An hour and forty-five minute train ride begins our day trip to Florence. This post is less based on what we saw, and more of what we did. Lots of selfies. Playing with the black and white setting on the camera. And indulging in some modern street art amidst the twisting beauty of Florentine streets. We also ate, but that, my friends, is another post.
Read MoreWe took a day trip from Rome to Florence to take in the architecture and, of course, the food.
Read MoreMalta is a little island, so little in fact, that it takes 45 minutes to drive end to end (and that's the long side). However, to do that drive would mean missing out on so many intriguing towns and natural wonders both above ground and below. Malta, like the island life, is meant to be taken slow and to be savored.
Read MoreMalta is home to some of the world's oldest free standing structures. Clocking in at a ripe old age of 3600 B.C., they are older than Stonehenge and even older than the pyramids. Not much is known about what these megalithic buildings were used for or the people that built them. We saw three of the more well-known sites but there are plenty more that have been found on the islands of Malta and nearby Gozo.
Read MoreThis was the church of the Order of the Knights of St. John (yes, the St. John's ambulance guys). Completed in 1577, the church interior was originally very simple, but in the early 1600's, one of the Grand Masters called for a redecoration. Years of money and gifts from Grand Masters and Knights yielded a gorgeous example of the baroque style.
Read MoreMalta is the first place we've been to where we found it hard to pinpoint the local cuisine. Part of our confusion stems from the fact that Malta, as a port city, has incorporated a lot of foods and flavors from other cultures into their own. One discovery we made was that Sicilian food has a heavy influence here, so we were very excited to partake in the first decent pasta we've had in months.
Read MoreMeteora didn't arrive on our travel bucket list through the usual ways like guidebooks or word of mouth or stunning movie scenes. It all began with a record album. Back in 2003, Linkin Park released their second studio album. The album itself was one of the best they've ever released, but what captured my attention was the album title: Meteora. Fascinated by this title, I took to the Internet to find out the origins of this word. A few clicks in, this is what I saw.
Read MoreOkay, this is really a "Favorite Corners" post, but with Athens, "Favorite Ruins" felt more appropriate. Athens is an intriguing coexistence between modern, myth, and ruin. Clean efficient metro lines zip beneath the ancient weight of marble temples. Words etched in early Greek letters share walls with fresh graffiti. Construction noises boom from inside the stoic crumble of the Parthenon. A young olive tree marks the spot where, thousands of years ago, the goddess Athena planted a gift for the city that would forever treasure her name.
Read MoreWe're in Athens, which means round two of delicious Greek food! Opa!
Read MoreWe almost didn't visit Istanbul. Days before we were scheduled to arrive, a suicide bombing occurred on Istiklal street which was near where we were planning to stay. After some serious discussions, we still decided to go. The day of our flight from Chania to Athens (where we would then take a connecting flight to Istanbul), a sandstorm arrived from Africa grounding all morning flights. And then the strong winds came. We decided that if we missed our connecting flight to Istanbul, we would just stay in Athens. However, the skies cleared, the winds calmed, and despite being a hour late, we managed to make our flight to Istanbul. We are so glad we did.
Read MoreAfter removing our shoes (complimentary plastic carrying bags can be found at the entrance), making sure our arms and legs were appropriately covered, and one headscarf for me, we were ready to tackle the sacred mosques of Istanbul. I've put our top 3 in this blog, but there are over 3000 mosques to explore in this city.
Read MoreI asked someone how to say "thank-you" in Turkish, and he taught me in a simple, beautiful way. He said, "You can use English words to learn. Just remember 'tea', 'sugar', 'a dream'. Teşekkür ederim. That lesson will stick with me for a while, not only because Turkish tea with sugar really does taste like something fit for dreams, but because that's what their food feels like to me. Simple ingredients yielding simply magical dishes. Enjoy.
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