• Sharon Menne
  • Deb Horrocks
  • Sharon Menne
  • Deb Horrocks

Ancient Mediterranean

A 9-day adventure by Sharon & Deb Read more
  • Trip start
    August 24, 2024

    On our way!

    August 24, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F

    Thanks, Catherine, for a safe ride to the airport. And Angela, for the delicious breakfast. We are all checked in and our first of three flights is on time. Here we go!!!

  • Frankfort, Germany

    August 25, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 63 °F

    Our second flight was over 8 long hours. Upgrading to Economy Premium was nicer than Coach, with larger recliner seats, large blankets and meals with menus, real plates and utensils. The pillow worked best for my butt!
    For dinner onboard I chose the salmon. Breakfast was cheeses and fruit. In Frankfort now, waiting for our third and final flight to Istanbul.
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  • Viking Jupiter

    August 25, 2024 in Turkey ⋅ 🌙 75 °F

    It’s 2:00 AM in Istanbul Turkey. We swiftly got through customs and by the time we got to baggage claim our Viking greeter had already retrieved our luggage. He guided us to our vehicle. It took about an hour to get to the ship and it was surprising how many people are walking about the city, eating in sidewalk cafes and driving the streets and highways late at night. We were welcomed onboard with champagne and warm towels and dinner in our room. We have unpacked and ready to get some rest.Read more

  • Istanbul Turkey

    August 26, 2024 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Our morning started with a beautiful waffle breakfast onboard. Then we headed out to our tour. Istanbul, previously Constantinople, is a city of 13 million people. The hilly and winding cobblestone streets are narrow with lots of traffic, both walking & vehicles. The country is a unitary democracy under a President with 4 year term limits. However, the current president has been in office 22 years. To every rule…Read more

  • Mosques & Markets

    August 26, 2024 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    On our tour we visited a small mosque. Our knees and heads had to be covered, our feet bare. Muslims pray at 5 set times of day after being called to prayer, noon being the longest. The men and women are separated inside the mosque, which holds no benches. The color blue represents royalty and the mosque we visited displayed 77 shades of blue.Read more

  • The Spice Market

    August 26, 2024 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    At the Shozey Spice Market we sampled Turkish Delight & learned the remedies of several different teas and spices at a booth a family has operated for several years, spending way too much money, but what an experience. The booths are owned by individuals but the market is owned by the Mosque.Read more

  • Turkish Baths

    August 26, 2024 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    The Hammams, Turkish Baths, are a big part of Turkish culture. The Cagaloglu is a 300 year old bath house offering several different “services”. We were each taken to our private changing rooms where we donned a sarong and relaxed in the hot room, then bathed and massaged in bubbles laying on a hot marble slab. After a shampooing we were doused in cold water before getting dressed and served a hot tea, Turkish Delight and a cherry liqueur.Read more

  • Dining & Departure

    August 26, 2024 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Back onboard after our tour of Istanbul we dined at the Chef’s Table restaurant which offered a fixed 5 course dinner with wine pairing. The first course of sweet potatoes topped with a creamy blue cheese and apples was accompanied by the sparkling wine John & I chose for our wedding. The third course was a Moscow Mule which cleansed our pallet with vodka, ginger beer and lemon flavored ice.
    As we enjoyed our dinner we left port. We will be arriving in Troy in the morning.
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  • Canakkale Turkey

    August 27, 2024 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    Today we traveled into the Asian portion of Turkey. Our first stop was Canakkale, a seaside city with a beautiful Clock Tower, Canakkale is famous for their ceramics, dating back to the 17th century.

  • Explorer Club party & Dinner

    August 27, 2024 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    After enjoying cocktails we attended the get together for past Viking guests where we enjoyed champagne and appetizers of sushi, crab cakes & prosciutto. At dinner Sharon was able to enjoy her favorite German wine and being nostalgic I ordered the same Spanish sparkling wine from my wedding day. We both started dinner with bisque & prawns. I has lamb shank and Sharon enjoyed poached salmon. I had picked out my dessert during the galley tour. Sharon’s was crème brûlée.Read more

  • Trojan Horse

    August 27, 2024, Aegean Sea ⋅ 🌬 81 °F

    In Canakkale is a Trojan Horse. There was a movie filmed here, and after the movie, the horse was left behind. Also, French cannons scattered around memorialize WW1.

  • Galley Tour

    August 27, 2024, Aegean Sea ⋅ 🌙 79 °F

    I don’t ever remember seeing this much stainless steel in one place! The galley went on and on, from smaller kitchens for specialty restaurants and room service (breakfast being most busy) to the separate sections for meats, seafoods, breads (over 500 #s of flour each day), pastries and cold preps with their temperature controlled refrigerators. There is a large area just for cleaning pots. And standardized menus across the Viking fleet to ensure consistency. The menu is established six months ahead, rotating every 14 days, except in the Chef’s Table restaurant where the menu is the same for all guests, but changes every two to three days. Our guide Pablo started in the kitchen 8 years ago working his way to Chef de Cuisine. His next step will be Executive Chef. There are 3 executive chefs on duty in this galley that operates 24/7. Each worker knows their schedule exactly, a year in advance. Food deliveries are received every 10 days. With daily consumption numbers of 1200 eggs and 100 pounds of bacon served at breakfast as an example, I can just imagine the budget. But Chef was very proud that Viking’s customer satisfaction is #1 in food service and overall experience.Read more

  • Relax!

    August 28, 2024 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    Today was our day to relax. We skipped our excursion which we were told was a smart thing to do. We slept in, had a leisurely lunch and I enjoyed a wonderful facial in the ship’s spa. We walked around the various decks, exploring the art and different areas to enjoy music and cocktails. We shared a table at dinner with a couple who seem to make a life of cruising, writing books about cruising and keeping a travel blog. This, he said was their 69th cruise. After dinner we went to the ship’s theater for the entertainment, shopped in the jewelry shop and called it a day. A GREAT day!Read more

  • Rhodes Old Town

    August 29, 2024 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Rhodes, the 4th largest of the Greek isles, is the most well-preserved, with the Old Town built in the 11th century BC. It was developed as 3 separate city states by people who shared a language and religion. In 408 they formed an alliance to protect themselves from enemies who wanted control of the harbors for trade purposes, conquered by the Romans & others. Then, finally, the Greeks. We walked around Old Town behind its wall while learning of its history. Along the cobblestone streets are restaurants and shops, a mosque and a former school where students learned the Koran, a castle and the French Consulate. The island is 97% Christian Orthodox, 3% other religions.Read more

  • Rhodes Grand Palace

    August 29, 2024 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    The Grand Palace was originally a hospital for the Knights of Rhodes. It served as a fortress, headquarters and palace for the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes. To be a knight, one must be Catholic and of royalty. The society of the knights is St John still has about 700 members and meets often on the island.Read more

  • A drive along Rhodes East Coast

    August 29, 2024 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 91 °F

    After lunch on the ship we took a drive around the island. The guide was very difficult to understand but the views were breathtaking and the stop for Greek snacks and Ouzo was interesting.

  • Lobster Night

    August 29, 2024, Aegean Sea ⋅ 🌬 86 °F

    Lobster was the star of the show in both the Restaurant and the World Cafe for dinner this evening. We chose the restaurant with Lobster Thermidor and Cherries Jubilee, sat on the pool deck and listened to the band for a while before grabbing a cocktail and heading off to the room.Read more

  • Crete!

    August 30, 2024 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    Crete is economically supported by farming, mostly with grapes and thousand of olive trees.
    Grapes are grown for raisins and wine. The winery that we visited served us three wines and a snack. We are not big wine drinkers but the sweet white was a winner.
    Pottery is also widely popular on Crete. We visited a shop, enjoying the skill of the owner & the very reasonable prices.
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  • Countryside of Crete

    August 30, 2024 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    From our ship, docked in Heriklion, Crete, we took a ride through the hilly roads of Crete. There are 2472 islands in Greece. The isle of Crete is the largest with about 600,000 residents in its 24 villages and four major cities. Less than 7% of the island are inhabited. The scenery was of villages and farms. The first village had a typical Greek Orthodox Church. Orthodox priests are required to be married. And they must have children before they can have their own parish. Olive trees have silvery leaves. The olives grow from green, to grey, to black. You will find green olives are smaller as they are not fully grown. The black olives produce the most juice which is the olive oil. The olives are pressed between layers of stone in a temperature controlled setting. The first press is the extra virgin olive oil. The third is mostly used in soaps. The seeds and skins of the olives are used for fuel. They were used in the pottery workshop to fire the kiln.Read more

  • Evening Onboard

    August 30, 2024, Aegean Sea ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    This is our last full night onboard. We experienced Greek food in the Old World Cafe, watched the sunset and enjoyed the Farewell entertainment. The staff and crew were introduced (ratio 2 guests to each crew member) and we heard from the Captain. A nightcap and ready for rest!Read more

  • The last supper onboard

    August 31, 2024 in Greece ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    Back from our final tour we ate lunch, napped, packed & ate again. It’s 10PM, our bags are ready for pickup and we will try to rest until our 2:30 AM departure for the airport.

  • National Archaeology Museum

    August 31, 2024 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    There are 37 museums in Athens. The one chosen for our tour was much more interesting than I expected. The art, dating back to the 7th century BC was explained, the different materials used, how movement was depicted, how the faces changed from perfection to realism. The use of gold for masks, helmets out of wild boar tusks, and ritualistic pitchers were all explained.Read more

  • Athens!

    August 31, 2024 in Greece ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    Our last day on the cruise took us to Athens. Our tour started just after our breakfast room service.
    There are 7 hills in the city. Usually the acropolis is at the highest point, but that being too narrow, Athens’ is at the second highest point.
    Athens has many churches & sports complexes, from basketball to beach volleyball. We visited the Olympic Stadium where the flame comes for one day before starting its journey.
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  • First Leg Home

    September 1, 2024 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    1:45 AM came early, but we were not the only passengers leaving at 2:30 AM. Now waiting to board our 6:30 flight from Athens to Vienna.