John Edward Cooper’s Notes
Tuesday 24 September 2013
|
[2013] [Monday 23 September 2013] At Sea Day 267 Tuesday 24 September Esther 6-10 Cruise News 
Janet started moving ca.6am, after a sleepless night; so I put clothes on, intending to go to breakfast with Janet, then shower, etc., later. Before that, I went up and out onto the Promenade Deck. We’d seen an island passing the porthole, and I wanted to take photos. I was surprised to see the forward part cordoned off because of strong winds, for till I got to the cordon the wind didn’t seem that strong — but it was, there! 
Tuesday 24 September 2013 — 06:42:06 Views from the starboard Promenade Deck 
Tuesday 24 September 2013 — 06:42:50 Views from the starboard Promenade Deck 
Tuesday 24 September 2013 — 06:43:06 Views from the starboard Promenade Deck 
Tuesday 24 September 2013 — 06:45:16 The way forward cordoned off 
Tuesday 24 September 2013 — 06:47:50 Warning on the door to the port side 
Tuesday 24 September 2013 — 06:48:36 View from the port Promenade Deck Then back to the cabin, and with Janet to the Lido Restaurant, where we saw the sun come up. 
Tuesday 24 September 2013 — 07:05:48 Sunrise through the restaurant window 
Tuesday 24 September 2013 — 07:09:02 Sunrise from the restaurant I was OK there — I had orange juice, Rice Krispies, and bacon, sausage and baked beans — till Janet came with an omelette, when the egg smell made me feel a bit queasy, so I left. 
Tuesday 24 September 2013 — 07:16:34 View from the starboard Promenade Deck 
Tuesday 24 September 2013 — 07:18:10 View from the port Promenade Deck Copied this morning’s photos (07:25–07:26), edited them (07:34–07:45), and made a PowerPoint presentation (07:46–08:11). Janet had come back. Showered and shaved. We asked Ver the cabin steward about the air-conditioning, and he turned the control dial. I pasted the captions of the PowerPoint show for 30 Aug. 2013 into “2013.doc” [the Microsoft Word document that I use for my diary] and started adding the photos, but my eyes felt heavy. Janet went for a walk while I was doing this… At 10.15am we went to the Broadway Show Lounge for the “Port Showcase”, and it was very cold in there also — not because of the weather, which was warm, but because the ship was refrigerated! I couldn’t understand how some people in skimpy tops and shorts could stand it; I wore a jacket and was cold. Your shore excursion guide 
 Then we went to the covered part of the open deck behind the Lido Restaurant, had some coffee and went through “Your shore excursion guide”. Then we went to the “Destination Services” desk — there was a big queue there, but we had to get our bookings for tomorrow done by 1pm — and, after finding out whether it was feasible to do both, booked the “Taste of Istanbul — Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Cistern” and the “Tale of Two Continents Cruise” for tomorrow. We also booked “Athens and the Acropolis” for Friday. I fancied a trip along the Corinth Canal, but both trips started around the same time in the morning. When we went for lunch we found a spot near the window that finally wasn’t cold; Janet even took her coat off. After that, ca.1pm, we went to Hemingway’s Bar. I had a pint of Heineken and Janet had a hot chocolate; and we decided what bookings to make for the rest of the week. We didn’t fancy either of the tours from Mytilene, Lesvos, on Thursday and decided definitely just to explore Mytilene ourselves. The tours from Marmaris on Monday would end after our pickup time to go to the airport, so they were out. We considered the tour to Miletus and Didyma from Kuşadası, but decided not to book it, and just go to Selçuk by dolmuş. In addition to what we’d already booked, we decided to add “Ancient Delos”, a boat trip from Mykonos on Saturday. We (Janet, principally) chatted to the couple who’d sat opposite us, and we finally returned to the cabin ca.2.30pm. It was a little warmer in there, but Janet turned the dial round to what appeared to be its hottest setting. Resumed the pasting of photos into “30 Aug. 2013” but felt sleepy; lay down and fell asleep. Meanwhile, Janet went for afternoon tea. Janet records that she also had a nap but that we were both awake ca.5.30pm. We went for dinner at 6pm, calling en route at “Destination Services” with a quick query, and investigating the best seating position in the Broadway Show Lounge. As on the Thomson Dream, the rail in the balcony was too high, resulting in looking at the stage through glass, so we decided we’d sit somewhere in the lower level. After dinner, it was announced that there’d be a commentary as we entered the Dardanelles, and that the best position to be would be the forward part of the Promenade Deck (Deck 6); but when I got there, there were too many people at the rail. I looked up, though, and there were hardly any people up on the uppermost deck (Deck 10). So I found my way up there, nearly tripping over a step, and hurting my foot, when I got there. I found moving the account of what the Turkish premier[i] had said about the foreign soldiers buried in Gallipoli,[ii] even though, from a theological standpoint, it was a load of tosh.
|
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]