Monday 20 July 2015
Tuesday 14 July 2015
Turkey express tour 10 days 6th June Istanbul, Gallipoli, Antalya
Finished our tour in Budapest & flew straight out to Istanbul to start our 10 day tour of Turkey.
This time we had a couple from NZ, a couple & a single mother from Melbourne, a gay married couple from Belgium ( who were just the funniest guys) & our tour Turkish leader Ali who was from Ismar. I must say the Turkish people are very warm & welcoming to the Aussies & kiwis, respectful & they just love us visiting their city.
Istanbul was total chaos, thousands of people, tourist, local travellers & such a culture shock, but just loved the market places, food/spice markets, the food, sweets of all sorts, Turkish ice-cream, coffee, tea, Turkish delights, (yum yum) that you just can't but have a smile on your face. The variety of savoury & sweet foods to eat, the gathering of friends & families, the looking after each other, they are so humble, gentle & kind, allowed us to join in & be part of their lifestyle. The architecture of the mosques churches, were stunning amongst the old rundown residential dwellings. The beautifully old decorated gold/ food/spice markets, filled you with delight, so much fun.
Travelled to Eceabat, which is the village to where you get on a bus to go out to Gallipoli. We experienced, Anzac cove, Lone Pine cove, the Gallipoli peninsula, was so moving, emotional & finally being able to understand the journey that our Anzacs went thru. In the village they have built on the esplanade the trenches, with the war scene of the battlefields, a stark reminder of the sadness of this battle.
Visited town of Ayvalik, stayed in what used to be the old French embassy, such a grand old building. The next day we took a boat tour to the islands, with local Turkish travellers. Fabulous party boat with our own live DJ & singer, had a big twirly slippery slide on the back of the boat drops you straight into the sea. Fantastic relaxing day, listening to Turkish music, watching them dance & sing, plus us joining ( fabulous dancing, so sensual, emotional, enthusiasm, energy), wonderful swims, great lunch of endless supply of bait fish, pasta, salad, bread. Stopped at a little island village of Mithatpasa, Balikesir, for an hour, walked up the hill to a beautiful stone, cafe come library, come art display, with stunning views of the village, islands & water. Happy, fun in the sun day.
Continued travelling to Selcuk a town steeped in culture & retains many Turkish traditions. Spent the afternoon exploring the ancient ruins of Ephesus, the best preserved ancient city in Turkey, amazing structures, the city was very sophisticated with public running water, renowned medical institute, library, public toilets, Roman baths, evan a brothel, a very well preserved theatre & open air stadium that holds 25,000 people. Just in ore of such ruins, to be able to, walk around & imagine what life was like in those days. So worth the trip
Sent from my iPad
This time we had a couple from NZ, a couple & a single mother from Melbourne, a gay married couple from Belgium ( who were just the funniest guys) & our tour Turkish leader Ali who was from Ismar. I must say the Turkish people are very warm & welcoming to the Aussies & kiwis, respectful & they just love us visiting their city.
Istanbul was total chaos, thousands of people, tourist, local travellers & such a culture shock, but just loved the market places, food/spice markets, the food, sweets of all sorts, Turkish ice-cream, coffee, tea, Turkish delights, (yum yum) that you just can't but have a smile on your face. The variety of savoury & sweet foods to eat, the gathering of friends & families, the looking after each other, they are so humble, gentle & kind, allowed us to join in & be part of their lifestyle. The architecture of the mosques churches, were stunning amongst the old rundown residential dwellings. The beautifully old decorated gold/ food/spice markets, filled you with delight, so much fun.
Travelled to Eceabat, which is the village to where you get on a bus to go out to Gallipoli. We experienced, Anzac cove, Lone Pine cove, the Gallipoli peninsula, was so moving, emotional & finally being able to understand the journey that our Anzacs went thru. In the village they have built on the esplanade the trenches, with the war scene of the battlefields, a stark reminder of the sadness of this battle.
Visited town of Ayvalik, stayed in what used to be the old French embassy, such a grand old building. The next day we took a boat tour to the islands, with local Turkish travellers. Fabulous party boat with our own live DJ & singer, had a big twirly slippery slide on the back of the boat drops you straight into the sea. Fantastic relaxing day, listening to Turkish music, watching them dance & sing, plus us joining ( fabulous dancing, so sensual, emotional, enthusiasm, energy), wonderful swims, great lunch of endless supply of bait fish, pasta, salad, bread. Stopped at a little island village of Mithatpasa, Balikesir, for an hour, walked up the hill to a beautiful stone, cafe come library, come art display, with stunning views of the village, islands & water. Happy, fun in the sun day.
Continued travelling to Selcuk a town steeped in culture & retains many Turkish traditions. Spent the afternoon exploring the ancient ruins of Ephesus, the best preserved ancient city in Turkey, amazing structures, the city was very sophisticated with public running water, renowned medical institute, library, public toilets, Roman baths, evan a brothel, a very well preserved theatre & open air stadium that holds 25,000 people. Just in ore of such ruins, to be able to, walk around & imagine what life was like in those days. So worth the trip
Sent from my iPad
Monday 13 July 2015
Vienna & the start of our Central Europe 15day tour
Another new adventure as I have never travelled with a tour before. We had 12 people & a 42 yr old male guide from chez Republic called Mirek. There were 6 Aussies & 6 kiwis, all over 50yrs old. Fabulous group. This was an Intrepid tour to which they tour very different, giving a good mix of cities, villages, hiking mountains, rafting, mountain bike riding, catch public transport, small shuttle buses, varying types of pensions, hotels & apartments, informative history talks, give you general overview tours of each destinations & then free time to do your own thing, some get togethers for dinners & drinks, plenty of chats & laughter. We crossed Austria, chez Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary.
We started in Vienna, such a lovely place to wonder around in, then 4hrs drive & we stayed at Cesky Krumlov, a quaint village which turned out to be our Favorite place on tour. We did a very challenging mountain bike ride (didn't even fall off), rafting in the river that surrounds the town, only had small Rapids (although did come in on the final embankment stop backwards, which was gr8 entertainment for the tourist who were up on a bridge watching our antics)thoroughly enjoyed the whole atmosphere of this place & can see why it is the guides Favorite village too.
We had a stark reminder day tour of Alswick concentration camps where over a hundred thousand people were gased & killed in hitlers days of the world wars. The most heartbreaking, emotional, painful experience & hope something so horrible in history never repeats itself. We are so far removed from the pain & suffering in Australia that these people & places have had to endure. Blessed to have freedom.
Arriving in beautiful Prague, such a graceful city with her amazing architectural buildings, sculptured statues, fountains, your eyes filled with joy just wondering around, rich in history, wealth & warm friendly people.
We climbed Tatras mountains, staying in the tiniest little village. After the most wonderful day enjoying the fauna & flora, a very relaxed dinner, chilling out drinking, chatting, a group of men gathered round the next table having a drink, one guy got out a guitar & with great pleasure a very informal sing along started to unravel, where the singing in their language was music to our ears, clapping, joking around, laughing & lots of joining in, was a fantastic way to end the evening, amongst all of that was Heathers birthday, which added even more smiles, with cake & singing.
The big city of Kraków kept us nice & busy, fabulous sunsets to be watched from the palace walls along the river, with scenic views all around. The old town village was buzzing with the humming if people eating, chatting, laughing, music, the old clock tower, putting on a show every hour, shopped at the old cloth markets, so beautifully kept for tourist to enjoy this grand old building, went underground to the old salt mines, that part is still in working order & in use today.
Budapest had us in ore of her beauty, history, the chaos of another big city, but such a dynamic, diverse city that allowed us to enjoy the culture, a river cruise always great fun, away from the engine traffic of cars, public transport. It was the end of our tour, such a great city to finish in. The company of our diverse group of travellers, Mirek our tour leader. We were able to immerse ourselves in the cultures, foods, where the guide is so passionate about his history & showing us around., form great friendships, leave us with ever lasting memories, big huggs & kisses as we said our last goodbyes.
Sent from my iPad
We started in Vienna, such a lovely place to wonder around in, then 4hrs drive & we stayed at Cesky Krumlov, a quaint village which turned out to be our Favorite place on tour. We did a very challenging mountain bike ride (didn't even fall off), rafting in the river that surrounds the town, only had small Rapids (although did come in on the final embankment stop backwards, which was gr8 entertainment for the tourist who were up on a bridge watching our antics)thoroughly enjoyed the whole atmosphere of this place & can see why it is the guides Favorite village too.
We had a stark reminder day tour of Alswick concentration camps where over a hundred thousand people were gased & killed in hitlers days of the world wars. The most heartbreaking, emotional, painful experience & hope something so horrible in history never repeats itself. We are so far removed from the pain & suffering in Australia that these people & places have had to endure. Blessed to have freedom.
Arriving in beautiful Prague, such a graceful city with her amazing architectural buildings, sculptured statues, fountains, your eyes filled with joy just wondering around, rich in history, wealth & warm friendly people.
We climbed Tatras mountains, staying in the tiniest little village. After the most wonderful day enjoying the fauna & flora, a very relaxed dinner, chilling out drinking, chatting, a group of men gathered round the next table having a drink, one guy got out a guitar & with great pleasure a very informal sing along started to unravel, where the singing in their language was music to our ears, clapping, joking around, laughing & lots of joining in, was a fantastic way to end the evening, amongst all of that was Heathers birthday, which added even more smiles, with cake & singing.
The big city of Kraków kept us nice & busy, fabulous sunsets to be watched from the palace walls along the river, with scenic views all around. The old town village was buzzing with the humming if people eating, chatting, laughing, music, the old clock tower, putting on a show every hour, shopped at the old cloth markets, so beautifully kept for tourist to enjoy this grand old building, went underground to the old salt mines, that part is still in working order & in use today.
Budapest had us in ore of her beauty, history, the chaos of another big city, but such a dynamic, diverse city that allowed us to enjoy the culture, a river cruise always great fun, away from the engine traffic of cars, public transport. It was the end of our tour, such a great city to finish in. The company of our diverse group of travellers, Mirek our tour leader. We were able to immerse ourselves in the cultures, foods, where the guide is so passionate about his history & showing us around., form great friendships, leave us with ever lasting memories, big huggs & kisses as we said our last goodbyes.
Sent from my iPad
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