Archive for the 'Travel' Category
Sunday, July 20th, 2008
Welcome to the crazy and wonderful city of Istanbul. It’s been a long road to get here - nearly 4,000 km in fact.
Istanbul is famous for many things, not the least of which is the great nightlife. Of course, it wouldn’t be Turkey unless there were some great ancient sites: the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya and of course, the Grand Bazaar.
Unfortunately we had to cut our Istanbul trip short, deciding to get surgery in Athens rather than here, so we didn’t get to experience nearly as much of it as we wanted.
But fear not Istanbul… Brel will be back.
Posted in Travel, Turkey | No Comments »
Friday, July 18th, 2008
Troy
The lost city of Troy was discovered in the late 1800’s, along with nine successive civilizations, one on top of the other, dating back 5,000 years. Classics student Brendan enjoyed walking through the site and debating whether Homer’s Iliad was fact or fiction. Mel remembered her first heart-break, healed to Sinead O’Connor’s song, Troy. “There is no other Troy, for you to burn …”
Ephesus
By far the most impressive of the many (many, many) ancient sites we saw in Turkey was Ephesus. Remarkably well-preserved, Ephesus was an important trading port, and was visited by the likes of Alexander the Great, St. John and quite possibly, the Virgin Mary. How cool is that?
Pergamon
Another impressive Turkish site is Pergamon, one of the ancient world’s major powers. You’ll note Mel is absent from the group shot- claiming to be all “ruined out”.
Posted in Travel, Turkey | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
As we continue our journey through Turkey, we're becoming more familiar with the culture, people and maybe even a little bit of the history. (Ugur, our tour guide: if you are reading this, ...
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Posted in Travel, Turkey | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
It's been a week since the surgery, and things are progressing well. Nurse Powell has been diligently carrying out his tasks with much love, and Mel is definitely on the mend. The drainage tube (yuck) ... [Continue reading this entry]
Posted in Greece, Travel | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
We interrupt your Turkey blog reading to bring you real-time news from Athens (our blog is usually a week behind our adventures).
In an unfortunate twist of fate, Brel have found themselves ...
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Posted in Greece, Travel | 2 Comments »
Friday, July 4th, 2008
Come, come, whoever you are.
Wanderer, idolator, worshipper of fire
Come even though you have broken your vows a thousand times.
Come, and come yet again.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
-Mevlana Rumi
We had the opportunity to ...
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Posted in Travel, Turkey | No Comments »
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
While it may not be as well known as Greece for it's coastal towns and islands, the Turquoise Coast is gorgeous. We spent some time in Kas, a beautiful town set amidst cliffs on the Mediterranean. ...
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Posted in Travel, Turkey | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008
We have seen some fabulous ... [Continue reading this entry]
Posted in Travel, Turkey | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
Happy Canada Day from Brel!
Posted in Travel | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
As we continue our 4,000 km, 14 day road trip, we have fallen in love with Turkey.
Food: The food here is delicious. Our options (thankfully) are more varied than meat-on-a-stick (though shish is available everywhere). And ...
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Posted in Travel, Turkey | No Comments »
Thursday, June 26th, 2008
It's almost impossible to describe the landscape in Cappadocia. Formed millions of years ago by 3 volcanoes, years of erosion, water, oxidation and wind have combined to create incredible, magical formations referred to ...
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Posted in Travel, Turkey, Turkey | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008
Of course we had to partake in one of the oldest rituals in Turkey, the Turkish ...
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Posted in Travel, Turkey | No Comments »
Monday, June 23rd, 2008
- Being a blond western woman is an invitation to stare. Like 4 people at the same time,for a minute or longer, without any attempt to hide who and what they are staring at.
- Like other Muslim countries, the less skin shown, ... [Continue reading this entry]
Posted in Lessons Learned, Travel, Turkey | No Comments »
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
It´s hard to believe, but the Brel Adventure is half over. Seems as good a time as any to take a look back:
Random Stats
- Countries visited: 7
- Cities visited: about 30
- New passport stamps: 23
- Favourite countries: Costa Rica and Argentina
- Favourite city: Buenos Aires
- Number ... [Continue reading this entry]
Posted in Final Thoughts, Travel | 2 Comments »
Friday, June 20th, 2008
By the Numbers
- Number of check-ins during our Quito hotel tour: 7
- Number of pounds Mel shed in a desperate bid to not return to Toronto at her all-time highest weight: 7ish
- Days of consecutive sobriety after all that wine ... [Continue reading this entry]
Posted in Ecuador, Final Thoughts, Travel | No Comments »
Thursday, June 19th, 2008
Brendan was a bit obsessed with taking photos of the many endemic iguanas in the Galapagos, so it seemed wrong to not have a blog dedicated to them. You have no idea ...
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Posted in Ecuador, Travel | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
The Galapagos Islands are famous for their giant tortoises - in fact they were named for them. Here you can see 200 kg tortoises measuring over 1 metre in length. Humans have ...
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Posted in Ecuador, Travel | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
There are all sorts of endemic birds in the Galapagos Islands. Some highlights for your reading and viewing pleasure:
Posted in Ecuador, Travel | No Comments »
Monday, June 16th, 2008
Snorkeling opportunities abound in the Galapagos Islands - there are multi-colored fish, sharks, octopus, sea horses, turtles, starfish... The most exciting thing to spot however, is the Galapagos Penguin. Endemic to this area, the penguins ...
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Posted in Ecuador, Travel | No Comments »
Monday, June 16th, 2008
With memories of our sailing trip in Brazil still fresh in our minds (16 bunk-beds in one room, no showers, crazy toilet ritual, etc.), we were pleasantly ...
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Posted in Ecuador, Travel | No Comments »
Sunday, June 15th, 2008
Undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Galapagos Islands is spotting the blue-footed boobie. (insert boobie joke here). About the size of sea gulls, the blue-footed boobies have, well, blue feet. The mating ritual involve ...
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Posted in Ecuador, Travel | No Comments »
Saturday, June 14th, 2008
Lounge in the sun. Take a few steps. Flop down. Swim in the sea. Repeat.
Such is the life of the Galapagos sea lion. Sound familiar?
Hundreds of sea lions line the rocky shores of most of the ...
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Posted in Ecuador, Travel | No Comments »
Saturday, June 14th, 2008
I remember as an 11 year-old, waking early every Saturday morning to watch Jack Hanna´s Animal Adventures. For a few years, Jack focused exclusively on the wildlife of the Galapagos Islands. With every tortoise, ...
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Posted in Ecuador, Travel | No Comments »
Thursday, June 12th, 2008
As predicted back in Costa Rica, the thrill of seeing monkeys has yet to wear off.
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Posted in Ecuador, Travel | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
(Jack is Mel´s 4 year-old nephew)
Hi Jack!
You would have loved the Amazon! We saw all sorts of frogs: poison-dart frogs, tree frogs, glass frogs and a bunch I don´t remember the names of. We thought you might enjoy ...
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Posted in Ecuador, Travel | No Comments »
Sunday, June 8th, 2008
Getting to La Selva Lodge (
www.laselvajunglelodge.com) isn´t easy: the journey begins with a flight from Quito, followed by a 2.5 hour ride in a motorized dug-out canoe along the Napo River, ...
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Posted in Ecuador, Travel | No Comments »
Friday, June 6th, 2008
In a country with as much history as Ecuador, it seemed only right for Brel to spend the night in the oldest hacienda, 400 year-old La Guachala.
Amidst our antique furniture, we easily slipped into the ...
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Posted in Ecuador, Travel | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008
No visit to Ecuador would be complete without a visit to the place where the middle of the world was declared, in 1736 . The equator, the widest part of the world, crosses only 7 countries.
The museum at ...
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Posted in Ecuador, Travel | 1 Comment »
Monday, June 2nd, 2008
We find ourselves in Otavalo, Ecuador, home to South America´s largest outdoor market. I should have anticipated this would be trouble.
Lessons learned:
1. Markets are a lot of fun. I actually hyperventilated a little when I saw it.
2. Bargaining makes me feel good. It doesn´t ...
[Continue reading this entry] Posted in Ecuador, Lessons Learned, Travel | No Comments »
Friday, May 30th, 2008
With our tour of South America almost over, we will be in Toronto from June 15 - 20, before heading off to Turkey.
We´d invite you all for a BBQ were it not for the fact that we are homeless. We´re ... [Continue reading this entry]
Posted in Travel | No Comments »
Thursday, May 29th, 2008
It´s high time Brel spent some time apart. And with Brendan writing away and working hard to meet deadlines, I ventured into the Ecuadorian cloudforest for the weekend. Two hours from Quito (the capital and largest city ...
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Posted in Ecuador, Travel | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
We are in the midst of planning the third and final leg of our adventure and would love your thoughts if you´ve been to any of the countires on our itinerary. We´ve changed our plans considerably (yay Africa! see you next ...
[Continue reading this entry] Posted in Travel | 2 Comments »
Monday, May 26th, 2008
With over 1,000 wineries, Mendoza really is a wine lovers´paradise. And with only one week to explore, you can imagine the pressure Brel was feeling to sample as many as possible. While our livers may ...
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Posted in Argentina, Travel | No Comments »
Monday, May 19th, 2008
“Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. There are five basic steps in tasting wine: color, swirl, smell, taste, and savour. Essentially, a taster is looking for clarity, varietal character, integration, expressiveness, ...
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Posted in Argentina, Travel | No Comments »
Saturday, May 17th, 2008
Don´t cry for me Argentina
The truth is, I never left you
All through Puerto Varas
And Santiago
I kept my promise
You knew I´d be back....Sorry Chile...our hearts are still in Argentina, so we´ve returned to spend some time in Mendoza, a.k.a. ...
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Posted in Argentina, Travel | No Comments »
Friday, May 16th, 2008
Moments We´d Rather Forget...
- How much we made everyone worry that we were too close to the erupting volcano
- The sticker shock - especially after a month in Argentina
- How North American it all seemed...
Highlights...
Posted in Chile, Final Thoughts, Travel | No Comments »
Thursday, May 15th, 2008
This is a bad time of year to visit Santiago. Surrounded by the Andes, it's kind of like a cesspool of pollution. The air is thick and nasty and you can't actually see the ...
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Posted in Chile, Travel | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
We´ve crossed the Andes and entered Chile at a most interesting time - the Chaiten volcano is erupting for the first time in over 9,000 years and it´s all over the international news. The smoke and ...
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Posted in Chile, Travel | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
By The Numbers
- Number of Purchases:
- Leather purses: 7
- Leather jackets: 5
- Shoes and boots: 7
- Number of animals who gave their lives for our purchases (including a guanaco): uh, not really sure we want to know this
- Number of days ... [Continue reading this entry]
Posted in Argentina, Final Thoughts, Travel | No Comments »
Sunday, May 11th, 2008
Bariloche, in northern Patagonia, Argentina, is home to more than 50 artesan chocolate shops and over a dozen microbreweries.
How do you spell Brel heaven? B-A-R-I-L-O-C-H-E.
Set amidst the Andes, Bariloche is also a world-reknowned ...
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Posted in Argentina, Travel | 1 Comment »
Friday, May 9th, 2008
You know Mel is the one writing this blog when this photo actually makes it onto the site. I just can´t help laughing out loud every time I see it...do I actually date this person?
Of course this ...
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Posted in Argentina, Travel | 1 Comment »
Friday, May 9th, 2008
Gaining an understanding of Argentina means more than just hanging out in trendy restaurants and binging on beef and wine in Buenos Aires. (Not that there´s anything wrong with that.)
And so we journeyed to the province of Salta, ...
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Posted in Argentina, Travel | No Comments »
Friday, May 2nd, 2008
An open letter to Ted Rogers:
One would think that being out of the country for 4 months would translate to fewer issues with you, the cable and internet provider from hell. I’m sure you understand our surprise then, to find ...
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Posted in Argentina, Travel | No Comments »
Thursday, May 1st, 2008
We are going to Grooooove Armada! Right now!! In Buenos Aires!
Wicked.
Posted in Argentina, Travel | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
Since the City Slickers movies of the early 90’s, Mel has dreamed of staying at a working dude ranch – learning to ride while living the cowboy life. (Surely this is ...
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Posted in Argentina, Travel | No Comments »
Monday, April 28th, 2008
No, that wasn´t just to get your attention.
We are spending the next month in wine country - Bariloche, the Maipo Valley and Mendoza. So as you can imagine, we don´t want our love affair with Argentinian wines to end.
We know ...
[Continue reading this entry] Posted in Argentina, Travel | 2 Comments »
Sunday, April 27th, 2008
While it may seem like our trip is all fun and games (and it is, mostly), Mel has been taking private Spanish lessons (3 hours/day) for the past few weeks. Well beyond telling time and ...
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Posted in Argentina, Travel | 2 Comments »
Saturday, April 26th, 2008
With two years of dating behind us, and this many months of intensive dating via travelling, it was only a matter of time before we would start to ...
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Posted in Argentina, Travel | 1 Comment »
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
We find ourselves in La Cumbre, a posh town in the northern part of the province of Cordoba, about 800 km from Buenos Aires. Known as a groovy, artsy town, La Cumbre is ...
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Posted in Argentina, Travel | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
1. Unpacking your bags once and settling down for a month: brilliant.
2. Don’t mess with the farmers. See previous blogs on beef strike and field burning.
3. You can never buy too many leather coats, ...
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Posted in Argentina, Lessons Learned, Travel | No Comments »
