WOW a million times wow! 9-26-14 on the Reflection

[jamona2311]

 

from the gardens overlooking the water. breathtaking!!!

 

 

My first Sisilian canoli. Too bad the waiter at the restaurant was a ?!%$@. ummmm did I say that????

View of Taormina and the Greek theater from Castlemola

 

 

Sicily Kitty was a guest at lunch.

[jamona2311]

Hi again! Wow my own review is confusing me. I hope you guys are following along ok when I jump around like this. I guess my pictures were getting ahead of me again, as we were at lunch but there was a bit more to tell you about our time in Taormina....this would explain my little out burst about the Canolli waiter!!! lol

It was getting to be time to head back so we did and mom had to use the washroom. Why do I add this??? Because its always a good reason to stop for a cappuccino and this time I had to add a cannoli to it! We were in Sicily, duh.

Unfortunately I cant recommend this place as the mean long haired guy that waited on us was cra cra ( crazy) rude. I asked for the bill, he said I had to wait and minute, so we waited 5. my mom said she would go to the place across the street to wait for our group, since she didn’t get anything. He told her she couldn’t go that she had to wait too! Um my mom is like excuse me!?!

As soon as he turns around she leaves as some from our group are showing up at the meeting place. Grumpy waiter guy comes back and sees my mom has left and stops dead in his track and puts his hands on his hips and proceeds to give me the death stare. Im like ‘ we have a group waiting on us, maybe you have all day to get me the bill but we want to at least let our group know that youre being a jerk and holding us for ransom” ok, well maybe I didn’t say that, but I did mention we had people waiting for us. I don’t ever come up with the good comebacks till after the facts, I hate that! Meh

Ok on to Castlemola. Mel and Amour ate in Taormina so off they go and Ig****o takes us to a restaurant with a view. Im sure he probably takes everyone here but that’s ok as it’s a very nice place. We sit outside as its another beautiful day, we are served bruschetta to start as a treat from the restaurant. I get a simple pasta with parmesan, basil and oil. Very good. Oh yeah more cannoli, and its much better than the place with grumpy waiter guy. HA. The restaurant also treats us to some Almond wine, which is a very popular desert wine.

Mario and his group show up and Ig****o says that we have to tell Mario that we had the better, more hansom brother for our guide. Lol He would say stuff like this all day. Like that Mario had to follow Ig****os tour because he didn’t know how to find the good places and that he was always copycatting Ig****os tours. It was funny to see them together. They obviously have a great relationship.

After lunch we walked around Castlemola and mom and I even climbed up to the castle. We were rewarded with amazing views and a great feeling of self-satisfaction.

On our way back to Messina, Ig****o took us to see Isla Bella from a beautiful look out spot. Here he brought out water/soda and treats of Sicilian tarts. Awwwww thanks Ig****o! How sweet. I bet Mario doesn’t do this, hha.

Looking back at where we ate lunch

There I go taking pictures with streetlights again!

I just love the angle I got on this building. Those balconies are just too cool.

Sometimes I didnt know which town was prettier, Castlemola or Taormina!

[jamona2311]

 

Not sure why CC wont spell out his name but heres our wonderful guide from our day in Sicily.

Lets climb up to the top of castlemola!

We made it! and.......

It was worth it! Look you can see all the way down from castlemola to taormina to the sea!

[jamona2311]

Isla Bella.

My mom asks Ig****o " why would anyone ever want to leave here!?" he say " Ahhhhh Italy.....so beautiful...its people, not so much...." I dont think he was talking about the lovely lady who ran the restaurant we had lunch at so much as......

A treat from Ig****o.

I forgot the name of this clock but it goes off completely everyday at noon in Messina. In this picture its showing you the date.

The clock and the church

Inside the church. Stunning!

Back in Messina he took us to a few more highlights and spoke of Messina and the Straight and of the wicked currants in the water there. He also explained to us the famous clock. It will be easier for me to tell you about it with the pictures.

Back on the ship, mom went to rest and I did my own kind of resting, in the Persian Gardens. Ahhhhh what a treat after the end of a long day. I would have stayed and hour but dinner was calling. Or at least mom was. We tried to keep dinner around 7-730.

Edited December 9, 2014 by jamona2311

[jamona2311]

Good bye Sicily! Thank you Ig****o for a wonderful day!

Dinner was in Opus tonight. With no wait we were seated at a table for two by the window. Of course the sun was all but down at this point but it was still a nice spot. I started with Escargots from the ever day menu. And I would have ever day but there was always something else I wanted to try too, but I could have had it every day!!!! That in itself was a treat!

The Gazpacho was very good and Im not usually a huge fan of Gazpacho but this one was really good. The Flank Steak was super tasty and the Strawberries and cream were good as well. We had a great dinner team. Most of our waiters we great the rest of our meals in Opus but these guys were the best and I wish we had gone back to them. Name??? Sorry I forgot….So bad with names…..

Strawberries and Cream. The only picture from dinner that turned out a little bit. I really have problems with night pictures....

Night night mom. For me, tomorrow is a glorious sea day, so Im gonna try to stay up late! hha.

My first stop of the night is the Sunset bar for a Mai Tai and some quiet time. I head down to the Skyview lounge after to see if anything is going on but a trio of musicians playing slow music starts…..nooooooo Im looking for something to keep me awake. Wonder whats going on at the Martini bar?? Ohhhh DJ, shadow dancers, fun music. Yay, Im gonna dance! Those bar tenders at the Martini bar sure do put on a show too!

Time to keep up with my challenge, I head to the Molecular bar and get the Tanned Russian. Oh now this is a drink I could do all the time. I hang out with some cc friends and then head back to the Martini bar for more dancing. I get adopted into a group of friends , yeah now I don’t have to look like the dork that dances alone hehe. Turn the clocks forward tonight, were headed towards Greece!

Shadow dancers at the Martini bar

 

The bartenders at the Martini bar were always entertaining

 

A lot of people out tonight taking advantage of sleeping late the next morning on our first day at sea.

[jamona2311]

Sunday September 28, Much needed Day at Sea!!ahhhhhhhh

Up and 9 and a nice quick breakfast in Oceanview….that was until we heard that because of weather we would be flip flopping our Monday and Wednesday Ports. That was Mykonos and Ephesus for this cruise. Crap I got some figuring out

to do!eek

I go down to Guest Relations and they are ready for the masses with extra staff borrowing cellphones to all of us trying to swap our excursions. I need to email apparently when I try to call St Johns. Ephesus deluxe I don’t have a phone number for. The gentleman helping me escorts me to the ilounge and I get 5 free internet minutes so I can email my requests. I buy a package anyway while Im there since Im trying to Facebook post our days for friends and family back home.

Soon all is well, everything is switched and Im late!!!! Late for our CC connections party! Whoops. I get there right as its ending but not before the Cabin Crawl leaves! Yay.

The rest of my day is spent finding different ways to relax. I hung out in the Persian Gardens, the pool and the Solarium. I had lunch alone at Bistro on 5. I just had to try the crepe with the Nutella, Banana and Pistachio that all the reviews says is so good and um yeah it is! No lie. I also had the Tuscan sun crepe and that was really nummy too.

The Tuscan from Bistro on 5

Nom Nom Nom hha

A beautliful day to spend poolside! ahhhhhhh finally....

And then chill for a bit in the Solarium just so I can say I did. There wasnt much time on port days for this kind of thing.

A view and sound I never get tired of since my first cruise when we splurged and got an aft balcony on the Carnival Ecstasy

 

[jamona2311]

By the time I got back to the room to dress for dinner it was starting to get windy. We did have some rocking tonight but nothing that mom nor I had any issues with.

Before dinner we decided we wanted a drink. I got Cazarita at the Molecular bar and mom wanted her Chocolate Martini. I got that for her as a treat. Off we went to dinner.

Mom dressed for formal night hanging out in Cellar Masters...not sure why....hha

Cazarita

Mom n her Chocolate Martini!!!

A dark picture of my lamb

We had dinner in Opus tonight as it was the first of our two formal nights. It was the only time we had to wait and they gave us one of those thingys and we went to sit at the Martini bar and enjoy our drinks. The wait was only about 10-15 minutes and we were buzzed. ( that is that our table was ready....not from our drinks a hem...)

After dinner sitting at the Molecular bar alone, chatting with Mauritius and the other guy. We were discussing thing like vacation and when is Black Friday and I told them also about Cyber Monday. All while indulging in and Indulgence drink. Soon Vic and Rocco ( cc friends) show up and we chat for a while. Travis and Sophie join us and we decide to go to the show that night. Well Rocco and Vic went earlier so they head off for the night and I go with Travis and Sophie.

Molecular Bar

Maruitus. Such a sweetie!

We walk into the 2nd story of the theater and are greeted by Travis and Sophies butler who hands us champagne and seats us in the middle of the front row of the balcony! Very nice, very VIP! This was their first cruise and they got upgraded to a suite. A very nice first impression of cruising, Im sure!

The show was the captains welcome and then there was the music and dancing. I couldn’t keep my eyes open when it came to this part so I said goodbye to my company and called it a night.

I did notice they did little towel animals in the public bathrooms but we never got any in our stateroom. There was one night when we each had gotten a fudge covered Oreo with our turned down room.

[jamona2311]

Monday September 29 originally Mykonos now Kusadasi

After mom and I had breakfast quick in the Oceanview ( loved the Muesli, had it everyday) we went down to get off of the ship. We grabbed our respective waters ( according to our drink package) and we were off the ship.

Welcome to the port of Kusadasi

 

Hha see my mom in the corner taking pictures?

I booked this tour online with Ephesus Deluxe. It was a guaranteed tour whether 2 booked or 14. We were closer to 10-12. Zafer was our guide today and he did a great job telling us about turkey and the sights we saw that day. I really could have done without the tile shop and the carpet demonstration but I know that it is very important part of their economy plus I got to try a potters wheel for the first time and saw how they get the silk from the silk worm. Very cool, I should have videoed it instead of just pictures.

Oh getting off track! First we went to St Johns Basilica, or whatever is left of it that is.

Our first stop was in the town a Selcuk, which is basically the modern day Ephesus. The Ephesus name is Greek as it was a greek city at the time but now that it is Turkey proper, it has been given the Turkish name Selcuk.

Here we visit St Johns Basillica. It is basicallly ruins now with a special area to show where St John is burried. The ruins are beauitful and there are remains of the baptistry there too. Zafer even told us that the bascillica was commisioned by a couple. The wife of the couple was Theadora. This stuck with me as it is my youngest daughters name. The couples symbol is on the pillars of the church and I took a picture to show my Thea.

Selcuk/ St John kitty

St Johns resting place

The area of the basillica has a topography map to show the lay out of the land and give you an idea of how it came to be that there were 3 Ephesus over time. The first being where the one lonely pillar from the temple of Artimis stands today. We didnt actually go down to see it up close but could see it from where we were.

This location left the early Epheasians vulnerable to attack plus eventually the silt was pushing the shore away from them. Soon they moved the town to the location where the famous archeological site is now. Between mountains in a valley it was safe from invaders or at least gave them a heads up. As if this wasnt enuf they also built a wall around the city at the top of the mountains that very little of can still be seen today.

This location is where Ephesus thrived and turned into one of the most powerful port cities of the time. Even attracting St John and Mary. Eventuallly this location too was ruined by the silt moving the water and closing up the port. Also as Ephesus dwindled it was plagued by illness from the ever growing population of mosquitoes and malaria. Soon Ephesus was abandoned and forgotton....that was until it was found again in the 1800ss??? Ok getting off track again.....

[jamona2311]

 

 

 

The topography map. Look for it if youre here. It really gives you a great perspective on how it all happened.

 

The lone pillar left from the temple of Artimis. One of the 7 wonders of the ancient world.

After our visit to St Johns we went to a Ceramic tile factory. This place even made the tiles for the blue mosque in Istanbul. Very nice but I was anxious to get to Ephesus. I did get to be the one to hop up onto the potters wheel and try to make a vase. I was an artist once upon a time so this was fun allbeit embarrasing since I was plucked out from our group against my will. I tend to be the shy wall flower type. Also my vase was competely lopsided! My mom has a picture of this somewhere......

Found it but its small. I guess thats ok cuz then you cant see the crazy floral pants they made me wear!!! lol

[jamona2311]

Ihave been to Ephesus before in 2012 but I was really excited for my mom to see it. I was anxious to see the Terrace Houses this time since its something that wasnt available to us the last time I was here. I really surprised my self as to how many pictures I took this day. I thought it might be a relaxing day for my camera but it wasnt meant to be. I was still a picture junkie. In fact, I wore my battery out in the middle of the Terrace Houses and we havent even seen the Library yet and that was my absolute favorite last time! lol

An offical resident of Ephesus welcomes you! hha Thats what Zafar calls all the cats that hang out here.

 

Ephesus used to have covered walkways to shade its residents from the scorching Turkish sun

Zafer, our guide for the day, gathering us for some more wonderful information.

Another picture of my girl, Madusa! She may be mean but ya gotta love the girl power! hha

Wow those Terrace Houses are really something to see! Do not miss them if you ever get to Ephesus! I will cry for you if you do. Be warned tho there are alot of stairs to climb but its not always all at once, and still so worth it. The frescos and mosiacs are incredibally preserved in jaw dropping detail.

The marble has come off the walls and is in a zillion little pieces that archeologists are still trying to put back together like the biggest puzzel ever! There are rooms intact that you can tell by frescos on the wall what they were used for. A bit of crumbling wall shows pipes that ran inside the houses of these rich people. Indoor plumbing wasnt something the poor had.....ever wonder why there are soooo many fountains around??? Even the Epheasian childen left their mark behind, and we thought our kids were the first to ever write on our livingroom walls!

[jamona2311]

Oh yes! The public toilet shot. Ya know its not an official report of Ephesus unless you have a toilet shot. Notice I didnt include the carving of Nike??? Do you want me to add that too???? hhe

How cool were the Ephesians had walkways paved in Mosaic?

Ok, all these broken pieces of marble somehow make up the bottom half of the walls of this room! This is what they are trying to put back together again! Eek.

Ancient Ephesian children arent so differnt from our kids afterall.

 

Are you kidding me?? Look how well preserved, amazing!

[jamona2311]

I love this picture. I think its because the exposed pipe for indoor plumbing just blows my mind.

Dont not miss this. For E11 it is soooo worth it. There is so much to see!

All of this burried for so long!

 

 

[jamona2311]

After the Terrace Houses we came to the Library of Celius. This place is sooooo cool. Unfortunately I wasnt able to share it much with my mom as I got up close and personal with it this time and she stayed on the ground. Walking again on all the uneven ground was really doing a number on her joints. At least she was here to see it. I had a lot of fun taking tons of picture from many angles. I even got pictures of where they used to store the thousands of scrolls that had once been here.

A selfie with the Library.

 

The spaces where thousands of Papryus scroll were once kept.

 

 

[jamona2311]

 

 

If you like cats, youll love Ephesus. Like Zafer said they rule Ephesus. And they really really do. Its funny youd see a bunch of people huddled around taking pictures of a statue that didnt seem very important, only to realize that a kitten was asleep at the feet of whatever headless goddess this was supposed to have been. I ask you who are the real stars of this place. I wasnt any better, in fact I took pictures of cats and kittens all over this trip. I love and missed my cats at home but mostly because my daughter is a major cat person. She already has it set in her mind that she wants to be a crazy cat lady some day! hha love that kid.

Where John spoke to the Ephesians! Wow!

 

We had lunch at the carpet factory. Oh gosh we were all so hot and thristy and hungry!!! We really enjoyed our lunch at the carpet school that Zafer took us too. It was served family style and it was lots of salads and chicken and falafel and all sooooo good. Water and soda was included but alcohol was extra. As it was another beautiful day it was nice to eat outside in the shade.

Like I mentioned before it was really neat to see how they get the silk from the silk worm and it was even fun to walk around in our bare feet on the various carpets they brought out to show us but I reallly could have done without another sales pitch.

 

The carpet school where we also had lunch.

This was the only picture I got but they did serve us a wonderful Turkish lunch with many yummy things to try. It was all served family style.

The silk worm pods in a vat of water. The student would smack them with a metal bristled brush and when she pulled it up threads of silk would have stuck to the bristles. The threads were then attached to a crank and theyd start turning it and youd see all the pods she caught with the brush bobbing up and down in the water as they unraveld and that is how they get the silk. tadaa!!!!!!!

Another student making the carpet. Her hands were a blur as she made double knots and cut threads and weaved her fingers in and out. I was afraid she would cut herself!

[jamona2311]

Ok revived by food and drink and getting off of our feet for a bit, we were off to Marys house. St John took her to this hillside home for her safety and to live out the rest of her life peacefully. It is said that a nun had a vision of Marys house revealed to her in a dream and when she came to this spot she knew this is where her dream had led her. With the backing of several popes and the nuns proclamation, this is the place. Im not sure if anyone knows for positive, all the facts seem to point here.

 

Im not saying I dont believe it, I just want it to be so soooo bad that I sure hope they know what theyre talking about Im sorry to say that it seems a little bit built up commercially since the last time I was here and it kinda takes away that feeling.....ya know, something special, something sacred. Its still a lovely place to go and I enjoyed leaving a prayer for Mary on the prayer wall. My mom collected some of the water from the spring....hey....she was supposed to share that with me when we got home!? hmmm

 

 

 

This concluded our day with Ephesus Deluxe and Zafer. I thought there was enuf time for shopping but mom was getting a little nervous on the time. I at least managed to get my magnet and snuck in a quick buy of a lamp too! ;) Plenty of time to spare.

 

 

Goodbye Turkey. Thanks for sharing some of your treasures!

[jamona2311]

Mom went to go rest and I went to go Spa for a while. We were so exhaused from such a long day walking that we decided to skip Qsine tonight and rebooked it for the last night of the cruise. Instead we went to dinner at Opus. I really dont remember much from this night and my notes are terrible. I do think this was the night the waiters teased us for getting the exact same things for dinner. We didnt even know we were doing it. I dont even have any pictures.....told you we were tired.

 

Not much for the night life either. I think I just wandered around, hit up Molecular bar. This is probably the night I got the Violet Hummingbird. It wasnt as good as I hoped it would be. Ok off to bed early......grrrr

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, September 30, Athens Greece

 

 

Welcome to Greece momma! She was sooooo happy to finally be here. Shes been to Italy before but never Greece. She had said when we first started passing some of the Greek islands on our sea day that she got kinda weepey. I know her dad never made it here because of his fear of flying so this meant so much to her.

A beautiful view early morning from our balcony

 

 

We were up reallly early to have some breakfast quick from OVC and met our group at 7. We joined in on Tamaras tour that she booked with PK Travel. We were doing the full day Athens tour......if we could ever get off the ship! hha It took forever to clear us to disembark. This was Athens fault not Celebritys.

 

Finally ok here we go! Ooooh hes cute! Today Micheal was our guide and he was a cutie. hehe And probably one of the nicest, non egotistical Greek boys Ive ever met. Trust me, they are hard to come by, I love them but it is what it is.

 

Well not only was Michael cute, he was very knowledgeable. So much fun to hear all he had to say and sometimes it was quite a bit but I didnt mind. The more he wanted to share the more I wanted to listen. Theres a lot to know about Athens. I know some people dont like it and yes, it is a concret jungle, but it is wonderful too. So much history crammed into one amazing city. I love it.

 

We started our day at the Acropolis. As we started my mom wasnt sure she would go to the Acropolis. I know she was worried about all of the steep steps and the fact that they were marble didnt help. Well Micheal assured us there wernt that many steps and there really wasnt but the ones we did find were steep and the rest of the way up was a marble stone switch back path. I was very careful to make sure I was there to lend a hand to my mom to make sure she made it up to the top. I really wanted her to see this.

 

 

 

 

[jamona2311]

 

It was worth the climb. The Parthenon is a site to behold and I enjoyed Micheals dialog about how the Parthenon is built to have the illusion of being symetrical.

The porch of the maidens is my very favorite and I looked forward to meeting the girls in person later in the day at the museum. On the back side of the Elecheion is where Michael told us about the challenge between the godess Athena and Zeus. Zeus stuck down his Triton and a spring appeard. Of course this was very impressive but then the Goddess Athena, took a seed and put it into the ground and from the seed came a tree with these amazing leaves that looked green on one side and a beautiful silver shimmer on the other side. As if this wasnt impressive enuf the tree also grew olives and Athena won the challenge and the city of Athens was named after her.

It is said that the dip in the backside of the Elecheion porch is where the Triton hit and that the Olive tree growing out of the side of the ruin is Athenas tree! Wouldnt that be cool!

 

 

 

See the skylight at the top of this porch? Below is where they say the Trident of Zeus struck

Athenas tree peaking out.

[jamona2311]

Ahhhhh I forgot to resize my font again!!!:eek::o

Sorry everyone. Thats the hazzard of doing this while at work, I get distracted for a while and comeback and forget what Im doing or to follow up on what Ive done so far.

I hope this hasent made it too hard to read. I hope that you are enjoying the review inspite of it all ;).....kinda hard to tell since you are all so quiet out there! :D:p hhe

[bdpatrick]

Loving the review so far.

 

We were also on this cruise and I enjoy reading another person's perspective on it.

 

Keep it coming!

Edited December 10, 2014 by bdpatrick

[jamona2311]

Lets not forget about the Parthenon!!! Symetry is the name of the game here. Ill leave that up to you to find out what a tricks to the naked eye were used in building the parthenon.

The beautiful porch maidens

Micheal our guide for the day, sharing some history with us that probably ended with a " and thats about that!" hha

[Texed]

I hope that you are enjoying the review

 

Mona,

 

Your review is very nice. Thanks for posting. :)

[highbridger]

We really enjoyed your review. Your enthusiasm is catching. Your photos are wonderful. Thank you.

[jamona2311]

Thanks you guys for your comments! I really appreciate them. Its part of what makes this fun and keeps me going. :D

Edited December 12, 2014 by jamona2311

[jamona2311]

Next we saw the Temple of Zeus ( see he didnt go without some type of well deserved recognition)

Must have made the Parthenon look like a miniature model. Only about 16 or so pillars stand which were once 100 so its hard to imagine how huge this place was! I know mom loved it and she said it was her favorite so far.

Added this one just cuz I like it so much

What mom didn’t like at all was when Michael told me he could tell I was Greek! LMAO. I was happy to hear this but mom was upset that he didn’t say it to her since she is more Greek than I am. HEHE sorry mama I guess you look more like gramma. And she really does. I mean everyone used to comment on how much my mom and gramma looked alike. Oh in case I didn’t mention it, my gramma was Italian and my granpa was Greek. This report is getting so long I cant remember what Ive talked about! Hha

 

The original Olympic stadium. ALL marble!

After a quick picture trip the the original stadium we were let loose in the Plaka to shop and or find some lunch. Mom and I were hungry for Pastitsio and Mousaka and Michael pointed us in the right direction. With a live guitarist singing and the fun atmosphere we enjoyed our wonderful lunch. I let the pictures do the talking here.

 

Mom had pastitsio and I had mousaka...mmmmm my mouth is watering just thinking about them....

Edited December 12, 2014 by jamona2311

[jamona2311]

A guy singing and playing guitar. Nice!

The "entrance" to the Plaka.

 

 

 

Mom musta been suffering from some food coma after all that so she just hung out and I went shopping on my own. I gave in a got another piece of luggage! It is a really cute Owl carry on in a half circle shape. I was starting to realize that I had a lot of stuff to get home and I was just gonna have to suck it up and pay for the 2nd bag. I kinda knew this might happen so I was a little prepared. Oh well, now I could shop and just not worry about it anymore. ha

Once our group was back together again we went to see the changing of the guard at the Parliament building. There was some crazy man screaming his protests the entire time so it was kinda distracting but very cool nonetheless. They do this 24/7 through everything. I heard of an instant where due to some protests one of the guards was caught in a bunch of tear gas but he stood his ground until his officer told him he was ok to get outta there. Same deal with one that was on fire! And these are just boys, they volunteer for this!

I had to ask Michael if he thinks they laugh at us silly tourist coming to see them every day and taking their picture. He said he had a friend that did this for a while and he would laugh about it to him. All the crazy stuff us tourists do. Im glad its something that can amuse them as they seem so stoic up there, so without feeling or any sign of a personality. They hold their position very well. I know Id be cracking up laughing at people! I wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face! lol