Photo Blogging Challenge (April 2022): Enjoy Life

 

Enjoy Life was a perfect theme for me for April. I'm just barely squeezing this in because we have had quite a busy end of the month. For the first time since the summer of 1999, which, if you follow me at all, can sort out that was about a year from our first born, Amy and I were able to take a big trip sans kids. A trip that took us overseas for the first time since that 1999 trip, a new continent for us, Asia Minor, and two new countries, Turkey and Greece, We were a little afraid that the trip would be cancelled after Russia invaded Ukraine; Turkey isn't too far away, but our fears were unfounded. We were also a little nervous about traveling on a cruise ship in this day and age but we were a little under 50% capacity, proof of vaccine was required, masks were required in public areas, and the tested us before boarding. On to the pics!

 

We planned an extra day in Istanbul to get a taste and a we got a huge meal! We had a wonderful tour guide that met us at our hotel at 9am and got us back at 7pm. We walked a bunch. Our first stop was Topkapı Palace. We spent close to two hours looking at all to be seen there.

We had a few hours to kill before boarding our ship so I pulled up the Geocaching app to see what was nearby. I found one at the terminal to The Orient Express and it was just a few minutes walk from our hotel. I snagged that and we walked around a bit more. We found our ship and some fishermen and enjoyed the view for a bit.

There is so much ancient history in this part of the world. This is the Library of Celsus in Ephesus. It is one of the sites there that have been uncovered in my lifetime. Truly amazing to walk through the same paths that people have walked for thousands of years.

In Bodrum, Turkey, we stayed at port until 11pm and that allowed us to try out a Wine Tasting dinner at a local winery. The wine and the meal were fantastic. These three guys, along with a cat friend, provided the entertainment.

In Santorini, we rode this gulet to an island with an active volcano. We hiked to the top of it to check out the crater. We later sailed to another island close that had hot springs from the volcanic activity. I was able to swim over the hot springs and enjoy a tiny bit of warmth from the very cold ocean.

It was an amazing trip. We ended our cruise in Athens on May Day. It was just about impossible to pick just five photos. If you have the inclination, take a look at my Flickr Album and enjoy the rest of my trip! I know I did,