I will be adding more photos to this over the next few days - the photos can be seen at my new Picasa page -
http://picasaweb.google.com/maurice.hughes/MediterraneanCruisePics2009?feat=directlink
Friday, September 18, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
We're Home......
As my sister so politely pointed out....all good things must come to an end!
It was a long travel day! We were up early, went for one last breakfast on the ship, then headed off to the airport. We needed to depart the ship by 9:30 and our flight was not until 3:00, so we had a bit of a long wait at the airport. Luckily, we found a small table, parked us and all our gear. Maurice thought he would purchase a day of internet time through the airport link to help pass the time, but we couldn't get that to work out for us so we passed the time eating pizza and playing table football and hockey! Nice shot Maurice - over Scott's head and onto the table behind us! We finally boarded the plan and began our journey home, through London Heathrow. While in London, Shannon and I wandered through a few shops, picked up some Flake bars to munch on and had......a starbucks coffee - yes, Maurice could of cared less at that point! It was coffee and he said something about not giving a .... if it was stupid starbucks!!! We stopped at the duty free in London to pick up a few things and found that for some reason, neither one of our credit cards would work. We didn't have enough cash between us, so we went to use some travellers cheques. In order to do that they needed to see our passports for identification but they were all the way down the other end of the seating area with all our stuff and the kids. The kids came to say our plane was boarding - even though the gate # was only posted 10 minutes before - so we left our package of goodies at the counter and said - see you next time!!
We ran through the airport for our gate, boarded almost as soon as we got to the gate and landed in Toronto at 10pm and arrived home around midnight. Everyone was exhausted as we had pretty much been up for 24 hrs by that time as no one really slept much on the plane.
Everything went very smoothly - our luggage arrived with us, we headed out to the park n fly shuttle, remembered our parking location and there was the car! Loaded up and headed out....oops almost! We get to the gate to pay and hummm....remember our credit cards were not working in London - well guess what they were not working in Toronto either! Of course no one is at the booth so we back up, park the car and call Visa! Good thing for 24 hr service. Yes, they had frozen the credit cards....something to do with a suspicious transaction in Italy regarding an internet charge!!! Oh yes, that! We cleared it up on the phone, pulled up to the gate and what do you know - the Visa worked again!!
So, while yes, the trip has come to an end, the memories we have will last forever. It was a fabulous adventure for us all. We travelled to places you hear of so often, but never think of visiting. It was something none of us will ever forget. We have been home for 1 day and we are still trying to figure out who is going to make dinner, clean up and turn our beds down tonight!!!
Thanks for following through with us and until next time!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Almost The End
Thursday, Sept 3rd
Today is our last full day on the Oosterdam… a bittersweet end. After 12 days, 2,668 kilometers at sea and some great family memories, we are heading back to Venice and a flight home. Here’s hoping this flight will be less eventful than the last!
Yesterday we docket at the port of Katakolon on the Greek mainland. We took a ship’s excursion to the Ruins of Ancient Olympia. It was a very hot day, and the heat and sun were draining… we had a look around but in all honesty the ruins weren’t as impressive as those at Ephesus – perhaps we had simply had our fill of rubble. The drive throught the countryside showed a very poor part of Greece with many half built buildings and small farms surviving on a parched piece of land. There really is nothing near Katakolon except for the ruins at Olympia and there were several cruise ships in port making it very crowded. We headed back to the ship for a few cold beers and a swim – probably the best part of the day.
I would like to say thank you for reading our blog – it has been an amazing trip and it’s been fun sharing it with everyone back home. Looking forward to a Large Timmies Regular! See you soon.
Today is our last full day on the Oosterdam… a bittersweet end. After 12 days, 2,668 kilometers at sea and some great family memories, we are heading back to Venice and a flight home. Here’s hoping this flight will be less eventful than the last!
Yesterday we docket at the port of Katakolon on the Greek mainland. We took a ship’s excursion to the Ruins of Ancient Olympia. It was a very hot day, and the heat and sun were draining… we had a look around but in all honesty the ruins weren’t as impressive as those at Ephesus – perhaps we had simply had our fill of rubble. The drive throught the countryside showed a very poor part of Greece with many half built buildings and small farms surviving on a parched piece of land. There really is nothing near Katakolon except for the ruins at Olympia and there were several cruise ships in port making it very crowded. We headed back to the ship for a few cold beers and a swim – probably the best part of the day.
I would like to say thank you for reading our blog – it has been an amazing trip and it’s been fun sharing it with everyone back home. Looking forward to a Large Timmies Regular! See you soon.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Finally, Santorini...
Tuesday, Sept 1
When we awoke today we were anchored in the Santorini Caldera. Santorini today is an island that remains after a huge explosion thousands of years ago. The island is as ridiculously beautiful as the photos you see – it is the classic Greek island. Most of the photos taken for the purpose of Greek tourism were taken here. After a ride in the tender boat we took a cable car to the top of the cliff. Of course I am very much not a fan of cable cars, but the only other options were a donkey ride or a long uphill climb on the same path used by the donkeys. I closed my eyes and we were up in no time. The smell of the donkeys made me glad we opted for the cable car. We walked through the town of Fira to find the local bus station. Once there we managed to find our way on a bus to the town of Oia. Once again, we were on a very crowded bus navigating winding roads. The view was spectacular – if you opened your eyes long enough to look down. Scott and Shannon thought it was cool! Us, not as much… Once in the town of Oia (eeya) we stopped for a cappuccino and some cold drinks in a small square before we started on our adventure. Oia has even more beautiful Greek buildings and views of an impossibly blue sea. You always imagine how beautiful it is from the pictures you see, but to see it in person is even more spectacular. There are no cars in the village as it just narrow cobblestone walkways with lots of shops, cafés, art studios etc. We wandered through the village for a while, took in the amazing views of the white and blue. It truly is a place we can see ourselves spending more time one day. We caught the bus back to Fira, stopped for a lunch of bread, Greek salad and cheese on a quaint roof top café overlooking the sea. We headed back to the dreaded cable car and once again, Maurice closed his eyes and prayed all the way down while everyone else enjoyed the view! We lucked out with the weather, too – warm but not hot and with a nice breeze. As we rode the tender back to the ship that breeze became a stronger wind. The tender was rocking back and forth pretty good – Shannon thought it was better than a roller coaster! Once we left port, the winds became very strong and the sea a little rough - looks like it’ll be a rockin’ night.
Tomorrow we are off to ancient Olympia – our last stop before we return to Venice. We will be checking out more ruins which, of course, has Shannon overjoyed. Not!
When we awoke today we were anchored in the Santorini Caldera. Santorini today is an island that remains after a huge explosion thousands of years ago. The island is as ridiculously beautiful as the photos you see – it is the classic Greek island. Most of the photos taken for the purpose of Greek tourism were taken here. After a ride in the tender boat we took a cable car to the top of the cliff. Of course I am very much not a fan of cable cars, but the only other options were a donkey ride or a long uphill climb on the same path used by the donkeys. I closed my eyes and we were up in no time. The smell of the donkeys made me glad we opted for the cable car. We walked through the town of Fira to find the local bus station. Once there we managed to find our way on a bus to the town of Oia. Once again, we were on a very crowded bus navigating winding roads. The view was spectacular – if you opened your eyes long enough to look down. Scott and Shannon thought it was cool! Us, not as much… Once in the town of Oia (eeya) we stopped for a cappuccino and some cold drinks in a small square before we started on our adventure. Oia has even more beautiful Greek buildings and views of an impossibly blue sea. You always imagine how beautiful it is from the pictures you see, but to see it in person is even more spectacular. There are no cars in the village as it just narrow cobblestone walkways with lots of shops, cafés, art studios etc. We wandered through the village for a while, took in the amazing views of the white and blue. It truly is a place we can see ourselves spending more time one day. We caught the bus back to Fira, stopped for a lunch of bread, Greek salad and cheese on a quaint roof top café overlooking the sea. We headed back to the dreaded cable car and once again, Maurice closed his eyes and prayed all the way down while everyone else enjoyed the view! We lucked out with the weather, too – warm but not hot and with a nice breeze. As we rode the tender back to the ship that breeze became a stronger wind. The tender was rocking back and forth pretty good – Shannon thought it was better than a roller coaster! Once we left port, the winds became very strong and the sea a little rough - looks like it’ll be a rockin’ night.
Tomorrow we are off to ancient Olympia – our last stop before we return to Venice. We will be checking out more ruins which, of course, has Shannon overjoyed. Not!
Ephesus August 31st
Today we are back in Turkey at the seaside town of Kusadasi. We had a private tour booked and when we got off the ship, once again, there was a gentleman standing there with our name on a sign…yeah! We headed off to the van and today we also had a driver – a tour guide and a driver! Kusadasi is the town where the ship docks but we were headed off to the Roman ruins at Ephesus. Ephesus is one of the best preserved Roman towns anywhere. It was one of the 7 Asian centres mentioned in the Bible and so is also very important for Christianity as well as archeology. The tour, led by our guide Inan was informative and fascinating. Once again the weather cooperated – it was about 29C and very pleasant.
We first drove up this massive mountain on a very steep, winding road. At the top of the hill is a house that many believe is the last home of the Virgin Mary. Mary came with St. John to Ephesus as he started the local Christian church. We quickly toured the small house and lit some candles.
Next stop was the ruined city. A series of incredible sites waited for us – amazingly well preserved terrace houses, a massive amphitheatre (and a smaller one) and the Library of Celsus (check Wikipedia for details). Everywhere we turned there were more incredible examples of the resources and technology these people possessed thousands of years ago. We learned, among other things that the Romans used silk ropes to cut the huge stones.
Our next stop was a leather shop where, believe it or not, I bought a leather coat and Joanne bought nothing! I needed a new coat anyway, honest… but the funniest part had to be the fashion show. This rather large store and manufacturing facility employs runway models to show off their latest fashions. So they did a show, just for the 4 of us. It was more than a bit surreal… it was all I could do to not burst out in laughter. As the show progressed 2 of the runway models came and grabbed Scott and Shannon and next thing you know they were coming out wearing cool leather jackets. The look on both of their faces was priceless.
Then we were off to a carpet demonstration and back to the bazaar near the boat. Joanne bought a purse and a few souvenirs, and we set sail for Santorini.
We first drove up this massive mountain on a very steep, winding road. At the top of the hill is a house that many believe is the last home of the Virgin Mary. Mary came with St. John to Ephesus as he started the local Christian church. We quickly toured the small house and lit some candles.
Next stop was the ruined city. A series of incredible sites waited for us – amazingly well preserved terrace houses, a massive amphitheatre (and a smaller one) and the Library of Celsus (check Wikipedia for details). Everywhere we turned there were more incredible examples of the resources and technology these people possessed thousands of years ago. We learned, among other things that the Romans used silk ropes to cut the huge stones.
Our next stop was a leather shop where, believe it or not, I bought a leather coat and Joanne bought nothing! I needed a new coat anyway, honest… but the funniest part had to be the fashion show. This rather large store and manufacturing facility employs runway models to show off their latest fashions. So they did a show, just for the 4 of us. It was more than a bit surreal… it was all I could do to not burst out in laughter. As the show progressed 2 of the runway models came and grabbed Scott and Shannon and next thing you know they were coming out wearing cool leather jackets. The look on both of their faces was priceless.
Then we were off to a carpet demonstration and back to the bazaar near the boat. Joanne bought a purse and a few souvenirs, and we set sail for Santorini.
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