The night is dark and full of terrors

I should really start working on my Contiki 2012 - London-Paris-Rome review, but I had a really bad sleep last night and I need to get things off my chest so they stop haunting me. For the time being anyways.

Sometimes, I have night terrors. I don't always remember my dreams per say, but they usually have a common theme; someone is trying to hurt me. And it's not even always waking up screaming or completely terrorized, that hasn't happened in a while, but I'll wake up every now and then, or every hour, and just be scared in general, and immensely sad.

I am usually pretty open about my past, not that I brag about it, but I am also not ashamed of it. I survived it. I like to say I am a better person for it and I wouldn't be where I am if I hadn't gone through all that. I do not wish violence on anyone, but surviving it, it changes you. Of course, sometimes I have a scared moment, out of nowhere, like, doing the dishes with Rick at home and then he'll just do something like opening a cupboard and for whatever reason, I'll see that as a threat and cower, shriek and cover my face. And then I apologize to him, because he is so hurt by that. It's instinctive. Still.

99% of the time, I act like I'm OK. Of course I am, I survived, and look, I'm stronger because of it. It also makes people who care about me feel better, it reassures them to see that I am OK. Truth is though, sometimes I'm not. I have scars, if not actual physical ones (Thank God for that), I still have scars. The anxiety is only one part of it. Anxiety in general is manageable, if you put the time and energy into it. Night terrors, they're so random and less and less frequent that I don't really worry about them, much. There is one part of it, pretty rare, but that really sticks with me though, I'm not quite sure how to call it, so I'll describe it. It happens in a public place, and my heart stops and I get cold sweat. I don't even know why yet. But then, out of the corner of my eye, I see HIM. (If you know me, you know who I mean, if not, let's call him L, because I don't like to say his name. There's power in names. And he has none over me anymore.) Of course, it is never him, I have been lucky enough to never see him again after my father made him leave town, but subconsciously, I recognized something of him, his walk, his hair, his jaw, a laugh, in that random stranger. Just out of the corner of my eye, before I even realize, and my body goes into complete panic mode. That pisses me off more than anything. Because I thought I was stronger than that. Because I really believe that if I was to ever see him again, I would be strong enough to ignore him, pretend I don't know him.

That's a lie. I don't think I'd be able to do that. I'd probably be scared. Not of him, because I will never let anyone lay a hand on me ever again, least of all him. But scared of the memories. Scared of the pain and the hurt those memories bring with them. I really hope that I am lucky enough that the day this happens, if ever, I'll have someone with me, someone that can just hold my hand, that will understand I'm scared, and that it is all I need. To just know I am not alone.

The being alone is another scar of mine, I think. Although this one is not of L's doing alone, it was completed by J after that. Being alone is not necessarily a bad thing, it can even be a choice. I like to say my situation is by choice. And on a twisted level, it is true. I did move 900 km away 5 years ago. And then, I focused more on the language issues and proving to myself I was good enough, than trying to meet people and build myself a network of friends. And then years later, you realize you are basically alone. My English is good enough, sometimes, I do have a great job, I make good money and I even bought a house this year. But as for love, Nada. I'm not always sure if it's about me not trusting a guy not to end up hurting me, or just not being willing to open up enough. I usually think it's simpler to be alone. I have good friends, a good life, that is usually plenty enough for me.

But I have to be clear, they did not win. They might have spent years telling me I was not good enough, that no one would ever love me, but I don't buy it. They did not "break" me. That's one thing I am sure of, I am not broken. I am so not perfect either, but being told I am broken is probably the highest form of insult you can throw at me. Hope is something no one will ever take away from me. You can't survive without hope. I won't be alone all my life. And I know how it's going to happen, it will be unexpected. One step at a time. Feeling lonely once in a while is human nature, no matter how surrounded, we all feel it at times.

I keep talking about surviving and how violence changes you. One thing that never cease to amaze me, is when I talk about it to people who didn't know me back then, or didn't know about this part of my past, can hardly believe it. Because of my attitude now, because I am a happy, sassy, silly girl now. I do take that as a compliment. Because it is not always about surviving, it's about moving past it. I am happy. I am proud of my life and myself (that part is harder to say). It will never happen again, no matter how scared or sad I sometimes get, no matter how badly I want someone to love me sometimes, I know that I am worth so much more.

It's funny how much writing is liberating. I started this post because I had had a bad night, and I was a bit scared and sad. And look at me now, it changed from a sad post to a "I'm proud of myself" post. I am moving past this and that is good. But I also know the anxiety of those years will follow me around for the rest of my life, it's up to me how I deal with it now :)

Post Contiki Greece 2011 - A Video!

 

A little something I put together to commerate this once in a lifetime trip!  Quality is very so-so, because, well, I made it lol

Contiki: Spotlight on Greece + 7 days Med cruise - Review

First thing I have to say: Take a day in between the night you fly back and going back to work. I had never experienced jet lag before, and thought that 8 hours was going to be a peanut; but I was wrong. I got so very sick when I landed in Greece, but the return to Canada was pretty brutal too. Felt like it took me a week to get a sleeping pattern somewhat decent. But it was so so worth it, I didn't care too much.

The trip itself was the experience of a lifetime, emotional at times, and something I will never forget. It changed me. I don't care if it's Cliché, it did. Greece and all it's history and Temples had been something I had dreamed about all my life, and to be able to set foot there, it's hard to explain. It woke something in me. Of course, now I have the travel bug and will have many more adventures, but Greece was my first love, it will always hold a special place in my heart. You can never forget your first ;)

As for the Contiki part of it. It is certainly not for everyone. I liked it, for a single female travelling by herself, it offered the perfect atmosphere. I love the idea of travelling alone but meeting 40 + new friends. It is well-enough organized, even though I thought the cruise part of it was lacking. My real disappointment was about the tour separating after Athens, not staying with the same group the whole time. But that's how it goes, a lot of smaller tours merge together or go their own way. (Every other Contiki I've taken have turned out like that as well...)

Would I do a Contiki again? Hell yes. (Actually, I have gone on 2 more since Greece, and still loving it!)

After Contiki - Leaving Athens / Returning Home

Monday September 18th, 2011. - Leaving Athens.


So this morning was time to say goodbye to Greece, hopefully not forever (I'm not done with you! One day I will have a significant other and we will come back, you mark my words ;) )

But anyways, I won't bore you too much with my details of getting my bags down to the front desk, in those narrow steep stairs, three floors down, nor will I tell you about my anxiety attack at waiting over an hour for my transfer to show up. (In a car, when I had booked a van, and that I had to keep my bags on me, because we were at full capacity.)  It's all part of the adventure, even though it might irritate you at first. It's all in the details and how you look at them.

The trip to the airport was uneventful, checking-in, dropping my suitcase and passing through security was normal as well, except for the extra security and the fact that you couldn't take 10 steps in one direction without someone asking to see your passport. But with all the trouble I had seen in Athens throughout the week, I wasn't that surprised. (Turns out the airport shut down the next day for a few days when everyone went on strike....)

I obviously didn't understand how airports and duty-free worked (I had never been anywhere but within Canada or the States until now.) Because I somehow thought, no need to shop right now, or go get some food at the million restaurants, I'll wait on the other side. Well yeah, DUH. I found myself stranded in a waiting area, looking in at the restaurants and duty-frees. Only a couple vending machines and that one cafe kiosk-thingy on our side. So I missed out on the exciting last-minute shopping. Which was probably a good thing, as I had bought quite a lot already. But I was hungry and didn't like feeling cooped up on such a small space.

And of course the plane was late, kept being delayed and delayed, ended up leaving almost 2 hours later than scheduled. I felt bad for my roommate Rick, who was supposed to pick me up at the airport, but I figured he'd check the schedule and see the arrival time had changed. It's not like I carried my phone with me or anything. (He didn't check departures and arrival times, and showed up an hour before we were scheduled to land, so he ended up waiting over 3 hours for me. Let's say that since then, I have booked my own transport from the airport lol)

Same drill on the flight back, lots and lots to drink, Air Transat and their +++ packages seriously rock, and after that it was back to reality. Sad but true, all good things must come to an end.!

After Contiki - Athens 3

Sunday September 17th, 2011. - Alone in Athens Part 2.


So, today was my last full day in Greece. I had to take the plane back tomorrow morning, and be back at work bright and early on Tuesday morning.

(*Trust me, allow some jet lag time-adjustment if you're not used to it... I now try to book a day in before my return and work...)

So, this morning, I had booked a half-day trip to Cape Sounion (Cap Sùnion) through my Hotel. So I packed a bag, and head out to the square for more walking around before the rendez-vous point, at a different hotel. Of, course, I had to go see the changing of the guards again, it is such a dance. Grabbed an iced coffee, I still say we don't do coffee right around here, and then started the day's adventure.

I wanted to go there, to see the Temple of Poseidon, my main purpose for visiting Greece was to see as many temples and ruins as I possibly could after all. And I was not disappointed, it was magnificent. It took close to 2 hours to get there, they let you loose with some information for about an hour (can't get lost, it's a Temple on top of a hill, surrounded by the Aegean Sea) and then they drive you back.

 

I highly recommend a visit to Sounion, the scenery is breathtaking, it is Beach-a-palooza and the Temple itself is absolutely impressive. The sound of the waves, the sun shining down on you, it is so easy to let your imagination running wild. Myself, I teared up a little, again. What? every time my mind was blown I had to check with myself that I was really here, that it was all real. Dreams do come true when you work hard.

 

 

And the drive back was just as lovely, after I've had a quick cold Mythos on the Patio of the Cafe, and of course bought a few trinkets. The sun was slowly setting over the sea, the pictures were quite awesome. But I was also worried about experiencing this trip through a lens, so I put my camera back in my bag, put on my earphones, sat back and just looked out the window, soaking it all in.

 

Back to the hotel, at the end of the day, sadly, it was time to start packing, for checking out the next morning. But not before I picked up some more gyros down the street. Then, I decided I just couldn't leave beer in the mini-fridge, and that I had to drink it all, while trying to repack my suitcase, and watching movies. I managed it all, even though the last of my night is a bit blurry, but I blame it on the tiredness, not the alcohol ;) Same goes for my suitcase, which was overflowing with stuff, and my carry-on too. Oh well.

 

 

After Contiki - Athens 2

 

Saturday September 16th, 2011. - Alone in Athens.


So, most of my group were gone by now, and I was all alone in that sketchy little Hotel-Motel. Still with the coffee table in front of the door, I slept well, considering I did not feel safe at all. It was so nice not to have to be up at 7am, and not have someone else in the room with me. I slept a little bit in, then had a long shower, ate some of the groceries I had bought the night before, and then decided to get started on my day.

I spoke to the clerk downstairs, seeing what kind of activities they could book on my behalf, and I decided for a half-day trip the next day to Cape Sounion, so I could visit Poseidon's temple. It was about 50 Euros, but included round trip transport, so I figured why not.

For today, I decided to use my tickets for the Hop-On Hop-Off bus to get around town and try to see/visit as much as I possibly could. This system is pretty amazing. I did a full round, listening to the commentary, watching people and studying the map, before even coming up with a plan on where to stop and what to do. It was a really great day. I saw and did pretty much everything I wanted to, and took tons of pictures. I spent about 3 hours at the Athens Archaeological Museum. It was a dream come true. So many statues and so many of them in such good state. It was unbelievable. It seemed to be in a pretty sketchy area though, so the 20 minutes waiting for the bus to come around made me pretty anxious. (This was 2 years ago, when things started to escalate in Greece, so there was a lot of homeless people, beggars and armed people around. Not the most reassuring feeling in the world when you're a solo female traveller...)

I also spent some time by the remains of Zeus and Hera's Temple, which was awesome too. Athens is amazingly easier to navigate than I thought. The Hop-on Hop-Off bus was a blessing and allowed me to have a great day! The only time I regretted not being with a group and just by myself, when when trying to take pictures, I suck at selfies haha! Oh well, the importance thing is the souvenirs, not necessarily my stupid faces in front of stuff ;)

I had made plans for dinner with another girl from Contiki who was still around for one day, but I completely misunderstood, and we ended up not seeing each other. I sorta stood her up at the restaurant. But in my defense, it wasn't on purpose, I really misunderstood the plans and I felt horrible and apologize via Facebook so many times.

I found myself a Gyros place, grabbed a few ones to go, locked myself back into my room, watched TV on my DVD player and had a few drinks and had an early quiet night. A long day out in the sun at 40 something degrees, not something I was used to before this trip, so I was spent.

End of Contiki : Athens 1

Friday September 15th, 2011. Athens.

Today was the "Official" end of this Contiki adventure. We've had to put our luggage outside our rooms last night, so it would get dropped off at the port while we got off. It was very early, as we had to check-out and settle our bills for 7h45. Of course, most of us had a very late/early drunk night, and/or we weren't packed or we had bills to settle, and all that kind of fun stuff.  I like to think I'm organized, so very early, I was finished packing my day bag, I was showered and dressed and I was lining up at reception to get my final bill (although I was smart enough to make final credit card payment last night, we still had to make sure I didn't make any more charges to my room card). All of this was taken care of, I was able to go and enjoy a last bit of breakfast. I also made sure to leave a very generous tip to my "maids" in various currencies and wrote up a nice feedback card as well.

It was far from the usual feast, as the cruise was ending and everyone was getting off and in a record time, they had to start the process all over again. The work these guys put in to turn everything around in a few hours is nothing short of amazing. It was impressive. We did feel a little rushed, as the instructions weren't exactly clear as to where to meet and when. (Contiki vs Official directions.)

We did manage to get off the ship, always missing a few people here and there. Once off, we all had to wait around and try to find our bags, and then after everything was settled and we could try to make our way out to the bus, we realized we had an extra set of suitcases. Someone still wasn't off the ship. So we played the waiting game, and let me tell you, people get very pissy very fast about that. On one side, I can understand since I am very anal about punctuality myself and would vote to leave people behind when they're late. But on the other side, sometimes, just sometimes, there are valid reasons for people to be late, and it doesn't matter which way it goes, name-calling and general rudeness and bitchiness and never acceptable. At least in my book, but apparently, I own a very outdated version that no cares about anymore. (FYI- in this case, it was a valid reason that the person got held up on the ship.)

 It's about 9 am by then and we have 3 options: You take a cab to the airport or wherever your hotel is if you're staying longer or the bus will drop off most of the remaining group at the President's Hotel or lastly, they can drop some of us up downtown, at Syngtama Square. I chose the last option, as I had booked a small room right downtown for my next 3 nights. I made plans with a few girls staying at the President's to meet them back up at 6pm for a farewell dinner.

So I was now on my own with my big/full suitcase downtown Athens, looking for my hotel. I knew it was on the same street as the previous one we were at, but that was about it. So I had only a general idea of where I was going, and we were litterally just dropped off at the corner of the square, no time to say Goodbyes or anything. I noticed there seemed to be some kind of protests going on in the aquare and in front of the parliement, so I tried to stay out of the way. There were a lot of police and army around. Of course, when I got to the hotel, completely exhausted and sweaty, I was told that I wouldn't be able to check-in until after 2pm. It was barely 10am. This was going to be a long day. I sat at a cafe for a while, sipping on an way overpriced iced coffee, and then spent the rest of the day on the roof terrace, nodding off with my book. When I was finally allowed in my room, up on the 3rd floor with with narrow and steep staircases, it was almost 3 pm. I locked the door and put the coffee table in front of it, not sure who that would've stopped if they really wanted in.

I enjoyed a refreshing 2 hours nap and almost cancelled on the farewell dinner, I just wanted to sleep more. But I dragged myself in the shower, got ready and went downstairs to give my key back and tell them I was going out for dinner. It was a very small place, maybe a dozen rooms, with real keys, so whenever you were leaving, you had to leave your key with them. I walked back to the square, feeling a bit nervous with all the  armed "security" people in the street, and I hopped in a cab to get me to the other side of town, to meet with the group.

There were only 6 of us who met and decided to ask for a restaurant near by and walk there to enjoy a last traditionnal dinner, as most of us were leaving tomorrow. The restaurant we were sent to was wonderful. I do wish I remembered the name so I could recommend it to everyone, but sadly I don't. But it was absolutely the best. At first, the staff didn't seem impressed to see us walk in as the place was empty and they were watching some basketball game on TV. But we got a nice table outside and a very nice waiter. We got a huge starter of Tzaziki and bread and a cold beer. After that we switched to the house white which was very good and I had some seafood pasta, and it was delicious. Mid-meal, the waiter brought us another pitcher of wine, on the house!!! And when we were done eating and just chatting away, he brought over for each of us a piece of baklava, again on the house. Wow, who were we to say no to baklava? And it was one of the best I have had. And even after all that, he came back with 7 shots of Ouzo, again on the house, so we could have a cheer with him.

Well, after 2 weeks in Greece, I had been very proud that I stayed clear of Ouzo, not wanting to suffer the consequences, but it would have been rude to refuse. So we clinked and drank. My that was horrible. Like drinking gasoline. It went straight to my head and I felt instantly drunk. Seperating the bill was fun, as we are all generous tipper, we always seemed to end up with as much tip as the main bill. It took a long time to figure that one out lol But so much fun was had!!! We then walked to the supermarket close by to buy bottled water and I also decided I should buy snacks and beer and diet-pepsi. It was too much to carry on a normal day, so imagine when drunk-ish. I saw the rest of the group back to the hotel and then took another cab back to mine. I watched TV for a bit but I was glad to finally go to bed and get to sleep in tomorrow. I had nothing planned but to take the hop-on hop-off bus to get to the sights I hadn't been yet.

Contiki 12 - Med Cruise 7.

Contiki Day 12: Med Cruise 7, Crete, Thursday September 15th, 2011.

So, technically, today is the last day of the cruise, as we have to get off tomorrow morning at like 630 am. We are in Crete, Knossos, where we can tour the famous Palace, where King Mynas and the myth of the Minotaur took place. Most of us declined the guided tour, as it was more of a city tour than anything. Lewis and I decided to go to the Palace on our own. Lewis had decided to fly back to Santorini, he had friends staying there for a few days and he wanted to join. It was a good idea, as the cruise was over and Santorini was definitively worth more time than just a rushed day.

So, we met up at 10, a bit of sleeping in was appreciated and Lewis needed to pack and whatnot. So we walked outside, around the town a little bit and then I got myself a very much needed caffeine Starbucks - Whipped Cream fix -Yummy! Then I went with Lewis to buy his plane ticket and then we grabbed  a cab to Knossos Palace. It was a bit sketchy, as we actually had to bargain a price with the guy, who was trying to get us to pay an outrageous price to wait for us while we were there and then take us back. No! We got a decent price just for a one way, finally. It was very far and took a while, and the area wasn't nice at all. I wasn't impressed so far, because I knew Crete was a beautiful place, and we only got to see the poor neighborhood. How glad I was not to be alone.

The site was actually very very beautiful. I know I keep going on and on about the views, but honestly, it was breathtaking. You can so understand why a big palace would be sitting right there. It's all about the location :) There was a tour of French people walking around at the same time we were there, so I was listening in and translating some of the facts to Lewis. Of course, being a mythology maniac myself, I already knew a lot. It was a very fun, relaxing day.

Taking a lot of different pictures  with Lewis, just walking around slowly, taking it all in. I was a bit disappointed that half the site was closed off and that there was no "real" labyrinth. Seems like it was even more of a Myth than I though of. But there was a lot of wall paintings with bulls, all colorful and impressive. And there was a roped off area that to me, looked like it could have been part of the maze, so I decided it was. Whatever, it made me happy lol.

After we were done, maybe like 2 hours later, we walked across the street to the souvenir shops. I love those. I bought plenty of stuff, met a nice vendor who was all excited I was from Canada, showed me his collection of money and a picture of him with our Premier Stephen Harper, when he was here vacationing a few years back. It was kinda funny.

Now we had to go back and try to get a cab back to the port. Sounds easier than it was. All the cabs were reserved for returning people. It was a real pain in the ass to get someone to call the company and get us a cab. We had to wait forever too. We finally got one, who tried to bargain a price, again. And then he took us on a very scary ride. His driving was insane, and he was taking through back streets and very very bad neighborhoods, and he took the long way. Honestly, I was very scared by the end of it. I wasn't sure he was actually taking us back, I thought we were going to get robbed.

But we made it back, and I had to say goodbye to Lewis, who had to leave soon. I decided to go back to town and walk around all the shops again. Bought more stuff, then came back to the ship for Tea time. Tea hour was the best, they'd set up this amazing buffet of small sandwiches and pastries, it was so delicious. Lounged for a bit by the pool, started packing my stuff, just relaxed.

We had another meeting, where we all sat around, took millions of pictures, exchanged email addresses, got our passport back and instructions for the next morning. We had to have our suitcases out of our rooms that night, so we needed to pack an overnight bag. Tricky, but it made sure our bags would be out by the time we were. We were getting a ride back to either the President Hotel in Athens, or Syngtama Square downtown.

We all went to dinner together, one last fancy event with lots to drink and then ended the night at the disco. Nothing special, but it was a tad more emotional, and pretty much everyone showed up. One last Contiki party :)

Contiki 11- Med Cruise 6.

Contiki Day 11: Med Cruise 6, Santorini, Wednesday September 14th, 2011.

Today is going to be a big day. Santorini. I was so looking forward to this island. I was up very very early, walking on the deck and taking pictures. I know vacation is usually a time to relax and sleep in, but not for me. I sleep-in every weekend I'm not working. Hell, I paid 3k to be on this trip, I was going to enjoy every minute of it. I guess that philosophy probably caught up with me, as I was very tired and a bit moody that morning.

We were getting off at 8am, and we had to line up and take those little boat shuttles to bring us to the island. It was pretty great to sit on top of this boat and watch the scenery for 10-15 min. (Although it did take forever until we finally got to go.) We have to take a bus and go take a tour of the Island, and a visit to the Village of Oia. It was included with our Contiki Tour. I'm not going to go on and on and on about the scenery's, it was breathtaking, yes, but you've all seen pictures before, the tall volcanic island with all the white houses with the blue domes. It's featured in every movie and on every postcard. This village has a lot of movies filmed there too, think the Sisterhood of the Travelling pants, the scene with the donkeys :)

This spot was just marvelous, it was a picture-perfect moment everywhere we turned. We were given some time to walk around this enchanting city and do some shopping after the tour. I am not quite sure what I did wrong this morning, I was a bit moody, but I was basically told I should spend the day alone by the girls I usually hung out with. I felt like I was in High School again. We had time in this village, then we were being driven back to the top of the Island, different village and we had the rest of the day off. Most of the group wanted to take a cruise in a pirate boat later on, and go see some volcanic rocks from up-close. I really wanted to do this, the other girls didn't want to, and I might have said something wrong, I really don't know. Oh well, it stung, but it wasn't the end of the world. And it was so beautiful and peaceful, I wasn't going to let it ruin my day. I walked around with other people, bought a lot of souvenirs, paintings included and discovered my favorite snack ever, peanuts covered in honey and then sesame seeds. Oh it was so good!

So, after that, we were left at the other village, Thira, where we had 3 choices, take the Cable Car down (We had a free ticket) or walk down, about an hour-long walk in stairs (with my foot? No Thank you!) or take the donkey ride for a few euros. Well, I absolutely wanted to take the donkey ride, but going up, no way I had the balls doing that going down. The Cable Car was going to be scary enough as it is. (And it so was.) It was shortly before Lunch and I decided to go back to the ship and grab some buffet there, before coming back and doing the Pirate thing. I broke off from the rest of the group, everyone was pretty much going their own way anyways. The Cable Car was absolutely terrifying, especially when you don't like heights, but it was a once in a lifetime thing, and it was beautiful. I couldn't take enough pictures of the view.

Grabbed some food on the ship, then found out the shuttle boats were not running for 2 hours, Lunch break so I took a nap in my room; I was feeling sorry for myself at that point and I wanted to shake out of my funk. Because of this, I completely missed out on the Pirate Ship cruise, so that was disappointing. So I finally went back after my nap and my shower, took the boat back and then decided to try the Donkey ride on top of the island. Well, it would have been great to have people I knew with me, I could have had my picture taken on the donkey. There was only a couple with me. It was a fantastically hilarious experience! I laughed so much, I got scared, I got hurt, it was awesome! It's one hell of an experience. My donkey was crazy, he wanted to be the first in line so he was running up and cutting other donkeys off and hugging the walls. (I have videos.) I wasn't really able to take good pictures, as you have to be using both hands to hold yourself steady, but still, best time ever, even by myself. After that, I spent a long time shopping around and ended up sitting at a table by the view and I watched the sunset with a nice glass of wine and a very yummy gyros. Aaaaah.

Went back to the ship on one of the last shuttles and then I had to change, we had a Contiki Cocktail Party/Hour scheduled at the Disco. They opened early for us, since we missed the captain's Cocktail yesterday, we wanted something special. It didn't turn out so great. I won't go into too much details, but a lot of the group was on "rowdy" and rude behavior, throwing peanuts around and being very demanding to the staff, who were doing us a favor after all. But the drinks went down very fast and then we went straight to dinner as a group, using 3 big tables. lot of wine was consumed again, and a very late night was had by most of us. I went to see the last showing of the Mama Mia presentation by the crew, and it was very fun!!!

Of course, I had to make a fool of myself at Karaoke at the Disco after that ;) Nah, I wasn't so bad, I love singing. It was a nice icebreaker I guess, as I got the whole thing going! Ended the night at the Sports Bar and Casino, as per usual and that was it. Another very nice day with Contiki :)

Contiki Day 10: Med Cruise 5 (Part 2.)

Contiki Day 10: Med Cruise 5, Patmos (AM) and Kusadasi (PM) Tuesday September 13th, 2011.

Part 2. Kusadasi, The House of Virgin Mary and The Ephesus.

So, after a nice shower and a change of clothes, I headed back to the poolside for some buffet lunch (I did not have the patience to wait for the special) and a nice iced coffee. I was way too excited to stand still for too long. A few hours later, it was time to meet again for the arrival at Kusadasi. (We had boarded back this morning at 1030 and we were getting off at 230pm.)

There had been 2 different tours offered to us, The Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary and The Ephesus. There wasn't a big time difference to have both, and it was 3 or 5 euros more to do the combined tour. I'm not a very religious person, but I figured that for the price, I'd go. I was very surprised to see that quite a few people skipped the tour entirely (OK it was all optionals, as you had to pay extra, but, wow.) and even the ones that did go, picked The Ephesus on it's own. There was only a few of us on the combined tour again. But it was OK, we were once again mixed with the people from, the morning. We hopped on a bus, picked a nice guide up and went on our way the the House of the Virgin Mary. Of course, it was sitting at the top of a mountain, with a breathtaking view.

At first, I wasn't really touched by the story (That John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary had come here into hiding) but then I saw a lot of emotional people and it kinda got to me. Once again, we had to line up, in silence, this was Holy Ground, cannot talk inside the House, no pictures. Lots of people crying, I got caught up in the moment and teared up a little too. I bought, well put money in a wooden box, to take a candle, which I brought outside where they had a beautiful display with a lot of candles all lit up, for prayers and loved ones. That's where I cried a tiny bit, when I lit my candle and took a picture of it. (It was for both my Grandmas, my Grandpa and my aunt.) I also ended up buying a few Virgin Mary medallions. I was very glad I chose to go, it ended up being a very lovely moment.

Next stop, The Ephesus! I was SO excited! I'm pretty sure I annoyed a lot of people on the way over, but I honestly didn't care. For over 10 years I had wanted to go to this site, I was going to enjoy every second of it. *Now, it was a very amazing visit, although the site is way too massive to get to see everything in such a short time, so we missed on a lot of stuff. Especially MY favorite, the only standing column from the Temple of Artemis. We didn't go there and it was really sad.*

For one of the first times ever, I barely paid any attention to the guide. From what I overheard, he was very interesting, but I wanted to see everything and walk everywhere, I didn't have time to stand around, listening. It just made it perfect for Lewis and I to take a million pictures back and forth. It was great! We would run all over, look it everything, pose, click then switch places and cameras and then it all over again. I was so giddy. And we were so lucky, we were experiencing something that almost never happens; a near sandstorm. The wind was so crazy, it was impossible to keep your hat on. So it felt like it wasn't quite 42 degrees out!

There was so much to see and take in. Lots of the original structures were still there, and even everywhere on the ground, the rocks, you could find treasures. It was very slippery to walk down the slopes, with the original "roads" rocks and marbles. As clumsy as I am, I had to be careful. Thankfully, my foot barely hurt anymore, so I took the opportunity to go back and forth everywhere. There were stray cats everywhere. You could hear them meow, it was a bit sad. I wanted to feed them all, and give them water and pet them. I got to pet a few kitties, they were so used to people they were very friendly. I even gave some water to one of them, from a nook in a big rock.

Soon after that we started seeing the big library in the background and better preserved structures. It is really, really something to be standing next to and touching stone buildings that have been there for close to 3,000 years. And that library was absolutely huge. It was so incredible to be standing there and getting all this history. I will never ever forget that day. And I had such a good time with Lewis, exploring everywhere and coming up with pictures ideas.

After the Library, I walked by myself a bit further up, and sat on the side of what looked like a main street and on each side used to be hundreds of pillars/columns. Not much was left, of course, but I just sat there, under the sun, imagining what it was like back then. I didn't even realize I had tears running down my face. I just felt like I was home, I was feeling so privileged to be there.

Eventually, the visit was over, way quicker than I expected, we slowly went back to the bus, stopping at all the shops on the way. The vendors were very aggressive and intimidating. We were given a short time to shop. I took advantage of it, as I wanted a lot of souvenirs. I was now an expert at haggling, so I got a lot of stuff for way cheaper than the asking price. Then we went back to town, close to port where a lot of my Contiki group had met to go to a Turkish bath. Now, I understand that this is a really awesome experience, very relaxing and whatnot, but it's not something I'd be comfortable doing. I can barely tolerate a massage, don't like saunas, so I knew this wasn't for me. I walked around the shops with a few girls instead, getting some more souvenirs, as this was our last stop in Turkey.

Back to the ship at close to 8pm, we realized we were missing on the Captain's Cocktail. I had been originally interested in attending, wearing a fancy dress and all, but there just wasn't enough time. I was so dusty, all I wanted was a shower. Most of us still decided to wear fancy clothes and go to the last seating at the restaurant. Lots of wine, lots of fun, lots of stories. It was another great night. And as usual, went to to disco for a bit, had a few drinks, then back to the Sports Bar, more drinks and some casino. My regular little vacation routine, it rocked.

Next stop, Santorini!

 

Contiki Day 10: Med Cruise 5

Contiki Day 10: Med Cruise 5, Patmos (AM) and Kusadasi (PM) Tuesday September 13th, 2011.

Oh yes, it still hurts lol And it almost looks like my leg is rotting, it was a gross couple of days. My hand has healed quite nicely though. (So has my tattoo.)

Extremely early start today as we were arriving in Patmos at 630 am. To me, it wasn't a big deal, as I get up for work everyday at 515am. Just another day. Went for some buffet, noticed a lot of people decided to skip this morning, too much partying last night. I didn't know much about Patmos, except that it was a "Holy" Island, where St John (not the Baptist) went into exile and that's where he was visited by God and wrote the Apocalypse. This tour was included, and since it wasn't that long, nor that special, I guess that's why a lot of people bailed.

So we got out of the boat and into a bus, to take us up the hill, to have a quick guided tour of the main village. We were sharing a bus with some people from a tour with Globus, and although way older than our group, they were delightful people. I had a blast with them. (Hum, maybe if I get tired of Contiki, I could look them up..) When we got up the bus and gathered up close to the cliff, this is the view that greeted us. Needless to say, absolutely no one paid attention to the guide trying to start the visit. This view was extraordinary and demanded to be admired. Many many pictures were taken. It was early, the village was still asleep, and we were trying to be quiet as well, out of respect. It was magical.

Patmos is the "Holy" island, there are close to 400 churches and chapels and monuments, not counting the big Monastery on top of the Hill. We couldn't see it, as it was closed to the public. The guide was telling us that a lot of celebrities were seeking refuge on the island, for their vacation, and that more and more were actually buying little houses. (She was very excited that she saw Tom Hanks a few days prior.) The visit was interesting, but short, as it was a small village. We were then given more time to take pictures and then we noticed we lost Lewis. We waited around for him and he finally showed up, insisting he wasn't lost, he had wanted more time to take pictures. I loved Lewis, he was amazing :) So, back on the bus and a 20 min ride up the hills, to go see St John's Grotto.

I have never been very religious, raised as a catholic but decided to follow a more Pagan beliefs, but it was a very interesting place. I love stories, so I loved hearing how John was exiled, that he lived in a small cave (Grotto) and how he was visited by God and then wrote the Apocalypse. We couldn't talk inside, not take pictures, as it was a sacred place. But to me, the real big deal was the view, again. With the sun shining, you could almost feel a presence in the beauty of nature. That made me feel, comforted, somehow. I felt good. There was a lot of people on pelerinages who were praying and getting emotional, so we all tried to be respectful. We also had a few people in the group who really cared about religion, so I was glad to see how much they appreciated the visit.

We drove back to the port, where we stopped at a small cafe, to have a lovely Cafe Frappe, and they kept telling us to enjoy it outside in the Lemon garden. Sounded interesting enough, so I went. My cafe was way too strong, I didn't enjoy it too much and the Garden was a garden only by name. there was a few trees with greenish looking fruits hanging down and a few tables sitting in sand. Took a few sips and then walked away. There was a lot of shops; this was obviously the Touristy area. Still had some time before going back on-board so I shopped around for 45 min. Find a couple things to buy and then I ended up in this fancy-ish store, and somehow, found my perfect Artemis statue!!! I couldn't believe it, it was silver, she had long-ish hair, was holding a bow and a dog/Wolf was next to her. Exactly what I wanted. A bit more expensive that I wanted, but less than I would have expected in this weird shop. I was a happy camper!

Went back on the boat, had a shower, packed my things away, then went back to the Sports Bar to finish my Postcards before Lunch time. We had a few hours before getting to Kusadasi and the Ephesus. Time to relax!

Part 2 for The Ephesus and the House of Virgin Mary next!

Contiki Day 9: Med Cruise 4

Contiki Day 9: Med Cruise 4, Mykonos, Greece, Monday September 12th, 2011.

(Yeah, FYI- when it's that color, it kinda hurts...)

Today was pretty much a free day, we weren't scheduled to get to Mykonos until 4pm. It was a good day to sleep in, but the first thing I realized when I got up (at like 9am) was that I could feel the boat move. I don't get sea-sick, thankfully, but I was feeling shaky on my feet, like my sense of balance was gone. I walked around, souvenir shop, picture shop (Found a picture of me boarding the ship, grinning like a maniac, I basically bought it so it'd be off the wall lol) went for some food, etc. A very relaxing day. A lot of people were sleeping, a lot were sick or not feeling well. There was apparently a biiiig storm somewhere close and that was making the sea very upset. Rumors were that the Delos expedition would be cancelled later on. Well that made me panic. Delos was in my Top 3 of MUST SEE things. Spent the morning and the beginning of the afternoon walking around and reading my book and drinking Mocktails at the Sports Bar while writing all my postcards. I didn't have my massage session until later that afternoon.

For Lunch, they had a Taco Bar by the pool so I went for that instead of the Buffet. It was good, and a lot of my group went for that too. We ended up several tables of us just drinking and eating and killing time until we finally got to Mykonos. Then I went for my massage and although it was pretty expensive (140Euros) it was the BEST thing ever. Of course now, I can't remember what it was, but it was a special package of 4 massages, Head-Feet-Hot Stone and whatever the regular stuff's called. 90 min in heaven, and my girl was a young lovely girl from the Philippines, we kept chatting until I kinda fell asleep. She didn't mind, I guess she's used to it. It even helped my foot, I walked so much better after! The only thing I should say, is to be careful of the pushy sales afterwards. You're so relaxed and half asleep and then they start telling you about products they recommend for you, I just kinda nodded, thinking I'd just say no at the reception and then she said she'd throw in a free facial for me tomorrow and demonstrate the body scrubbing lotion, by giving me a free session. I'm not sure what happened, but I ended up with a free demo the next morning, before the center opened and then I had ahuge bill because I had somehow agreed to buying all those products. (So expensive... I gave some of it away and used some, but a lot is still sitting in my pharmacy, untouched. Oh well, it's vacation.)

We finally got word that the Delos excursion was cancelled, the weather was just too bad. It was understandable, because we could see and feel the wind, but I was sooo disappointed. :( Even approaching Mykonos, there were more problems. We couldn't go where we were supposed to, because of the wind, so we had to wait close by for another ship to leave, so we could take its spot. Of course they were late and blah blah blah, so we didn't end up getting off the ship until close to 6pm, instead of 4. At least, the officials decided to change the all-aboard time to Midnight, to make sure we had plenty of time in Mykonos. Well, as I wasn't really supposed to see Mykonos, I was a bit confused. I wanted to go to Paradise Beach and party, but I also wanted to walk around the island, shop and watch the sun set and run to the windmills. What helped was that most of my group was well advanced in the pre-drinking, so very loud. A few girls took a different bus to get to the beaches, the non-party ones and I started walking with a couple more people, thinking I'd start with the scenery's and then maybe go to the beach.

Mykonos was breathtaking. The sun was setting so we got treated to an explosion of colors, with the sun, the water and the white houses. It was fantastic. The wind was absolutely crazy, it made it very difficult to take decent pictures, with your hair flying all over the place like that. It was hilarious. We were a bit in a rush, trying to make sure we saw everything, that we "lost" Lewis in the crowded streets. But I knew he wanted to take his time and take a lot of pictures, the rest of us were looking for a decent place to eat. And of course, I was wearing the wrong shoes again (never again with the ballet flats) and I wanted an elastic bandage and Kelly wanted some cold meds. So we hunted for a pharmacy. We kept getting distracted with all the lovely shops; a real paradise for jewellery and art and hand-made stuff, not your regular touristy souvenirs. We finally lucked out and bought our medical supplies. Kerri had the brilliant idea to ask the nice pharmacist where he would recommend we eat, as we didn't want to pay a fortune just to eat close to the water. He gave us a card for his favorite restaurant and told us to tell the owner he sent us, as they don't usually accept tourists, just locals.


It was a very crowded place, they weren't that friendly and service took forever (We even lost a girl while waiting, who decided to go some place else, leaving just 3 of us.) But boy was it worth it! I decided to have Salmon as it was the fish of the day. It was something like 12 euros for a plate, and it was the best, freshest, biggest piece of fish I have ever had. Wow! Unbelievable. We have shared a few pitchers of red wine (the girl's choice, I'm a white wine kinda gal) but it was actually really good. And we also had complimentary dessert, the biggest piece of baklava ever. It was an amazing meal, absolutely worth it. Very cheap too, considering the portions and the quality. We ended up a bit tipsy, waking slowly back to the ship, shopping and laughing on our way. It was a great evening, very relaxed and I was glad to share it with Kerri and Kelly. We even stopped in a shop and for some reason, I feel in love with a great dress, which wasn't all that expensive and even fitted me. Crazy. (I still blame the wine.) I bought it, knowing I wouldn't wear it very often, but still, what a great souvenir!

Went back to the ship, it was shortly after midnight, we went and grabbed another glass of wine by the pool (white this time) thinking we would stop by the disco where the rest of the group was bound to finish the night, but after a glass or 2, we were so tired, we decided to call it a night. But what a night :)

Contiki Day 8: Med Cruise 3

Contiki Day 8: Med Cruise 3, Izmir, Turkey, Sunday September 11th, 2011.

As you can see, my leg is having a nice display of colors. It didn't really hurt, and my hand was healing too, but it was definitively gross. But I got lucky, I most certainly could have broken something.

With an arrival of 130 pm today, and only a meeting at 1 with the group, it was a great luxury to sleep in. Not for too long, but for a bit. I got up shortly before, as the breakfast buffet I liked ended at 10 and there was usually a long line. I quickly showered and then headed out, with my book and my camera. Got some food and went to sit under the sun, poolside. A few girls joined me and it was nice that were all reading or writing postcards, so we had company, but we didn't really have to talk all that much. A lot of them had been treating themselves with a spa or at the beauty salon, and I got convinced I should give it a try too. By now, my foot was killing me, it was swelling and I had it bandaged most of the time. I figured a nice massage could only do me some good. So I booked a treatment for the next morning, some 150 euros for 90 min, 4 different types of massages. (Thank god for insurance, I knew I'd be able to claim some of that money back. There's no way I was willing to pay that much for a massage.) I killed some time walking around, I went to read outside on a sun chair for a bit and by noon I was back by the pool for Lunch.

*Let me make a quick note about what happens on the cruise everyday. Everyday, there is this little newspaper that is distibuted in every room, trust me, READ IT. It's so useful. It tells you all of the activities on board all day, schedule for meals, show times, everything! Also the arrival and departure times. It also mentioned tea time, which was a wonderful discovery (more on that later) and my favorite was one that would show what lunch special there was. See, everyday, at lunch time, they had a poolside mini station that would cook something special, and it was usually delicious. If there was a way to be aboard at lunch time, that's where I'd be.*

So today they were having having a gyros station. Oh, it was soooo good. I've always been a sucker for gyros to start with, but in Greece, it's a whole different level. A lot of us gathered there to wolf down on food before the meeting. Yesterday in Istanbul, everything had been planned by Contiki, but today was different, there had 2 optional activities offered, a city tour and an excusrion to some ruins, but Laura had suggested skipping on those. She said that it was too expensive and not worth it, and that there was an hop-on hop-off bus starting at the port. That seemed like the perfect solution, so no one took the optionals. It felt weird to get outside and not realy have to follow a guide or have anything specific organized. We followed Laura for a bit, just to get some basic instructions, she gave us a rendez-vous point for later that afternoon, main square under the clock tower, so we could go pub crawling by the water. I'd say maybe half the group decided to head straight for the pubs. But it was a beautiful day and I wanted to explore the city and see some of the sights as we felt so rushed yesterday in Istanbul. So the buses idea was great, in theory. What did not make sense was that there was ONE little bus waiting, and there were thousands of people getting off the boat. Sigh, and of course the next bus was only in 2 hours. That wasn't fun at first, everybody wondering what to do and blah blah blah.

We ended up, a random dozen of us, getting the maps of the city out, and figuring we could walk, following the bus stops's path, so that we could see the sights and then eventually get on the bus, when people would get off. (Again, good idea in theory lol)It was a very sunny, very gorgeous day. We walked towards the water, after applying plenty of sunscreen and this time I was wearing appropriate shoes for walking, although my foot still hurt. I'll say it right now, Izmir was one of my favorite places ever. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why, it wasn't the best day, but it was incredible. I absolutely loved it. So we started walking, going in the general direction of the water, we lost a few people by the pubs, who decided they didn't feel like walking after all. We made photo stops whenever we could, it was so beautiful. There were also the "Picture guys" They were standing by the water, with a big camera and a color printer and they would take your picture for a Lira (about .50 cents/Euro) I was so charmed by the concept, I got the guy to take a pic of the 7 of us, and I was trying to get 2 for a Euro. It was funny, we kept arguying, 1 Lira or 1 Euro, and it just didn't make sense to me, as 1 euro is about 2 liras lol No one else really wanted a picture, why buy when you can take your own, but we ended up putting all our coins together and everyone got a copy of the pic. I love that picture!

The first part was easy, getting to the water, the more "touristy" area, with a few monuments and all the pubs ans restaurants. From there, it was also simple to walk to the main square, with the clock tower and the spice market and everything. But we also wanted to get to the Agora and the ruins, and that was pretty much in the opposite direction. So we figured out the map, and started walking again. It's hard to describe that day, the sun was shining, it was very hot (I went through like 6 bottles of water) I was in good company, we would stop here and there at stands and shops. It was fantastic. We were basically lost and always wondering where we were, not a very rich part of town, a bit sketchy, but it felt real, you know? I wasn't on a bus looking out the window, I was right there. Exhausted and sweating and pretty much limping, but living the dream. After a lot of walking, more sunscreen and water, we finally made it to the Agora. Somehow, we never really saw that stupid hop-on hop-off bus, despite many signs. We didn't actually go in the Agora, it was a bit dirty and pretty small and it was in a very secluded, poor area. We were a bit scared, to be honest. I saw some pitiful-looking kittens, small kids begging for money and lots of garbage. Our group almost broke off at that point, as we did a lot of standing around, hesitating and discussing what to do. We were tired, hot and not sure what to do. After a long time, we decided to walk back down. The damn bus just wasn't coming and people were intimidating, begging for money or taxi drivers wanting to take us on "tours". I'd rarely been that glad to have 2 guys with us.

We walked back down to the main square, and made it barely in time to meet with the rest of the group. This place was breathtaking, a jewel in the middle of the main square. It was packed, with vendors and tourists and locals. Earlier that day, I decided I was in love with Turkish flag, come on, a moon and a star? Of course I was sold. I had been looking for a tattoo shop, where I could get a permanent souvenir of my trip. I didn't see any and Laura didn't know of any "clean" ones either. Oh well, probably for the best. We sat there for a while, shared our adventures with the others and hearing about what the rest of them had been up to, I would not have changed my day. Then, as a group, we headed back to the waterfront, where we looked for a place where we could all sit

outside together. This proved tricky, as there was 50 of us. I kinda hung back a little and kept to myself, as apparently the night before had been filled with gossip and I heard stories back and forth. Well, this was Contiki after all, I shouldn't be surprised. We ended up in a small place, where we had to sit inside, at like 3 different tables. I got a cafe Frappe and then a beer and then some fries. It was all so great! I was sitting at a smaller table, with great people and the conversations were awesome too. I like quieter time when you get to know your fellow travel mates. Being on the boat with a lot of free time, you don't get to see everyone all the time.

We found out what had happened to the girl yesterday, the one we were missing after the Bazaar in Istanbul. Something happened, she got scared or something and ended leaving early, taking a cab back to the boat. At least she was safe and sound, that what counted. That girl was from South America, and she had an accent I sometimes struggled with a bit. It was funny, because her friend, who also had an accent, turned out not to be from teh same area at all. We were talking and then she said she was from Montreal !?! I can usually pick out a french-canadian accent in a crowd, but somehow, hers, not at all. It was funny to find out we could have been speaking french this whole time. I sometimes forget, I've been living in an English environment for so long now, I only think of speaking French when I go home to my family....Anyways, after this one drink, most of the group decided to go to a different pub and drink some more and smoke some chicha. A few girls and I decided to walk back to the boat, but using different streets, to see if there was any interesting shopping to be done.

A whole day in the sun, and I found out my sunscreen was not 30 spf like I thought, but only 15, so I had nice red shoulders. Lovely. We found an adorable little shopping neghborhood, compeltely typical, with basically no tourists, it was all locals. It was amazing, as people were friendly, not pushy and agressive and it was so beautiful. We had a very nice moment there. There was this one little shop, lots of souvenirs, but hand-made craft too, we must have spend like 30 min there. We all found something we liked. Next to the store there was a table with several books filled with tattoos, I couldn't believe my eyes. The drawings and pictures were incredible. We had barely an hour before we had to be back on the ship, so I knew I couldn't get a tattoo but I wished I could. I walked around in the store some more, while the girls paid for their stuff. I found some earrings I really liked, when this guy came over to talk to me. He was clad in leather with a bandana on his hair, with lots of tattoos and piercings. He was kinda cute, in a hot-rebel way. He started speaking to me, smiling and pointing at my tattoos. I had to explain I didn't speak Turkish. With a lot of hand gestures and a few English words, he was able to tell me his name Durukan, and that he was the tattoo artist whose book I was looking at earlier. We managed to talk for a few minutes, told him I wished I had time for a tattoo, because his drawings were really great. I showed him the star designs I liked, and when i told him I was from Canada, his face lit up and he said " 1 star, for Canada girl, 10 min, no charge." How freaking tempting. I hesitated, a alot, but in the end, I had to decline, the girls were waiting on me.

So we left. I hung back with Zina and June, walking back to the boat, and I was already regretting not jumping on the occasion. Zina had also felt rushed getting out of the store, there were earrings she liked and wanted to look at. That decided it. We had maybe, 45 min total before the all-aboard call and were 10 min max away from the ship. So we told the rest of the girls we were going back, and we ran back to the store. Durukan saw us and, all smiles, took me by the hand and took me to the back store, in a small room where he had all his equipment. I did pause to ask myself what the hell I was doing, but there was like 3 other employees and my 2 friends were in the store too. So, I got a simple black star. (He did try to convince me to have it done deep in my cleavage lol) But we agreed on my shoulder. (I've had so many ideas since, that shoulder will be dedicated to getting stars every time I go on a trip. Not every country, but every trip.) It did only take 10 min, he was very nice about it, he didn't want any money. Zina and one of the girls working there popped in there once each, just to make sure everything was fine. He even drew s tiny shooting star on the side of my hand, as his "signature". It was soo kool. We had apple tea with the store owner and his son and Durukan after, before we left. It was a freaking fantastic experience. They gave us evil eye pins, Durukan put a ring on my finger and I kissed him on the cheeks (We still joke to this day that maybe I got married and I just don't know haha) We would have loved to stay longer, but we were running out of time.

We had to run back to the ship, but it was worth it. We each had more stuff that we bought, had a lovely time and would remember this experience for the rest of our lives. We were too exhausted to make it to the dining room tonight, we just dropped our bags in our rooms and met back at the buffet. Then I went back to my room, to shower and change, as it was Karaoke night at the disco and I wanted to try it out. I had promised I would do it at least once. It was a very intimidating experience, as no one else was doing it, so I needed a couple extra drinks to get it started. But I did it, even though they didn't have too many recent songs, I had to go with a few chosen classics. But I got the party started, if I may say so myself, and we had a lot of fun. I drank too much, danced for too long and then even after all that, I went back to the sports bar for a few more drinks and to spend more money at the casino. It was my routine and I loved it. I went to sleep sometime after 1am, knowing I didn't have to get up until 830.....

Contiki Day 7: Med Cruise 2

Contiki Day 7: Med Cruise 2, Istanbul, Saturday September 10th, 2011.

Considering we didn't have to meet the group until close to 10am, my 730 alarm clock was a bit early. But I wanted plenty of time to get ready and go outside and take pictures of the view, approaching Turkey!!! It was another beautiful sunny day, and I wasn't the only one who had the idea of going outside. The decks were packed. I made a habit of going to the buffet for breakfast, as not all the restaurants were included. The buffet was great, at least it looked great, but it wasn't always too good. The eggs especially, were always different but always disappointing. My safe foods were cucumbers and potatoes. It didn't matter how cooked the potatoes were, every day they were great. Tea, juice, bacon, cucumbers and potatoes and I was set for the day. I also collected bottle of water to put in the fridge in the room, big and small, so we always had plenty. And I could always leave for the day with a small one in my backpack. (I found I was always filling the fridge, as the water was constantly "disapearing". I figured, I had the included package, my roommate did not, it was not a big deal, right?)

So, Istanbul, big day. The whole day was Contiki included, no optional activity. Arrival at 10am and return to the ship by 7pm. So we all met, got our instructions for the day and waited for the OK to get off the ship. This is a crazy experience by the way. Thousands of people lining up, more or less, trying to get off the ship as soon as possible, and trust me, not everyone understands or respects the concept of a line. So, once outside, you try to stick with people you know, not to be swallowed by this ocean of people, none of which are paying attention. Yes, everyone is excited to be in Istanbul. You have to cross a boder-type, security post, they xray your bags and make sure you have a proper visa (which is just a piece of paper they give you, you don't even have your passport.) After that, we met with our guide, a nice actress, I can't remember her name, as I could barely pronounce it. She was fantastic. All day-long, she was holding this yellow sign that said "Louis Crystal 5" so we wouldn't lose her, it was hilarious. We were also given this little earpiece radio thingy, so we could hear her all the time. She loved her city and the history and she loved doing tours. We had a quick bus tour, to show us a few buildings and places we would be going to.

There was a lot of walking, I was so glad I was wearing my sneakers and 2 tank tops as the weather was 41 degrees. We walked to the Topkapi Palace's Garden, which was sooo beautiful. Like in a movie. Then we headed to the Blue Mosque. Everything was very fast paced today, because we had to get to the sites in between prayer calls and it was Saturday after all. There was a very long line to wait and we were told that we would have to take off our shoes (eeew) and to cover up our knees and shoulders and hair. It's a church after all, makes sense. My pants went over my knees, I had brought a t-shirt to cover my shoulders and I had my hat, as always. (Although it does not feel respectful to wear a hat inside a church...) I made the mistake to pack one with a "V" neck, so I was refused access, until I covered up my "shoulders" with a blanket thingy they handed to me. Huh. So much for being prepared. It was very impressive to be there, although it was very crowded. I felt like it was hard to breathe. You were not allowed to speak, at least not above a whisper, as people were parying. It was hard to take pictures, but it was beautiful. Ah the ceilings! I much prefered outside, where I could put my shoes back on and give the cloth back. But it was a once in a lifetime experience, you can't go to Istanbul without visiting a mosque.

Then we walked some more to the main square and I was completely fascinated by this Egyptian Obelisk in the middle of everything. It was very surprising and so beautiful. (It was stolen hundreds and hundreds of years ago and brought here by boat... crazy huh?)

Next stop, the Hagia Sophia. Now this, this was exceptionnally beautiful. I loved it. It feels like religion didn't matter in this place, just faith. It was incredible and it had all those stories. If you can pick only place place in Istanbul, be sure to go there, you won't regret it. We had a lot of time to walk around and see everything. Then we stopped for a quick break and then walked all the way back to where we first were. The schedule and itin was all upside down because of prayer times, we had to make sure not end up locked out of a place. It had to be perfectly timed. So it meant a lot of walking and barely any time to rest. Walk, walk, faster, faster, hurry. But it was worth it. I'm skipping a lot of details here, because it's a beauty and atmosphere that I can't describe, you really have to be there to feel it.

Then we made it to the Topkapi Palace, where only a few rooms are opened to the public, and heavily guarded. That's where the Sultan and his royal family lives. It was very interesting, although we were running out of time, our guide even had to call the place where we would eat, that we were going to be late. But once we got there, it was like a huge patio, with an incredible view on the water. I was lucky enough to be able to pick a seat at the very end of the table, and pretty much stared into the distance the whole meal. We took our time eating and resting our feet. It was mid-afternoon already and I was absolutely ready for a nap. We'd seen so much already. But it was time for more.

We headed to a different part of town, to a store where we would have a Carpet sales presentation. They served us cold apple tea which was incredibly good. We sat through a long presentation on carpet. I won't say it was boring, because it was interesting, but it was a bit too long for me. And then of course came the pressuring to buy. They kept trying to make us believe they were doing us this huge favor with deals and whatnot, and I agree this was a great souvenir, and good quality, but way too expensive. (They'd say that for Contiki they were cutting the price down in half, so from 1600 liras to 800, which is roughly half in euros, so 400 euros, but they would throw in free shipping or a carry-on case and if you bargained hard enough, you could get a small one down to 250 euros, which is still like 450$ US or CAN.) No thank you. And they were pushy. Kelly and I made the mistake to go with a salesman and check out more carpets and prices, and we wasted so much time there. We didn't buy anything, although Kelly did hesitate for a while.

By the time we got out, alot of people had went ahead to the free time in the Grand Bazaar. That's where we went too, and let me tell you, this has been one of the msot incredible experiences of my life. Think a really really big flea market, but with beautiful, new stuff, not old attic stuff. It was sooo easy to get lost, there was so many stalls and alleys. The first 10 min, we got a bit scared and almost turned around. We were told that the fun part of the bazaar is to barter/bargain with the vendors and get better prices. We got one that wouldn't move his price and a few other guys circled us, a bit agressive and pushy. Some of them were flirty, but these men were scary, we felt completely intimidated. But we went back to the main aisle and then it was better. We stuck to the main one and not get lost in little corners, where people were not as nice. One thing for sure, I would not have wandered down by myself. But it all got better after that, we met friendlier people and I discovered I am actually really good at bartering. Of course, I was always buying multiple articles but I was usually able to get a very very good price. It was a very fun afternoon and I had a full bag by the end of it. I would go back any day.

We went back to the bus, so that they could drive us back to the port. But we were missing someone. We waited over 30 min, it was a big drama with everyone offereing comments and suggestions, but with Contiki, you are always told to be on time, that the bus will not wait for you. So we had to end up leaving, and the poor guide was feeling horrible. (We remembered to tip her.) We got to the ship a bit last minute, exhausted and hungry, but we had such a great day. I ran back to my room to drop all my bags, grabbed a sweater and went up on the deck, as the sun was setting and I wanted pictures before we left. (We were sailing to Izmir.)

It was so beautiful outside, I took like a gazillion pictures. I had a few people from my group there too and we had a blast. We screamed like little girls, several times, because we were right by the ship's horn and it blew a few times, it was terrifying. So freaking loud and out of nowhere, I though I was going to have a heart attack. I didn't feel like changing and going to the fancy dining room and just went to the buffet instead. Very long line, but the food was ok. I sat poolside with my book but I was joined by several other people and we chatted and had a few drinks. I always made sure to at least stop by the disco, where pretty much everyone was gathering at night, but it was always the same songs over and over again, so loud and I wasn't always in the mood for a heavy drinking night, especially after such a big day. But I always made an appearance, grabbed a few drinks and then I'd go down to my Sports Bar, for a few beers and a few Euros in the casino. The staff from both the Casino and the Bar were awesome, they really liked me, I chatted with them a lot and always got refills without asking. (Ok, it was all included, but still, I never had to ask or wait.)

Anyways, after all that, I was very glad to go to bed, and we didn't get to Izmir until 1pm tomorrow, so I could at least sleep in a little bit.

Contiki Day 6: 7 Days Mediterranean Cruise 1.

7 Days Mediterranean Cruise, Day 1. Boarding/ Free day. Friday September 9th, 2011.

Early rise, but I don't care, we are starting the cruise today!!! I'm always getting up early, to make sure I have everything ready. Excellent breakfast, this is a good hotel. We have a random bus picking us up, we had to make sure all the tags on our suitcases showed the right room number, it's complicated and there are a lot of rules. It's about a 30 min ride to the Port, and I sat at the back of the bus, and I tried to interact with my new group. I realized that most of them got to know each other at the dinner last night. Still, they all look nice enough :)

The whole process before getting on the ship was long, confusing and somewhat boring. I won't go into details, but you have to wait in line for a lot of things, you fill a lot of paper, answer a lot of questions and spend a few hours thinking you are completely lost. (They even take your passport after you get your boarding pass and you don't get it back until the last day. It's not reassuring.) It wasn't very fun. But I took the opportunity to talk to some new people again. I met this really nice girl from Montreal, Sabrina, and I detected no French accent from her, so we just kept on speaking English. (Found out at the end of the trip she was perfectly bilingual, like me, so we could have spoken either lol)

My bruises are getting darker, and I'm starting to think maybe I broke something in my hand, it's swelling and I can barely bend my fingers.

Finally on the ship. I'm super excited, it's impressive and it so totally feels like a real vacation. I like directions and instructions so it was a bit weird that there was nothing to follow. We were going to have a meeting this afternoon to discuss what optional activities we could/would do and some general information, but that's about it. Laura pointed us in general directions of things, but we were on our own. Got settled in the room, then I grabbed my camera and just went to walk around. It was a bit hectic but I was loving it. I spent hours exploring, taking pictures and trying to find my way around. I stumbled upon a big part of the group, on a deck, already drinking. I met another group at the bar by the pool, and sat down with them and had a few relaxing drinks. (I made sure I went and registered for my all-included alcohol drinks package right away. 166 euros. That way, any drinks I wanted during the week, water, pop, booze, was all included, all I had to do was swipe my card. This was great, it was my room key, my ID and my account at the same time.)

I even went to the evacuation drill with my life vest on, looking like an idiot. But it was funny, and who knows, at least now I knew how to put it on. All and all, a pretty normal almost boring day. Except I was on a cruise ship!!! I went to play Bingo with Tanya, we both won lol and we attended the meeting, picked our activities and made plans to all meet for dinner later on, before going to the Disco.

Dinner was a bit fancy, but excellent. Everyone had pretty much been indulging the cocktails today, so add the wine for dinner and we all ended up having a terrific time at the disco. It's been a long time since I've been this excited to be at a club, before 10pm haha Had a few drinks, danced, had a lot of fun but I didn't want to stay out too late as we had a pretty big day tomorrow in Istanbul. Of course I had to stop by the Sports Bar, made friends with the wait staff and bartender, grabbed a last beer and went to the casino. It was a small room with a Black Jack table and about a dozen or so slot machines. I love slots, it can be dangerous. But I kept myself in check, played cheap and broke out even. Then I went to bed.

I have to note that I don't suffer from sea sickness at all, and you could barely feel the boat move, except when the wind was exceptionally strong, and that didn't happen a lot. And it night, it was so peaceful, this rocking sensation that helped me sleep. Also, the bathroom was really small and the corner that was the shower was really tiny, and the shower curtain looked very gross. We barely ever used it. It was a very not-fun shower, as the whole bathroom would get soaked as it was all on the same level. You couldn't leave anything in there and you had to stuck your towel and clothes on the higher shelf. It was weird, but hey, at least we had decent toilets. (You can't <flush> any toilet paper in Greece, even on the cruise ship. It's a bit gross but you get used to it.)