For the love of sunshine! Oh how lovely and sunny your life is right now - I'm drooling over the fabulous photos! It was only while reading your blog that I realised that I haven't seen a XXX Shop in Australia for years now, which was probably a loss for the neon lighting industry too. I just love that you went looking for that light fitting, I thought we were the only ones who did slightly odd things like that :)
That's a little odd It has been a long time since seeing a XXX cinema, and I had forgotten the way men sort of shoot out of them and then casually walk away as if they hadn't been any where near them. As for the slightly odd behaviour I think we may have invented it, and if not we are certainly entitled to a university masters degree in it.
Giant jigsaw puzzle ... Hi Shelley & Scott,
Your blog has brought back lots of memories. My husband and I were in Greece in 2013 on our way to Turkey and spent a couple of weeks in and around the country. Spent a number of days wandering the marvelous ruins in and around Athens, including the Acropolis. Like you, it was an incredibly hot day with lots of people around when we were there but, didn't detract from the incredible experience. I still felt as though I had to pinch myself to fully realize that we were actually there, wandering those ancient sites. So much history. The Parthenon will certainly be a work in progress for years to come. It really is like trying to put a giant stone jigsaw puzzle back together again. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. :) Jan
A ruined life Glad it brought back good memories, the Acropolis is just such an incredible site, and the Parthenon is magnificent. Been really lucky to have seen some incredible stuff in my life and the Acropolis is up close to the top. Likewise with Athens which is now one of our most favourite cities
A giant jigsaw puzzle For archaeologists, rebuilding these structures is akin to rebuilding a pot from shards. Not so fun, but the results are pretty spectacular. So glad to hear that, except for the metro strike, the city is doing well. I'd imagine that prices might be lower now (except for your lamp) which would encourage tourism. Pretty funny the XXX cinemas near your hotel, but I can't talk--I'm staying in a thankfully not-busy "love hotel" and my two housemates are lovely ladies of the night. Traveling adventures.
Jigsaw puzzle of life Tourist prices have gone up big time as the Greek Government is going hard at paying off the debt. You only have to look at tripadvisor as people discuss ticket prices and you see the trend going up steeply. Got a shock at the cost of the ticket to the Acropolis but then you have to remember what you are seeing and the situation Greece is in and have to accept it. As for our accommodation, we always seem to end up in or near the red light district; Shelley blames me but I blame our budget and besides it is always more interesting.
Memories..28 years and still not totally faded Really enjoyed reading this report. I was there in 1988 (my one and only visit) as part of a 3 month camping trip around Europe with a tent and a new (rented) Citroen. Hope you are going to Meteora ?
John
Better off with an Edsel I guess your trip was supposed to be only 1 month but it was 2 months longer because you had to keep pushing that Citroen. Not going to Meteora this time but we did see it in 2002. If you can I would suggest going back to Greece, it actually seems easier this time around, the food was better and so was the hospitality, a really great experience.
Small businesses need the help We really like to support the locals in an area and love the mom and pop hotels. We love spending time with their families and yes we love the dogs! Rich in history and the ruins help to tell the story. Glad you didn't miss the bus.
Fab Famagusta So glad we got to do this tour as it was a real highlight of Cyprus for me. We were sort of sad we didn't spend a few days on the Turkish side.
Love, love, love Greece Love the Plaka. Love Athens. Love all the foods! You have to love a country that puts olives on the breakfast buffet. Always better to go in May or October so you look a bit more regal. Each memory you gave us is wonderful. Eager to go back. Still one of my favorite countries.
Stale bread anyone? Oh I so wished that we had olives for breakfast, where we were staying we just got stale bread. Food is great though and i do love my Mousaka
Thank god for Ellie! Wow! looking at all these ruins, hearing their history told and imagining all the lives these invasions destroyed is mind boggling. Love the pic's. I wonder what the destruction of our modern day civilization will look to those of our future....seems as though we have learnt very little as wars continue to rage on and lives are destroyed or envelop in fear..... Great write up Scotty, even if your a grump occasionally, lol.....and Shelly, I have yet to hear you swear at anyone darling, your the perfect lady :). Love us 3 xxx
What the !!! You haven't heard Michele swear!!!! Lucky you that you have never got on her bad side. I have seen Truckies blush when she lets fly. As for Cyprus, when we first arrived I had high hopes that this island would be reunified but by the time I left I sort of figure they are caught up in their own history and there will always be division.
Coastal road Salalah to Muscat Hi Michele and Scott. Greatly enjoyed reading your blog. I am 67 and in February 2017 I will be travelling with a guide/driver on a 3day/2 night journey from Salalah to Muscat via the coastal road.
I will staying overnight in Duqm and Al Ashkhara. Grateful if can advise what "comfort" stops (if any), are on the long journey from Salalah to Duqm which I believe is about 700kms. Doesn't matter how basic but anything would be better than an embarrassing moment behind the car.!!! This is my third visit to Oman. I love the beauty, safety and friendliness of the people and hope to return for a fourth visit in 2018, to visit parts not yet seen .... although not many
Enjoy your travels. regards and best wishes, Tone
Coast road stops Hi Tone, we were both trying to remember what was along that route, and we think that there was some smaller towns along the way with petrol stations where you maybe able to stop but no rest areas. The main scenic stretch that hugs the coast and then heads into the mountain, which is closer to Salalah (just after the small town of Sadah) has nothing other than lookouts till you get to the town of Ash Shuwaymiyyah. This stretch is about 150km but you will probably be stopping lots for the scenery so it will be the slowest part of the journey. After this the road is a bit mundane but there were towns about every hour or so. Michele has a weak bladder so we tend to stop for toilet breaks when ever we can, so I would suggest letting your driver know in advance that he should stop whenever he see one. Oman is an incredible country and this road was one of the best parts and still find it hard to believe that when we did it we hardly saw anyone else. Hope this helps and if you have any other questions please do not hesitate to pop us a line.
Have a great journey.
Shelley and Scott
Keeping it local... It's sad when people chose to support multi-national chain hotels and restaurants over local ones. I totally understand the Ellie-factor! On at least two occasions I have picked one hotel over another because they had a hotel dog. How easily swayed am I? And don't worry Scott, you are still at the stage of internalising your grump...when you get to the stage of 'shushing' strangers, that's when Shelly may have to disown you in public :)
Disown me!!! Hey she is the one that yells out "Shut the F%#K up" to people, of course it is from our bed at 3am in the morning and someone is having an argument outside our door, but they are strangers and she should be nicer about it.
Hideous history! What a fascinating, but violent history--cannonballs in churches, flaying alive and the rather recent destruction of a whole holiday town. Thank goodness for Ellie! And as for grumpiness--I'm with you, Scott! For the first three years of my current travels, I was so easy-going and thought nothing of sleeping in dorms with a dozen youngsters; now, I've become quite the bah-humbug, and want my peace and space. But as you know, good luck with that!
The Grumpy Traveller We are currently contemplating a new persona based on "the grumpy traveller" so we can vent our spleen a bit more than we do but unsure how that would sit on the "friendliest travel site". If Michele would stop editing my entries this would potentially be the "Worlds unfriendliest travelblog site".
Stay on the Greek side for now! Hey xx, I like Nicosia also, nice pic's and the food looks great. Love real Mediterranean food. Lots going on in turkey at the moment, hey....crazy world we live in! cant believe I will be seeing you both soon :))). I'm getting very excited. I'm on the deck and am surrounded by white cockatoo's, finally they have become my friends!! Take care, stay safe!
Sliding past Turkey to get to Slovenia We had planned on travelling back through Turkey and even wrote up a rough plan but in the end we deemed it not worth the risk. Glad to hear you have you have new feathered friends just watch out that they don't start eating your home. We have finally been able to map out the trip all the way to meeting you, and I am sure the time is going to fly.
Traveling to Nicosia It sounds like the bus drivers are in control and not to be messed with. Yikes. The joys of laundry on the road. I needed the history lesson so thanks. You do love those border crossings. Wish you had more time in Nicosia and less time in the coastal towns. We like the photos from the museum.
RENanDREW
Ren & Andrew
For the love of sunshine!
Oh how lovely and sunny your life is right now - I'm drooling over the fabulous photos! It was only while reading your blog that I realised that I haven't seen a XXX Shop in Australia for years now, which was probably a loss for the neon lighting industry too. I just love that you went looking for that light fitting, I thought we were the only ones who did slightly odd things like that :)