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Sunday, May 26, 2013

Heating Things Up

Tomorrow we leave the amazing country of Turkey and its wonderful people to venture to the desert...but this is not just any desert...

Tomorrow we fly to Dubai.

I'm expecting the city to be a spectacle. Like Vegas, but bigger, louder, flashier and much more extreme. For starters, we're going to have extreme heat.


Yes, that's the forecast for the next few days! Yikes! I expect we're going to spend a lot of time indoors (hello world's largest mall with indoor ice skating rink, world's tallest building, and an indoor ski resort), and also a bunch by the pool.

This should be a city like no other. Let the extremism begin!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Cappadocia, Turkey: Another World

First off, apologies for getting so behind in my posts! I have more to come on our time in Austria, Czech Republic, Romania and our cruise ports, but right now I am in Goreme, Turkey in the Cappadocia region of the country. I have a little time and I am inspired.


Goreme is a small, touristy town like many others around the world. However, it's in the heart of Cappadocia, a unique place of fairy chimneys that have enchanted me and make me feel like I'm in a dream each day.

There's not a whole lot to do here other than visit, hike around or balloon over these fairy chimneys, but that's a good thing, especially when you've been traveling for four months and are excited for a break from big cities.


So what are these so called fairy chimneys? Well, according to http://www.cappadociaexclusive.com/geological.html these unusual rock formations are a results of volcanic eruptions during the third geological period. The deposits of volcanic ash, lava and basalt laid the groundwork for these rock formations, followed by years of erosion from wind and rain, forming unique shapes that give the landscape an appearance that resembles what many people might think the surface of the moon would be like.
One of the former dwellings at the Open Air Museum in Goreme

Some unique looking fairy chimneys in Pigeon Valley
An amazing view of the valley!
Many of these fairy chimneys were (and some still are) inhabited
During our hike in Pigeon Valley
Now Drew's into "jumping" photos too. Go figure. ;-)
Amazing shapes of the rocks formed by natural elements
So why did we journey here? It's actually been on my bucket list for several years, ever since I saw an article in Budget Travel that displayed an absolutely captivating photo of tens of hot air balloons floating in the sky over a landscape like nothing I'd ever seen. Ever since, this place has been on my mind and my bucket list, and so I am very happy that it worked out for us to visit this magical place during this incredible journey we are on.

I am happy to report that today we took that sunrise hot air balloon ride and it surpassed every one of my dreams of the occasion, despite just how touristy of an activity it is here. Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that just yesterday, the region saw its second balloon accident since these flights began twenty years ago. Unfortunately three people lost their lives and many were injured, so my thoughts and prayers are with those people and their families.

Despite that awful accident, I would highly recommend the activity and this amazing place to everyone. It's like nowhere I've ever been.

Getting ready for our first hot air balloon flight!
A balloon rising behind a fairy chimney
Close to 100 balloons take flight each morning

We went as high at 950 meters, 1000 is the limit here
The small city below
An interesting perspective of the canyon below

Monday, May 13, 2013

Filling in the Blanks

Beautiful Brasov
Today we filled in the last blanks (at least as far as the wheres and whens) of our adventure.

We are currently in Brasov, Romania and all we knew up until a couple hours ago was that we needed to be in Istanbul, Turkey on May 27 to fly to Dubai. We also knew we wanted a decent chunk of time in Istanbul, since everyone we've talked to who has been there raves about it. We have had our flights from Istanbul to Dubai, Dubai to Cairo, and Cairo home all booked since before we left. We actually had the majority of our accommodations in Dubai and Cairo booked before we left as well, and just recently completed those pieces.

But this whole two weeks between Brasov and Istanbul were a big question mark. A question mark that I personally loved, probably about as much as it caused Drew anxiety. To me, having this last open period be SO wide open extended the excitement and mystery and surprise of the whole trip. Sure, each destination, day and even minute will still be an adventure, but once this last piece of our puzzle was booked, a clear path towards the end of the trip would be defined. So I was postponing it and reassuring Drew that we would figure it out and it will all be fine, as it has been all along this journey.(Drew, on the other hand, kept reminding me that he was stressed out by this, and in just two days we were checking out from our Brasov hotel, and transportation on this side of the continent is not very easy). So we finally sat down today for a few hours and...the puzzle is complete.

We contemplated vegging on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast for a week, but without a car it's impossible because there's no public transport there until June. We don't want to rent a car because neither one of us can drive stick well and automatic rentals, if you can even find them, are at least four times the cost of manual making that outrageously expensive.

We talked about visiting the Black Sea beaches in Romania, we could get to them easily enough by bus. But we'd still have to get down to Istanbul. 

We looked for cheap flights to anywhere in Europe hoping for a random deal that matched our date of departure. 

Then, we looked into one of our original thoughts before we even left Buffalo...Cappadocia. 

This is a place in Turkey that I have wanted to visit ever since I received a certain issue of Budget Travel several years ago. It's a place of "fairy chimney" dwellings. They look like God took wet sand in his hands and let it dribble through his fingers to form sloppy, skinny peaks. The picture that is embedded in my mind from that magazine article has hot air balloons floating above these dreamlike structures and in the picture I'm there in one of the balloons looking out. Oh wait...that's just in my dream.

So anyway, we looked into flights and it wasn't too bad! We looked into hotels and found some reasonably priced "cave hotels" (they're like the only kind of accommodation you would want to stay in when visiting this area! It's all about authentic here people!) And so, we booked everything! Our flight from Bucharest to Istanbul, our round-trip flight to and from Cappadocia, our hotel there. The only thing left is our accommodation in Istanbul. So we're just waiting to hear back from an AirBnB host and we might be all set.

On one hand it feels good to know we're done booking stuff (because it can be stressful and exhausting), but like I said before, it also makes me sad because it's the final major piece of the puzzle in place. Now all we do is follow the path we laid out until it takes us back to where we started.

But enough of that depressing attitude! The great news is we still have over three weeks of our journey to live and create! And live it we will!

Here's a few more photos of Brasov for you as well! What a cool little city!

Flower market in the square during festival, Brasov Days 
View from the Citadel
"Behind the Wall"
View from the White Tower
View from the Black Tower
Rope Street, one of the narrowest "roads" in Europe
The main square

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Just Cruisin' (A Flashback)


Written on May 4, 2013

Tonight I am writing from the comfort of our wonderfully large white king-sized bed in our sizable ocean view cabin on-board Holland America’s Eurodam. We've been aboard since Monday, today is Saturday, and so we’re about halfway through our 11-night Mediterranean Cruise.

We departed from Rome, where we met my parents just two days before. They flew in on Friday and we flew in from Prague on Saturday, meeting them for the afternoon and evening, and spending all day Sunday dragging them around to show them as much of the city as we could, after exploring the Pantheon and the Coliseum. Whew! Early Monday afternoon we all boarded the ship (after a quick mishap involving a van and Drew’s iphone…funny story) and began to settle in.

The four of us before our first formal night
It’s been quite a change for Drew and I from the way we’ve been traveling since February 2nd, let me tell you! 
  • First of all, we are staying in the same room for eleven nights. Eleven nights! That hasn’t happened since we left home! It’s been really nice to unpack and live out of closets and drawers rather than organizational Ziplocs, stuffsacks, and backpacks! 
  • Secondly, we’re with my parents! We’ve made many friends during our travels and even stayed with new and old friends along the way, but to actually be exploring new places and spending time with my parents is really awesome. 
  • Thirdly, our “world” is much more confined causing us to slow down a bit. We tend to travel at a pace that not too many people could probably keep up with, walking an average of probably eight hours a day. It’s a bit of an adjustment to slow down due to processes, procedures and lines that are just part of cruise line traveling. Plus, when we’re on-board the ship there are only so many things to see and do. We’re almost forced to just relax and take it all in because there’s only so much we can do in the time allotted at each port and on the ship.  
  • Fourthly, we’re eating (at least) three meals a day and the food is amazing! It’s still a bit of a challenge with my having to eat gluten free because I always have to ask and don't have quite the selection as everyone else, but overall the cruise line is doing a good job catering to me and giving me what I want. And Drew is enjoying eating whatever he wants whenever he wants. He’s gotten two appetizers or two desserts or even two dinners – just because they all sound delicious and – he can!
  • Lastly, the crew aboard our ship is amazing and they treat us well. Our room is cleaned  twice a day, the sheets are turned down nightly with a chocolate left on our bed, fresh fruit is left in our room each day, and we have all the comforts of home (yes, even a washcloth!!)

It’s going to be a bit of an adjustment when we get off – but I am just happy we have a few more weeks of our adventure left. I’d definitely be pleased to have even more, but I suppose this journey has to come to an end at some point.

In case you’re curious for more details of our cruise,there’s a quick rundown of our itinerary below. I hope to write posts and share pictures from each port soon.

Monday – board
Tuesday – at sea
Wednesday – Kerkira, Greece (Corfu)
Thursday – Katakolon, Greece (visited ancient Olympia)
Friday – Santorini, Greece (amazing place!!)
Saturday (today) – Kusadasi, Turkey (visited the ancient city of Ephesus)
Sunday and Monday – Piraeus, Greece (Athens)
Tuesday – at sea
Wednesday – Messina, Italy (Sicily)
Thursday – Naples, Italy (tour to Pompei)
Friday – disembark in Rome, we’ll spend the day in the city until our flight to Bucharest, Romania
Drew's first cruise! He has no idea what he's in for...
The food! Oh, the food!
One of the two pools - this one had a retractable roof that blocked the wind
Another shot of our boat - docked in Katakolon, Greece
One of the nightly towel animals that awaited us. We loved these!


The super creative towel animal we made for our room steward, Wibi :)

Sunday, May 5, 2013

It's All Greek to Me

Just a quickie!!

The cruise has been incredible so far! Corfu, Greece; Katakolon, Greece (visited ancient Olympia!); Santorini, Greece (where I took the photo-such a gorgeous place!!); Kusadasi, Turkey (visited the ancient city of Ephesus); and today we are in Athens! Everything is closed today because it is Easter Sunday here (not quite sure how that works), but luckily we're here until tomorrow at 5pm so we'll see the Acropolis tomorrow. Today we are enjoying the quiet of the city and having drinks with views of the Acropolis on the hill above us! Not bad!

No wifi on the boat (without a hefty fee!) so more to come later! Just know we are happy, eating well, seeing great things and enjoying the time with my parents!