Cruising the Mediterranean

It's been awhile, but that's mainly because Dustin and I treated ourselves to a Mediterranean Cruise that we just returned from this week! It was beautiful and relaxing (although trying to keep up with Dustin isn't always my idea of relaxing) but we were able to see so much! We started in Venice, Italy and then hit Bari, Italy; Kotokolon, Greece; Izmir and Istanbul, Turkey; and Dubrovnik, Croatia.

The most beautiful port was most definitely Dubrovnik, but I would have to say that the most surprising was Izmir, Turkey. We didn't spend much time in Izmir but drove to the ruins of Ephesus which were absolutely amazing!

Some Highlights:

The Costa Serena

• The Cruise ship had 3000 passengers and we were probably 2 of about 12 Americans on the ship which actually gave us the full multi-cultural experience.
• Food was pretty good, some dishes were excellent!
• We quickly learned that most Europeans have no concept of waiting in line. Apparently we just wait in line for our health and you can cut in front of whoever you want. At first it was comical, but when have a woman cutting in front of me in the bathroom, it quickly went to annoying.
• Families in the US are the same as families in Europe. No matter what language, whining sounds the same and teenagers are bugged and annoyed to be on vacation with their parents.
  

Olympia, Greece

• We actually rented a car and then drove 30 minutes or so to Olympia. Olympia was so interesting and we learned so much as we were able to see all of the ruins.
• The food was great (even though we didn’t have time to eat much) and the olives were amazing. We definitely want to go back to Greece so that we can see more of the country.

Dustin at the Marble starting line in the Stadium in Olympia.

Izmir, Turkey

• We actually did a private tour of Ephesus. This was where Paul spoke to the Ephesians in the New Testament. Our tour guide was Yelda and she was awesome! We learned so much and it was so fascinating to see how advanced this society was back in the centuries leading up to the birth of Christ and a few centuries after.

Dustin is sitting on one of the toilets that the Ephesians used. Apparently Romans ate a lot of meat and wine and therefore were quite constapated so they made quite an experience out of going to the bathroom (just for the men of course). The toilets are marble and running below was hot water which kept the marble warm when they sat down. The hole in front was used to put the brush in to "wipe" themselves. What you can't see is the center of the room which was open air (to help with venilation) and there were known to be violinists who would play for the men as they went to the bathroom. What an experience!


We're standing as you enter the main street of Ephesus where there were lots of shops and some housing as well. The streets were marble with some indentations in the marble for traction. Man were they smart!

Istanbul, Turkey

• I had a little bit of a melt down in Istanbul. This was the place where we were planning on doing a lot of shopping. We had run out of cash for the most part by this point so we were planning on getting some more, unfortunately we couldn’t get cash. Apparently due to security reasons our bank didn’t allow ATM withdrawls in Turkey so poor Dustin had to deal with a not so pleasant me because it put me in a sour mood.
• We hit the Blue Mosque (currently an active Mosque for the call for prayer which happens 5 times per day). The Hagia Sofia which was originally a Catholic church and then turned to a Mosque. Now it displays both Muslim and Christianity traits, very beautiful. And of course the Grand Bazaar, the oldest shopping mall in the world that is still in use.
  
• One of the store merchants asked me if I was from Japan, when I said no, he then asked me if I was from China. I was mistaken for being Italian and French, but Asian was not one that I’ve gotten before, who would have thought????
  

A pic with the Blue Mosque in the background.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

• By far the most beautiful port that we went to.
• I love Coca Light so that is one thing that I get excited about when going to Europe (except for the fact that it’s not out of a fountain, rarely served with ice and quite expensive) however in Croatia you couldn’t find Coca Light, it was either Coke or Coke Zero
  

A view of the Old City part of Dubrovnik with the city wall surrounding it. (You can walk the wall which is absolutely beautiful). As beautiful as this picture is, I don't even think it does it justice.

Some Grilled Squid and Seafood Risotto for lunch with some Marinated Anchovies to start it off... yummy!

Venice, Italy

• One of our favorite cities in the world.
• Last time we didn't have time to go to the Doge's Palace so this time we did and we actually got to walk across the Bridge of Sighs... so cool!
  

A view of St. Mark's Cathedral

I think that this is one of Dustin's best pictures overlooking the Grand Canal.

If you want to hit a few different cities that you wouldn’t normally travel to, a cruise is a great way to go so that you can see various cities. From this trip we will for sure go to Greece one day, we’d love to go to Turkey again and we’d certainly spend a few more days in Croatia. The next cruises on the list of must do's for us (although it probably won't be anytime soon) are the Northern Baltic Sea (Scandinavian cities, Ukraine and Russia) and Egypt, Israel and UAE. Although we'd want to spend a week or so in Jeruselam.

Update*** If you're bored, you can click here to view our album with all of our pics.