The Opinions of others.

Let see if anyone else any ideas about my Greece Itinerary.
David's post on Rick's website

Greek Clatity

I think I have a partial Greek plan now.  Santorini is out.  Just too much work, time and money to get there. Doing some reading and listening to the one who will be nameless' podcasts (maybe he does not have to be nameless if it is not in conjunction with the tour)  It seems I will be quite happy with Athens, the island Hydra (pronounced ee-dra) and one other town on The Paloponnese.  This will keep me less dependent on the weather for little planes and ferries to get back to Athens for my international flight.  This also keeps me close enough so I only need to spend 2 nights in Athens.  Now figuring how to get out of Samos ASAP - or spend a little time there.

And seriously, why would someone want to go to a place as romantic as Santorini by himself.

It's Greek to me.

It makes sense the the non-planned portion of the trip would be the toughest to plan.  Oh just spend  week island hopping in Greece before you go home - sounds cool, romantic, fun.

Ok here so the dilemma - I take a ferry from Kusadsai to Samos on the morning of Saturday May 28. I need to fly out of Athens at 11:00AM on Friday June 3.

I would like to have 2 days in Athens and Friday does not count so I need to get into Athens on Tuesday night or kind of early on Wednesday.

Getting out of Samos on Saturday and getting anywhere but Athens is impossible.  Other destinations? I am drawn to Santorini for reasons that I don't even know other than it seems like my image of a what a Greek Island should be.

Does it make sense to do Athens before heading out to Santorini? That is get there on Saturday spend 2 nights. Go to Santorini on on Monday for 3 nights and back to Athens on Thursday night.  _Too nervous about catching Fridays flight.

My real preference would be multiple islands connected via ferry and it does not seem like it should be that tough.

More on this later...

The Pieces of the Puzzle

Traveling with a group for of 26 people for almost two weeks is going to be interesting - A good size group for me. Group dynamics are very for much of this to be a success. Not that someone else has the power to control my outcome, they can affect it.  Besides the the one that shall be nameless until he swoops down at the Istanbul train station. The tour consists of  5 married couples, 2 women with the same last name - sisters or mother daughter,  9 solo women, 5 solo men (including myself) and our guide Mine Karahan.

From Ricks website Mine Karahan (do read the linked interview) is one of Turkey's best kept secrets. Bubbling over with enthusiasm and energy, she is as excited to show you Turkey as you are to see it. Mine (pron. Mee-nay) also brings a worldly perspective to her tours, as she's visited more than 60 countries on five continents. There is certainly no moss growing under Mine's feet.

Turkish Kahve and Practice Dinner

I went to The Black Sea Restaurant  last night for a practice dinner. The restaurant has been there for many years, in fact it was the first Turkish Restaurant in Minnesota. I remember when it opened I meant to go there, funny why it took so long.

It was a cozy and and older cafe feel to it. Tolga (sp?) the waiter cook host made me feel quite welcome. He was from  eastern Turkey in a region on the Black Sea thst I will not be visisting, but it looked lovley from the photos he shared with me.
For dinner I had iskenderkebab - I was a pita - flat on the plate with gyro meat on it with yogurt and a spicy red sauce.  For my beverage I had ayran. It is a yoghourt and water drink.  It usually has salt in it - but they let you put in your own. The drink is served with most meals in Turkey - It is good for your digestion and the salt is good for dehydration on hot summer days.  The taste was a little bitter to start out, but grew on me. This drink was the one I felt I needed the most practice with and had a successful work out with it.

After dinner I had a Turkish Coffee (Kahve) this is a thick heavy coffee - much thicker and stronger than any espresso I have had.  As I really did not get to sleep - I learned not to drink it after dinner when it is so late.

Eating iskenderkebab and drinking ayran

Panic attacks

it is 3:09 am and I am up -- not because I have taken a nap or drank too much coffee, it is these damn panic attacks - where I wake up thinking that I can not breathe.  Even when I am awake and can tell I am breathing I think I can't.  I need to get up and walk around to convince myself of it.  (ok I am going to try to sleep again, more on this later)

Ok - I made it through the night.  It is 9:18 PM.  I have thought about this a lot today.  It is amazing that I do not have that control over my mind -- it just wins, I tell it "no worries I am breathing" and it says -"dude we got to get you breathing here".  Hopefully this wont happen too soon, but we tried this single nostril breathing exercise in yoga today which I might try next time.

It goes like this, place middle finger of right hand between eyes, place thumb on right side of the nose to block nostril, inhale, put ring finger on right nostril and remove thumb, exhale, then Inhale and replete.

here's to hoping to sleep.

The try out

If it is ever as cold and miserable in Turkey as it was here today, I will be in a little trouble.  I tried out my warm costume  and it was OK, but I have been more comfortable in colder weather  before.  
The quest for comfort in the planning process is a big part of the planning process. We feel it is something we can control- as I said earlier it is why we make reservations, a level of comfort in a strange world. The word is-tan-bul rolls off my tongue and every time I hear it or say it, teases me with many different emotions.  Anticipation,  fear, excitement, anxiety, hope.  Istanbul - Constantinople- destination

Say it slowly     is     tan      bul     - I can smell the spice market

Istanbul Turkey
Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Hamam
A Turkish delight