Kusadasi and Ephesus.....part 2

There were some things that were more of a social thing than they are now.  Our guide demonstrates.

Perhaps the most iconic building in Epohesus is the Library facade,

there is only an entrance room behind but the actual building stretched over a hundred yards behind. It must have been a true wonder.

The last part of our visit was to the large theatre,

Back in Kusadasi we visited a carpet maker, we were shown some beautiful carpets which can take a year to make.   We had a quick look round the town trying to avoid the over zealous shop keepers. I am sure they would sell more if they would let you look before they pounce.

Then it was back to the ship for R&R before returning to Ephesus for a classical concert in this magical setting.



As though all this was not enough we ended the day with a movie under the stars.  What else but "Mamma Mia"

                                                                   For you

 and  here's one I made earlier.

Kusadasi and Ephesus...Part 1

An early morning breakfast in the Colonnade and then by coach to Ephesus. Our first sight was the smaller of the two theatres.

There is restoration work going on all round and our guide told us it will take 400 years to uncover it all. All the hills you see around hold secrets.

At one time it was the second largest city in the Roman empire and when you look down this main street you just need to replace the tee shirts with togas and you get a sense of what a bustling place it must have been. 

This is what our guide described as the "Bond Street" of Ephesus, small luxury shops with wonderful mosaic paving out side and a shady portico overhead.

Next to the shops were the terrace houses, homes of the very wealthiest people. How beautiful they must have been.

This room was described as the biggest jigsaw puzzle in the world. The marble wall is being painstakingly rebuilt. The tables hold thousands of fragments.

 A bit of peeling paint and rust for you.

 

Day 2.....

The Sea of Marmara and Dikili. Could a non sailor ask for a calmer sea than this.  We had to keep checking to make sure we were moving.

This is the whirlpool on our deck, can you feel the heat?

A little more exploration found the corridor to the main restaurant

and the library

Another visitor to Dikili, one of the Wind Star yachts.

There was trip to Bergama Pergamon but we were saving ourselves for Ehphesus.

This is deck 8

The "round window" is the roof of the spa and in the bottom left are the tables of the Patio.  Lunch here was perhaps one of my favourite parts of the whole journey. A glass of ice cold pino grigio and a buffet with everything from gaspacho to beef burgers. Salads, pizzas, dips the choice was bewildering but the chips(fries)......aah the chips, simply the best I have ever tasted.  We tried to find the secret but all we could get was that they were fried and then dipped in some magic formula and then fried again.  Oh, I miss those chips.

As we slip away from Dikili in the evening sun

I leave you with this detail from one of the sculptures on board to play with.

First day.......

This is the easiest method of spreading a flavour of our wonderful holiday among my friends, so here goes.  I will try to include at least one "arty" photograph which you are welcome to download and use in any way you want.

Day one: we flew to Istanbul. If we had been wiser we would have gone the day before so that we could see something of the city!. As it was we had a bus to the yacht.  In the bay I have never seen so many commercial ships in one place.  I lost count at 48. Do click on all the photos for a closer view.

At the port we were welcomed with cold towels (something which became a feature) and a cool drink.  ID photos were taken and then we were welcomed on board.

 We joined our luggage in out cabin which you have seen and this is the bathroom.

 

We found our daughter and then went out on deck to watch the departure from Istanbul

Then a tour of the yacht to get to know it.

The tables in the bottom left hand corner is The Patio which became our favourite lunchtime spot and served the best chips in the whole world.

First of many wonderful meals in the restaurant and then bed,

Every evening  these were the sights that greeted us at the end of the day, with the addition of a few suprises (as you will see) provided by our wonderful strewardess Diana. On the board was the itinerary and menus  for the next day.

An today's "arty", this is the central staircase.

Have fun.

Holiday of a lifetime........

that is the only way to describe it.  Because our daughter is presently working on a cruise ship I stifled my dislike of water and we joined the Seabourn Odyssey  in Istanbul for two weeks of sheer heaven. One of the reasons for my prolonged silence is that I was so terrified that we wouldn't be able to get there because of the possibility of a strike at the airports I couldn't think of anything else.. Happily all my worry was for nothing .  I promise not to show you all of the 1762 photographs I  took but here are just a few to give you a taster 

The Odyssey in Kotor, Croatia

Our suite

and just one of the stunning places we visited.

This is Oia on Santorini, a dream of mine for many years which didn't disappoint.  I have pictures of our favourites,   peeling paint  and rust but for now back to the washing!

Who is GaGa me or SAGA?...................................

It is a long time since I had a rant!... Three weeks ago DH renewed our car insurance with Saga.  Two forms, one cheque in the same envelope.  He received his new cover note but I didn't.  We waited a couple of days to take account of the variance of 2nd class post and then I telephoned to find out if  my car insurance was on the way.  No!...........because he had paid on one cheque "they" decided that he had overpaid and they were returning a cheque for the over payment.  No one could  explaine what had happened to my original form but they would send me some more forms.  They sent the forms which we completed and sent off with a new cheque. As of today still no "over payment "cheque! Another phone call tomorrow!!
That was yesterday.  I was told that I had now been insured and the second cheque would be returned to us.   Today my cover note arrived but another phone call had to be made because,  on checking the bank, they had cleared both the original cheque and the second one.  I was told it will take TEN DAYS to issue the cheque for the money they owe us.   Luckily for you words fail me and I won't even start on the press this button, key in this number calls I had to tell the bank we were going on holiday.

Photo is me as Old Min in "The Matchgirls".
I

Beast and birds.......

Last week my friend Annie came to stay and we went walking. I won't mention the 145 almost vertical steps, on our first walk, the pain is still too close......We took a lovely walk through the woods from Westerham, around past Chartwell and back to Westerham. I am really enjoying my Patchwork Beast class with Jude Hill at the moment and some sort of heightened awareness had me finding "beasts" at every turn. Camel anyone?

A horned beast

I had put together a cloth in the Spirit Cloth class and was going to add a Beast but the cloth had other ideas.

It is called "Love at First Sight".......... I don't know why, it just is.  I am loving these classes.

Here is me best beast find....a little green man sleeping with a baby dragon....

honest...click and have a close look.

Snow in summer....

Last winter I tried snow dying, now in the summer I have been using some of the cloth.  This was mainly from the second batch which wasn't as vibrant as the first. 

This is my Doodle Bag, it was made for the EG South East Area Day. I outlined the colour areas on the cloth and then filled each one with a different stitch. The bag is made from purple dupion lined with lime green.

The odd  bits of cloth have been joined together as part of the classes I am taking with Jude Hill and form the base for the piece I am working on at the moemnt.

More seaside.....

The Spirit Cloth workshop has finished, this is my first completed cloth....

or as Jude would say "what if it isn't finished?" Is that a star fish or is it the man who fell to earth?

My thanks to my friend Gudrun who gave me the lace piece which was the basis of my story. I have a book full of notes and a head full of ideas and  fingers itching to stitch and build.

A day at the seaside....

I have a new toy and a day out in Deal with my friend Pam where there was an open studios event was not to be missed on all levels.We had a  lovely day though we only visited a few studios as being one of the hottest days of the year we were drawn to the sea and then to a delicious lunch and of course I had to play wiith my new Lumix FZ38.  Before I show some of the shots I have to tell of a remarkable co-incidence.  At one of the studios I was fascinated by two "Cabinets of Curiosities".  These looked like the kind of exhibits that you used to see in a small town museum when I was a child but closer inspection of the labels showed that things were not always what they seemed. Do have a look, amongst the real curiosities were sly little jests such as a broken empty eggshell labelled "Curate's eggshell. The good and bad parts have been removed" and my personal favourite "the invisible bottle" When he was working on the first cabinet David became "interested in the authority of the label and the fact that a label can convince its readers that what is stated is correct"(Remind you of some textile labrels you have read?) Fascinating stuff which made you want to create your own cabinet, the co-incidence was, that out of the few studios we visited, David Nicholls  had actually done a very successful workshop on Celtic Design for us at Sevenoaks EG in May this year.
Here are a few experiments with my new camera.

Middle Street

                                                                        The Beach

A bronze of brave men.

These two are adjusted in Paintshop Pro to highlight the amazing fog bank that was off shore.

 

and finally if found a friend for the little stone I found two years ago.

Lovely day, thanks Pam.

Time....

for a little progress.  Thiis is my experiment with ragged aplique on the Spirit Cloth workshop

I wanted to do a hare, but he became a ragged rabbit. 

This is my next experiment with a ragged mask

I do love making these little pieces and I love the way they want to link to other pieces. 

 I am still working on my seaside piece, other thoughts gathering on it.

 I thought Wimbledon was a bit of a damp sqib this year.Apart from the marathon match there was nothing to keep me on the edge of my seat.  Still it was a good excuse to sit and stitch.