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Covidlogue -Day Five We are officially Covid negative! BUT, we are still in Covid lock down until our next test tomorrow morning. Irish, our nurse, tried to soften the blow by assuring us she would test us at 7am so we can eat in La Veranda before leaving the ship at 9am. I didn’t even roll my eyes! The last two days have been more difficult than the first four (remember we started at day zero!) I hated that we missed some entertainment, the Gatsby party and the Halloween party. I have practically memorized the menues in all the restaurants. We even skipped dinner last night as we were too stuffed from lunch. The devil on one shoulder wants to sneak out, but the angel on the other shoulder is very persuasive in telling me to sit tight. We received a lovely conference call from the management team making sure that we were content and that we were aware of the benefits of Covid lockdown. The GM joked that he would talk to the captain about parking the ship so we had a good view! I think they have either been reading this or my posts on Facebook! We are sailing the Dardanelles strait today so the scenery is beautiful and we are scheduled to arrive in Istanbul at 6 pm. I ordered another bottle of champagne….carpe diem!

Covidlogue - Day Four We had a beautiful sail away from Rhodes yesterday. The rest of the ship had a party to celebrate Regent’s 30th anniversary. I felt a little sorry for us, but champagne and a cosmopolitan cheered me up. The anniversary menu looked good and for the first time I ordered beef tenderloin which convinced me that I am just not a beef eater anymore. The rest of the meal was OK but eating in the cabin for the fifth day is getting old. We tried to make it a movie night but the sound quality on the TV was lacking so we just spent the night reading. Today we docked in Kusadasi, Turkey. I was up early and took a shaky picture of what I thought would be another picture perfect view. An hour later, though I looked out, the sun was up and I was confronted with the Viking Ocean “peep show”. Plus, the ship is not quiet. I guess it’s the sound of the generators to keep everything running, but it makes our balcony unusable. Fortunately, we sail at 5:30, cocktails in hand. i tried to whine my way out of quarantine this morning but the guidelines are inflexible. I have developed a cough and a raspy voice so I tested myself with an antigen test from my stash. Still negative and G now has no symptoms at all. We will be missing our last port in Turkey due to weather that will make tendering unsafe so the captain announced we will be spending the night in Istanbul tomorrow before debarkation the next day.

Covidlogue - Day Three We arrived in Rhodes today and, again, we have a lovely view. I have to say I’m getting tired of quarantine as G is not sick at all. Irish, our nurse, said that they won’t test him until day 5 of isolation. We are on Day 3 so that means testing on Sunday and then on Monday when the cruise ends. I’m getting a little bored with our routine so I asked if they streamed the entertainment…NO. I asked for one of the tea lights they have in various bars for a more romantic dinner en aire….NO. Today is the Gatsby cocktail party in the atrium so that’s out too. . But, the boutique manager is shopping for me by sending me pictures, which is wonderful! And, the spa sent us some equipment so I’ve invented an exercise circuit in our cabin. We have books to read and there are always movies to watch. With all the hardship in the world, I’m ashamed to complain about this experience. One of my friends called this a Covid spa stay, which it is, so my gratitude goes to Regent! Covid Spa with a view!

I’m not sure, as this is a moot point for us. Our quarantine is for six days or until the cruise ends, which in this case is the sixth day. I don’t believe that Turkey cares if we are positive or not so off we go for the two days in Istanbul until our flight.

Covidlogue - Day Two As you know, this is really day three of quarantine but the count begins on day zero. I’m getting a little bit antsy, a little bit regretful that we reported G being Covid positive. But, I keep telling myself that we had no way of knowing how his case would develop. It is benign right now but could have been life threatening. Our port today is Alanya, Turkey and we are lucky enough to have a beautiful view! But, the pirate ships arrived at nine, blasting music and encouragement in multiple, indecipherable languages as passengers dove off for a swim. Fortunately, they were on their way by 11, so now we have a handful of recreational boats in the harbor. At my request, the spa sent up a mat, 3 lb balls, and. Pilates ring so we can get some exercise. The mirrors in our cabin are great motivators to do SOMETHING to counter the slippery slope of age. We have enjoyed beautiful weather and very pleasant meals on our balcony. Tonight I will attempt pre dinner cocktails. They may just need to send up a mini cocktail shaker with the correct ingredients and a glass so all I have to do is shake and pour!

Paxlovid was on board and delivered by medical staff. MD was cautious as there are medicines one has to stop while taking Paclovid. In addition, G was given decongestants and cough medicine. Nurses visit two times a day, MD calls once a day. We feel we are in good hands.

Covidlogue - Day One When G tested positive yesterday, that became Day Zero of our quarantine. This morning he sailed through his medical check-up with no fever, clear lungs, good oxygen levels, and no temp, although he is still testing positive while I am testing negative. My biggest complaint is that we have had terrible views when docked! Today we are in Cypress and the port is loud and industrial but we can see a bit of the hills in the distance. Coffee on sail-in was nice. Our noisy view for the day: The plus side of quarantine is that we no longer have to keep up the frenetic pace of early excursions and all the activities not to be missed while sailing. I rather like ordering from any restaurant and I don’t feel so compelled to over order. As an example, last night we ordered from Chartreuse. Beet Salad, Lobster Bisque, Mushroom Soup, and Artichoke Tarte Tatin. And, a digestif from the coffee connection - sambuca and Amaro Montenegro. Very nice! Breakfast this morning came from Compass Rose. Another nice bonus is that we got a letter yesterday informing us that we now have upgraded internet. It is slightly faster and we shall see if we can stream anything. We also have the option of rolling over our on-board credit to our next cruise. What to do? What to do? They sent up the wine list last night which might be one way to spend down our credit. I also talked with the Executive Concierge about sending me a photo of some jewelry I had my eye on. So, all in all, it is disappointing to miss half of our trip, but, hopefully, insurance will reimburse us for half of our costs. We shall see!

Thanks for the well wishes. We thought we were in the well exposed category, too, and we are fully boosted, the last being on 9/30. Hoping that trip interruption as well as medical care kicks in when I file for insurance.

Yes, indeed, my travelogue has just morphed into a covidlogue. G woke up this morning with a cough. We have been diligent about mask wearing but at times it is just impossible while eating and drinking. I brought a baggy of tests with me so I tested him and the dreaded Covid line showed up in 10 seconds. I then tested him again with the same results. I tested negative and within a minute of discussion, we reported the results to reception, knowing that we would be quarantined for the rest of the cruise. The medical staff has been great. A nurse showed up in hazmat gear in short order. PCR test was positive. Medical history and consultation with MD by phone. Meds arrive in an hour. We are insured and we also got a PCR test 48 hours before the cruise. The only question mark is that our paperwork said all medical treatment is on Regent, but the Doc said it is on our account. I’m not stressing as we have travel insurance. Of course, I opted to stay with him in our cabin. I’m making it a honeymoon of sorts, although our luxury accommodations extend only to our cabin. As you can see from our first Covid “déjeuner en aire” our view of merchant ships and waiting containers is not as scenic as palm trees on a Sandy beach! The smell of diesel fuel and the sound of port clatter doesn’t help…and, I forgot to mention, Israeli military maneuvers today so overhead fighter jets add to the mix. Fortunately, G is feeling well enough with only a mild cough and fatigue which can also be attributed to our intense touring schedule. My biggest problem is how to spend our sizable on-board credit from memory. I scouted the boutique so between jewelry and vintage champagne, I hope to spend it down to zero!

Our second day in Israel went much smoother as we now had our entry pass so leaving the ship just involved a passport check by an Israeli official and bag X-ray. Our excursion was a long day to explore Safed and the Golan Heights. We traveled north from Haifa through pine forests and landscapes strewn with lava boulders as the terrain became more and more mountainous. We had high hopes for this excursion as our guide was a retired US Army chaplain who had immigrated to Israel. His Hebrew and English were fluent. The problem from the get go was that the tour agency fails to tell the guides the specific tour they are leading until arrival at the ship. So, the guides are unable to prepare which might explain why our Acre guide was constantly scrolling on her iPhone. Safed is the highest city in Israel. It was settled by Spanish Jews after the their expulsion in 1492. It is a very spiritual place with many synagogues scattered around the town. The locals of Safed are often involved in Kabbala (a Jewish esoteric school of thought) and the streets and houses are steeped in Kabbalistic influence – the doors and windows painted blue in mystical symbolism to confuse evil spirits. Safed is also home to artists of varied mediums creating an interesting the Artists’ Quarter. On arrival, we hung out for a bit as our guide had to find a map. This wasn’t a great start. We managed to find the stairs that lead level by level to the oldest part of the city and the synagogue and artist quarter. Once again we had the problem of no in-ear audio guide. The paths were narrow, we had to walk in single file, and our guide wasn’t big on explaining the plan for the day. We visited several synagogues and interesting artist shops, but the day might have been better if we had a set rendezvous spot and meeting time so we could either stay with the guide or visit the shops on our own. At this point it was about 12:30. We walked a very long way to the bus and, once on board, our guide announced that, rather than go to lunch on a kibbutz (which was about 70 km away), we would go to a wine tasting for which we were already late. Off we went to a nearby vineyard. The problem? Wrong vineyard so back to the bus for the correct vineyard. We sat down and tasted three wines. Fortunately, cheese and crackers were on the table to augment the granola bars I had in my bag. Back on the bus we traveled a scenic route, past the Sea of Galilee, and up into the hills to a kibbutz for lunch. This was another hiccup as it was past 3pm and it seemed we weren’t exactly expected or on time. Lunch was a cafeteria line, not bad, not great. The kibbutz overlooked the Sea of Galilee. On the bus again, we navigated some hair raising hair pin turns. I prayed that the brakes were in good shape as we barely made the turns, scraping the bumper at one point when there was a guard rail to scrape. We were on our way to the Jordan River but first we had a “photo stop” at a sort of amusement area. It was closing for the day so we turned around and got back onto the bus. No explanation was given so I’m not sure what we were supposed to photograph and why. The Jordan River was interesting, however. The river was full due to the recent rains. There were many pilgrims being baptized in the waters. I especially liked the youth group who enthusiastically clapped and shouted as each of their group was baptized by their youth leader. We made good time on our return to Haifa. It was almost 6pm and we were ready to part ways with the bus and our guide. We arrived at the port and went through security only to turn around and go back out. No explanation. We traveled north, then south again, on the freeway, and then on a clogged road and finally arrived at another port security entrance. We traveled north for about a mile until finally arriving at the ship. I have to say, for a moment, I thought our bus driver might have gone rogue and was kidnapping us for ransom. I could imagine the headlines!

Shopkeepers row. this is the Templar dining hall. This is a pottery fragment from the Templar dining hall. It caught my eye and I thought it was charming. this is the Templar Tunnel, an underground passageway that connected the fortified port to the palace. It was discovered in 1994 when a resident in a house above it complained of a backed up sewer. This is the Baha’i temple with its exquisite gardens. Tours are by appointment only. i think this is our Mount Carmel drive by looking down into Haifa. We were zipping along and our guide had gone silent.

Sunday morning we docked in Haifa, Israel and booked an excursion to Acre/Akko. But first we had to go through the gauntlet of Israeli security and passport control. I know this is not the first time RSSC has been to Israel and I am scratching my head why destination services orchestrated the excursions the way they did. Our time to report in the theater was 10 am. We received our bus ticket, #12, which was not a good sign as they had just called #2. The theater was packed. After your group number was called, each group had to navigate to a table to be checked off, then your belongings went through an X-ray machine, then on to a port bus which didn’t hold everyone in the group and no one seemed to be counting passengers vs. seats. The bus took you to a building for passport processing, then you had to scan the ticket the passport officer gave you, then you had to find your bus. It was now 11:30, an hour and a half into our four and a half hour tour. There has to be a more efficient procedure! Once on the road, it took about 35 minutes to reach Acre from Haifa. Our guide was a young woman and I think this was her first gig. She tried her best to narrate what we were seeing but only the people lucky enough to to be immediately around her could hear. This would have been a good time to use some in the ear amplification. We did a lot of standing around and following her like a gaggle of aging ducklings. She kept saying we would have free time to wander but that didn’t seem to happen until we just left the group to wander on our own because we were hungry and thirsty. We left Acre at 3pm (still no lunch but happy we had granola bars) and traveled back to Haifa in order to have a photo stop at Mt. Carmel. That didn’t happen as we had a bonus stop at the Baha’i Gardens. We returned to the ship at 5 pm, tired, sweaty, and irritated. A bit about Acre that I gleaned from the internet: Acre is a historic walled port-city with continuous settlement from the Phoenician period. The present city is characteristic of a fortified town dating from the Ottoman 18th and 19th centuries, with typical urban components such as the citadel, mosques, khans and baths. The remains of the Crusader town, dating from 1104 to 1291, lie almost intact, both above and below today's street level, providing an exceptional picture of the layout and structures of the capital of the medieval Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. Acre was a fascinating place and worth a visit - just go with a competent guide! *** I’ll upload pics later as the internet is not cooperating this morning.

Yesterday we had a most welcome sea day. In any port intensive itinerary you just need a break from the frenetic pace. After a leisurely breakfast, we arrived at the Culinary Arts Kitchen for our lesson in cooking fish, “Bounty of the Sea”. The venue is just beautiful with floor to ceiling windows and closed circuit cameras so you have a birds eye view of all the action. However, we were a small group and we could all get a position to see it all. We each had our own station with everything laid out that we would need. I consider myself an accomplished home cook and I was really pleased that this was not dumbed down at all. It seemed that all of our classmates knew their way around the kitchen, too. We learned about making ceviche with an acidic cure, gravlax with a salt cure, high heat cooking, shallow poaching, deep poaching and oven cooking techniques. The chef would demonstrate, then we would go back to our stations and replicate the lesson. Of course, we ate our lessons while drinking a wonderful white wine from northern Italy. i can’t say we did much for the rest of the day, other than browse the boutique to see how we will spend our on-board credit!

@PhD-ivaThe internet is slow, but it is working well.

Today is a very welcome sea day after our long tour yesterday. We docked in Piraeus with many tours on offer to Athens and the surrounding area. We chose to tour the Péloponnèse Peninsula, specifically Corinth and it’s ruins and the archeological site of Mycenae. Our first stop was the Corinth Canal which is really a marvel of engineering and connects the Aegean and Ionian seas. The first attempts were in the 7th C BC but the canal wasn’t constructed until the 1880’s. There have been some recent landslides so there is no boat traffic on the canal at the moment, although a ship captain would have to have nerves of steel to safely navigate this very narrow passage. We continued on to the site of ancient Corinth. It was a very wealthy settlement with a huge marketplace paved with marble. It was built by both the Greeks and the Romans. Although much is in ruins, the temple of Apollo is still impressive. High on the mountain is the Acropolis of Corinth looking down into the marketplace. The museum holds many artifacts from the excavation of the site, including statues, pottery, metal objects and mosaics. The museum had a robbery in the 90’s and it was not until 1999 that the museum, in cooperation with the FBI, traced the stolen objects to Miami, FL, where they were recovered and repatriated to Greece. The plundering of archeological sites is on-going. If objects are in private collections, on discovery there are no fines or jail time unless outright theft can be proven This is a sculpture of Nike. There are two square on each shoulder where wings were attached. St. Paul also lived in Corinth for a year and a half and preached the gospel on the Bema in the central marketplace. He then traveled to Africa where he sent back the famous Letters to the Corinthians. Our next stop was Mycenae. We traveled though rolling countryside, surrounded by olive and orange trees with high mountains in the distance. The landscape was lush in contrast to the arid countryside we had been seeing. Mycenae is a walled city on top of a mountain, surrounded by two higher mountains. In the Iliad, Homer aptly described Mycenae as “rich in gold”. Excavation of the burial circles found gold, silver, other metals and precious stones. The entrance is guarded by two standing lions dating back to the 13th C BC. The gate is the sole surviving monumental piece of Mycenaean sculpture, and is the largest surviving sculpture in the prehistoric Aegean. Mycenaeans enjoyed a prosperous rule over the Greek mainland and areas around the Aegean Sea, with the elite living in comfort and style, and the king ruling over a highly organized feudal system. It is probably best known as the home of King Agamemnon who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan Wars. His burial site is believed to be this large beehive monument just outside the walls of the city. It was a long day and we were happy to return to the comforts of the ship. Our reward was a beautiful sunset as we sailed away.

Today we are in Lesbos, a tender port, after a very calm sail from Istanbul. I’m not sure what it is about embarkation day, but we were both beat and decided to have an early dinner in Compass Rose. All the staff in our section were consummate professionals. The white wine of the day was a California Chardonnay which I usually don’t like so I didn’t even taste it. Instead I asked for a French Chablis and in an instant it was poured! Dinner was a beet carpaccio, mussels in a creamy herb sauce, and pasta shells with baby clams. It was all very, very good. I mentioned that we were on our first Silversea cruise in August. We were on Whisper. I found the food not to be very good and todays lunch in La Veranda was a perfect example for a comparison. The SS buffet reminded me of a collection of leftovers set up in a tight, circular space. La Veranda had a French theme today with bouillabaisse on offer as well as a variety of cheeses, pate’s, vegetable salads, and poached leeks. And, of course, there were other offerings - all fresh and beautifully presented. We were scheduled to go on a tour of Lesbos today. There were only two tours on offer, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. We arrived in the theater at 9:45 along with hundreds of passengers cued up to get a bus assignment. This didn’t look like a scenario I would enjoy, so we promptly turned our tickets back in order to walk around on our own after lunch. Now, a minor rant about destination services. This excursion procedure isn’t logical when it is a tender port as hundreds can’t fit safely on the boats. Wouldn’t it have been better to stagger the meeting times? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to assign a departure time and have passengers meet on shore? As it was, an announcement was made at around 11:45 that passengers who were not on a tour could now go ashore. So, many folks were standing around in the theater during a span of an hour or more. Mytilene, the capital of Lesbos was a quiet town with a beautiful harbor and a mountainous backdrop. I was curious about the origin of name Lesbos and why Lesbians (the sexual orientation Lesbians) are called Lesbians. It has to do with the poet Sappho who was one of the greatest lyric poets and she may or may not have been in love with Aphrodite. From various ancient writings, historians gathered that a group of young women were left in Sappho's charge for their instruction or cultural edification. Not exactly clear, I know, but I did read that there is a lawsuit pending because the citizens of Lesbos, the true Lesbians, feel that their cultural identity has been co-opted. Anyway, we walked for a bit, had a beer at a seaside cafe, watched the world go by then strolled back to the ship. At this point the wind was picking up and we had bucking bronco ride back to the ship. Tonight is Pacific Rim!

HA! It was not the absolute worst for us…that was in August on Silversea in Tromso, Norway. Took us about two hours at the hotel next to the ship with hoards of people cramming themselves into the hotel ballroom to navigate health checks, passport, and credit card stations. Once through that, we trudged to the ship through driving rain and wind, only to be turned away from the dining venue and directed to the pool grill. All I can say is thank God for heaters, blankets, plastic curtains, and, of course, alcohol.

Yesterday was embarkation day and it went pretty smoothly although the process is much like doing the “stations of the cross”. We put our luggage out at 9am for a scheduled departure to the port at 11:45. But, we had to identify our luggage at the hotel prior to getting on the bus. This required going to the mezzanine level where all the luggage was stacked in a large circle, kind of like a heavy jigsaw puzzle. Of course our luggage was in the middle which required moving aside other luggage to make a path to roll out our luggage. I did let an F-bomb slip. From there we took our luggage to the lobby and sat with it. Some busses were leaving and, although we had a later departure, we just rolled our luggage to a bus, stowed it in the hold and got on the bus. The new cruise port was about 10 minutes away and is much like entering the Starship Enterprise. After the bus was checked out by bomb sniffing dogs, we rode to the far side of the terminal where our bags were removed, then we exited the bus, then we collected our bags, then we lined up for a health inspection where we filled out a form, showed our vaccination cards, and had our temperature taken. We were then awarded a gold Regent sticker and a blue wrist band. From this station we rolled to the baggage drop. We couldn’t see what was happening but we had to wait until a mysterious signal was given and we moved on to the next station, security, where, just like in the airport, everything came off and was placed in bins, and through you went. The next stop was the Regent check-in and on to passport control. Only one officer was working this station so that was the longest wait. Once cleared, we walked through the duty free shop and what seemed like a mile to gate D, and another long, switchback ramp to the ship. Along the way, there was another stop to collect our ship security card. I wasn’t wearing my Fitbit but I imagine we achieved a significant step count. Finally, champagne in hand, we were taken to our muster station and then set free to make our way to the pool grill and lunch! Our sail away took us past the Hagia Sophia and Topkapi. It was a drizzly cool day but the sky started to clear at the perfect moment for me to get this iconic shot:

Why are replies to this post so snotty? Let’s play nice, Ok?

It is Wednesday morning, embarkation day! Yesterday, the Intercontinental was packed with arriving passengers. Regent had a desk set up with information about breakfast, luggage, the morning transfer to the ship, and available tours for those wanting to see a bit of Istanbul. The operation was efficient and well done. Yesterday we were determined not to repeat 16,000 steps by learning how to navigate the tram system. The metro is located a short walk from the hotel in Taksim square. Once we found the right entrance, I approached the machines to purchase an Istanbulkart and load it with enough money to get us around the town. Fortunately, a metro worker had positioned himself next to a machine to help hapless tourists. I learned that the card can be used between two people, but I had to load it several times as it never seemed that there was enough value in it to get us both through the turnstiles. I think I was the problem as the exchange rate is about 18 TL to a dollar, and I wasn’t doing a fantastic job calculating the math. We took the funicular (F1) down the hill then the tram (T1) to Sultanahmet. It was simple. Even with the rides and an easy day, we managed 10,000 steps. The lines too enter Hagia Sophia were, again, a mile long. We decided to watch a documentary when we get home. Instead, we got in line to enter the recently reopened Basilica Cistern. This was a fantastic experience. The pictures can describe it better than I can. Medusa’s head at the base of a column There was also an art installation throughout the cistern. It was about lunch time at this point. We weren’t particularly hungry but a beer was definitely in order. I had spotted some interesting shops and cafes on the other side of Hagia Sophia, so off we went. Looking up, I spotted a rooftop terrace. The views were lovely. Our waiter feeding the seagulls: The shops in this area sold a mix of tourist trinkets, beautiful carpets, textiles, and interesting ceramics. Since we will be back in Istanbul for two days after the cruise, I made a mental note to return! We easily navigated back to the hotel later in the afternoon with a little hiccup as the tram we got on only went halfway. Fellow passengers told us to get off and wait for the next tram. The trams indicate the final destination on the digital displays, so once you know this, it is easy to get around.

We had decided to schedule our Covid tests for Sunday evening using On-Point Testing. We had done this prior to our cruise in August with no problem. Regent doesn’t require testing to sail but you do need evidence of not having Covid on boarding in order to have Regent’s help during quarantine if you contract it on board. We received our confirmation and the link to our zoom room prior to leaving the US and thought we were all set. But, the zoom links were invalid and the website wouldn’t load. My anxiety hit the roof. I assumed they had gone out of business, but, in the elevator the next morning, a woman mentioned that many websites are frozen in Turkey. Since I was still upside down in my sleep cycle, in the middle of the night I found an e-med website associated with the Binax test kit I had brought with us. The problem? Our test kit was the “self test” kit rather than the “at home” kit so it was invalid for monitored testing. I then just did a general search for Covid testing in Istanbul and found a nearby lab that did PCR tests (tongue and nasal swab). We went to the lab, got the test done, and we had results by the evening. We had decided to spend the day in the old city and the hotel concierge assured me that the tram was easy to use so we walked downhill from the lab to the tram line. There was a chaotic crowd at the ticket kiosk with some guys trying to sell us “pre loaded” transit cards. They looked sketchy so we passed. No one who spoke English could figure out the machine so we decided to hail a cab. Three cabs refused to use meters and finally we found one who agreed on 200 Turkish Lira (about $11 which didn’t seem like a shake down) and we were off! Once in the old city, we arrived at the plaza with the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia along with what seemed like the entire population of Turkey and the Middle East. We did get some help from a shopkeeper who passed up us off to his “cousin” who also happened to have a rug shop and was nearly impossible to politely ditch. Fortunately, the crowds at the Blue Mosque assisted us in the effort. The Blue Mosque is undergoing renovation so be forewarned. There is scaffolding and construction drapes everywhere so it is difficult to take in the beauty of the tile work. We literally entered and exited in 5 minutes but we were packed in like sardines trying to exit. The bottleneck was because people were sitting on the exit stairs putting their shoes back on rather than exiting then accomplishing that task. The crush was almost panic inducing. Once outside, we went over to Hagia Sophia but the line was so long to get in we couldn’t see the end of it. So off to the Basilica Cistern only to inadvertently pass it and realizing it too late to back track. We had a tourist map in English and google maps on my iPhone was in Turkish. I should have just taken my phone off airplane mode at that point but we were well into our Accidental Walking Tour of the Old City. We asked a traffic policeman for directions but his English was only good enough to tell us how much he liked motorcycles . I am the navigator of the family and I kept reassuring my husband that it was just a short way to the Galata Bridge and lunch….well, not exactly. So, we continued on, wondering why there was a huge police presence, TV cameras and people holding signs. We had stumbled into a demonstration of solidarity for the women of Iran. We passed them only to find a larger police presence with machine guns. This time we found ourselves in front of the Iranian consulate. We continued on in the general direction of the Golden Horn only to find ourselves in the garment district of Istanbul - specifically, the underwear garment district. Store after store selling underwear and pajamas of all types for men, women, and children. All I can say is it was quite the revelation to see what might be under the burkas and layers of modest clothing. We finally managed to navigate to the spice market just as hundreds of people were exiting the nearby mosque. We followed the crowd to the underground passageway below the four lane road and tram line that borders the water and made it to lunch on the lower section of the Galata Bridge. At this point of the day we were tired and decided to take a cab back to the hotel but this was not to be, so we walked….and walked….and walked. The last section, from Katakoy to Taksim, was all steeply uphill. This section of Istanbul reminds me a bit of a grittier San Francisco. Our step count for the day was over 16,000 - a bit over 7 miles! Finally, a note about the dogs and cats of Istanbul….they are everywhere. They seem cared for and fed but not owned. There are makeshift cat houses and little beds tucked into windows and foyers. The dogs are tagged and seem to be asleep in all the public spaces. I read that they are tagged, neutered and vaccinated and this is a long tradition in Istanbul. I will leave you today with a beautiful sunset from our room. .

We were still a bit foggy today due to travel, time change, and, of course, old age. We decided to take it easy and just walk around in the Taksim district. The rain had passed and it ended up being a beautiful Sunday in Istanbul. Our room with a view at the Intercontinental: It seems that everyone was out and about on Sunday. We walked to Istiklal street which is a long pedestrian street with an old time trolly running down the center of it. There are many high and low end shops, cafes, and grab and go food shops on this street. It is the perfect place for people watching. There are side alleys with even more shops and restaurants. It can get very steep, very quickly, and reminded me a bit of the side streets in Montmartre. We had an afternoon appointment at the Çukurcuma Hamamı for a traditional Turkish bath. This ended up being the perfect antidote to jet lag. Typically, Turkish baths are separated by gender. This is one of the only ones that allows men and women to bathe together. Men wear swim trunks and women wear two piece suits. They have paper trunks and bikinis if you haven’t brought any along but, I have to say, the bikini’s are not designed for older bodies! Fortunately, we were wrapped in yards of Turkish cotton so we weren’t a spectacle. The Hamman is absolutely stunning. After changing, your first ten minutes are spent lounging and relaxing in a warm room. Then, we were led by the hand to a wet area where we sat on warm marble benches next to basins filled with hot water. We relaxed some more as our pores opened and our cares went up with the steam. After 15 minutes, we were led by the hand to another large area with a huge marble slab surrounded by more marble benches and basins of water. Our guides then sat us down on the benches and started to scrub us head to toe with a loofa like mit. Then onto the slab where we were enveloped in a blanket of bubbles and massaged. This was another 15 minutes, I think, but I was pretty blissed out at that point. Then back to the bench for a shampoo and cream rinse and doused with cool then cold water to bring you back to consciousness. Finally we were led to a cooler area where we were dried off, wrapped in dry cotton towels and led to the first room where we lounged on beds with juice and dried fruit. The whole experience was incredible. My husband is not one to gravitate to this kind of thing but he is ready to go back after the cruise. Tomorrow we hit the old city so, hopefully, we will sleep and be ready to tour!

We have had at three cruise booked and cancelled that included Istanbul and I am delighted to say that we have finally made it! We used points to fly business class directly from Atlanta to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. Although we were an hour late leaving ATL for some unannounced reason, our flight was one of the best we have experienced. We were on a brand new Dreamliner with all the bells and whistles of the 21st Century. For example, the windows did not have window shades - they dimmed or became transparent by pushing a button. I didn’t realize this until I woke up 7 hours into the 10 hour flight and the cabin was still dark. It seems that the crew tricked us into a restful sleep which was really appreciated as the flight didn’t take off until 11 pm. I loved the retro uniforms! The most unique aspect is that there is a chef on board in full regalia who comes around with the menu and any special requests. It was so late, I opted for a Meze plate and a deconstructed shrimp Caesar salad. I’m not sure what the chef actually cooked but it was a lovely, unique addition to flying. Breakfast was a fruit plate, croissant, cold cheese and meats, yogurt and honey, with the option of a feta omelette or a waffle. I passed, as the cold tray was plenty. i was most delighted at the addition of a “votive candle” in a little bag that was placed on my napkin covered tray. My mega embarrassing moment was mistaking the little cloth bread holder for pita bread. I had passed on the bread, picked up the “pita”, spread something from my meze plate into it and took a bite. OOPS! Well, it was about midnight by that time and well past my bedtime! I scraped out the food and tried to cover my tracks! Our view on landing….the TV gives you the option of seeing what the pilot is seeing. The photo is blurry but the plane was shaking! The Istanbul airport is a city in itself. It took us 30 minutes from landing to arrive at the gate, and another 20 minutes of walking to arrive at customs. Business class has a dedicated passport line but everyone seemed to be directed to the general line. I insisted, and they let us through. We were the only ones in the cue. I assumed we were in a database as the passport control officer had no interest in our visas or health declaration form. Even though we were an hour and a half past pick up time, our driver from “Welcome Pickups” was waiting for us at door 13 with throngs of other drivers and tour operators, all unmasked and smoking. It took an hour and a half to get to the Intercontinental with rain and horrendous traffic in the city. Check-in was easy and we upgraded to the club level. I think we have a view of the Bosporus but it is still cloudy and dark. I woke up to the call to prayer at 5:30 am. It really gave me a sense of place.

I emailed the hotel and the manager responded with the additional cost. He said that we would stay in the same room if we paid the additional cost for that night.

We have booked the Intercontinental for our pre cruise stay in Istanbul using points. Our last night is on Regent’s dime (well actually our dime as we paid for it in the cruise fare). We upgraded to club level for an extra cost and we will keep our room for the Regent night, too. Easy to do on your own.