A refreshing outlook

Tonight I went for a leisurely 40 minute run through a nice neighborhood in Dallas. I chose to wait until after sunset because it is so freakin' hot here. Even at 9pm it is still a little too warm for comfort. So, I'm running along, listening to my music and timed it just right to run through 2 sets of sprinklers. So refreshing. Now, don't get me wrong, this isn't a new experience, but I must say for some reason I just appreciated it more tonight. Although I still miss the natural green grass back in Iowa, the one good thing about living in a nice neighborhood is that everyone takes good care of their imported lawns and that means sprinklers going full blast each night. The runner's dream.

Some more pics

Here are a few more pictures from the end of our trip:




Some other "pirate ships" we encountered on our journey. The boat we were riding in was built to replicate an 18th century ship design.




Deb and me on our snorkeling/scuba adventure.





Me and the Parthenon.





A beautiful sunset in Santorini.











Overall, the trip was a success! I couldn't have dreamed of having a better time. I'm so glad we were able to go. Where to next?? Grand Canyon for sure-- but start the planning for another trip abroad!!!

Santorini and Athens

Our last 2 stops on the trip were Santorini and Athens. Santorini turned out to be a beautiful Greek isle. We stayed on Kamari beach, which is opposite the port side (Fira). Our hotel had a nice pool and the beach was just a minute walk outside the hotel door and across the cobblestone street. The beach had beautiful black sand, but it was very hot. We were on Santorini for 3 nights. One of the days Deb and I went out on an excursion. She did scuba diving and I did some snorkeling. I was a bit disappointed because there really weren't a lot of fish to look at, although we did get to check out some cool caves. (I think I've been spoiled by snorkeling in Hawaii-- it's hard to beat that). The water was pretty cold. Even though I was just on the surface snorkeling, they provided me with a wetsuit. I was glad I had it after I got out there into the water. Another day on Santorini we went on a tour of the nearby volcano crater, hot springs, and the little island of Thirassia, which is also considerd part of Santorini. At Thirassia, we rode donkeys up the zig-zag hill to catch the brillant view. We rode in what we liked to call a "pirate ship" the whole day as we stopped at each of the tour sites.

After Santorini we made our last stop in Athens. We were only there for an afternoon, but were able to make it to the Acropolis to see the Parthenon. I wish we would have had a little more time in Athens, but I don't regret the length of time we spent in the other places.

Here are a couple pictures from those adventures:



Elizabeth taking off on her donkey.


Some flaming dishes ordered up by Mary and Elizabeth in Santorini. We had some wonderful seafood (shrimp and swordfish) at this establishment.

Samos and Mykonos

After leaving Turkey, our first Greek Isle stop was Samos. We were only there for one afternoon and then we went on to Mykonos. Both isles were very beautiful.



Had to take a pic of a zen sighting in Samos.



Playing a little goldfish poker to kill time on the ferry.



Windmills and whitewashed buildings in Mykonos.




This man runs one of the windmill sites where festivals are held in the fall. He told us all about it and how wine is made in a nearby grape smashing pit (not sure what the technical name is for that). He let us feed his horse. She was pregnant. He hardly spoke any English, but somehow we were able to learn a lot from him. Really neat guy.



Looking down on Mykonos Town from our hotel up the hill in Little Venice. With everything was whitewashed the contrast of the flowers and blue and red paint on the window frames was magnificent. The sky was beautiful too.

We really liked Samos, even though we were only there for an afternoon. We were in Mykonos for 2 nights, which was plenty. Mykonos was rather pricy and the type of tourists were a world apart from ones we met while in Turkey. The tourists in Turkey who we encountered seemed much more down to earth and relaxed. Mykonos was swarming with people who seemed very concerned with thier image and just a little uptight, overall. Also, the shops in Mykonos were filled with either high-priced designer label clothing or mass-produced souvenir junk. Maybe we were just spoiled by Turkey, but it seemed the souvenirs and shops there were filled, in comparison to Greece (especially Mykonos), with more unique items. I did like a lot of the clothes and trinkets I saw in Greece, but I didn't travel abroad to go on a high-fashion shopping spree. So, that is just my take on it.

In Transit Show 5

The 5th In Transit is up and ready to go. You can download it through iTunes or get it from our Web site. This epidsode is a review of our Greece/Turkey extravaganza! Here's a picture of our Highspeed 5 ferry. We took it from Santorini to Athens. It was sweet.

My Turkish Carpet

Don, one of the Canadian guys we met in Cappadocia recommended a carpet shop in Selcuk called Black Sheep Carpets (he had bought a carpet from them a few days earlier when he passed through Selcuk). I wasn't planning on purchasing a carpet, but when Mary bought hers in Istanbul I nearly purchased one as well, but was able to hold off. Then, after Don talked up Black Sheep Carpets I figured I'd check out the shop in Selcuk when we arrived there. I ended up getting hooked on one and couldn't pass it up. I especially loved it because it was unlike any of the other carpets I had seen and they said it is nearly 100 years old (not sure how much I believe that, but I still think it is cool). It is wool on cotton and from Elazig, which is in the Eastern part of Turkey. The carpet shop guys, Erkan and Mehmet, were also very cool so we sat and chatted with them for quite some time. Funny thing...Erkan has an aunt who lives in Bettendorf, Iowa, which is approximately 10 miles from where I grew up. What a small world!

It was totally worth the hassle of lugging it around for the rest of our trip because it looks perfect in my living room in front of my couch even though I had no idea where I was going to put it when I bought it.

Selcuk, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Hamam (Turkish Bath)

After Cappadocia we made our next stop in Selcuk, Turkey. This was our home base for 3 nights. We took day trips from here to Pamukkale and Ephesus.



Here's Deb and me after our Turkish scrubdown at the hamam. Oh yeah, and that's the guy who washed us. It was really relaxing-- and no-- it was not anything weird. They ran the place very professionally.



Some bikes. There were actually quite a few bike shops. We didn't have time to stop in and chat though.



25,0000 seat theater in the ancient city of Ephesus (a.k.a. Efes). Efes is also a very popular Turkish beer.



Deb and Mary sitting on a calcium terrace in Pamukkale.

Next stop Cappadocia

Here are some pictures from our whirlwind 2 days in the Cappadocia region in central Turkey.



Our hot air balloon being inflated prior to lift off.




Here we are with our mimosas and flight certificates after our hot air balloon ride.




This picture is inside the underground city of Kaymakli. It was 192 meters or 8
stories deep. We were able to go down 4 stories. I look like a giant inside (I'm about 5'8") b/c the ceilings and hallways were very short. Theories behind the low clearance include: the people may have been a bit smaller and they may have carved it out that way to make it more difficult for enemies to get through if they were attacked. It was nice and cool inside.




Flying Dervishes at the Turkish Night dinner show.

More to come....

Pictures Pictures-- first there was Istanbul

Okay, I'll try to do this in chronological order...
Elizabeth and I went on this 2 week Greece/Turkey trip with 2 friends (Deb and Mary) from Iowa. Deb is the shorter one with dark brown hair and Mary is about the same height as Elizabeth and me and has light brown hair. This trip was purely vacation or holiday, if you please. It was a much needed break from the monotony of the American working world.

We flew into Istanbul and stayed 2 nights.


The view from our hotel's terrace in Istanbul. That is the Sea of Marmara.

The Blue Mosque at night.

Smokin' the nargile-- a.k.a water pipe or hookah. Our favorite tobacco flavor was apple. This was at a local nargile spot that a couple Turkish guys we met took us to. We were the only girls and the only tourists there. It was awesome. Funny thing--apparently Turks generally do not drink when they smoke the nargile. They just have Turkish tea or alma (apple) tea. We were wondering "where's the beer?"

Elizabeth at the grand bazaar.


Turkish Viagra at the Spice bazaar.

Alright, those are pretty much the highlights of Istanbul. I will put another post up with pictures from our next stop--Cappadocia-- soon.

-Cara

Just got back...

I'm finally on US soil once again! The trip was amazing, but as always, it feels great to be home and able to sleep in my own bed.

Sorry I only posted once while away...the internet was so slow there and I was also so busy having fun. (Correction on the last post: the rock formations are in Cappadocia, not Pamukkale. I must have been half asleep when I wrote that. Ha!)

I'm planning on giving a full account in the next few days. I kept a pretty detailed journal while away and I also have almost 2 GB worth of pics to sift through.

Here are some thoughts/things we did from where I left off last--

Wow, I'm not sure where to start.

Well, we stayed in Selcuk (Turkey) for 3 days and went to see the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus and brillant calcium terraces in Pamukkale during those 3 days. We also toured a local ceramics shop/factory and I was lucky enough to try my hand at the wheel. All I have to say is it is much more difficult than it looks. Very fun and messy though.

Then on to Greece....first stop Samos, one of the North Aegean Greek isles. We were there for the day and hung out at a beautiful beach opposite the port side of the island. Then we took an evening ferry to Mykonos and stayed there 2 nights. Mykonos was very pretty. Everything was whitewashed, but it was very expensive and kind of overrun by big spender tourists. At that point and throughout the rest of the trip, we really felt spoiled by the cheap prices and hospitality we felt during our stay in Turkey. The Greeks were nice, don't get me wrong, but the Turks seemed to truly appreciate that we were there to visit their country.

After Mykonos we took a fast catamaran style ferry (Fast Cat 4) to Santorini for 3 nights. It was much more our speed. Not as pretentious as Mykonos and just had more character in our opinion. We stayed on Kamari beach (wanting to avoid the crowed port city of Fira).

We then took a high speed ferry (High speed 5) to Athens and did a whirlwind 1 afternoon tour of the Acropolis and the Plaka area of the city.

A few traveling thoughts:

I've never seen so many different ways to flush a toilet in my life. It was like playing guess how to flush every time.

Turks really like to have tea with visitors. Apple tea is good, but you get a little burned out after the 5th or 6th offer of complimentary tea.

Cats, cats, cats. They're everywhere! I like cats, but not when I'm trying to eat fish at an outdoor diner and 7 or 8 cats start circling around my chair. lol

Alright, that's all I have for now. I will try to post pics tomorrow. I have tons of great ones that will hopefully help tell the story a little more.

Turkey is amazing, fantastic, incredible, unique, and much much more!

Well, we made it here just fine and are having the most incredible time of our lives! We arrived in Istanbul on the 28th were there for 2 days and then on to the Cappadocia region in Central Anatolia. The Turks are overwhelmingly hospitable, friendly, and probably the nicest people I have ever met. We were in Cappadocia for 2 days, left this morning and are now in Selcuk, which is on the Aegean coast. The place we're staying rocks! I'm trying to upload some pictures and will have them up as soon as I can.

Here are a few things we have done so far: visited the Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, and Spice Bazaar in Istanbul. Went on a hot air balloon ride, stayed in a cave hotel, and saw an underground city in Cappadocia, and saw a Turkish dance show with belly dancers and dervishes. And of course, we have been trying the hookahs, wine, and all the cuisine.

Until I figure out how to load the pics, that's all for now. This is the best trip I have ever been on in my life!!!!
-Cara

Okay, here are a few pics: the first is us in Istanbul, second are the rock formations in Pamukkale, and the third is one of the balloons we could see while we were up in our own hot air ballon. Sorry there are so few pics so far, but they take forever to load!! I hope to update again once we are in Greece.


At a restaurant called Metro Polis


Rock formations


Balloon ride