Europe – Day 9

If it is Wednesday, we must have landed at Rhodes, Greece.  This is a large island at 540 square miles with a population of 115,490 and 450 taxies and all of the taxies must be parked right outside our ship. 

We are docked outside the old city of Rhodes and the sight is amazing.  Rhodes is actually closer to Asia than to Greece and has been conquered by just about everyone over the course of its existence.  The old city is surrounded by an intact high wall and you enter through one of its several gates and it is like walking into a movie set.

The island is rich in history and legend.  Its major beginning was during the 7^th century BC when it flourished as a major trading center.  This was virtually the center of the world at that time.

We have been here before and have toured the island so today we are just going into the walled old city, shop and have fun for awhile and then go to the beach.

Rhodes averages over 300+ days of sunshine a year so it is a major tourist destination for Europeans during the summer.  It isn’t as busy today as it is in the summer, but there are still 3 cruise ships at the port.

This is the first port that Barb has not bought a scarf!!  We did purchase some nice Greek placemats and napkins for the kitchen table.

After visiting the town we walked for a little bit and then took a cab to the beach.  The sun was out nicely and we stayed there for a couple of hours before taking a cab back to the beach.

We went up to the top deck for some snacks and sat on our deck eating and watching people come back to the ship.

Then it was time for a nap, before getting ready for dinner.

We played in the casino before dinner and Ed played for 1/2 hour and was up and Barb was also up.    

Tonight we are back in the main dinning room and that is just fine because the food has always been wonderful.  We had another couple join us who were also on the cruise because of the casino and they were from Pittsburg and he is an attorney.

After dinner, we skipped the show and went to the casino to close out the night and Ed played 2 hours and was event and Barb was down a little is all – so a fine night.

Tomorrow the island of Santorini which we have never visited – so it should be fun.

Night 

In the Old City

An alley

An entrance way

Looking at placemats

More placemats

Europe – Day 8

When we awoke, we were already docked at the port of Kusadasi, Turkey which is the gateway to Ephesus, which is the showplace of Aegean archaeology having been built in the 10^th century BC – now that’s old!!  While the roofs are not on the buildings, the walls and major parts of the city are still in place and it is a great place to visit.  It is also the home of the Virgin Mary and the place she died.

As we have been here twice before, we are simply getting off the ship and walking around town, and of course, shopping in the Turkish bazaars.  Barb bought a green sort leather coat here and they are know for their leather products.

There is also a great beach call Ladies Beach; however, we do not want to take the chance to go there with the medicine that Barb is taking which says to stay out of prolonged sun. 

In town we started at one end and went up and down and across the streets of this gigantic bazaar until we had walked everywhere.  The prices are amazing.  Barb bought 4 pairs of Toms, 2 scarves, placemats and Ed bought 5 shirts plus we bought some trinkets, of course.   Life is good.

We also ate a Turkish sampler platter and then later we split a great sandwich in this little out-of-the way shop.  When we stopped, they gave us a sample of their meats and we were hooked.  We also noticed that they did a huge take-out business with the locals.

We then want back to the ship and relaxed for a little, including a nap.

After a nap, it was time to walk around people watching and then we went to the early show which was a juggler.  Then it was time to play a session of blackjack at 8:00 pm

Dinner this time was in the specialty restaurant Tuscany as a guest of our Casino Host Andrea.  This restaurant is one of the restaurants that there is a separate charge because of the extra quality of the food and service and we were pleased that Andrea invited us to go as her guest.  The food was really good, but the service was not up to par for that restaurant.  But, we were with friends and Andrea joined us and also the Casino Manager, Annette and we will be with both of them on our November 30^th cruise so it was fun getting to know them in a social environment.

The entertainment was a juggler who we have seen before so we went right to “work” in the casino.

Ed did well at blackjack and Barb played a little slots but didn’t win anything.

Time to go to bed and get ready for the next city we will visit – Rhodes, Greece.

Night - Night

Please buy my scarf - of course she did!

Sampler Platter

Lots of "Stuff"

Lunch

Another scarf shop

Europe – Day 7

When we woke up we were in the Port of Piraeus, Greece, the closest port to Athens.

Before we left for the day, they pulled a large tanker ship right next to our ship and filled us up with fuel – that’s quite an operation to see.

We left the ship at about 10am and walked to the train station and took a subway to the center of Athens and the area they call the Plaka, which is part of the old city and a maze of street and shops.

What fun we had – Barb (we) bought a scarf, earrings, a neat little ring, beautiful white gauze top, a Christmas ornament a little house for our stairs and we ate our way around all day.

We went to the gigantic meat and fish market and walked around the stalls.   Then we walked across the street to the fruits and bought some beautiful grapes for next to nothing.

We then stopped to eat at a local restaurant where no one spoke any English.  We did a great job communicating with them and had a lot of food for less that $5.

Finally we took the metro back to the port and a bus from the train station to the ship.

After a nap – remember that naps are good – we sat out on our deck and saw an increditable sunset – and you think sunsets are neat over the corn fields of Illinois – you should have seen this one!!  Hopefully you can get some sense on it from the pictures we took.

We were to meet everyone at 8:00pm for a 1 hour session of blackjack.  David was the only one there on time, so he and I played and in 15 minutes, I won 12 of 14 hands and by the end of the hour had a nice winning session.

Dinner was the same wonderful food as every night.

The show was a “mind reader” who was not very good when we saw him the first night in the preview show, so we didn’t go to it.

So, we all played another session and after 1 hour, I was ahead and Barb had already won at slots so we both quite for the night.

Tomorrow we land in Turkey at the port of Kusadasi.

Night-night

The flea market

Must have that scarf!

The meat market

How about rabbitt

Lunch was ???

A leather shop

Sunset

Europe – Day 6

Today is a day at sea and since we had to set the clocks forward, we slept in.

Barb isn’t really supposed to be in the sun so Ed sat up on the deck for a little while and then Barb and Ed went to the big brunch – what a feast they put on.

Since we hadn’t had anytime to look around the ship and see the shops we did that next and even though we had been on the ship just last March, it all seemed new and fun to walk around.

The slot tournament was at 2pm and of course we both played in it and neither of us qualified for the finals – but it was fun and it is what we do.

By then the sun was really out so we decided to go out on the deck.  Barb was very concerned about the medicine she was taking that said to avoid prolong exposure to the sun so she sat (and sleep) in the shade – boring!!

At 5pm we came in and Ed took a nap and Barb read about the ports we are gong to visit next.

Then it was time to dress for the first formal night and go play first a session of blackjack where we didn’t do very well.

After blackjack, we went to dinner and once again it was a good dinner.

We had seen the show last March and so we did not go to the show but went right to “work” playing blackjack.  Ed made part of what was lost during the day and we finished at 1:30am – time to go to bed – it was a fun and relaxing day.

Night- next stop Athens, Greece.

Brunch

Lots of choices

Barb in the slot tournament

Need a scarf for the evening

Europe – Day 5

What a great day to celebrate my birthday.  First my wife gave me a wonderful, thoughtful card and then we had a great day with our friends in port.

We arrived at the island of Sicily and the port of Messina a little early and everyone met us at our cabin at 10am and we went off the ship and got a rental car that Jeff had arranged for the drive to the town of Taormina as we have been to Messina before, but never to explore Taormina.  The last time we were here we took a trip to Mt Etna and our legs are not ready to handle a climb like that again.

So we picked up the rental car at the port and off we went to Taormina which is a charming hillside town on the east coast of Sicily and is on of the island’s main tourist resorts. 

It took about an hour to reach Taormina which was quaint but jammed with tourists.  We spent a couple of hours there wandering the shops and then got back into the car and went down the hill to a little seaside town for a late lunch.

There I had the best Italian meal that I have ever had – it was wonderful and also we were eating right along the ocean.

Then it was back to the ship to take a short nap, clean up and go to a welcome aboard cocktail party up on the lawn on the top deck.

Then we went to the casino for a session of blackjack where Ed lost just a little.

Dinner was again very lovely and as usual a fun experience and we have a wonderful wait staff. 

After dinner, Ed played blackjack and won some and Barb played slots and didn’t have any fun at all.  So, we finished up for the day.

We set the clocks forward and it is now 2:36am as I type this and I am ready for bed.

Tomorrow is our first real rest day as we will be at sea all day.  But since Barb is taking the medicine she has been taking, she cannot sit out in the sun very long.

What a wonderful birthday I had!!

Arriving at Messina, Sicaly

Ed's Birthday chocolate cake

Really fresh fish for lunch

The first two courses of Ed's lunch

Main course pasta

Barb and Vera in the Ocean

 A typical street

Europe – Day 4

We didn’t have to leave the hotel until 10am so we awoke at 8am after a great night sleep, went to breakfast and packed.

Just before 10am, all 6 of us piled into a beautiful Mercedes van, packed tight with luggage and went to the Celebrity Reflection.  This ship is only 1 year old and we have been on it once before.

The drive was a just about one hour and it took us 36 minutes to get through the check in and security areas and we were eating by 11:30am!!

To say that life is good and we are blessed is an understatement.

We sat around talking and then went to the cabin to unpack, take a short nap and go to the life boat drill.

Then it was time for a nap before meeting the Casino staff in a lounge area.  We knew our Casino Host Andrea and also the Assistant Casino Manager Tracy as well as one of the supervisors.

Then it was time to go to the casino and Ed did really, really well for the first night including building up 3 hours of playing time.  The “rules” of the casino are that Ed has to play at least 2 hours a night at a minimum of $50 a hand.  So, not only did we come out ahead, we played 1 more hour than we needed to which is good if some day we play less time.

Our dinner was at 9pm and it was, of course, very good. 

We then went to the 11pm show and went back to our cabin to go to bed.

Tomorrow is Sicily – night from the water – it is beautiful here.

The heavy room key

Loading the van

Breakfast on the rooftop

Our room

Europe – Day 3

Last night - a couple of pictures

Dinner with our friends - Barb, Barb, David, Jeff, Vera & Ed

5 in the back seat - Jeff, Vera, David, Barb & Ed underneath!

We had to get up early today as we had to be at the Vatican by 9am for our tour of the Vatican Gardens.  We ate upstairs on the roof first as the sun was breaking and what a great way to start the morning.

Out into the Rome morning we went, walking the two blocks to the subway and went to the Vatican.

The tour was amazing as we were walking in the gardens that the Pope’s had walked in the centuries past.  The gardens take up ½ of the Vatican grounds and we spent 2 hours with our guide walking through them – it was an amazing experience.  We did not see any of the Pope’s; however, one of the ladies on our tour fell and broke her femur.  When the emergency vehicle came, we found out that there were 3 on the grounds at that time.  Probably not bad when we found out that 25,000 people visit the Vatican every day!!

Then we went into the Vatican Museum and then to the Sistine Chapel.  We had been there before, but it is always amazing to be inside the Vatican.  We then went into St. Peters Cathedral.  To show you how big the Vatican is, when we left the Vatican Museum, we took a cab to the other side to St. Peters.  It took the cab about 10 minutes to get there in the city streets.  We were glad we didn’t walk.

After walking around St. Peters, we walked up to the subway station and took the subway back to the hotel.  We had been gone for 8 hours and almost all of it walking.

To get back into shape, Ed iced down his knees while Barb took a short nap.  Barb is still struggling and Ed’s knees hurt so we don’t walk as fast as we used to this trip

Palm trees in the Garden

The English Maze

A fountain in the Gardens where the former Pope lives

One part of St. Peters

The ceiling in one of the hallways in the Vatican