Deblog

Rome, Italy 10/7-10/10

Rome was kind of a blur, perhaps because the wine was so good. I have to say I wasn't impressed with the food like I thought I'd be. I definitely didn't spend enough time here.

For more of Rome:

http://s691.photobucket.com/albums/vv274/amsterdeb/Rome/

Cairo was literally a last minute decision for us. It was never on our travel route. As soon as we accepted the fact that we weren't going to the Greek Islands we purchased our tickets bound for Africa. 15 hours later we were in Cairo. This was one of the most liveliest cities (especially at night) I've ever seen, partially due to the fact that we were there toward the end of Ramadan.

For more pictures of Cairo: http://s691.photobucket.com/albums/vv274/amsterdeb/Cairo/

View from the plane, descending into Cairo.

View of The Nile River from our hotel balcony.

Falafel's - Perhaps one of the best I've had. We ate at this place about four times while we were there. The food was amazing, but what was more amazing was the cost. Cheap, cheap.

Stuffed grape leaves - Definitely the best I've had.

Egyptian bread / Egyptian kids

Pyramids at Giza - Never thought I'd be riding a camel through the Sahara Desert.

Sphinx

Khan el-Khalili Bazaar

Here's a picture I got off of Yahoo after I heard of the bomb blast on February 22 that killed a teenager at the same Khan el-Khalili bazaar. How bazaar.

Athens, Greece 9/26

Athens was one of my favorite destinations on this trip. It wasn't necessarily the most beautiful, but overall it was the best. The food, the people, the culture - I just loved it all! And if I loved Athens as much as I did, I can't even imagine what the Greek Islands must be like. I guess visiting the islands just wasn't meant to be. We found ourselves trapped once again. The ferry service shut down, but this time because of bad weather. Oh well. I'm not done with Greece yet, I'll be back.

For more pictures of Athens:

http://s691.photobucket.com/albums/vv274/amsterdeb/Athens/

How many cops have you seen in the states look like these three? In Athens, they ALL look like this.

Plan B - Overnight train to Greece via Istanbul 9/24

Back to Istanbul. Plan A failed. Turns out the Greeks continued their strike longer than we hoped. I don't know when it finally ended and we weren't about to wait around to find out. We decided to escape Kusadasi and head back to Istanbul where we caught the overnight train to Greece (Thessonoliki). From there our plan was to catch another train to Athens. Unfortunately since Madonna was having her first ever concert in Athens that weekend, all seats on the train were booked solid. Luckily there was a bus station across the street from the train station and we were able to get on two of the last three seats available on the bus.

Charisma Hotel - Kusadasi

Since we decided to wait out the strike and stay a few days longer than anticipated, we checked out of the dump that we were originally staying at and checked into this hotel that our travel agent back in Istanbul hooked us up in. Night and day difference!

Plan A - Kusadasi to Athens via the Greek Isles

So the original plan was to travel through the Greek Islands to make our way to Athens. Unfortunately, the Greeks who ran the ferry service decided to go on strike which stopped all ferry service between Kusadasi and Samos. We were told that the ferry service would be up and running within a few days so we decided wait it out.

Ephesus Tour 9/20

One of the worlds most well preserved ancient cities. Just amazing to see, especially for someone coming from the U.S. Here's a link to more pictures of my tour around Ephesus and the Ephesus museum: http://s691.photobucket.com/albums/vv274/amsterdeb/Ephesus/

For more information on Ephesus: http://www.kusadasi.biz/ephesus/