Day 4- Kusadasi/Ephesus

Day 4- Kusadasi/Ephesus
Today we woke up early and went to breakfast at the Windjammer café. We then headed out to our first stop on the cruise, Kusadasi. This was a beautiful port in Turkey. It had gorgeous beaches and beautiful mountain ranges that reminded us a lot of home. Sean even said if you were to blind fold him and drop him somewhere in Kusadasi he would think he was somewhere in Southern California. Once we got ashore, we immediately took a taxi to the town of Ephesus. Our taxi driver's name was Boris. We bargained with him and got a good deal for a tour of the town of Ephesus. Ephesus is an ancient town that houses the ruins of the basilica of St. John and many Greek ruins. It is rumored that the book of Ephesians comes from this town. Our first stop on the tour was the temple of Artemis. These ruins were over two thousand years old and are one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. After visiting this site we went to St. John's Basilica. Here we walked around the ruins of what was once a cornerstone of Christianity. While there, Boris introduced us to his brother who owns the local hotel which is across the street from the basilica. He also owns a ceramic and rug shop and we spent some time shopping. Our third stop on the tour was to Greek ruins of the city of Ephesus. We toured the ancient ruins of the amphitheater where gladiators fought in front of large crowds, similar to the colosseum in Rome. We then walked the ancient road to the Library of Celsus where, after an Earthquake brought the building to ruins, a fountain was erected using one of the only walls standing in the rubble. We continued our walk up the road and saw the terrace houses and another small amphitheater where political meetings and musical shows occurred. When we reached the top of the hill we met back up with Boris, our taxi cab driver/ tour guide. He then took us to one of the amazing beaches of Kusadasi. We spent an hour there swimming in the gentle waves of the Aegean Sea. We then headed back to our ship to finish our day with spa treatments. Lyndsey and Mom both pampered themselves with manicures and pedicures, while David and Sean indulged in full body massages at the insistence of Lyndsey and Mom. Sean took another trip ashore after his massage and toured the city of Kusadasi. While there he was challenged to an arm wrestling contest with one of the locals. Of course, he won. After this mom decided to stay in her room and order room service for dinner, after which she turned in early. Sean, David, and Lyndsey went to the dinning room for a steak dinner. After dinner Lyndsey and David headed back to their room while Sean hit the hot tub one more time before bed. 

Day 3- Day at Sea

Day 3-Day at Sea
Today we had a day at sea. We are on our way to Ephesus, Turkey and it is a full 24 hour travel day. This means that we are free to do whatever we want on the ship. We started the day with a buffet breakfast at the ship's Windjammer café. We then went our separate ways- mom and Sean back to their room to nap, David and Lyndsey to some deck chairs to lounge. After a couple of hours, Mom and Lyndsey went to a "pamper party" at the spa where they received free facial treatments. After this, they were so inspired that they booked themselves a 75 minute full body massage and facial. Once this was done, everyone met up again for a late lunch on one of the pool decks. We once again went our separate ways- Mom, Sean, and David back to the rooms to nap and Lyndsey back to the spa for another interesting treatment. At 7:30 we met up again for our first formal dinning evening of the cruise. We got all dressed up and had a fancy dinner. We then headed down to the Internet cafe to research our day in Ephesus tomorrow. While Sean researched we watched other passengers sing the lines to popular songs in order to win a prize. Once that was done, we moseyed back to our rooms for the night.

Day 3- Istanbul/Bon Voyage!

Day 3-More Istanbul/ Bon Voyage!

Today we started off early with our complimentary breakfast on the terrace of the Hotel Nena. After enjoying the view we set out to see the Grand Bazaar and take in the Hagia Sofia before heading to our ship. The Grand Bazaar is like a huge market that stretches on for about a mile with shops on either side. Not only does it stretch for a mile but goes just as far in any direction. If you're not careful, you can easily get lost. Here vendors sell anything from Turkish rugs and harem pants to "black market" cologne and knockoff Nikes. They are also very pushy, often putting products into your hand and demanding money. But they are also very willing to bargain and you can get a pair of handmade shoes down from $40 to $20 or knockoff Nikes for $15. Once we had enough of the Grand Bazaar we headed to the Hagia Sofia. We went in and marveled at the combination of Christian and Islamic relics all over the massive dome and surrounding walls. This museum was once a center of Catholicism in Turkey and was then converted into a mosque once Muslims took over. The walls of the church, that were once adorned with Christian mosaics, were covered by the Muslim Sultans. Later on, Hagia Sofia was turned into a museum of both religions. When this happened, the walls were uncovered to reveal the still existing mosaics underneath. It was strange to see the two religions displayed together. Once we were done touring the museum, we decided to have one final meal in Istanbul. We went to a street cafe that had a terrace that overlooked the city. The food was good, though not our favorite. We then made our way to the port and boarded our ship. We started our time with a nap in our rooms before the festivities began. We then explored the ship and had dinner in the dinning room. From there we changed into our bathing suits and hit the indoor hot tub, because by this time it was dark and cold outside on deck. After drying off and looking in the shops David decided to try the ancient art of karaoke in one of the bars. He was so good that the audience cheered for an encore. We ended the night with a laugh and shuffled our way back to our rooms for the night. Oh, and the best part of the day was.....the airline delivered Lyndsey's luggage just in time for the ship to set sail! Woo! Bon Voyage!! The Grand Bazaar  






 Coronation area in the Hagia Sofia



 Our breakfast