Stunning Santorini

Just when I thought I'd seen the most beautiful that Greece has to offer, we visited Santorini! The arrival and seeing the town up on top of a cliff is quite dramatic. We arrived at the island on tenders and had 3 ways to get to the top to the city of Fira. One could climb the almost 600 steps, ride up on donkey or ride up on a cable car. Justin chose the donkey and was whisked away before my very eyes to be put on the back of the poor burros who climb up and down the steps all day. What an adventure he said that was! I waited in the line to ascend by cable car and it went almost straight up and I believe it was even steeper than the one César and I took in the Alps. Arriving at the top was quick, and when I met up with Justin we began our exploration of the beautiful village. Just like all of the pictures! So many shops and so many beautiful things to see and well, buy! We had lunch overlooking the harbor and our ship, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect! Blue skies and cool temperatures. I tried some Greek cuisine, the Greek salad and a cheese pie and for dessert decided to try the chocolate banana crepes. All was delicious but I was surprised when the crepes came out with apples on top, guess there were no bananas there. Delicious lunch and then it was more walking and shopping. I am not sure I would ever tire of the view of the white homes on the mountain sides. We did not make it to the village on the other side of the island, guess that is something for my next visit!

Now I believe that all of the Greek islands must be incredibly beautiful and I will begin looking forward to my next trip to explore them once again!

Grand Day at the Grand Bazaar

Unfortunately the day was dark, cold and rainy as we approached Istanbul so the skyline was shrouded in a cloak of fog. As we disembarked for the day the rain was coming down lightly and did so off and on all day. But it didn't stop anyone from making the most of the destination! I was lucky that my British friends were willing to accompany me on the ship's shuttle to the area of the Grand Bazaar. I was pleasantly surprised as the surroundings, not at all the intimidating place I had imagined. However, without the two men with me, it might have been a very different scene. I didn't need a thing, but managed to find a few things I couldn't live without! Hmmmm, maybe I could have lived without the tiny Aladdin's lamp or the muslim hat or the ceramic dish, but probably not. I took some great pictures of colorful scenes, Murray will like them! I think I should do a book, "Colors of the Grand Bazaar". I really could have spent hours there I think, snapping pictures and purchasing delightful little trinkets!

We walked to the Blue Mosque and it was quite a long walk, we took the scenic route and were in places I'm not sure it was a good idea to be, but we did find the mosque and enjoyed the experience, so different from what I've seen before. Then we sampled the round sesame bread that resembled what I'd had in Greece. We went to the St. Sofia mosque and there I had a little bit of a problem. I was waiting outside for the guys and they closed and locked the entrance gate, with me inside. I tried to explain in English that I had to wait where I was for my friends and would have to get out later. In Turkish they were letting me know I could not get out later and it became a problem. Finally they went and got one of the representatives who could speak English and he convinced them to let me stay inside the grounds near the exit for my friends. I was afraid to stand on the street alone as it was getting dark. Finally the mess was resolved and I waited where I felt safe for my friends. Then I joined a tour bus and made it back to the shuttle point and safely back to the ship. Whew! I might take the tour tomorrow I'm scheduled for but I've seen everything except the Topkapi Palace so I might just stay on the ship and rest my legs! Probably not, I hate to miss anything in these exciting places. The ship is quiet tonight, many have gone ashore, but I was too tired and Justin has already gone to sleep in preparation for his early morning tour tomorrow.

So, good night from Istanbul!

Thanksgiving at Sea on Celebrity

Jenny asked, so here is our incredible Thanksgiving dinner menu, at least the foods we tried:
appetizers - crab and corn cakes, pumpkin filled gnocchi
soups - butternut squash soup, chilled apple caramel soup
salads - mixed greens with goat cheese, pecans and cranberries
main entree - delicious 'real' turkey with sweet potatoes, dressing and green beans
dessert - pumpkin cream cheese pie with praline sauce
Yes, a delicious dinner! And we have to remember that many people on this cruise don't even celebrate Thanksgiving! Here's hoping your dinner was delightful and your life filled with blessings to be thankful for!

Turkey Day in Turkey

Okay, this isn't totally true, we aren't in Turkey to celebrate the holiday but on our tour today we did see Turkey across the Aegean Sea, so that was pretty special! How many people can say they were near Turkey on Turkey day! In two days we will actually be there. It's strange to be away from America on Thanksgiving Day, there just isn't any feel of a holiday so far. One of the few choices for lunch at the buffet was a breaded barbeque turkey patty, not bad, but I'm hoping for a more traditional meal at dinner.

This trip is different from my last and has many challenges. Unfortunately I can say little good about Celebrity Cruise Lines. Princess excels by far in many ways and my friends agree. I guess it is getting us to our destinations safely and that is a big deal. Being with my nephew is a huge challenge, his life has fallen apart and he is having a hard time and is pushing the limits of acceptable behavior. I am not giving in and it has been a battle but I think now things will be a little more pleasant because if not, he will be returning home early and I will happily be alone on this trip. Outside of the challenges, the trip is nice.

We arrived in Rome to a terrible cold and rainy day, but we were lucky enough to get the tour of the city before heading to the ship. Seeing the coliseum was exciting and actually being in Rome was a thrill for both of us. We had time to enjoy St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican and then headed to the ship. We had a rough night and were both a little sick, but by the next morning all was much better and we had a great sea day relaxing and sleeping. Yesterday we spent in my favorite port, Mykonos. And it is still my favorite, I love the beauty and the calm feel. Most of the town was already closed up for the winter so it was quiet. Justin and I wandered and although my favorite bakery was closed, we did get to the shop where my friend was and luckily we were there then, it was the last day she would be open this season. We made the walk through the beautiful streets to the windmills, probably the most famous site there. And they were beautiful. People say you must see a sunset in Mykonos and we did, but from the village square, not as beautiful as from the windmills I hear. But it was lovely and my friends have pictures so we will get to see that beauty too. I was sad to leave, but looked forward to the other islands.

Today we were in Rhodes, and had a tour around the island. We went to an incredible ancient city, built in 600BC with running water! Amazing! We walked through the beautiful old town, inside the castle walls and it was charming. I think Justin is enjoying his first trip to Europe and all of the beautiful sights! Tomorrow is a new adventure, as we will ascend to the village of Santorini for views as beautiful as Mykonos I hear. Soon we will know for sure!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

It's a Small World After All - Atlanta, Georgia version

Well today was the big day, I flew to Atlanta where I met my nephew, Justin, for our big adventure. We arrived at the airport close to the same time, his plane was early, mine late, but we found each other easily and made our way to our hotel near the airport. Justin decided to take a nap and I checked out the surroundings and came to the computer room to check email, the last time it will be free for 2 weeks. So I come into this tiny 'business center' and there are only 2 computers and one is taken by a nice looking young man. When I opened my email I had a letter from my cousin in Austin with some suggestions of restaurants for a friend of mine from Denver who is visiting there. So I decide to call her in Austin and give her the names. I am trying to talk quietly because I didn't want to bother the other person. So when I get to the 2nd suggestion, he says that is one of his favorite places to eat, she should definitely go there! By the way it is a barbeque place called Iron Works, just in case you are ever in Austin looking for a good place to eat. I looked at him and asked if he was from Austin and he said he was from Denver and I said that was cool, I was too! So we had a discussion about other good places he knew of there and I hung up with my friend and she had quite a list by then. I start talking to him, as César says all Americans do, and we shared a lot of stories about travel and how much we love it. He said he was going soon to Europe, London and somewhere else but he wasn't sure where. I asked if he had considered Portugal because I have a friend who lives there and it is beautiful. He said he might consider that so I decided to give him César's email address and told him to contact him before he went to work out meeting him and seeing the sights with him. So we introduced ourselves and he has a very unusual name, one which I'd only heard of as a friend of some of my friends. A little history: I went to Paris with my friend Sharyn in March to celebrate her 40th birthday because her brother was working there at the time. César flew there from Lisboa to meet us and take care of us with his French and his European savvy. Well, it turns out this is a good friend of theirs and he had also heard a lot about me and has even seen our pictures that Rich took in France! AMAZING! So here, in a little room in a hotel in Atlanta I met a person who is a good friend with some of my good friends! Small world...again? still? He typed César a letter as we sat here and invited him to Denver and told him I had introduced them sort of! I guess there is no end to these experiences, wherever you are and whatever you are doing! I am sure this person and I will stay in contact by email now and who knows maybe someday he will visit Portugal and meet my friend César, or better still, maybe someday César will visit me and meet his new friend here!

Tomorrow morning we are going to the Georgia Aquarium with my friends from here and then we will have lunch and hang out at the airport for our trip to Rome and on to the Mediterranean! Justin is glad to be going and I am glad to have him for company, he needed this break and being with him will be like old times. Not to mention it is great to have a man along to help me with my luggage! More from Italy and the ship...later!

The Snow Walker/Summer Lovers

Just a week ago I was returning from the fabulous frigid polar bear adventure in Churchill and in just a week I will be on my way to Rome to cruise the Mediterranean with my British friends, Peter and Terry, and my nephew Justin. Quite a contrast in scenery and weather!

My last trip truly was my ultimate adventure and I am not quite ready to give up the polar bear experience so I rented the movie, "The Snow Walker" and watched it as Denver was getting it's first snow of the season. Our snow was melted within hours, quite a contrast to the frigid north where I spent almost a week. The movie was filmed in Canada, in Churchill and surrounding areas. I could 'feel' the blizzard in the movie, having just experienced one in the same place, and was quite glad I was not lost in the tundra like the main characters! I actually enjoyed the 'Making of the Movie' part of the dvd the best! It showed the places I was familiar with and even showed the Tundra Buggies that helped the crew make the movies. There were some shots of polar bears, lazing around in the summer and in one part they showed a male running toward the crew very quickly and the crew had to get on the vehicles, but the bear was darted and tranquilized before it reached the movie set. Watching him run, I understood how quickly the bears can run, up to 60 KM an hour they said on the film! I wondered if Kevin was driving one of the vehicles, that is the company he works for in the winter and next time I see him I will find out. The movie was good, the scenery and movie making explanations great! When you are in the mood for a wintry, survival film, check it out.

And to prepare for my upcoming travels, I borrowed the movie "Summer Lovers" from a friend and watched it again. It is an old movie and I saw it many years ago and remembered the main story line, but much of the rest was lost in time. It was filmed in Greece, mostly in Santorini, but also in Mykonos, two of the destinations I am heading to next week. The scenery was beautiful and reminded me why I love Mykonos so much! Unbelievably beautiful! I know that Santorini will be as beautiful and interesting to visit.

Watching movies that were filmed in places I have seen in person is an interesting experience. I usually get lost in a film, it takes me away, but I've noticed that if I have been there, it takes me back in my memory rather than to places unknown. Not a bad thing and the movies seem so much more real. I wonder if there are other movies I will watch and have the same reaction?

Just some thoughts to share. I will begin preparing for my next adventure tomorrow. Justin will fly from Dallas and meet me in Atlanta on Saturday evening and we will visit with some good friends who live near there who I haven't seen in many years on Sunday. Then we will leave in the afternoon for Rome. This is Justin's first transatlantic trip so I hope he loves it as much as I do! We arrive in Rome on Monday morning and take the shuttle straight to the ship that sails Monday night. I'm sure this will be a lot of fun, being with people I know!

Stay warm and enjoy my polar bear pictures...until the ones of the mediterranean are on my sites!

Snow Walker/ Polar Bear Memories/The Ultimate Adventure

Snow Walker...ever heard of that movie? Just the Snow Walker part is the title of the movie that was filmed just outside Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, polar bear capital of the world. I saw the little hut that was used in the movie so now this movie is on my 'have to see' list. It seems to fit this whole trip, snow walkers we became! Churchill was in the midst of one of the earliest snowstorms and we flew back to Winnipeg in their first big storm of the year too! I arrived to an icy, windy mess and was told that the snow would be very deep this morning. And it is! It is beautiful here, I'm getting used to a setting filled with the frigid white stuff and believe I wouldn't be too happy spending the winter in one of these places, but I know I will be back! What a polar bear dream this has all been!

When I try to write, my mind fills with stories of my adventures, stories of the people I've met and of images of the most incredible animal on earth (in my opinion) roaming free on the tundra. It all truly brings tears to my eyes when I think of it. Such a moving three days, that felt like it could have been 3 weeks or 3 months will all that I saw and did! And still it didn't seem long enough. This was truly the ultimate adventure!!

The weather was perfect for polar bears and they were much more active than they had been in the warmer weather. They are preparing to head out over the ice to once again eat. The bears go through the summer with little food and are hungry this time of year. The polar rover, the large tundra vehicle we were on for the 2nd day of viewing was a very interesting mode of transportation. It is a very large machine with a warm comfy interior. The windows go down for perfect polar bear viewing and pictures, and there is a deck on the back that is open and offers a great viewing platform. We were unbelievably lucky because a mother bear and her 2 cubs walked right down the tracks the rover had made in the snow and stood up to see us in the deck, putting them level with the bottom of the platform. Unfortunately, very unfortunately, I was not in the front and not able to get good pictures of this amazing happening. Hopefully some of the people who refused to move from their front spots are going to email me some of the incredible pictures they got, but it is an experience that makes me sad to have missed. I do wish the driver would have encouraged people to take turns at the amazing sight, but they didn't, so I missed seeing it all first hand. The floor of the platform is very thick grating and one bear, perhaps the mother was standing up sniffing that and I can say that her nose was about 2 inches from my foot, with the metal grate the only thing between us. That was a nice experience, but the pictures are not good at all. I got about a minute to see a cub close and get a picture before they all turned around and walked away, their curiousity leading them to some other unknown spot. Eventually we could see them in the distance, lie down and settle in for a nice nap from all the excitement. It was an amazing experience, being that close to those amazing creatures! Later we saw a great white male saunter up to the same platform, and once again I was not in the front so have no first hand pictures of his visit, standing on his back paws to get close to the people. We are constantly warned to not have anything, a scarf, camera, arm, hat, etc, over the side because in a flash a paw could come up and tear it away. The power of these majestic animals does not go unappreciated. Again, some of my tour friends got some amazing pictures, but I didn't. We saw many bears, over 20 at least in various activites, mostly sleeping.

Another highlight of the day was seeing my friend Kevin, from the Antarctica cruise. He is one of the drivers of a tundra buggy, the vehicle used by another company. My driver knew him and we were able to meet up with him in the tundra, so our only hello and conversation was from the windows of our vehicles, but he was very kind and glad I had made it to the arctic to see the bears. He understands my passion for polar bears because he shares that with me. We talked on the phone a little before I left town and it was nice to connect with someone from my past. I loved the fact that I was in the Arctic tundra visiting with someone I had met in the Antarctic. Small world?

There was a darling young couple on our tour and in chatting with them I found out they worked at the lodge where we stayed and have been traveling around the world working and seeing the amazing sights. If I were younger, I would do the same thing! The girl is from Scotland, went to New Zealand and met the young man and they have been doing this together for quite some time. They go out on the tundra regularly and said that this was the best trip of the year. We were lucky to have seen what we did. Usually the bears are sleeping. So the day of polar bear viewing was a complete success! It also made us all realize how nice the day before really was, even though we only saw one up close, we were really close to it and we all got to see him well and he did put on quite a show. So both days were amazing and I am sure that I will manage to go back out to the Churchill tundra again and witness the amazing nature of the polar bear, perhaps next year.

When I returned from the adventure I was exhausted and had dinner at the lodge and went to bed, one of the first times I was too exhausted to write in my blog. I forgot to mention that the second night there I had a delicious dinner of musk ox. I was surprised at how delicious it was! The next night I tried the caribou, expecting the same delicious dinner, and I didn't like that at all. I couldn't eat it and was disappointed it wasn't the delightful surprise that the musk ox was, but at least I tried it!

I made a friend who was great to be with because when I had an idea of what I would like to do, she always wanted to do it too. We decided to look into spending an extra day on the tundra, but as much as I would have loved it, I was afraid if any little thing went wrong I would have missed my plane back to Winnipeg that night, and if anyone remembers the missed plane in Lisbon story, they will understand that it was a chance I couldn't take again! So we stuck with our tour group and went on the morning cultural tour. It had some interesting parts, playing with the Canadian Eskimo puppies was one of them. The other was visiting the polar bear jail. It was fascinating to see what they have developed! I expected it to be an outdoor area with some cages, similar to a zoo, but it is a large metal building with no windows.

Well, time to get ready for the airport now, so more on the ultimate adventure another time! Stay warm!