Travel ....Repeat...: Regal Princess

Showing posts with label Regal Princess. Show all posts

16^TH October –

Today we arrived in Venice Italy.

We cruised into Venice at around 1030 am…. It was spectacular.

We had jostled ourselves a spot on the deck and had a birds eye view of Venice as we cruised in through the narrow canal and into the dock. The buildings were literally…as I was expecting…sitting on water. We could see the bridges..canals and church steeples from every angle.

We jumped off the ship and literally wandered like lost sheep for awhile.. finally we clicked into gear and caught the water ferry to St Marks Square.

The St Marks Basilica was breathtaking both inside and out with all the gold tiling…marble and statues.

This basilica was completed in 1093.

Doges Palace – built in the 14^th century.. was home to the “Doge” aka military Leader. The palace was the seat of power and palace of justice. The bridge of Sighs was built to link it to the prison.

The last Doge abdicated in 1797 during conflicts with France….and then there were no more Doges. The Palace is now one of Venices many museums.

The bridge of Sighs connecting the palace with prison was apparently named because the prisoners walking the covered bridge to prison would sigh as they took their last look at Venice through the windows.

The Gondola ride was worth every euro we spent on it. It was magical… we pushed off from the chaotic crowded street and into the canal… it was only a matter of minutes and we were in a canal away from everything.

It was silent other than the paddle dipping the water and the commentary of all the buildings by our Gondolier was very interesting.. We passed under many bridges including the famous Rialto Bridge…and passed by many other gondolas and water taxis.

I was amazed by the restaurants and Motels with water lapping at their doors…imagine arriving by Gondola to your accommodation with luggage in tow.

The worst part of our day was catching the crowded water ferry back to the train stop so we could get back to the Port and our ship. It was jam packed with commuters and it took what seemed forever to get back.

Tonight was our last night on the Regal Princess… we spent it docked in Venice ..like a floating Motel.

We were going to be very sad disembarking in the morning…but also excited for the next stage of our journey to begin.

12^th October – Istanbul in Turkey

Early start again… these are by now becoming the norm…

its no wonder we are pooped in the evenings.

Our first glimpses of Istanbul from the ship were so beautiful...

we could already note the difference in the architecture and counted a number of mosques with their minarets dotted around the skyline.

Istanbul was the second port that we had booked an actual Princess shore tour.

So it was another easy… follow the sheep sort of day.

Our guide for the day was lovely and very informative.. I didn't envy her the job of keeping us all together and on track…it was extremely crowded and the sites we visited were noisy and packed with tourists and locals.

So what did we visit?

Topkapi Palace – treasure filled home to the Ottoman Sultans (heart of the Ottoman Empire) for over 400 years. Built on the ruins of Constantine’s Imperial Palace it was completed in 1478. The Palace was converted to a museum in 1924 and is home to the famous Topkapi dagger… precious jewels and world famous porcelain.

Hagia Sofia – This was a true highlight. The history seeped out of the walls…and never before had we seen the merging of two religions like at the Hagia Sofia which is now essentially a museum. Even with the huge scaffolding covering a large portion inside it was possible to be overwhelmed by its sheer size and the contrast of the Christian and Islam artwork side by side.

“The Hagia Sofia was rebuilt in her present form between 532 and 537. It is one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture, rich with mosaics and marble pillars and coverings.

For over 900 years the Hagia Sophia was the seat of the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople and a principal setting for church councils and imperial ceremonies.

In 1204 the cathedral was ruthlessly attacked, desecrated and plundered by the Crusaders, who also ousted the Patriarch of Constantinople and replaced him with a Latin bishop. This event cemented the division of the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches that had begun with the Great Schism of 1054. It also means that most of Hagia Sophia's riches can be seen today not in Istanbul, but in the treasury of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice.

Despite this violent setback, Hagia Sophia remained a functioning church until May 29, 1453, when Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror entered triumphantly into the city of Constantinople. He was amazed at the beauty of the Hagia Sophia and immediately converted it into his imperial mosque.

In 1934 the, Hagia Sofia was turned into the Ayasofya Museum. The prayer rugs were removed, revealing the marble beneath, but the mosaics remained largely plastered over and the building was allowed to decay for some time. Some of the calligraphic panels were moved to other mosques, but eight roundels were left and can still be seen today.”

The Bosphorus cruise- with lunch included was a lovely respite from the crowds and persistent street sellers. We boarded for fine dining Turkish style and cruised the Bosphorus strait for about 90mminutes. The Bosphorus divides Istanbul in two..one side Europe and the other side Asia. We could see some differences in architecture as we passed by.

I really enjoyed the meal...

which was finished off with Turkish Delight..omgosh it was divine…nothing like any Ive tried before.

The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Mosque) visit was a total experience… right from the beginning of the long queue we were excited.

Donna was prepared and had brought head scarves for us to wear so we could enter.

With shoes removed we stepped inside…and WOW!

The Blue Mosque was built in the 17^th century and the interior is covered in tiny blue tiles (hence the name) it was exquisite. The Mosque is still used for prayer so we respectfully and quietly took in the beauty of the architecture and tiling as much as you could in the crushing crowd.

The last portion of our day was a trip to a carpet weaver / retail store…we were ushered into the rear of the store and given Turkish tea to sip while we were entertained by the history of carpet making and a demonstration by a woman making a silk carpet.

It was crazy …she was SO fast and the threads were so incredibly fine ..I swear if I were making the carpet it would take me more than three lifetimes and then it would be barely a bath mat.

Of course as we left...the street sellers were in over-drive...trying to tempt us into buying an 'authentic' woven carpet at a fraction of the price. Ron is always keen to play the haggle game.. but no carpets came home...authentic or otherwise.