Istanbul: 6/28/14

Today we were in Istanbul, Turkey.  And we really enjoyed it!  Istanbul was a very clean city which was nice, and the mosques in town are beautiful!  There are more than 17 million people in Istanbul, so it is a humongous city.  We were able to visit the Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern & the Grand Bizzare.  Our favorites were the Blue Mosque and the Basilica Cistern.

In the Blue Mosque you had to have your legs covered, and women also had to have their heads wrapped.  The outside and inside are both just breathtaking!  It is still a functioning mosque so you can see people in prayer when you are there, and 5 times a day during official prayer times it closes to tourists.  When it is prayer time, they do a very Islamic calling type thing over speakers which can be heard throughout the area.  As a Christian, I must admit that it is a bit creepy hearing it, but you have to just respect their traditions.

Next we visited the Topkapi Palace, which is basically a bunch of small museums of artifacts, jewels, costumes, etc.  This part got a bit boring- it was crowded and slow to get through.  Very close is the Hagia Sophia which was really neat though.  Originally built by the Romans, it was a Catholic Church, but is now a museum under Muslim control.  The original paintings of Jesus, etc. are still in tact, but there are also Muslim additions.   

Next we had a wonderful Turkish lunch.  The desert was especially really yummy!  After we finished up, we headed to the Basilica Cistern.  This was another area built by the Romans, but what makes it unique is that it is underground and the bottom is water.  It is so gorgeous inside though.  I had requested a stop there and I am so glad I did (we were the only ones out of the people we asked who got to see it)!   Two columns were built with Medusa heads on them, one upside down and one sideways.  The reason why is not known.  Here are some pics from the basilica:

Our last stop was the Grand Bizarre- basically a really large marketplace for all things Turkish.  Turkey is known for leather, carpet (rugs), ceramics, spices, Turkish delights, and I'm sure other things I'm missing.  It is really crowded with people trying to bargain for a good deal.  

After the grand bizarre we headed back to the boat.  The views when leaving the port were so amazing!

On the boat we played in the battle of the sexes game.  Not as entertaining as the Quest game show, but still a good time!

Ephesus: 6/27/14

Today we ported in Kusadasi, a port mainly visited for tourists interested in seeing the ancient city of Ephesus.  Ephesus is just outside of Izmir, Turkey, and was known for the Temple of Artemis.  It is one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world.  Ephesus is one of the 7 cities/churches of Asia that are cited in the Book of Revelation, and obviously the book of Ephesians has the connection too, because Paul lived there. We had another private tour for the day. The first stop was the house of the Virgin Mary. Catholics visit the house based on the belief that Mary was taken here by Saint John and lived there until her assumption, and they still hold mass outside the church for Christians in the area.  It was the highlight of the day for us. Outside the house was a candle lighting area, and a wish wall where you can tie your wishes on.  Here are some pics from the house of the Virgin Mary:

After this we drove to the ancient city.  The biblical aspects of Ephesus are pretty cool, however there are only so many rocks/ruins you can look at before being completely bored... Or at least for Kyle and I.  It was also extremely hot outside which made staying attentive quite difficult.  The coolest things you see in Ephesus are the library and the music theater.  Here are a couple pictures from the ancient city of Ephesus:

We returned to the boat around 12:30 am, because we were leaving the port early that afternoon.  This left time to enjoy some activities on the boat the rest of the day.  There was more karaoke, and then a big highlight, an adults only group game show type deal.  We had a group of 18 people and our team ended up winning the competition.  It is basically where they ask for something and you have to have someone run out from your team doing or bringing what they ask for on the stage.  Things like a man member wearing a bra around his head (so a female would need to take hers off and give it to a guy on the team), a girl wearing guys pants (Kyle of course was quick to take his off), a guy & girl demonstrating their favorite sex position (Kyle and I were chosen to do this one since we are married), 2 girls kissing, someone doing the worm, etc.  It ended with one where it was not about being the quickest but the most well put together and it was dressing a male member up as a female.  It was hysterical!  For winning we got a bottle of champagne.  I'll add pictures from my phone later.  

Athens: 6/26/14

Today we were ported in Athens for a full day.  I had booked a private tour guide & driver for Kyle and I for the day to get the most out of time (this is what I did for most cities).  When you get off the ship the private guides are waiting, holding signs with your name.  People without private tours usually booked via the boat and they are in large groups on big buses, therefore they have to wait on everyone to get off before leaving the port.

The first place we went was the Acropolis which is the hill in Athens that houses important buildings including the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion, and the temple of Athena Nike.  This was to beat the crowds and the heat!  I was very thankful for getting their early as it was getting very crowded by the time we left there!  Also extremely hot!  We were told that it got up to 114 degrees while in Athens... It was a very hot day!!  Here are some pictures from these amazing Ancient Greek structures on the hill:

Of course, the Parthenon:

in the Propylaia:

 Temple of Athena Nike

Next stop was the temple of Zeus, the God of Gods in Greek mythology.  It was originally 104 pillars, but not many remain.  

Next we visited the old Olympic stadium and then the parliament to watch the changing of the guards.  We had a very interesting experience at parliament!  One of the guards literally ate shit while marching.  Their commander guy freaked and was yelling for no one to take photos.  Well, our gopro video caught it, and it is really funny.  I'm thinking it could be a YouTube hit.... Or I may send it to tosh.o because they would definitely love it!  In the guys defense, what they do is not easy and takes incredible strength & control.  Here are a couple pictures of the stadium & guard change, pre-fall, and then that amazing video is below the pics.  Enjoy!

Next we went to view Athens from a very large hill with amazing views of the city.  I had no idea how big of a city Athens is.  There are over 5.5 million people living there.  Crazy!

By this time we were getting hungry, so we made a quick stop through the souvenier shopping area, and then sat for an amazing Greek lunch.  After lunch were a few more stops through ruins like the Ancient Agora.  The coolest of these was the temple of Hephaistos, the God of Fire.  It was the most in-tact of the temples we saw which was neat.  

My overall synapse of Athens: the city is kind of dirty, with too many stray dogs and cats running around, however, there is amazing history there and everyone should visit it once to experience.

6/24/14 & 6/25/14: At Sea

We were at sea for 2 days after departing from Venice.  Something I was originally not looking forward to, but at this point we were both very ready for down time & the ability to sleep!!  The 2 days actually ended up much more fun than expected, too!  Not only were we able to catch up on sleep, but we met several great young people.... Forming kind of like a little boat possy.  It started when Kyle entered the Ping pong tournament.  He and a guy named Garrett both lost to the 2 guys who ended up playing each other in the finals.  Because they were both young and from the states they then played each other for fun and that is kind of how the group kicked off (Kyle won 22-20... I'm sure he would want me to include that).  Garrett is here with his family and his mom makes friends with EVERYONE.  Literally, everyone!  Garrett plays football in college (at Liberty in Virginia), so he, and the rest of our possy, are a bit younger than us (we are mom and dad of the group).  There is also Jesse and Danny who played basketball in their college years (they are from Iowa), Garrett's sister who plays volleyball in college (their family lives in Georgia), and then sisters from California, Lexi & Brittany.  Basically all of these people met via Garrett's mom finding friends, haha.  Because of all the athleticism, some very solid 3 on 3 basketball teams were formed making activities more enjoyable... Especially for Kyle.  He even had guys willing to totally play the boy band rolls for karayoke.  They were quite a hit singing BSB I want it that way.  There are videos and pictures out there of karaoke and basketball that we will get from these people when it doesn't cost an arm and leg to send them (aka when we r back in the states).  We also learned a fun iPhone game called heads up from them.  Download the ap, it's fun!

Venice: 6/23/14

Well, we made it into Venice despite a quite interesting overnight train ride.  I didn't get much sleep at all on the train ride over for a few reasons.  One, our couchette room (6 beds to a "room") was so small we could barely fit our bags in them, two, the beds above you are so close you cannot sit up, and three (saving the worst for last), there was a very large group of high school seniors on our train that were soooo loud.  I guess since they are able to drink in Europe they were going crazy, but they were definitely drunk, had music playing all night & one girl was going up & down the hall asking who wanted to smoke weed in her room.  Remind you that this train did not even depart until 1:30 am.  We are now running on 4 nights combined sleep of about 15 hours.  At this point the sea days we start with on the cruise are looking quite nice to us!  Anyways..... Besides the trip into Venice, Venice itself is totally amazing.  There was a good possibility of rain, but it never did rain, and we actually ended up with very blue skies towards the end of the day.  We pretty much spent the entire day navigating the island, getting lost in back allys, etc.  We were first in line to the cruise port to check in so that went quick and smooth although we just didn't get on the boat opting to explore for the rest of the day instead.  There are no cars allowed into the island so all travel is via some type of boat.  St. Marks Square is the main touristy area and it is super crowded there.  We pretty much went to see that area, but didn't spend too long there as Venice has many other amazing areas.  The realto market is another crowded area of shops, etc that we saw some of then avoided like the plague due to the amount of people.  Venice is definitely the most unique city I have been to in Europe though..... So beautiful in the most artistic way!  Here are some pictures I took that can do the talking & I think they do a great job depicting the city.

We made it onto the boat after exploring the city, and so now we begin our cruise ship leg of the trip!  We will start with some good sleep!  :)