When I woke up the boat was rocking pretty heavily on the waves. I thought about having a seasickness tablet, but decided not to because it makes me so tired and we would be landing in Izmir at 12 o clock. We went to Traviata restaurant for breakfast. Afterwards I read and blogged. Then we went out on deck and got a bit swept away by the wind. We also went to the shop on board and bought a few things.
We docked in Izmir, but decided to have lunch on board. We ate gyros (the type of souvlaki we had at that old castle) from the Gyros stand. This time we didn't eat them at a castle, but rather in the Star's lounge. They were really good, but the castle ones were better!
After lunch we disembarked from the boat. We were not doing the excursion in Izmir either so we had to decide what we wanted to do. There was a hop-on hop-off bus, but it only came around every hour on a Sunday, so that was no good. We decided to take a taxi to all the relevant sights. Our taxi driver was called Ahmed and he didn't speak the best English, but he was still nice. He first took us to the Agora, where we saw what was once a two storey shopping centre. It even had a basement, which we walked through. It was amazing walking through the archways that supported the basement roof.
Next Ahmed took us to Kadifekale, which is the ruins of a castle, built on a very high hill in Izmir. If you stand on the castle wall, you can see the whole of Izmir. We admired the lovely view and then I decided that I wanted to buy a scarf from one of the ladies selling them there. Mom, Ash and I all bought a scarf. Ashlyn bought a brown and green one (Ranger colors). Me and mom decided to share the scarves we bought- I got a red and black one, while she got one with green and gold. They are beautiful!
We then carried on driving through the narrow street to the Kemeralti Bazaar zone. Most of the shops were closed because it was Sunday, but we still got a feel of the hustle and bustle. We didn't spend too long there- you can easily see yourself buying something if you stay long enough!
Finally Ahmed took us to the Clock Tower. It is not really old (built in 1901) but it is beautiful. We admired the square it stands in and then it was time to go back to the ship.
After we had boarded I posted my blog for yesterday. Then we went and sat on the balcony of deck 5 and watched as we left Izmir. There were lots of seagulls following our ship because people were throwing bread for them. Mom and Dad had the 'cocktails of the day' which was called a Quiet Sunday. Me and Ash went and got an ice cream cone on deck 9. I had one scoop of vanilla with chocolate bits and Ash had a scoop of strawberry. We sat a watched the scenery a bit longer and then me and Ash came back to read (Ash is reading Ranger's Apprentice and she can hardly drag herself away from it!)
Finally it was time for dinner! We went to Caruso on deck 5. We had a buffet (of course) My favorite dish was their chicken wrapped in bacon. It was amazingly tender and full of flavor! Then we went to bed.
PS. I've really been struggling to comment- so please don't worry I don't reply to your comments. I am still reading and enjoying them!
Now YOU have a problem with the comments, when finally my problem was sorted out? You need Werner! But not to worry, I don't expect an answer back. I wondered what was the extra on your plate (second last picture). Maybe I didn't 'get' it?? I like the Sultan (or Saltan?) boy! I couldn't figure out who was in the picture 'swept away' because it LOOKS like Ashlyn, but it LOOKS like YOUR clothes.......But your hair looks short?
ReplyDeleteI went 'back' to your first souvlaki and the castle. That was with Nikos, the taxidriver. Sabrina mentioned souvlaki on her facebook.
ReplyDeleteOE - doesn't your dad look grand. I love that you have books with you to read. I still remember holidays and books I read, and they somehow "grew" together into one big experience. Although I do seem to remember that I wasn't the most popular member of our family because I always had my nose in a book!
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