Who you callin' a Turkey?

The thing about taking a cruise is, you can take a tour for about 150$ each, or you can get off the boat, start walking, and make your own tour for free.  So those of you that know me, (yes, fellow goodwill shoppers) know that I am taking the free walking tour every time.  Even in Turkey. 

The kids cop some attitude before swimming in the Aegean.  Who does that?

There are tons of things to do in Turkey, but we decided to not do any of them, opting instead for time on the beach and in a Turkish market.

In the same harbor as we were docked was the USS Cole.

http://www.cole.navy.mil/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cole_bombing

In case you can't remember, the USS Cole was attacked by Al Qaeda in 2000 and 17 Americans were killed.  It was sobering to be in the harbor with a bunch of others who may or may not have recognized the Cole, and to contemplate why they were in Turkey, and if they were getting a better deal on fake watches than we were.

Because is there was anything to buy in Turkey, it was fake watches.  Or carpets.  Which may or may not have been fake.

Really, when you walk around a Turkish market, or a port, or around the Vatican, it is quite evident that the counterfeiters have won. You can get fake ANYTHING pretty much anywhere.  They have done such a good job it makes you wonder if you can get real stuff anywhere.  I mean how do you KNOW that coach bag is REAL?  Macy's may just be the biggest and smoothest counterfeiter ever... And what is REAL anyway?  Is that coach bag imaginary?  No. So then it is real, right? 

Can you see the lens flaw?  No, because the camera is upside down. 

That is not easy, but it is easier... thanks to...

Obviously if I am taking pictures with an upside down camera it is time to get back on the boat and get to our next port.  Which we do.  And it is Rhodes, Greece.  A place so pretty it is just about impossible to take a bad picture.   The old town of Rhodes, where we are, is surrounded by  a wall like the one behind the kids.  The wall is to keep pirates out.  The layout of the town is to confuse the pirates, and well, it worked on me.

The hearty pirates...

R-man giving money to a cute kid, with a puppy, playing an accordion.  The first of many of cute kids, with accordions, and puppies, that we would see. 

See, who could take a bad picture?

If you have seen this picture already, you know... these boots KICK our butts! 

After getting our butts kicked we get back on the boat and are greeted by this crowd  doing water aerobics.  And it makes you wonder if the Muslims might be right about the topic of swimwear and general covering up-ness...

I mean, maybe they were right about this one thing...

don't you think these two ladies might look better in...

http://modestsea.com/full-cover-swimwear

...the EMMA? 

Religous conversion over.

Next day, we go on a cruise tour. To a volcano and hot springs.

We are walking up the active part of the volcano.  The islands of Santorini make up a huge volcanic caldera which was last active in 1956.   You can still see steam excaping and smell sulphur.

The caldera and the White Island.

Feeling the heat.

Seismic monitors.

The second part of the tour, jumping off the boat and swimming to the hot springs.

The water is full of iron and other minerals, which you can see on the shoreline.

When you get to the spring (on the upper right of the water) you can smear the mud all over and wallow like pigs.  Which is FUN!

I had to add this picture.  I love the ad for Special Offers.  What is more special than Fatal Lung Cancer?  Maybe 2$ off? 

Now to the main island of Santorini, where the options to the top are gondola, or donkey.  We choose gondola.

The top is crazy Greek pretty.  But CROWDED.  and HOT. 

And for variety we decide to walk the donkey path down.  Which seems like a good idea, and fun, until you hit

the donkey smell.  Which is not fun.  At all. And the donkey poop. 
Which makes you want to throw your shoes away the second you get off the path. 

Which we do not do.  But we did scrub them well, and next time, we'll take the gondola both ways.  HA! 

More of Italy... heck yeah!

Ready to set sail on the Celebrity Equinox, eat way too much at the buffet, and see some more of Italy. 

Loving the deck and the sunset.

Sicily was exactly what you would think if you were thinking of an island that was the birthplace of the mafia. The streets were quiet and covered with graffiti, it was hot, and every car that passed us looked capable of involvement in a drive by. And so, we walked quickly, paid full price, and then got back on the boat. The place we were walking to was a monastery and memorial for soldiers that had lost their lives in WWI and WWII. The roads were meandering, and we could not seem to get to it, until finally,

We get there.

Outside there is a huge bell, and a view of the town and the cruise ship.

Us, walking around the streets of Sicily.  If you ever decide to move to Italy, one thing I would say is, please make sure that your stuff looks good as it is dripping dry, because stuff is hanging everywhere, and no one is very bashful about having their undies just flapping.

Love this car.  The kids are in the picture for perspective. 

This gorgeous building is deserted.  All the shops are closed, and there was no one around.   And so while our time in Sicily was brief, I would like to go back and get some Sicilian style pizza.  someday.

Yup, it is definitely time for a new camera.  See that black wishbone thing on the left side, that is a flaw in our lens, and it is in every picture from here on out.  A couple of times the date will be upside down and on top of the picture because I thought it would be a good idea to flip the camera and get the wishbone in the water, or in the rocks or something, of course forgetting about the date... yes, I am not that bright....
So here is the Acropolis in Athens, as viewed from another hill across town that has a tiny church on it.

Us, and Athens.

On the climb, Pooks found this cute turtle.

This lady was NOT happy that we were here, she was trying to clean the slates of the church.

Next stop of the day, the Acropolis.  Can you believe that this is a SLOW day???  This place was mobbed.  I would have hated to be there when it was busy!

These are some spare parts they had lying around.

This place is Zeus' Temple.  The funny thing about Greece, they have so much historical stuff, it's like, let's wait until this stuff all falls down, THEN we'll fix it.

These fierce looking guys are guards of the Parliament Building.  When you see protests on CNN in
Athens about the austerity measures, it is happening in this square, with these guys keeping everyone under control. 
And yes, those are big pom-poms on their shoes.

Our next stop was the location of the first public latrines.  I know, who wants to go to Disney when you can see this stuff???  Right???  So, according to the big sign, this rectangular building has an oblong lobby and a rectangular hall, with a bench with round holes around all four sides.  Hmmmmm......  

Who needs to go? 

Last stop of the day was a shopping area, where we picked up the ouzo for our party in NH, and some evil eye jewelry to keep us safe.

We also had to try some good Greek beer. 

And of course some baklava, from one of the most famous bakeries in Athens.  Founded in 1920 this baklava was fantastic.

AND it comes in this cute little box with a ribbon.  Who could resist?  Not us!