Tag Archives: Travel Musings

My Favorite 5: Things to do in/near Amsterdam

01 Thursday Nov 2012

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Sorry it has been so long since I’ve posted! I am noticing a trend with this…I will try to get better about it!

Beautiful antique door handles at the Noordermarkt flea market

Last week I was lucky to be hosted by some amazing friends, and spent more time in Amsterdam, a beautiful and historic city. Here are 5 of the things I’ve enjoyed doing the most from my trips there:

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How to Make Tiramisu: An Easy Recipe

25 Thursday Oct 2012

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Lately, I”ve been blessed to be a guest in many homes of dear friends. I am reminded all the time how much I have to be grateful for, and the most important one of those is the love I am surrounded and supported by. Obviously, there aren’t many real gifts I can give to repay them for their love other than to return it; one of the tangible ways I can do that is to prepare some delicious food for them, and put my love into that, with the hopes that they can enjoy it. I totally support Penzey’s Spices motto: Love People. Cook them tasty food. 

So, here’s an easy recipe that I’ve used among family and friends, both old and new, which was taught to me by one of the most incredible women I know, who always does things with love and care. I may have posted this before, but I find that it’s relevant and worthy of a new posting! Plus, I’ve learned a few things in the many times I’ve made it that might be important to share, too.
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My Favorite Five: Things to do in Siena

15 Monday Oct 2012

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So, in writing this post I realize that not once but twice before I have written about this town. Once in 2007, when I visited with my study abroad roomie, and once again in 2009 when I was working in Orvieto. Both of these entries seem like lifetimes away, yet I say practically the same thing about the town in both–and also here! (I read them after I had written this post.) It’s also interesting to note the difference between my 25-year-old self’s writing and my 20-year-old self’s, although the voice is much the same. Food for thought.

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Update: What’s Next

07 Sunday Oct 2012

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Ok, so you guys read about my month in Baschi WWOOFing, then I spent about 5 days in Rome mostly catching up with friends, getting some work done with both writing and grad school apps, and generally being lazy. I did go see Ted, which is probably less funny dubbed in Italian but I definitely was the only one laughing at some of the very quintessential American joke and references. Also saw a sweet Italian film called Il Rosso e Il Blu, about high school teachers in Rome. I also ate a LOT of pizza and some gelato and started working again on my morning yoga practice thanks to an inspiring Orviet session with my friend/yoga instructor, Emily.

Currently, I”m in Gaiole in Chianti, Italy. Rather, we’re about 7.5 km outside of it, but the event I’m checking out is L’Eroica, a vintage bike ride that has varying degrees of duration, from 30 km to 205 km. Yes, people are crazy, and crazy fit. I, however, am not, and am instead here to admire the physical prowess of these insane individuals who ride steel-framed bikes up and down Tuscan hills, as well as translate things for my friend, who’s writing a piece, and perhaps pick up a few things for some of my own writing, as well.

The plan, most of which consists of hanging out with dearly missed friends/sleeping on their couches:

 Hang out in Gaiole for a few days.

Go to Siena for a few days. Meet up with some dear American friends of mine who are moving to Siena for the year. I have been looking forward to this for literally months.

Maybe hit up Florence on the way to a night in Bologna.

Head to Mulhouse in Alsace, France around October 15th or 16th for more friends

Hop on a flight headed on Amsterdam on the 21st for even MORE friends (CdF nel cuore!) and hopefully to see more of the Dutch countryside

Fly to Dublin (!!!!) for my first foray into Ireland. Am particularly excited about this because a lot of my blood is Irish and I have always loved spontaneous jam sessions, singing in harmony, dancing, eating potatoes, and the like. I fully intend on heading to County Sligo at some point to find someone distantly related to me. Halloween, basically my favorite holiday, is going to be amazing. I am totally hitting up some ghost tours while in Ireland, as well as asking old and wizened barkeeps for their ghost stories. Stay tuned for those. I’ll be doing work exchange in a hostel in Kilkenny, doing hostel-y things in exchange for board.

During this time I”ll also be finishing many of my applications to graduate school, which are stupid and annoying and expensive and the bane of my existence because I really want to get in somewhere but oh, what a hassle it is. Just take me, people!

Of course, I”ll still be doing my weekly interviews on Go! Girl Guides and working on pieces to submit for other sites. Yay for writing, and traveling, and writing about traveling!

Where I Am for September

02 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in Destinations, Travel Musings, WWOOFing

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Sorry I’ve been so bad about posting lately. I have lots of excuses, I swear. Here are a few:
1. We were moving Boris into his new apartment in Istanbul.
2. We didn’t have internet in Boris’ new apartment in Istanbul.
3. I had to get to Orvieto! And that took awhile…
4. The internet here at the farm was out after a storm.
5. I’M ON A FARM. There have been lots of cool things to learn.

So, the whole farm thing. I”m starting my WWOOFing, and as such, I’m working 6 days a week for a few hours a day on a farm near Baschi, Italy. I’m the official caretaker of the farm’s animals, which include a bunch of chickens, some quail, a rabbit, a pig, the second best dog in the world (second only to my own), 3 capons (one of which that is trying to kill me, more on this later), a grouchy cat, 3 tortoises, a few ducks.

I’m also in charge of the compost, which is an integral part of organic farming. I’m really looking forward to learning how to take care of the animals, as well as how to use them for food. Yes, I will be helping to slaughter and butcher them; in fact, we’re going to try to get to a duck tomorrow.

The farm covers about 10 acres, and also is home to fruit trees of all sorts: mulberry, fig, apricot, pomegranate, apple, and quince. There are also olive trees, and the family here sells their olive oil to a restaurant up north.

More photos and updates coming soon! I promise! 

Capture the Colour Photo Contest

27 Monday Aug 2012

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For the past six weeks I’ve been admiring other travel bloggers’ submissions to Travel Supermarket’s Capture the Colour Photo Contest.  Anyone can enter, but for some reason it took me until today to decide to do so using photos I’ve taken in the past few months. I was timid about not having my many photos from previous years on this computer, but now I guess I have a number of shots that are more worth including. Besides, it’s a really fun contest idea and it has a load of great prizes.

Red: Ayvalik, Turkey. We had just taken an 8-hour bus ride from Istanbul, and were ready to resume our tradition of watching sunsets. The first glimpse we caught of it was from a tiny alley just off the water, and I practically started running to the shore when I saw how brilliant the colors were, evident just from the reflections in the car windshield. Needless to say, the sunset itself did not disappoint, but part of the beauty was the teaser that got us there.
Sometimes the preview is just as good as the feature film.

 Blue: Ankara, Turkey. We were being guided by our friend’s good-natured brother (in the navy shirt in the back), and he was the perfect embodiment of Turkish hospitality. We became fast friends with him, and he happily did everyday things with us, like taking my boyfriend (in the blue smock) to his first Turkish barber shop for a beard trim.

First beard trim with our new friend looking on.
Yellow: Sonoma County, California. I had recently quit my job to travel and write for a year, and my extended family decided to take a trip to northern California. It would be the first time that I would fly abroad and they would not be able to see me off due to the trip, so every day we spent together was truly precious. This photo was taken at one of the beaches near our rental in Jenner. At the time of this photo being taken, my father was ten feet away from me creating beautiful sand art and my mother was reading under the umbrella. It was a beautiful day, and the sands were dotted with the bodies of jellyfish. 

White: Thessaloniki, Greece. We had taken a bus to the top of the town and explored, eating fruit and people-watching in a tiny square before meandering some more. Greece is home to many white-washed buildings and many stray cats, and here I found it fitting that we spotted both complimenting each other. The cat slunk through the alleyway with the power of a miniature panther. 

Green: Isle of Skye, Scotland. It was our first day near Glen Brittle on the Isle of Skye, and we had been told that among the countless sheep dotting the countryside there were also ruins of a clan long-established in the area. We ran into another hiker and he joined us for the trek, even giving us a lift to the trail head after having known us for 10 minutes. Here the stone remains look out onto the abundant green overgrowth in what had once been the courtyard of the castle. 

And now, as part of the contest, I nominate 5 fellow bloggers to participate in Capture the Colour. Sorry for the late notices, guys. :-/ My nominees are:

–Regina of ReginaRae.Com
–Tarreyn of TarreynLand.Com
–Kat Carney of Kat Carney Photography
–Lori from Random Road Revelations
–Lily from A Modern Writer’s Adventures and Misadventures

Pamukkale Playlist

18 Saturday Aug 2012

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In my last post, I mentioned that there was a wide selection of songs and music to choose from while riding on the Pamukkale bus. I thought I’d share some of the songs that we listened to on our trip.

I’m going to come right out and say it: I love pop music. I used to claim it was a “guilty pleasure” and that I was a “closeted” pop music lover. Well, folks, it’s time for me to come out of the closet. I love pop. I have no problem with Justin Bieber. I sing along to Ke$ha. I adore “Call Me Maybe.” That being said, the insane number of pop hits kept me busy for the better part of our 6-hour bus trip…I’ll regale you with 10 selections. Judge me as you will, but we rocked out in our luxury-bus seats all the way to Ankara.

Titanium: David Guetta featuring Sia. Also, love this music video!
Love Story: Taylor Swift. For those romantics out there.
Judas: Lady Gaga. I had never actually listened much to this song, I really like it.

Ai Se Eu Te Pego: Michel Telo. Apparently this is all the rage in Europe. I’m a fan. I’ve decided.

Empire State of Mind: Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys. This song was my anthem in the summer of 2010, and every time I hear it it reminds me that I would love to live in New York for awhile…

Stereo Hearts: Gym Class Heroes featuring Adam Levine. Ever since this song came out I’ve admired its cute and quirky lyrics.
Here With Me: Dido. This is an older one. I lost the argument Boris & I had about where this song fell in Love Actually. Shameful.

Never Say Never: Justin Bieber featuring Jaden Smith. I know some of you  might not want to be friends with me anymore after this. Sorry.

Teenage Dream: Katy Perry. The best version of this song is when The Warblers covered it on Glee…but the original is pretty good, too.

My Lady D’Arbonville: Cat Stevens. This is to add some class to the mix and to give Boris some solid representation, as he adores this song and Cat Stevens.

Riding in Style: Our Bus from Istanbul to Ankara

17 Friday Aug 2012

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After a little more than a week in Istanbul catching up on work and seeing some of the sights, we were ready for something a bit different. So, on to Ankara we went to visit a friend of Boris.’ Getting to Ankara from Istanbul is easy and cheap. There are a multitude of buses going to and from the two biggest cities in Turkey, so all we needed to do was show up at the Otogar (Bus station) and buy a ticket.

Look how many buses! So many buses! Leaving the Istanbul otogar…

We took the 83O bus from Taksim Square, and after about an hour ended up at the main bus station for Istanbul, which services the entire country and then some. I had done some research on Turkey Travel Planner (a really helpful website if you ever plan to travel or live in Turkey), and Boris’ friend recommended the bus company, Pamukkale. The cost was 50 TL apiece, which is on the higher end of things, but is only $27 with the exchange and we were looking at a 6-7 hour bus ride (remember: Turkey is BIG). Not bad, considering a Greyhound bus of the same duration is WAY less comfortable/reliable and more expensive.

Boris had told me about the buses he rode in Turkey a few years ago, but his description did not match the awesome reality that I would experience.

Sign #1 that this would be much different from my trips on the Greyhound in southern Oregon was when I got a luggage tag for my bag. Perhaps in the northeast they do this, but on none of the buses I’ve been on in the States, or in Spain, or in Italy, or in Greece, have I gotten a luggage tag with a claim number and everything.

Sign #2 (and this is a biggie): there was a bus attendant. Yes, much like a flight attendant, only there was only one. A young man, in a dapper red bow tie and pressed white button-down long-sleeve with immaculate slacks–very reminiscent of a barkeep from the 1920’s at a fancy hotel–came around multiple times to offer snacks, water, tea & coffee, and soft drinks. This was awesome, and the bow tie really made my day.

Sign #3: each seat had its own LCD mini-screen, just like on airplanes. There were movies, TV, INTERNET (albeit a slow connection, but whatever), loads of music, and a virtual map to show where we were.

The only disadvantage was that there was no bathroom on the bus. Although, come to think of it, having used bus bathrooms, it’s probably a lot more sanitary not to have one…they really stink.

Ever ridden a sweet bus? Where was it and what made it comfy?