Mediterranean Cruise: Part IV

Friday, May 27, 2011 and Saturday, May 28, 2011 {Istanbul, Turkey}
Istanbul was Constantinople
ANow it's Istanbul, not Constantinople

Been a long time gone, Constantinople

Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night

- We arrived in Turkey Friday night, left the ship, and headed to the Spice Bazaar.

- Next, we headed to the largest cistern in the world: The Basilica Cistern

- Before heading back to the boat for the night we took a boat ride around the Golden Horn

- Saturday morning we woke up, left the ship, and headed to a carpet demonstration

[I bought a handmade silk carpet!]

- Next, we headed to the Hippodrome of Constantinople

- Onto the beautiful Blue Mosque (we were allowed to take pictures inside the mosque but I didn't feel right about it... sorry!)

- The day continued with a walk through the Topkapi Palace

- Before leaving Istanbul, we went through Hagia Sophia [was a mosque and church but is now a museum]

- Istanbul is an incredible city with a rich history. I would love to come back here and spend more time exploring the city!

Mediterranean Cruise: Part III

Thursday, May 26, 2011 {Athens, Greece}

Trip to my Mecca

- We got off the ship, jumped on a bus, and headed to The Acropolis!

- Athens is the birthplace of logic and politics and I consider it to be my personal Mecca so you can imagine my excitement!

[Odeon of Herodes Atticus]

[Propylaea]

[Temple of Athena Nike]

[Erechtheum]

[Parthenon]

- Aside from The Acropolis being SUPER crowded and our tour guide only knowing "general knowledge" information about the area, the experience was amazing.

Excuses

My apartment flooded and I have to move this week! I'll write more about my trip as soon as I'm all settled in at my new place!

Mediterranean Cruise: Part II

Tuesday, May 24, 2011 {Split, Salona, and Trogir, Croatia}

- We left the ship via tender boats and were taken to Split where we found our tour guide and bus.

- Boarded the bus and headed to the Ivan Mestrovic Gallery where we saw works of art by Mestrovic (1883-1962). The art museum is located in Mestrovic's mansion which is pretty impressive but I don’t really like modern art so I wasn’t that into the tour.

- Next, we headed to the ancient city of Solin (Salona). Here we explored the ruins of this old city. Most of the walls had fallen down and very little was left except for some pathways, walls and sarcophagus.

- After exploring the ruins we headed over to the old city of Trogir. The city is still in use and retains most of its original beauty.

- After exploring the city we got back on the bus and headed back to Split where we caught a tender boat back to the ship.

- I have to honestly say that I knew very little about Croatia before going there but it was a very pleasant surprise. What a gorgeous country!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011 {Cruising the Dardanelles}

- Day at Sea

- Hung out by the pool, gazed at the shore from the ship, played a few trivial games, went to "Battle of the Sexes" game show, went to the night time show, and got ready for Greece!

Mediterranean Cruise: Part I

I know, I know. I've been so bad about keeping up with my blog. I've been super busy (and really happy) but I can't talk about that now... maybe later?

Now onto the one thing I know you've been waiting for: My Mediterranean Cruise!

May 21 - 23 {Cedar City, UT; Los Angeles, CA; Venice, Italy}

"It's like walking through a picture!" - Heidi

Heidi and I left Cedar City, Utah and headed south to LA where we met up with Ryan, Missy, and baby Brady [it was my first time meeting Brady! He is too cute]

Next, we headed to the airport and caught our 12-hour flight to Madrid, Spain and then a 2 1/2 hour puddle jumper to Venice, Italy

Once in Venice we took a water taxi to the ms Nieuw Amsterdam, got on board, found our room, got some grub, and went to bed [gotta love the jet lag]

The next day we got up, left the ship, and headed into Venice

Since I have been here before I acted like a tour guide for Heidi

We got lost in the city [something you can't avoid] and ended up at San Marco

Took pictures, got some pizza and gelato [classic], and then headed back to the ship so that we could leave for Croatia.