Today I woke up early for no apparent reason. Margherita moaned something about whether I was awake, which clearly I was. I told her I wasn’t awake and the ensuing confusion put her right to sleep.
I walked around the deck for the next two hours. Kusadasi looks just like I remember it. It’s a beautiful seaside town that is a mix of western features and eastern motifs. I could have walked around the deck for hours (which I did for two); it’s a beautiful sight. There’s mosques here and there and, at that hour, I go to watch the city come alive and wake up to a new day.
I returned to the room and Margherita said we were running late so we grabbed a quick breakfast and headed down for the tour.
The first stop was a tour of the ruins of Ephesus. Ephesus is the same Ephesus that’s the basis of St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Now, the town is made up of a main street with side houses of ruins upon ruins. At the center of all of this is the library of Ephesus, which is an incredibly massive structure. You stare at it and wonder how people created such things a few thousand years ago. Not only that, but it’s one of the original Seven Wonders of the World.
The tour guide joked that Ephesus has been a tourism hot spot for 2,000 years. Previously, as a center for seeing the Temple of Diana and, now, for seeing the ruins of the people who came to see the temple. He also showed us everything from the ancient library to the ancient toilets. It’s always interesting to learn that the rich people sent their slaves to warm the toilets for them first.
After the tour he conveniently took us to a rug shop to buy a Turkish rug.
"Honey, can we get a rug?"
"No."
"But that other couple is buying a rug."
"That other man doesn’t know how to say ‘no’".
"He's the one who decided to buy the rug."
"And how much is it?"
"$2,400. He liked it and just decided to buy it."
"Don’t look him in the eyes, he’s clearly insane."
To me, $2,400 is not at the level I can spend just on a whim, but that man was dating and sometimes you do these things when you’re impressing a girl.
We walked around the Bazaar a bit more and got into a bit of haggling. One vendor asked me why I was haggling so much.
I said, "I’m simply a married man whose trying to stop his wife from emptying his wallet."
He lowered the price to the level I wanted and refunded me the difference when I overpaid. Clearly he sympathized.
The next vendor offered us some traditional apple tea. We talked about out families and, after two hours we went from buying one scarf to buying enough scarves to cover every member of our family.
We went back to the ship, had lunch and Margherita commented on the pretty view from the deck. I acted like I didn’t really see it this morning.
For dinner we went to Don Vito's.
Don Vito's is not only one of the most unique restaurants we’ve experienced on a ship, it’s one of the most unique restaurants that we’ve experienced anywhere.
Hotel Director, Fabrizio Caviglione, had a concept for a restaurant and worked on every aspect to create a unique experience. It’s not just the menu or the food, but the entire concept.
You start off with wine and appetizers on the deck, right outside the restaurant. Everybody is dressed in nice but casual clothes, as opposed to the dining room which is more formal.
From there, you go in and the food is served completely "family style." You don’t order anything in particular, but you just keep taking what’s served.
While this is all going on, there’s a guitarist and accordion player, wandering the restaurant playing Italian melodies. By the end of this, you forget you’re on a ship and think you’re in a casual Italian restaurant. I even was asked to get up and play with the band, but that’s another story.
| |
The Italian Duo at Don Vito's |
|
The band should be complemented as they really gave you the feel of an Italian restaurant. Even the lead female singer who, although Philipino, sang with a perfect Italian accent. She admitted quite readily that she had no clue what she was saying, but she did sing damn near perfect.
Later on, we went downstairs to the club where they were trying to get people to get up and do Karaoke. Margherita convinced me to sing "Love Shack" with her as I can do a descent impression of Fred Schneider from the B-52s. It’s these little things that make her happy.
