrates street. I explored the alleyways of the south side of the old town, before walking back to the ship.
At 4:30 I went to the Heraklion port talk which had the usual 5+15+4 minute format. Daniel the Roumanian singer, who had been absent from the shows, was back on door duty. At six o'clock Derrick set me up using their MacBook again. One of my videos, the MM1 trailer, wouldn't work, but the rest did.
At 6:30 I gave my Mamma Mia: the Greek Musical lecture to a smallish audience as dinner was already being served, including the special Surf & Turf buffet. Despite missing out one video, I spoke for nearly 40 minutes. Afterwards I had my Surf & Turf buffet al fresco a la veranda under the nearly full moon. I began with the lovely king crab and prawns. I continued with the beef Wellington, a duck leg, a whole lobster tail, a jacket potato and some asparagus. I finished with two pieces of baklava, for the second night running. I had just one glass of sparking water to drink.
Back in my state room, I worked on my laptop. At nine o'clock I went to the Variety Performance in the Star Theatre. The first half was guitarist Paolo singing a variety of songs. The second half was Barrie Jones from Glasgow singing Frank Sinatra and Sam Smith songs amongst others. I went to bed just after ten o'clock having done 16,666 steps, equal to over six miles of walking during the day.
I got up to my alarm at six o'clock ready for my usual cooked breakfast without any eggs. I ate al fresco a la veranda as we sailed towards Crete. Back in my state room, I worked on my laptop.
At eight o'clock I was by the coaches with guide Rena (Irene), driver Manopolis and 28 guests. We had a 75 minute drive west to the lovely Arkadia monastery. Unfortunately Rena talked too much in the courtyard and the church, so the guests didn't get to see the art gallery, the museum or the gift shop.
We then had a 45 minute walking tour of Rethymnon, followed by 45 minutes of free time. I flew around taking photos on my first visit to this lovely town, smaller than Chania and Heraklion. Back at the ship at 2:30, I had a plate of chips with mayonnaise by the pool with the roof half open. I then slept for forty five minutes.
At 4:30 we had the usual double act between CD Matt and Shorex Man Leon covering Pireaus the Port for Athens. They told us that the public transport people would be on strike, so I had to change my slides. At six o'clock Sanjeev set me up on their MacBook and I left my Athens photos running. At 6:30 I gave my forty minute talk on Athens, without needing my Rick Steves video at the end. At the end I was asked about the Son et Lumiere show on the Acropolis, which closed in the year 2000!
I then dined al fresco a la veranda on the Greek buffet. I began with the lemon & egg soup, but it was more like cullen skink with pieces of smoked fish. I then had a Greek Meze, like Spanish Tapas, with various small portions. I finished with Greek yoghurt, blueberry mousse and a piece of baklava for the third night running. I had just one goblet of red wine and one glass of sparkling water to drink.
Back in my state room, I updated this blog. At nine o'clock I went to the Captain's Farewell where I had just one glass of champagne. This was followed by the Southern Sounds production show with all four singers including Daniel from Transylvania and the four musicians. They played great country music, finishing with Don McLean's American Pie. I then signed up for the tours for the following cruise and chatted to Dr Fenella. I watched two thirds of my Athens talk on the telly, but was getting tired. I went to sleep at eleven o'clock having reached my target of ten thousand steps, equal to four miles of walking during the day.
I got up to my alarm at six o'clock, ready for my usual cooked breakfast as we berthed in Piraeus. I had just one glass of sparkling water to drink. Back in my state room, I worked on my laptop.
At 8:30 I walked through the cruise terminal A to the undercover bus & taxi rank. Here I sat and waited for the guests to arrive. We all caught the ordinary nine o'clock shuttle bus into the city. We had a short walk to the Solebike (Sun Electric Bike?) office. Here we donned our helmets and had our instruction. We were then split into two groups. One lady in the other group fell off at the outset and so she and her friend gave up the tour.
My group of ten guests was led by a young lady named Charis (pronounced Harris). Later one of my ladies fell off when attempting to ride up a kerb, but she was fine to continue. We began by traversing the Dionysion and Apostolic Boulevards along the south side of the Acropolis. We had a stop at the Herodion Theatre and at the viewpoint looking back at the Parthenon Temple, before doubling back. The next stop was at Hadrian's Arch, followed by the changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace at 11:15. Our final stop was at the Panathenaic Stadium. Back at the Solebike office, we got given a glass of sour cherry drink.
Most guests stayed in town, but one gent joined me on the one o'clock shuttle bus back to the ship. Here I had the fish soup and a Caesar salad with extra crab meat to eat al fresco a la veranda in the hot sun. It was 23 degrees Celsius, that is 74 degrees Fahrenheit! I had two glasses of sparkling water to drink. I then slept for one hour, before heading out in Piraeus.
I walked west to the Naval Academy and then south and east around the headlands. I took photographs of the well preserved wall of Themistocles as the sun set across the gulf. I struck back north across the built-up area to get back to the ship.
At six o'clock I dined on the minestrone soup, the sirloin steak with chips and a baklava-type dessert. I had two glasses of red wine, whilst chatting to the amusing Sheila from Philadelphia. She had a twelve hour layover in Istanbul airport the next day on her way home.
At 8:30 I went to the Musical Odyssey: A Celegration of Greece's Melodic Legacy in the Star theatre with six male musicians and one female singer. The best part about the show were the stunning videos of places like Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Rhodes and Santorini. They ended with the dance from Zorba the Greek, so I joined arms with CD Matt to do a few six step Greek grapevines! Back in my state room, I watched most of my Athens talk on the telly, before going to sleep at eleven o'clock. I had done eighteen thousand steps, equal to over seven miles of walking, during the day.
I was awoken by my alarm at six o'clock, ready for my usual cooked breakfast, minus any eggs. I had just one glass of sparkling water to drink. At 8:15 I walked through Cruise Terminal A to the coach park, where I met guide Eleni (Helen) and driver Dimitris. We had thirty guests to look out for on the one hour run out to Cape Sounion. It was very windy on the hillside overlooking the Aegean sea where Poseidon's impressive temple is located.
After nearly one hour here, we drove back to the ship along the expensive coastline. The old airport was being turned into a series of shopping malls and tall apartment blocks. Back at the ship, I gave the hot & sour soup a miss, having one chicken cordon bleu and one pork rib with chips & green beans. I then ate a sugar cone with one scoop of cherry ice cream, before sleeping for half an hour.
After updating this blog, I caught the three o'clock shuttle bus into Athens. This took 40 minutes to get through the traffic. I walked around the old Plaka, Monastiraki and Psiri districts, getting to the Benaki museum just before free entry at six o'clock on Thursday evenings. I whizzed around in fifteen minutes taking lots of photographs, before walking back to catch the final seven o'clock shuttle bus back to the ship. This took only 17 minutes as the driver sped along.
On the ship, I had the leek soup, the pork chop and the crepes Suzette al fresco a la veranda. Back in my state room, I worked on my laptop. The show time was a repeat of the previous evening's folkloric performance, so I gave it a miss. I went to sleep at 10:10 having done nearly twenty two thousand steps, equal to nearly nine miles of walking during the day.
1) "Ephesus: UNESCO World Heritage Site"
Discover the story of this great metropolis of Ancient Greece.
2) "Mamma Mia: the Greek Musical"
Take a chance on the wonderful songs of ABBA set on a Greek island.
3) "Athens: Capital of Greece"
Explore both the ancient and modern sights of this great city.
195 Cruises 50 Cruise ships (see below) 15 Cruise lines (see below) 7 Night cruise 5 Tours escorted 5 Restaurants (MDR, CT, WC, PG, Manfredi's) 4 Band members 3 Lectures given 3 Storey atrium 3 Hot tubs 3 Pools 3 Female singers 3 Fishy lunches 3 Enrichment lectures (Ephesus, Athens & Mamma Mia) 2 Cabarets (Welcome & Variety) 2 Male singers (not Daniel) 2 Panoramic elevators 2 Beef dinners 2 Cinemas 2 Production shows (ABBA & Southern Sounds) 1 Double state room with picture window 1 Theatre (Star) 1 Nightclub (Torshavn) 1 Viking heritage museum 1 Classical guitar (Paolo) 1 Classical duo 1 Greek cabaret 1 Solo travellers dinner party
Captain Fredrick Nilsson Cruise Director Matt Morgan Ass. Cruise Director Tara Lucas Shorex Manager Leon Stage Managers Aldrin, Derrick & Sanjeev Resident Historian Dr Fenella Bazin Cultural Lecturer Martin P. Lee
* Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines * Saga Shipping Company * Voyages of Discovery * Seabourn (Carnival) * Princess (Carnival) * Cunard (Carnival) * P&O (Carnival) * Celebrity (RCCL) * Silversea (RCCL) * Regent SS (NCL) * Oceania (NCL) * Marella (TUI) * Ambassador * Crystal * Viking
Black Prince Black Watch Borealis Boudicca Balmoral Braemar Bolette Silver Whisper Silver Spirit Silver Wind Silver Muse Silver Moon Silver Dawn Celebrity Silhouette Celebrity Solstice Celebrity Eclipse Celebrity Edge Celebrity Apex Saga Rose Saga Ruby Saga Sapphire Saga Pearl II Quest for Adventure Spirit of Adventure (Old SofA) Spirit of Adventure (New SofA) Spirit of Discovery Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) Queen Elizabeth (QE) Queen Victoria (QV) Queen Mary 2 (QM2) P&O Arcadia P&O Aurora P&O Oriana P&O Iona Oceania Sirena Oceania Marina Oceania Riviera Crystal Symphony Crystal Serenity Seabourn Odyssey Seabourn Sojourn Ambassador Ambience Ambassador Ambition Regent Seven Seas Mariner Regent Seven Seas Splendor Sapphire Princess Caribbean Princess Viking Sky Marella Explorer VoD Discovery