After our stop on Ephasus, we spent the following day at sea, traveling through the Bosphorus Strait and into the Black Sea. The trip was very scenic. The hills of Turkey on either side were rolling and had gorgeous buildings with red tiled roofs, which really popped against the green of the trees. Turkey would not let anyone forget that they own both sides of the strait: there were huge flags of Turkey on either side. Eventually, the hills gave way to the Black Sea and we were on our way to Yalta, Ukraine. It is interesting that Ukraine is divided the way it is, but this section of the Ukraine is to the east of the section Russia owns that is on the Black Sea (Ukraine has land on the west and the east of Russia on the Black Sea). This area is also in the Crimean, which has an interesting history of its own. At any rate, we arrived in Yalta and were off for an excursion to a couple of palaces.
The first palace that we visited was the hunting camp of Tsar Alexander III. The grounds were lovely, with a gorgeous lily-filled pond in front. There were some interesting statues of what I believed was Pan, as well. The palace itself was a bit eclectic, with a mix of baroque, classical, and renaissance architecture.
After our visit to the palace, we went to another palace which was the summer residence of Tsar Nicholas II. It also served as a meeting place for Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill after WWII where they discussed how Germany was going to be divided. It was an interesting building, all white, with an amazing view of he Black Sea.
After visiting the two palaces, we made our way back to the ship. We then sailed on to Sochi, Russia, which is where the 2014 Winter Olympics are going to be held. As a result, most of the city was under construction. We had a nice long walk along the city's promenade along the Black Sea, seeing many of the town's old buildings, including one of the area's oldest libraries. We then took a drive to Stalin's summer residence. Man, this thing was probably one of the ugliest buildings I have ever seen. The outside was painted a moss green color that reminded me of baby food. The inside wasn't quite as bad, but the window treatments were hideous. I kept thinking to myself, "Ok, I'd have to knock out that wall to really open this room up, then I'd get rid of these floors and put in some nice wooden floors, and of course, the window treatments have got to go." It was an interesting visit.
We then went to a natural spring which reeked of sulfur, but apparently it has healing properties. After a quick visit, we headed back to the ship. That night was karaoke night on board, and to say I tore that up would be an understatement. I made several new friends that evening, which was nice because I really hadn't met too many people my age. After dancing until almost 3am, I stumbled back to the room and hit the sack. Thankfully, the next day was a sea day as we sailed to Sevastopol, Ukraine. I had a nice message and otherwise recovered from the late night the night before. At Sevastopol, I decided to not go on a group tour and do my own thing, which is exactly what I did. I strolled around town, taking in the local sights. This town is the base of the Ukrainian navy, and they leased a large portion of their base to the Russians, so there were tons of naval ships and military guys around. I headed back to the ship for lunch and walked around some more that afternoon. That evening we set sail for Odessa.
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Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Amsterdam to Turkey
I haven't blogged the last few days because it's been a busy few days. Mom and I got back to Amsterdam and hit the ground running with a trip to the Anne Frank Huis. The following day, we played tour guide some more and went on a canal cruise, then went for lunch, then Mom went on a tour of some windmills while I Skyped with my sister-in-law and niece and nephew. Then Mom went to the Van Gogh Museum and got back late. The following morning, it was up and Adam to get Mom all packed and to the airport by 9am. I was meeting two of the "Heathers" (aka Michael and Matthew) at the airport at 9:30 who were coming for a day and a night of debauchery in the 'Dam. We met up, got back to town and then hit it. Hard. We went to Barney's and had some local "coffee" and for a second there, weren't sure if we were ever going to be able to get up and leave. Eventually we did, and I led a nice walking tour of the highlights of downtown Amsterdam. We had lunch and then we got the boys all checked into their hotel. They wanted a little time to explore by themselves, and I had packing/cleaning to do, so I headed back to the house and started packing for my upcoming cruise of the Black Sea. I also started cleaning the house for my inspection of my apartment by my landlord. The Heathers called a couple of hours later wanting to meet up for dinner and drinks, so we walked to one of my favorite bars, Prik, for a couple of drinks. Then we headed to Chinatown for dinner at the famous snack shop Thai Bird. After that, we had drinks on the Zeedijk and then headed over to a leather bar because one of the Heathers (I won't say which) is into that. I led them there and had a drink there with them, but then I left them to their own devices and said our goodbyes, because I would not be up showing them to the airport the following morning. It was a ton of fun hanging out with these guys and showing them my stomping ground. I can't wait to visit them in San Francisco in October!
After all my company had departed, I really hit the cleaning hard. I have way too many things that have accumulated over the last two years to take home with me in one trip, so unfortunately some things aren't going to make the cut. I did clean and get the apartment looking nice by the time my landlord came by. I spent the rest of the day taking it easy and watching the rest of season 4 of Brothers and Sisters. The following day, in was up, packed, and to the airport by noon for my 1:45 flight to Athens. The flight was short and on-time. I love how hassle-free travel within Europe has become: no changing currency, no immigration/customs, etc. However, one must look at the political climate of the country you are going to... I had heard that the economic situation in Greece had led to some demonstrations. I had no idea how widespread, systematic, and destructive these demonstrations could be. People are pissed and on strike. No taxis. There was only 1 person at the immigration terminal of the cruise ship (where 700 people were standing in line to board the ship - an absolute nightmare). But eventually I made it to my hotel for the night, and then to the ship the following afternoon. I am cruising with Regent Seven Seas for the first time, and the hotel the night before was included! It made for as stress-free an embarkation as there could be, but the skeleton crew at the docks made the check-in process unbearably long. At any rate, I eventually got on board, checked into my stateroom (which is perfectly located - thanks Churchill & Turen!), and then went to the mandatory lifeboat drill. Then had an excellent massage, drank the bottle of champagne that was chilling in my room upon check-in, had a small bite of dinner and then went to bed!
This morning I was up and we had arrived near Ephasus, Turkey. I decoded not to go on the tour because I will be coming back and touring Ephasus next month with Out Adventures, and wanted to wait to explore the site with a little more active a group. We will be sailing into the Black Sea and to Russia tomorrow (and will arrive Saturday). Can't wait!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
After all my company had departed, I really hit the cleaning hard. I have way too many things that have accumulated over the last two years to take home with me in one trip, so unfortunately some things aren't going to make the cut. I did clean and get the apartment looking nice by the time my landlord came by. I spent the rest of the day taking it easy and watching the rest of season 4 of Brothers and Sisters. The following day, in was up, packed, and to the airport by noon for my 1:45 flight to Athens. The flight was short and on-time. I love how hassle-free travel within Europe has become: no changing currency, no immigration/customs, etc. However, one must look at the political climate of the country you are going to... I had heard that the economic situation in Greece had led to some demonstrations. I had no idea how widespread, systematic, and destructive these demonstrations could be. People are pissed and on strike. No taxis. There was only 1 person at the immigration terminal of the cruise ship (where 700 people were standing in line to board the ship - an absolute nightmare). But eventually I made it to my hotel for the night, and then to the ship the following afternoon. I am cruising with Regent Seven Seas for the first time, and the hotel the night before was included! It made for as stress-free an embarkation as there could be, but the skeleton crew at the docks made the check-in process unbearably long. At any rate, I eventually got on board, checked into my stateroom (which is perfectly located - thanks Churchill & Turen!), and then went to the mandatory lifeboat drill. Then had an excellent massage, drank the bottle of champagne that was chilling in my room upon check-in, had a small bite of dinner and then went to bed!
This morning I was up and we had arrived near Ephasus, Turkey. I decoded not to go on the tour because I will be coming back and touring Ephasus next month with Out Adventures, and wanted to wait to explore the site with a little more active a group. We will be sailing into the Black Sea and to Russia tomorrow (and will arrive Saturday). Can't wait!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Ephasus, Turkey
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