Thank you for this wonderful, detailed trip report!
Your photos are lovely! Your dresses are so fresh!
We were on the same cruise with you, and you captured the festive, yet relaxed spirit of the cruise beautifully.
The service was impeccable; the food scrumptious; the gym well equipped; the spa delightful: the literary fascinating.
You made me appreciate the whole experience afresh, despite the 26 hours it took us to get home last night.
Warning to all travellers:
Heathrow is a hectic challenge, understaffed, with a palpable undercurrent of panic as crowds try to make their connections.
Expect to sprint to your gate after the circuitous security checkpoints-- yes, plural security points.
I am not suggesting the security level is unreasonable, just that it is very time consuming and a bit frantic.
Their understaffing puts their personnel under untenable stress.
Please know: they are very strict about all your liquids and jells being in the plastic bags they provide or you already have. I mean, all. Every lipstick, every cream, every random condiment.
A man from our cruise spent a stressful half hour as they tested and examined his luggage because of one tiny tube of toothpaste, buried beneath his clothes.
Seeing him try to reassemble the previously orderly contents of his suitcase made an impression.
Disobey their rule at your peril, as my small jar of honey at the botom of my backpack and I discovered.
I should have known better. All on me.
We just made our gate as they were already well into the boarding process.
That was stress I could have prevented.
Luckily we arrived and departed within the same terminal.
Please read the signs and bag your liquids/jells.
I agree the heat in Athens was formidable.
We went on a mid morning food tour that was fun and informative, as we hugged any available shade.
We also highly enjoyed the "new" Acropolis Museum.
Stunning views of the Acropolis, air-conditioned. Lovely cafe inside.
Incredible displays of artifacts.
My daughter and son in law went on an evening electric bike tour on Friday night that they wished they had skipped.
The Plaka was simply too crowded with pedestrians to maneuver safely; the heat was too much; the guide was disappointing in sharing relevant information.
We had a terrific meal in a Plaka restaurant.
Ephesus was the absolute hIghlight of the trip for all four of us-- mind blowing magnificence.
The tour of the ancient Roman homes was worth every steep step!
Several elderly people on our tour feared they could not climb the 150 steps and the steep slopes up and down, but they all accomplished it without incident!
They took their time and navigated impressively.
I admit I was scared of falling.
I urge people to wear sneakers with excellent traction to remain secure on the downward slope, exiting the ancient homes, if you choose that tour.
And it may help to bring a walking stick for balance.
Istanbul was an exotic revelation, beautiful, vast, cacophonous, Intriguing city.
The jenky exit off the boat on the included waterway tour was ridiculously dangerous.
Not the Viking Sky, the waterways tour boat.
The tour itself was enchanting on the Bosphorus;
the exit from the boat to the dock over a half inflated tire and rickety steps set at a tottering angle was insane.
We agree Rhodes was lovely-- so picturesque. Our Viking guide there was great.
Troy was hot and confusing, the various versions of the city difficult to distinguish, at least for me.
But I loved being there, able to visualize The Iliad.
The site will benefit from more archeological investment in the future, hopefully.
Our guide's comments throughout the tour showed he is no fan of the Allied Forces.
Gratuitous comments about WWI that no one on the tour prompted from him.
Given the majority Viking clientele on that tour, it would have been prudent for him to employ more tact and diplomacy.
The Australians, in particular.
Gallipoli resonates tragedy still.
It was, however, super interesting to appreciate, on site in Canakkale- Troy and in
Istanbul, the strategic importance of the Dardanelles in the geopolitical sphere throughout history and today.
