June 25, 2009 – Day 182 – Dubrovnik, Croatia
Feeling well rested and happy to have found such a great place to stay, we woke up early and walked back into the old town, about 20 minutes from our apartment. We easily found a cheap bakery for breakfast and enjoyed our pastries in the courtyard just outside the city walls looking down at the clear turquoise water below.
The blue sea
June 24, 2009 – Day 181 – Dubrovnik, Croatia
Had an enjoyable experience in the “pod” but had to leave on our delayed flight at 5:30pm. Got to Dubrovnik rather late, a major problem since we had no lodging. It is always a real issue trying to find a decent place for a decent price in the dark!
Our awesome apartment at Sasha's
June 23, 2009 – Day 180 – London, England (sort of)
Arrived into Gatwick around 3pm and since the costs of getting to/from and being in London for just one day are too much for our tiny budget, we are staying in the airport Yotel. Our “room” is like a space pod, pretty rad.
Lindsey soaking up some much needed english TV
It’s small but incredibly efficient use of space, softest bed we’ve known in months, and at least 40 channels on English only TV!! Of course, this is all very exciting for us and not our dear readers…more to come of interest….later.
We loved Turkey…. and kebabs. Turkey is one of the few places we have been where we could easily see ourselves living. Istanbul is a vibrant, classicly modern city with culture spewing out its ears. Turkey has so much to see that our measly 13 days barly even scratched the surface. Turkey shot right to the top of our list of places to return to.
Syria, on the other hand, was too complex a society to even begin to get a handle on in the few days passing through so I will reserve my opinion until the next time…
(Be sure to check out the Turkey and Syria photo gallery here)
June 22, 2009 – Day 179 – Istanbul, Turkey
Rolled into Istanbul in the early morning, too early to check into any hostels so we waited in the public park area between the two grand mosques until the city began to wake up. Slow day of getting ready for our flight to London tomorrow.
Saben getting ready for the flight
June 21, 2009 – Day 178 – Izmir, Turkey
Spent much of the day hanging around the pier and enjoying the carnival atmosphere down by the water’s edge. Kids playing, food vendors strolling by, a string of colorful balloons bobbing in the sea awaiting someone’s good aim with a BB gun, young couples giggling at each other, plenty of unsuccessful fishermen and men selling everything from baby bunnies to cotton candy to kites.
(We forgot the camera so you will just have to pretend)
We’ve decided to skip the beach in Izmir (it seems that they are not very great, according to several locals and a few other travelers; you decide for yourself though) and are heading back to Istanbul tonight on a rather long night bus.
June 20, 2009 – Day 177 – Izmir, Turkey
Travel day from Pammuakle to Izmir (3-4 hours). Hoping to catch a good beach in Izmir tomorrow or next day. Nothing for posting today but a travel tip.
Travel Tip:
When planning a visit to Izmir, you will likely find it extremely difficult to secure lodging. For some reason, places like hostelworld and hostelbookers have only a few places online but in reality, there are literally piles and piles of places to stay. We took a city bus toward downtown and just walked around price checking 5-6 places. We finally found something to suite us and it was very cheap, about TYL 17. It can be a bit frustrating not knowing where you will be sleeping for the night but rest assured that, in the right area of town, you will definitely find many cheap hotels (no hostels really).
June 19, 2009 – Day 176 – Pammukale, Turkey
Sitting in a gritty calcium pool is a surprisingly nice way to spend an afternoon. After an over night bus and most of the morning spent traveling we arrived in Pammukale to see the famous calcium deposits. The views from the natural pools are amazing, with mountains lining the horizions in all directions. Despite the massive tour groups and sagging, sun-wrinkled bodies wearing smaller than desired bathing attire, Pammukale is actually a fun place to visit.
Lindsey enjoying the pool
Through the tunnels of Cappadocia
Be sure to turn your speakers on.
June 18, 2009 – Day 175 – Istanbul, Turkey
With such an important location in the Old World, Istanbul brags a wonderful Archaeology Musuem that holds massive amounts of fascinating bits of history. We spent most of the day going through floor after floor, building after building of incredible artifacts.
Tiles in the hall
Taxi Rides = 123
Boat Rides = 35
Motorcycle Rides = 10
Plane Rides = 16
Bus Rides =330
Train Rides = 124
Rickshaw Rides = 98
Truck Bed Rides = 25
Rainy Days = 42
Current Rummy Score
Lin 10950, Saben 12435
