Virgin Voyages, Greece & Turkey
Hello and welcome to D2 Destinations where this time we board the Resilient Lady, part of Virgin Voyages. This is a fantastic ship that’s going to take us to our dream locations in Greece and in Turkey. We go to the Parthonon in Athens where we start and end our journey. Then it’s on to Santorini for some of the most amazing views we have ever seen. We also go to Mkos for the terrific shopping and the windmills. We also go to roads and see the medieval castle. We have stops in Istanbul, Turkey to see the grand mosques and the different sites that they have through Istanbul. Another stop is in Ephesus where we see the great ruins and the house of Mary, the mother of Jesus. What a sight that was. We disembarked early to stay some extra time in Cree so we could rent this boat and go snorkeling in some of the most magnificent waters we have seen in a very, very long time. The girls had a terrific time jumping off the cliffs and doing a little snorkeling. Everybody had a great time because we stayed extra days in Cree. So, join us on the resilient lady as we explore both Greece and Turkey in this episode of D2 Destinations. Here is a list of the eight chapters in this video so that if you had one city in mind, you can go ahead and skip ahead to that section. And there is something that you must know, but nobody talks about it. This will be revealed at the end of the video, so stay tuned for that. Chapter one is Virgin’s The Resilient Lady Ship Tour. At check-in, you’ll be provided with this bracelet, which includes your room key and any room charges. Just scan it at the door or any bar or restaurant on the ship. Here’s a quick tour of the cabin. You can see there are only a couple of American electrical outlets. So, you may want to bring a power cord with you, but uh if you have a balcony, it is a wonderful place to be, including on this hammock. Sit out there reading a book or whatever. Inside, yes, it came with the pre-ordered MC Ultra and a bathroom that is large enough. Let’s say shampoo, conditioner, and body wash are provided. Where are we going? We are in Athens. We’re on a rooftop. There is the parthonon and we’re going to continue our journey uh on the Virgin cruises. Excellent. Great place for photo ops. Look at that. That’s beautiful. So, welcome aboard Virgin Voyages. This is our first time because well, I’d like to say we’re Virgin Virgins and we are now in the diner and the galley. And this is Diner and Dash. And it’s open 24 hours. That means anytime you want to get breakfast, all you breakfast lovers, here it is. What do you think? I think it’s fabulous. This whole area is on deck 15. So, anytime that you get hungry for a breakfast meal or a burger or whatever, even a cup of coffee, you can come to deck 15 24 hours a day. We are now at the sail away party for Virgin. What an awesome lunch. The Sailaway party is not to be missed. So get unpacked and get up to the pool. After the party, you’re going to want to have a great meal. So it’s very important once you get to the ship to make your reservations early for one of their fine dining experiences. There are many choices on deck 6, 7, or 15. And here we have the pink egg. Aha. It is true. Heineken attracts beautiful women. Wow. This is such a cool vibe. I love this table. Isn’t it great? Yeah. Other great locations include Razledazzle and Extra Virgin, which is a great Italian themed restaurant. Above and beyond that are the Test Kitchen. They have three different meals to choose from on three different evenings. A, B, and C. Try it more than once. We were not happy with our first goaround, but the second meal that we had there was absolutely fantastic. And if you just want a great pizza, go to the pizza place on deck 7. You’ll have your personal pizza made specifically to your specification. Other options include dinner shows right on board. You’re not going to want to miss one of these. We are on the way to a really cool dinner show called Another rose. Go ahead. This is going to be great. Thank you. This show is awesome. Another row. Fantast. We just went to the Another Row show and it was so much fun. Great food, great singers, great show and great champagne. So much fun. Like you have to go. Literally the best. Do not miss this show. What did you think about it? What more can you ask for? Singing champagne and a great time. Fabulous. Here we are out on the deck for the Scarlet Night, the red party. So, make sure you bring something red. Now, this is what I call a party. I think the girls are having a really, really good time. Needless to say, the red party is not to be missed. Remember, when you’re packing, pack something red because you will not want to miss the Scarlet Night Red Party. It is absolutely fantastic. A lot of fun to kick off the voyage. After all that fun, you’re going to want a great breakfast. And because a lot of the other cruisers were sleeping in, we were able to get into The Wake. The Wake is at the stern of the ship, and it is just a magnificent restaurant with one of the best menus on board. But I would advise you to book early because this is not a regular site with all these empty tables. This place packs up because of the views. The food is terrific. So, make sure that you book the wake early. Chapter 2, Athens, Greece. It all starts here with a lot of luggage. Finally, in Athens, we’re going to go to the Avaria restaurant where you have views of the Parthonon top of the Acropolis. Okay. How was the stay, girls? The stay was great. Yeah. Katie, don’t hide. Don’t be bashful. Yeah, it was amazing. Hey, where are we going? I don’t know. I don’t know. The Acropolis. Okay, there we go. Let’s go. Here is the early theater. Steps were created in the sixth century before Christ. What do you think? I can’t believe I’m here. I’m just uh as uh my daughter just said, it takes your breath away. We’re walking among um the start of civilization. The creation of democracy began here and um this is BC before Christ. It’s amazing like it just pinched me. I cannot absolutely incredible. Everyone should experience Greece once and this is where history comes alive. Until you’re right up beside the Parthonon, you just can’t really believe the scale that this structure has. It is absolutely huge. And a lot of the columns have had a little bit of reconstruction done to them, but this is the original stone from BC. Oh, look. D2 Destinations fans along with the Temple of Athena in the background. And here’s another view of the Parthonon from the front as we scan over to see these original stones. And just imagine the craftsmanship that this took back in the day. Up top, you need to be very careful of your step. It’s very uneven ground with shards of marble and gravel that uh thousands of years old, worn down by people walking over it. Some parts are kind of slick, but uh just want to make sure you watch your footing as you’re walking around. A slip and fall would not be fun when you have to still climb all the way down. Once you’ve climbed all the way to the top, there’s still a lot of walking to do. This area is quite massive with many different sites to see, so plan on spending some time. Is this a good spot for a This is the best spot photo. All right. Where are we? By the flag pole. Let me see the part. Yeah. Okay. Spot in Athens. This is awesome. There’s a flag. Great views. It’s a little warm, so bring your fan. You’re going to need the fan. Yeah, because uh it’s a little toasty up here. Bring a lot of water. Uh but well worth the climb and you get the great scenery as you see right here. Another great site is the Temple of Athena Nike. This was constructed between 427 and 424 before Christ. This is dedicated to Athena Nike, Athena of Victory. Hi from the top of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. is it is even more magnificent to be here than anything you’ve ever seen in the movies, in the books, in postcards. You must experience the glory of walking these steps. It just takes your breath away. After seeing everything up top, now it’s time to go down all of these stairs again. But the climb was well worth it to see the incredible views you see here. Going down is so much easier than climbing up. These steps are incredible. Of course, thousands of years old and very slippery, so be careful. Hey, now we’re heading down the steps to the museum. It’s this way. You can easily put it into your Google Maps and it’s a series of steps that’ll take you all the way down to the museum. So, you can do wait in line or you can do the scan the ticket and not wait in line just by scanning the skip the line code and then you can order your tickets right online and walk in. Okay, now that we’re through the gates inside the museum, you can see the relics that they have on display, items that they’ve uncovered through all of the archaeological digs that they’ve done over the years. This gateway takes you up to some of the main display areas. That is cool. These pieces are massive. It’s just amazing what they were able to dig up. They went through Here’s a panoramic 360 view of the main display area. They have many artifacts as you walk around through the crowd. Some of them very very large, some of them uh quite a bit smaller, but nevertheless, all of these are thousands of years old. Just amazing. If you have time after viewing the Parthonon, I would suggest going to the museum because seeing the artifacts that they have there is incredible and well worth the time and money. Chapter 3, Santorini, Greece. And now, one of the stops we’ve been waiting for is Santorini. We’re looking at the caldera of the volcanic activity which happened so long ago, creating the island of Santorini. I am so excited to be at this most amazing place. So, of course, like you, I’ve had a vision of what it might be like to be at this beautiful place, but nothing can describe it. It simply takes your breath away. Santorini is beyond imagination. Such a unique place. Oh my god, I cannot believe I’m here. What an amazing view. the three bells, the blue dome, the cruise ships, and this amazing body of water. Shortly, we’re going to travel over to the far part of the island for amazing views and shopping. Wow, what a view. Needless to say, these views are absolutely gorgeous. To see this in person is just amazing. Hopefully, you’ll be able to come here someday and see this for yourself because these pictures just do not do it justice. What’s a pretty lady like you doing in a place like this? Hoping that the man will buy me something nice. Did you find something nice? And right at the top of the hill takes you towards the blue dome through all of the different shopping area. Restaurants on each corner and the blue doors go with the white. The white was tradition for keeping the heat away. Beautiful restaurant. The blue was added for the blue of their flag. Everybody’s having a good time here in the restaurant. This restaurant has spectacular views and very good food. On your way through the walkways up to the Blue Dome. If this isn’t crowded, I don’t know what is. You come to a Y in the road. One path goes downhill and then the other path you can continue uphill up this way. Your reward for walking through the crowds are these postcard pictures that you can be proud of for years and years. This is the end of the trail. So, now it’s time to turn around and go back through the crowds and the shops and get something to eat and drink and back into the madness of the alley. Here we go. That was the scenery from all the way at the end. And now we’re going to go back towards the Blue Dome. Plenty of opportunity here for photo shots. So, we got this couple here doing a great photo shot. The blue dome and the bells. Fabulous place. Secret path right by this place. When you come down here, nondescript little pathway. But when you get down here, there’s an incredible photo op. And the photo op is right there out on the edge. This gentleman was standing up there and that’s just amazing. Now he’s down. You’re very brave. Those are beautiful shots. Thank you. Okay. And here is the main square where there’s a lot of people getting their photograph taken. We’re going to zoom up in here and see if we can’t get another shot. Right about here. All right. Okay. If you want a great beer, come and see these ladies. I’m going to put you on the channel. Say hi. Hi. And you’ll get a nice cold beer and be on your way. That wonderful place was Skisa Pizzeria Cafe where you can come in and get a beer or pizza. Of course, right here you also can rent any one of their vehicles, Jeeps, 4x4s, buggies, and they have uh mopeds, 4x4s, all for rent right here. So, you can make your way around other parts of the island. So, here we are at the black beach of Santorini. And they call it the black beach because of this sand. Now, come on in here and take a look at this. This is really, really coarse. You got to see how coarse this is. It’s unbelievable. But it’s black sand. A little rough on the feet, a little warm, but it’s not clear water sand, that’s for sure. But in Santorini, Greece, what the heck? Take a look at this beach. So now we’re inside the archway and very famous movie was shot here. Mia, what movie was shot here? Sisterhood of the traveling pants. Ah, and he helped organize the whole movie. I know you from America. Yes. Yes. Where? Florida. Yes. Really? You’ve been? Tarburn Springs. Yes. Yeah. Darvin Springs, you know, used to be captain before on the ship. Did you really? I’ve been 20 times in Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, all around the US. Wow. Wow. If you see if you see the movie, my boy that time is already 18 years ago. My boy was 6 years old and he’s together in the movie at the FedEx office in my office. So the FedEx office is your office and that was also used for them to get their makeup done, everything used all the kind of that is fantastic. I need I’m going to go rewatch it. And then on to Santo Wines where they have terrific white wine. Here comes the wines. That’s a Grand Reserve. Yes, sir. Excellent. Thank you. And they’re known for their white wines because 80% of the wines on the island are white wines. And we all we have to say is what’s the word for cheers? Yamas. Yamas. Yamas. Yamas. You can see from the scenery behind me, this place is absolutely fantastic. So if you get the chance to come to Santorini, you want to come up here to the wine bar, see the views, select. We had the reserve and one other. I like the reserve because it was a little sweeter, but uh you owe it to yourself to at least try it once. This is looking down the hill. You have to come up for the cable car. That’s one way. The other way is the cable car into the cable car. Is this cable car to go down to the ship? Yes. Okay. Yes. Okay. 10. So, uh go ahead. How was your day? And how do you think this cable car is? It was so awesome. The cable car is a little bit scary. That’s why we’re facing this way, right? How do you guys feel about this over here? Is it a little little scary? Yeah, that’s kind of like straight down, isn’t it? My stomach right now. How about you guys? You liking this or what? It’s kind of like skiing in the Alps, right? You just have to look all the way down. Wow. All of a sudden, there was silence. There was silence. That is nobody can. Oh. Oh, I’m sorry. That was that was prayer time. I interrupted. I’m glad you guys had a good time. We were in a van and I’m with six ladies, including my fiance, and we had a riot. This guy just kept the girls in stitches all day long. So, and he was really good-looking, so they enjoyed the entire favorite part of all of this is looking at how beautiful all the Greek men are. Very nice. It’s different. We’re from the Midwest, so it’s very nice here. Where are you from? Uh, we’re from Minnesota. All right. Well, thank you guys. Thank you. Do you do a channel? Yeah, we’re at D2 Destinations. And once you get to the bottom, we have the tenders waiting. You want to make sure that you’re in line early. or have another way to the top in the morning. You want to make sure you have plenty of time to wait in line for this or like we did have a uh car that takes you on a private tour which uh I think is a lot better. You can walk up there or you can take the donkeys. Okay, so here we are pulling away from the tender port. Chapter 4 is Mkos, Greece. We are now on the tender from our ship to Mkos. We got a fun-filled day ahead and uh come with us. And there’s like a million little streets and shops here. So, you got to be careful you don’t lose your group. We’ve already lost half of our group and we don’t know where they are, but they’re probably in one of these shops. But this place is just absolutely beautiful. And around every corner you get a photo op. I mean, come on. Look at that. With the blue door, the dress, the smile. Beautiful. Really nice outdoor cafe. It’s called Nice and Easy. It’s right here by the waterfront. So, you can have lunch right by the open sea. Sailboats going by. And there’s the windmills. We’re going to go up there and see the windmills. Most of these windmills were built in the 1500s. That’s the 16th century. And that’s why donkeys are still popular around here, bringing you up and down these hills. We are now in Mkos, a place that I’ve long dreamed of coming to. Maybe one of the highlights of this trip is to finally get to this wonderful Greek island. And a lot of people don’t know, first of all, it’s really windy here. So, I’m not doing this for any theatrics. It’s just I don’t want my hat or anything else to blow off. Uh, so remember that when you get to Mkos. It’s very windy. Might not want to wear a dress. Uh, number two, we are in a part of um Mkos called Little Venice. And, uh, it’s a really easy to walk here from the port and it’s fantastic. It has a different um, vibe and feeling than when you are in the other section of Mkos, but fabulous nonetheless. could get to see behind us the iconic windmills. So behind us is Little Venice. Um on one side of us was the windmills and now as we turn around we can see the the u the bay area where little little Venice is situated. All of the homes along the water. We’re going to go and have lunch down there where there’s a just a just a host of various uh great fresh seafood restaurants and Greek restaurants. Um but you can see how just lovely this is. Katarina, Little Venice. It looks like that’s where we’re going to have some food with a classic cocktails, drinks, and a nice menu. Come on. And beautiful beach area right here by all of the shops. But we’re going to head back and we’re going to go to Paradise Beach. Megan Beach Club. Hello. Welcome to Paradise Beach Club. I’m Alina and this is my colleague Angel. Lovely to meet you all. We’re waiting. We’re in Mos. What do you think, babe? You good? I think I died to win paradise. A lot of very uh handsome dancers. Okay, so here’s the handsome dancer that uh she was talking about. I had to turn the volume down, but there are also pretty dancers here to entertain the crowds and keep the party going all day long. The music is hopping, but uh I don’t want to get a copyright plug, so I had to uh lower the volume here. But as you can see, this beachfront is absolutely gorgeous. Pick your spot, hang out, and have a great time while the entertainment rocks on pretty much all day and late into the evening. And just down the beach is Tropicana Beach Club. This is a more exclusive club, and there is an extra cover to get in. Of course, there are merchandise shops where you can pick up t-shirts and memorabilia. There’s the Paradise Grill. If you get hungry, they have plenty of food here. And back over to the Paradise Beach Club. The dancers are now up on the bar. You can see it’s getting quite a bit busier. And unfortunately, we’re going to have to leave pretty soon to get back to the ship. But as the day wears on, this place just gets jampacked. So, if you’re in Mkos and you want to see a livelier beach, head on over to the Paradise Beach Club. you will not be disappointed. So, needless to say, everyone had a terrific time in Mkos. From wandering through the white streets and shops to the restaurants, going up to the windmills and looking at everything it had to offer. This is one place that you should really visit if you’re in Greece. Chapter 5 is Roads, Greece. So we are now in roads and this is a place that I had been wanting to visit for a while. Some I feel like roads doesn’t quite get the same um press, you know, Mkos or Santorini gets, but this is really a really cool city. I urge you to visit. This is the palace of the Grandmaster of Knights of Roads. The structure began life as a Byzantine citadel in the late 7th century. We are strolling through uh roads and it’s uh what a beautiful wonderful surprise. I don’t think I want to leave here. It’s a fairy tale. It’s this beautiful village with shops and tavernas and it just feels so magical. So we do love everything about this city. It’s just old and beautiful and romantic. But we also love ice cream. But this is not just any ice cream parlor. This is hungry for magic. Walk into this place. You get to be a kid again. It’s amazing. As you can see, there are a ton of shops here. So, whatever you want to shop for, they probably have it here. Whether it’s leather goods or jewelry or anything else, roads, Greece, it’s just a beautiful, beautiful city. So, I just walked into this place. I was looking for a belt and the gentleman sized me up very quickly and told me that it is buffalo leather on the belt that I selected and that he guarantees it at least 10 years if not 15 or more. So I told him I have a black belt on that’s uh been around for about 20 years. He goes it might last that long too. The king of bags. Um but they do have leather belts and everything else. So check it out. And there’s another medieval archway here to go back out towards the water. But on the inside are just tons of shops. And for the locals, they come here on the scooters. And you can see our ship in the background. We’re going this way. And the outside of it is just looks like a castle. And right this way, we walked through heading over to the old town. We made it to the hop on hop off. And now we’re going to uh take a tour around the outside of the city. But take a look at the color of that water. Holy cow. Oh, that is beautiful. How old is the castle? The roots go back to the 7th century, but the medieval structure we recognize today was built in the 14th century, making it about 700 years old. Those boats are amazing. Check out the sailboat. Of course, the resilient lady from Virgin. Beautiful beaches outside the castle wall. If you ever want to get back to your cruise ship, just put that landmark in your Google Maps and the Dolphin will bring you right back to the cruise ship area. The Aian Sea, especially around roads, is exceptionally clean and low in plankton or settlement. Therefore, the dynamic blues Oh, gorgeous. You keep shooting, baby. We are here live from Roads, Greece. What a wonderful surprise. He just doesn’t give this place enough cred. I mean, you hear about Mkos and Santorini, but I don’t know. Roads is like a secret gem. And we met these two cool people here sitting at this little cafe and from Morocco and from all over Paris, France. Right. Yes. Exactly. So tell me, what do you think about this place? Well, I frankly love it here. Like uh if we just talk about the the beaches, the infrastructure, the ruins, the ancient ruins, it’s really amazing. I would really really love that your subscribers go and visit cost island because it’s amazing and the people there are just so friendly. So uh like you can you can confirm that it’s really amazing. So you love cost that much, right? Yeah. the because of the people. The people were really nice and welcome. You feel home when you go there. The water is beautiful. The water is beautiful. The weather is The beer also is beautiful. The beer is great. Mitos beer is beautiful. We love the beer. All of love the beer. Uh but overall, Greece is amazing. The food is amazing. The people are friendly and uh Yeah, especially the people. We enjoyed it. We enjoyed it here. Yeah. Especially the people where the people that you meet. Exactly. Exactly. Travel is great because you get to meet new people from around the world and we met these two cool people and it goes like this and boom and then we love ice cream. We have ice cream together and uh it’s it’s been a blast. So it’s been a blast. Yeah, that’s pretty good stuff, huh? Really amazing. It’s melting but it’s amazing. We might party with these guys soon. Okay, we’ll be right back. Definitely. It’s happy hour. We love from Morocco, from Paris. We love you out there in America and I wish you all to come visit Morocco. I wish you all to come and and as well. See you in Paris. Excellent. Thank you guys. We really appreciate that. See you in the US. Bye, guys. And now we found the dolphin. So, we must be close to the ship. So, let’s get back on the cruise ship and go to the Wake Restaurant. We’re at the Wake. And this is one of the best restaurants in my opinion on the entire boat. So, we’re going to go around the table real quick and see what everybody got. Boom. All right, Deb, what do you have there? I the filet the Bernet sauce. Nice. This is some wonderful roasted mushrooms. Looks good. Look at this gorgeous asparagus over here. Oh, yeah. You have twice baked potato. And we have a wonderful ring of other food coming. What do you got there, Mia? I got salmon. Salmon. Salmon. Atlantic. Salmon. Lana, what did you get? I said the fillet with the chimmy curry sauce. Beautiful. I also got the fillet. Um I don’t know what sauce I got though. I got two sauces. But Katie really loves fillet. So I do. And Jenna, I also got the fillet. Oh wow. Okay. Bonap petit. Chapter 6 is ha cit. We disembarked our ship and stayed at the casa delino. Right down the alleyway is the Tam restaurant, which you got to hear this from Deb is quite fantastic. Okay, so how was your meal? Well, we all shared. That is the best music I’ve ever had in my life. And the first music I had, that was much quicker than I expected. The first music I had, I got invited to Greek Easter through a friend of mine and the family made it. I thought this is the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life. So I would order music whenever I could. And you know, I had it once before in Athens. It was very good. It was. And I got I’m like, I don’t know if I can eat this. I’m kind of full. It’s getting late. I’m like, you already made it. Oh my god. And they all they all helped me. I’m not going to skip dinner. Cre. We just had a fantastic lunch and now we’re walking down the side streets that are around here and they are just absolutely beautiful. Oh, look. She’s telling me she found a great picture spot. What do you think about this spot? I love it. I went shopping. Hopefully, you buy me something. It’s just fantastic. Outside of the Venetian fortress here on the corner, you see oversized anchors and props from ships that fought the wars in the past, guided in by this lighthouse. The best thing we did was charter a captain and his boat from Sea Adventures for an adventure of a lifetime. Okay, so here we are on the boat. Okay, we got It’s already a photo shoot. Katie on the back. Oh, that is cute. What do you think? Huh? Amazing. It’s the best thing ever. So, we have had a wonderful time traveling through all the Greek islands, but we have all fallen in love with Cit. And today, we’re going to top off our Cit adventure with a uh private tour boat ride. And uh it is so far just fabulous to be sailing on the GNC and this beautiful uh tranquil waters. I mean, look at the landscape around here. It’s just breathtaking. And we are very very very happy. Paddle board and snorkel gear included. Yellow. We got one on the paddle board. And how lucky are we to be here? Just it’s wonderful. So if you come to Creek, add this to your things to do list. Get on a boat tour and just swim in the waters that are so crystal clear. Woohoo! Get up on that. So, we have been doing a just a tremendous lifetime experience, dream, lifetime dream to come and visit all the Greek islands. And we ended up our vacation in Cit. And I just think that this flag um that I always pie on our great adventures of sums up life in general. Live a great story. However you choose to live, just go and have a good time. Life is short and uncertain. So, uh work hard and play better. And that’s good advice. And uh yeah, snorkeling. Got to love it. Deb’s best Rodney Dangerfield impression from back to school. So, that was the low low. That was a low low dive. Let’s watch the pros do it. Look at that climb up that mountain. Deb’s version of cliff diving versus theirs. And there we go. Seven. about. Okay, time to cruise on to our next snorkeling area. Oh my god, it was so cool. We felt them right out of our hands. Money well spent running a boat for the day. Old Venetian Harbor on Creek and we’re back from Sea Adventures. Everybody had a great time. So obsession. I’d love to go again right now, but they’re getting ready to do a sunset cruise. They’re turning this boat around. So, if you want to do a sunset cruise, if you want to do a sunset cruise or a day cruise, come see these guys right here at Sea Adventures. Yeah, you are the hero of it. Yes, that’s the person you talk to. And then this man will take you wherever you want to go. Best captain in the port right there. Thank you guys. I did not want to come back. I wanted to just stay on that boat and um float and just look at that beautiful landscape all day long. It was just uh it was incredible. And the water temperature I would guesstimate is somewhere in the mid70s. So if it’s 80 85 out here, you get in the water, it cools you off. It’s just a wonderful way to spend either half day or uh you can go for sunset, you can leave at 9 or 9:30 in the morning, come back at 4:00 or 4:30. After that, they have a nighttime cruise. So check it out. If you’re in CIT, that’s the thing to do. It’s a wonderful way to punctuate your trip with um just really tranquility and beauty and fun that is unlike anything else you might do on this trip. And it’s hot, very hot on the Greek islands. So this is a really also cool way to enjoy the cool waters of the Indian Sea. And you have music at the dock, too. Another good reason to come down without the docks. And if you want a horsedrawn carriage ride, those are available here, too. The old Venetian Bay on Cree is so much fun. You can’t get that smile off your face. I will remember this island for the rest of my life. Oh, look who it is. Hi. Now, it’s time to go see sunset right around the corner. We had an absolutely fantastic day. here in Cit. Uh we’re out on the boat earlier and what a great time we had with the captain and now we have this gorgeous sunset right here at Old Venetian Bay on Cree. Cheers. Cheers. We love Cit. I don’t want to leave. Please don’t make me. She doesn’t want to leave the sunsets, the beaches, the boating, the snorkeling, the food. The food, right? It’s a dream vacation. The food is the best. a lifetime of dreaming to be here and I every wake every morning I wake up thinking oh my god I’m really in Greece I really in Mkos I’m really in Santorini then there was hidden gems like roads that was our wonderful surprise you have to get to roads and then we get to cree and it got even better I mean just look at this place I’m going to spin this around and boom it’s gorgeous for a fantastic meal try this place is absolutely amazing with all the restaurants and food you have, the night life around here. You really just can’t beat this place. If uh you get a chance, there’s all kinds of different restaurants. As you can see over here, you walk down the line here, there’s just thousands of people. And this isn’t even on the main stretch. The main stretch is going to be over here to the right. And any nightclub that you want to do or anything else, you can do it right here. in Cree. And this is the night life right here on the waterfront. It’s still it’s 11:00 at night and you got all these people. So, we’re back to the harbor here. We’ve been walking around it and you can see the ring of all of the restaurants and the bars are right here. And this is a great place to be. Chapter 7 is Ephesus, Turkey. Another of our stops include Ephesus. The architecture of this ancient city is absolutely amazing. They are still working to uncover a lot of the buildings and reconstruct what once was a metropolis of Ephesus. These ancient structures predate Jesus and the technology that they had back then. and the artistry to create these fabulous buildings and structures is just amazing. They do have a modern museum with a 3D theater that shows you what this actually looked like back in the day walking these streets with some of the people that were born before Jesus Christ. On the way to our next stop, our tour guide took us by a rug manufacturing place. But the manufacturers are the women who create these by hand. These are silk worms, and they take the silk and wind it up into this machine, and that creates the foundation for the rugs that they create by hand. The girls had an opportunity to help out with the creation of one of these incredible rugs. How they tie them and then cut them by hand. They really had a good time. After seeing how they’re made, they literally roll out the carpets so you can select one that you think would go well in your home. I can describe it. It’s soft. It’s blue. It’s $23,000. We’ll never be able to afford that. So, we’re enjoying it. It’s amazing to see this wonderful people here. Thanks for honoring us. It’s priceless. Thank you. Hope you come again. Hope you tell your friends, relatives, neighbors. So, we hope we may have more kinds like you. It’s a pleasure for us to show you because it’s a disappearing art. We are trying our best to keep this art alive. Who wish to join us from closed villages coming and learning. Thanks once again. Have a wonderful holiday. And now on to the home of Mary, mother of Jesus. You can light a candle, say a prayer, and tour the facility, but no video or camera were allowed inside. Explain to them why this is a special day. August 15 is the time or the date when the mother Mary die and ascension to the heaven. Special. I’m so excited. Now let’s God exempl our wishes. We say the house of Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. Chapter 8 is Istanbul, Turkey. Our first stop in Istanbul, Turkey is the Blue Mosque. We pre-arranged a guided tour through four different mosques, which also included a boat tour. After the walking tour, all the women have to cover their hair and shoulders and your knees can also not be exposed when you’re going inside the mosque. If you wear shorts and you don’t have your knees covered, they give you this bag type of uh apparatus to put on that this gentleman has up here on the left so that his knees are covered. So, we are now in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. It is absolutely a beautiful place of worship. If you’re going to be in this double, you need to come. And of course, you need to honor the culture and history by wearing the correct um apparel of women and men. We hired a guy. He was fantastic. And uh it just really it’s amazing. This is inside the dome of the Blue Mosque. You look lovely in your head. Very cool. It’s hot. Look up. So, now it’s time to get a little ice cream. It’s getting a little warm. And like anything in Turkey, that’s not so simple. Where are you from? I’m from Florida. Where are you from? Wow. Thank you, my friends. There you go. the most fun ice cream. That’s how you work for your ice cream, huh? Thank you. We have just completed our yummy food tour. And guess what? It was phenomenal. And the word yummy described it very well. And right now, we’ve culminated the food tour with this delicious dessert. We’ve had the best Turkish baklava ever. But don’t take my word for it. This is my friend Lyanna. What do you think? I think it’s great. And you know who also thinks it might be even better? This girl. There’s no doubt about that. So if you’re looking for the place, that’s the sign. But here’s what it looks like on the square. This is the best place for Baklab. You should come to IstAnul because the one of the oldest city and offers a lot. We have history. We have great food here. We have, you know, daily life, neighborhoods, night life, very lively. Definitely, you must come to Thank you for coming on this virgin voyage with us as we went through Athens and Santorini, Mkos Roads, Hanya, Ephesus, Turkey, and Istanbul, Turkey. I hope you have as much fun on your voyage as we had on ours. Okay, you’ve waited for the end to see the tip you must know. It’s about the toilets of all things, especially in Turkey. You have to pay to use the toilet. And the urinals are quite standard in the men’s room, but that is your toilet for a men’s room and ladies room. That’s not a toilet. So, bring your own toilet paper with you. And don’t expect to be sitting down. And do not put the toilet paper down the toilet. It goes in a waste basket. Yes, that’s correct. A waste basket. So, make sure you have some local currency in coins or a debit or credit card that will work. So, there you have it. The thing you must know, but nobody talks about. So, I thought I’d let you in on this little secret of turkey. Please remember to like and subscribe. Thank you for watching.
We travel on Virgin Voyages to Athens Greece, Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, Crete, Ephesus and Istanbul Turkey! Great information is provided for each of these locations to help you plan your Dream Vacation.
Chapters:
00:00 Ch 1 Ship Tour, The resiliant Lady
07:05 Ch 2 Athens, Greece
12:35 Ch 3 Santorini, Greece
21:30 Ch 4 Mykonos, Greece
26:28 Ch 5 Rhodes Greece
32:49 Ch 6 Chania, Crete
41:43 Ch 7 Ephesus, Turkey
44:37 Ch 8 Istanbul, Turkey