First of all, let me just say that seeing pictures and reading a journal of someone else's trip is like trying to imagine what a meal tastes like by seeing pictures of the food. It doesn't even come close. Especially on a trip to Turkey and Greece - not only do the photos not do justice to the sites, but they do not capture the 99% of everything going on between the photos. To experience the Old City of Rhodes at night, for instance, you have to go there and experience it. So go there and see it because everything on this trip was worth it.... go on »

I think I might have just blown out the charger for my palmtop. I had it plugged in to the evil, foreign outlets and there was a puff of smoke from the charger. Hmmmm....

It's the Morning after arriving in Istanbul. I had a hard time sleeping. I kept dreaming about work and Survivor.... go on »

The hotel is very nice. For breakfast there was a fresh honeycomb dripping honey and next to it, three different types of honey. The food in Turkey is great.... go on »

Today was a lot less hectic. We started off going to
Dolmabahce Palace
, which is a more modern (19th century) palace for the sultan. It was much more along the lines of a typical European palace with chandeliers and grand carpets. The wooden floors were spectacular with their intricate Turkish geometry. There was also a nice art collection throughout the palace. ... go on »

I won't spend too much time talking about the day at sea as all we did was lay in the sun and read. The sea was fantastically calm. Half of the time I didn't even know we were moving.... go on »

This stop is merely an excuse to see
Ephesus... go on »

Today we were at port in Rhodes before we awakened. We had break fast and headed into the city. Rhodes has the reputation of being the Florida of Europe. I think it's specifically the South Beach with a medieval section.... go on »

Yesterday was our last day in Turkey, and so our last day with Inci. We were joined by a Jim - the southern gentleman we met on the ship. Our first trek was through the Bodrum Castle, which, like many structures around here, started in the ancient world and then changed throughout the ages. They had some particularly interesting exhibits of underwater excavations. And the views throughout the castle were great.... go on »

It took David and me a while to get into the rhythm of the day. He was a little spacey and draggy and I was crabby and snappy. Mainly because I had to go to an Internet cafe to handle a call from work. After that we rented a car and drove around the island. There were fantastic views all around, but I was not seeing what was so wonderful about the island until we got to the very north end to a town called Eio. This town is mainly at the top of a cliff, with the houses and Villas along the top and working their way halfway down the side.... go on »

The last day of the cruise. Getting the bill in the room is a real slap in the face. Although David and l have both said that we're ready to return, it still has been so wonderful that we don't want it to end.... go on »

Athens is hot. So very hot. Our hotel is a bit of a fleabag. Actually, it's a flea sauna. We're supposed to be here for two nights.... go on »

We left the air conditioner running on high all night and my sheets were wet with sweat when we woke up. The first thing I did was go to get a bottle of water out of the mini-bar, but it was empty. We are changing hotels. Other people on the boat had mentioned the Sheraton, so it was off to the Sheraton we went.... go on »