Turkey and back to Greece

                               

Yesterday we went to Kasadasi, Turkey to see what was. Il led as one of the best preserved ancient cities in the world.  It certainly lived up to it's billing it was huge and quite marvellous.  Unfortunately, I forgot the IPad so I used Mom's camera and at the moment I am unable to transfer the pictures, so I can not offer any photographic proof.  Our guide was great and we managed to be the first group through the ruins in the morning so there was no one in front of us so the picture taking was ideal.  There were terraced houses, temples, a library and baths as well as aqueducts and stone arches that were built into the hillside to prevent erosion.  The best part was that we started at the top and the bus met us at the bottom so there was no up hill walking for Mom. 

We returned to the city of Kasadasi and we were taken to a carpet demonstration, it was definitely a learning experience and there was no hard sell. That was not the case once we were on our own, the vendors were annoyingly persistent. Mom wandered into a leather shop and came out with a beautiful red leather jacket that fits her like a glove and is even reversible.  It looks great on her, the fellow was not satisfied with that good sale but tried to pressure me into buying one,  I tried a few on just for forms sake but managed to resist all temptations. My resistance weakened as we walked past a shoe shop and I realized that the white shoes I had bought in Mexico 8 years ago were in need of replacement. I came out with a very snazzy new pair whIch I managed to get reduced from the most ridiculous price of 120 to an acceptable 40 Euros.  We had a very nice Turkish lunch and then Mom returned to the ship.  I had some post cards to mail and went on a mission to find the post office, a dozen enquiries later I found it and the confused postal clerk took my cards that had Italian stamps on them with some reluctance. 

 It will be interesting to here if they ever get to their destination.  I wandered down to the marina and got some information about dockage fees and a list of marinas in Turkey, nothing like a little advance planning. 

 We are just skimming the surface of these places and they are well worth further extensive explorations. 

Today we had a tour of the Greek island of Mykanos.  It is a tourist Mecca and at one time was the playground of the Onassi clan and it became a stop for the internationall jet set.  I must admit I felt a little like a cow today being herded here and there.  Get on the bus, a five minute stop here, take pictures, back on the bus, on to the next place, a restroom stop, pictures, back on the bus to the next spot not something I truly enjoyed, although I did dip my feet into the Agean Sea!!!  We did stop at a Greek Orthodox Church that was so ornate inside  it was hard to believe that the small island could afford to pay for all the finery.

Once we returned to the main town I wondered around, found the windmills and managed to resist all the gorgeous hats that were on sale. 

 It was fun winding in and out the narrow alleys and looking at the gorgeous and pricey linen and cotton clothing.  

We have been enjoying the food and the entertainment on board.  Each night we sit with a different group of people, there are lots of Australians onboard and they generally seemed to have booked a 22 day cruise, Canadians and Americans make up the majority of the rest of the ship's complement.  We have met some real characters and have had some very lively conversations, there has been only one fellow I would not care to share a table with again. Mom has been enjoying the cold soups which are quite lovely and I find the variety of dinner choices to be excellent. We are off to the island of Rhodes tomorrow.