Ephesus, Turkey

Today, we cruised to Ephesus. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. It's a little chilly at night, but during the day, absolutely beautiful. It's nice to finally be in some warm weather. Italy was surprisingly chilly, though I'd never complain. It was perfect, and so is this.

After a little bit of sunbathing and brunch with some of our group, Liam and I decided to rent bikes when we docked, and we went riding and sight-seeing. It was spectacular. I've never done anything like it. I think Liam did more checking out the girls than the sights, but to each his own.

At sunset, Eric, Bianca, Liam and I went exploring again. We visited what's left of the Temple of Artemis, and it was breathtaking. The whole experience is so surreal to me. I've never gone to a church or a temple at home. There's never been somewhere I could go where I could truly feel... I don't know, religious. Visiting these sites, trying to picture what used to be there, it's incredible. Sometimes, if I close my eyes in one of these temples, I'd swear I could see it. If I wasn't so scared, I might actually try. Using my gift within the ruins of these temples seems so risky though. That probably sounds so silly. Barely anything exists but the barest of ruins, but they're still powerful places. Unbelievably powerful. It's shocking to feel what remains in those spots. I wonder if anyone else can feel it. Liam's probably Wiccan, so it's not his thing, and Bianca was Christian in life, so I doubt it's his. I haven't asked Eric. I'm working up to it. I swear.

We visited a bunch of other religious and historical places as well, all incredible. I'm learning so much on this trip. The rest of the schedule is as follows:

Alexandria, Egypt - Saturday/Sunday
-cruising- Monday
Sicily, Italy - Messina - Tuesday
Rome, Italy - Civitavecchia - Wednesday

Egypt... How exciting! And two days of it! I hear there's some sort of camel riding planned... What does one wear camel riding?...

Bon voyage!