Sleep in this am, very nice....Roger been to the gym, I just woke up!
Lovely morning on the Aegean Sea....like a milpond again. Heading to Kusadasi this pm, afternoon tour.
I ordered GF french toast for breaky, hope they don't forget it.....I'm over eggs.
Just found out that our new best friend Mark has the Norovirus!!! Oh heck....he collapsed last night in the lift after dinner, poor thing....in quarantine now.... Fingers crossed for the rest of us. Molly has decided to come with us for the pm.
Kusadasi is a very pretty seaside town, pop. 67,000......(in summer swells to 500,000), midway on the Aegean Coast, beautiful place.
First stop, St. John the Apostle Church....St. John was given charge of Mary, Mother of Jesus after the crucifiction.....he brought her to Ephesus.
This is reportedly where St. John wrote 'Revelations' - he died at 103 and is buried here.
Also a Mosque - named 'Mosque of Jesus Christ'!
Next the 'House of the Virgin Mary', this is apparently where Mary spent her final years following the crucification.....wow what a spiritual experience, amazingly peaceful place (it has been partially restored), lit a candle, blessed ourselves with the holy water and saw the miracle wall with thousands of hopeful miracle requests.
This sight is a pilgrimage place for Christians and also visited by Muslims who recognise Mary as the mother of one of their prophets.
Last but far from least, 'Ephesus'.......wow if this isn't Turkey's hidden treasure!.....
.......we haven't seem Athens yet but this will take a bit of beating.....
A Greek/Roman ancient city that used to be seaside 2000 years ago.....extraordinary.....it is only 1/8th excavated and is amazing (worth googling!) - too much information to scribe!
It had a pop. Of 250,000 (calculated by the size if the theatre)
It became abandoned due to malaria and earthquakes, it used to be seaside but due to silting of the river is now several kms from the seaside.
This city believe it or not, had it's own water and sewerage system via terracotta pipes, the water system is still used today and is piped from a spring miles away!! Such cleaver people the Romans!!
Somewhere that has to be seen to be believed!!
The nearby town of Seawuk is the capital of the silk production in Turkey.....acres of Mulberry trees....the only leaf the silk worm will eat!
Our guide was probably the best guide we have had on the holiday.....very sweet man.....didn't even ask for tips!!!!
Kusadasi streets are littered with amazing shops, cafes.....such a holiday mecca. Believe it or not I bought a new leather coat......hopefully a bargain!
This is a place that we would definitely revisit following a Lotto win.....charming
place.....
Back to the ship by the skin of our teeth to sail into the sunset over the ocean....
Stopped off at the Duty Free on the way back to the ship and picked up a couple of French Sauv Blancs for €5, very nice.
Ordering pizzas tonight on the balcony cannot be bothered getting dressed up for dinner......
Wow what a day......life doesn't get better than this! What did we do to deserve this....
Athens here we come....nice to be able to sleep on the way instead of sitting bolt upright on a plane!

Roger's added thoughts of the day......

You would not think after being married for 40+ years you would still be learning things about your partner......
I thought Eileen was upset with me by the way I spoke to the hagglers, but she wasn't, she was upset by constant hasselling by the flaming hagglers, they really upset her.
We found out later that all the females felt the same, and some of them would not even get out of the bus. A least the cat was brave enough to do that!

Over here apparently the shopkeepers play tricks with your credit cards....they double up by adding the sale to your card again once you have left.
So when we bought Eileen's jacket (even though I had given him a card with a small limit), I grabbed him by the back of the neck (he eas smaller than me!) and said I would be back to break his arms if he ripped me off! He was a great bloke and enjoyed the fun.

Had a wonderful day here.....it is certainly a day we will remember for the rest of our lives.