Day 12

 We arrived at our last port before Rome in a couple of day and it is Limassol on the island of Cyprus.

Again the weather was perfect – that’s every day so far on the cruise the weather has been great.

We had hired a guide to tour the town, but for the first time in a long time, after an hour, we dismissed her and went out on our own. 

Basically there is nothing in the town except shops, restaurants and a huge marina housing some of the largest boats there are.

We found a small restaurant to eat lunch and wow, what a gem.  We tried a new to us Greek cheese called Halloumi and we are going to find some when we get home because it is outstanding.

Then we ordered the main dish and it had 5 kinds of meat, chicken, port, sheftalia, halloumi and sausage.  We didn’t think we could eat it all, but we did.]

Then it was back to the city center for a shuttle ride of 20 minutes back to the ship as the ship sailed at 3:00pm.

The show was a singer/pianist who just happened to be the wife of the Hotel Director on the ship.  We have seen her before and she is very, very good as a piano player and also a singer. 

Then dinner where we ate with a couple we had eaten with before going to the casino where Barb lost and Ed won, and enough that we are even for the night.

Tomorrow is our first of two sea days before we arrive at the Port of Rome.

Nite-Nite

                                                                The appetizer

                                                The main course

                                                                The restaurant

                                            Canapes every evening before dinner in the room.

                                                Time to do out for the evening

Days 9,10, & 11

Back to day 9 where we docked in the first of two Israeli cities, Haifa where we hired a driver to take us to Nazareth.

Originally, we were not sure we had been there before and when we saw the first church, the Church of the Assumption, we knew we had been here in 2011.  So we revisited the church, which on the spot where the Angle Gabriel came done and told Mary that she was going to bear the Christ Child.

After that we walked to St. Joseph’s Church which was the place were Joseph, the husband of Mary had his carpenter shop.

After about 2 hours I Nazareth the driver took us back to the ship.

Dinner was with a new couple from England and it was fun sharing experiences.

After dinner the show was a singer who sang the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and he was pretty good.

Then it was onto the casino where Barb did not play and Ed had a quick win.

 

Day 10

So many of the passengers on the ship for the almost sole purpose to be in Jerusalem for two days.

Our driver met us at the pier at 9:00am for the 1-hour drive to the Old City of Jerusalem.

Words cannot describe the original city of Jerusalem and neither can pictures – but we will do our best.

The official name of our hotel is – the Pontifical Institute – Notre Dame – of Jerusalem Center and it was amazing.

The hotel was part of a larger building built in 1882 to house pilgrims coming to the Holy Land.   While the rooms were small by American standards, they were quite nice with all the modern conveniences, except a tv which we did not miss.  We also had a 2’ x 25’ Balcony that overlooked the city.

This hotel is the only hotel that is located right next to the wall of the Old City so it was perfect for us.

We first walked to the Hotel of the Holy Sepulcher, which is built on the site of Jesus’ Crucifixion and burial.

The hotel dates back to the 4^th century and it is in the Christian area of the Old City; however, the Church as shared property with the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic, who all control parts of the Old City.

We then walked around and had an interesting experience in a German Lutheran Church where we met a couple who were running a small coffee shop in the cloisters of the church.  Turns out that she was a magician and did a trick with Barb that was quite good.   They also sang Happy Birthday to Ed and gave hi a candle to light in the Church.

We then ate dinner in a little shop on one of the streets.

Then our room was ready and we went back to the hotel to check in.

We found out that the 12^th and 13^th was a Jewish holiday so the Old City was to be very busy.

We had tickets to see a light show at the Tower of David.  This was a set of towers and fortress type of building where they were to have a light show depicting the various states of King David.  The first part of the Tower was built in the 5^th century BC!!

We thought that if we arrived there from the hotel at about 6:00pm we would be early so we could walk around. 

When we got to the gates of the Old City, the police had closed the city and were not letting anyone if as it was already too crowed.

We walked along the wall and found a smaller gate and a policeman who believed us that we had tickets for the show.  We arrived just in time to see it and it was very good.

We then walked back to our hotel with what seemed like hundreds of people, laughing, playing music and just celebrating their holiday.

 

Day 11

This was our second day in Jerusalem and we traced the steps of Jesus and he was led through the streets of the Old City to his Crucifixion.  It was moving to see all the places that are part of the story.

Then we went to the Western Wall, sometimes referred as the Wailing Wall.

Hopefully the video will show you had crowed it was, but a great experience for us.

We had originally planned to be driven back at 4:00pm for an 8:00pm sailing; however, our driver called and said we had to leave by 2:00pm or we might not make it back to the ship. 

We took his advice and left at 2:00pm.  Coming the drive was one hour and going back to the ship it took 2 hours as the traffic had not gotten bad yet.

We had dinner with a couple from England we had met before and thoroughly enjoyed it.

After we went to a small entertainment area to see a couple of magicians up close and they were amazing.

At the casino, Barb didn’t play as Ed started out with a nice winning streak and got up a winner after only about ½ hour, plus we were very tired.

Our next and last port with be Limassol on the island of Cyprus.

                                                                    Ready to go to Jerusalem

                                                            Where Jesus was crucified

                                                        Inside the Luthern Church

                                                The entrance to the Old City

                                                         On our deck

                                    The front of the hotel - our room, 2nd floor on the far right

                                                            Going out for the second day

                                                            Why not a new necklace!!

                                                        Where Jesus fell against the wall

                                                            Amazing street food

                                                        The steps to the Western Wall

                                                        Barb's new friend

                                                                        Dinner

                                                        Of course Barb bought a new scarf or two!!

                                                    Snacks before dinner in our room

                                                                Tuna for dinner

                                                            and Lamb Chops - both outstanding

                                                                Our dinner partners

Days 9, 10 & 11

 We have had an amazing last three day.

Tomorrow we arrive in Cyrpus and have an early morning walking tour.

As it is past midnight, this will be very brief and we will fill it in tomorrow.

Here are some videos from our trip.

                                                        In the main shopping area of Athens

                                                            Our cabin on the 10th floor

                                                               Shopping

                                          Light show about King David at the King David Tower

                                                        At the Western Wall

                                                    How to say no to a salesman!!

                                                    At the entrance to the Western Wall

                                                        Celebrating with dance at the Old City

                                                                Nazerath

Day 9 –

We found a private guide to take us to Nazareth, which was about 1 hour away.

It is very late, so I will post some pictures and we will finish this in a couple of days.

Tomorrow we will arrive in Ashdod, which is where we will meet a drive to take us to Jerusalem where we will spend the night before returning to the ship on Thursday night.

Tonight at the casino, Barb broke even and Ed had a very nice win –(Jason 7,7 against a 6 - $120, split, drew a 4, doubled, 10 on one, drew a 3, doubled and 9 on the other.    A great win.

Nite for now, and will finish this in a couple of days as we will not have our computer in Jerusalem.

                                                            Leaving for the day

                                                The Church of the Annunciatio - Where the Angle Gabrial 

                                        told Mary she was to give birth to Christ.

                                                        Going into the Church

                                                               St. Joseph's Church

                                                    Lunch with our guide - 12 items!!

                                                        Going out for the evening

Day 8

Our second of three sea days and it was perfect timing as we have had 3 port days and it was time to just relax.

Our life was very simple today.

We slept in.

Ed had breakfast

We were up on the sun deck until 1:00pm and temperatures were in the high 70’s, clear skies and probably the calmest seas we have every sailed on.

Had a wonderful lunch

Back out on the deck

Got ready for the show in the main theater.

Tonight the show was a production show called Crystallize.  Their description was that it was and “electrifying pop violin music and mesmerizing choreography and aerial acrobatics set to the rhythm for a high-energy light show”.  It certainly was and was probably the best production show that we have seen on any ship!!

Then we went to dinner in our restaurant Blu and met some new friends from England.  She is a Vicar in the English Church.  A vicar is a priest who is over a number of churches.  They were very nice t0 eat with.

After dinner, we went to a place called The Club for Motown music for 45 minutes of music and it was very good.

Then it was on to the casino where Barb was even and Ed had a nice win.

Tomorrow is our first of three days in Israeli and we are really looking forward to the days.

Nite - nite

                                                                Out for the day

                                                    One of the walkways on the pool deck

                                                            Final course for Ed's lunch

                                                        Dressed for dinner

                                                        The theater - it is huge

                                                Moetown in the Club

Day 7

We arrived in the port of Kusadasi, Turkey which is the gateway to Ephesus.

Ephesus is a World Heritage site that is one of the world’s oldest ancient cities an once home to over 250,000 people.

Excavations have been underway for 150 years and only 20 percent of the city has been uncovered.

They have excavated the Great Theater, the Temple of Hadrian and the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  We traveled on the main street of the city walking for about an hour marveling of how this city was built.

One of the most amazing things was that everything was built out of marble, from the streets to the tall columns.

They we went up the mountain to the site of the last days of Mary.  The stone house is very tiny but the religious site is beautiful.  This is the home that Mary and the Apostle John lived out their last days.  When Crist was being crucified, he asked John to take care of Mary and this is where they lived.

We had a wonderful guide and driver.  What was supposed to be a 3 ½ hour tour turned into a 5 ½ hour tour. 

Along the tour, it is expected that you will visit either a gold jewelry store, a carpet store, a fashion store or a leather store.  We chose a fashion store and a leather store and words cannot describe the experience of Turkish sales people and the pressure they can put on you.  If you realize that’s what is going to happen, it is easy to deal with. 

At the fashion store, we were ushered into our own private area, the lights dimmed and we were treated to a runway fashion show.  The video only shows part of it.  Then of course they pushed and pushed to sell us something.  Guess what we didn’t buy anything at any of these stores.

Back on ship, we dressed for dinner, which was good and then went to the show.  Tonight the show was 4 males singers recreating the quartets of the past and they were pretty good.

Finally we went to the casino where Barb lost a little as did Ed.

Tomorrow is a sea day and we are looking forward to just relaxing all day.

Night

Ready to go out for the day's tour

                                                    The Temple of Hadrian

                                                            The theater - seating 25,000

                                                                The leather store

                                                                All alone is this big van

                                                                Mary's House

                                                                In a pottery store.

                                    A castle, a basillica and a mosque all on the same hillside

                                               A hallway on the ship leading to the restaurant

                                                            At Blu - Our restaurant

Day 6

It was another beautiful day when we woke up in the port of Athens (Piraeus), which is about 30 miles from the heart of the city.

After breakfast we took a cab to the heart of the old city, the Plaka and wandered around until it was time to eat lunch.  This is also the area where, on a hill, the Parthenon sits.  The Parthenon was built in 1,000 B. C.

In the past, we have walked the 25 minutes to the train station and took a train into the city.  This time we decided to take a cab and the driver, Chris was perfect.  On the way, he swung over to the massive private boat harbor and that was quite a sight.

We had made reservations at a delightful restaurant in the heart of the old city and it was a wonderful lunch.  We sat outside and people watched while eating.

Since we were in Greece, we ate at a tractional Greek dinner, including wine.   We asked the waiter to bring us two glasses of wine, one red and one white that he would choose for dinner and they were great.

Barb liked the dry red and Ed liked the white.

Then we walked around some more until it was time to take a car back to the ship.  Chris was waiting for us at 3:30pm and he took us back to the ship the faster way.  Along the way he asked us to stop at a relative’s shop, which we did and Barb found a little cross that she had been looking for.

We had an early evening snack from the café and then changed for the evening.

The performance in the main theater was a magician who was very good.

We then ate dinner as usual around 8:00pm and met another new couple from England.

After dinner, we went to the casino where Barb lost a little  and Ed had a great win.  (Jason – on a $100 initial bet – won the first 10 hands including 4 blackjacks!!)  Left the table after playing only 5 minutes.

Nite from Athens – tomorrow we arrive in Ephesus, Turkey

                                                        The pool deck early in the morning

                                                    Ready to go into Athens

                                                              Our driver - Chris

                                                                      The restraurant

                                                        Greeks cook it differently

                                                        The cheese was amazing

                                                Never had a Gyro like this and tasted so well

                                                            Our waiter 

                                                             Barb's traditional flowers from Ed

                                                                Our Room - 10207

                                                        Going out for the evening.