Home!

The really great thing about a trip that long is that it really makes you appreciate coming home! We're back in Italy...the tulip tree in our yard has bloomed, and I'm running late for church.

I'll try to go back and post pictures during the week from our trip!

Opa!

We’re back in Greece, Athens to be exact, and I am so happy!

Monday we arrived in Corfu, and the six of us rented a car to explore the island. Chris drove us through the small, windy, cliff-hugging roads to a perfect cove and we spent some time skipping stones and taking beautiful pictures. We also saw a 13th century monastery, and then we kept driving.

We eventually went back to Corfu Town, and all the old fortresses and archaeological museums were closed by the time we arrived. So, we wandered along the waterfront (I dodged iguanas), and then through the town.

This island was also part of the Venetian Republic at one point, and the buildings and streets look just like something you would lift off of the lagoon. I even found a worn Lion of St. Mark!

Tuesday was our second wedding anniversary, and we celebrated in Olympia. It was a great tour through the Archaeological Museum and the ancient site of the original Olympics – fitting with the Beijing Games right around the corner.

We ended our cruise on Wednesday morning in Athens, checked into our hotel, and hit the Acropolis and Ancient Agora during the afternoon. Today we saw the Archaeological Museum, and have just wandered the city.


At this point, I have two major observations about Athens:
1. The city smells like honeysuckle right now, so it is very fragrant.
2. The latest style for women in this city is BIG HAIR. I’m talking 1980s, enormous, teased, lots of hairspray hair. I haven’t seen this in other cities in Greece, but in Athens I’d say 75% are walking around like they drove with the car top down.

We have one more full day here tomorrow, and then we fly home to Italy on Saturday. I am actually ready for the trip to be over, and to get back into the routine of getting Chris ready to head out the door. Ciao for now!

Extort Like An Egyptian

If The Bangles had done real research prior to performing the song “Walk Like an Egyptian”, they would have realized that those silly arm movements are a waste of time. Instead, if they were to walk like actual Egyptians, they would invade your personal space and demand money for simple things like breathing their air.
We spent two days in Egypt. One in Cairo, and the other in our port city of Alexandria. I was never so happy as when our ship was pulling away.

I can safely say that my feelings for Egypt mirror many of the people on this ship. I can also safely say that, until the Egyptians really get it together, I will never want to return. This is really disappointing to have to say, and I was remorseful at the thought that I did not see all that I had hoped in both sites and people.
Cairo started out pleasant enough. We stopped at the pyramids and Sphinx in Giza. It was pretty awesome to be standing there gazing at these Ancient Wonders of the World. I’m sure you have the same picture in your head that I did – in the desert, this desolate place with nothing around. Wrong!

There are lots of people around, and, in fact, they are all contemptible. There are vendors all around pretending to want to give you some item that you know they will somehow get money from, you just don’t realize the game quite yet. There are nomads telling you that you can take a quick ride on a camel for just one dollar – they just don’t explain that they will expect fifty to dismount!

We had been warned about these ploys before getting there. We were not however warned about the way we were scammed. We were wandering around the Great Pyramid in awe. The tourism police officer (you know, the men hired to guard this site and all the tourists flocking there, in light of the fact that Egypt is just not a safe place) approaches and offers to take our picture for us. Sure, why not! He is an officer of the law, right? Well, something felt strange, so I made sure to get my camera back ASAP. He then demanded cash. And, he got really hostile about it when we said that we just had fifty euro cents. Livid, in fact. Luckily, Chris is large, and the guy backed down.

But, this is how the day went everywhere in Cairo. We did get to spend a little time in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and got to see the Tutankhamen exhibit, which was cool. And, the Egyptian Museum lies in the shadows of the headquarters for the Arab League, FYI.

When we got off the ship to explore Alexandria, we made it to the modern Library, which is supposed to represent the great thinking and traditions of the ancient Library of Alexandria which was famous for its massive size and sheer volume of ancient writings. I made every effort to dress modestly, but I was still flooded by children who wanted to touch me and practice their English. At a certain point, our group of friends just felt uncomfortable and we went back to the ship. There were great things to see, I’m sure, but the feeling of fear just overwhelmed our experience. The city has recently found the submerged palace of Cleopatra, and is planning to build the first underwater museum. That would eventually be cool to see, but I doubt I will ever return.

I’m thankful for what we saw, but will never recommend Egypt as a travel destination. Not so long as you need armed guards and the people have not picked up on how to treat visitors. We are at sea today, and are traveling back to Greece for Corfu, Olympia, and Athens!

Lions in Crete

I must admit, Crete took some time for me to warm up to all its charms. We started off with a rough sea all through the night – and who am I kidding, I actually thought it was kind of fun. But, it did wake me up every few hours.

We got to Iraklion, which is the capital of the Cretan island, and it was not really all that attractive of a city at first. But, we caught a cab and went to an ancient Minoan palace called Knossos, which dates to around 2000 B.C. It was really worth the trek, but it was really crowded with tour groups.

So, we went back to the city, and wandered (which I realize is the key verb for our trip), ate some lunch, and then started to take in the Venetian sights. The city was, for years, under Venetian control, which is interesting to us, since we are spending so much of our time near Venice. I also have really become obsessed with the Lion of St. Mark, which was a sort of stamp that the Venetians put on just about everything under their control during the good old days of their empire. You can find it in the most unusual and wonderful places in the form of a plaque or statue, and even in a piece of art as a fresco in our home!


So, I wanted to find these lions today in Crete. We found a lion fountain in Lion Square, and then went to this really great Venetian fortress on the water. Today was the absolute best day to visit, and this is where Crete really pulled me in. The Mediterranean Sea was the most brilliant color of blue-green, and the waves were just crashing in along the shore. The mountains in the background were beautiful.

The fortress itself had the lion carved into various plaques around the outside of the building, and there was a great view from the top. I can’t wait to post pictures. If I ever get to come back to Greece, Crete is on my list to explore. I would love to see the ruins on the rest of the island too.

Tomorrow is our first day at sea (manicure/pedicure time for me), and we are off to Egypt!

The Cyclades

Monday and Tuesday were spent in the Greek islands of the Cyclades – in Mykonos and Santorini respectively. We expected the cool blue Aegean Sea views with the pristine white houses and churches on cliffs, and we certainly got them.

Mykonos was a really fun place. We got off the ship in the morning and took a taxi to the southern side of the island to Paradise beach. It is supposed to be the most popular, best beach on the island, and we spent a few hours basking in the sun – and the beach was nearly deserted for the whole time we were there. I really think that most people on this cruise have done absolutely no research on the places we are visiting, and they get off the boat planning on glancing around their immediate location – and then just getting back on the ship to go to the pool. So, practically no one else from the ship made it to Paradise beach, and the season is just starting up again. Perfect for us, though!

After that, Chris and I spent the rest of our time in Mykonos wandering into an area called Little Venice, and then over to the famous windmills. [At this point, I need my mother or sister to send me a comment with the name of the Haley Mills movie about those windmills. It’s killing me that I can’t remember!]

For dinner, I insisted on finding a chicken pita – all you JMU friends will understand me on this one. We found a great, cheap one, but I still think that Dave’s Taverna is magical when it comes to their pitas. After dinner, we met up with our friends, and just hung out. Oh, and went shopping. I got this fabulous ceramic mosaic tile of a Greek ship – that is a ring. The artist uses a magnifying glass to make the scenes. They are incredible. I originally found one that is of the Lion of Venice (those who have visited me in Italy know of my obsession), but the price was just way too high. Apparently, the Venetians stole this symbol of St. Mark from the Greeks, according to our new friends in this store.


Today, we went to Santorini, and Chris and I agree that it is the more beautiful of the islands. For this destination, the cruise ship cannot dock, so we take smaller boats to the island. The view was just spectacular. The island is in a crescent shape due to an ancient volcanic explosion that sank the middle section, and was the basis for the legend of Atlantis, some believe.

This morning was pretty windy, so the schedule was delayed for letting all million or so of us onto these little boats all at once. When you get to the island, you realize there are three ways up – a cable car, a donkey, or a walk. We were numbers 699 and 700 to get to the island from our ship, so you can imagine the line for the cable cars. There was no way we were walking up the path due to the type of shoes I was wearing (which turned out to be the better decision, since the same path is used by donkeys running people up and down, and all the waste that goes with them). So, we chose the donkey ride.

OH MY GOSH. I guess we made the right decision for the amount of time it took, but I think I can cross that off of my list forever. First of all, the path is steep and windy, and at first it seems fine. But, when the donkeys stampede going in your opposite direction, you really start to fear that you are going to be chucked over the edge of the cliff. Or run into the wall of the cliff. Or just die somehow. Sometimes one of the donkeys behind you starts to run too, and your donkey ends up feeling pressure to go with the flow, so it also might just take off running up the hill. It was not really a pleasant experience, I assure you. Chris did try to warn me though.

Santorini is breathtaking. I’m sure you just understand. We went to a Greek winery, to a volcanic beach, and just wandered. That’s pretty much what we think you should do on these islands.

Well, it’s been a pleasant couple of days. We are getting ready for dinner, and we sail to the island of Crete tonight. We’ll be in Iraklion tomorrow. Ciao!

Ephesus

Well, it appears that I am not able to upload pictures online while on this ship. I will try to do that ASAP.

Today we went to Ephesus, and it was absolutely amazing. I only wish we had more time to spend there. The ancient site sits right in the midst of beautiful, green rolling hills and olive, fig, and peach trees. This was not at all what I had pictured. Ephesus is the second-best Roman site, according to historians. I got to go to Pompeii when I was a kid, so I was expecting a landscape similar to that one, for some reason.

Ephesus is an important city to Christians. When Jesus died, he asked John to care for his mother, Mary, and this is where they came and Mary lived out her remaining years. It is also one of the places where Paul visited, and his letter to the Ephesians is included in the Bible.

So, it was beautiful, and some of the ruins were so well-preserved. My favorite (and this should come as no surprise to my brother, Matt) was the Library. That building happened to have two floors preserved, and some pretty incredible statues standing outside.

The other really awesome site was the large theater, where Paul preached to the Ephesians that they needed to abandon pagan worship. It was breathtaking to be standing right there, where so many important people traveled through.

On our way out of the town, we drove by the singular remaining pillar of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. If only we had more time! I am actually not sure if I will ever get the opportunity to come back to Turkey, but it was so worth this trip.

We are back on the ship, relaxing and relieving blisters, and we sail to Mykonos, our first stop in Greece!

Istanbul Was Constantinople

You know the song. Istanbul was Constantinople. Well, we have had a marvelous last couple days in Istanbul!

We checked in on the cruise ship yesterday, and feel like we are in Heaven. We have discussed continuously how great it is to have American luxury and convenience on this trip, while being able to leave and see such exotic places.

Yesterday, we visited the Grand Bazaar, but didn't enjoy it as much as the smaller Bazaar the day before. We visited the Blue Mosque, which was our first time in a mosque. It was actually quite beautiful. You have to wear the head covering (for women), and remove your shoes - which is OK, because they have the entire floor covered in plush Turkish carpet. We were there right before the 5 p.m. prayers, so there were already men in there praying, which was kind of strange, to be completely honest. Part of me wanted to stay to observe the prayers, but I had an overwhelmingly urge to not do that, so we went back to the smaller Bazaar and wandered that for awhile.

I ended up buying a beautiful tile necklace with a tulip on it, as well as a couple of incredible hand-embroidered pillow covers.

Our favorite sight of the day was the Hipprodome, which is now a public park. It was modeled after the Circus Maximus in Rome, and has monuments that are all tied to different incredible places like Egypt and Greece. My favorite story, though, is that the four horses on the facade of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice (one of my favorite places in Venice) were stolen from this site during the Fourth Crusade. I just thought it was so cool that these statues that I see all the time came from this ancient place.

Today, we saw the Topkali Palace, and saw the palace compounds that the sultans lived in. This place was incredible. They have the third most important porcelain collection in the world, a spectacular Treasury, and the largest holy relic collection in the world.

We saw the supposed staff of Moses, a turban that belonged to Joseph (of Old Testament fame), a pot that belonged to Abraham, and the forearm and skull of John the Baptist. What is actually interesting is to see the stories of these men from the point of view of Muslims. I am not really sure why they emphasize the things about these men that they do, but I still enjoyed seeing these things.

We have now left Istanbul, and are enjoying dinner with our friends tonight. We are on our way to Ephesus, and I will hopefully be sharing some more stories with you tomorrow! For some reason, the Internet is not cooperating well, so I will try to upload pictures later.

Il Tulipano

“Il tulipano” is tulip in Italian. I don’t know it in Turkish, but I want to find out really quickly! Hello, from Istanbul, Turkey!

We had a relatively uneventful trip (by this, I mean that all our bags made it), and settled in for the taxi ride from the airport to Sultanehmet, which is the part of the city where our hotel is located. We were in for such a treat! There was mile upon mile (or kilometer upon kilometer) of every possible color of tulip lining all sides of the streets and medians. They were just crammed into every corner imaginable – and they just didn’t stop!

Those of you who know me really well know my adoration for the tulip. One of my only insistences during my wedding, my one thing I just had to have, was tulips for our flowers. And, they were beautiful. I don’t think I have seen as many tulips in one place in my life as I have in Istanbul.

So, that was a pleasant start to our trip. We checked into our hotel, and just wandered the area. We are really close to the part of town where the Ayasofia (Hagia Sofia) and the Blue Mosque are located. So we walked through a Bazaar, looked around at a few sights, then grabbed a typical Turkish dinner of meatballs and rice. Then we kept meandering, and stopped at a tea garden to share some baklava and drink tea. I had the apple tea, and our waiter told me after I had already sipped most of it that the apple tea is usually for children. Oh well.

I must say that Istanbul is breathtaking – I 100% recommend it as a vacation destination. I am going to really enjoy the next couple of days here. It’s actually funny, because I never really had a desire to visit Turkey. Just during our first day, though, we’ve noticed that the people are some of the friendliest we’ve met, the city is completely clean and stunning, and they have so much fun stuff that I want to buy! Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re going to be able to take everything home that I have seen just on day one.

We will try to keep updating whenever we get Internet access! Oh, and this morning, we woke up in the wee dark hours to the Blue Mosque muezzin calling the Muslim faithful to prayer. Chris has already heard this before, having been to Afghanistan, but it was my first time. I must say that it was very eerie. I, instead of praying to Allah, I chose to pray to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to thank Him for this marvelous trip!


The Blue Mosque


The Ayasofia

Countdown to the Cruise!

I am having a fantastic day! Chris got back yesterday afternoon from Romania, and we leave for Istanbul on Thursday!

While Chris is at work today, I'm trying to do things I've put off for a long time (such as our taxes, for one).

We're getting super excited for the trip. We will be in Istanbul for three days, then off to Ephesus; Mykonos, Santorini, Iraklion, Corfu, and Olympia in Greece; and two days in Egypt (Alexandria and Cairo). We end in Athens, where we are staying for three days.

It's truly a trip of a lifetime, and we feel so blessed to get to go. We feel like we haven't been able to spend much time together, even since Chris got back from Afghanistan with all of his trips for work. Now it looks like he'll be going back there a little unexpectedly, and soon, in May. So, our trip serves two purposes - hello and goodbye!

I guess this is the military life, right?

Ants In My Pants

We can take that phrase as meaning that I am excited for my cruise that starts next week...or we can take that phrase very literally!

Yesterday, I was on the phone with a friend when I noticed a nice little line of ants walking across my laundry room floor. I, naturally, panicked. Following them, I saw that they were coming from the dryer vent, which is actually not in the laundry room but in the adjacent bathroom (it's a quirky Italian house thing).

I started spraying Raid in just about every corner of the laundry room and bathroom, which started mass chaos on the part of the disgusting little bugs. It took me several hours to clean up, and I'm sure there are little ant bodies all over the place that I just haven't gotten to quite yet.

I have no earthly idea what they were being drawn to...usually ants follow food or something, but the kitchen is on the other side of the house. I do know that this type of thing only ever happens when Chris is gone.

The blessing in this - spring is here! We have had spectacular weather today. I love the beautiful flowers that are crammed into every corner of Italy during the approaching time of year. It's exciting - I just don't like the bugs. At least I haven't seen any lizards yet. Yuck.