We are home, safe and sound, readjusting body and mind to life back in Oakville. Unfortunately, travelblog.org had a server crash over August 1-5, during which time all of our blog entries were lost. This is very sad news, (mostly to myself who took all the time to create these entries!), but I am going to attempt to recover what I can of the lost entries. At the very least I'll post the pictures from Istanbul that hadn't gone up yet. Thank you to all those who kept up with us on our journey and went with us in a way, [View Full Entry]

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Here are some of the best pictures from our time in Istanbul. enjoy. -Erica [View Full Entry]

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We arrived safely in Istanbul (though just barely- one of our 3 flights was overbooked and they had given our seats away!) and were warmly welcomed into the Robles home. It was so good to reunite with familiar faces in such an unfamiliar country. They live on the Asia side of the Bosphoros and the airport is on the Europe side, so it meant a great taxi ride over the Bosphoros bridge, all lit up, allowing us to see the city and mosques by night- it was breathtaking. There is so much that fascinates about Istanbul- it's hard to know what [View Full Entry]

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We spent three glorious days in Venice chasing white fluffy bunnies through the lush pasture land (half that sentence was inserted by Armando, whose house we're staying at in Istanbul currently and I don't think I can take it out. what would we do on the streets of istanbul for 4 more days? you can guess which half). I think would all say that we were thoroughly enchanted- with the city, not the bunnies. A city with no cars, boats for buses (and everything else), singing men in striped shirts and silly hats gondolaing around, and stores full of costumes and [View Full Entry]

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I'm sitting and sweating in an internet cafe in Civitvecchia, the big port near Rome. We are nearly done our 12 day cruise and are getting ready to find our way to Venice tomorrow. This is the first time we've had internet in a while, but I've been trying to keep a journal as we cruised and visited different cities. I will now attempt to back track over the last week and a half... [View Full Entry]

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July 21 On our day at sea we sailed past the active volcano Stromboli. It was a hazy day, but by the time we got close we could see it quite well. The volcano erupted about a year ago, but still there is a town of 200 people living right at the base of the 9000 foot volcano. As we passed the volcano a huge puff of smoke came up from the peak. It was like some one had pushed a button just for us- very exciting to see. July 22 The ship docked in Liverno today, the port city by [View Full Entry]

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The ship and its 3400 passengers descended upon and overwhelmed the small Greek fishing village of Katakalon today. It was hard to believe that their quaint port full of modest fishing boats even had a place for the massive vessel to dock. I felt a little guilty taking over their town in this obnoxious, and I felt audacious way, but at the same time the whole town seemed to be about 30 shops supported entirely by tourist business. We walked along the beach and found the first signs of ocean life we’ve seen yet. We came across four fifths of a [View Full Entry]

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Today Dad and I (Julia) went to the Acropolis in Athens. Erica, unfortunately, was sick during the night so she and mom stayed behind at the boat. Dad and I took a shuttle bus from the boat to a drop off point, then walked about 25 minutes to the metro. It was hot. On the metro Dad looked out the window and said, “Wow, look at that.” I glanced casually out the window and only saw a junkyard filled with garbage. “What?” I asked. Dad replied. “Slums.” I looked harder, and before the junkyard ended I caught glimpses of tents [View Full Entry]

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The ship docked in Izmir, Turkey (aka Smyrnia) and we walked off the gangway and into Asia. We boarded a bus for a tour to ancient Ephesus, about an hour away. It was surreal to be walking where Paul walked and to be experiencing the city that has been the setting of so many sermons over the years. My Mom and I had both made a point of reading the book of Ephesians before going. It was strange to have this whole other dimension added to a text that can become almost too familiar. The Library of Celius was particularly thrilling- [View Full Entry]

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We walked into Rhodes today and spent some hours exploring the old town after dipping our feet ceremoniously in the Mediterranean. Greece appealed. The people are friendly and speak English, the shops are good, prices of food are more reasonable than we have previously experienced, the weather is hot and glorious, and it is beautiful. How could you go wrong? It was really interesting to walk through and experience this whole thriving community that live on and amongst ruins dating to the 4th century B.C. We also toured the Palace of the Grand Masters, an odd and fascinating collection of [View Full Entry]

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