Antalya, Turkey

A tour of Antalya, Turkey, a modern European city, small, by the sea. Not an easy walk from the cruise dock. (2-3 miles) This town is better done by tour due to the distance of the ruins from the dock. Influenced by Roman and Hellenistic architecture, the ruins of Perge were unearthed recently. Very well preserved this is an excellent trip to take. Ancient baths were filled by aqueducts from the mountains. The water was heated by means of a large copper kettle, then the water was piped out to the baths and also through the walls as a heating system for the walls. Cool water was also used for the same reason. A third system was used for fountains to beautify the square.

Aspendos is about another 20 minute drive, and is the most well preserved amphitheater in the world This is a must see on a visit to Antalya. There is no hop on -hop off bus in the city, so a guided tour is recommended. In 1923 the Turkish language was purified and now only 10% of the language is influenced by Arabic. While the country is secular, the guide told us that the country is worried about a drift towards more fundamental government. During the last election in Turkey, about 20% of the vote went to fundamentalist parties. This is evident in Istanbul, where there is more influence of Iranian and other hard line governments' citizens, moving to the capital, however, in Antalya, there seemed to be little influence of hard line values and a very few women that we saw wore head scarves, most others adopting Western dress and styles. There is no Internet access, easily accessible at the port in Antalya.

9/23/10 A day at sea

A day at sea, relaxing by the pool, working out at the gym, and sleeping in very late, of course, with breakfast in bed. Formal night tonight, lobster is on the menu...ummmm.

Tips When Visiting Istanbul

-If coming by ship, skip the hop on-hop off bus. Too much traffic to make the trip in a timely manner and the sites in Istanbul can be walked easily. Save your money on this one.

-Visit the blue mosque. Preferably when sunny to get the feel for the "blue air".

-Hagia Sophia museum, 20 Turkish lira, must be paid in local currency only. One of the few place they won't take foreign currency.

-Don't miss the cisterns of Istanbul, my most "OH WOW" moment.

-Enjoy a Turkish massage at a hamam. Get the full service, and treat yourself.

-Rugs are beautiful, so is the tile work. Bargain and get a reputable dealer. Use ship or Fodor's/Frommer guidebook recommended shops.

9/21/10 Istanbul 2nd day

Took a walk today to the bazaar. A fascinating display of color, the tiles, the rugs the spices. The rugs here seem to be so much better quality and more beautiful design than anything I have ever seen in the United States stores. I brought a colorful tile framed art piece which I bargained for. We spoke Spanish and told the guy we were from Spain, so we bargained in Euros, but payed with a credit card, which was drawn on a US bank, so we actually pulled off paying in US $, saving us $$$.

WOW MOMENT-The cisterns of Istanbul are amazing. Six euro entrance gets you into the cisterns where the James Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only" was filmed. Two Medusa heads of unknown origin lie in the water, making the scene even more mysterious. This was the highlight of the tour through Istanbul.

Istanbul, a dirty, yet not unclean city. Women in various stages of religious cover (the city is 98% Muslim) mixed with girls and women in Western dress. Mosques dot the skyline, with the smells of fish, meat and chicken filling the air from the sidewalk vendors and open air restaurants. Men careful not to mix with the women, walk sometimes, arm in arm. A city unlike any I have ever seen.

A trip to the Haghia Sophia, built in the 6th century, built as a church and later changed to a mosque, was interesting from the outside but we never went in. After standing in line for a good 1/2 hour, you arrive at the window to buy tickets only to find out that they only take Turkish Lira for payment, no credit cards, no Euros. After talking to the people on the ship later, we found out that we didn't really miss anything, and that they had made the same mistake.

Arriving into Istanbul

First day mostly at sea. Our schedule was set for 4PM which gave a very needed day at sea until afternoon. Pulling into Istanbul was quite a site. Off in the distance the view of so many mosques was quite interesting. We had taken in a tour lecture on board earlier in the day, and learned a bit about the city and culture. The port is easy walking distance to the old city. No need for a taxi here unless you cannot really walk the distance. The cruise ship was offering a shuttle bus at 8 euro each ($10), but this is a wast as the walk takes 15-20 minutes at most, though a little up hill. The blue mosque is easily seen from the port and our walk took us to the Gulhare park in front of the Greca Topaki palace, built in 1459. We worked our way over to the blue mosque, so named because of the 21,000 blue tiles that line the inside walls, giving the air a blue tint. Shoes are removed by the door and placed in a plastic bag, provided at the entrance. Prayers are don't 5x a day and the call to prayer can be heard over the loud speakers throughout the city. After a lot of picture taking we made our way over tot he Cagaloglu Hamam, a Turkish bathhouse. 50 euro for a full service massage. You go into a cabin room and remove all your clothes except for a small towel they give you. Then you lock your belongings in the room and don a pair of "slipper", which are actually the most uncomfortable wooden clogs. They will prevent you from slipping on the wet marble floors. You are guided into a steam room to heat up for 10 minutes, then the massage begins. More like being pummelled and beaten. This is followed by turning over for more of it on your back. This all takes place on a marble slab in the middle of a room while everyone else is either watching or having a massage of their own. You are rinsed with warm water and then taken to another corner for a loofah sponge scrubbing, all over. This is followed by another rinse. Next comes a complete body wash with soap, while lying down, soap going in every crevice. You are then rinsed with cold water, a welcome relief. Upon exiting, you are wrapped up in dry towels and offered tea. I tipped 10 euro although they will insist on more. Give what you feel comfortable with. I felt 20% was fair for the hard work. Men's and women's quarters are separate, but in the old days, the penalty for a man being caught in the women's side was death.

Holland America Line Westerdam

From the hotel, Intercontinental, to the ship, by free shuttle that is provided by the hotel to Syntagma square. Subway from the square to Pireaus is 1 euro and we walked about 1 mile to the ship. Saved ourselves about 20 euro on a taxi but again, a long hot walk in the Athens sun.

Nice inside stateroom, good for sleeping with no windows, but some prefer a balcony. We are in stateroom J7116 on the Westerdam by Holland America Lines. I love the food on this ship and the first place I always head is the Lido deck for lunch. After unpacking and exploring the ship, we found a bar-b-que on the pool deck with bar-b-que lobster. First time I have had that, fantastic...mmmm! A nice dinner, met our table mates, as we [prefer the fixed seating, to make new friends and have a couple nice people at our table. The daughter of one couple is the lead singer of the band 10,000 maniacs. Both couples from NY. Dinner was followed by an early bed time. Arriving in Istanbul tomorrow.

Athens Tour By Hop on Hop Off Bus

Touring Athens by hop on-hop off bus runs 18 euro each. Normally I would say this is a great way to tour any city, however, traffic in Athens made this uncomfortable and hot. More time was spent in traffic, and due to an extreme amount of graffiti on almost every surface, it is not such a scenic ride around town. This may be the one exception to the hop on-hop off tour bus recommendation. Here in Athens, I think that a subway pass serves better. You won't miss much and get around faster. The Acropolis is breath taking up close. (15 euros to get in the park) The tickets give you access to 5 other ruins in the Athens area. Bring water, there is no shade and it is hot even in September. For dinner we took the luxury of going to the hotel roof top restaurant, call "Hit The Roof", a Michelin rated restaurant. 118 euro for 2 with wine, the food was excellent and the open air dining was accompanied by a spectacular view of the Acropolis lit up at night.

Santorini to Athens

Check out of the hotel was by 12 noon and our flight was not until 11pm. We had to find a way to waste away the day so we went to the ski lift and rode it down the side of the mountain. Four euro per person to go down. We spent some time sitting on the dock under at tree watching the boats go in and out of the harbor. A meal at a restaurant by the pier and then a donkey ride up the hill. Girls screaming all the way up. A ride is only 5 euro. A flight back to Athens was 30 minutes on Olympic Airways, ATR-400. A drink and snack sandwich on the short flight made it enjoyable. We took the bus (95X) into the city from the airport for 3.60 euro, which left us at Syntagma Square, followed by a 2 stop subway ride to the Intercontinental hotel. Room 5467 with a great view of the Acropolis from our window.

Kamari Beach

A day at the beach in Kamari, by the ruins of Thera. 6 euro for 2 beach chairs with an umbrella. The water is beutiful and a fine tempature for swimming, about 75 F. A lot of seaside restaurants to eat at.

A Trip To Oia

A bus trip to Oia, a beautiful village that is a must on any trip to Santorini. This village was destroyed by an earthquake in the 50's and was left for decades, abandoned, until a number of years ago when it was revived. Here beautiful white wash walls are a back drop to the blue highlights of the churches, sea and sky. This island is not for those who have trouble walking or in a wheelchair. due to lots of steps and hills. Most of the crowd here seems quite young. I think that at a certain age, the elderly realize they can no longer handle the stairs and walking up hill and move on o the flatter lands. Plan on about 1/2 a day here. Bring lots of water. The scene from Summer Lovers, the movie, where the lovers were jumping off the cliff into the sea is filmed here. A steep climb down to the ocean though from this village. Too much sun left me napping in the afternoon and in the evening took a lovely walk through town to the far and of Fira to watch the sunset. I must have taken 100 photos on the way.

Thera and the ruins (Kamari)

Thera by bus via Kamari, is an easy trip. In 17 BC a huge volcanic eruption destroyed the city of Akrotiri, leaving ruins in the upper hills. 1.70 euro by bus per person, leaves from Fira, and takes about 20 min. You are dropped off about 1 block from the beach. Guide books will tell you it is possible to go up to ancient Thira by foot in about 1 hour, however, it is a very steep uphill climb, and once at the top, another 1/2 hour uphill to the ruins. We picked up a bus at an agency, which ran every hour or so for 5 euro each way. A bargin after seeing the steep grade to reach the top. Santorini is a desert like island and I could not imagine a climb in the heat of the mid-day sun with jet lag to boot. Allow at least 2 hours to fully enjoy the ruins. Back down in Thira, we took a walk along the black sand beaches. Populated by boutique motels, each one quite unique, and inviting. A variety of restaurants lines the beach along with sundry shops. Beach chairs with umbrellas rent for 6 euros. Back to the room to sit on the balcony on the caldera and watch the sun set, cruise ships sitting in the harbour and the classical music begins to play at a nearby bar. I am sitting with my wine and cheese, feet up, shirt off, taking in the last of the cool September evening sun.
Dinner at the Shpinx restaurant was excellent. Fresh pasta and steak overlooking the caldera, located in Fira near the church.

album 09\15\2010 Greece (169 photos), by Andrew Wright

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Our Hotel Santorini

Hotel Keti, 90 euros a night. The most spectacular million $ view. A room that is cut right out of the caldera, with a balcony looking right out over the sea. This is THE hotel to stay in Santorini. The view in the distance is the volcano that blew Santorini's harbour out in 300 BC. Hundreds of feet up the cliff our room opens right out onto the balcony overlooking the sea. To the right, the town of Fira, white wash buildings, blue doors, blue seas. A view to die for! Lunch at a tourist trap restaurant was forgettable and dinner was nice at Ellis. 36 euros with a tip. I had fresh catch of the day and dessert was free because they were a little slow with the service due to a large crowd. We picked up some breakfast items at a local grocery store, 5 min walking since breakfast is 6 euros each and figured we could do better ourselves.
The best part of the hotel was the sunset from our balcony. I ran out to the store and brought a bottle of wine, some cheese and watched the sunset, while classical music played from the restaurant nearby.

Athens, Santorini

Continental from Miami to Newark to Montreal to Athens. Continental was nice and gave me an exit row for which they usually charge a fee now! Flying coach is not so nice, however, the extra leg room made it OK. The Continental flight from Newark to Montreal was delayed, however, so was the Montreal-Athens leg, so we were OK. Air Canada 767 mostly all coach configuration, and a plane with an old style video system, not unlike our AA 767. Service was good, audio need help-upgrade Air Canada, please! We were however surprised to get a snack on Miami-Newark on CO, but hear that with the merger at UA, this is probably finished. Arrived in Athens easy clearance thru customs.
Train from Athens to city.

Thankfully there is now a train from Athens airport to the city. 5 euros each, a fair price for the distance. Blue line goes right into the airport. Very east to find, just follow the signs, about 5 min. walking from the customs area. Directions to most major sites in Athens are listed on the train. Very easy to use. We took the train all the way to the port of Piraeus. Out the door, turn left, 5 min to the Hotel Triton. A clean if minimal tourist hotel, we got Room 69! Breakfast included for 70 euro. Not too much to see in Piraeus. Avoid this area unless you have the need to be here early. We had a 7:30 am departure and we were able to pick up our tickets at the port the day before. The rest of the area of Pi reus was a dump. We had dinner at a restaurant at pier E-7, quite a big place, but food was so-so and cokes were $5 each. A McDonald's across the street would have served better at a lower price. Wake up at 5:30 am for breakfast which starts at 6:30am. Fantastic breakfast-continental style at the Hotel Triton, but a lot of choice. Fantastic Greek yogurt, eggs, bread, juice, coffee ham, cheese and cocktail fruits.

We arrived at the port to catch the speed lines ferry over to Santorini. Two classes of service on the boat. Regular seating is sort of like a domestic first class airplane seat and upstairs and area called "Distinguished class". Seat a bit bigger, few people, probably more money and not worth it. Seats were maybe about 3-4" wider, faced each other with a table in the middle. I was fine in the regular seats.
Five hours, we reached IOS, the first stop before Santorini. Ios, a non discript island, picking up a few tourists and dropping of a few also. The view on arrival to Santorini was quite beautiful. Arriving in port is a bit confusing due to a lack of Taxis available. The easy was to get to Fira is to grab a shuttle bus that waits to meet the ferry. Just look for people holding up a sign that says "bus" . 15 euros for two from the port to the area of our hotel. A real value, way too far to walk and all up hill. A regular bus would cost about 2 euros, but leaves you at the bus stop near the main street and with a lot of luggage, may be a problem.

Bok Tower, Central Florida

Off US 27, Bok Tower was build at the edge of the great depression in Central Florida. As the editor of the Ladies Home Journal, he he had the money to build this art deco tower as a bell tower, or carillon, as a reminder of his youth in Scandinavia. The tower is visible from US 27, just South of the I-4, highway, which runs into the Disney area. The tower entrance fee is $10 but for an extra $6, you can gain entrance to the Buck Mansion. The Buck Mansion, built and owned by the President of Bethlehem Steel, PA, is a beautiful house built at the edge of the property of the Bok tower, although the tower was built first. The names of the owner of the house and the tower are quite close, Bok and Buck, however, it has been said that the two never really knew each other. An interesting story...since the Bok tower had such beautiful gardens, the owner of the house asked that the same company that did the gardens of the tower be used to plant the gardens of his mansion, then the house was built with the gardens in place. The house is wonderfully preserved and well worth the visit to see the interior and the grounds around it. The Bok tower has carillon concerts 2x a day, as well as once a month at night, when the full moon shines on the flowers in the garden and illuminates the sky. The carillon looks a bit like a piano/organ, but is used to strike bells in the large bell tower at the top of the tower. It is played with both the fists, yes, fists, as well as the feet. There is a nice cafe on the grounds that serves a nice lunch, at reasonable prices. The area also has an interesting "inn" called the Chalet Suzanne, an inn and restaurant. Built in the 40's, it has been host to many famous people. The restaurant also made a soup that was taken to the moon with the astronauts, which still sells at the restaurant and is now known as "moon soup". The rooms of the inn are all in different styles and the rooms are named after plants and trees. The restaurant serves gourmet food and entrees start go for about $50. The area is well worth a visit and the tour of the gardens and the tower takes about 3 hours. Due to various reasons, the tower does not admit visitors. (Not to be mistaken with the Citrus Tower, about 20 miles up the road, north of Orlando.) This art deco treasure is a must see if you are in the area, and want a break from the Orlando area.

Forgot the beach party

I completely forgot about the beach party, about 1 hour travel time from Kowloon, via ferry, and on a nice little beach. Everyone brought food...shrimp, steak, chicken, lamb, salads, lots of beer and a good time was had by all. We left by about 9pm to head back to the city and off to the night market.

Made it home from Hong Kong

The picnic on the beach was wonderful, we went back to Kowloon and ran to the night market for a little last minute shopping. In the morning went to the airport via taxi, about $20 US, not bad...taxis here are cheap. Couldn't get on the Hong Kong-Tokyo flight, so we hopped the Hong Kong-JFK run on Cathay Pacific. Fifteen hours of flying, got to be too much about 10 hours into the flight. Great movie library on the airplane. About 1000 songs, on CD, 50 movies, TV shows, I think they have a great entertainment system at least! JFK to Tampa, then connect to Miami and in the house by about 10pm. A long day and just getting up this morning to pull it together. Thank you Ines for the best vacation!! Hong Kong totally rocks. Night life is incredible, great music at the discos, Miami Beach, take a lesson from the Chinese!

Made it home from Hong Kong

Trip to the giant buddha

We took the ferry over to Hong Kong to pick up some airplane tickets from the American Airlines office, to get back home, and then took the MTR (subway) to the cable cars that go up to the giant Buddha, about a 25 minute ride, that costs about $10 a person. The views are spectacular and is the highlight of trip. We then headed back to the Kowloon to go to the night market for dinner where we met up with our friends. We finally had Chinese food in China!!! No soy sauce, if you can believe it. After we had a number of different foods, loaded with garlic...mmmm, we took off for Stickys, the local night spot with a live band from the Philippines. The music was fantastic, lots of 80's dance and I spent the night dancing. From there we hopped a taxi to Hong Kong ($10) to go to Propaganda. Totally fantastic music, and we wound up dancing until 5am. This city has the best night life. Sorry Miami, but you need to learn from the Chinese!

Day Trip to Macau

We took a day trip over to Macau. The island is easily reached by ferry boat from the main terminal in Kowloon, and takes about 1 hour to get there. The round trip fare is $30 US. We arrived and hopped on the free bus over to the Sands hotel. Macau is famous for its gambling and most major casinos have set up shop over on the island, including the Wynn, and some local gaming casinos. The island is a Portuguese colony, which was reverted back to China about the same time that Hong Kong was reverted by the British in 1999. We had lunch at a small restaurant near the Sands, enjoying Portuguese food. We then took the city bus over to Senado square which is the main point for a nice walking tour. We went to see the ruins of St. Paulo church, which burned during a typhoon in the 1800. Only the facade remains, with the rest, an open air museum. We took a quick walk around the Macau museum, and then headed over to the Macau tower, which is the world's tallest bungee drop. I, of course, did not participate, but Ines and Todd jumped. Ines went after Todd, since Todd is an airline pilot and need a flight attendant to serve him on the flight down. We headed back to Kowloon after a beer, which the two of them really needed after falling 78 stories. Today we are off to see the giant Buddha on the island of Lantau.

Enjoying Hong Kong

We went to the Peninsula Hotel for tea. Best to get there early since there is usually a line. The band plays from the upper balcony while you have tea. Not a bad price, about $25 a person, includes finger sandwiches, cakes and of course scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. We went up to the pool area which is on the 8th (or so) floor, and is beautiful, overlooking the harbour. On the top floor of the hotel is the helicopter pad, either for those flying in, or sightseeing tours. The hotel has all the best stores, Cartier, Harry Winston, Rolex, Hermes etc. It was actually the site of the British surrender to the Japanese during WWII. The best part is the line of Rolls Royces that line the front for the use of the guests. Hotel rooms start at $550 and up. Later that evening we went with our friends for dinner to a great restaurant called Wild Fire, in the Knutsford Terrace area. The food was wonderful, followed by a walk over to "Sticky Fingers", a local neighborhood bar. A Filipino band sings, in English, and call girls populate the stools for the unwitting men who come in for a few drinks. It is a great people watching spot. Today we decided to get on the hop on hop off bus. For $45US, or about $350 HKD, two routes will take you all over the city. We are staying in the Kowloon district, which is mainland China, and so we decided to do this side first, for a 1 1/2 hour tour of the city. We did the full route, and then got off at the beginning, walked down Avenue of the Stars, to the ferry over to Hong Kong Island, to take the second hop on hop off bus. The ferry ride takes about 15 minutes. The ride around Hong Kong Island is very interesting. Lots more high end stores, an arts district, and of course the Victoria Peak, which is reached by the cable car to the top and gives a fantastic view of the city. We took a picnic on the trip with us, and once at the top of the peak, there are a few nature trails to walk down, in what looks like a rain forest like setting. It was actually cold up at the top and we could have used a jacket, although I am told that it is quite hot most of the time, perhaps in the summer. Back on the bus and a ride through the "Soho" district of the island, which contains a lot of art stores and will be a point of a return visit. This evening is a party at our friend Ines's condo, and as I sit here and type, the guests are arriving, so I shall sign off for now. Tomorrow, who knows what is in the itinerary.

Tokyo to Hong Kong

Made it in late to Tokyo, so we used the airline hotel for a night. About 15 minutes from the airport and $70 for the night for airline crew. A simple hotel but a good value with a nice Japanese garden. We had breakfast at the airport, Japanese style. I have no idea what we ate but it was great. We flew Japan Airlines to Hong Kong where our friend Ines met us at the airport. A cab drive into the city to her apartment, where her friends are out of town until the end of the month so we are using their apartment for our stay. We are on the 22nd floor with fantastic views of Victoria Harbour, and we can see the Chinese junks go by. We are going shopping for some groceries soon and to load up our "Octopus Card", the card that will get you on to the bus system, trains and boats etc.

Off To Hong Kong

We are off to Hong Kong today, spending the night at the Holiday Inn in Chicago near the ORD airport, and then tomorrow flying from Chicago to Narita in Tokyo, Japan. We hope to connect with Cathay Pacific Airlines to Hong Kong where Ines will pick us up. Keep an eye out for our travels!!