Grecian Holiday – The Crew - Greece and Turkey May and June 2010

I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to acknowledge the crew. Sorry officers, but you are great too! They go out of their way to make you feel welcome and special and the more often you are on board the more you realize how special they are. This is the group that takes care of us in the dining venues, in the bars, and cleans our cabins. They plan our excursions and activities, and most importunately get us from place to place in an efficient comfortable manner without ever being seen. Plus they entertain us with Liars Club!

While I know that I will miss someone and I apologize ahead of time some of them that stand out to me include:

June – a server assistant and pool attendant extraordinary, even when using that supersized mister!

Emmanuel – a server assistant and pool attendant extraordinary. He manages to take care of the bali beds and deck chairs every morning. I am not sure that I have seen anyone work as hard, with things that most of us don’t realize are being done daily.

Zoltan – the Chief bartender and Hungarian mix-master. He makes it a point to have olives stuffed with blue cheese for my martinis every day. He always has a smile on his face and bends over backwards to please.

Clint – another bartender who is funny and always there with what you want before you even know that you want it.

Colin – another bar tender extraordinaire.

Sean – a waiter who provides exquisite service and knows his product inside out and backwards and forwards.

I cannot forget to mention Jasper who was always around when an drink refill was needed, or helping serve dinner . Where does Sea Dream Come up with this magnificent crew.

Special thanks and mentions to Peter the Hotel Manager. One day I asked about a Greek beer, Mythos. There was none on the ship. When I got back from my excursion on Paros, the Mythos was chilling for me. He always managed to arrange a table for us outside, even though I know that a lot of nights it was a lot of extra work. Thank you Peter.

Jamie, the maitre’d . In addition to his other duties there were many nights when he waited on our table, he along with Peter bent over backwards to take care of us.

Amy , the Club Director, and Daniel, the Activities manager who made sure that ever excursion went off without a hitch. IN fact Daniel was kind enough to share some of his cookies with me after our stop on Sifnos. I suspect that he and I could find some nice bakeries in some quaint Greek villages.

I must also mention Elena and Yvonne, along with the others at the concierge desk. This ladies are always there and always ready to answer whatever foolish question that I have with a smile.

I also have to mention Smylia, who took extraordinary care of our cabin. Not that we have ever had a stewardess who did anything less, but the service just keeps getting better and better. It is a hard job to keep up with FT’s request for a nightly cheese tray and my diet coke needs. Anyone who returns my “T” shirts on hangers and underwear in a basket with tissue around it from the laundry deserves special credit.

I also have to mention the ghost stewardess, Jenky. One day I had a shirt get black grime on it from the funnel. The concierge insisted that I give it to them to be laundered. I went in the cabin, filled out the laundry slip and put it in the bag. We had a commodore, and I was on the other side working. Jenky managed to sneak in, and get the laundry without me hearing her, after that she became the ghost. They all do their work and we never know it.

This mentions most of the crew that is seen, but to all the unseen, the deck gang, the chefs, the motormen and laundry gang, and whoever else I am missing thank you.

More pictures are available on my flickr page by clicking HERE

The author of this blog is not compensated by Sea Dream Yacht Club in any manner.

Grecian Holiday – Part X – Kusadasi, Turkey – May 31, 2010

Today was another extremely busy day. We docked around 8:00 a.m in Kusadasi, Turkey, the main gateway to the ancient city of Ephesus. Again we were docked, across the quay from a Windstar ship. We had another tour through EKOL. Again, Inan, picked us up with a driver and a 16 passenger bus! Today’s plan was rather simple. We were going to Sirince, and the Temple of Artemis.

Sirince (pronounced she-RIN-jay) is an old Greek village of 600 inhabitants located 8km east of the town Selcuk, 12 km away from Ephesus and 30 km from Kusadasi, was once known as Cirkince ("ugly"). The villagers gave the town this name because they did not want to be bothered by foreigners. From Selcuk, a winding road takes you further up the mountains through green countryside to this village that is a step back in time. Sirince is perched high in the hills surrounded by vineyards, peach orchards and olive groves.

Most of the houses in Sirince were built in the 19th century when Sirince was predominantly a Greek village; today some of them have been restored and turned into pensions for over-night guests. Souvenir shops, an open market, a dozen restaurants and a few guest houses scatter the pretty cobbled streets of the village. Although tourism has come into the village, farming remains the foremost activity. Villagers make olive oil, and grow some of the best peaches in the country.

Sirince is probably most famous for its wine production. You see many wine houses around where you can taste the many sorts of grape and fruit wines they make there. As well as a mosque, there are also two churches in Sirince. The St John Baptist church, set in a beautiful courtyard with a fountain, is currently being restored by the ministry of culture of Turkey.

When we arrived in town we walked the narrow hilly streets of the village. We went and explored the old church that is being restored and then sampled numerous glasses of the wonderful local fruit wines. We ended up coming home with two bottles of the delicacy.

We then found a local restaurant and even though it was early we had had lunch. Well we grazed on appetizers. One was a piece of thin beef that was stuffed with cheese, ham, and mushrooms and then grilled. Tiropita were in evidence as were tiny dolmathes, made with tiny fresh grape leaves stuffed with rice and local seasonings. We also had another wonderful tomato salad dressed with the local vinegar and olive oil. Ordering all of this was interesting. We walked up to a display case, pointed to what you wanted, the owner explained what was in it and then they cooked the pieces you selected. It was a great meal for a wonderful price. FT also bought some olive oil and some olive soap while we were there. I sampled some delicious local figs.

Our adventure last week was supposed to include the Temple of Artemis, which we saw in the distance. Since it was on the way back to the ship we stopped there and at the ancient baths. The remains of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Temple of Artemis are very sparse. Artemis was the Greek goddess, the virginal huntress and twin of Apollo, who replaced the Titan Selene as Goddess of the Moon.

The ancient temple, built around 650 BC to the cult of Artemis, was constructed on a site already sacred to the Anatolian Mother Goddess, Cybele. The temple was financed by the wealthy king of Lydia and marshy ground was selected for the building site as a precaution against future earthquakes. The temple soon attracted merchants, kings, and sightseers, many of donated jewelry and other treasures to Artemis and her temple. Its splendor also attracted many worshippers and pilgrims, strengthening the cult of Artemis.

Today, rising out of the marsh, is a lone surviving column which suggests the immensity of this Wonder of the World. It was four times as large as the Parthenon, 377 feet long and 180 feet wide made almost entirely of marble. It had 127 columns, each 60 feet high which were carved decoratively. Some of the stone is believed to have been used for the nearby mosque and most of the archaeological remains have been removed to the British Museum.

As we drove out we stopped by the remains of the Baths of Isa Bey, an ancient Turkish bath that was restored in 1972. Unfortunately it can only be seen from a distance. We then proceeded back to the ship. FT was content to rest by the pool but I still had a mission that remained from last week.

I went back into town and visited the carpet man. I ended up with a beautiful, small, handmade cotton on cotton carpet. It is about 2 x 3 and I plan to have it framed and hang it on the wall. I also picked up some small carpet tiles for the kids to enjoy. (these are about 14in x 14 in.)

When I got back to the cabin I found another Sea Dream treat. Instead of packing enough clothes to last the two weeks that we are on board, II decided to have my laundry done on board the ship. Sent out the obligatory golf shirts , "T" shirts (from the soggy dollar and other such exotic locales) and the male version of "unmentionables" (What the heck underwear is underwear) yesterday afternoon. Today I found the golf shirts neatly laundered and pressed on hangers as expected. Also found all the "t" shirts on hangers and neatly pressed, but even better found all the underwear neatly folded wrapped in tissue and presented in a basket, with a nice cabin # tag attached. Where else can you find such service?

Cocktails were served poolside, and we dined al fresco. The menu included:

Starters

Assortment of Cold Cut, Cheeses from Greece and Italy
Green Asparagus and Spinach Bavaroise
Sautéed Potato Gnocchi

Soups

Veloute of Summer Vegetables
Chilled Coconut, Orange, and Mango

Salads

New Potato Salad with Gherkins
Mache Lettuce with Vinaigrette

Chef’s Main Dishes

Grilled Fillet of Dorado
Veal Tenderloin Medallion on Braised Salsify
Stuffed Chicken Breast in Puff Pastry

Desserts

Crispy Apple Tart with Cinnamon Ice Cream
Profiterolles Stuffed with Ice Cream
Eaton Mess with Berry Ragout

After dinner we headed back to the cabin. This having to work was getting old but thank goodness for the Internet that allows us to get away. After dinner it was disco at the TOY. We did not attend (missing the night time activity is becoming a bad habit, but the days are so busy that I have to get some sleep.) Our gift from Sea Dream tonight was another copy of the CD entitled “Dream” with music from artists such as Marc Broussard, Samantha James, and Bossa Nostra.

We sailed around 10:00 p.m. Coming out of the harbor this week, the seas were smooth as silk again. We enjoyed another smooth sail to our next port of call Mykonos, Greece, a distance of 104 nautical miles.

More pictures are available on my flickr page by clicking HERE

The author of this blog is not compensated by Sea Dream Yacht Club in any manner.