Bass Strait to the Black Sea.

[drron]

Some more of the views from the ship.First Topkapi Palace and then more of the local area-

After my once around the deck with the camera it was time for a decadent afternoon tea in the Panorama lounge.Then at 6pm we dragged ourselves back to the Panorama lounge for lifeboat drill.We find out then there is a large group of Australian's on a Captain's Choice tour.Straight after that we have the Captain's welcome coughtail party.We meet a couple who spend their year in Canada/Florida and we hit it off so have dinner with them on the pool deck with the Hot Rocks.
For Hot Rocks I had the rib eye and Apple cake and ice cream-

Mrsdrron had thge pork chop which was thick so she chopped it in pieces to cook a little faster.She then had the Chocolate mousse-

Next-night falls on Istanbul.

 

[drron]

Istanbul at night takes on a much different air-

---

And the dock is very close to one museum-

We were exhausted and so retired at 10pm.Departure time was 11pm so we missed sailing the Bosphorus.Apparently a Russian Naval convoy from Sevastapol en route to Syria passed us in the night.
Next a sea day.

 

[drron]

Thursday and a day at sea.Breakfast in La terrazza and I renewed my acquaintance with breakfast herring that I grew fond off cruising Svalbard.Then to the lecture on our next port-Trabzon,Turkey and then read my kindle until the next exertion of the day-lunch.
I had the Mediterranean stack,Oriental beef and Snow egg-

Rojaan had the Medley of Seafood salad,Roast Beef with Yorkshire pudding and a coconut mousse-

Once again we found the food in the Restaurant quite satisfactory and reasonable quality and taste.The accompanying wines were also good-they may not be to everyone's taste but no wine we had on this cruise was bad.At lunch we were surrounded by Captain's Choice pax and definitely a few CUBs-Steak and mashed potato with a beer was the order.
After lunch I downloaded and sorted my photos.On a couple of occasions dolphins were observed but a little off the ship so no pics.Later on some quite large fish were swimming beside the boat.

The Captain's coughtail party was at 7pm and again met a delightful couple from LA.After that it was the first formal night and we had dinner with Flavio the Hotel Director-the consumate host.Turns out he had spent 7 years working in Australia and had friends who lived not far from us.Shared this with another nice couple this time from North Carolina.
This night we both started with the Foie Gras then mrsdrron had the lobster and a strawberry dessert.I had the Tounedos Rossini with Foie Gras and a cheese plate.

This night we had enough energy to stay up for the show-a Motown tribute.The young artists did a great job.All that was left to do was sleep.
Next-Trabzon.

 

[Major]

What is the normal dress standard for the formal nights ?

 

[jojen]

What a wonderful report Drron. I agree with your commnets about Istanbul. We have been there 3 times but all on tours. However next year have 3 days there by ourselves so will have to be prepared for the dodgy taxi drivers and the restaurants that deliver " free " courses and then charge ridiculous prices for the food you did not order, and i might add we did not pay for either !!!
Love the Grand Bazaar and the spice market. The atmosphere is amazing.

jojen

 

[drron]

What is the normal dress standard for the formal nights ?

I go the full deal and wear a Dinner suit and bow tie.Many though are in a dark suit and a few with a dark sports coat.A tie is required that's why I go for bow ties-take up far less space.There are rumours it may be relaxed from next year.
If you go on their Expedition ship,Silver Explorer,then no formal nights.

For women most wear coughtail dresses though some do still wear a long formal dress.

I have to say that I was not looking forward to the formal nights on our first cruise but for some reason I love it and usually wear my bow ties even on informal nights.

 

[turtlemichael]

Silversea is probably the most formal of the luxury lines which is why, being different from Drron, we have largely avoided it. But I also thought it was the friendliest of the lines. The tendency though is definitely for them all to become less formal. Formal nights too are only one or two a week and the rest is very informal. It's worth dressing up a little bit, and part of the ambiance, given the good food, great service and friendliness.

 

[tgh]

Great report so far .. have been waiting for the cruise segment .. keep up the good work !
Instanbul "bubble" is now bust , and the bucket list is a tad lighter.
Can't bring ourselves to book Silversea again ( can't imagine myself in a tux) ..
More comfortable with the relaxed Seabourn model.. which (sadly) does seem to be drifting lower.

 

[drron]

I wouldn't let a tux put you of tgh-at least half the fellows were not wearing one.One Australian even turned up in jeans and was lent a jacket.You just wont get invited to the Captain's table!
But now on to the TR and our first port-

The port buildings and view from our balcony-

Mainly small cargo vessels around us but also one of Turkey's finest-

Now the best trip today would probably have been to the monastery in the mountains but with my mobility problems that was out of the question so it was a city highlights tour.First stop was at Ataturks summer residence which was at the top of a hill-not much space left there-

Actually Ataturk only had 4 visits to this place but it is impressive-

The grounds also well planned-

 

[drron]

The inside of the house revealed some work was needed but also quite modest-

But again his bedroom shows the respect he has even today-

In the rear was a lovely shaded area out of the sun-

The view wasn't too bad either-

And at the gift shop and restaurant over the road they had an easy way to get greenery in a pot-

Next a visit to a local mosque.

 

[drron]

T
his mosque was built first some 600 years ago for the mother of the Sultan.The interior was simple yet impressive-

With some nice stained glass-

Now it was summer school holidays so many boys were in the courtyard playing soccer but some children were inside having religious instruction-

In the grounds was the mother's tomb-

Now because I knew I wouldn't remember the name I cheated and took a photo-

There was the usual foot washing station and down the hill a small park and nice looking cafe-

Next it was on to Trabzon's Hagia Sophia.

 

[drron]

First the bell tower of the Hagia-

The outside is shaded by fruit trees and palms-

And some fine detail still visible-

With a little of the floor mosaic still visible-

Inside some interesting frescoes,first above-

And then in the alcove-

Some being recognisable scenes-

We were then dropped in the middle of town.First some more pics of the Hagia and Trabzon.

 

[drron]

First some different views of the Hagia-

And the view form the church-

Then back to the church and the grounds-

The remains of the City's walls-

A street near the mosque-

And a flower shop with some Aussie favourites,had Dame Edna beaten us here?

After walking a few blocks around the town we decided to go back to the ship for lunch then a rest.

 

[drron]

Back on board we decided to have a light lunch at the pool.Mrsdrron had a hamburger and I a toasted ham and cheese sandwich-

Once again I had the odd Mojito or two.It was then time for my nanny nap.When I awoke mrsdrron decided it would be better for our health to do a few laps around the upper deck rather than go to afternoon tea again-that woman will be the death of me!
Anyway I took my camera along(taking a photo is a good way of taking a breather).I was glad I was on the wind and not this vessel-

Then one of the cargo vessels left port in a hurry-

Whilst another appeared to have problems with weight distribution-

But finally it was time for us to go.Suite 804 gives you a good view of the preparations-

This crane had seen better days-

And as we left so some others did so by air-

Next-to Le Champagne.

 

[drron]

After leaving Trabzon it was time for us to get ready for dinner at Le Champagne.The 2 things that we both like are Foie Gras and Lobster and the Le Champagne menu is strong on both.As it is their fine dining restaurant I did dress appropriately with jacket and bow tie.Bowtieguy would be impressed had he stayed here.
Naturally on arrival you first have a glass of champagne.then served the Amusee bouche-

First on the left is a porcini mushroom soup-it was delicious.Next a scallop on a pumpkin puree.Then lobster with Mango salsa-both these were good.The disappointment to us was the foie gras cream cone.
For starters mrsdrron had the foie gras terrine and I the lobster with Ossietia caviar.Both were enjoyable-

We both then had the lobster thermidor which was great-

We didn't think the complimentary wine would suit our taste so this meal was accompanied by a Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc.
For desserts mrsdrron had the apple crepes which she thought was a little too sweet and I had the Grand Marnier souffle-that was magnificent.

We must also remember our waiter for the night-Tayfun was just great.We enjoyed his service at the pool during the day and Le Champagne at night.


Saturday arrived and we started with a light breakfast on our balcony.We could therefore watch our arrival into Sochi.

Although it was early in the day it was already hot and the locals were out on the beach-or should I say the collection of pebbles that passes as a beach-

Then a view the other way.The thing that strkes you is the number of cranes that you see-

The reason for this is that Sochi is hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Quite a different Immigration experience compared to our other 2 Russian visits-both going out and coming back we had young attractive women and it was reasonably quick.We were directed to go through the X ray security even though it was turned off!
We had chosen the best of Sochi tour which supposedly was an all day tour but it did include Stalin's Dacha which was my must see.All in all though this tour was not good value and this will become apparent in the next few posts.

 

[drron]

First stop was the botanical gardens which was getting a much needed facelift before the Olympics.

As with a lot of places this was a private residence before the revolution but fortunately survived and the gardens put to good use.

Peppered with smaller structures-

Naturally this structure was built for the owner's wife so she could enjoy the gardens-

 

[drron]

Around the main house which was in bad need of repairs were some impressive works-

Unfortunately there were on view some of the less inspiring aspects of Russia.These 2 young women had a peacock,monkey and raccoon which you could pay to take photos off-no one did.

Back to the less natural-

Now it was back on the bus to go to an Observation tower that Stalin had built in just over 100 days because according to our guide was because he so loved his people he wanted them to have something that would bring them pleasure.Dont think many on the bus swallowed that line.
That will be next.

 

[drron]

This Observation Tower is in the Georgian style.Stalin,of course,was Georgian,not Russian.But just imagine building this in 140 days in the 1930s when it is at the top of a mountain-

Many stalls on the walk to the tower-

But just remember the temperature was in the high 30s and the flies were plentiful.
Even a selection on Georgian wines though I still remember a bottle of Georgian wine we had on a cruise in 1988.Wasn't going to repeat the experience-

Once again the animals were being used for profit but this little guy was cute and a high zoom comes in handy.He at least found a mate-

On my way up to the tower a pair of Doves posed for the camera-

Views next.

 

[drron]

The view back to the city of Sochi and note the mountainous terrain making road building a challenge-

Looking towards Georgia and the airport.Shame about the pollution-

And a carnival on top of the mountain-

And these fellows enjoyed playing dress up-

And a restaurant but this was not the restaurant where we were to have our "typical Russian meal".
That next.

 

[drron]

So here is where we had our typical Russian lunch,at least the restaurant had a Russian name-

However we arrived about 40 minutes before they were ready to serve us.Some of the women looked around the very expensive shops but most of us sat and twiddled our thumbs.
Then to the food.Started with a simple salad which you served yourself from 2 large plates per table of 8.Then a breaded chicken dish.Couldn't be a Kiev because that is in the Ukraine.Then a tart-really cant tell you exactly what it was as mine was burnt-it is not chocolate around the top-

And then washed down with a typical Russian wine,Made in France-

Really wasn't a necessary stop.Worse was we then backtracked to the mountain we had just come from to visit Stalin's Dacha.

Stalin's Dacha-so as I said this was my must do for Sochi.Was hard paring down the hundreds of photos but here goes-

This was the view down the road from the front gate.Now our group enters-

Stalin was obviously green before it was popular-

More to come.