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

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.)