Tuscany!!!!!

This place is awesome!!!!! Siena has the most amazing duamo (cathedral) that is so overwhelming I don't really know how to describe it! Amazing! And wandering the old streets ..... seeing the churches, seeing il campo (big shell shaped central plaza), watching the Itailians ...... I can't believe that I am lucky enough to be here!!! I think that if anyone is coming to Italy I am going to tell them that this is a must must must see :) We took bikes out over the hills and were surrounded by Tuscan country side! Lying in the hay at the top of a hill watching the lightening in the distance, picture perfect scenary in every direction! Wow, wow, wow .......

ITALIA!

Ciao Italia! Ti amo!

Back in the land of food, vino and the most wonderful friendly people! Started off with an awesome night on the ferry with a group of Italian families that had been touring around Greece on motorcycles :) We had some brilliant broken Italian / broken English conversations and heaps of fun and laughs :)


Pompei was the first point of call. The wild dogs were still there and waiting to follow us all the way from the train station to the hotel. I was sure that I could remember where the hostel was from last time and given it was 10pm and dark I was hoping that I really could! Turns out that I was walking up and down the right street but the hostel closed 2 years ago! Opps :)

After Pompei the south called, so off to Sorento ...... Ravioli della Sorrenttina, the local specialty, is soooooo delicious!!!! Sorento is very lively, a bit touristy, but Italian tourists, and it is so good to be back in this country! It has an awesome night swimming beach, impressive views and a wicked Italian night atmosphere :)

One of the days down south we headed to Capri ...... it was my birthday so we splashed out and hired a wee motor boat for the day and cruised around the grottos. Exploring the island from the water was an amazing adventure! Boating followed by an amazing meal overlooking an amazing view, lemoncello tasting and another scrumcious dinner made it a birthday to remember!!!!

The Amalfi coast is stunning, Mt Vesuvius was a climb and a view and Roma was as grand as ever :)

Greece :)

Greece is just an hour from Turkey and wow back into the Western world! My first impression was that no one wears many clothes here (coming from a couple of months in Musilum countries it was a shock!) but then the lifestyle sunk in and it is a wicked country! Athens was extremely overcrowded, hot but impressive. When I woke up on the overnight ferry, got off and asked for directions to the city centre I was told that I wasn't in Athens by a port worker who dared to joke with an extremely overtired, smelly and hungry kiwi! It was a laugh after I got over the initial shock and realised he was joking!

Santorini is one of the most amazing places that I have been to. The views are stunning, the people are friendly, lifestyle relaxed, temperature hot but lots of beaches and pools! Stayed at a cute wee hotel with a swimming pool and a very friendly old man who was so nice and helpful even though he only spoke a handful of english words. We hired a car and drove around the island exploring all the beaches and points before heading up to the top point to watch the sunset. Included in the explorations of Oia a meal that easily makes my top 5 meals ever. We sat on a balcony overhanging Santorini with all the white buildings surrounding us and the most amazing food!

The second magical day in Santorini involved running - first run since London - perfect temp in the early morning (well at least under 30), walking up the volcano (and starting to think that the run would have been better if I hadn't got lost and run an extra couple of k's!) and a swim in the hot sulphur water from the volcano. Perfect day :)

I am looking forward to getting back to a kitchen and trying some of the food that we have eaten over here! The greek salads are devine and they make these amazing coffee frappe which are very addictive and scrumcious!

Bye Bye Greece ............. Ciao Italia!

Bye Bye Turkey

Bits and Bobs of Turkey:

Turkish Delight - yum yum especailly the stuff from the place that won second best in Turkey!!!! so yummy! Thanks for helping me eat it on the beach guys!

No headscarfs - They are banned in Turkey but there are still a few people in them. It was so strange seeing ladies with hair exposed!

Bus Boys - They walk up and down the bus and give you free food and drink during the trip ..... I like them except when they wake you up on an overnight bus about 3am and ask if you would like a coffee ..... ok I am having trouble staying away but that is probably because I am sleeping!

Bread - bread and more bread! So good! and free with every meal. What you don't want bread, there must be something wrong with you .... how do these people not gain tonnes and tonnes of weight?

Tourists - Ah who let the tourists in? Istanbul was full of them, had to head south to escape :) Much better away from the crowds ..... plus some of them haven't seen the tip top undies/togs ad :)

Big - it's huge, ah the overnight buses .......

Treehouses - oh yeah, these rock! The south of Turkey on the mediterrain is gorgeous, add some tree houses and it's an experience not to be forgotten!

Eyes - the evil eye watches you from everywhere warding off any evil or bad doing ...... don't worry I bought a supply to bring back to NZ :)

Apple Tea - yum yum yum and a bottle of rum

Kebabs - hmmm there seems to be a lot of food talk going on ..... yum!

Oi Oi Olympos

I made it down the Turkish coast and back! Olympos is a hidden little place about 1 hour from Antalya at the bottom of Turkey :) The last few days have been full of treehouses, beaches, bars, swimming, fun and wicked evenings with amazing people! Was great to chill out a bit and stay in one place for awhile. The beach was idyllic and full of ancient town ruins. I learnt how to play Makyla (sp?) (the one with all the piles of stones) on the beach, jumped off rocks and swam swam swam :) Didn't want to leave!

Plus I learnt how to rock climb! It was awesome, totally hooked in now .... I think that the first climbs were grade 5A climbs (doesn't mean that much to me yet) which was a bit of a challenge but overall pretty straight forward. The second lot was a grade 6A (I think) and it was more challenging and heaps of fun :)

It was so good to be doing active stuff again! We did a big sea swim that had us searching for caves [maybe just around the next rock] for a couple of hours and didn't come across any! But wicked swim and awesome scenery, really clear water - didn't see many fish but there were a couple of schools of small fish. Am looking forward to being able to wear shorts and tshirts and run in Greece (although with the current temperatures it looks like I will be doing some early morning starts!)

Can't believe it is snowing so much in Christchurch! Wrap up warm! I miss everyone in NZ! Lots and lots of hugs coming your way! ooxx

Gallipoli and Ephesus

It's hot! I think it gets hotter everyday but not sure, maybe my body is just getting sick of being so hot all the time! :)

[you have to excuse if this post goes all over the show..... way too hot to think!]

We've been making our way down the west coast. It's great to be away from the main tourist crowds though and back into the real Turkey :) Gallipoli was as moving as last time, seeing the coast and hearing the history. It's hard to imagine now that there was a war there but the place does have a somber vibe to it. It's impossible to describe the emotions that you feel when visiting here.

We wandered around Ephesus today and marvelled at the marble streets, theatres and the impressive remains of the library. Strangely enough we ran into the Canadian guy who we travelled part of Syria with and a South African couple who we met in Cappadocia, it's a small country of travellers :)

We've been trying a lot of the Turkish ice cream in attempt to keep our body temperatures down ... very important! It's a cross between Gelato and NZ ice cream and very yummy. We also had to go through a very trying experience of sampling Turkish delight from the shop that won the second best Turkish delight shop in Turkey! Such hardship .... although I have to admit that the novelty of so much bread and sweet food is beginning to wear off! I can't wait to Greece to dig into salads!! And I'd give anything for some fresh sushi! Hmmm I think I'm getting hungry again, must be nearly dinner time :)

It's my last day with Beth today. She's heading across to Greece early in the morning and I'm going to continue exploring down the Turkish coast this evening. Have had a great trip travelling with her, not sure what's going to happen at meal times now because she's been a very efficient rubbish bin :) Might bump into her again in Greece in a week or so but otherwise best of luck with the rest of your trip Bethie!! Have fun, watch out for those steps and try and wake up if someone comes into the room!

Istanbul

Istanbul has way too many tourists!!!! I've been so spoilt on the rest of the trip so far to have hardly any tourists around. In Syria it was quite exciting to spot another tourist! Istanbul is chocker block with tourists dressed inappropriately, someone should explain to them that this is a Muslim country and the reason that they are getting hassled so much is because you can see their knees and down their tops :) But on the bright side it attracts the attention away from us for once which is a nice relief!

The blue mosque was amazing (I didn't get to see inside last time) it had thousands and thousands of blue tiles on the walls in the inside and was the biggest mosque that we have seen so far. Aya Sofya was also really impressive (they making a striking pair side by side) and it's fascinating that it used to be a church which they converted into a mosque. There are still golden mosaics of Jesus and his disciples inside which are in good condition and although it's a mosque, they don't look out of place :)

The grand bizarre was like a cleaner/modern version of the Seouqs in Syria. Wandering the alleyways is a bit like something out of a comic, we are getting the classic "hello, would you like to spend some money in my shop?" and "where are you from? ah, kiwis" :) I picked up a belly dancer costume for fancy dress ..... lol, can someone please have a "B" party? and some new tshirts so that I'm a bit more presentable now that I might be heading back into the Western world soon!

The Turkish spirit is alive over here! The semi final of the Euro cup was shown on every tv screen possible and everyone donned Turkey tops (me included) and settled in to watch the match. There were fireworks on the street, tables pulled out to the street, big screens set up. The Turks were still celebrating their goal when the Germans scored theirs and you could have heard a pin drop in the stunned silence! It's a pity that they didn't win because it would have been an experience to be in the country if they were in the final!

We spent a day wondering the Tapkapi palace and marveling at the views over the Bosphorus, the luxurious surroundings and the amazing jewel collections. I'm a fan of the spoon makers diamond which is a 86 carrot diamond which rumour has it was recovered from the rubbish heap and sold for three spoons :) I'd be more than willing to buy three spoons to swap for it :)

We ventured underground to the cistern in search of cooler temperatures and impressive architecture. It's amazing that the Romans could construct something that big underground and it's still standing and holding a lot (!) of buildings on top of it now.

The Grand Bizarre was once again calling for our presence in the evening and we wandering the alleyways before heading across to Beyoğlu for dinner. Beyoğlu is the hip area for younger Turkish people to hang out. We went to a restaurant that we had been told about that was not signed and was on the 6th floor overlooking the street. The place was packed with Turkish people and no tourists (yay) and had the most amazing meals. We headed back again for dinner the next night too!

Our last day in Istanbul consisted of a trip to a traditional Hamam (Turkish bath). We were given little towels told to strip and then taken into the steam room. First we bathed in the water and then were lead into another room with marble slab tables where we were scrubbed clean (including hair wash) and covered in bubbles and given a massage! Bliss! Was a definite must do and great to feel totally clean again! Am looking forward to the next one :) We were so relaxed after the bath that we just wandered the back streets and visited the Spice Bizarre before grabbing an early dinner and calling it a day :)

We jumped on the bus and heading South down the coast to Çanakkale and the Gallipoli Peninsular ............. TBC :)