2026–Turkey and Sicily

We are here! We will meet the Catamaran (Ola) the day after tomorrow. Boy, have they had an adventure getting here. Right now they are still out in the ocean trying to sail fast enough to moor here tonight. Today we saw 3 ruins. We walked a lot, listened carefully…

We walked down to the little town. It is now a destination for Cruise ship Tours…but has somehow retained a lot of its charm. The lady is actually our chef.. I am unsure how she ended up clearing trees! We had a REALLY good meal here (to be honest, maybe…

We had a tour guide today! Started at Virgin Mary’s House. These places where thousands of people have prayed always feel embedded with a spirit. Here is the wall with people’s prayers written on paper. Then off to Ephesus (Efes)–A Roman City of 250,000. lots has been excavated…lots more to…

I usually don’t post about lodging…but this is incredible. We were supposed to be in a Seaside Resort Hotel, but since we are going to be AT SEA for a week, that seemed redundant. So about 3 weeks ago our amazing tour company changed us to this one. I checked…

It was our last day in Istanbul and we decided to go to the Turkish Baths (Hamman) right by the Blue Mosque. They have been upgraded I am sure since 1500, but they felt very Royal and they made us feel very special. This was the entry shot from my…

This is the iconic mosque of Istanbul. It did not disappoint. Enjoy!

Our guide likes to talk about the 3 parts of Istanbul. We are in the old European side (settled by the Romans, lots of stuff from 500AD, walled city). Then there is the Asian side of Istanbul (literally IN Asia) which is more like suburbs (I think). Lastly is what…

OK– I usually do enough research that I am never completely blown away by a site when we are traveling. Well.. today I was awe struck. We went into one of the water storage cisterns left from the ROMAN times. (maybe 500AD). This is not mirrors: Then they added some…

Overall we love it. Our hotel is comfy and very Turkish. Vibrant city and very different feeling! They have Rooftop restaurants here everywhere which are delightful… these pictures are from our breakfast and lunch places. It is going to be VERY hard to convey Mosques in pictures. I will keep…

WOW! So impressed about everything with Turkish Airlines,, The Americans in front and behind us used them to go to Rome and Spain. Though, oddly for me, I didn’t sleep much, but read most of “Project Hail Mary”. Which I recommend unless the ending sucks. So oft to bed (…