Saturday, July 31, 2010
Egypt
It all started in the dirty city of Alexandria where our ship docked. There wasn’t much to see in this city besides trash and poverty, but I did get out to take a look at the underground catacombs and the beautiful library. Since the city didn’t have much more to offer besides a library, I decided to hop on a train to Cairo.
Cairo is a much more lively city with over 17 million crazy Egyptians living there. With almost no traffic lights or any rules on the road, you can imagine the streets are pretty ridiculous and almost impossible to cross. They say that only people that have grown up in Cairo can drive in Cairo, which made for some fun taxi rides.
I spent the first day in Cairo at the pyramids of Giza. They were so much more massive than I expected. It was much too hot to walk around the Sahara desert, so we decided to take a little tour with horses. The kid that was leading my tour asked me, “My friend, have you ever ridden a horse before?” I explained to him that I hadn’t ever rode one very seriously. He went on to ask, “Do you want to race?” I told him that I would give it a try, so before I knew it he was yelling and whipping the horses until they were in a full gallop through the open desert. Bouncing up and down with every gallop, I thought I was going to fall off the thing, but by the end of the race he said I was a true cowboy. Then with a more relaxed pace, we trotted around the pyramids and the Sphinx in the scorching Egyptian sun. To end this great day, I met up with our family friend, Becca Donaldson, for some coffee and kosheri (an Egyptian pasta with spicy tomato sauce and fried onions).
A lot of my second day in Cairo was spent finding a hotel to stay at and getting train tickets, but once that was done it was time for a great Egyptian meal which consisted of Egyptian bread with many dipping sauces, falafel (fried chick pea sandwich), pigeon, and fresh mango juice. After the meal, we stopped by a small art gallery where we bought a couple of Egyptian paintings painted on flattened papyrus (an Egyptian plant). It ended up being a valuable purchase because the shop owner who painted them led us around the city for the rest of the day. He brought us down the Nile at sunset on a felucca (Egyptian boat) that his family owned. After the boat ride, he brought us to the Bazaar and helped us bargain for Egyptian souvenirs. It turned out to be a great day, and it was nice to see the city with a local.
On the last day in Cairo, we went to the Egyptian museum where many of the things that were once inside the pyramids are displayed. There were many mummies, sarcophaguses, and jewels/gold. My favorite part was the exhibit with the anient treasures of king Tut, which included his famous mask that was on his body when it was buried. We had just enough time to grab a quick shwarma (roasted beef sandwich) for lunch before we hopped on the train back to Alexandria.
I’m spending the last day in Cairo relaxing and getting my last filling of the delightful Egyptian cuisine before I get on the boat to go to Morocco!
Cairo is a much more lively city with over 17 million crazy Egyptians living there. With almost no traffic lights or any rules on the road, you can imagine the streets are pretty ridiculous and almost impossible to cross. They say that only people that have grown up in Cairo can drive in Cairo, which made for some fun taxi rides.
I spent the first day in Cairo at the pyramids of Giza. They were so much more massive than I expected. It was much too hot to walk around the Sahara desert, so we decided to take a little tour with horses. The kid that was leading my tour asked me, “My friend, have you ever ridden a horse before?” I explained to him that I hadn’t ever rode one very seriously. He went on to ask, “Do you want to race?” I told him that I would give it a try, so before I knew it he was yelling and whipping the horses until they were in a full gallop through the open desert. Bouncing up and down with every gallop, I thought I was going to fall off the thing, but by the end of the race he said I was a true cowboy. Then with a more relaxed pace, we trotted around the pyramids and the Sphinx in the scorching Egyptian sun. To end this great day, I met up with our family friend, Becca Donaldson, for some coffee and kosheri (an Egyptian pasta with spicy tomato sauce and fried onions).
A lot of my second day in Cairo was spent finding a hotel to stay at and getting train tickets, but once that was done it was time for a great Egyptian meal which consisted of Egyptian bread with many dipping sauces, falafel (fried chick pea sandwich), pigeon, and fresh mango juice. After the meal, we stopped by a small art gallery where we bought a couple of Egyptian paintings painted on flattened papyrus (an Egyptian plant). It ended up being a valuable purchase because the shop owner who painted them led us around the city for the rest of the day. He brought us down the Nile at sunset on a felucca (Egyptian boat) that his family owned. After the boat ride, he brought us to the Bazaar and helped us bargain for Egyptian souvenirs. It turned out to be a great day, and it was nice to see the city with a local.
On the last day in Cairo, we went to the Egyptian museum where many of the things that were once inside the pyramids are displayed. There were many mummies, sarcophaguses, and jewels/gold. My favorite part was the exhibit with the anient treasures of king Tut, which included his famous mask that was on his body when it was buried. We had just enough time to grab a quick shwarma (roasted beef sandwich) for lunch before we hopped on the train back to Alexandria.
I’m spending the last day in Cairo relaxing and getting my last filling of the delightful Egyptian cuisine before I get on the boat to go to Morocco!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey has definitely been the most interesting, culturally unique port so far. The first day started with a presentation for one of my classes about advertising in Turkey. It was intriguing to walk around the streets and look at how they advertise differently for people who practice Islam. Once the presentation and tour was done, I took a short tram ride to the Spice Bazaar, which is a huge covered market that sells spices, teas, and candies. The people in the shops would invite you in to try different Turkish teas and candies, and they were all really tasty. The traditional Turkish tea is quite sweet and comes in a variety of different fruity flavors. After sipping on some tea, I made my way over to the Grand Bazaar, which is the largest covered market in the world. It was pretty overwhelming because it was so massive, but you could find almost anything you wanted in this place. It was fun bargaining with the people and getting a few souvenirs.
The second day involved a lot of walking and sight seeing. We started by going to the two largest mosques in Istanbul. I went in the one mosque, called The Blue Mosque, to see the beautiful painting and decoration on the enormous domes. I also got to watch people pray because they have a “call to prayer” five times everyday, in which the Muslim people kneel on the ground and face Mecca to worship Muhammad. The call to prayer can be heard from almost anywhere in the city because there are so many mosques around, and all of them have loud speakers that have the prayer/singing blaring from them. After seeing the mosques, I went to check out an ancient underground water system. There were large columns underground that were partially covered by water that the people of the ancient world used to use for irrigation and domestic purposes. They had some cool art displays hanging and floating in the water with colored lights that gave an eerie feeling when coupled with the almost mystical music and darkness.
On the third day, I took a ferry trip down the Bosphorus, which is a strategic waterway that separates Istanbul into Europe and Asia. I cruised to the Asian side to get off and take a hike up a hill to a small castle with a wonderful view overlooking the waterway. It was pretty cool to be able to go to Asia for a few hours just to say I’ve been to Asia before. After I got back to the European side of Istanbul, it was time for a Turkish kabob filled with chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and french fries. At night I went out again for a delicious glass of cherry tea and some baklava.
Today I spent my time relaxing at a traditional Turkish bath that is the oldest bath in all of Turkey, made in the 15 hundreds. I started by lying on a hot granite slab in a sauna-like room that has been there since the place was built. Next, I got scrubbed down by a course scrubber thing that took all the dead skin off of my body, leaving my skin super smooth. That was followed by a massage scrub with a bunch of suds, and then a drenching by a cold bucket of water. I ended the experience with a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice.
Istanbul claims to be the “European capital of culture,” and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve really enjoyed seeing how this different society lives and functions with many people practicing Islam, even though Turkey is a secular country. I’m going to go take a jog now down by the water, and then have some tea. I’ll spend tomorrow at the Grand Bazaar buying some souvenirs with the little money I have left before I get back on the ship to head to Egypt!
The second day involved a lot of walking and sight seeing. We started by going to the two largest mosques in Istanbul. I went in the one mosque, called The Blue Mosque, to see the beautiful painting and decoration on the enormous domes. I also got to watch people pray because they have a “call to prayer” five times everyday, in which the Muslim people kneel on the ground and face Mecca to worship Muhammad. The call to prayer can be heard from almost anywhere in the city because there are so many mosques around, and all of them have loud speakers that have the prayer/singing blaring from them. After seeing the mosques, I went to check out an ancient underground water system. There were large columns underground that were partially covered by water that the people of the ancient world used to use for irrigation and domestic purposes. They had some cool art displays hanging and floating in the water with colored lights that gave an eerie feeling when coupled with the almost mystical music and darkness.
On the third day, I took a ferry trip down the Bosphorus, which is a strategic waterway that separates Istanbul into Europe and Asia. I cruised to the Asian side to get off and take a hike up a hill to a small castle with a wonderful view overlooking the waterway. It was pretty cool to be able to go to Asia for a few hours just to say I’ve been to Asia before. After I got back to the European side of Istanbul, it was time for a Turkish kabob filled with chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and french fries. At night I went out again for a delicious glass of cherry tea and some baklava.
Today I spent my time relaxing at a traditional Turkish bath that is the oldest bath in all of Turkey, made in the 15 hundreds. I started by lying on a hot granite slab in a sauna-like room that has been there since the place was built. Next, I got scrubbed down by a course scrubber thing that took all the dead skin off of my body, leaving my skin super smooth. That was followed by a massage scrub with a bunch of suds, and then a drenching by a cold bucket of water. I ended the experience with a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice.
Istanbul claims to be the “European capital of culture,” and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve really enjoyed seeing how this different society lives and functions with many people practicing Islam, even though Turkey is a secular country. I’m going to go take a jog now down by the water, and then have some tea. I’ll spend tomorrow at the Grand Bazaar buying some souvenirs with the little money I have left before I get back on the ship to head to Egypt!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Greece
My Greek travels started out by spending the first day in Athens going to the Acropolis to see the Parthenon and some other sights, but it was about 100 degrees and humid, so I decided to get out of Athens and go to an island for most of my travels.
Luckily, I found an overnight ferry that took about eight hours to get to the island of Santorini. I figured that I could sleep on the ferry, but once I got on I found that it was full of Greek kids drinking and talking all night. At least I found a hallway where I curled up on my beach towel to get a quick nap in. Once we arrived in Santorini we had nowhere to stay, but fortunately we found a cheap hotel right near the beach with black sand from volcanic rock. We spent the first day exploring the island and laying on the black beach with a pretty wild night that started with a glass of Ouzo.
After a couple hours of much needed sleep, I got up to take a boat trip to some of the smaller surrounding islands. Our first stop was a volcanic island where we climbed up to the top of the volcano for a spectacular view. Next, we took a dip in a hot spring connected to the sea. The hot spring was relaxing, but it smelled like sulfur and the water was really brown. I covered my body in the mud from the bottom of the spring because it is supposed to be good for your skin, but I don’t think it was worth smelling like poop for the rest of the day. The next stop was a small fishing island with no tourists. The quaint little island didn’t have much of anything at all besides a few restaurants, but it was interesting to see how the locals lived in the small village without even a police force or vehicles with license plates. I had an amazing meal there with a variety of fresh grilled seafood including squid, fish, shrimp, crab, and octopus. Finally we cruised back to the island of Santorini and rode donkeys up to a little restaurant to enjoy a glass of local wine and watch the sunset among the traditional whitewashed buildings with blue roofs.
Now I am back safe in Athens, and I spent today walking around the city and the main shopping district, and of course I had to have gyro for lunch. Overall, the Greek people were extremely nice and helpful, the islands were beautiful, and the food was amazing. I don’t want to leave this country, but I guess I better be on my way to Istanbul now.
Luckily, I found an overnight ferry that took about eight hours to get to the island of Santorini. I figured that I could sleep on the ferry, but once I got on I found that it was full of Greek kids drinking and talking all night. At least I found a hallway where I curled up on my beach towel to get a quick nap in. Once we arrived in Santorini we had nowhere to stay, but fortunately we found a cheap hotel right near the beach with black sand from volcanic rock. We spent the first day exploring the island and laying on the black beach with a pretty wild night that started with a glass of Ouzo.
After a couple hours of much needed sleep, I got up to take a boat trip to some of the smaller surrounding islands. Our first stop was a volcanic island where we climbed up to the top of the volcano for a spectacular view. Next, we took a dip in a hot spring connected to the sea. The hot spring was relaxing, but it smelled like sulfur and the water was really brown. I covered my body in the mud from the bottom of the spring because it is supposed to be good for your skin, but I don’t think it was worth smelling like poop for the rest of the day. The next stop was a small fishing island with no tourists. The quaint little island didn’t have much of anything at all besides a few restaurants, but it was interesting to see how the locals lived in the small village without even a police force or vehicles with license plates. I had an amazing meal there with a variety of fresh grilled seafood including squid, fish, shrimp, crab, and octopus. Finally we cruised back to the island of Santorini and rode donkeys up to a little restaurant to enjoy a glass of local wine and watch the sunset among the traditional whitewashed buildings with blue roofs.
Now I am back safe in Athens, and I spent today walking around the city and the main shopping district, and of course I had to have gyro for lunch. Overall, the Greek people were extremely nice and helpful, the islands were beautiful, and the food was amazing. I don’t want to leave this country, but I guess I better be on my way to Istanbul now.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Croatia
Bog,
I just got back on the boat after an amazing few days in the beautiful country of Croatia. It all started off with a little kayak trip on the first day. I decided to rent a kayak to paddle around the old city in Dubrovnik and then go around an island near the city. With crystal clear water and a beautiful view of Dubrovnik I didn’t think it could get much better until I got lucky and stumbled upon a nude beach on the far side of the island. I stopped at the beach for a quick dip in the sea, and then paddled back to the mainland to lie out on the beach where people wear swimsuits. As I was lying there looking at the huge cliffs, I spotted a cliff that looked like it would be perfect for some cliff jumping. I asked some locals if they would want to go with me to show me exactly where to jump. I ended up climbing up to the top with one guy, and doing about a 40-foot jump into the sea. It was great fun, but I had to top it by doing a 50-foot jump today. Besides a few small bruises on the bottom of my feet, all is good.
Yesterday was probably the most fun day of my travels here. Some friends and I met a few British lads at the beach who were renting a couple of cars and driving to the country of Montenegro. We asked them if we could hitch a ride because we thought it would be cool to go to another country for the day. They were happy to drive us, and they ended up being really great guys. I rode in a tiny Mr. Bean-like Fiat car through the hilly country and stopped at a few coastal towns with mountains alongside beaches with crystal clear water. We stopped for some great seafood risotto, some walking, and some relaxing on the beach. It ended up being a fantastic day with a fun night at the city’s summer festival in Dubrovnik.
Now I am ready to watch Spain win this world cup and leave for Greece!
Do videnja
I just got back on the boat after an amazing few days in the beautiful country of Croatia. It all started off with a little kayak trip on the first day. I decided to rent a kayak to paddle around the old city in Dubrovnik and then go around an island near the city. With crystal clear water and a beautiful view of Dubrovnik I didn’t think it could get much better until I got lucky and stumbled upon a nude beach on the far side of the island. I stopped at the beach for a quick dip in the sea, and then paddled back to the mainland to lie out on the beach where people wear swimsuits. As I was lying there looking at the huge cliffs, I spotted a cliff that looked like it would be perfect for some cliff jumping. I asked some locals if they would want to go with me to show me exactly where to jump. I ended up climbing up to the top with one guy, and doing about a 40-foot jump into the sea. It was great fun, but I had to top it by doing a 50-foot jump today. Besides a few small bruises on the bottom of my feet, all is good.
Yesterday was probably the most fun day of my travels here. Some friends and I met a few British lads at the beach who were renting a couple of cars and driving to the country of Montenegro. We asked them if we could hitch a ride because we thought it would be cool to go to another country for the day. They were happy to drive us, and they ended up being really great guys. I rode in a tiny Mr. Bean-like Fiat car through the hilly country and stopped at a few coastal towns with mountains alongside beaches with crystal clear water. We stopped for some great seafood risotto, some walking, and some relaxing on the beach. It ended up being a fantastic day with a fun night at the city’s summer festival in Dubrovnik.
Now I am ready to watch Spain win this world cup and leave for Greece!
Do videnja
Friday, July 9, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
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Monday, July 5, 2010
Italy
Bonjourno,
It’s my last day in Naples, Italy before we embark on our journey to Croatia! My time in Italy started six days ago when our ship landed in Civitavecchia, but some friends and I immediately got out of this boring city and went to Rome. We saw some great sites in Rome such as: the Coliseum, Pantheon, Spanish steps, and Trevi Fountain. We found a nice hotel to sleep at for the night, and then went to Pisa to see the incredible leaning tower.
There wasn’t much else to see in Pisa besides the leaning tower, so we decided to stay in Florence for a couple of nights at a great hostel we found. The highlight of Florence was a day trip to the Tuscany countryside. It started out quite unfortunately when our van driver hit an old woman at about 50 mph when she was crossing the street. It was pretty bloody, but she was coherent, and an ambulance came to rush her to the hospital. On a lighter note, we got to continue our tour out to the wine country to hop on some vespa scooters. It was beautiful driving scooters through the rolling hills with the view of endless vineyards. After an hour of cruising, we stopped at a restaurant in the middle of the vineyards for some great pasta and wine. After some food and a few glasses of wine, we drove our scooters through the dark, and got in a van to go to a small 13th century medieval town for a wine tasting. Overall, it ended up being an amazing day even though it didn’t start out the greatest.
We headed out of Florence the next day on an 8-hour train ride in 100-degree heat with no air conditioning only to end up in the dirty city of Naples. Luckily we found a great hostel to stay at for the night, and took a day trip to the island of Capri. Capri was beautiful surrounded by turquoise water and small caves. It was great traveling with a local family who gave us a boat tour of all of the hidden spots.
Now I am ready to get out of this filthy city and go sit on the beach in Croatia! I am trying to put up some photos, but I think my Internet is too slow.
Chao
It’s my last day in Naples, Italy before we embark on our journey to Croatia! My time in Italy started six days ago when our ship landed in Civitavecchia, but some friends and I immediately got out of this boring city and went to Rome. We saw some great sites in Rome such as: the Coliseum, Pantheon, Spanish steps, and Trevi Fountain. We found a nice hotel to sleep at for the night, and then went to Pisa to see the incredible leaning tower.
There wasn’t much else to see in Pisa besides the leaning tower, so we decided to stay in Florence for a couple of nights at a great hostel we found. The highlight of Florence was a day trip to the Tuscany countryside. It started out quite unfortunately when our van driver hit an old woman at about 50 mph when she was crossing the street. It was pretty bloody, but she was coherent, and an ambulance came to rush her to the hospital. On a lighter note, we got to continue our tour out to the wine country to hop on some vespa scooters. It was beautiful driving scooters through the rolling hills with the view of endless vineyards. After an hour of cruising, we stopped at a restaurant in the middle of the vineyards for some great pasta and wine. After some food and a few glasses of wine, we drove our scooters through the dark, and got in a van to go to a small 13th century medieval town for a wine tasting. Overall, it ended up being an amazing day even though it didn’t start out the greatest.
We headed out of Florence the next day on an 8-hour train ride in 100-degree heat with no air conditioning only to end up in the dirty city of Naples. Luckily we found a great hostel to stay at for the night, and took a day trip to the island of Capri. Capri was beautiful surrounded by turquoise water and small caves. It was great traveling with a local family who gave us a boat tour of all of the hidden spots.
Now I am ready to get out of this filthy city and go sit on the beach in Croatia! I am trying to put up some photos, but I think my Internet is too slow.
Chao
Barcelona
Buenos Dias,
I am back on the ship after an incredible time in Barcelona. I did a lot of sight seeing and walking during the day and checked out the nightlife at night.
I spent most of the first day riding around on the top of a tour bus to see some of the major sites and get oriented with the city. Some friends and I saw an exciting Flamenco dance and music show that night. On the second day, I hopped on the metro to go see a famous cathedral called “La Sagrada Familia,” and then I hiked up to a park called “Parque de Guel”. The park was up on a hill at the edge of the city, which made for an extraordinary panoramic view of the city accompanied by the sounds of park musicians in the background.
After a tiring day, it was time for some sangria before going to an Irish pub to watch the Spain vs. Chile futbol match. It was an exciting night in the streets after Spain won, besides the fact that I got pick pocketed by some prostitutes, but luckily I didn’t get anything stolen besides some cash. After finding my way back to the ship at like 5am with no cash, it was definitely time for some sleep.
The next day was just as exciting, even though I didn’t have any more encounters with the ladies of the night. I spent most of the day finding my way to Mount Tibidabo to take a hike to the top for a cerveza and a great view of the city. There was nothing better than some fresh paella, sangria, and the USA vs. Ghana soccer game after a sunny day of hiking. Unfortunately the U.S. got knocked out the world cup, but that didn’t stop anyone from enjoying the nightlife of Barcelona. My plan was to go to a relaxing light show at a fountain, but I found myself at a gay pride street festival/foam party instead. I didn’t know that the area with the fountain had a gay pride festival going on for the weekend, but I guess it was interesting to see half naked people raving to techno music in a pile of dirty foam. It was a bit too gay for me though, so I decided to make my way to a club called Razzmatazz, where they had 5 stories of music, with a different type of music on each story.
The final day in Barcelona was a relaxing time at the beach spent reminiscing about the crazy times people had over the past few days while looking out at the clear Mediterranean sea only to be blocked at times by old topless women. Now I am ready to go to Italia!
~Adios
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