Kat goes on holiday - MSC Preziosa Eastern Med (5th July 2014)

[Katgoesonholiday]

But we were hungry after our lack of lunch so the first thing was to race up to the small buffet by the pool for a snack and a well deserved cool drink.

 

 

This led to another perfect moment - sitting in the shade on a hot day drinking a cool drink and enjoying our books - and proof that we did cruise. :P

 

 

One thing led to another, as they do. And we had to have another drink - this time whilst lounging in the sun.

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

Tonight was the 'Meet the Captain' cocktail party in the TopSail Lounge so we duly showered, changed and made ourselves presentable. This was a fascinating experience. Firstly because I got to try a new 'drink' which was surprisingly potent alcoholic jelly cubes.

 

 

And then also because we got to meet the captain and view his impressive entourage as they made their way from table to table. He was a very pleasant and charming man who we spoke to only briefly.

 

 

Accompanying him were his personal butler, the photographer, one of the concierges, and two unspecified young women who stayed behind to chat - i.e. gush about how amazingly wonderful the captain is and how lucky they feel to be on his ship. They were very sweet and sincere but I'm afraid I'm very cynical about that kind of thing after spending years with a close association with consecrated women in the Regnum Christi movement who gush in a similar manner.

 

In other news, tasty snacks were served and by the time we staggered out for dinner my darling husband had accidentally had three vodka martinis.

 

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

Tonight we went to the show first - The Witches of Paris. It was excellent though my husband was rather taken aback by the prosthetic noses and chins that marred the otherwise gorgeous features of the dancers and singers. Poor man!

 

 

Then, because our inhibitions were sufficiently lowered, we (i.e. I) decided on the spur of the moment to have our photos taken. Poor darling hubby was still feeling the effects of the martinis and it was hilarious to watch him try to grasp what pose the photographer wanted him to adopt when he was only communicating in mime. We did, however manage to get a lovely photo of the two of us.

 

 

Dinner ensued (with accompanying wines and a limoncello to finish) and following this a somewhat stupefied sleep ready for our next big day at Istanbul.

 

 

 

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

And just because I can - a "Cats of Ephesus" post

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

I am corrected by my husband - the carpet was 41% of the initial asking price. Its important to be accurate about such vital facts. :p

[Katgoesonholiday]

Again, we decided to join our roll call friends H&M for the day, and H very kindly took the lead in deciding what we were going to see and how we were going to arrange our day. He did a marvellous and very efficient job and I was amazed at how much we got through.

 

Now, I will say in advance, our #1 take home lesson from this day in Istanbul is ... make sure your camera batteries are freshly charged because this city is AMAZING! We couldn't stop clicking! Everywhere we looked was a sumptuous feast for the eyes.

 

It started with our sail into the port. This was the most beautiful and impressive of the cruise and I was delighted we had a cabin on the port side as we had gorgeous views from our balcony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

 

 

 

 

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

 

 

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

Again, we met H&M in the Topsail Lounge for breakfast and then followed a butler off the ship. We had become experts at insinuating ourselves behind an excursion group and traipsing along with them till we were off the ship (before anyone else) and free to do our own thing.

 

Initially I had booked a guide for this day but ended up deciding that Istanbul was do-able on our own. I am happy with our choice though I imagine we would have got a lot more out of it with an expert guide. Though after a full day at Ephesus the previous day, I was quite keen to just take a relaxed pace and not have to absorb quite so much information - especially in the heat! And it was very hot already!

 

Finding the tram was dead easy and we quickly got our tickets and established that we were on the correct side of the tram platform. It was only minutes till a tram came along and we were in the Sultanahmet district before 9am.

 

The first thing on the list was to check out the Blue Mosque. This was still closed for prayer so we proceeded to the second on the list - to skirt round the back of the Blue Mosque to the Mosaic Museum to obtain a Muzee Pass which would give us the ability to skip the queues at some of the other attractions. We hadn't been able to get this online - the website had been uncooperative for some time - and we had been informed by the previous days guide that the pass was now only available to Turkish citizens. I think he was thinking of the annual pass.

 

Anyway, the Mosiac Museum was still closed which was a shame but we got some gorgeous photos of the Blue Mosque from the back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

 

 

 

I have said it before and I am forced to say it again, the collective intelligence of a crowd always seems to sink to the lowest common denominator. This crowd was no exception. What particularly stood out for me was all the people who waited till they had finally got to the entrance before slowly proceeding to removed their footwear. This naturally held things up immensely. As did all the women who had no idea they would have to cover their hair and needed it explained to them over and over. Thanks to a little online research before leaving home, I already had a headscarf in my bag and a plastic bag for our shoes.

 

Now, I am a firm believer in 'when in Rome...' If local custom dictates that I wear clothing that covers my shoulders and knees and a headscarf then I will do that out of respect for the people who's land I am visiting - without demur or quibbling. But I will quietly think in the private of my own mind that its a load of male bovine faeces and I don't see why I had to cover my hair and my arms and the guys could saunter through in whatever. My husband and I are not religious and what respect we have for the people does not extend to their daft, misogynistic, superstitious beliefs. I found it very foreign to my culture to see so many signs of women being treated very differently than men - in a way that is easily interpreted as being treated as second class.

 

This was below the Mosque and is where the men wash their feet before entering the Mosque. The place for the women was some distance away and not attached to the Mosque.

 

 

This was an enclosed and screened area at the back of the mosque:

[Katgoesonholiday]

More photos taken between us getting meeting the terrifically friendly man with the book and us entering the Blue Mosque

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

Having had my little rant for the day, I very much enjoyed our visit to the Blue Mosque. The mosaics were magnificent.

 

We entered through one door and exited through another and only had access to the back half of the Mosque. The front half was fenced off. I am glad we did this first though, as I found the Hagia Sophia far more impressive and I think this would have been a little ho-hum if we had visited it after.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ellie1145]

Thank you for posting such a wonderful review of your cruise. The photos are amazing.

[Katgoesonholiday]

After exiting the Blue Mosque we nipped back to the Mosaic Museum where we quickly and easily obtained the 72 hour Muze Pass. Then we walked back to the front of the Blue Mosque and across to Hagia Sophia - where we promptly saw several other vendors for the same card!

 

 

 

Curiously, people were not utilising this but instead forming very long cues for the ticket office.

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

Thank you for posting such a wonderful review of your cruise. The photos are amazing.

 

You are very welcome. I am enjoying the excuse to go through them again. :D

[AmoMondo]

Kat you are bringing back some lovely memories for me of my first visit to Istanbul and cruise on MSC. I now very much regret not doing the Ephesus trip. Sharing the joy of your holiday is really lovely.

 

I agree the Hagia Sofia is stunning. Hope you also made it to the Topkapi Palace.

 

I too purchased a small silk rug from a Co-OP sponsored by the Turkish Government, albeit in Istanbul. It has hung in my hall for 9 years now and I still love it as much as I did when I first laid eyes on it. The miniscule size of all those knots is just amazing. I did not haggle and ended up paying almost £1,000 for it. Another lady at my table bought a large wool one for her living room floor and hers was around half the cost but about 8 times the size but I could understand that the silk ones are far more intricate and time consuming to make. I think they told me mine would have taken around 3-4 months. I console myself that even if I paid too much had I kept the bonus money in shares, I'd have lost it all in the financial crash back in 2008 (share price for the company I work for plummeted from a high of £11.52 to £0.21!). They did give me a few complimentary packets of that wonderful apple tea.

 

I hope you get as much pleasure as I do from your rug. I pass mine every time I go upstairs and it always brings back fond memories.

[alexkrn46]

loving your review and great photos!

[I&J Cruisers]

Your photographs are amazing and your writing style is very enjoyable. Waiting for your next installment.

[lovelylyme]

Dear Kat,

 

We are going on this cruise in September with friends for our partners birthdays. I have been nervous because I found this cruise online and persuaded our friends to come too. I am so glad I booked Yacht Club cabins for us all and the photos of your excursions look fabulous. Looking forward to reading the rest of your posts. Was ALL your alcohol included in the price of your cruise? It seems too good to be true! Thanks for so many useful hints and tips....:)

[Waihekean]

Hi Kat,

 

What can I say! Your writing style and photo's are fabulous.

You really got everything out of this trip that was possible and I am really enyoing your review.

 

Our experience with MSC was different being down with the pleb, so not quite as civilised as being in the yacht club. However, that is a different story which I'm not ready to tell as yet. First have to get over my jet lag and it seems will take a while. Eek..

 

Greetings L

[Katgoesonholiday]

Dear Kat,

 

We are going on this cruise in September with friends for our partners birthdays. I have been nervous because I found this cruise online and persuaded our friends to come too. I am so glad I booked Yacht Club cabins for us all and the photos of your excursions look fabulous. Looking forward to reading the rest of your posts. Was ALL your alcohol included in the price of your cruise? It seems too good to be true! Thanks for so many useful hints and tips....:)

 

Here is a link to the Yacht Club drinks menu - it is only the back pages that have prices attached. This was uploaded by another member - Pete, I think.

[bellaone]

After exiting the Blue Mosque we nipped back to the Mosaic Museum where we quickly and easily obtained the 72 hour Muze Pass. Then we walked back to the front of the Blue Mosque and across to Hagia Sophia - where we promptly saw several other vendors for the same card!

 

 

 

Curiously, people were not utilising this but instead forming very long cues for the ticket office.

 

 

What a pleasure Kat, thank you. Where were these booths? They will certainly make the process simple and quick!

[Katgoesonholiday]

What a pleasure Kat, thank you. Where were these booths? They will certainly make the process simple and quick!

 

Facing the Hagia Sophia, the ticket booths were to your right at the end of the 'road'. This same road leads up to Topkapi Palace so is super easy to find. Also, as you walk towards the ticket booths, on your right is a ice cream stand and just before that is a public toilet - always helpful information to know! Make sure you have a few lira. I don't know how much it was as I didn't need to use it - just noted its location.

 

[bellaone]

Facing the Hagia Sophia, the ticket booths were to your right at the end of the 'road'. This same road leads up to Topkapi Palace so is super easy to find. Also, as you walk towards the ticket booths, on your right is a ice cream stand and just before that is a public toilet - always helpful information to know! Make sure you have a few lira. I don't know how much it was as I didn't need to use it - just noted its location.

 

 

Excellent! Istanbul, here we come, and better armed thanks to Kat!

[Katgoesonholiday]

I was staggered at how easy it all was. When people say that the main sites are all close together, thats what they mean! Honestly! They are (pretty much) all right next door to each other!