A Magic Carpet, er Ship ride to Arabia.

[Pushka]

Exit from the ship was easy and we delayed disembarkation as late as possible as luggage couldn't be dropped off until 11 am. We are staying in an Airbnb near Plaka which has two bedrooms and a washing machine. The hosts were lovely. It has a rooftop terrace that overlooks Acropolis. We chilled out a bit then went out for dinner. Really good weather, not too hot. Found a batch of restaurants near Plaka and enjoyed a nice meal.

We chatted with the owner and he just left us with the bottles even though we only bought a glass. He kept topping us up. Athinis.



Strolled towards Plaka. Some great shops and saw some leather fur mittens that have my name on them for our Christmas Rhine cruise. Tomorrow they will be mine.





Cats own this place.






Very much like Santorini.





Great Bottle shop. Literally.

 

[Flyfrequently]

So after canning Nazareth and Galilee - apparently a lot more churches we avoided missed I wanted to visit BaHai Gardens which flows down the side of Mt Carmel, but did not want to do the more extensive ships tour because we are both done with buses. And people. . We took the shuttle to the German Colony which took us to the bottom gate. It went up, very high. Nup, not walking that. The Dome is only the middle part. MrP had an Aunt who
was BaHai faith and she lived her religion and made a refreshing change from his other rellies and he would agree.

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At this point we were approached by a guy offering us an hour tour of the Gardens and a general tour of Haifa for $50 USD. No no no I hear you all say, but we had done similarly in Oman and had a brilliant time. So we thought, why not! . Our sons would be outraged if they knew. Anyway, the taxi driver showed us the best time, stopped traffic where needed so could safely cross the road, and showed us the highlights.

The Gardens. They are free to enter but need to be security checked. We started at the middle level where the dome is located. And they are stunning.

Being a bright sunny day and spring time we had perfect weather. Around 23C. It was so peaceful and quiet and all the birds were chirping. And then along came the Viking Tour group . But as they use quiet Vox and most of them skivvied off to the loo we didn't really see them.

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The Bahai World Center in Haifa, part of the Bahai Gardens but off-limits to tourists, is where the faith’s international collective body makes its decisions, in the hands of nine elected leaders. Many of the gardeners in the Bahai Gardens are actually Bahais on a unique worker’s visa. They their faith working the land.

The Bahai Gardens can be divided up into three sections. The lower section opens up to the German Colony. The middle section include the gardens around the gold-capped Shrine of the Bab where his remains are kept. The upper section is just off the Louis Promenade and the main gate where the tours start. The Bahai Gardens reach close to a kilometer in length from the lowest gate at the German Colony to the main gate way up top. They are 19 terraces of flowers, waterworks and small sculptures.

The Bahai Gardens contains nine concentric circles each filled with flowers, small trees, small sculptures, water fountains and pools. To the sides of the gardens are wooded areas designed to house wildlife and to cut down on urban noise. The 200,000 square meters of land were designed by Iranian architect Fariborz Sahba. Funding comes from donations made only by Bahais, the world over.

Yes @Pushka find it funny also when our offspring worry about us "living on the edge"!!

 

[Guvner]

Enjoying your TR. Stayed in Plaka last October, ate at that group of restaurants. Lovely part of Athens.

 

[ellen10]

Wow Pushka an amazing job posting all those photos and trip comments!
I thoroughly enjoyed seeing and reading about your cruise and ports.

 

[Pushka]

Wow Pushka an amazing job posting all those photos and trip comments!
I thoroughly enjoyed seeing and reading about your cruise and ports.

It's pretty easy to do as I mostly take photos straight off the iPhone and the internet on the ship everywhere but Mumbai was fabulous. I try edit them (straighten them mainly) as I go.

 

[Pushka]

13 kms walk or 18,000 steps around Athens. Up the Acropolis. Very crowded.

 

[Pushka]

 

[Pushka]

Last night here.


Our fascinating pub.



Last drinks.

 

[moffat39]

Pushka many thanks for your reports and photos. We have felt like we were with you the whole way. You inspired us to the extent that we started looking at similar cruises and today we booked a Passage to India cruise on Silverseas departing Mumbai 23 May 2024.

Silverseas have some great deals at the moment, Will be our first time with them. The Silverseas cruise does not visit Israel.

Now waiting for Singapore Airlines to open up redemptions for the flight over. For a few weeks prior to the cruise there are J redemptions avaiable to either Delhi or Mumbai.

 

[Pushka]

Pushka many thanks for your reports and photos. We have felt like we were with you the whole way. You inspired us to the extent that we started looking at similar cruises and today we booked a Passage to India cruise on Silverseas departing Mumbai 23 May 2024.

Silverseas have some great deals at the moment, Will be our first time with them. The Silverseas cruise does not visit Israel.

Now waiting for Singapore Airlines to open up redemptions for the flight over. For a few weeks prior to the cruise there are J redemptions avaiable to either Delhi or Mumbai.

Nice work. It is a demanding and amazing journey. Silverseas was just ahead of us. Do lots of walking in hot weather as prep. In Petra line up early to take the golf carts back. We made it walking (but it’s uphill on the way back) but with lots of stops. The locals offer drinks in the shade. Fun to talk to. Very early starts. Time changes.

We have just gone through EU immigration in Athens. They removed the slip from the Israeli check and told us to put it away.

 

[Pushka]

Worst lounge ever. Athens. Sky thing. Horrible design.

These ugly blue petitions take up so much space. They’re maybe fifty seats. Full 2 hours before now delayed flight.

 

[bPeteb]

Still in dispute. . Besides most people onboard wouldn't even know they were different countries.

Not if you ask balt! Don't get him started on lamingtons! We both hate the weird marshmallow 'pav' that has become the norm here. It's always right in NZ - crunchy meringue on the outside and goey meringue on the inside and no marshmallow texture in sight

 

[bPeteb]

sounds like the Shroud of Turin - a great urban myth.
The Valley of the Kings and of the Queens (amazing photos you had there), Petra (again wonderful photos) pyramids etc would be wonderful but this latest port stop is not on my wish list at all.

With you. I keep looking at cruises in/though the ME and when I see stops in Israel I move on.

 

[bPeteb]

Thanks for a fantastic trip report Pushka.

Despite the organisation issues Viking very much appeals to us. SS is way out of our price range. Viking just about scrapes in. Our friend who owns on The World has sent us the itinerary for next year. Just deciding if maybe we'll do something on there.

 

[moffat39]

Thanks for a fantastic trip report Pushka.

Despite the organisation issues Viking very much appeals to us. SS is way out of our price range. Viking just about scrapes in. Our friend who owns on The World has sent us the itinerary for next year. Just deciding if maybe we'll do something on there.

I thought the same about SS but the cruise we booked on Silver Moon is 17 nights (Passage to India) for May 2024 and they have some great specials until 31 May 2023. Cost for a Superior Balcony is around $8800 each if you pay in full by 31 May.

If i can find someone who is a SS Member i get a further $650.00 off and the member gets a $650 credit for their next cruise. I have asked some friends but they ahve not got back to me. Any takers?

 

[Pushka]

I thought the same about SS but the cruise we booked on Silver Moon is 17 nights (Passage to India) for May 2024 and they have some great specials until 31 May 2023. Cost for a Superior Balcony is around $8800 each if you pay in full by 31 May.

If i can find someone who is a SS Member i get a further $650.00 off and the member gets a $650 credit for their next cruise. I have asked some friends but they ahve not got back to me. Any takers?

Calling @drron @love_the_life - Members?

 

[Pushka]

Nice views over one of the Alps on the way to UK.

 

[Pushka]

British Airways had IT issues apparently. Anyways net result was two hour delay to London. They boarded us after the known hour delay then held us at the gate for another hour until Heathrow released a new slot. So arrival at midnight Greece time or 10 pm Heathrow. Crew were great. Meals not too bad at all but I’m still not eating much.





Mr P. He ate it all. Enjoyed it.



Mine was chicken salad. It was fine.



Club Europe. Didn’t realize no entertainment.

 

[Pushka]

I'd booked an Airbnb from Friday (today) onwards and then decided to leave Athens the night before. Thankfully given late arrival I'd also decided to book last night at a Heathrow hotel. Sofitel. Don't know why it gets the ratings. When we arrived, finally, to the hotel it was slammed by all the BA cancellations so packed. Had to have a reservation which we did. Got to room around 1am our time and TV was blaring and no lights on. Turned off TV to work out how to turn lights on and plunged into darkness. Then found the key card slot. Finally figured one button turns light on, another button turns lights off. Why? Receptionist also not friendly, only wanted to give us one key card meaning if MrP goes to gym I'd be in the dark. Good plan. Also wanted to know if we wanted to check out early. Ah Nup. 12 noon. Can't access Airbnb until 3pm but we can do luggage drop off early. We already have heathrow express tickets and the Airbnb is near Paddington Station.

And at 10.45am housekeeping banging on the door to clean room. Ah nup.

 

[Pushka]

So caught the Heathrow Express to Paddington which fortuitously is a 10 minute walk to Airbnb which is excellent. Accidental outcome. But up two flights. It’s located in Little Venice. Gorgeous spot.


And check out that Sunshine.