Turkey Part 2

Wow - our second last blog already. It seems like only yesterday that we started this. I think I will miss it when we stop - I don't suppose anybody wants to read about the life of an unemployed architect? I didn't think so.

After the excitement of Paragliding it was time for a bit of a relax. We headed by bus to Ucagiz where we boarded a boat for some southern coast cruising. It was a great boat - it had no bedrooms so the nights were spent sleeping on the deck - inside on the first night - but outside under the stars on the second. We spent the days swimming, eating, swimming, drinking, swimming, eating, swimming, dancing....etc. We even managed to start and maintain a conga line around the deck for about 15 minutes. Our lovely hosts cooked the most delicious food and we all felt very spoilt. We did also visit a few local historical sites including the "sunken city" and some local villages for home made ice cream.

Chilling on the boat

Sunken City (more crumbled than sunken I think)

Dinner fresh from the sea - delicious

It's a hard life

Our home for 2 days - nothing to do but relax and swim

After leaving the boat we were on the road again heading for Cirali. Cirali is a tiny town located on a long wide beach with beautiful mountains surrounding it. While it is home to 2 of the most impressive things we saw on our trip it is not at all touristy and the main inhabitants seem to be chickens, cats and dogs who co-exist in a very tense, danger fraught relationship.

The first attraction we saw was Chimeira. We set off about 9:30 at night and climbed what seemed like 1000s of stairs up to a rock outcrop where flames have burned naturally out of the rocks for around 4000 years. There are lots of flames which vary in size from the one you can see below to tiny little ones. It made all the stairs worth while - I've never seen anything like it.

The next morning we headed to the ruins of the ancient city of Olympos, which are located on the beach we were staying at. They were unlike any of the other ruins we had seen in turkey as nature had done a pretty good job of reclaiming them. It felt very Indiana Jones as we pushed through vines and crossed streams on fallen tree trunks.

The ancient city of Olympus (and Ben)

View from Olympus - aka heaven

Ben relaxing near the natural flames at Chimeira

Burning rocks of Chimeira

From Olympos we were back on the bus and headed to Antalya for the night. Once we'd arrived at the hotel Ben and I set off for a bit of an explore and happened to come across the "Orange film festival" parade. We saw all the big Turkish movie stars and the crowds were going crazy for them. You could tell the tourists by the look of confusion on their faces. Needless to say we recognised no one.

Giant hand in Antalya

Turkey Part 1

It seems like so long since we have updated the blog - we have been very busy enjoying Turkey. Such a fantastic country - for those who haven't been I recommend it.

Our trip started with an early morning flight from London (3:30 wake up - not fun). We landed in Istanbul around lunch time and decided to catch the tram into the city - thankfully people were very friendly and with a lot of help we got to the hotel. That night we met our group for the next couple of weeks and had a nice dinner.

Day 2 was an early start. We hopped on a bus and headed for Gallipoli. Was really interesting to see. Also interesting to hear the other side of the story and see the respect the Turkish have for the Australian and New Zealand soldiers.

After Gallipoli we crossed the Dardanelles by ferry and spent the night in Canakkale. The next morning we were back on the bus and headed out to Troy. Despite having read there was nothing to see it was fascinating. The ruins are well worth seeing and there is the oportunity for a cheesy tourist photo in a wooden horse - who could resist.

From Troy we headed to a seaside town called Ayvalik where we stayed in an old greek house complete with rooftop, vine covered terrace. The perfect spot to watch the sunset and enjoy a few drinks before heading into town for dinner.

Possiby not the real wooden horse of Troy

Sunset from the terrace in Ayvalik

After Ayvalik we caught the bus down to Selcuk. This was our base for 2 days as it is the closest town to Ephesus (apparently the greatest Greco-Roman site in the world). I wasn't really sure what to expect - but it was amazing. Some parts are still so intact it is possible to get an idea of what life must have been like there. And the library building is just breath taking. There are also some recently unearthed houses where it is possible to see perfectly intact mosaics.

Ben in Ephesus


Ben at the library in Ephesus

After a day at Ephesus we headed up to a small mountain village for a delicious dinner and a great view of the sunset.

The next day we were once again on the bus and headed to Pamukkale. We walked up through the white terraces before exploring the ancient city of Hierapolis located at the top. Walking back over the terraces at sunset was amazing.


Ben at the white terraces

White terraces - matching green shorts unintentional

Ampitheatre at Hierapolis

From Pamukkale the majority of our group headed back to Istanbul and we were reduced to 7.

We headed to Fethiye the next day and spent some time at the beach. For dinner we went to the fish markets where you choose your fish and take it to the local restaurants where they cook it up for you. Delicious.

Ben enjoying the beach

The next day we did a nice walk through the forest and along the coast to wind up at the beach. The scenery was beautiful and the water looked amazing. It was so clear you could see the shadows from the boats on the sea floor.

That afternoon we had the optional extra of paragliding. I never knew I wanted to do it - but after 1 or maybe 2 wines the night before I decided that it was for me. I woke up slightly regretting my decision but am now so glad I did it. The jump point is 1960m above sea level and you land on the beach. The scariest part was without doubt the drive up the cliff hugging dirt track to the top. Once at the top it was all systems go and taking off was easy - although I must admit running as fast as you can towards a cliff edge is a little nerve racking!

The flight down was amazing, very peaceful and relaxing. We did do some spins and tricks which to me seemed quite scary, but once I looked at the video I realised my "pilot" was actually smoking a cigarette as he was doing them - so I guess not that scary for him. The video is hilarious though.

Bushwalk along the coast

Me and my pilot at the jump spot

We landed on the beach you can see below

Looking straight down

Having a great time

One of my favourite shots

After paragliding we headed to Kas for the night. Part 2 to come soon.

Paris

Ahhhh Paris. City of Romance, city of lights, city of 100's of unbelievable restaurants/bakeries/shops

On Wednesday we caught the Eurostar from London across to Paris on what is our last little break before we leave the UK and head for our final destinantion - Turkey.

We got to Paris around 12 and as we couldn't check into our hotel till 2 we found a restaurant to spend the afternoon. Ben was brave and had the steak tartar, I opted for the safe option and had a delicious chicken breast - and quite a bit of delicious French wine.

That night we had tickets to a local stand up comedian doing a show called "How to become Parisian in 1 hour". Very funny - and informative. We learnt all the important things like how to swear at taxi drivers, talk down to waiters and laugh when people fall over in the metro - apparently all typical Parisian reactions. Would highly recomend it for anyone in Paris.

Our second day we had a typical French breakfast and went for a walk into town, manily due to the fact that everyone was on strike and we had no choice but to walk (apparently this is a national pasttime). We walked along the Promenade Plantee, saw the Institut de monde Arabe, Notre Dame and the Pompidou Centre before heading for home.

Enjoying the local cuisine

Walking along promenade plantee

Outside Institut du Monde Arabe

Facade detail of Institut du Monde Arabe

Ben and Notre Dame

Me and Notre Dame

Along the walk we may have been tempted by one of the many boulangeries (bakeries) and the most delicious lemon meringue in the world!

Boulangeries Delicacies

Delicious delicacies

That night we went out for dinner to a Japanese restaurant. I don't know if you have ever tried to order Japanese in French - but its not as easy as you would think. Thanks to some pictures we managed to get some food by pointing - and despite one of Ben's dishes which contained very large bones for "chicken" it was delicious.

Day 3 we headed back into town to see some more of the sights. We walked the Champs-Elysees, saw the Arc De Triomphe and then headed for the Eiffel tower.

Tourist at the Louvre

Ben and the Arc De Triomphe

Eiffel Tower by day

Eiffel Tower, Ben and scary rain clouds


While we were enjoying the sights of the Eiffel Tower the rain clouds were gathering. Right as we got to the middle of the park they opened up and we got drenched. We were forced to take refuge in a deserted Capioreia tent and then run for the metro station.

That night we treated ourselves to the full French dinner Aperitifs and all. Possibly the nicest meal I have ever had - and no snails or frogs legs in sight!

Day 4 we headed for Montmartre and the Basilique Du Sacre Coeur. We'd heard good things but were a little disappointed. Very touristy - but it was a Saturday. We had a walk along Canal St Martin then another long lunch before heading in to the Eiffel tower that night.

We got there at the perfect time. The sun was setting and the lights all turned on. After about a 45 minute wait we got to the 2nd level and saw Paris under a gorgeous full moon. It was beautiful.

Our time in Paris was way too short. Could happily spend a lot longer. Now 2 more days in London then off to Turkey for 3 weeks. Then back to Australia.

Eiffel Tower by night

View from the Eiffel tower at night

View along the Seine from the Eiffel Tower

Full moon over Paris from the Eiffel Tower

Barcelona

After weeks of rain and confined spaces we decided we'd earned ourselves a holiday holiday and headed for the sun in Barcelona. We caught our first every easyjet flight and landed without incident around 2 o'clock. Finding our hotel was easy as it's located next to one of the newest tallest buildings in the area. It glows red and blue at night – so once the sun goes down its even easier to find. (Designed by Jean Nouvel for those architects out there).

We had big plans for the first night but unfortunately we didn't get much further than the supermarket across the road. They have an entire aisle that is just jamon (ham legs) hanging from hooks in the ceiling. We bought a selection of goodies and some local Cava and headed back to the room. It was a gorgeous room and so nice to stay somewhere that feels like a holiday as opposed to somewhere that feels like a world record attempt for longest time spent in a tarago.

Day 2 we caught the metro into town – wandered La Rambla and besides one nasty incident that involved me being locked in a toilet and having to wriggle on the floor to free myself, had a great morning. We saw the markets and found our way down to the beach for a very long leisurely lunch of sea snails (ben ate them obviously not me), some paella and a lot of sangria!

Ben enjoying the market

Colourful market stalls




View from our lunch table

Paella and Sangria - Heaven

Night view from our hotel

The next morning we headed out earlier with the first stop being Park Guell designed by Antonio Gaudi. We walked around for the morning until the grounds and the crowds got to much and we headed back into the town.

Park Guell colonnade by Gaudi

More Park Guell columns and Ben

I really liked the columns

Park Guell

Park Guell



After Park Guell we headed out to see Mies Van Der Rohe's German Pavillion. Which was pretty much the opposite of Park Guell and deserted when we arrived. It was great.

Mies Van Der Rohe Pavillion

La Rambla

Then back to La Rambla for dinner. It was Catalunyan National Day so the whole area was really busy. We finally found a touristy restaurant with tables available and went in for dinner. Unfortunately the girl sitting behind us got her bag stolen from the floor inside the restaurant. It certainly made us a lot more careful with our bags.

After dinner it was back to the hotel where we had some cocktails on the roof.

The next morning we headed straight for Gaudi's Battlo house, paid the exorbitant price to get in and spent a couple of hours having a look around. The house was amazing, so many gorgeous details. If the photos below are not enough I have about 200 more!

Battlo House facade

Battlo House spinal staircase

Battlo House interiors

Roof of Battlo House



We decided we really need to embrace the Spanish culture so headed back to the pool for a siesta in the sun. While I slept Ben scoured the surrounding area for somewhere to have dinner and stumbled across the best street. Basically it was like La Rambla with a big pedestrian mall and lots of coloured lights. But instead of tourists and those awful people who stand still and try and look like statues (my most hated type of busker), there were just locals out for a walk and some dinner. Neither of us are really sure exactly what we ate but it was delicious - and half the price of the centre of town.

Our last full day was basically a combination of all our favourite things to date. Bakery breakfast, tapas and sangria by the harbour for lunch, a siesta by the pool with some mojitos, and supermarket delicacies for dinner - with all the remaining time spent wandering through the gothic district, along the beaches and around all the great buildings around our hotel. Pure heaven.

View from the rooftop pool/bar

Relaxing by the pool