Corfu and Olympia

Corfu Island
Lunching in Corfu
Pretty little cove where we rented a sea kayak. 
The ruins of Olympia.

Konan just beats me across the finish at the original Olympic Stadium

Ahhhh...Beautiful Santorini!

Picturesque blue-domed church
The little white villages of Santorini clinging to the side of several thousand feet drop off.
The town of Oia with the Greek flag

Talk about an infinity edge pool

This had to be the highlight of the trip. Santorini used to be a normal round island but around 3000 years ago the volcano below the island blew up leaving behind the crescent shaped island we know today. To get to the top you either have to take a cable car or donkey. We opted for the cable car. We spent most of the day walking the trail around the rim of the crater taking in all the different views. We also took a short bus ride to the town of Oia and hung out in cafe for long lunch soaking up the island as best we could. I really wanted to stay overnight on the island and see the sunset...oh well gives me a reason to come back someday! 

Delos and Mykonos

Delos
Mable lions of Delos
Famous windmills of Mykonos
I loved the winding back alleys of Mykonos with the whitewash walls and brightly painted doors and shutters.

This was such a fun day. It started out on the little island of Delos. This island was thought to be the center of the universe to the Greeks. Because it was believed to be where the Greek God Apollo was born. Fast forward 2500 years and the whole island is one big open air archaeological museum. The island is only accessible during daylight hours it is still considered sacred to the local people.

The rest of the day was spent on Mykonos. We rented an ATV and cruised around the island visiting the various beaches. Including Paradise and Super Paradise beaches. Both famous for their party atmosphere and lack of clothing. It was a beautiful island with tiny little churches everywhere. 

On to Ephesus and Rhodes

Konan jumping from a platform built out in the ocean off a beach on the island of Rhodes, Greece. (He's at the very top with arms spread like bird)
Looking back on Port Mandraki where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood.
Vespa on a back street in Rhodes
Back in Turkey taking a horse carriage to the local bus stop
The Library of Celsus in Ephesus, an old Roman city on the coast of Turkey.

Istanbul

Hagia Sofia
The Blue Mosque
Medusa head in the underground cistern
Early Christian mosaics inside the Hagia Sofia
Fishing poles on the Galata bridge

Favorite memories:

Convincing Konan to go to a Turkish bath 

Our hotel overlooking the Bosphorus waterway

The Islamic call to prayer five times of day

Bargaining for souvenirs in The Grand Bazaar

Sampling Turkish delights 

Touring the many historic sites around the city

I'm Back!!!

In the middle of nowhere, stopping for snacks
The Burj Dubai, tallest building in world. It's more than twice the size of the next highest, which I think is somewhere in Asia. It was actually kind of creepy. It seemed unnatural...
In the aquarium tube at the Dubai Mall 
Konan shredding the dunes
Burj Al Arab Hotel    

Well I'm back from a fantastic trip. It's great to be back. I cannot tell you how much we missed Kate! The next several posts will be documenting our three week long adventure.  So sorry in advance for the overload of pictures and info. 

After a long 14 hour flight we arrived in Dubai. I've always been fascinating with this modern city smack dab in Arabia, so I was thrilled to check it out. On the first day we went to Wild Wadi a water park right next to the amazing Burj Al Arab (sailboat hotel in the picture above.) I passed out while climbing the stairs to the top of water slide. I guess water and food are really important in 110 degrees weather? I'd been so busy I forgotten to eat or drink much. 

The next morning we were picked for our desert safari. Which included sand boarding and dune bashing. Wow, I'm glad the car had roll bars! Sandboarding had potential to be so fun if the sand didn't burn my feet off. Konan gave it good try though. 

Beyond that we spent time at some largest malls in the world which included an indoor snow hill, aquarium, ice rink, and more shops than you can even imagine. At times I would forget I was on other side of the world and then would look around and see women covered head to toe in black robs and the men in white. Overall a great kick off to our trip. See you next post in Istanbul!