http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Landimages/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Landimages en-us Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:35:46 BST Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:35:46 BST 1000 am arrive at the Aqaba Jordan port to go to EgyptPurchased ferry tickets and car paper work. Boat is to depart by noon.130 we were told that we may leave at 400pm. 530pm we are told we should expect to board with in hour. We meet a couple in the car parked next to us also waiting to board. The guy is from Yemen and the girl is from Palestine. Both are in their mid 20rsquos. He is ver http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Red-Sea/Sharm-el-Sheikh/blog-273492.html We woke up early to beat the crowed and visited the ruins a second time. This sunrise visit was well worth it. The light on the rocks and ruins was amazing and it was a completely different experience without the crowds. We got on the road for the Wadi Rum desert. This is a beautiful desert made famous by the Arab Revolt and TE Lawrence in the early 20th century. The movie Lawrence of Arabia was a http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/South/Aqaba/blog-273488.html Made the 3 hour drive to Petra. There is not much between Amman and Petra but a lot of hot dry desert. We did stop along the way to meet a Bedouin family. They were very welcoming and even asked us to join them for tea. Lisa wanted to meet their wives who were peaking around the back of the tent but unfortunately the men would not allow her to do so. Once we reached Petra we checked in to our hot http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/South/Petra/blog-273486.html Since Mo and Lisa were so nervous we decided to leave at 600 am sharp. After a treacherous drive at the border we met the same Lebanese guards Yes again more paperwork .We drove passed Damascus toward Amman Jordan it was about 105 we did check in a nice cool hotel and the next day we drove toward Petra. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-269483.html We got on the road early toward Lebanon. We had to get thru bunch of paper work leaving Syria then a bunch more to enter Lebanon. Like that was not enough the http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Lebanon/Beirut/blog-269480.html We got up very early to take advantage of the early light to take some more photos. However it was so windy there was too much dust in the air. No photos We had breakfast and then got on our way to Damascus. Once out in middle of nowhere Al decided he wanted us to drive the car and he would film us driving so we got off the paved road and in a middle of desert where it was flat as far as you http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/South/Damascus/blog-269478.html We got on the road early decided to try and see some ruins near the north Lebanon border before driving out to Palmira where we would stay for the night. Roads are poorly marked here and even though we now have a map in aerobic it is still very hard to navigate. We ask for directions frequently and many times since there are such a language barrier people are nice enough to jump in their car bike http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/East/Palmyra/blog-269476.html After breakfast we took a cab to the Citadel. A very interesting old structure in the center of the city. We then made our way to the cityrsquos bazaar. This place goes on and on. One after the other covered streets filled with vendors selling anything and everything you can imagine. There are little to no tourist here mostly the locals doing their shopping. We took some pictures haggled with http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/North/Aleppo/blog-269475.html Drove to the Syrian border. After many smoke filled rooms paper work and questioning we were given permission to enter Syria. It got dark during our hour drive to Hama Syria. The roads were rough the traffic was insane and the signs were all in aerobic. Itrsquos worth mentioning that the maps for this trip are in Alrsquos lost bag. There for we had to buy new maps in Italy. Sohellip we are http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/West/Hama/blog-269471.html Driving http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Mediterranean/Mersin/blog-267441.html What could be better than waking up to breakfast on the beach We sipped our Turkish tea and planned our day while soaking up the sun and enjoying the view. We then packed up the car and drove into the town to explore Fethiye a bit before we leave. We spot some ruins carved into the mountain that bordered the back of the town. We park the car walk up a tiny street and find some old stairs leading http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Mediterranean/Antalya/blog-267436.html After breakfast and a walk around town we hit the road. We reached Fethiye Turkey around 5pm. This was a surprisingly great little town. At first sight we thought there was nothing there and nearly got back on the road for the next town. Then Al spotted a sign that pointed in the direction of the waterfront. Once again we are ahead of the tourist season by a few weeks so we had a great little ho http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Aegean/Fethiye/blog-267435.html After breakfast we walked back over to the port purchase our insurance picked up the car and hit the road. After a full day of driving we arrived in Bodrum a very nice coastal town. There were many nice restaurants hotels and shops that lined the marina. Itrsquos about 2 or 3 weeks prior to high season so we easily found a great place to stay and nice place for dinner. Not only is this place http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Aegean/Cesme/blog-267433.html We arrived Chios around 430am. We drove off the boat and were soon informed that the next boat leaving for Turkey would not leave at 8am as scheduled but at 4pm. They told us the boat was ldquobrokenrdquo. We made the best of it and spent the day exploring the town. We finally loaded the car around 330 then watched as the one other car squeezed on board this tiny little ferry. About 45min. l http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/North-Aegean/Chios/blog-267431.html Walked around the city one last time then boarded the Theofilos the overnight ferry that will take us to the Island of Chios Greece. This was a very different kind of boat than the one we took from Italy to Greece. There was a very strange vibe to the Theofilos. Boarding this boat is like stepping into some sort of creepy Greek funeral. We nearly jumped over the side. We decided from our last b http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/Attica/Athens/blog-265935.html We headed off to Acropolis amazingand took some photos. We also visited the Odium of Herodes Theater of Dionysos Hadrianrsquos Arch Temple of Olympian Zeus and then finally the Ancient Agora. Itrsquos hard to imagine how such massive structures were created so long ago.Later in the day we walked around town did some shopping and had a nice dinner overlooking the ruins. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/Attica/Athens/blog-265932.html We reached port in Piraeus Greece around 1 pm then drove to Athens. Athens is a beautiful city with lots of history but it is very smoggy . Driving here is a lot of fun if you like dodging cars motorcycles and pedestrians that come at you from every direction. We canrsquot read the traffic signs but not to worry no one seems to obey them anyway. We were lucky and found a spot for the car and http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/Attica/Athens/blog-265931.html Since the statue of Davidrsquos site is closed on Mondays we decided to try to get a couple of quick shots before leaving. Big mistake. The streets were crawling with tourists and students. There were at least 4 to 5 hundred people waiting in line for David so we decided to skip it and head south.After a couple hours of driving it started to rain hard and there was a bad accident on the freewa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-265926.html Today we drove from La Spezia to Florence. We quickly found a very nice OLD hotel. The rooms were HUGE and had 20ft ceilings. It was a great spring day but a little windy. Many of the museums are closed on Mondays so there were slightly less tourist on the streets which was nice. We walked around for a few hours. You canrsquot go far in Florence without bumping into some building or sculpture http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/blog-264636.html Drove from Belleville to San Tropez then Canne France. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/blog-263718.html