Year 5, Day 172 “Living the Dream”. Sunday, 10/19/2025 – Day 13 of 30 day trip to Rome, Italy with a Mediterranean cruise and a transatlantic cruise back to Bayonne, NJ. Day 8 of 10 night Greece, Turkey, and Italy cruise on Odyssey of the Seas – Istanbul, Turkey day 2 of 2. Overnight – 7:30pm. We do not have any excursion booked today. It is actually a good day to hang around the ship. It is really raining hard and 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Last night we met up with a couple we had cruised through the Panama Canal with. It was a nice surprise to see Gretchen and Dan. Here’s a link to that cruise. It is the 21 days following the 7 night on this page. Radiance of the Seas – Deestimes – Make every step of the journey counthttps://share.google/ePlGdKyHyMgXdzVMd. We will be spending some time with them during the next 17 days. We had planned to go out and explore a little today. However, the rain and the crowds altered our plans. The double check out and in also impacted our decision. We faced double security checks. There were metal detectors and a long walk in and out of the terminal. These contributed to the change. We decided to make it a ship day. We will not be getting off the ship for five days by not getting off today. Ugg!!!!! By 11am, we had walked the ship many times. We took a lot of photos. We are going stir crazy staring at that lifeboat.
Time to explore off the ship. So we decide rain or not let’s get off the ship. We can get a little wet. Let’s go to the port mall.
Walking through the high class shops and eateries I was smoking. Lots of people smoke here. Second hand smoking today. 31.6% of Turkish adults (age 15+) currently smoke tobacco compared to United States where it is 11.6%. This is a very safe high class mall and strangely enough there are no hand rails on the staircases.
We have seen many Starbucks and even Burger king in Turkey. OMG the Lahmacun is delicious. We were watching a man making it. He waved us in and tore off a piece for us to try. Hot out of the oven it was lezzetli.
The Turkish Raspberry Popping Chocolates leave a little crackling in your mouth even after they are gone.
On the outskirts of the mall we found a small craft area set up like a little umbrella street. Beautiful hand made items set up in small vendor booths.
In the evening we headed to the Crown Lounge for some appetizers and conversation.
We pulled out of Istanbull at 8pm. Güle güle Turkey. Tonight the time changes one hour back.
Cruise Compass Day 8 of 10 – Odyssey of the Seas Istanbul, Turkey – 2:30pm to overnight
Things to ponder today! Have to leave you thinking.
Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4o5yM9I Wood 3 in 1 Chess Backgammon Table: Look at this great table. Can’t wait to set it up in our balcony area. This board game table includes a backgammon board and a chessboard. Chess pieces are included.
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