Just back from a nice tour of Odessa with Brad & Leslie, Mary Ellen & Jim, and Sharon & Dick. Being able to return to the ship from a private tour when we have seen everything on the agenda on our own time schedule even though our return is two hours earlier than the tour program stated - priceless!! So while the similar ship's tour is still dragging on visiting the same places at a much slower pace, we're all back relaxing in the A/C of the ship, sipping gin & tonic, and gearing up mentally for trivia in an hour.

A bit of stream of consciousness-style comments about the trip so far:

Istanbul pre-cruise: In view of the fact that we'd been there before, our 5-night pre-cruise was at least 1 (if not 2) nights too many. It was also stiflingly hot in that extremely crowded city, making us more impatient with the discomfort and horrible traffic. Nevertheless, we had some excellent experiences, including a terrific visit with a private guide (hired right next to the ticket office) at Topkapi. We spent a couple of hours visiting the Harem area there, which is the most beautiful and historically interesting part of Topkapi. We also made what turned out to be a very good decision by going early, when the place first opened. That gave us the luxury of wandering around without loads of other people. When we left about noon, the masses were pouring in as if there was a half-price sale on baklava.

Food in Istanbul: Great fun and good grub, indeed. Rather than pay $40 pp for a boring continental breakfast at the hotel (Hyatt Regency), we just walking five minutes to Taksim Square and the pedestrian street - Istiklal Caddesi - that branches from the square. That street has dozens of cafes and pasty shops, perfect for breakfast a la Turque. Whether it was lentil soup, a Turkish panini with cheese and spicy Turkish sausage, or one of the many wonderful variations of baklava, breakfasts were a tasty adventure. Another marvelous place to eat is a street just off of Istiklal Caddesi which is just one Turkish restaurant after another, each of which has a fairly agressive tout standing in front trying to convince us that we are his new best friends and that we must try his place. We chose one with a rooftop terrace to get us away from the heat and noise of the street, while still enjoying the energy of the area. We ate there twice with LCT friends. On another memorable night, we had dinner on the rooftop terrace of a very good Ottoman (complex and intricately-flavored versions of Turkish cuisine) restaurant overlooking the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Mosque for you mosque purists). We were so close it was as if we could reach out and touch the mosque as it was bathed in light during the nightly sound & light show. To add to our delight, a cafe on the street directly four stories below had a whirling dervish show to add perfect music and dance to our evening's experience.

Boarding: A total breeze (which we needed in the heat of Istanbul). The dock was only a five-minute taxi ride from our hotel near Taksim Square. (By the way, we were very happy that we'd stayed in Taksim, rather than in the old town, Sultanahmet, because Taksim is much more lively at night and an easy cab ride to the old town to see things during the day. Further, the A/C is likely better in the new hotels than in the charming restored boutique hotels in the old town.) Embarkation was a non-event at 1:00 pm, taking less than 5 minutes. The kind steward took our vase of flowers (which I'd bought that morning at the Taksim flower market) to our cabin, while we went to Portofino's for a long lunch with the growing LCT crew.

The ship: Even though we slightly prefer the cabins on Voyager, the Navigator digs are quite good. We are comfortable with the layout of the ship and, aside from the lack of alternative dining venues, like Navigator very much.

Trivia: In our first two ventures into the bloody arena of high-intensity cruise trivia, our LCT team has taken one terrible crushing (only 8 of 15) and one honorable (but still losing, with 13 of 15) defeat. In a few minutes, we shall try again to save the honor of LCT. Pray for us, dear friends, and light a candle in our memory if we go down again in ignominious flame-out.

No good scandals yet on the cruise, as far as I know. I'll try to find some to report.

Enuf drivel for now. Trivia is coming up soon; and I need to get up there to have the bartender make me a caipirinha before we get started.

More later, depending on computer availability, state of mind, soundness of body, and degree of indulgence in caipirinhas and other such delightful exotic quaffs.

Cheers, Your Boy on the Black Sea (for those of you who don't get the reference, that was supposed to a reference to "Our Man in Havana")