Rocks and Ruins

I'm not really sure what I expected from Turkey but what I got has exceeded all expectations.  When I knew the cruise was finishing in Istanbul, I decided to take the opportunity to stay on to explore this country that I had heard people rave about. I'd seen photos of Cappadocia and of course wanted to visit Gallipoli. Other than that I hadn't really done any research into specifics and picked a tour that I thought would be good as it included included the beach side town of Antalya as well, which someone had recommended as a must-see to me. And who doesn't love Turkish food??

It's been an eye-opening 3500km trip of rocks, ruins, ancient amphitheatres, friendly and welcoming people, towering mountains that hide the fertile valleys with massive greenhouses, coastal drives that easily rival the Great Ocean Road and California's Pacific Coast highway, the weird and wonderful formations of Cappadocia, sparkling bling, bling jewellery, white travertine terraces with bright blue pools at Pamukkale and beautiful clear azure waters of the Meditterean and Aegean seas. Just when you think you can't be surprised any more, another spectacular sight is around the corner or hidden behind an ordinary facade! 

From the moment the ship docked in Izmir, allowing us to experience the wonders of the ancient roman ruins of Ephesus, Turkey has been an incredible journey. Izmir and our trip to Ephesus gave a glimpse of what was to come. Despite being one of the largest and best preserved Roman ruins that I saw, it did not deminish the many more I was to see later, on the bus tour. 

The restored facade of the library.

Ephesus is one of the Wonders of the Ancient World and leaves you awestruck. Like many of the Roman/Greek or other ruins we visited, what at a distance looks like a pile of rubble begins to take shape as you near it. 

The smaller of the 2 amphitheatres. 

With several cruise ships all in port the place was pumping, probably not unlike it would have been 2000 years ago with its population of 400,000. 

It was just a tad less crowded 2 weeks later when we went back as part of the tour!

It is marvellous to see the engineering and sophistication of the Romans with their mosaics, marbled walls and fancy baths. The extra visit gave me time to explore the Terrace houses, well preserved and still being excavated today under the protection of a modern canopy. 

The ultimate jigsaw puzzles!

 Marble lined baths

Fresco walls and mosaic tile floors.

The terra cotta pipes designed to carry water from 40-50 miles away via aqueducts, have changed little in two millenuem. 

The larger amphitheatre.  

But as I said earlier it wasn't all rocks and ruins. But that's the next part of the story!

Probably the most amazing thing I've ever done!

It's impossible to describe so I'll let the pictures tell the story but even they can't do this true justice.  Despite this being my fourth ballon ride, the incredible backdrop of the Cappidocian landscape and sheer number of balloons, took my breath away and almost left me in tears at the finish. 

There were about 100 balloons up - I stopped counting!

We came down low between the spectacular rocks formations, almost touching them and went high into the morning clouds (600mt).

Our fabulous pilot - Anatoli, even landed the basket directly onto the trailer. How's that for precision parking?

Cappadocia, Turkey. 5 October 2015

Ship happens

There were only two tours that I had booked prior to departing from Australia. Both were cancelled! Weather and train strikes caused the cancellation of the tour to the Cinque Terra ( not such a big deal as I had visited there previously) and then really strong winds prevented us from being able to dock in Trieste. This meant that the much anticipated day trip into Slovenia, Lubjana and Lake Bled was cancelled. Very disappointing. For the next 12 hours we just sailed, swayed and bobbed our way in the strong winds around the Adriactic sea. 

So we gained an extra sea day and decided to take part in the ship board activities. Bingo with our much coveted, special 175th anniversary dabbers, proved to be very profitable for Jen and Josie winning 2 of the 4 games played. 

Then we decided to join in Chairobics with Cordelia thinking it would be an easy little session. Well it was an absolute hoot even though for the next hour she worked our upper bodies and had us clenching our gluts into exhaustion. All good training for those thousands of steps!!!

When we got to the lovely venue of the Hemisphere nightclub for Chairobics, there wasn't a walking frame in sight.

Lunch in the traditional English style Golden Lion pub was delicious Mussels in Cider. A very different flavour from the usual tomato and garlic sauce and just as scumptous. 

Of course no voyage on Cunard would be complete with enjoying the white glove service of the formal afternoon tea. This was a far more civilised option than the do-it-yourself version in the Lido Buffet. 

The string quartet was a delightful accompaniment. 

When the weather was better, it was time to make the most of the swimming pool and lounge chairs. That's if you were early/quick enough to get one! Generally we were able to find some together after a while and relax with a refreshing cocktail.

The boys would occasionally get more energetic with a game of deck tennis. 

We also had some fun dressing up for the formal nights. There was a Royal Ascot night, Black and White and Venetian Masked Balls as well as the Cunard 175th Anniversary Ball each week. 

Black and White night. 

Our overnight stay in Venice provided plenty of opportunity to go shopping for masks. Lots of fun trying them on. Guests at the ball looked fabulous. 

It was the only night we girls put on our long frock!

The whole Cunard experience has been wonderful. From opening the cabin door to find a welcome bottle of bubbles, to the food, entertainment and service. Of course I don't really have anything to compare it too as it has been nearly 20 years since I was on a proper cruise (expedition voyages on Russian ice breakers to the Antarctic don't quite meet the cruising brief!). Being on the Queen Victoria is more formal than other cruise lines but that's half the fun. Getting dressed up for dinner was only required if we were dining in the restaurant. If you wanted a more relaxed time you simply opted for the buffet. 

My very comfortable cabin. 

The beautiful grand foyer - this is only the top two floors. It was three storeys high. 

We were delighted to be given a window table in the Britannia restaurant for the entire voyage. It provided a great opportunity to watch the spectacular lightning show over the ocean as we sailed away one night. We could see the waves when it was a rougher sailing and felt the ship tilting with the horizon a little higher up the window than usual! But our waiters were always superb and handled things with great aplomb!

Dani, Chris, Jen, me, Josie and Michael with our waiter Brian and sommelier Mirche.

Behind the scenes of the working of the kitchens is incredible. And as if they didn't already have enough to do the chefs came out to show us their skills in carving. 

Entertainment ranged from song and dance spectaculars, Beatles tribute band, juggler, flutist, ventriloquist, comedians, Hollywood nights and West End theatre stars.  The Royal Court theatre was a beautiful venue complete with private boxes. 

Sailing away from port was always special. Whether it was a spectacular sunset, beautiful fjord, mountainous port, billionaires playground or the grand canal of Venice. 

Monaco - above and below photos. 

Venice - of course 

Our final night at the Veuve Cliquot bar. Time to farewell the QV after three fantastic weeks. 

Until the next time! (Hopefully!)

Cruising

Eight countries, 2 continents, three Greek islands, 14 ports of call, 374,879 stairs ( give a take a few! ), 21 nights. It's been a hectic 3 weeks of exploring new cities and countries, being amazed, delighted and exhausted!

It was great to revisit a couple of places and get a new perspective from that of a 22 year old on her first big overseas trip.  The cathedrals, castles, museums and monuments haven't changed at all in that time - even Gaudi's Sagrada Familia doesn't seem to have progressed! But my appreciation for the history, the artisans and my palate for the food certainly has. 

After three weeks crushing many of the day's blend into each other and it's been a challenge at times to remember which walled city was that or did I wear that dress to the last formal evening? 

Our Captain the first week was the Commodore of the Cunard fleet so we were in very experienced hands. 

Sometimes it's the places that you know very little about that provide the biggest surprises. Kotor in Montenegro certainly fits that bill. What an beautiful area that combined the spectacular arrival through a fjord, a coastal drive and views to rival the Amalfi Coast.  The port stops may only be for about eight hours which can make the pace frenetic but with the help of local driver we were able to see more of this beautiful area including Budva, ( another walled city but surrounded by a very developed high rise city akin to the Gold Coast), Sveti Stefan Island, and then a fabulous view of the QV at anchor in the harbour. That still left us time for a swim and to wander around yet another walled city. This whole area is definitely on the return list. 

It was up early in the morning to enjoy the view as we cruised into the fjords to arrive in Kotor. 

That's our ship anchored in the middle of the harbour. Stunning views so Michael was the only one of our group to later climb the 1375 steps behind the town for a slightly different view. 

The girls decided the option of a swim was better than the stairs! The water here was so clear and clear we could see the fish swimming around our feet. Amazing considering we were in the middle of the port!

Sveti Stefan Island where Novak Dokovic was married.  

The steep hills within and behind the town.

After our swim, Dani and I stayed in town for a traditional meal and drink.