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Last stop on the tour was for lunch at the Pine Bay resort on the outskirts of Kusadasi. A buffet selection of great Turkish food, deserts and fruits. I had a walk around the resort which I think offered all inclusive options. Reminded me how much we enjoyed our previous all inclusive stay at...

After Ephesus we visited the nearby ruins of the Basilica of St. John.

Next tour stop was the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus. The city was believed to have had a population of around 250,000. Would have liked to have spent a lot more time walking all of the ruins but it was still another highlight of our trip.

On our return to Kusadasi we had planned to organise a visit to Ephesus with a local tour on arrival. We ended up on a ships tour due to a bizarre incident I mentioned earlier while waiting in the chairlift line two days before in Santorini. The line was reasonably long but Mrs Woodyren wanted...

We remained on board the ship on our second visit to Santorini. Long lines at the cable car and an incident that I will explain in detail later contributed to us returning to the ship from the tender dock. My knees have to imposed a stairs limit of <200 so the walk up was out of the question...

First port call in Odyssey cruise number 2 was Naples. Having visited a number of times previously we took a leisurely walk to the old castle and surrounding areas.

The Book is still on plus Showgirl. We have not got around to seeing the Book yet but have seen Showgirl previously and would not bother again. There is also a decent Rock Tribute band called Rookie that do two or three shows in Music Hall.

Our first of three Odyssey cruise ended a few days ago. We chose to stay on board and enjoy the empty ship for a few hours till the next lot off passengers started the boarding process. Our first cruise on the ship has been a mostly positive experience. A few ship photos of some of the...

Chania Crete was the last stop on the current cruise. Souda port is about 7 klms out of the Old Town area so it required a €6 return local shuttle to visit the town. Lovely harbour lined with local eateries and small hotels. Definately a place we would like to revisit and stay a while.

Kusadasi was the next port of call. The ship docks close to the centre of the town. On our first visit we spent our day in the port area. We plan to visit Ephesus on our next or subsequent port call. I think Turkey is now the leading seller of fake designer goods. The local markets are huge...

Next port stop was Piraeus the port for Athens. We have visited Athens a few times so we stayed on board and enjoyed the almost empty ship. The following day was Mykonos. A new destination for us. Another enjoyable day wandering the streets of the old town. We are revisiting all the ports three...

The first port stop on this cruise was Santorini. We have previously visited and stayed for a few nights around 5 years ago. Mrs Woodyren stayed onboard while I walked up and down the steps dodging the Mules.

After a few busy days with limited internet it's time to check in again. 11th of Sept was the first day of our three consecutive Odyssey of the Seas Mediterranean cruises. We caught the high speed train to Rome Termini. Another top service. Rome to Civitavecchia was at the other end of...

No. I have read that they are going to introduce a tourist visit charge.

Last day in Florence. Early train to Pisa. Another overcrowded train with luggage everywhere. One thing I have noticed on local Italian trains. We have never had our tickets checked on board or at entry and exit stations. Of course we visited to tick the Tower off our bucket list and I had...

Mrs Woodyren retired to the hotel and I continued to explore this wonderful city. First photo tucked in behind the peloton.

Second day in Florence was another 20,000 step walking day. Very crowded and a huge number of tour groups following the flag. I have developed a strategy. Rather than using a map or Google maps I just sit in behind the peloton of a group and get towed around the sites.

First nights walk around Florence. Visited the Central Market area to organise our pre cruise covid test and had dinner in the eateries above the market.

Our Florence hotel 7Florence B&B was directly across the road from Florence station. Hard to find as there was only a very small sign above the entrance. It was situated on the second floor. A little noisy at night but a wonderful location in the Santa Maria Novella district. Inexpensive at...

Moving on from Lake Garda to Florence. Local train to Milan Central hectic and crowded as usual. The big issue with local trains in Italy is lack of luggage space. So many seats taken up with luggage. People have no option so it's not as if they are rude. Then from Milan to Florence our first...