days 7 and 8 . . .

we were supposed to stop in durres, albania but something about the tides . . . the ship size . . . lack of safety . . . on to kotor, montenegro.  so we spent two days in kotor.  they could have left me there and i would have been a happy camper.  o.m.g.  beautiful.  to give you some idea of the age, the chapel was built in 1572.  but better, the town was founded in 168 b.c.  can you get your brains wrapped around that????  want even more?  they call montenegro the fiords of the south.  seventeen miles of pass running through the mountains to get to the bay of kotor.  YES!!!!!  the old town is surrounded by a wall which goes all the way up into the mountain and down the other side.  we're talking 1350 steps to the top. i.m.a.g.i.n.e.

sorry, but i am again going to slop these shots all together starting as we left the bay of kotor.  there are two small islands further down the bay, one is a benedictine monastery and the nuns agreed to include the ship in one of their traditions.  the ships horn honked three times and the bells of the chapel replied three times:

 the square of arms in the center of kotor.  everything was cobblestone:

 a view from the half way up the steps:

 

the whimsical dragon in the moat.  where else would you expect to see a dragon?

 the church of our lady of health:

 leaving the bay at sunset:

 the bay again from half way up the stairs:

 these were all over montenegro and dubrovnik.  i want one:

 further down the bay as the sun was just starting down:

the cobblestone stairs and path.  you need to be part goat.  i made it part way before my part goat . . .  aka kidlet . . . took off with my camera for higher shots.

another shot from above.  couldn't you just look at it all day long?

 one of the switchbacks goat child navigated.

 more goat goodness:

and yes, i made it just so far and sat down and waited for kidlet to scamper to the top and return.  then i found a wine store in the village. the end.

day 6 . . .

corfu.

it was a sunday and we knew ahead of time that corfu would be shut down tighter than a tick and it was.  kidlet's germs got the best of her and she was exhausted from the exciting day in zakynthos so she stayed on board.

checking with the destination services manager, i asked if i could wander the city alone.  he nodded and said, "this is not istanbul, you are perfectly safe."  ack!

so off i wandered, up streets, down streets, around streets.  i did not wander over to the old city as i should have but honestly, i too needed a day of rest.  so in no particular order:

 adios, corfu.

day 5 . . .

zakynthos.  o.m.g.

i uploaded these shots in no particular order but you need to know that while i am prone to using photoshop, these colors are straight out of the camera. a.m.a.z.i.n.g.

 some of the caves and arches found on our trip by motorboat.

really hopping around here . . .  after cruising around the island looking at all the gorgeousness, we got on a bus and headed up into the hills.  we were actually in the clouds for a while.

back on earth, this is coming out of cave.  remember i said random.

 

this is kidlet in route to shipwreck beach from the boat.  look at that water!!!!

the zakynthos arches:

back up top again looking down on shipwreck beach:

the wreck itself.  now i fully admit that i removed a few bodies from this shot.  and by the way, kidlet risked life and limb to get this picture for me.  i was too scared to go down the goat path.  i much preferred the safety of the railing:

look at the water.  look at the cliffs.  look at jeanne swoon:

look at the clarity:

ok, so i may have had to play with TV setting on my camera to freeze the water:
another of the arches:

my mouth hung open the entire time.

two quick stories.

one:  remember seeing kidlet head for the beach?  when we arrived there, the boat was maybe 30 feet from shore but the water was so clear i asked how deep it was.  a little sad math to convert meters to feet and we came up with nine feet deep.  into the drink i went, paddling toward shore.  now it must be said that i am very used to beaches.  we live four miles from the ocean but this was remarkably different.  the deep water continued right up to the edge of the beach and then went from nine feet to three feet in two feet . . . think 45º angle.  i tried to walk up the smooth rocky beach (no sand, just smooth small rocks) but the tide would pull me back each time back into the nine feet depth.  i tried again.  and again. but was getting nowhere.  kidlet, who popped in the water after i did, had to literally drag me like a beached whale onto the rocks.  there i said it.  gah!!!

two:  at the blue caves, the water was so blue that when you looked at yourself and others in the water, we all looked like smurfs.  optical illusion but we couldn't stop laughing.

i love this island.  i love this island.  i love this island.

day 4 . . .

the greek isles.  santorini - how I love ya, how I love ya, my dear old santorini.  woot.  woot.  when the 9TS and i left santorini in '09 i put it right back on my bucket list.  love. love. this island.  but in june the island is pitch perfect.  in august, the heat and herds of people put it a little over the top.  kidlet was a tad disappointed based on the ravings of her lunatic parents.

so at this point i am going to shut up and share, you decide.

 see.  stunning right?!?!?

but i do have one story.  of course i do.  snort.  although we swung up the cliffs of fira via a gondola, the line for the ride down was over four blocks long.  we were hot, tired, blistered and grumpy so we decided to hoof it down the cliffs along the donkey path.  while i am very happy to say that i did it and survived, it was a little hairy when the donkeys passed on the run going the other way and tourists seemed like tilt buttons on a game machine.  gah.  kidlet and i decided we deserved a rest on the pool deck complete with bloody mary's and black russians.  slurp!

day 3 . . .

can i start by saying i was extremely happy to be leaving istanbul.  they don't think much of women.  being of that persuasion, i don't like them back. it was kind of creepy that way.

yes, we are still in turkey but a kinder, gentler turkey.  welcome to kusadasi.

oh.  oh.  oh.  did i mention that istanbul is in both europe and asia!  and that means kidlet and i rambled around three continents in one day!!!!  yes, we know.  it's the little things that make me happy.

back to kusadasi and our regular programming and a short geography lesson in case you are as clueless as i was.  where in the world are jeanne and kidlet:

now it must be admitted that most peeps go to kusadasi as the gateway to ephesus.  ephesus being the oldest, most intact ancient city in the world.  a cornucopia of ruins.  a delight of dust.  but i am a philistine.  90º of blazing sun with no shade and an overflow of touristos, and kidlet and i are wandering their smaller bazaar seeking air conditioning and apple tea.  what can i say.

off the boat and the two of us are off to pigeon island.

isn't it fabulous.  it dates back to the ottoman empire.  just think. wow.

and i had to hang out with mr. tambourine man:

who was perched on the back of the islands having a good time all by his lonesome.

we cannot not mention the mosques.  they are amazing and beautiful.

and just because i have friends that are always searching for their names:

what was i doing in a supermarket?  looking for wine of course.  silly question.

goodbye, kusadasi. we had a great day.

oh and since we were leaving turkish soil for the last time, we had to dump our remaining turkish lira.  oh, come to me sweet silk pashmina.  dear golden braclet. small fez for pippin.  yes, i did.

NEWS FLASH: how could i forget . . . kidlet got her first proposal of marriage.  of course it had nothing to do with wanting residency in the US.  of course it was love at first sight, albeit a little one sided.  his parting words as we kept walking . . . a plaintive . . .  have i no chance???

day 2 . . .

kidlet and i decide to go to the grand bazaar!  the first cab driver tells us the gb isn't open until ten but he'd be happy to take us to see the sites until it opens for a mere pittance.  thanks, but no thanks.  we decide to walk to the spice market which according to the info we garnered before leaving home, is a 10 minute walk.

did i mention we were walking around in donald duck feet as a result of swelling on the plane.  or that kidlet picked up a nasty cold while on the germ-mobile for 10 hours?  so she was armed with wads of kleenex, while i was wearing my old and trusted white sneaks.  just setting the stage.

twenty minutes into our walk, we are nowhere near the spice market and it is hot and my feet are sprouting blisters like popcorn on a burner.  discretion being the better valor, we flag a TAKSI and we're off to the Grand Bazaar, which is of course is and has been, open for hours.  just saying . . .

here's kidlet at the entrance:
                                     we were so psyched! see the guy holding the tops.  remember that image.  you will need it later on.

and into the warren of streets and stairs and cobblestones we go.  amazing!

they sell jewelry, textiles, leather goods, rugs, schlock, you name it.  and the deal is dickering.  you should pay about half of the first offered price.

did i mention textiles?  a cashmere pashmina may or may not have jumped into my open loving arms.

look at the ceilings!!  these streets and alleyways go on for sixty square blocks.  we'd wander up and down stairs and sometimes find ourselves back in the open air and turn around and dive back in.  kidlet found some trinkets for friends.

finally, we headed for the open air on our own volition and kidlet decided to purchase a top for her small friend dovovan.  she was instantly surrounded by tiny urchins vying for her funds.  'buy from me lady"  "i give better deal, lady"  kidlet made her selection and we wandered off but not unencumbered.  once she became known for possessing cash, the onslaught continued.  "i sell you five for 15"  they wouldn't hear of kidlet's logic that having already purchased her item she had no need for twenty more.  they were relentless and had they been older than five or six, i might have been frightened.  the big boys were out hawking fake channel and understood the word no.  sort of.

having had enough, we hailed a taksi back to the boat however our mobile host spoke no english.  it took about 20 words of nautical theme before his eyes sparkled and he repeated the word 'ship'.  when asked how much, he just held up a pre-made sign.  and in we hopped.  when we got close enough to actually see the ship down in the bay, he pointed by way of asking if he was right.  he nodded like a bobble headed doll, as did we. 

back on board, we crashed, having been up for 24 hours straight the day before.  dinner and then a glorious farewell to istanbul:

day 1 . . .

so on august 4, kidlet and i and a rental car headed for orlando international and hopped a flight to nyc.

sorry, this is the best i could do from the center seat of the center aisle.  i tried to climb over a few people to get a better shot but they weren't overly cooperative. what?  they weren't.

after sitting around jfk for the requisite three hours, we boarded another flight.  this time to:

 do you need another hint?

 istanbul, turkey.  yep. we did. we flew to istanbul. woot. woot.

by now, it is the 5th.  we lost some time and space in the air. i'm not sure how that works but apparently they give it back on the way home.

kidlet and i grabbed our gear, scrambled on a bus and headed to the marina and boarded our little home away from home for the next 10 days.