3 More Days in Istanbul to see the rest!
FINAL POST!! this is being done after we flew home the other night. A short bit about our final 3 days when we returned to Istanbul. On our own, no planned tours, so a bit more laid-back. We visited the Turk Yahudi Topluma Jewish synagogue. Lovely shul which holds services and has a small museum att...
2 Days in Cappadocia
this post-cruise adventure was to an amazing landscape! We had no idea this even existed. The main attraction of the area are the Fairy Chimneys. These rocky spires are topped with dark rock from volcanic eruptions. People still live inside these rock formations. The area is also notable for the cav...
Istanbul
We arrived with a great view of the city. Our excursion was early: first to the Blue Mosque (amazing and beautiful), then we walked to the Topkapi Palace which is now a Museum. Huge! It would take 2 days to really see it all, so we were selective. The palace housed 5000 people in it's day, and had s...
City of Troy & The Trojan Horse
There were no real ruins here, and the since the Trojan Horse is a myth and Helen isn't buried here, we took a pass on an excursion. We went to the port area, walked around a little bit, had a lovely lunch and then back to the ship. A very relaxing day!
Ruins of Ephesus, Turkey
Our final ruins. This trip has been a history lesson par excellence! Ephesus is was one of the largest metropolises of the ancient world, dating back to the 10th century BC. The huge amphitheater seats 25,000 spectators and is still used today for concerts and important events. As we entered, we cou...
Island of Rhodes and The Jewish Community
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The island of Rhodes is famous for the Colossus of Rhodes from ancient history ( a statue of the sun god Helios) There are columns that mark the spot where the colossus once stood - but, that is probably not the actual spot! So: since there is no Colossus, I took the Jewish tour of Rhodes. We began...
The Palace at Knossos
Our port was Heraklion, Greece on the island of Crete with a tour to see the Palace at Knossos. For those not steeped in Greek history here is a short summary: the Palace at Knossos was occupied by many kings; the most famous was King Minos. The complex dates back to 2000-1580 BCE. The palace is a...
Day 2 in Athens
We hired a private guide and it was great! Howard was able to navigate to the first level, overlooking the theater. After that the marble steps were too slippery. So: the guide and I left him and continued on to the top. The site was constructed in the 4th - 5th century BC. Acropolis from "akros" me...
First Day in Athens: The Museum
Our tour today was a bit of a bus ride around town and then a great time in the New Acropolis Museum. We sopped at the site of the Olympic Stadium (2004 games), photo opp and continued on. At the museum we had a long-distance view of the Acropolis. Inside: Many - many - many artifacts from the Acrop...
Olympia, Site of the Original Olympic Games
Wow! this place is HUGE! who knew? We walked all over this site and learned about the history of the games as well as the layout of the area. The site was a religious center to honor Zeus. The games began in the 776BC. There were many wars in the area, but safe passage was mandated for visitors and...
A Town Tour & A Small Museum
We landed on the island of Corfu and took a bus to the area of the fortress (would you believe this town had a fortress?! LOL) No tour of the fortress, but a nice walk from there into the town and to the main square. The city dates back to the 5th century bc and is tied to the beginnings of Greek my...
Trogir and Split
A few days ago we visited Trogir and Split. The small town of Trogir is known as "the craziest town in Croatia" (according to our guide). The town itself is recognized by UNESCO for many of it's architectural elements. The city has well preserved Hellenistic, Romanesque, Renaissance and Baroque buil...
Last Day in Venice: Murano Glass & The Monestary
We took the boat ride out to the island of Murano to see the famous glassworks. We were not disappointed! We saw a glass demo at Ferro & Lazzarini (family biz, founded in 1929). The furnaces run 24/7 to keep the temperature at the correct level.. There are 15-ish glass factories on the island, and t...
Two More Days iin Venice
We had a kick-back day in Venice. Ashore on the shuttle boat around 12:30 pm, a little browsing around on the waterfront and lunch with a ring-side table for people watching. It's Halloween and we expected to see lots of kids in costume etc. But: not so much. Actually this is a big holiday weekend -...
Back Streets in Venice
I left the ship and boarded a motor launch (30 minutes) across the lagoon to dock in Venice at one of the many piers along the grand canal. This walking tour of Venice spotted neighborhoods and often un-touristy areas. (it did not take in the Doges Palace etc., which we had seen on a previous trip t...
Walking tour of the City
Sibenik is the oldest Croatian city and it still maintains the flavor of it's old town area, along with some more modern additions. We were fascinated to see the "water clock fountain" in the main square. The jets around the outside splash in order counting seconds and the others in the center mark...
Delightful Bari
This morning we arrived in Bari, Puglia... Monday and everything is open and buzzing. Our bus gave us a little drive-around and then we walked to the Romanesque Basilica of St. Nicholas. He is the city's patron saint, and his name and reputation morphed over time to become St. Nicholas - ie: Santa C...
Crotone, Italy
(Cro-tone-eh) A small town in Italy, founded in the 7th cent. a.d. with a charming church, archeological museum and a small park around the Castle of Charles V. Sadly, we were there on a Sunday and the entire town was closed! We did see the church - where Howard attended the "service" for a short wh...
Charming Taormina, Sicily
We had a lovely tour of this little town in Sicily. The town was established in the 4th century BC. As we drove there from the port of Messina, the landscape was filled with lemon trees and prickly pear cactus. Almost everything in the shops has some form of lemon motif. In the Cathedral Square of t...
First Cruise Stop: Naples
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We boarded yesterday afternoon, settled in, and had a lovely dinner in one of the specialty restaurants. Today we slept in a little, lunch, and now leaving for a tour of Naples. We were here for a few days in 2019 and really enjoyed the city. So, we are looking forward to what they show us on this t...
Our 3rd Day in Rome
Our plan to see St. Peter's Basilica was thwarted by rain and about 10,000 people! We finally arrived at St. Peter's square through heavy traffic, made our way through security checks and throngs of people. There was a special Indian ceremony going on in the square which most likely added to the cro...
First Day in Rome
A wonderful tour of the Jewish Ghetto along with the museum and the Great Synagogue. There is so much history about the lives of the Italian jews. Our tour guide comes from a Jewish family that has lived in Rome for hundreds of years. The Jewish population of Italy is only around 40.000 these days,...
Our 2nd Day in Rome: A Tour of the Vatican Museums and The Sistine Chapel
We met our guide in the morning and made our way into the Vatican museums... the total of the museums is 7 kilometers! (we did not do it all...LOL) The art and artifacts and textiles are amazing and wonderful. What an impressive collection. I have seen some of it on previous trips to Rome, but this...