http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Around-the-World/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Around the World en-us Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:10:47 +0000 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:10:47 +0000 CasablancaJanuary 8 2007Monday Even accounting for our late start we were very reluctant to give up our comfortable WARM Rabat hotel and the reliable Restaurant Mixed Grill we made it to Casablanca shortly after 1pm. Casablanca the largest city in Morocco is a huge shipping hub and not too much more. Most of the locals we met when we arrived in Morocco advised that we not spend much or any http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Grand-Casablanca/Casablanca/blog-364813.html January 4 7 2007ThursdayWe woke up in Chefchaoen at 530 am and left our hotel at 6 am. Our bus was a little late so we ended up pulling out of town at 745 rather than 7 regretting that we could have stayed cold in bed longer. The bus was fairly jerky but we were both able to sleep a little because we were very tired. If yoursquove read the blog for awhile you know that 530 am wakeup ca http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Rabat-Sal-Zemmour-Zaer/Rabat/blog-364804.html January 1 4 2007MondayWe left Hotel Ibis at 10 am and took a cab to the CTM office for the 11 am bus. At the bus station we met a law student from Toronto fresh from a semester in England who started talking to Roger while Amy was in the bathroom. We chatted with him for a bit and tried to sit by each other on the bus. Contrary to Amyrsquos research the Moroccans do care very much about http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Tangier-T-touan/Chefchaouen/blog-364801.html December 28 31 2006Completing this entry more than two years after we were in Morocco it struck us how lazy and boring we were in Fes and maybe all of Morocco. We think at least our initial laziness boils down to a few things. First we arrived in Morocco right before EidalAdha there are various names for this holiday used around the Muslim world and we received conflicting information http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Fes/blog-363843.html December 23 28 2006We spent a lot of time debating where to spend our Christmas. We considered staying in Turkey but thought a traditional Christmas might be more accessible in a nonMuslim country. We also thought about going back to Slovenia and heading to Bled for a nice quiet snowy Christmas. In the end the promise of a big city Christmas with Chinese food and movies won out. Needless t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/London-City/blog-245352.html December 17 23 2006SundayOur bus up the Dardanelles arrived in Istanbul at 8pm. After some confusion we loaded on to a servis van encountering the rare rude face the servis apparently brings out two guys in the front seat took up three seats the back seat someone always seems to sit down at the end and doesnrsquot move over so you have to crawl over themhellip. A local guy on the bus t http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Marmara/Istanbul/blog-244968.html December 15 17 2006FridayWe pulled into Cannakale after dark and with not much of a clue as to where we would be staying for the night. The bus from Selcuk dropped us at Cumhuriyet Meydani an open square between the ferry docks at the end of the main street of Cumhuriyet Boulevard a corridor of busy shops hotels and restaurants with a narrow park running down the center of the avenue. We d http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Marmara/Canakkale/blog-238194.html December 11 15 2006MondayAfter slicing inland to Pamukkale from the Mediterranean we cut back to the coast and the Bodrum Peninsula on the Aegean coast that is home to the town of Bodrum. Tourism is the local business in Bodrum although we were told that the town retains a little more of its unique charms than other coastal cities overrun by tourism.We arrived in Bodrum after dark and navigat http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Aegean/Sel-uk/blog-237783.html December 9 11 2006SaturdayWhen we woke up Saturday we knew we needed to get out of Antalya. It was a nice enough place and not touristy in the way that other welltrod overblown toutfilled towns are in other parts of the world but for Turkey it was our low point thus far.We had really been struggling to make decisions about what to see and where to go while in Turkey. Any sane traveler s http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Aegean/Pamukkale/blog-219427.html AntalyaDecember 7 9 2006ThursdayWe arrived at the Antalya bus station about 530pm. There may have been a servis a smaller bus that would take us closer to the city center but we were stupid enough not to check. We ended up waiting for a bus to the gate of the old city for about 20 minutes when with darkness quickly falling we gave up and took a cab for 12 Turkish Lira 10. After getti http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Mediterranean/Antalya/blog-211839.html SafranboluDecember 3 5 2006SundayThe 225 kilometer bus ride from Ankara to Safranbolu was uneventful though we really enjoy the full service snack drink and perfume service. At a bathroom stop we each got a little bite to eat something like warm pita bread rolled with a little cheese and then grilled a tasty treat that surprisingly filled us up.When we got to Safranbolu we didnrsquot r http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/blog-183130.html December 5 7 2006TuesdayWe arrived at the Konya bus station approximately 15 kilometers outside of the city center after dark and apparently in the midst of rush hour. Completely clueless we followed the crowds from the bus station to the city tram line. Wedging our voluminous bags into crowded public transportation has become one of the most enjoyable aspects of our trip and this was no ex http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Konya/blog-204728.html December 1 3 2006 Friday We arrived in the Turkish capital of Ankara late in the afternoon. While Istanbul ranks as the historic and cultural hub of Turkey Ankara was selected to serve as the Turkish capital in 1923 as part of the revolution Ataturk preferred the isolated authentically Anatatolian geography in making a symbolic distinction between the new and old regimes. At the close of http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Ankara/blog-180655.html November 2628 2006 Sunday November 26 Istanbul is a big city. Arriving at the Sirkeci train station blearyeyed in the midmorning after our long rail journey the size of the city was immediately evident. At first blush it seemed remarkably familiar. A tram ran by the McDonaldrsquos across the street bakerycafes were visible in every direction traffic was hectic and the sidewalks jamme http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Marmara/Istanbul/blog-174330.html Bosnia November 16 25 2006 Thursday November 16 We took the 515 pm bus to Mostar from Dubrovnik. We think the actual drive time is only 2 hours but with stops and border crossings we were told it would take between 3 and 4 hours. The bus was the most crowded bus we had been on in quite awhile but it was still not even half full. At one point on the way from Dubrovnik there is about a 20 km http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Bosnia-and-Herzegovina/blog-158576.html Croatia November 9 16 Zagreb Thursday November 9 Saturday November 11 We liked Zagreb a lot more than we would have expected based on what we read. Most of what we read on travel sites said to either skip it or come for a few hours and then move on. We thought a quick departure might be a possibility so we stored our bags at the train station before taking a walk around town. Croatia ha http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Croatia/blog-144524.html Slovenia October 31 November 9 2006 We did not know what to expect when we started our trip east through the Balkans to Turkey. We had originally planned on going to Turkey and then decided not to because of some possible security issues but then we changed our minds again. In the process we decided rather than taking one long train journey it might be fun to see a different part of Europe an http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Slovenia/blog-142970.html Oct. 28 31 2006We werenrsquot sure whether we would go to Venice. Neither one of us had a burning desire to go but we felt like maybe we should check it out before we left Italy. If we had decided to move west from Italy we probably would have skipped it but once we decided to move east a visit to Venice made sense. While in Florence during our second visit we had free internet in our hote http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Veneto/Venice/blog-136686.html Cinque TerreOctober 24 27 2006TuesdayAfter checking out of our Florence hotel we went to the train station to get cash and eat McDonaldrsquos before leaving for Cinque Terre. The train to La Spezia the station that serves as the start of the rail line that connects the five villages of Cinque Terre was noteworthy solely for the huge number of fashionable students who disembarked at Pisa. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Liguria/Cinque-Terre/blog-136439.html FlorenceOct. 21 24 2006Saturday We woke up at 5am to leave San Gimignano and Tuscany for Florence where we would drop John and Pam at the train station. We got lost in the maze of Florentine streets before finally finding the train station afterwards going to return the car to Europcar. We arrived at Europcarrsquos office at 745am and although Europcar didnrsquot open until 8 we were lu http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-136433.html