Day 15: Athens, Greece

It is not currently raining, and I woke up with a better attitude.  So I know today will be a good day!  I grabbed a light power snack to hold me until the afternoon.

I ordered an Uber.  I am starting to get used to smokey cabs but not really.  I am off to visit Ancient Agora.  

Temple of Hephaestus from below

There was a nice view of the Acropolis and apparently the first time with no scaffolding in decades. I had no desire to go there not because it cost 30€ but it was super crowded.  I had visited on my last visit over two decades ago.

Let me talk price.  I found entrance fees ridiculously expensive for foreigners.  Each site cost at least 20€.  If you are local half that so not horrible but still expensive.  Today I felt better about the cost as there was more to see compared to the Temple of Olympian Zeus.  I would have stopped at a few more sites but not for the cost!  I walked by them and just looked through the fence.   

It was nice outside to just wander around and then the rain started. Thankfully there was an indoor area to hang out with a lot of statues and museum. 

I really despise the smoking in public. It seems to be more common than I remembered last trip. Let’s not mention vaping because I have seen more adults than ever sucking on those things. I have had a headache for days!  Once the rain stopped, I got back out there and was glad I had on pants and a sweater due to it being cool today.

I met the guide for my Athens Walking Food Tour.  It was fabulous and a lot of food!

The tour ended in Monastiraki Square so I did a quick walk around before making the decision to walk back to the hotel.  It quickly became a very questionable decision to walk back.  Of course the route I selected was probably not the best or quickest.  It took me uphill to the Acropolis and down through a neighborhood under a major road and up to a familiar area near my hotel. Seriously what was I thinking?  I survived and made it at dark! 

Day 3: tasty Istanbul, Türkiye

Yesterday was so relaxing that my sleep last night was horrible.  I tossed and turned from11pm to 7am. I honestly think that I was so restless because I was still so mad at myself for the taxi scamming. I tend to not let things go and beat myself up. I finally just got up because Colin was texting me.  He is going to bed as I am waking up. The 8 hour time difference is a bit difficult.

The weather is amazing.  I am already yawning at 9am!  Today I have booked the Istanbul Guided Street Food Tour Around European and Asian Sides.  I decided to give a taxi another go since my meeting point was too far to walk.  It is in fact true that you can book a taxi through Uber and are given a price range.  Oddly enough the only cars you can get through Uber are taxis. Yusuf was prompt, friendly, and didn’t screw me over!  My faith has been restored a little bit but the sting from being scammed is still too fresh.  I was super early so did a bit of roaming around the Egyptian Bazaar and Spice Market before the tour started.  So many smells and colors! 

I have always wanted to live in a place that has open air markets but the flip side is I do not like the hustle of big cities.  I found Önder our tour guide exactly where he said he would be and was joined by five other lady travelers.  I really do appreciate when tour guides give very specific directions and a bonus if they include a photo of the meeting point!  It really does help when you don’t speak the language.  And off we went for our food tour.  We started with a traditional Turkish breakfast!  I ate a lot and this was our first stop.  Guess how many teas I had?

I tried to not drink much, because I had no idea what the restroom situation would be . . . I know at least 4 teas at the first stop; they are very small!  We then walked to the ferry to head over to the Asia side of Türkiye.  

What?  I do not remember learning that Türkiye is on two continents . . . anyway it was a quick 20 minute ride where we will continue to eat.  We had some Turkish Coffee which was interesting . . . the coffee is ground so fine it is powdery, mixed with room temperature water, and heated over coals.  The power is suppose to dissolve and settle to the bottom, but apparently I got the last bit on the pot and it was gritty.

And then we started eating things that were unknown to me . . . I am pretty sure this was the lining of some animal's stomach wrapped around some meat and roasted with red pepper on bread.  It's better not to ask but it was okay!  They guy was super nice. 

We stopped at a deli like place which was yummy!  Oh olives!  So many and all so good

At this point, I am just eating!  I have forgotten what but it was good.

A salty yogurt drink that I hated; I only took two sips and said nope!

We had mussels three ways . . . I forced them down.  Not horrible but  . . .

Now we are talking!  This was yummy and that yogurt was amazing!

Thankfully we had to walk back to catch the ferry to Europe because I was stuffed!

And if you think we are finished eating you would be wrong; fish wrap . . . ugh!

Oh but now we are talking with sweet food!

We ate from 1030am to 430pm, and they sent home with a nice box of sweet treats!

Since I had eaten so much food, I decided to walk back to the hotel.  I was regretting my decision after I realized the path was a very steep uphill climb.  I am glad I got back out there and am leaving with a positive experience from Istanbul.  I did not spend a cent on food while in Istanbul other than the food tour.  The food tour was great!  I visited a new continent today too!  Needless to say, I did not go to the lounge tonight for drinks and snacks!

Day 2: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Today it is all about food and just exploring the city.  We started with a hearty (free) breakfast at L'Otel Casa Arca.

I had planned this grand walking tour of the town with places to visit, but we were able to see many of them yesterday as the city was way more compact that I expected.  It is such a beautiful, clean city that I did not mind back tracking again today.  So we headed out to explore on foot, again.

 

 

It is a beautiful city with bright colored churches and buildings.  Of course, after all that walking we needed a snack so it was back to Chocolates y Churros San Agustín!

With full bellies we headed back to L’Otel Casa Arca to rest before our Taco and Tequilla food tour tonight!  The food tour was a great mix of local food and drinks.

We were stuffed as we returned to our room and the room next door sounded like a Mexican Disco; not that I have even been to a Mexican disco.  It was really late and they were very loud so we cranked up the fan to cover the noise and slept well in our meat locker chilled room.  We really did have a great day exploring SMA!

Day 12: sea day

I treated myself to a special lunch today called, Taste of Royal.  It is a sampling of favorite menu items at Royal Caribbean specialty restaurants (extra fee).  I have never had a meal at any of the specialty restaurants so I was looking forward to seeing if the food was really that good.  It was a four-course meal; it was very good!  The entire meal was excellent, but hands down the best course was the Fried Cheesecake!  Just amazing! 

After the meal I had to go lay down for a bit!  I don't eat this much in one setting but it was worth it!  After a bit of rest, I headed out to one of my favorite places to just enjoy the sunshine and gusty wind.

Day 5: Ponta Delgada, São Miguel Island, Portugal

I woke up ready to explore!  

I love being out early wandering the side streets without many people out.  I absolutely love all the black and white stone walkways.

Ponta Delgada lines up longitudinally with New York . . . that surprised me.  The weather is amazing and the hydrangeas are everywhere.  The guide said they can not be gotten rid of because they have taken over the island.  I had booked a walking food tour with Hungry Whales and was excited to try the local foods.

Oh I know some are interesting, but I tried them all . . . I'm talking about you cold octopus salad (top right) and tempura fried mackerel (bottom middle) . . . needless to say a second taste was not needed.  The most interesting was the araçá (strawberry guava) and pineapple.  The pineapples are much smaller (and expensive) and grown only in greenhouses.  The entire pineapple is edible and soft including the core.  This is possible because of the controlled growing environment . . . something about stressing the plants and smoking them.  It was amazing!  After the food tour, I stopped by one of the churches . . .

. . . and headed out on my own to explore the Forte de São Brás.

A final walk by the beautiful square.

I headed back to the hotel to meet my G Adventures group tour, Hiking the Azores  . . . the next 5 days should be interesting!

Day 10: Nuuk, Greenland

Nuuk is the capital of Greenland with about 20,000 residents.  

35% of the Greenland population lives in Nuuk

I was amazed at how compact and easy it was to walk around the town.  It does have a different feel than the other two towns we have stopped.  I did not have an organized excursion tour today and was doing my own thing.    

Nuuk Cathedral was closed due to construction so that was a bummer.

Sedna the Goddess of the Sea

I stumbled on a fresh market.  It wasn’t for the faint as they were preparing the local catch meat and fish for locals to buy.  I found it interesting and thought it was a great window into the life of the locals. 

 

My next stop was to the Katuaq Culture Center.  This is one thing I have been looking forward to the most.  In my research, I found that inside the culture center was a café called Cafétuaq that had a sampler plate of Greenlandic Tapas.  Now let me just say I am not an adventurous eater when it comes to trying new foods, but I really wanted to do this.

I am happy to report it was all very good and not that bad.  I liked some more than others but nothing was so bad I had to spit it out.  I spent a lot of the day just wandering around enjoying the cooler weather; it sure did not feel like 35 outside.  I popped into the grocery store to check it out.  I was impressed with the selection of fresh produce even if the prices were high. Honesty, the prices of produce in the US has become so expensive that the prices did not seem that bad since it is imported.  Most of the food in the grocery store is imported from Denmark or Iceland . . . except for fish and meat.  For example, a small personal size watermelon was about $8.

The prices are to be expected since it is all imported.  I read that fresh produce is not as readily available in the winter months due to shipping cost must be by air due to icy waters making it hard for shipment by boat.  So that might be why there is so much produce on the shelves right now.  I was a bit taken back when I saw this meat in the freezer.  That would be seal (right) and whale (left).

 

I made one more stop at the Hans Egede statue that was high above the city.  The views were lovely. 

And I hiked to the top!

The views were even better from above.  Those colorful house are so fun!

A few art sculptures as I headed back to the boat.

My new friend today is an elephant.

At this point the cruise ship has traveled 2,552 nautical miles.  Tonight, we turn around and head south towards Canada and the United States