This is what this cabin is made for! A beautiful day, sunny, breezy, warm – and gorgeous scenery as we sail through the Dardanelle Strait. Yep – it’s a balcony day all day.

Well, almost all day, we do have to leave for housekeeping, so after our breakfast (oh, btw, that cheese pie was not at all what we were expecting – not like the phyllo dough wrapped pies on the other islands. The Patmos pie is more of a big biscuit sort of dense cheesy bread type thing. Good, but not what we’ve been eating our way through these last two trips!) we head to Mosaic for cappuccino. While enjoying hanging out there with our coffee, another passenger came up to us and asked if we were associated with the production last night!  He was apparently sitting behind us, watching us the entire time as we sang and orchestrated along with the cast from our seats. He said he enjoyed watching us as much as the show! Ok, I don’t know whether to be embarrassed or proud.

Later, after lunch, relaxing outside with our mimosas, we watch as we glide past the narrowest part of the strait, passing the Canakkale Martyr’s Monument on our left and the Cimenlik castle on our right. We’ll be back here in a couple of days to hopefully explore the castle and whatever else we can see on a Sunday morning.

Soon we are passing under the 1915 Canakkale Bridge and out into the Sea of Marmara for our final approach (in the morning) to Istanbul.

Gym, dinner, a gorgeous sunset…

…the comedian’s next show (still hysterically funny). Then back on the balcony for a night cap (yeah, it is a broken record, our evening activities, I know) and it is off to bed. Tomorrow we finally meet Alper, our local guide, in Istanbul!