Second Helping of Turkey!

Monday, April 25, 2011

                            

This is our third visit to Kusadasi so we elected not to repeat the popular tours.  It was a welcome and relaxing change to simply walk about the bazaars around the port.  There have been many changes since we were last here in 2006.  We did find the leather shop where we had purchased leather jackets in both 2001 and 2006 and the  salesman, “Elvis”, was the same goofy guy and he claimed to remember us but we think maybe that was just salesmanship.  We didn’t buy anything, but it was fun visiting with him.  The shop owners loiter in front of their shops and use clever conversation starters to entice you into their shops  For instance, “the shortcut is through my shop”, “how can I take your money?”, “I’ll give you $10 for your hat”, and any comment that made them stand out among the rest.

  

  

We had never been to the nearby Pigeon Island before.  It is an old fort which protected the harbor in past centuries.  It was a sunny but cool (53 degree) day so we decided to walk over and check it out.  There was no crowd and the castle on the island was peaceful. 

  

        

We were back on board in time for lunch.  Chris, the techspert, was teaching two classes on photo techniques using Windows Live Photo Gallery.  They were great and I should have attended sooner because I would have saved a lot of time knowing these great tips.  Expect to see photos cropped to the correct proportions and even a panoramic or two in the upcoming blogs.  I am looking forward to his next series of classes.

                            

Today we officially “resigned” from table 161.  It was becoming a very unpleasant experience and having gone through that on two previous cruises, we just said “NO!”  We have requested a table for two in the smaller (quiet) dining room but there isn’t much of a chance that will happen.  For now, it will be the Lido Deck for us.  Our plan was to sit at a table for two, but two other couples invited us to join them this evening.  The story they told will be our incident of the day:

The couple went to Murano for the day from Venice in search of a glass sculpture.  After visiting most of the shops they decided on a large sculpture of a toucan.  It was paid for and wrapped in bubble wrap and they continued shopping both in Murano and on the island of Burano.  All the while, the toucan was resting comfortably in the gentleman’s shoulder bag.  Upon returning to Murano the couple decided to go back to the first shop and purchase a small glass dog for a gift.  As the husband went to pay for the dog, the shoulder bag slipped off his shoulder and the toucan was now in pieces.  The owner of the shop offered to glue it back together, but of course, the woman was terribly upset as the toucan was just what she had wanted.  The glue job was not successful and the toucan now had a nose sliding down its face.  Brokenhearted they left the shop with the broken toucan and the little dog.  At the last minute the woman found another shop that had not closed and was able to get a parrot that she liked.  The gentleman said he will proudly display the toucan in his garage.  Barney thought it might make a great hood ornament for a model T

Tonight we sail through the Straits of Chaos on our way to Pireaus, the port for Athens.  This makes us a bit nervous.  Chaos at sea might be dangerous.