245: capri, italy

Day 13:

Salerno, Italy

{capri} 

Our last destination..Salerno, Italy. I knew from the get go what I wanted to do at this port. The last time we had been to Italy, we ran out of time and had to choose between Pompei and Capri. We chose Pompei, but I always wished we could have seen the Blue Grotto on Capri. This was our day! We took the ferry over to the island of Capri, then had to take another boat over to the Blue Grotto. Once there, we had to get on another little row bow to be  rowed into this tiny hole, carved into the mountain, that took you into the grotto. We had about 5 minutes in the grotto, but it didn't disappoint. The water was a blue color that I'd never seen before. Our rowboat driver sang to us, to make it even more authentic. It was pretty amazing! I can cross that one off my list. It wasn't something you necessarily need to do more than once. It cost a small fortune, with all your boat rides and then a 12 Euro cave entrance fee per person, but it was worth it.

We were one of the first boats to take off for the Blue Grotto, so we had the privilege of towing some of the rowboats. 

 You had to lay completely down in your boat while the driver held on to a chain and pulled you through the tiny cave hole. There was definitely a traffic jam of rowboats, outside and inside. It's got to be a great source of income for someone! 

I only wish I could have captured it perfectly. It was too dark for my flash to work, plus, a flash would have washed it all out.

 

Here's a little video that I captured to give you a small taste of the Blue Grotto.

I wish I could say everything about Capri was wonderful, however, the funicular to the top..Anacapri..was not working, which left crowds of people to use public transportation {taxis were next to impossible to catch}. After sitting in a very HOT line, for what seemed like an hour, we finally got on our bus. It took us to the chairlifts at Monte Solaro. Jim doesn't care for heights, but he trudged through this for me {he's waving behind me in the top picture}. 

Totally out of Jim's comfort zone..he spent most of the ride down on his phone. It made him terribly nervous that I was practically hanging out of my chair to take pictures.

 A random garden we saw on the way up..that's the fanciest scarecrow I ever did see! The Italians..they're all about fashion.

View of the Faragolioni Rocks

This water was insanely beautiful. We didn't bring any towels to go swimming because we didn't think we'd have time, but we had to make time. I had to go in. We found a little tourist shop, bought a towel, and made our way to the very rocky beach.  I had to say I swam in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It was lovely!

We did take a taxi down from Anacapri to the dock..it was CRAZY! I think there were only inches separating us from the big orange bus.  Not to mention, the streets are so narrow there really should only be one car allowed. It's all part of the adventure on a small island in Italy.

 Mr. Sandal maker..how I wish we had time for you to make me a pair of custom sandals! So many colors, so many choices..I just didn't have 3 hours. Should have found him first thing, once we got there, but I didn't!

 The sea village of Amalfi, along the Amalfi Coast

Beach space is at a very high premium..I loved the red and yellow umbrellas. 

244: day at sea

Day 12:

Day at Sea

Sabbath on the Sea.  I had my own version of church. I was probably the only one on the ship reading their scriptures by the pool and memorizing scripture mastery. It was a restful day followed up by the last formal dinner.

 All the fluorescent lighting did not lend itself to great pictures. I think it was the ships ploy to get you to buy their professional photography for outrageous prices..$25 for an 8x10.

These were our table mates for a majority of the cruise.  We loved sitting with the older folk..they had so many great stories and great travel advice.  The couple to the left were from New Zealand and the ladies to the right were best friends from Australia. One lives in Sydney and the other in Perth, and both their husbands don't like to travel, so they are each others traveling partners. 

243: santorini, greece

Day 11:

Santorini, Greece

Santorini was one of our favorites.  Every view lent itself to a postcard picture.  It was breathtaking with its small, picturesque villages hanging off the cliffs.  Whitewashed houses were built into little niches in the rock and the colors, against the whitewash, just popped. From the colors of the Aegean Sea to the colors of the buildings to the colors of the flowers, they all complimented each other perfectly to give so much variety to the eye. We had to take a cable tram to get to the top of the island (actually crater..it was a volcano). On the way down, we didn't want to wait in the hour long line for the cable cars, so we walked down the very narrow streets with throngs of donkeys.  We could have ridden a donkey, but walking was quicker and less sketchy. If only the pictures could emit smell..that trail was quite fragrant with waste. It was a perfect day, in a perfect, quaint sea village town.

I wish I took more pictures of all the colored doors we saw..they were pretty cool!

 Not a bad view from your front door!

 More lovers locks atop the highest point in Oia

 Crystal clear water of the Aegean Sea

 Local art..lots of little ma and pop tourist and art shops around the island. Jim was just about ready to sell everything, move to Greece and open a little tourist shop..a quiet, simple life!

Pure excitement comes when we see one of these!!

 Stinky steep steps 

Just what I would picture an older, greek island man who runs a donkey train, to look like. Look at those feet! Probably doesn't care if he walks in crap. Such a simple life.

 A view of the steep trail we walked down from the top to the bottom! 

242: kusadasi, turkey

Day 10:

Kusadasi, Turkey

Ephesus

Turkey was a major highlight for us! I was especially excited to visit Ephesus, as we had learned about it and many other surrounding places in my New Testament seminary class last year. This was like a field trip for me. The sites were amazing. It was hard to wrap your brain around the fact that the Apostle Paul walked the very dirt trails that I walked on. We sat in the theater that he addressed all the people. We walked the streets where ACTS 17 took place. We were probably the youngest on the "biblical tour" by about 15 years, and the only ones who didn't take advantage of the special mass they put together for our group at the House of the Virgin Mary. Instead, we browsed the gift shops. Turkey was an incredible place and I would love to go back and spend more time.

 Ephesus

 The Basilica of John..here lies the tomb of John the Apostle

 Our tour guide..he was Muslim, but knew more about the Bible then most Christians. I can still hear him hollering into his microphone, which went right to our ear pieces, "#14 follow me...#14 this way...#14 hurry please..#14 follow the orange umbrella" 

 Another section of Ephesus

 The great theater in which Paul preached in.

How I would have loved to be sitting on these uncomfortable rocks listening to the Apostle Paul preach!

 Library of Celsus

 Biblical "public" restrooms..they must have felt very close to one another after a bathroom experience.

 The throngs of people who flock to Ephesus

 If you look in the newer bibles, this is almost exactly the picture that shows Ephesus.

A little show with Cleopatra and Mark Anthony

This was the prison of the Apostle Paul..I had to zoom my lens to it's full potential.

 We visited the House of the Virgin Mary.  It is believed that this is where she lived the last 11 years of her life. It is a very sacred spot to many.

 Sacred, holy water from the House of Mary..I was just thirsty, so I filled my water bottle. I'll take any blessings I can get.

 A prayer wall..I love finds like this.

 One can't go to Turkey without a demonstration of carpet weaving. Now, if it could just stop with the demonstration, that would have been great! No, we had to be swindled and pressured heavily to buy a Turkish rug. We escaped! We did not come home with the 3x5 rug they tried to sell us for $2,500.

 A cool statue on the boardwalk in Kusadasi..The Hand of Peace

Kusadasi literally means:  bird island.

 Ataturk Statue

Basking in the Aegean Sea.