Mecca

Right now I am having a beer on a platform surrounded by pilliows in a valley filled with orange trees and treehouses with rocky cliffs sheltering us from the rest of the world. There is a beach just 10 minutes away that's bottom can be seen clearly when it's over thirty feet deep. This is complete heaven!

My arrival here can't be described quite as well. I left Istanbul a couple days ago and flew down to Antalya, on the southern coast. My travel agent gave me pretty good details and I made my way to shuttle to the bus station with no problems from the airport. Now, I was told I needed to make my own way to Olympos, so I got on the bus that was clearly marked 'Otogar - Bus Station'. The bus filled up as I sat there for a half hour and finally departed for what I thought would be an easy ride. The driver kept stopping and people kept getting off...and there was one person left on it, with no bus station in sight, and no one speaks English in this area. I got up the nerve to ask what was going on as it was starting to get dark and I had no clue of the bus schedule to where I was going. When I asked this guy, and he translated in Turkish, the bus driver seemed to get really mad and opened the door and yelled 'taxi!'...being the stubborm bitch that I am...I said no...I paid for the bus to the bus station...it should take me there...and with that, the driver got stopped at a light and jumped out of the bus to let this other guy drive. He eventually dropped me in a field across the way from the bus station and just pointed the direction I needed to head...it was awesome with my pack and flip flops...let me tell you!!! Anyway, made it to the bus station and apparently, there was a bus to Olympos in 3 minutes that I hopped on. After over an hour in a crowded van....just saying 'Olympos' every time the driver looked my way, I was dropped off at a convenience store in the middle of nowehere with a sign that said 11 km to Olympos right outside of it. I waited there for a half hour while furiously scribbling in my journal and giving myself about a 60% chance of making it to my destination that night (it was 9pm...I was seriously considering asking the store owner if I could sleep on his floor if all else failed) when a bus pulled up, grabbed my bag from me, asked me for three Lira and where I was going. By 10pm, I had made it to hippie mecca.

I wish I could've seen the ride down here, because I hung out that night around a campfire with loads of people knowing that there were mountains all around me, but only being able to see the shadows in the moonlight. I was shown to my room, in not a real treehouse, but a cute bungalow amidst the trees. The treehouses don't really exist, but whoever marketed them that way is brilliant! I woke up the next morning and saw the rocky cliffs around me and the beautiful blue sky and knew I would be happy here. And I have been since.

I've been hanging with two of the girls in my room and one staying right below us....all Aussies, of course. We spent the first day on the beach soaking in the sun and swimming all day followed by a night hike to the flames at Chimera...this natural gas wonderland with fires burning (from what I hear) eternally (I'm pretty sure they light them each morning though). Today we all woke up and climbed a Turkish mountain for 3.5 hours...which was incredible! I can't wait to upload the pictures! We followed our very sweaty hike with a couple hours on the beach and a bottle of wine just got set down in front of me to keep us full until dinnertime. The food here is free and fantastic and the atmosphere is everything a wannabe hippie could ask for.

I was actually supposed to get on the boat this morning, but since I was the only one booked on it, I was delayed by a day. I leave tomorrow morning at 10am and am completely happy that I got to spend one more day with my new friends enjoying the Turkish countryside. Can I say that I am in awe of the women that I have met on this trip?! So many women of all ages traveling alone and dreaming the same dreams I have had for the past 10 years. It makes me feel good for myself and the girls that do this from all over the world. It has been wonderful bonding with them and I feel like I have learned so much from the spirit we all share.

Dinner is about to be served and the sun is going down quickly. Jason Mraz is playing in the background and I'm thinking of the Rix wedding I enjoyed just two months ago. I have a feeling this evening will be filled with stories and pictures and sad goodbyes will be had in the morning. But as I'm at the halfway point of this crazy European extravaganza, a couple more days of relaxation and then Eastern Europe awaits!

How the hell do you get out of Turkey?!

I know I just posted. But I just spent so much money I want to cry...and the ınternet ıs free.

So Ive started havıng nıghtmares because I have no ıdea where I am or how Im goıng to get out of here. I just got here...and I dont want to leave yet, but goıng to the ınterıor of Turkey and not beıng able to fınd my way out because I dıdnt plan ahead ıs scarıng the hell out of me. And everyone I speak wıth has no clue how to get out of here eıther! So today I dıd the unthınkable...I went to a travel agent. I told you, theyre everywhere here...so I just sucked ıt up and had them plan the my escape from Turkey for me.

So tomorrow I fly down to Antayla, on the southern coast to stay ın the famous Olympus treehouses for two nıghts. Then Im doıng a three day party boat\cruıse through the sea and then busıng back up through a couple towns ın the ınterıor of Turkey to Istanbul. It doesnt sound lıke much, but Ive seen the pıctures and heard the storıes and thıs ıs absolutely somethıng I have to do whıle Im here. Just waıt, Ill post pıcs...youll see.

And as for gettıng out of Turkey...crazy enough, the cheapest flıght that gets me anywhere near Croatıa ıs Sarajevo...so Bosnıa, here I come! Totally not somewhere I expected to end up and probably not somewhere Ill stay for long, but my book ıs tellıng me that there are buses and traıns to Dubrovnık from there...so lets gıve ıt a whırl!

So after blowıng through a ton of money, I am offıcıally not spendıng any more money today. The 1 lıra corn on the cob ıs the way ıts goıng. And luckıly there ıs an Aussıe gırl sıttıng next to me thats ın the same boat...so her and I have just decıded to sneak beers to the terrace for the afternoon.

Woot! Lovıng lıfe and cant waıt to see the beach tomorrow!!!

Munchen to Istanbul...

Oktoberfest was an absolute blast! I got to hang with my two favorite boys and drink the largest beers ever all day while wearing a German drindl in a big beer hall. Really, how does life get better than that?!?



My first night in town was kind of a bust due to the fact that I was unbelievably tired. We wandered around Munich, made our way up to the top of one of the towers...had some very big beers and at what I think is spatzel (excuse my spelling), some amazing kind of German mac'n cheese. We hung around for a while and I said I was going up to my room to splash some water on my face, and when Brad said "alright, see you in the morning" I just scoffed at him...so of course, I went to my room and crashed out at 9:30pm from lack of sleep. This is the problem with sleeping in airports, you lack the motivation to make it very far the next day. So I woke up at midnight to realize that there were 3 Italian twentysomethings coming into my room, new roommates. They were harmless, but drunk and annoying...thank god they passed out quickly after getting back...and I was able to gain vindication by my alarm going off bright and early at 7:30 the next morning. Don't you just love the hostel lifestyle?








The next day we woke early and put on our drindls and leiderhosen and headed to the tents to try to get in right away....little did we know that Hippodrom didn't open til 10. So we mucked around for a bit and were there right as the door opened and had some of the first beers in the place. We met some new people and drank the day away. I was of course dragged onto the scariest, highest swing ride ever after we left the tents that afternoon. It was all good fun with German music, and costumes and loads of people everywhere. I would love to say that it all ended with a night of crazy debauchery and ridiculousness, but after spending 9 euros per beer plus food....we were all wiped out. We somehow managed to get our stuff from the first hostel and take it to our new digs on the other side of town. Brad napped, and Darin and I found the most beautiful old cemetery across the street and strolled through that for a bit. After that, there was a lot of sleeping and internet uploads....then some dinner...and that's pretty much it. It was a great time, and the one day that I got there seemed like plenty. We the sheer amount of carnage on the streets that morning (i.e. I've never seen so much vomit in my life), I was cool with just making it an afternoon affair. I had to get to Turkey early the next morning.









You all know how bad my fear of flying is, and I have to say that with all of this, I think I've gotten better. I even keep the window open now! The flight was flawless and the landscapes were beautiful. I need to make it up to Croatia and Slovenia before I leave this continent. From the plane, it was just beautiful, green, rolling hills and peaked mountains as far as you can see.

I arrived in Istanbul and somehow managed to make it to my hostel. Everyone seems incredibly nice...maybe too nice...I'm just cynical like that. I had about 5 people help me with directions and all of them were wrong (but kept getting me closer) except the last one. Either way, I made it, the hostel seems nice and there are tons of people all over this street that seem cool. I went over and saw the Blue Mosque today and wandered through a gorgeous park all the way to the Maramar sea. It was late by the time I got here...so it will be an early night and early mornıng to get as much in as possible. I'm still not sure how long I'll be in Istanbul or where I'll head from here.







Some things I've learned about Turkey so far...

-- They don't believe ın street signs, traffic lights, speed limits, etc.

--The Italian machismo that I thought I'd get ın Italy...it all right here in Turkey.

--When you're near a tourist site you will get many men wanting to give you information as to what you should be doing, but insist that they are definitely not guides.

--If you want to be a travel agent, move here...I've already gotten a job offer to be one...I would run the travel agency while the owner sells carpets on the side.

--Everyone wants you to eat at their restaurant...everyone...these Turks are the best marketers/pushiest salesmen I've ever met. (But they're telling the truth, the food actually is the best!)

--Istanbul is by far the most beautıful city that I have seen yet...and I've only seen one small street, two mosques, a park, and the view of the sea.

Barcelona in an nutshell

Hannah, Steve and my big night out on the town ended up in this cute bohemian neighborhood that we'd heard of called Gracia. We did dinner and drinks, mingled with the locals and hit up the rock and roll bar to play some darts. I convinced this guy to teach me Spanish pool, which just so happened to be the longest game EVER. Hannah was convinced that he was just letting me win in the beginning, until she realized that, no, he was just really bad. We ended the night trying to speak Spanish with a couple of people in the bar and generally just enjoying the laid back atmosphere of the area. We got some tips on beaches close by for the next day and called it a night sometime in the wee hours of the morning.





The following day was a rough start, but I ended up rallying the troops and getting us to the beach in Sitges, about 30 miles south of Barcelona, before 1pm. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, the sun was shining and the water was cool, but refreshing. I loved it! So far the Mediterranean has been more than I expected. It's clear waters and soothing waves have been a dream. We spent the entire afternoon lying in the sand and then made our way back into the city.







I have to say, the hardest part about traveling up until now has been leaving behind all of these amazing people I meet at each stop. In Florence I met loads of friends, in Cinque Terra I had the apartment with Kitty for two days, and in Barcelona, I've had not only Hannah and Steve, but I met a great couple of people in the hostel. You befriend these people and you hear about their lives and what they think and where they're from and they become a part of the experience each city brings....and then they are gone. I met Mike and Zahar in Barcelona and they became wonderful friends to drink, eat and just generally hang out with during my down time. I really enjoyed it and I was sad to leave that place.

On my last day, I wandered up to Parc Guell, this stunning park with beautiful view of the entire city and the sea. I slowly made my way through there and then decided to walk straight through the city to go meet Hannah and Steve for lunch. The walk over was perfect, with Ipod blaring and all, until I was standing at a cross walk and somehow a bumble bee came up and stung me on my stomach. It really friggin hurt! Luckily, I found a place to run into the bathroom to check it out, and shortly after, a cold beer bottle next to it made it feel just fine. It hasn't swollen too much. Just more of an itchy annoyance than anything. We had an absolutely delicious lunch and a few drinks while doing our last stroll up La Rambla, I introduced Hannah and Steve to my new friends in Barcelona, and then I headed off to the airport.



Nothing too bad about the sleeping in airports bit this time around. Except my flight from Barcelona up to Gatwick was through a thunderstorm. Apparently we have what is generally termed as a "normal misapproach" landing. During this, all of the landing gear is down, you can see the ground, and the pilot freaks out and aborts the entire landing, taking you straight back up into the air at an alarming rate...only to go back and try again. Yeah...for a person who hates flying, I was pretty terrified. Luckily the anti-anxiety meds had kicked in at the time and I was feeling alright. Apparently due to weather conditions in London, the pilot was attempting some sort of manual landing due to the fog...and he it took him two tries to figure it out. Probably the scariest flight ever...

After getting a few hours of sleep in the airport in England, I caught my flight down to Munich and Germany seems wonderful. Brad and Darin met me in the lobby of the hostel, and the 40 bed dorm is worse than it sounds. Luckily there was a screw up and now we are in 4 bed dorms above the chaos of the bar below...life is a lot better than it was 30 minutes ago. All of the girls and boys in Munich are wearing their Drindls and leiderhosen....and I just went out and got myself one for tomorrows festivities. I'm hoping to get some pictures to you guys before I leave Germany. Oktoberfest will definitely be an experience.

I will not let it rain on my parade...

It was a long and tiring journey to Barcelona from Cinque Terra, but I made it. The train ride to Milan was rainy and pretty slow, but the weather broke just in time for the most beautiful, glowing sunset over the Mediterranean. The hills and valleys covered in trees and spotted with buildings amidst the green made up some of the best landscapes I've seen yet. I met a nice couple along who have been traveling for a year that gave me some good insight into the places I am looking to go. We chatted for a while and it made the 4.5 hour train ride a little more bearable.

I have to say, nobody has told me anything good about Milan, but riding the bus through it to the airport intrigued me a little bit. It's tree lined streets, trolley cars and muni-looking trams made it look a lot like San Francisco. It seemed to have any edginess that I like, so maybe it would be worth a day trip if I have to fly back that way at some point.

So here is the problem with thinking you can sleep in airports....other people. I got to the airport and was relieved to see those welcoming benches with no armrests just waiting for me to settle into....and luckily they were right where I needed to check in about 5 hours later. As soon as I laid down, the cleaning guy saw me and the others trying to sleep in the area and set out to prevent this by making as much noise as possible. I'm sure he took some sort of sick pleasure in driving that zamboni machine by me about 5 times for no good reason. After about an hour of that, he took off and I just started to doze when these three Spanish guys decided to come in and invade my area...banging their bags down and going in and out of them. They were soon joined by two Slovenian high school girls with a big bottle of vodka. Now, had this been my idea to booze it up in the airport all night before a flight, everyone else could go to hell and I'd be happy...but dammit, I didn't think of it first and these two chicks were just annoying. Anyway, I ended up getting a couple of hours of shut eye there and then slept pretty much the whole way over to Barcelona.

I met Hannah and Steve at the airport yesterday, and luckily the were feeling pretty tired as well, so no crazy touring was necessary upon our arrival into the city. We wandered around La Rambla for a bit, went out to lunch in one of Picasso's old haunts and hit up an outdoor bar for some sangria later in the afternoon. Being exhausted, we separated for the rest of the day and I came back to take a much needed ciesta.





My hostel here is nice, very small, but good people (and FREE internet!!!). I'm in a great neighborhood with lots of bars and restaurants. After my nap yesterday, I woke up to a fiesta of paella and sangria going on with everyone hanging out. I made the mistake of sitting right next to the chef and as he heaped spoonfuls of (what looked like) sausage filled paella on my plate, I didn't really know what to do. Not to be rude, I pushed the pork to the side of my plate and just dealt with it. I didn't want to offend, and I know it will probably happen again at some point in my travels.....don't be getting any ideas though....I will not give up my vegatarian ways!!!

This morning I woke up early and did a huge walking tour around Barcelona. I feel very comfortable in this city. The streets are beautiful and the neighborhoods give it a homey feel. It's easy to get around and there is lots to do and see. On my way over to Sagrada Familia, it started to pour on me...this is the fifth day in a row that I've had to deal with the rain. I think I'm just following it around the Mediterranean. Rest assured, I didn't let that stop me from doing anything...I simply bought an umbrella and just dealt with wet feet in my flip flops (my feet still haven't forgiven my new walking shoes since the hike at Cinque Terra). I got lost in the narrow streets of the Barrio Gothic , got denied at the Cathedral due to my sleeveless top, and took a couple of hours to explore the National Museum. The sun is now shining and my six hour walk felt wonderful. It time for a ciesta and hopefully a night out on the town.

Hiking the Mediterranean

As I type this, I'm looking out a window into the blue waters of the Mediterranean. I made my way up from Florence to La Spezia by train on Monday to see La Parque Nazional de Cinque Terra. I had heard of it's clear waters and five quaint little towns on the mountainsides from so many people, I just had to see it for myself.

I met a girl from New Zealand who seems to have the same round the world schedule as I do...including tickets to Peru from SF just a day before mine...and we hit it off right away. Me being crazy and without hotel reservations, stuck to her and took her advice as to which town I should try to stay in. I ended up at the first town of the five, Riomaggiore, and her hostel had a bed for me. They actually put us up in an apartment, with kitchen, meant for three, but we didn't have a roommate during my stay. It's this cute little village on a hillside with just one road going straight up and all sorts of bars and restaurants on the street. The town always seems festive and the locals don't seem to mind us tourists too much. Honestly, there's not too much to do here...I'm sure they enjoy the entertainment.





One of the main things people do here is hike the trails between the five villages. Due to torrential rains the night before our arrival, the trails were all closed on the day that we got there....which is fine. After the train ride up, we weren't much up to a hike anyway. Instead, we just wandered around the town and got some pasta. There is a beautiful rocky beach around the marina and I got my first taste of the salty sea. The waves were huge and pretty intimidating, but the water was warm and felt good if you got far enough out. We swam for an hour until it got chilly then went back to the apartment to relax. I got to bed early that night to prepare for the 9 km walk the next day.



It rained during the night and in the morning again, so only two of the hikes were open in the morning. Luckily, we were blessed with sun in the early afternoon and all of the trails were open by the time we got to them. The first two were quite easy and the towns were adorable. As we walked up the 382 steps to the third town, we got a taste of what we were in for during the rest of the hike. The last two legs just kicked our asses. Not only were they narrow, but steep steps going up and down the hillsides with only the Mediterranean to catch you hundreds of feet below. We saw a couple of hidden beaches, but decided to push on through to what we thought would be a sandy beach at the last town we would get to, Monterosso. By the last decent down into the town our feet ached and our legs were shaky, but the beach was in site and we darted right for it. As we were walking up to it, there was a girl coming out with a jellyfish sting, so that put me off right away. The beach was nice, but the little rocks got my feet pretty bad. I braved the water twice, not letting the jellyfish scare me away, but both times I saw them swimming pretty close to me and got out quickly. I think I saw four people get stung in the half hour or so that I was there...so I think I made the right decision to steer clear of that one.











Today it has been raining on and off all day, so it's a low key day in Riomaggiore. I have a train to Milano to catch at 5:13 so I'll hop on that after one last lunch in Italy. It is wonderful having a kitchen! And so much cheaper! So since Kitty has the room another day, she's allowing me to store my things and we're making a nice pasta dish in a little bit. After I arrive in Milan tonight, I'll take a bus over to the airport and sleep there rather than getting a hostel. I hear Milan is expensive, and my flight is too early to deal with it. I will join Hannah and Steve in Barcelona bright and early in the morning!!!

Dance Magic Dance

So I just typed this entire blog for the last 10 minutes only to get logged out and lose everything. So I'm sorry, the first one was probably better...

I am in love with Florence!!! All of you haters out there that told me not to even bother, that I would only need a day...whats up with that?! I would stay here for a week if I had the time. With all of the narrow, winding streets, ancient buildings and little piazzas, whats not to love?!

I took the train up from Rome on Saturday. This is my second destination and first without a hostel reservation, so I was a bit on the edgy side wondering how the home base was going to work out once I arrived. There were loads of backpackers on the train...competition for beds. So once the train stopped, I grabbed my heavy-ass pack and booked it into town. I came up on the first hostel on my list and they looked at me like I was insane for coming in on a weekend without booking ahead, and then politely sent me down the street. I got the same response from the second as well as the third. I had exhausted my list, and now only had the name of a random road, so I just started walking down it...where I ended up finding my fourth and final destination. It was a little pricier than the others, but had a pool, sauna, bar and what seemed like some pretty cool people. I was home.





I ended up meeting a girl in the line for my bed and her and I went over to see the David as soon as put my stuff down. Ah David....every man needs to learn a lesson from Michaelangelo. How he made such a perfect human body out of a single piece of marble is beyond me. I could have sat there and stared at it all day....and I did for about an hour, before being dragged out of there.



Upon returning to the hostel, I met some more people and went out for pasta (I have to say, I've had better gnocchi in SF) and many, many bottles of wine. The night dragged on and became a bit debaucherous, but it felt good to socialize as the place in Rome wasnt quite like that. I know I told you all that I didn't want the party hostels, but I was hanging with the older (and not much wiser) folks. Some of these kids are about 19 and going out to foam parties while they're in Europe (yes, I was invited to a foam party...no, I did not go ). Anyway, I ended up waking up with a wicked wine hangover this morning and going back to sleep for an hour before beginning my day.



Today I entered a town out of one of David Bowie's dreams. I took the train over to this little town called Siena that is basically a giant maze with 8 story buildings as its walls. I only wish I had the Labyrinth soundtrack on my Ipod as I was singing "Dance, Magic Dance" all day long. I wandered around there for a couple of hours and then decided to walk back down to the train station instead of taking the bus. Much to my dismay, I have my mom's sense of direction and got completely lost in some random train graveyard with no one around. After walking around forever (and apparently past the train station twice) I found it 10 minutes after my train had left. This trip will definitely teach me patience as I had to wait another hour and a half for the next train.









I was going to go to Venice after this, but with the film festival going on, I'm not even going to try. Brad and Angelina will have to do without me this year. I'll try to do Venice later in my travels. I've decided to head over to Cinque Terra, five little towns on the coast with hiking trails and beaches with crystal clear blue water. Time to take that much needed dip in the Mediterranean.

Where are the Romans...

Let me preface this by saying sorry for poor punctuation. Italians don't have the same keyboard; therefore, I can't type quite as well as I normally would. That being said...

So I don't know much about European history, outside from 6th grade social studies, so the meanings of a lot of the sites in Europe are going to be lost on me. However, I can definitely appreciate the ancient beauty that is sitting in front of me now.

I arrived in Rome after a long night stuck in the airport, found my hostel, and then took off running. This city is full of art and architecture. I walked a full circle on my first day catching all of the sites, eating some panini, basking in the sun...you've got to love this humidity (picture Michigan in the height of summer, plus the stifling traffic of the city, minus a lake nearby)! The Colloseum, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Vatican City, all gorgeous, but I have to say.... where the eff did all of these people come from?!? I thought San Francisco was bad when it came to tourists, but man oh man, they have taken over this city. There are no Romans here! Everyone on the street has the same map and apparently the same destination in mind. My first thought when I got to Trevi Fountain was, "Sea World," I was waiting for Shamoo to shoot up out of the waters. All of this aside, I can't complain as I am one of them now.













My hostel here is nice, although there is a noisy, blue piece of plastic under the sheets due to a lesson that they must have learned a while ago. Who knew I needed bugspray in the city as I woke up with mosquito bites (not bedbug bites, thank you) this morning. I have yet to eat any pasta and I'm avoiding gelato for now as I know it will become addicting before the week is out.

Today I hit the Vatican as well as Ville Borghese, the Roman version of GG Park(minus drum circles and hippies). After going to the local market, I took a rest from the afternoon heat since I'd sweat through my first change of clothes, mmmm. :) I then decided to go out and get lost in Rome. I got completely turned around and ended up having to walk an incredible ways in my flip flops..only to get within a few blocks of my hostel to find the street blocked off with some huge protest that is going on...I feel home again. Tonight a glass or two of wine is in order and then it will be an early night as I've got a ticket to Florence in the morning to see what Tuscany has to offer.