Kusadasi, Turkey is hands down, one of the best stops in the Mediterranean. You don't like to see sites, just shop? Well, you won't find it cheaper or more fun than here. You like Biblical sites? Got those too: Paul likely wrote 1 Corinthians here, Ephesians was written about here, John was buried here and Mary lived here. How about ancient sites and one of the original 7 wonders of the world? Yep. Good food? Check! Nice people? Absolutely! Seriously, there was nothing about today that I didn't enjoy.

We had hired a private tour which, after doing I never want to go back. Our guide was Orcun, co-owner of Barel Travel, a travel agency and tour company. He picked us up at the port with our names on a sign and a Mercedes minivan, and we were off to Ephesus. He provided information about his country, people, history, and details of everything we saw along the way. Ephesus is only about 13 percent excavated, and while it does have some signs, a guide really helps this place come alive. One section of the site which costs a little extra, but was absolutely great was the Terrace Houses which are pretty well preserved Roman houses of the rich. You walk on plexiglass walkways above mosaics, by ancient bedrooms, kitchens and courtyards. Having recently watched the HBO show, Rome, it was easy to imagine real Romans lounging around these houses.

The library of Celcius is the top attraction at Ephesus, and for good reason. It is stunning. We were also quite impressed with the Grand Theatre, where Paul preached and a riot broke out. City officials contained the riot and hid Paul on a nearby hill, where he probably wrote 1 Corinthians while in hiding. What were the people all stirred up about? Well, Paul was preaching against idols and false gods and Ephesus is right next to one of the most important pagan pilgrimage sites which made them a lot of money in idol replicas: The Temple of Artemis. 

The Basilica of St John was ordered to be built by Justinian and Theodora of the Byzantine Empire because of a long standing tradition that the apostle John was buried there. It was enormous and, if standing today, would be the 7th largest church in Christendom. But, an earthquake took it down and only ruins remain. We did see the altar which is above the tomb, the Baptistry, and columns which gave us an idea of the layout. 

If you think that is all we had time to see, you would be wrong. Orcun also wanted us to get a feel for some of the handicrafts of his people, so we visited a pottery shop and a Turkish rug guild. We weren't pressured to buy, but did get considerable information about the crafts, and I even got to try my hand at rug making. Oh, and we got Turkish coffee and tea as well. (Very strong!) A great lunch at a local place was squeezed somewhere in the middle: fried zucchini, dolma, green beans and broccoli, with lamb kebabs and spicy meatballs. 

Our other stop was a little village in the mountains which had locally made products, cheap knockoffs, and amazing prices. Looking back, I wish I had shopped more, even though we did buy a few things. We won't see prices like that again. And, we won't likely see a place like Kusadasi again. (Until we come back!)

After our exceptional time in all our Greek ports, we had high hopes for Santorini. It is supposed to be the most beautiful of the islands with postcard perfect views, and it is pretty. But, it is a pain in the butt to get around.

The first problem is that Santorini is a tender port, meaning that you have to take a smaller boat from the ship to the dock. All tender ports are somewhat frustrating, but once you get on dock, the headache is usually over. Not in Santorini. Here, you have to then either take a cable car or a donkey to the top of the cliff where the town is. Since each tender boat lets off about a hundred passengers, you can imagine that the lines for the cable car back up pretty quickly. Can you guess what we did? Yep, we took the donkeys.

It was actually pretty fun, although smelly and at times, scary when they got close to the edge. Definitely an experience we won't forget! Once in the town of Fira, many people recommend taking the bus to the picturesque village you see in all those Greek postcards, Oia. So, we found the public buses and made the trek.

Oia is about 20 minutes away, and is very beautiful, but can get overrun with tourists easily. It is also a very expensive place to have a meal, which is what we were looking to do. We couldn't find any little gyro places, only more expensive restaurants. All I can say is that I am glad my new friend, JoAnn, is an amateur photographer and has agreed to share her photos. I'll post them, and we can all enjoy Oia through her eyes.

As for James and I, we headed back to Fira and completed the many modes of transport it took to get back to the ship: bus, cable car and boat. For me, Santorini is not worth the trouble. Corfu and Mykonos are far easier and almost as beautiful. 

Back on the ship, we enjoyed Indian food that they made especially for us. (You can request this on Princess in the main dining room) We saw a show, played a game and went to bed. Typical cruise night, but atypical for real life. Is it any secret which I prefer?

If the title didn't give it away, today we docked in Mykonos. We had originally planned to take the shore excursion to the island of Delos, which was a major trading hub, then religious site in ancient times. But, after our long day in Athens, we decided to save Delos for another trip and to just enjoy a relaxing day on Mykonos. It is super easy to get from the ship to the main town of Mykonos; you just take their shuttle which is 7 euro round trip. I would not recommend walking it to anyone; there are very steep cliffs and there is no walk path.

Immediately, Mykonos is not quite as picturesque as you might imagine. But once you get on the little back alleys, you will find the beautiful white and blue houses of your Greek dreams. The problem is: if there are a lot of tourists in town, it gets overwhelmed and you are constantly competing with people for photo shots. A couple of times we did get off on our own, but the hoards were never far away. This is absolutely one of the worst places I can think of to do a shore excursion.

The only "attraction" on Mykonos is a set of five windmills by the sea. They are pretty, and that is about it.  Shop prices are higher here, but if you had a Gucci or Louis Vuitton fetish that just isn't getting fulfilled, you'll find the real thing here. Souvenirs are cheaper in neighboring islands or Athens.

After we'd had enough wandering, we began to look for a place to eat. Luckily, on our way back toward the ship, we found one of our tablemate couples already dining in a perfect location. They invited us to join them, and we had a wonderful lunch so close to the water that every once in awhile, it would splash up on our ankles. Olive oil, bread, feta and Spanikopita filled our table, and we munched and talked for hours. THIS is my Mykonos memory that I will conjure up when having a bad day.

Other highlights of the day:
1. Pastries for breakfast at the International Cafe: chocolate almond croissants, creme filled beignets and much more.
2. The comedian/singer from Wales, Diane Cousins, whose singing typified a cruise ship performer, but the comedy had us rolling.
3. Chatting with some of the crew about what they did in Mykonos when we docked at 1:00 am the night before. 

Some days you have to really prep for. You know that you will see amazing things, but you know that you will be exhausted at the end of it. A port stop in Athens is one of those days. We had two couples that we were traveling with and a busy itinerary. Of course, we were doing everything on our own, and I had it planned to the tee. We met up before sunrise at 7:15 and walked to the train station. (Complete info on how to do Athens on your own is coming)

First, we hit the Acropolis Museum which houses some of the original sculpture and frieze from the Parthenon. Back in the day (awhile ago) Lord Elgin from Great Britain took all the best sculpture from the Parthenon and toted it off to London, where it remains at the British Museum. They have refused to give them back to Greece, continually stating that Greece has nowhere to house them. This is the museum that was built in response, and it is a beautiful place to showcase the ruins. Of course, the British Museum is now skittish about giving them back, afraid of similar requests from other counties. The museum does have the ruins that Lord Elgin didn't deem worthy to take, as well as sculpture from temples which predated the Parthenon. An accompanying movie really helps to understand and picture the original structure.

Next was the Acropolis itself. I was acting as tour guide, and of course James scurried up the hill ahead of the rest of us. At the top, we took the obligatory pictures and reviewed the history. It really is crazy to see buildings that stood in the 4th century BC. We went down, toured the Agora, and tried to imagine Socrates and Plato walking the streets. After a few more old rocks, we were getting tired of ruins and ready for lunch.
Greek food has been superb this trip. Sometimes I worry about the real version of something being a little too authentic for me, but so far the real version of Greek food has been superior in every way to Americanized Greek food.

 After some yummy gyros and feta, we did a little shopping and recharged our batteries for one last push: the National Archaeology Museum. Items from Troy, statues that are 1500 years old, and an array of items which would astound in most situations fill this museum, but after an entire day of ancient ruins, it begins to blend together. That is why you take photos.

A quick train and bus got us back to the ship, and we had successfully conquered Athens.

I was a little skeptical about today and our trip to the site of the Ancient Olympics. I had heard that there wasn't much left out there, and that it was really difficult to visualize the games etc. Well, I don't know if our Rick Steve's walking tour was the reason, or if maybe I have a great imagination, but I was totally impressed by and enjoyed the site of the ancient games.

Starting at the beginning: the port of Katakolon. Katakolon is about 40 km from Olympia, but the transport is very easy. We found out about a transfer service that was significantly cheaper than the cruise line tours, that still guaranteed your return to the ship. It is called Katakolon Express, and they were great. I'll write a full review later, but the buses were very nice, and we were back to the port with a couple hours to spare.

Olympia has two major sites: where the ancient games took place, and the accompanying museum. Both are worth seeing, and come in a combo ticket for 9 euros. We started with the site, and it was so cool to walk among the columns which had been arcades that surrounded the training courtyards. They still have a bathtub which they used to clean off the layer of olive oil and dust which covered their bodies to protect from the sun and injuries. We saw the workshop of the man who created one of the wonders of the ancient world: the statue of Zeus. Then, we saw the site of the real thing. I don't know about you, but standing on the ground which ancient philosophers like Plato visited and people from around the world renowned is pretty crazy to think of. That 40 ft statue must have been a site to see which his ivory, golf and gemstones glittering in the reflective pool in front of him. I guess when the Greeks came to the games, it was sort of like our vacations today, mixed with a religious pilgrimage. They certainly were rewarded for their efforts in getting there.

After walking down cheaters lane, where early drug dopers (animal blood and herbs) had their names engraved on statues which they paid for, we walked through the grand tunnel, out into the stadium. This stadium had no seats, only hillside, except for the judges who were known for their fairness. The marble starting and ending blocks are still there, and James just had to run where many, many others had run before. I myself, got a snazzy photo on the starting line. The ancient games ran for several centuries before being banned by the new Christian rule. Think of that: our modern games have only been going since the 1890's, barely over 100 years. How many people must have visited and competed at that ancient site?

Upon returning from Olympia, we spoke with and had lunch with one of owners of Katakolon Express. She took us to this little seafood restaurant on the water, where all the tables were reserved and she knew the owner/ cook. I have to say that my favorite part of traveling and doing the show is meeting the people and having experiences like this. She told us of Athens and mythology as we munched on fresh feta, tomato salad with amazing olive oil, little fried fish and beautiful grilled shrimp. We didn't even order, Andre just kept bringing us things he thought we should eat. The water was gorgeous, Maria was a great storyteller, and the food was so fresh, you could swear it had been caught or picked that morning. Greek music played in the background, and it felt like a scene from one of those romantic Greek movies. 

We could have had no better introduction to Greece, and I can't wait to explore further in Athens tomorrow!

Back on board, we relaxed on deck, played a little trivia and prepared for our dinner at the specialty restaurant steakhouse, Crown Grill. I have to say that at $25, the Crown Grill must be one of the best values at sea. The food looked and tasted great. I started with scallops with pancetta, black and blue onion soup, and James had a lobster cake and shrimp bisque. Our steaks were cooked perfectly, juicy and flavorful, and were excellent cuts of meat. The vegetables are served family style, and you can order as many as you like. By the time we got to dessert, we were practically forcing ourselves to eat bites of the chocolate soufflé and berry cobbler. This is the type of food we were hoping to have at the chef's table we visited on a previous cruise: elegant, beautiful and delicious.

After losing a 50's music trivia, we hit the sack, ready for a full day at the site of the Ancient Olympics!

Wow, day 7! That means we've already been in Europe for a week. And what a week it has been so far... Our authentic Italian day in Tuscany, our perfect day in Ferrara, the art and exhaustion of Venice and the ship. You should check out our earlier blogs if you have no idea what I am talking about. But, today we went back to Dubrovnik.

Last year in Dubrovnik, we took the cruise sponsored shuttle into the old town. This year we decided to save some money and attempt local transport. The verdict? It is pretty cheap at 15 kuna (about $2.50) but they really like to fill their buses to the brim in Croatia. The other downside: you have to change money or get some out of the ATM before boarding. There is a change money stand handy to a bus stop, but an ATM is a tad harder to get to. So, the bus can be a bit more walking.

Once in the city, our dinner partners that were touring with us were interested in a new attraction: the 3D history of Dubrovnik. Well, you know us, we are game for any history thing. This turned out to be a water/hologram presentation, and then a 3D history movie. The first part was a really odd laser light show, interspersed with a film featuring folk dancing and a woman singing while wearing a toga. The second part was better, but the history was pretty sanitized. For the price, I wouldn't say it was worth it, but if you knew no history of Dubrovnik whatsoever, it might be beneficial. We were also with a family that had teenage girls who liked this computer thing at the end that let you make your own e-card. (Photo of my e-card is coming)

The rest of the agenda included walking the walls of the city again, and taking the cable car up to the top of the mountain. Both produced amazing views. I think Dubrovnik might be one of the most photogenic ports in the world. The weather was beautiful, and the sun was really sparkling off the water. After a little shopping and a super-crowded bus ride, we were back on the ship.

Highlights of the rest of the day:

1. The Italian menu at dinner. The spaghetti and meatballs were great, and the main courses were the best we'd had thus far. An apple crepe and limoncello topped off the meal.

2. Losing trivia with our dinner partners (we came in second place for two games!). It may sound crazy, but it was the most fun we've had at trivia.

3. Seeing "Moonrise Kingdom" under the stars on deck. Great, quirky movie!

Tomorrow: Greece!

Nope, we couldn't bring ourselves to leave the ship again. In our defense, we only had a couple hours in Venice before the ship sailed to Dubrovnik. It was just difficult to justify the toll that going back into Venice would take on our bodies and pocketbook. We did get up for the first trivia of the day and met the couple that would make us the power trivia team of the ship. Jeannie and Paul are in the middle of two back to back cruises, and have done 26 with Princess. Not only are they smart, but they fill in the gaps in our knowledge. I actually feel a little guilty because our team has won every trivia we have shown up for. In other news, stay tuned for some Princess giveaways...

Since we weren't sailing out until today, we finally had the muster drill, which was fairly painless. After that was the sailaway from Venice, which must be the most beautiful port to sail from. The weather was perfect, and James searched the whole ship for the best vantage point. The ship played Italian music over the loud speakers as we watched St. Mark's Square drift by. I know there is a lot of controversy regarding sailing into Venice through the canals, and I would totally rather have Venice in the future than keep the ability for cruise ships to sail past the city if that is what it takes. But, I have to say that I am glad to have experienced it.

The obligatory cruise critic meet went off without a hitch and for the first time, actually met fans of our show in person. (Assuming you don't count my Dad.) That was a lot of fun because they felt like they knew us already and were totally prepared for James' personality. If you can believe it, he comes off as a little dry to most people who meet him. ;)

Let's breakdown the highlights!

1. Meeting Joann and Calvin, our other dining partners who run a camp in Canada and claim the gondola in Venice is totally worth it. They spent only 80 euros and had an excellent time.

2. James winning the yes/no challenge with the cruise director. They call him "the great equivocator" at work, so it wasn't too hard for him to not be definitive. The best response? CD "Do you have any nicknames?"
James "I do"
CD "What do they call you?"
James "Most people call me Captain Lay"
The room burst into laughter, and the cruise director claimed that she wouldn't touch that one. Still, it's true.

3. As I turned in a raffle/quiz, the assistant cruise director got the jump on me during a dance party and dragged me out on the dance floor. I went with it, twisted and mash potatoed my way to applause from the crowd and a little Asian woman later identifying me as "that good dancer" in the buffet line.

4. Eating chocolate chip cookies, watching "The Hunger Games" while bundled up outside for "Movies Under The Stars".

We're enjoying Princess so far, and are wishing for more sea days.

A nice Italian breakfast of cappuccino and croissant with Nutella on the terrace, chatting up other tourists is a nice way to begin your day in Venice. That is, until you realize that check out is 15 minutes away, and your husband is still sleeping. Who has a check out at 10:30? Our Venice hotel, that's who. So, we scurried around, throwing stuff in bags, looking like people who were trying to skip out on the bill, just to make it out in time. And we were back on the streets of Venice, bags in tow, absolutely ready to board the cruise ship.

Boarding was smooth and quick as most people were still out and about in Venice. We finally had a meal that didn't consist of pizza or pasta, and we sighed in relief. There is just something about boarding a cruise ship that takes your cares away. James proposed going back into Venice, but I just couldn't bring myself to leave the ship, and it wasn't too long before James was in agreement. Pacing yourself on these big trips is one of the most important keys to making it through, still having a good time.

Highlights include:
1. James' face on our spa tour as the ionotherapy specialist pitched her product, claiming to be able to take off inches in one session.
2. The peanut butter cup mousse in the International Cafe.
3. Guacamole and chips with a view of Venice in Skywalkers Lounge at dusk.
4. Meeting one of our dinner couples who are missionaries in Malawi with a congregation of 5000!
5. Rocking out to the show band who played mostly Beatles, Creedence Clearwater etc.

And of course, exploring the ship! I just love seeing different ships and lines. It is so interesting to experience the service, to see how certain things are handled, and to learn the layout and special places. I am still learning, and am looking forward to 11 more days on this ship.

Ciao,
From a very relaxed Kaleigh

Have you ever had one of those days where things ended up just fine, but it was a struggle to make that happen? You end up feeling negative about the whole experience, even though nothing technically went down the drain. That is how I feel about today.

We started the day wayyyy earlier than originally planned because we knew there was a train strike planned. How did we find out? Well, my limited Italian was able to decipher it on one of our fast train rides, then I did a little research. It's interesting; on the Italian rail site, they have a link to information about the strike in Italian, but if you click to view the English version of the page, it's gone. Our desk clerk at the hotel was optimistic, the website seemed optimistic that if we got there early, we could get on one of the "guaranteed" trains. I think the Italian definition of guarantee must be different from ours because only one train (not ours) left from 6 am when we got to the station until about 8. Three trains we had planned to take we're cancelled, so we eventually had to buy tickets for a more expensive fast train. So, we ended up sitting in a train station for 3 hours to spend 60 euro more to make it to Venice in time. This is one of those days when it really helped to know some Italian. I'm not sure how we would have gotten by without it.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Italian train strikes are fairly common. They advertise them in advance, so you can usually find the dates with an Internet search, even if they are not advertised for English speakers on their site. Most commonly, it is regional trains which are cancelled, so if there is a strike during your trip, book a fast train and you should be okay. We just didn't think to research it this time.

Once we arrived at the Venice train station, we only had about 25 minutes until we were supposed to meet our tour for the MSC Musica, so we checked our bags at the station and hurried on. Most large stations have a bag check for about 5 euro for 6 hours. We headed to the terminal, took the PeopleMover (a monorail) and walked what felt like forever to reach the ship.

I will do a separate blog on our MSC tour, but it was very interesting, great to be on a ship after our travels, and I have lots of info. One thing I will say: the spa looked and smelled so good, if I had laid down for one of those rose petal massages with a view of Venice, I would have never wanted to leave.

By the end of our tour and the trudge to our hotel which had us feeling like pack mules, we were exhausted. I think I just laid on the bed with my feet throbbing for like 15 minutes. This is the hardest thing to me about big trips like this. When I am home, I would give anything for a stroll around Venice with the architecture, picturesque scenes and ambiance. But the toll it takes on my body to get here and to tour all day leaves me in almost too much pain and exhaustion to enjoy it. Maybe a transatlantic cruise is the answer, but we don't have enough leave for that. If we could force ourselves to take it easy in a small town like Ferrara for our first few days, maybe we'd feel alright, but we are always jetting around from morning until night, trying to make the most of our time and money.

And so we headed out into the city, wearing the most comfortable clothes we could without looking like beggars, with as little as we could possibly carry. It always amazes me how many people are walking the streets of Venice. It's like being in Disney World when you are on those main paths. You get stuck behind the slow people, some stop suddenly to window shop or take photos. You really need to attempt a laid back mindset to not get frustrated here. So, we held hands and strolled. Heck, I had to due to the pain in my feet. I was prepared for the blisters, but not for the aching soreness in the soles of my feet that you just can't do anything about. Even Dr. Scholl's can't combat our touring pace.

We didn't have much on our schedule this time, only the Scuola di San Rocco and the Frari Church. The Scuola was first, due to an earlier closing time. Painted by Tintoretto, the Scuola di San Rocco has been compared to the Sistine Chapel because of many paintings on the ceiling. Tintoretto was from Venice and he was extremely prolific, painting much of the art in the Doge's Palace. James calls him the Thomas Kinkade of Venice because of his use of light and how he stylizes scenes in a slightly unrealistic, picturesque manner. I have to admit, as beautiful as this was, it was a bit of art overload. It is really hard to appreciate that much art in one sitting. After the first 20 paintings or so, you start caring less, and it is really a shame because any one of those pieces would be the best one in most American art galleries. Nonetheless, it was beautiful and completely worth it.

Next was the Frari Church which houses a famous Titian called "The Assumption", and my assumption was that we would be able to see it fully. Well, you know what they say when you assume... There was large scaffolding in front of the painting, blocking most of the view. But even without the Titian, the Frari Church is a top notch site. It has the best sculpture I've seen in any church (only the Scrovengni Chapel in Naples surpasses) and is large, Gothic and impressive.

The rest of our evening was spent wandering around, first over the Accademia bridge, which is now my favorite bridge in Venice (much better than the Rialto) , then to St. Mark's Square in twilight. We took a vaporetto back to the area near our hotel and saw Venice like we never had before: at night, with lights twinkling inside palazzos and music drifting across the water from restaurants. Even on a public waterbus, which is 14 euro for us two opposed to 100 euro gondola ride, it is hard to not feel the drama and romance of Venice. Three slices of freshly baked pizza and two cokes (10 euro) was our dinner, which we took in the inner courtyard of our hotel. With raw feet and deep exhaustion, we hit the sack, thankful the day ended better than it started.