jonathanandzara

The following blog was written by Angel Beebe, Zara's sister. Here and her mom Sigi met us in Egypt and we really enjoyed our company. Thanks for writing this Angel! The beginning of the trip went pretty smooth from Florida to New York. As soon as we got on CairoAir to fly to Cairo, Egypt, the ambiance immediately changed. There was a very large Muslim church group, a few tourists from around the world, a few Egyptian women dressed with head pieces holding small children, and of course the loud and rude passengers that only fend for themselves and put others at an inconvenience. This is pretty much the same population that you find once you get to Egypt. The view from the plane was amazing. We flew over the pyramids and also saw the tall ... read more

Our next stop was Ranthanbur for a tiger safari, which was fun and we were able to see many animals we thought were only in Africa, but no tigers. I would write more about it but were arrived in the evening, went on the safari in the morning and left by noon. We did hear may people saw tigers, but it's rare. Don't be discouraged, its still worth a visit. The landscape is amazing and not what I expected in India. It reminded me of an Indiana Jones film. After Ranthanbur we headed to Jaipur a few days before Diwali. The city with a population of over 2 million was a bustle with holiday shoppers. The streets were lined with colorful lights and decorations and the shoppers were in full force. This was most obvious in ... read more

After Cape Town, we continued along the Garden Route to Hermanus. Here, we saw Southern Right Wales off the shore, along a wildflower dotted path. These gentle giants slapped their tails against the surface, barrel-rolled beneath the waves, and jumped into the air. Not even the thumping carnival music from the whale festival could distract from their beauty. Our next stop was Outdshoorn, ostrich capitol of South Africa. We ate ostrich steaks at night and visited an ostrich farm in the morning, where we held a baby ostrich, saw them hatching from their eggs, and even hugged a full grown bird. Jonathan stood on top of an egg. It was so hard, an elephant couldn't have cracked it. We also explored caves in Outdshoorn. I was amazed at the enormous caverns, carved from the rock ... read more

Our decision to visit Santorini was initiated as follows. Jonathan: "Where should we go after Mykonos?" Zara: "I don't know. What's another really Greek island? How about Santorini? I've heard of that one." Jonathan: "Too far. What about Naxos? Hang on, I have to check my e-mail." Naxos was described in our guidebook as a beautiful island with magnificent beaches. Santorini a magnificent island with beautiful beaches. No help from Lonely Planet. But Jonathan found the answer in his inbox. Stan and Amanda, two Aussies we met in Italy and traveled through France with, were traveling to Santorini and wondered where we might be. So we followed the winds of fate to join them. The caldera view that greeted us was one of a kind. The island is shaped like an engagement ring, with a ... read more

Athens, Greece August 19-21 Athens blew away all expectations and myths, well except the Greek myths. I had heard Athens was very smoggy and, in places, dangerous. Since Zara and I have been to Beijing we were expecting the worst in regards to the smog. However, when we arrived we really didn't notice it. We were careful in Athens, but never felt in danger. The main reason any tourist visits Athens is for the sites and they do impress. With the purchase of the Acropolis ticket you gain admission to six other sites in town. Most of the ancient ruins are within walking distance, so it's not necessary to frequent the metro. Our first stop was the Acropolis which can be viewed from many parts of the city. Most recognizable is the Parthenon, which is elegantly ... read more