Mother/Daughter Europe Cruise - Fall 2023

Last August I had a travel itch and my dad suggested I invite mom along for the adventure. She said yes so I jumped into travel planning for a cruise in October. Decided on the Norwegian Gem that would start in Istanbul, Turkey and end in Trieste, Italy over 10 days. The notes called the end port "Venice" but traveler beware, Venice no longer allows large ships. Instead cruises must port about 1.5 hours away. Thanks to a helpful YouTube video, we decided to fly out of Ljubljana, Slovenia for the return.

The day of the departure, I drove to Houston and worked from our branch there and then parked car at gated TFS office near airport. My heart got pumping when I could not get out of the gated lot to catch my Uber to the hotel. After a few minutes, a guy came in to park and rescued me so I could get out and catch my ride. 

Mom was stuck at a standstill for 1.5 hours behind a wreck in Cleveland so we met at the Holiday Inn where she had arranged to park her car since it was cheaper than airport parking. 

Finally together! Now, to catch shuttle.

TSA precheck was a breeze, the bottleneck was waiting for mom after security. We weren't sure what food would be available on our Turkish Airlines flight so we shared a small meal before boarding which was smart because our flight left at 8:20p.

We did carryon bags and were able to secure an overhead bin space and have the row to ourselves. Wore masks to keep sickness at bay. I had COVID in early September, but I always seem to catch something on a long flight. Watched several movies like Weird (the Weird Al story). Part of the flight was really hot so we had trouble sleeping.

the route

Landed around 4:30p local time. Last time I was in Istanbul, we were at the old airport. The new airport is very far from the main part of the city and infrastructure like the metro was not completed as of our visit. We purchased a Havaist bus ticket and were also able to get an IstanbulKart (public transit card) loaded. We purchased these (with cash) at the airport. 

It was about an hour to the Aksaray stop and then had to ride the tram for a few stops to the Sultanahmet stop. Then we rolled our luggage past the gorgeous Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque lit up at night to check in at Hotel Sarı Konak We were surprised with an upgrade to a two room corner suite! 

Blue Mosque walking to the hotel

After we dropped our bags, we wandered around for dinner. Mom had a delicious lamb dish and I had a chicken dish that was poured out in a festive way out of a clay pot. Cheers to a fun adventure.

room upgrade!

1st meal in Istanbul

Wednesday morning we had a delicious breakfast on the terrace overlooking the Bosporus towards Asia with Blue Mosque/Hagia Sofia behind us! When booking a hotel, I specifically wanted a location with this arrangement since I loved it so much on the last visit.

breakfast with a view of the Bosporus

walking up towards Sultanahmet

Since we had limited time, we purchased tickets from Istanbul E-pass to be able to skip the line and have guides at the highlights. Make sure you note the tour times for each day and where you will meet for each one. We had a rough outline of which tours we wanted to take each day prior to the trip.

Our first stop was a tour of the Blue Mosque. There was a long line to enter and it started lightly raining on us. Just before we entered the mosque, I discovered I had put my light sweater in my bag rather than scarf to cover my head. Thankfully they have scarves to borrow or I would have looked very silly with my unique head covering. They were doing some renovations while we were there, but it is still an incredible building.

absolution area

The next tour was of the amazing Topkapi Palace Museum. We had a tough time figuring out the meeting spot initially, but made it in time. Our guide had so much information for our large group. You could pay extra to visit the harem on your own, which we did, and then toured the grounds.

As always, my Rick Steves book(s) is an important item to pack based on your destinations. We also utilized his free app to listen to podcasts about different topics/locations. There are also some walking tours at specific destinations which are such a great resource. I like to review and download what I would like to listen to on my queue before I leave.

fancy bathroom

Hagia Sofia

From this tour we immediately went to the meeting spot for the Basilica Cistern tour.

Then we walked to the Grand Bazaar. Such an interesting, busy place. We then meandered to the Suleymaniye Mosque. We had a very late lunch around 3p at a local spot. The food was delicious. 

Once we finished eating, we ventured around the Spice Market where we tried Turkish Delight and mom got some for friends.

Spice Market

From there we went to the Galata Bridge where we watched the fisherman as we walked across the bridge and up to the Galata Tower. Boy it was a hike, but we were rewarded with amazing views from the top. Thankful for skip the line ticket but still had to wait for the elevator to the top. 

fishermen along the Galata Bridge

We had some time to burn before our 6p Bosporus boat cruise so we grabbed a Turkish tea and baklava. I think sunset tours are the best time for a boat ride because we got to see the sun setting over this incredible city and return in the twinkling lights. 

look what we found!

Directly from the boat we walked to Cağaloğlu Hamam where we discovered I booked the wrong night for our hamam. Thankfully they were able to squeeze us in minus the massage. After feeling scrubbed and refreshed, we ate corn on the cob from a stand (the guy coated mine in salt so make sure to say no if you don't want it) as we made our way back to the hotel. My watch said we did over 35,000 steps and my body let me know it was tired.

Thursday morning we had breakfast and packed up our bags and left them at the front desk.  First item on the agenda for the day was the Hagia Sofia tour.  When I visited in 2017, it was a museum.  Around 2020 it was turned back into a mosque and during prayers they cover up the Christian mosaics. They were doing renovations on the second floor so we did not get to see it this time.

incredible mosaics

The Statue of Liberty (minus torch) could fit in the tall part!

Then we grabbed our bags and had an unexpected adventure for the next part of the day.  We took the tram to where Google Maps said we catch a bus to Taksim Square where I had arranged bag storage with the Bounce app. We tried getting on several buses and were told we could not get on. Decided we needed to get moving or we would not make our tour so hailed a taxi.   

Made a rookie travel mistake by forgetting that they do not have taxi meters and just got in without haggling a price to our destination. So we got majorly ripped off. We paid $50 for a maybe $10 journey. Very frustrating lesson learned.

Taksim Square

Bag drop off was a breeze. On our way to the square, the driver saw us walking and asked if we needed another ride. NO THANK YOU. After a quick turn about the square, we walked a long way to the Dolmabahçe Palace but stopped for some Turkish pizza we saw along the way.

Made it for the 1pm palace tour and our guide with Istanbul Pass was wonderful. Thing to note, the schedule said this tour would take 1 hour. You have 1 hour with the guide, BUT note you need more like a 2-2.5 hour window to fully enjoy this tour. She took us to the Harem building and we had to miss out viewing the impressive administrative building because we had to go get our bags and make it to the ship on time. Just means I need to come back to visit!

We were not allowed to take photos inside the buildings of the palace. 

We walked quickly back up the hill to get more Turkish Delight and our bags then back down again to find the cruise port. Made it right on time at 430p to check in and board.

super steep hill

We settled into our interior room then had dinner and explored the ship.

Until next time Istanbul!

Our first stop was in Kuşadası, Turkey where we had a private guided tour of Ephesus. A bike race closed many of the roads around the site so we had to walk about a mile to get in. Along the way we saw the gymnasium, theater and the beautiful library.

ruins found by farmers digging in the area

Other details were the toilets, mosaics, shops and the cat that always hangs out at a specific statue. They are still actively excavating the site.

We also saw an early ichthys made from Greek letters and old pipes.

very slippery

library

public toilets

active dig site

early ichthus

hello kitty

Once we finished touring, we walked back to the van. On the way back to the port, we had a stop to learn how Turkish rugs are made. One lady showed us how you get the silk out of cocoons. One can produce a strand like a mile long! 

This was a short port stop so around 4p we arrived back on the ship and headed to Greece.

We arrived in Santorini and had to wait for our tender boat number to be called (the night before we had to collect a tender card to get off). The tender ride was not that long, but then it was time to walk up the switchbacks to Fira. Make sure to choose footwear wisely. You can either walk, ride a donkey or wait in a line for the cable car (have to pay with long wait times). We opted to walk.

waiting for tender

Made it up to the top of the crater and had great timing catching a public bus for only about 1.3 euros each to Oia. From there we hiked the trail back to Fira - roughly 12kms of incredible views. I could not stop taking photos! We paused for lunch at the Blue Note in Imerovigli. I ate there on my last trip here.  I wanted to scramble back up on Skaros rock, so after eating I jogged down and then climbed up on top to wave back at mom.

Amazing views from the trail

scampered up Skaros Rock after lunch

Hi Mom! She's the small dot on the switchback

While heading back down to the port, someone in flipflops asked how much I would sell my trail-running shoes to help them out. I replied, I would consider, but they are size 6... Again, make sure to consider your shoe choice here!

We finished up the hike and enjoyed a well deserved drink at the pier as we waited for a tender. 

Made it back to the boat in time to get cleaned up after getting very sweaty on our hike. If you choose to do the hike, have water, sunblock and a hat because you are exposed the whole time!

leaving Santorini

We were able to enjoy an famous Santorini sunset as we sailed out of the caldera on our way to Mykonos.

The following morning we arrived in Mykonos and had to tender in again, but we did not have to obtain tickets here. We landed at the old port and booked the next ferry to Delos a bit later. We had some time to burn so we walked around to the main part of town and caught a glimpse of the famous windmills.

Little Venice

Boarded the boat for a roughly 30 minute ferry ride. Delos is one of the most important mythological/historical/archeological sights in Greece as the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. Future note, this is a place to have a guide! Sadly this was a last minute decision to visit so did not get to learn from a pro. 

I crossed paths with a beautiful viper which was a tad scary since my toes were bare in my sandals. We hiked to the top of the mountain for incredible views of the surrounding islands. I climbed up the pedestal for a 360 view and did a scale (gymnastics move)

A scale on the pedestal

We continued walking around the site and saw some neat statues and beautiful mosaics.

Terrace of the lions

Then it was time to catch a return ferry back to Mykonos where we had a delicious green bean stew. We then got a close up view of the famous windmills and tried to get lost in the winding streets. 

maze like streets

Once we arrived back on the ship, I discovered a staple in my sandal. No wonder I kept feeling a twinge of pain from time to time!

The next day was Monday and we arrived in the Port of Piraeus [Athens]. I had purchased a hop on hop off bus pass to use for transportation from the port plus so we could learn along the way.

The former gymnast in me almost squealed looking at the Panathenaic Stadium (site of 1st modern Olympics games in 1896). Sadly the sun was so harsh at this time of day so my photos are not great.

We walked through the National Gardens on our way towards Syntagma Square to start our Rick Steves walking tour. We had perfect timing to make the 10a changing of the guards ceremony at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of the Parliament building.

Panathenaic Stadium!

We stopped in the Holy Metropolitan Church of the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary where I lit a candle for a sweet Greek Orthodox friend.

We were trying to time doing as much of the walk as we could with making it to our Acropolis entry window (11am). Wow. It was still incredibly crowded and it wasn't peak season. Despite already having a ticket, we had to wait in line 30 mins to get in. More waiting to get up on top to see the incredible Parthenon and the other sites up on top. Rick Steves came in clutch again with walking tours.

view from Mars Hill

Glanced at the Roman Forum as we headed towards Ancient Agora.

Then we got back on the HOHO bus to rest our feet and make our way to the Acropolis Museum. But first we needed some lunch. I got another moussaka and tried a Greek "coke" for a punch of energy. 

Viewed the ancient delights at the museum and then caught a bus back to the ship after a very full day.

original caryatids from the Erectheion

Parthenon Marbles

view of the Acropolis from the museum

On Tuesday morning we arrived in Katakolo, our gateway to Olympia. Here we had arranged transportation to take us to a honey farm, ancient Olympia and an olive oil tasting. Andreas the driver was from Olympia and it was great to talk to him along the ride about being a local.

Katakolo harbor

First stop was Klio's Honey Farm. After some juice and homemade quince jelly on a spoon, Klio the beekeeper taught us how beekeeping has changed over the years from damaging the combs to extract honey to now where they have wooden frames placed in a cylinder to spin out the honey in a centrifuge. She also showed us a photo of an ancient smoker and how that technology has not changed much. After learning about what she does, we got to try her honey on diples (a traditional dessert for special occasions).

Klio's Honey Farm

Klio teaching us about the history of beekeeping

We then toured the Ancient Olympia site. Loved it a second time. Being on the starting block in the stadium is such a surreal experience. We spent almost two hours wandering taking in all the sites. In one of the buildings, we watched as several workers actively worked to restore the bricks.

restoration at work

me at the starting block

Then it was time to walk through the museum and meet back up with our driver.

He took us to a friend's restaurant for a chicken gyro with fries tucked in the pita. Along the way back to the port, we stopped by the olive oil tasting place. We tasted so many oils and olives and a couple wines. It was a rather large souvenir shop as well.

Onto the next stop. Corfu is an island I want to come back and visit for a spell because it was a gorgeous place that deserves exploring. It is covered in trees and a very different ecosystem compared to the Cyclades islands (Santorini/Mykonos) which does not have much vegetation. The island is very close to Albania.

This was another stop we did not do much research for what to do ahead of time so decided to be inspired once we arrived. The HOHO tour company we used in Athens has a discount if you show your previous receipt. This was perfect because the port was a distance from the sights. 

We did book a ride on a pirate ship before we left for the trip so we had to time our touring to make it to the pier in time. If we did not have that tour booked already, I would have done both routes on the HOHO bus.

We hopped off to go see the Holy Monastery of Panagia Vlacherna on the water. This area was in the landing area for the airport and it was fun to spot planes as they landed right over the jetty!

Back on the bus we stopped to see the windmill and take a look at the Old Fortress of Corfu from a distance. The boat was delayed a bit so we popped over to a restaurant right by some fishing boats and shared a glass of ouzo. Not my favorite since I'm not a licorice fan, but wanted to try it again. If you pour water in the glass, it clouds up. While there, a kitty was trying to get our attention. Apparently it was very thirsty and drank several capfuls of water. We had a quick bite to eat since the boat ride is about 1.5 hours long.

Εβίβα [cheers]

The pirate ship spot was close to the New Venetian Fortress so we toured that before walking through the main area on our way to the old fortress. 

The pirate ship is definitely something for families with kids to do.  Was still fun to do as an adult and I loved seeing the views from the water. The weather was incredible. Views from the pirate ride:

We were told the church at the old fortress is where Prince Phillip was baptized as a baby.

would like to come back and visit this island

It was time to get back on the bus and make our way back to the ship. The sunset was another beauty and it was fun to see another country (Albania) from the boat as we sailed north to Croatia.

Dubrovnik was a bit grey and drizzly, but we had a fantastic time walking the city walls. Entry fee is a bit steeper than I expected - €35pp. I think it was one of my mom's favorite activities of the trip. The red tiles were so quaint.  I took so many photos like on Santorini because around every bend it was another lovely view.

I loved seeing evidence of real life as we walked - toddler toys out in the yard and laundry drying on a line.  The rain picked up some and then died off again on our circuit (you can only go one way). 

We then tried to find a church with buttresses we had seen from the wall.  We ended up finding it after wandering all around the streets. More rain came as we dashed in and out of churches and shops. In a secluded local street, I loved watching a lady toss a ball for her dog to chase several times.

We went back to the ship for a late lunch and decided to stay put and have a relaxing afternoon of reading.

The following day was an impromptu at-sea-day because the seas were too rough to port in Split. We had booked a free walking tour with a historian so were disappointed. But that just means I have an excuse to return!

We spent the day reading and learned how to make an origami boat and ate and worked out.

The last port was Trieste, Italy. NCL had arranged free buses to Venice, but we chose not to take the long trip there and back. Instead, we secured another walking tour. Our guide was Giovanni. I did not realize the complex history of this little corner of Italy.

We went to several interesting spots. One of which was a wine shop with wines on tap. Boy they were so cheap compared to the cruise! They reuse bottles which is a nice touch, plus it keeps the cost down. One glass of sparkling wine on the ship was $25 and after the tour, mom and I purchased a liter of white wine for €3,20. 

wines on tap

We also learned about the town's unofficial mascot, Marco the penguin. We stopped for gelato after lunch at the shop recommended by Giovanni. 

After the tour we walked to the synagogue to pray for what is going on in Israel/Gaza right now. 

deliziosa!

synagogue

our ship

We enjoyed our cheap wine overlooking the ship and view of the large square (one of the largest in Europe). 

super cheap wine reusing a bottle!

That night we wanted a real Italian meal so ate at a place near the Grand Canal. Mom had pizza and I had carbonara. Then it was time to head back to the ship and listen to our favorite musician on the cruise and pack.

The following morning we had to disembark the ship by 8am. We rolled our bags about 15 mins over to the bus station to catch a Flix bus to Ljubljana, Slovenia. The ride was almost 1.5 hours, but we did not make it to the station. A marathon was going on so traffic came to a complete stop and it was going to be over an hour wait. So we got off with our luggage and went to drop off our stuff at another Bounce location in a gym. It was a bit tricky getting there with the race going on.

This was a very exciting and electric day to be in the charming town. I couldn't help smiling and clapping for the runners.  We walked by all kinds of gorgeous buildings and made our way up to the castle. I also got to try dragons bread which was a yummy treat.

dragon's bread

walking up to castle - you can pay to take a funicular as well

We decided not to pay €12 to do some things in the castle. We were able to visit the courtyard and grounds for free. We did pay €2 each to enter the Ljubljana Cathedral.

Ljubljana Cathedral

One famous spot here is the triple bridge where there are literally three bridges crossing the river at one spot because it receives so much foot traffic (most of the city center is pedestrian only). The runners went over the middle bridge. I did not get a good photo of this area.

part of the triple bridge

love the art deco buildings

they love dragons here

One of our last stops was at an art center filled with street art. 

This was another heavy steps day so I relaxed waiting for our ride to the airport with a beer.

It was just us on the shuttle and we made it quickly to the airport to hurry up and wait several times. 

I was reminded why I try to always carryon my bags. It took ages to check the bag in and then we had to wait for 45mins in Houston for them to finally spit out on the carousel. I could not carry my suitcase on this time because I bought some olive oil and honey so was way over weight and liquid allowances. 

lovely view riding to Ljubljana's airport

We flew to Istanbul and landed just before midnight. Our bodies were aching after lugging luggage and walking so much so we tried out one of those massage places in the airport. Looking back I should have waited because we found ourselves sleeping from roughly 2-6a on terminal chairs.

After we finally got settled into our uncomfy spot for the night, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but was startled by someone jackhammering in the airport. At 2am. We were so tired that both of us were able to sleep through that very loud noise.

Alarm went off at 6a to go freshen up and find caffeine. We grabbed one last simit and chai before heading to our gate. Even though we did not leave the terminal, everyone boarding the flight had to do one last security screening. 

I think the flight was ~12.5 hours and I watched several movies and dozed a bit. Finally landed in Houston, got our bags and then made our way to our cars. We were exhausted but both of us still had a 3+ hour drive home.

This was such an incredible trip and I am so thankful my mom could be with me to experience it!

one last simit