Life Through My Eyes

Today is Wed, Sept 30th:
We got to sleep in a little later this morning because we weren't positive that we were going to get of the ship at Kusadasi, Turkey. Due to a State Department Warning about US citizens traveling into Turkey we were a little hesitant about getting off the ship. After discussing it we decided to venture out and see a few sights in Kusadasi. We got off the ship around 11:15am. We found stores and shopping opportunities everywhere we turned. We found out quickly that the stores owners and employees would stand or sit outside of their store. As we walked by their store the owners would aggressively try to get you to come in. What we also learned quickly is that all prices were negotiable and negotiating the final price was part of the buying ritual. The price listed on the items were usually shown in Euros but because of the conversion rate we found it to be much cheaper using the Turkish Lira. We learned to walk into a store and if we saw something that we were interested in we would ask the owner for his best price. Once that was given to us it was at that point that the bargaining and negotiating process would begin. Veronica used this strategy when she found 2 silk scarves that she wanted. One was hand embroidered with a price of 800 Lira and the second one was priced at 400 Lira but she negotiated the price down to 400 Lira for both. After shopping and taking in some of the sights in Kusadasi we returned to our ship. The ship departed Kusadasi at 5:00pm local time.
After having another great meal at Cagneys, a steakhouse style restaurant on board the ship, we went to see a musical production show in the Stardust Theater. Unfortunately we had a hard time enjoying the show. We had chosen the 1st two seats in the row which meant that we were seated next to the stairs/aisle. For the first 30 after the show started we had people meandering in and wanting us to get up to allow them to get a seat further inside our row.
In all we were asked to get up 6 different times. And to top it off we had one couple ask us to get up and allow them to get seats further in the row and less than 10 minutes later the same couple asked us to get up so that they could leave because the music was too loud. Very inconsiderate people. The parts of the show that we were able to watch in peace and quiet were really good. It is just a shame that we could not enjoy the whole show due to certain people thinking that they were special and entitled to come into the show whenever they wanted to.
With that being said here are some of the photos that I took of our adventures into Kusadasi today:

Photos of the port, the general area around the port and one of the indoor shopping malls called the Scala Nuova

The area surrounding the city and port

The port of Kusadasi was very busy with all kinds of ships going in and out

Shopping opportunities were everywhere

We noticed this outside one of the watch stores in Kusadasi. Took this photo using our iphone while walking in a crowd of fellow shoppers.

A nice public fountain

Assorted boats in the marina along with fishermen

The Turkish flag stands tall and proud over the city of Kusadasi.

Tomorrow is a day at sea. We will have to figure out something to keep ourselves occupied

Today is Tuesday, Sept 29th and we have arrived in the Greek port city of Piraeus.
We had purchased transfer tickets to take a shuttle bus from the dock area in Piraeus to Athens, where we would be on our own to discover the city independently.
After arriving in Athens we headed towards the Acropolis which was sitting high up on a hill overlooking the city. We decided not to take the trek up there and instead headed to the Plaka. The Plaka is the oldest historical neighborhood in Athens.

The Plaka is mainly a pedestrian only area but we found many taxis and motorbikes going here and there so we had to be careful walking around as the streets are rather narrow.
We did a little shopping while in the Plaka and then had lunch at one of the cafes where the shuttle bus had dropped us off.
After eating we decided just to hang out at the bus pickup area.
While there we observed many female hawkers working the area. We must have been asked a dozen times if we wanted to buy this "finely hand made" tablecloth. It did not matter how many times you told these women "no" they kept at it. There was a whole group of these women working this particularly dense tourist area. These folks were like vultures. These women would actually push this large cloth item into your hands to feel the quality. These hawkers did make a few sales by putting pressure on the weaker tourist that were there. Each of these hawkers had a large bag that they were carrying over their shoulder. If they were lucky enough to make a sale the hawker would just reach into the bag she was carrying and pull out another identical item as the one that just sold. The bags were packed full of the "hand made" tablecloths, which were all the same color but they came in different sizes.
There was a large police presence in the area but that did not deter these hawkers nor did the police seem the least be interested in the selling practices of these hawkers.
We were very glad to get on our bus and return back to our ship. I was not impressed with Athens at all and I think that getting rid of these hawkers that thrive on "attacking and pressuring" the tourist to make a sale, would help change my overall perception of this city.
Athens in not a place that I would want to return to.
Upon returning back to our ship we relaxed a bit before dinner.
After dinner we went to the Stardust Theater to watch a show. After the show we went to the Garden Cafe and had a little desert before heading back to our cabin for the night.
Below are a few of the photographs that I took while in Athens:

Early morning in Piraeus

Ornate embellishments on top of the architecture

Early morning shopping in the Plaka before the huge crowds arrived

Brettos Bar is the #1 rated bar in Athens by Trip Advisor

This fine gentleman was sitting out on a quiet street playing his accordion and softly singing. He was gracious enough to allow me to photograph him. We left him a nice donation for being so kind and just being himself.

We found this cool wooden Pinocchio like wooden doll that had articulated arms and legs. She was sitting on a bench in front of a gift store

A real neat old wooden door

The old wooden door was attached to this old abandoned house. It had lots of character. Unfortunately there were several cars parked right in front of this building which was right on the street