Adriatic, Aegean, Mediterranean....

Are we seeing the world or what??? This trip is just amazing!! Sights that I thought that I would never see are now rolling out before us every day. Fantastic! Yesterday, we were actually on the continent of Asia as we lounged on the beach in Cesme, Turkey. It was absolutely gorgeous with a turquoise colored sea, white sand and perfect temperatures (actually it was a 100 degrees but with a steady breeze and the beautiful, clear water, we were very comfortable). Today, we are back in the European part of Turkey as we tour Istanbul. We took a 4 hour tour of the city today where we saw the Blue Mosque, the St. Sophia museum (Hagia Sofia), the Hippodrome with it's 2000 year old obelisks, and the Grand Bazaar (market place with 4000 shops). Just an amazing introduction to history and culture for this area. Taba and I had to wear longish skirts and cover our shoulders to go into the mosques. Tabitha did not think that was right but went along with it easily enough. Max bumped into and knocked over a stack of pretty porcelain bowls in the market place but since he burst into tears immediately, the people seemed to be more sympathetic than angry. Whew!! We were able to try some delicious local apple tea and to watch a demonstration on Turkish rugs. Very cool. The sellers are very aggressive and speak excellent English but we managed to escape without buying much at all. We are now back at sea as we head for Croatia.