Sept. 28, 2013 Mykonos and Delos

Today we are going on an excursion to Delos- an uninhabited island a short distance from Mykonos.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delos

The weather is beautiful and no wind which means we will have a smooth ferry boat ride to Delos.

Mykonos has several berths for cruise ships and we are docked at the new one which is a distance to the city.

We disembarked from our ship and our tour guides were waiting for us on the pier. There were many groups going over to Delos this morning. Our guide gathered us up and led us to the ferry boat.

It was a good size boat with a snack bar and since the crossing would take around 30 mins it gave me a chance to get  a Greek coffee and chat with the two guides.

We took our tour of the ruins with our guide who explained about the inhabitants of the island; daily life; the homes of the inhabitants and floor mosaics. There is an amphitheater a short distance from the village/city.

After our tour of the ruins we headed over to the other side of the city/village.
Here we ruins of temples and then head to the Terrace of the Lions. These lions are the image of Delas - on most postcards one can purchase. I took a lot of photos of the lions out in place and in the museum.

At the end of the tour we were left in the museum to visit the exhibits and had some free time to head to the only cafe on the island. Since it is mostly uninhabited except for archaeologists and guards there is one cafe. We enjoyed a cold drink before walking down to the pier to board the return ferry to Mykonos.
The weather was warm and no wind which meant smooth sea back to Mykonos.

The most well know images of Mykonos are the pelicans, windmills and Little Venice.

Alas, Pete the Pelican was not around the day we visited.

However the island was full of tourists and all the shops were open. We hiked up to the windmills for photos and then down into the town for a lunch by  the sea.
Having visited Mykonos before we knew our way around and still we ate at one of the restaurants by the sea. The food was ok and pricey.  On previous visits we ate at tavernas in the center of the city and got good food for an good price.

We walked around for a while searching for a cafe with traditional Greek desserts and Wifi and found one across from the Everest cafe.

By now it was around 3pm and time to head back to the ship. Our excursion entitled us to take the shuttle bus ( costs extra if one does not take an excursion) to the ship.

After a rest we headed for the Captains Club for a cocktail and then to dinner.

Sept. 27, 2013 Piraeus (Athens) Greece

Today we arrived again in Piraeus and are ready to go shopping for home. The weather is warm and sunny- looks like its going to be a great day.

We left the ship terminal and went to the main road to hail a taxi which took us to Omonia Square. This is a busy area but one must be careful as there are a lot of pickpockets and petty thieves here.
Only reason we came here was to go to the Loumides coffee store on the next block.
https://www.facebook.com/kafekopteialoumidi/info

They sell fresh Greek coffee, tea, Greek cookies and Loukoumia as well as cups and coffee makers.

We  bought some Greek coffee, a kilo of Loukoumia and cookies.

Next stop was  a candle store to buy some battery operated candles.

We then had a pleasant walk to Monastiraki Square  ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monastiraki)  to have lunch at the famous Gyro and Souvlaki restaurant Bairaktaris where we had a Greek salad and gyros and watched all the people pass by.

We went up to Starbucks (a block away) to have a coffee and use the WiFi and then headed up towards Plaka.
After strolling through Plaka we hailed a taxi to take up back to the ship.

At the duty free shop we bought several bottles of Tsipora (Raki) to take with us to the US.

It was a wonderful day.

Tomorrow we will visit Mykonos. We have reviewed the excursions and have signed up to take the morning tour to Delos.

Sept. 26, 2013 sailing from Istanbul to Athens

Today is a sea day and a good chance to rest up after a busy day in Istanbul.
Because we are on a back to back cruise some of our ports overlap - Athens and Kusadasi.

We will arrive on a Friday.

 Our last visit was on Sunday Sept.22 when all the shops were closed so we are looking forward for this stop in Athens so we can go shopping for non touristy things.

Sept. 25, 2013 a day in Istanbul, Turkey

Since overnighted in Istanbul, we have an opportunity to have the whole day for sightseeing.
After a hearty breakfast in the ship's buffet we are heading off to the Old City center for shopping and lunch.
Since the fastest way to get to the Old City is by taxi, we go to the main road to flag one down.
We discovered  from our last trip here we could take the tram but it takes forever because of all the stops. I would rather pay the extra few dollars to take the cab and save time.

We have learned that hailing down cabs in cities in Europe will usually get us a driver that will use the meter.
Once we got in the cab, we struggled with our basic Turkish for the Spice Bazaar and the driver finally understood and away we went.
A few minutes later and 6 TL ($3.00) we were at the Spice Bazaar. We were looking for Turkish coffee which we found at a popular coffee store and we bought a small packet.
Next stop was to find a glass airtight container to store our Greek and Turkish coffees. In the big store we had to use pantomime with the clerk to find the container. After several minutes and false starts I was led to the basement level where I found a suitable glass container.

Next we toured the Spice Bazaar and headed off to walk up the hill to the Grand Bazaar.
The streets were lined with different goods which changed block by block.
For example one set of blocks sold dry goods (material); next block men's clothes; next block underwear, etc.  Every so often we would ask someone for the Grand Bazaar and they would point up hill. Eventually we arrived and entered one of the many gates into the Bazaar.

Wandering around we found our landmark which is a cafe in the center. This was a perfect time to stop for a Turkish coffee and baklava.

After a rest we headed into  the bazaar and went up and down the aisles window shopping.
An hour later we decided it was lunch time and headed for our favorite restaurant near the Blue Mosque called the Pudding Shop.

http://www.puddingshop.com/history.htm

Food is displayed Hofbrau style where one picks out different entrees and the server puts it on a plate.  The food is local, tasty and reasonable. Bonus is a clean bathroom.

We then walked around the plaza by the Hippodrome and Blue Mosque and took pix of St. Sophia.

Not remembering our rule about taxis we found one stopped by the plaza and asked for a ride to the ship terminal and asking if the driver will use the meter. Since the driver says no problem we get in the cab and I kept watching the meter which showed gobbledygook. Arriving at our destination the driver demanded 40 Euros for a 12 TL ride ( $55 for a $6.00 ride). I told him it was worth 12TL and that he cheated us by not using the meter and left 12 TL on the seat and we left.

We boarded the ship in time for a snack in our room before dinner and even had time to go to the Captain's Club lounge for a cocktail.

The ship sailed at 8 pm for Athens.  We were topside to view the city and the new bridge during our sail away.

SEPT 24, 2013 SAILING TO ISTANBUL (CONSTANTINOPLE) TURKEY

Today is a sea day on the beautiful Celebrity Constellation.  We are scheduled to arrive at 2pm and once the ship clears customs we will be able to get off and do some sightseeing.
Around 1pm we all went to meeting rooms to either disembark or in our case get off and get back on with new key cards since we are continuing our cruise (back to back).

Due to delays with Turkish Customs we were not able to clear customs until 3pm when we received our new key cards and then disembarked to walk around the port area.
Our ship was docked in the cruise terminal near the Museum of Modern Art.


We had to go through a building to show our passport and then to the road to the exit to the main street.   The road was  lined with a high fence with barbed wire at the top.
There was a turnstile to go to the taxi stand area if one wanted to take a taxi.

We passed the two security checkpoints and got to the main street where we walked for awhile to get some exercise and fresh air. We stopped at the Starbucks to see if we could access the WiFi but the clerk said it was done.
When we got back to the terminal buildings we discovered that we could go through a gate to a small group of shops and a cafe which we visited. We were able to use the shop keepers phone to make a call and then bought time for the internet. Turns out our cabin faced the shop so I could use the rest of the time I bought from our balcony.

Our ship did have Wifi but it was slow sometimes as well as costly. It was always cheaper to use internet cafes or Starbucks in port. Since I had my Ipad it was easy to carry and use at the cafes.

Tomorrow we set sail for the Black Sea at 8 PM.

Here are photos of the Galata tower, St. Sophia and the bridge from the old city to the new city.

SEPT. 23, 2013 EPHESUS (KUSADASI)TURKEY

We were just here in May 2013 as part of a land tour. So this is our second visit in a short time and since we are taking a back to back cruise now we will be back in Kusadasi on Sept. 29.

Because we were here in May we decided not to take any tours but have a leisurely day in port.
We started out by walking up to the streets with all the souvenir stores and window shopping for an hour. We ended up by a block of stores near  the port and at a leather store.

The merchant had a nice selection of leather wallets and we purchased two for our sons.
It was interesting because he showed us how to tell a leather wallet from an imitation one- he proceeded to light his lighter and put the flame up to the wallet and it did not burn or singe.
According to the merchant an imitation wallet would burn/melt.

We went back on ship for  lunch and rest.

There was  an internet shop by the ship terminal where the sailors and travellers can go and use the internet. I went there and bought some time so I could check emails and surf the internet for information on our next ports.

This afternoon there was a Turkish Folkloric Dance group who performed traditional dances as well as a belly dancer.  It was a very good show and I was able to get a good seat in front.

At dinner our table mates discussed their tours-most went to the ruins at Ephesus  and either saw the city or the Terrace Houses (which were recently opened for the public to view).

Tonight we set sail for Istanbul.