Mykonos, Greece

Our next stop was in Mykonos.  One of the staff on the ship told us that this was his favorite stop of all.  We were surprised because we had NOTHING written down to do here except maybe visit the beach.  We weren't there for a huge amount of time, but I have to say, I can see why it made his list of favorites!



Mykonos is a small Greek island, and all the homes are painted white due to a covenant established by the government.  It really is one of the things that makes this place so unique.  It's very small and quaint, but I think it would be a fun place to hunker down for a week or two and just relax.  It doesn't offer much to do that we found... other than eat, shop, and visit the beach, but as far as I'm concerned, what else is there in life?  The shops can be expensive but they are fabulous!  And the food was wonderful as well.  We had our last gyro here and I loved every bite.  We also lucked up on Cherry Coke and Dr. Pepper, which made two boys very happy!





(Can I just say how good-looking that little big guy is?  And where has his little baby face and body gone? Breaking my heart!)

We spent most of our time at the beach and dining.  The water was beautiful.  But the white sandy beaches that we are accustom to in the Gulf were nowhere to be found.  Instead, the shore was a combination of small pieces of rock... not enjoyable on the feet.  The temperature on Mykonos is great- with a high yearly temperature of only 84 degrees.  This doesn't make ocean swimming very appealing, but laying out and soaking up the rays is perfect!  Or you can build in the rocky sand like the boys!

Though we didn't do anything extremely special during our time here, it was definitely an enjoyable, relaxing day!  It might not be the most kid-friendly stop, but I'd come back in a minute for a week with Jason!  Farewell, Mykonos... until next time!

Turkey (Izmir and Instanbul)

Turkey was one of the places on our itinerary of stops that I was least excited about... basically only because I didn't know much about it!  But we enjoyed our time there once we got busy exploring!

The first stop we made was to Izmir (formerly known as Smyrna).  Many times people who visit this city will take the short trip over to visit Ephesus while being so close, but our day there was short, so we stayed put.  The pastor among us was a little disappointed!

When we got off the ship, we decided to walk towards the markets.  When we have nothing else to do, our instinct is to shop and eat!  There was a great track that ran along the coast where we walked.  The boys loved being outside.  They spent lots of time running, playing, and finding dandelions.  It's the small things, people!







One of the things that surprised us most in Izmir was the array of stray dogs that can be found walking around.  We are no strangers to stray dogs, as India is FULL of them, but we noticed something very quickly about these dogs.  They were all tagged.  Apparently, they have an initiative that takes in stray dogs, vaccinates them, and then releases them.  Everyone was petting them, feeding them, etc.  And my boys were not to be left out!



Another thing that shocked me as we walked was this man.  In India, I live in a city that is often referred to as "The City of Lakes," and I'm just saying- we could really use this guy in my city... although he'd probably need some backup to get all the trash out of our water!  Can I get an AMEN from my teammates?

We did finally make it to the markets, shop a little, eat of course, and then it was time to head back to the boat!

The following day we stopped in Istanbul.  We were just a few days shy of the riots that began there back at the end of May.  I was thankful we missed the madness and chaos.  We would have been very sad if we had missed this city!

Our first mission was to see a few sights.  We visited the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia first.  We were content to see them for free from the outside, but I'm sure they are beautiful inside as well!







Then Jason led us to the Basilica Cistern.  I'm sure there is so much history and information I could offer you about these places, but I'm just not into that sort of thing!  For me, this was huge underground hole that was dark, held lots of water, and had beautiful columns all throughout it.





Aren't you glad I'm not your tour guide?

Before our trip, we sat down and researched all the possible things we could do in each city, and all of the above things were already decided.  But there were a few things we added "just in case" we needed something else to do!  My favorite thing that we did was actually on the "just in case" list.  I couldn't be happier that it found its way into reality!

Let me introduce you to a TURKISH BATH!  I've probably had thousands upon thousands of baths in my life.  But none of them compare to this experience.  If I could have this done daily, I'd sign up in a minute!

The reason we hesitated to do this was because, first it was expensive online, and second, we weren't sure what we would do with our boys.  The solution to the first problem is: don't go to the highly populated places you see online.  And the solution to the second problem is: find a place that will treat your kids to a bath as well!

Before the bath, we all went into a dry sauna, followed by a steam room.  They boys thought they were suffocating, so we just skipped to the next round pretty quick!  Jason and I then proceeded to be treated to a 1 hour body massage.  Our kids stayed busy swimming in a very large whirlpool!  And after the massage, the bath began.

I was in a separate room from the boys for my bath, but I got to sneak in on them and see them getting washed up!  I'll share their pictures with you!

First, they scrub you with a loofah.  I don't have a picture of this.  But it's followed by the bubbles... and their are LOTS of them!  They fill this pillow case-like cloth with air, tie it up, and squeeze the air out.  The result.... MOUNDS of BUBBLES and giggly boys!





You can see from Jack's picture that we weren't totally exposed (for those of you who are thinking we are crazy for having someone bathe us!)



Once you've been sufficiently cleaned, they pour warm water over you to wash away the suds!



Finally, if you're between 3 and 4 feet tall, they'll wrap you up tight in a towel!

At the end of the bath, we spent some more time in the whirlpool, but Jason and I got a mud mask first!



It was such a fun experience and is definitely at the top of my list!  I'm not sure my boys have ever enjoyed a bath so much!  Please don't die without experiencing at least ONE turkish bath!  It's worth adding to your bucket list.

That wraps up our fun in Turkey!  We are thankful for the memories we made there.  Next stop... Mykonos, Greece!

Athens, Greece

For almost three months, this little blog has sat idol.  I think it's in the water in India.  Many of my teammates' blogs seem to be suffering from the same laziness that has consumed me!  In all fairness, I did have a computer hard drive crash on me, and I had to reinstall and set up this baby from ground zero!  Anyways, hopefully, this post will be just the kickstart I need to get Jumping Jax back up and running!

In what seems like another lifetime, but really not so long ago, our family took the trip of a lifetime to the Mediterranean.  I managed to capture our time in Venice before I took my long blogging hiatus.  So here's a little more of what we saw while we were away.  

After boarding the boat, we were at sea for a couple of days before we landed in Athens, Greece.  I'll be completely honest.  I'm not much for looking at old buildings.  This trip mostly allured to me because of the unlimited array of food, beautiful, clean locations, sun, and pampering.  But the sights we saw were absolutely beautiful and amazing, and so hard to believe they were still standing!

When at all possible, we took public transportation off the boat.  Living in India has equipped us with the ability and freedom to jump on random buses and trains, and they are way cheaper than taxis!  Some people took this time to make up for lost sleep!

First we saw the Parthenon.  We had read stories of long lines, grueling heat, and big crowds, but when you arrive first, none of those are a problem!  There were no lines for tickets, and the crowd was very slim!  It was a beautiful structure.  It was hard to get a great picture of it, because they are doing lots of restoration work on it, but I managed to capture a few for our memories at least!

I was amazed at the detail work.  Nowadays, these sorts of details are done by machines, but I'm guessing this was done with lots of elbow grease and practice.  So intricate!

One of the smartest things we did was bring Jack's iPod along so that he could take his own pictures.  He probably took more pictures than I did, but it kept him busy and entertained, where he might otherwise have been complaining.  This guy, on the other hand, only wanted to sit and took advantage of every possible opportunity!

When he wasn't sitting, he was collecting "treasures!"  It's sort of an addiction he has.  Don't ask me how many sticks and rocks I carried back on the boat to avoid the tears!



We also saw a huge amphitheater located near the Parthenon.  I love my Canon dslr camera, but I probably used the camera on my iPhone 5 just as much, if not more.  I took way too many of these panoramic shots!



After all the viewing of old buildings, it was time for my favorite activity.... eating!  My kids were clearly starving.  They found grape vines on our walk down the hill and enjoyed eating the "not so ripe" grapes, until a local told them they'd make them sick!







The food we found was amazing!  These gyros were so good.  I'd give my right arm for one right now.  My favorite thing (as I mentioned on my Venice post) was the brightness and color of their produce.  And notice the empty bowl above my plate... it once contained "fried cheese"- a Greek specialty, that obviously didn't last long on our table!



And with full bellies, it was time to do some shopping at The Plaka.  It was early in our trip, so we didn't buy much, but we enjoyed looking around!




Our time in Athens was so enjoyable.  Cool weather, fun sights, great food, and all the shopping we desired!  Next stop- Turkey!