Keep Walking

Macau, Casino City (2nd visit: March 2011)

2011-10-13T14:28:00.000-07:00

In contrast to my first one-day-excursion to Macau, during which I saw the major sights and walked around only during the day, my second visit to Macau included two nights there and it was much more fun-oriented: It was all about the Casinos!

- Casinos? As in the huge gambling rooms full of roulettes and poker tables, like in the movies?

Well. these are present in the Macau Casinos too, but they only constitute one part of them! The rest parts are:

a hotel (a standard in most casinos, for really dedicated players and lovers of luxury),
restaurants
theatres/cinemas/attractions
mostly beautiful architecture
works of art and
lots of shops (so that you can spend your earnings immediately :) ).

But first things first: after settling in the hotel in the afternoon and resting for a couple of hours, the only thing left to do was go out for dinner with my friends and a night walk around the Lisboa/Grand Lisboa casino area.

We opted to visit a restaurant that advertised itself as the "MUST-EAT Crab Restaurant", with various posters, excerpts from magazines, and newspapers, as well as photos of various local (and not so local) celebrities dining there! Sadly, the name was in Chinese and it was located in the streets "behind" the casinos area, so I can't pinpoint an address too, but hopefully you will locate it from the photos.

All I can say is that the food was DELICIOUS , with the "crab salad" and "soup with a WHOLE (!) crab inside" stealing the show!

As far as the area around the Lisboa/Grand Lisboa casinos is concerned, is what one would expect. Flashy neon lights all the way! It's a kind of city magic, created by the glass buildings, neon lights, street lights and the people walking the streets!!

Be sure not to miss Wynn's Casino Entrance Fountain "Water and Music" (in lack of a title) show!! Every 15-20 minutes the fountain "dances" to a classical melody or a song! It's plain mesmerizing. I think we sat there for about an hour just watching the various water dances.

Other than that, inside the Wynn casino is impressive in its own right, but proved to be a little bland compared to what we would see the next day. I singled out the Ferrari Shop (!) with its cute plushy bears and expensive cars and the great mechanical dragon show!

On the following day, we headed to tha China Mainland Border Gate, in order to get into one of the many many Casino shuttle buses that transfer throngs of China Mainland tourists to the Casinos for free!

At the start of the day I expected to visit quite a lot of them, but by the end of it, I knew better, as I had only managed to visit one Casino fully and just skim through one more. The one we visited in its entirety was "The Venetian", a sprawling complex, decorated in renaissance taste (even to the point of baroque at times) and featuring (I still can't fathom that) a SMALL WATER CHANNEL IN A FAKE VENICE COMPLETE WITH BRIDGES AND GONDOLAS (and an ever-blue-cloud-sky)!! Awe~!

The gondola service is rather expensive, but worth its money (a song by the gondolier is also included!). The gondoliers are of various nationalities, ours was Korean and it's all in a jolly atmosphere, as it should :) Recommended.

Other than the gampling space, the complex is home to:

a hotel (of course)
restaurants
shops and more shops and...
The Cirque du Soleil "Zaia" show, which was just stunning and breath-taking to behold! I had never witnessed an "artistic circus" before and I don't think I can attend a normal circus show again after that :)

Opposite the "Venetian" the "City of Dreams" is located! Another vast complex with everything "The Venetian" has as well (hotel, restaurants, shops and more shops), but with a more "modern" theme!

It also hosts a show: the "Dancing Water" show, which appeared to be vastly more popular than Zaia (as it was fully or almost fully [to the point of not having two seats next to each other available!] booked for quite many shows to come).

All-in-all the two casinos cater to different aesthetics. "The Venetian"'s Baroque classical style as opposed to the modern, clean lines and wavy corridors with neon lights of the "City of Dreams". A small walk away over a bridge away, worlds apart. Of course I guess, money still flows the same, though :)

As far as lunch is concerned we ate at one of "City of Dreams"' restaurants called "Yo! Noodles".

We had a typical Asian lunch, with the only "wow" factor being the "Vietnamese Spring Rolls" pictured below

Finally, if you are there don't miss the "Dragon's Treasure" Multimedia show!! It is spectacular, free if you dine/shop in the complex and impressive!!

At the end of the day, we visited the MACAU TOWER and, most importantly,its "360 Cafe" at the top

It's called like that because the tables are on a rotating "belt" on the floor, that slowly goes round, offering a full panoramic view of the surroundings, most impressive during the night, because of the city lights!! The following panoramic image should prove that. ;-)

But the most impressive of all was the all-you-can-eat-but-not-cheap-at-all-buffet with food from all over the world!

Goodbye Macau! (for now :-) )

Singapore, March 2011: A fine city of fines!

2011-09-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

Singapore is a Modern Asian Metropolis:

modern architecture all over the place,
clean and efficient,
nice, stylish people,
lots of shopping opportunities,
coupled with the super entertainment island: Sentosa!

However, amongst all this, within only four days it gave me the impression of being a boring city :( . I can't really explain why. Maybe it was the looming threat of extremely high fines for almost anything that keeps it so clean/efficient/and boring, but I got the idea that it's not a very fun city to be in. Or maybe I just visited all the wrong places this time. I will know for sure, next time :)

In any case, I will split this travel log the same way the Travel Guides do it for Singapore: in Singapore's civil areas/neighbourhoods. But before that some general remarks/things that ticked my boxes:

Too many security controls at the (otherwise very beautiful) airport!! So frequent and thorough passport control that it becomes unbearable.
Taxis are relatively cheap (relative to other countries) BUT they have very complicated fares!!
For the first time in my life I understood what tropical weather means. High temperature and super high humidity make for stiffling atmosphere. And it was still March!! I don't want to imagine what happens in June/July....
I guess it's because of the hot weather, but there were too many insects in the city : cockroaches, mosquitoes and other unidentifiable flying thingies. :)
The streets are LARGE!!! Almost avenue size for Greece!
Too much modern architecture (even for me :P )
The metro tickets are weird: You get one and then, if you "return it" at the special "return ticket machines" you get some of your money back! I guess the tokens they use cost them a lot, but it's quite tiring to do that every time you take the metro. Guess we should opt for a 3-day card or something.
I liked the eating-places concept: a huge common eating/sitting area, around which many small food shops/stalls are installed. You buy anything you want from any of them and then you sit and eat. Great!

Clarke Quay (1st night)
Clarke Quay hosts the night scene of Singapore: bars, clubs, etc (at least for the tourists). However when we arrived at 2:30-3:00am everything was closed or closing!! (Unthinkable in Greece). It was so desolate that we thought we had gone to the wrong place (before we saw the maps, the hookers and a closing pub).

Colonial District and the Quays
The colonial district is a mixed bag. Many old European buildings of nice old architecture are next to modern buildings of nice new architecture. All-in-all it is an architect's playground! Other than the various sights (buildings, park, etc) there's not much to say about it (Clarke Quay bar area, is separately "analysed")

Orchard Road : Shopping Malls!
As the title suggests, Orchard Road is a long road, lined up at both sides with huge shopping malls! A shopping and entertainment paradise, one can easily lose himself in the various malls for 1 or 2 days eating, having fun at the cinemes/arcades and shopping!

ChinaTown
Narrow streets, souvenir shops and beautiful temples dominate this part of town. Worth your visit, even for a few hours.

Clarke Quay (2nd night)
Second night out was a Weekend Night so things were lively for far longer (bars/clubs closed around 4am instead of 2am and more people were out partying). We also had the luck to know a model, who invited us over to some "VIP models' night" parties. Sadly, camera was not allowed in most of these clubs, so I had to leave it at the hotel. So, no photos/videos from that night. I have to say though, that it is a normal party zone, as in every part of the world: drinking, dancing, happiness, etc. HOWEVER, I have to warn men travellers that it is also full of prostitutes (and some of them pretend to be single women in the bars/clubs). For anyone who actually cares, prices (for tourists) vary from 40 to 500 euros per night, depending on the looks/class/status and yes, all the "single women" sitting around after bars close down, are them!

Bugis Street
The place to go for all your cheap shopping needs. A roof'ed market, with all kinds of clothes shop and fast food stalls! CHEAP is the word of the day here :) (but you won't find any Designer Brands, that's for sure)

Arab Quarter
The grand "Sultan Mosque" is the main attraction in this neighbourhood. Otherwise nothing much to do, other than walking around and seeing streets/shops. High point here was the "New Zealand"-er converted muslim volunteer that showed people around and answered questions about Islam and the moque!

Little India
A most "Bollywood" neighbourhood, full of colourful houses and of course, Curry Restaurants!! I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at one of them, that served the food on BANANA TREE LEAVES!!!! (The little tourist in me was fascinated :) ). Nothing else to suggest here though, although the guides claim one or two beautiful temples.

Marina Bay SANDS Skypark
The most recent addition to Singapore's impressive architecture, the modern, beautiful SANDS Skypark is a hotel-casino-offices complex with a wonderful pool on the top (ONLY FOR HOTEL GUESTS sadly :( ). Still, it's AWESOME and its view is great for sunset and night photos (as you can see :) ).

Sentosa Island
Last but not least, Sentosa Island, is an island turned into a huge family entertainment area with a little bit for everyone. 2 days are needed to say everything here, one for Universal Studios Theme Park (!!) and one for everything else. So, if you can only spend some hours or only one day there, don't make the same mistake that we did and buy the combo-ticket. Most probably it won't get its money worth.

So, all-in-all, I believe that Singapore is a city worth your visit if you are into shopping and theme parks (and botanic gardens apparently, but I didn't visit these). There is also a night safari that I didn't attend yet, but in the end, there's not much in the way of wonderful sight-seeing, that I am used to (and Hong Kong is already my favourite as far as Asian Metropolies go, and I recommend it!).

Addendum:
Photos at Flickr
Panorama & Stitches at Flickr (from all three times)
Videos at YouTube

Hong Kong Food #2

2011-09-01T13:43:00.000-07:00

It's more than a year since I last wrote a post about food in Hong Kong (click to see) and in the meantime I had the chance to visit again, and this time indulge even more in the wonderful world of Hong Kong Restaurants and Fast Food Stalls.

Without further delay, moving on to the food and restaurants:

Wu Kong Restaurant

I visited again and this time ordered some new dish, along the tried & tested ones. As is the custom, we started with tea.

At the far left side is a "Smoked Fish" dish. Delicious sauce included.
On the right is my personal new favourite from this time: Jellyfish tentacles! Crunchy and tasty.

Shark Fin Soup (the medium priced one) for soup (but still the Shark Fin was too thinly cut to savour any taste. Guess someone has to pay lots to get the shark taste).

And finally, everone's favourite: Dim Sum (dumplings)
Drinks
This time I also had a taste of drinks, including:

Japanese imported Asahi Beer

Delicious Sake Cocktails (I wish they made them in Greece too!)

and the local "Blue Girl" Beer, which is quite light.

Also some more drinks and cocktails, that I didn't take photos of, as they were too close to European ones.
Hot Pot!!

There was no way I would miss my all-time-favourite type of eating!! And I was lucky enough to have a well-established Hot Pot Restaurant in the same building that the hotel in which I was staying was located.
Before it all starts, there's an empty table with a heater:

Then you get to choose from the menu: What you want to dip in and what kind of initial "Water (or flavoured water, or sauce or soup)" you want in the pot.

We got a half-spicy, half-Miso one to accomodate all tastes.

A small list of things that we dipped in and ate follows (and it's very short compared to the actual list of what's on offer):

Meat and Fish -balls and Liver!

Vegetable-mix!

Pork meat!

Some kinds of mushrooms!

and more meat :)

Here's a small video on how to eat it, as well:

Of course don't forget that for the Chinese (and for the best) it's supposed to be a social activity!
For a taste of Western Cuisine in China, I visited a kind-of-mainstream restaurant, called "Applegreen" (paraphrase of Applebee's I presume)

The salad was noticeably good.

The Pasta strived to be Italian (even served with bread with olive oil), but ultimately not so close to the real thing.

The "German Sausages" were much closer to the original, though this was much easier to accomplish (but a whole garlic? Come on....).

Finally, their desserts were just... GREAT!!! (and the mini-mix shown in this photo, totally worth it!!).
And of course I visited the "Western Market" markets once more! Full of traditional food and medicine (and hard working people).
I regret not visiting a place such as this though:

...full of small local restaurants. Maybe next time.
At Causeway Bay, I had the chance to visit a cool modern restaurant, called: "Crystal Jade", located inside a mall.

First of some of the menu pages (I really loved their menu layout, made it easy to pick even without knowing thanks to all the photos):

And then some of the delicious food:

Chicken soup!

Sticky Rice! (what the name suggests. really sticky, made of rice)

The ubiquitous Dim Sums once more!

The REALLY-REALLY-TASTY (although they look like worms) Bamboo Shoots!

This was called "Chinese-Style Pizza with Spinach and Onion"! I would just call it Spinach pie (with bit of onion and sesame on top). Quite good actually.
I also visited a local in-a-basement restaurant, which was less cooler, but much cheaper and with simpler dishes (and less variety) in Tsim Sha Tsui East . Still quite tasty. If you are short on money, these kind of restaurants can save you (not much luck with English though, so just "be lucky" and eat whatever you order, or start pointing at any photo that seems familiar :) ).
On the cheap note, here's some cheap super-sweet-and-tasty street fast food (lots of egg contained, no idea what else):
And finally I got to experience a night out and got to taste what accompanies beer in China (in Greece it's usually just potato chips or popcorn or salty carrots/cucumbers). Here I think there were dried fish and also potato-based snacks. And more...

And this concludes my second post on Food in Hong Kong. I think there's not much left to cover , other than really exotic stuff and varieties if I visit again in the future :)

Hope this helps someone out there, till next time ;)

Hong Kong, 3rd visit

2011-07-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

Even after two visits (First one here & second one here) Hong Kong still held new and beautiful things for me (and there's even more I have left out, maybe for a future visit)! Once more, I have to deeply thank all my Hong Kong friends for their precious help and guidance .

This time I was staying at Hong Kong island, so I could explore that side of Hong Kong too! I was staying at "Wan Chai", near the metro station and although it's supposed to be a "seedy" area (and true enough there were strip joints very close to our hotel) it was very safe to walk around even in the darkest hours. Plus there is always a "7 eleven" open close around, round the clock, so even less to worry about.

So, new things first. You will notice that most things concern nightlife, since during the day I was meeting friends and exploring the culinary side of Hong Kong (that means, I was having delicious lunches/dinners). There will be another blog post about that :) :

Tsim Sha Tsui nightlife:
Tsim Sha Tsui and Tsim Sha Tsui's nightlife seems to be centered around clubs and bars (and pubs) mostly located in various floors of buildings where each floor is a different club/bar. It's a very nice concept: you take the elevator and check what each floot has to offer! :) There also some pubs/bars/clubs at street level too, but the variety inside the buildings cannot be matched.

The entrance fees are rather high but include 2 or 3 drinks (and are substantially more for men than women) and maybe that' why there was not much bar/club-hopping to be had. People go to one place, pay much money and have many drinks, so not much in the way of going to other places....

We went to place we were recommended to, called "iDarts", which -not surprisingly- had electronic darts! :) IT was more of a pub actually, with lots of people having their birthday cakes and shouting-laughing etc.... nice, jolly place! (and the SAKE cocktails were a dream!!)
Wan Chai "seedy" nightlife:
You don't have to be a genius to understand there's something "seedy" about the nightlife in Wan Chai. A look up the neon signs is enough:

And then there's the women with the abnormally few and provocative clothes, the older women shouting "come inside mister, good girls", the (extremely sexy) women HITTING ON (fat, ugly) MEN at bars, etc etc

For better or for worse I don't know any details, but I can generally say that as in every country in the world YOU MUST BE CAREFUL when you deal with these kind of situations! Could end up badly.
Lan Kwai Fong nightlife:
Loud music, drinking, people dancing, music, loads of flirting, drinking, funny mood, flirting, lots of poeple on the streets, drinking and having fun. I think you get the point. Just be careful of the phoney cab drivers that won't use the meter and try to deal on an abnormally high price!
Repulse Bay (by night):Thanks to my friend Cathri, for letting me know that this resort turns into a magical place at night! The building lights reflected at the sea, the sound of the waves, and nothing else.... MAGIC <3 I kind-of-wish I could spend every night there :)

There's also a temple with beautiful statues and a bridge that adds to your longevity every time you go through it.
Causeway Bay:
or else "The Mall City"! Stores, malls and people demonstrating. Also lots of people going to said malls. Which are rather IMPRESSIVE and so, I can't blame them. I entered two or three of them too, but most of the times I was taken to "Times Square" mall. Nothing especially impressive about them though (as opposed to "Mall City" aka Singapore). Just very huge and very Asian malls!
Wan Chai sight-seeing: Not much to see at Wan-Chai, sight-seeing-wise... There's always the "Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center" with its most modern and impressive escalators and nice views of the sea and the opposite side, plus the "Golden Bauhinia" located just behind it. And that's that for me...

And for the old ones, again
"Western Market" markets: Medicine, dried food, fresh food, bird's nests and all kind of traditional stuff, plus souvenirs, the Antique Market and temples. I love this place. Been here all three times! :)
The Peak Tram & The Peak: Nice ride and nice view. And that's that. Not worth a second time in my opinion, but company demanded it.
Avenue of Stars, Symphony of Lights
Another classic one. The "Symphoney of Lights" is not really necessary to have a second viewing, but the Avenue of Stars is just CooL :)

Addendum:
Photos at Flickr
Panorama & Stitches at Flickr (from all three times)
Videos at YouTube

Thessaloniki, Greece

2011-06-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

Been to Thessaloníki at last in February of 2011, even if it was only for one weekend, and even if it was for co-hosting and taking part as a photographer in the "Ultimate Anime Gathering ~Goes North~" anime party!

Sadly, as a Greek person there's not much I can say tourist-wise as my impression of Thessaloníki is heavily influenced from being a local. I would sum it up in: " it is just a smaller Athens, with much larger streets and a much cleaner harbour. Also it seems to be much more quiet overall". That does it for me, because all the rest is more or less the same as in Athens. There is also the stereotype that people in Thessaloníki are more laid back and relaxed, but two days were not enough to discern if that was true or just a rumour.

So, most I can do is go over the major (and some minor) sights of the city, that I got to see. To see them on the map, click on the photo and go to Flickr, where it is "Geo-tagged" as they call it in "Flickr slang".

The "Central Food Market", is a relic of a previous era. The '60s-'70s most likely.
Saint Theodora Monastery is a beautiful monastery, right in the middle of the city!

The White Tower, is the most recognizable building in Thessaloniki and one of its landmarks!
"Hagia Sofia" is one of the numerous churches in Thessaloniki. But one of the most locally famous as well (N,o nothing to do with the grand one in Istanbul).
Terkenlis, is one of the best known pastry shops of the many that are in Thessaloniki. Most famous for its "Tsoureki".
Chalkeon Church, is one more beautiful church located downtown!
The Castle Walls' Ruins of Thessaloniki are fairly extensive and a (photographic as well) pleasure to walk alongside them. There are also spots with great views of the city!
Vlatadon Monastery, holds an impressive little treasury of religious antiques but its biggest draw is the beautiful aviary, full of big, beautiful, colourful peacocks!
Saint Dimitrios is probably the grandest church in the city.
The Ancient Roman "Kamara", except from being a beautiful archaeological find, is also a popular meeting spot.
"Trigona Panoramatos" (Panorama Triangles). These small, cream-filled triangular pastries have become famous all over Greece!
This "Modern Art Sculpture" had apparently stirred quite a controversy in the city when it was first unveiled.
Last but not least, my favourite landmark: "OTE telecommunication tower"!

Plus i would like to share some of my favourite "non sight seeing photos" I took while in Thessaloniki.

Teddy Bear! :)
This is a joke for Greek people only... :)
Harbour Cranes
Great Graffiti about the crisis
Trattoria di Giordani, located far from the centre of the city, in Pylea, but still worth the trip. Great Italian cuisine with hand-made pasta!
"Time passes us by"
Statue of warrior, gets nail-polish
STUNNING block-of-flats graffiti!

More photos at my Flickr Set

Istanbul, Turkey (Κωνσταντινούπολη), part III

2011-05-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

In Istanbul for the third time, this time on the occasion of the "Istanbul Cosplay Party" and for three whole days (at last more than 20 hours)! Since I wouldn't like to repeat the same things again, I am instead referring the "reports" of my two previous visits:

The first time can be found here, including General Impressions, Hagia Sofia church, Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) and Grand Bazaar.
The second one can be found here, including the Asian Side, Taksim Square, Top Kapi Gülhane Park, Top Kapi Harem and also the rest Top Kapi Palace, Yeni Camii, Old Istanbul City and a little bit of Bosporus by night.

And having taken care of that, onto the new stuff! General impressions first:

Passport control is still extremely slow... :-(
I still didn't meet the "Great Istanbul Traffic Jams" that I had heard so much about, but then I didn't move out of the "tourist area" much (I did, a little bit, but I might just have been lucky) .
Istanbul really is one more of the world's Food Paradises (though not for Turkish food, as I mentioned the last time).

And now, for some specific sight-seeing information:

The Hippodrome, with its 3 distinctive pillars and the German fountain was rebuilt at the time, apparently to match its original construction. I am sure it will be a very impressive sight once it is finished.
The Basilica Cistern on the other hand, was the high point of this journey for me. An almost mystical experience. It is a huge ancient aqueduct, built in Byzantine times to provide the city with water. Now only a little water remains, full of carp and other kind of fish. But the overall effect of the darkness, pillars and clever lighting, along with the acoustic effect of water drops falling from the ceiling is mesmerizing. BTW, they make a lot of fuss about the "two weird Medusa Heads" but I think it's more of an archaelogical concern, than a big interest for the everyday tourist. Still it is a nice excuse to walk all the way to the back of the cistern. Oh, and don't miss the very funny "Take a photo in traditional clothes" tourist photo site. I loved it! One of the best souvenirs and rather cheap too.
The Grand Bazaar remains as photogenic as ever.It is always nice to get lost in its labyrinth-esque colourful corridors, for one more time!
Süleymaniye Mosque is the second largest mosque in Istanbul. Unofortunately I visited quite late and so I didn't have access to the cemetery with the Royal Graves. Even so, I recognize that it is one big and beautiful place of worship. If you can afford the time and you haven't seen enough mosques already (Blue Mosque and Yeni Camii, being the most prominent in the tourist area), be sure to drop by here, as well.
Beyazit Square on the other hand, is nothing fancy. Just a big open space, with some beautiful buildings. If you happen to come by, take a look.
Kucuk (Small) Hagia Sofia is a small, quiet temple, not far from the grand Hagia Sofia one. Only worth it if you are walking around or are really interested in churches/mosques.
Taksim Square and Istiklal Caddesi are the "de facto" modern tourism destinations of Istanbul, featuring lots of shops, cafes and walking space during the day & lots of bars and restaurants during the night! I had really misjudged this square on my previous trip.

In my opinion, the best route is to go to Beyoglu by Tram, enter the Tunnel funicular, get off at the terminal station at the beginning of Istiklal Caddessi and go up to Taksim Square by the old tram and then walk down along Istiklal Caddesi, until the Tunnel terminal station. (Or if you are stayint around Taksim Square, you can do the reverse: Walk down Istiklal Caddesi, go to Beyoglu by means of the funicular and then take the tram back up in the end of your trip).

Nothing more to say really. It is just a normal modern city tourist street, with everything you'd expect from it: Shops, Design Shops, Boutiques, Restaurants, Eateries, Fast Food shops, Pattieries (Turkish sweets! Just great!!), cops, embassies, pickpockets, dodgy people, beautiful buildings and passages and even a Catholic Church! (Saint Anthony of Padua). Oh, and don't forget to walk around the alleys, too. They're full of nice surprises!

(Pera Palace Hotel, not on Istiklal Caddesi, but very close. A nice detour).

At night, Istiklal Caddesi transforms into a bar/restaurant street, with bars located at various floors of the buildings, rather than just the ground floor. My only objection is that every bar seems to play its at an extremely loud volume, with not even a hint of sound-insulation and on the street is a sound pandemonium!!
Galata Tower is one of the most striking landmarks of Beyoglu (Pera) at Istanbul. This, rather tall, tower can be seen from many places, including Bosporus bridge and ferries. One just can't resist the curiosity of taking a look at it and it rewards that curiosity with great views of the city! (But be careful, because you have to walk on a really narrow balcony).
Dolmabahce Palace is located further north at the European side of Bosporus and is easily accessible by tram. Just outside its entrance, "the Seagulls Rule the Earth" and the cafe nearby has great views of Bosporus.

The Palace itself lies in beautiful surroundings (gardens, fountains, gates, other buildings), as expected from a Palace that cost so much and "was bound to surpass Versailles". I have never been to Versailles, so I can't draw comparisons, but the Palace itself is spectacular! Sadly, it is not allowed to take photos inside, since this year... so you will just have to take my word for it (or search online for photos of previous travellers ;-) ).

Other than the main Palace building (which is covered by two tours, though most people skip the second one), there is also the "Clock Museum" (nice if you have never been to one before) and the "Crystal Pavillion" with the Aviary close to it (keep an eye for the beautiful peacocks that walk all around it).

And speaking of animals, there are many cats on the grounds. Some are really funny but rather to become really annoying by following you everywhere!!
The Church of Holy Savior in Chora (Kariye Museum) is way off the tourist area and sadly I can't really recommend making the effort to visit it. First off, the area in which is located is devoid of any other tourist interest (except from a great looking, but rather expensive restaurant with traditional Turkish food nearby). The church itself, though loudly advertised in every tourist guide as a "must see", is just a plain old Orthodox Church with beautiful mosaics. Nothing big, in my book at least. Finally, the area around the church is not one that a tourist would want to walk. Neither one that the locals would want to see a tourist walk it, I guess. If you really want to see the church take a taxi in and out of it. Most likely it won't take you more than 20 minutes to see all it has to offer.

And onto the tourist activities!

And since I had time, I couldn't resist going to a HAMAM! So, I picked "Cemberlitas Hamam" in the tourist area, not only because it was so thoroughly recommended by the tourist guides, but also because it had a discount for Greek people (Guess news of the crisis reached the neighbours first)!!

I have to admit, that taking a long rest in the hot steamy room (just like a sauna), and then being thoroughly rubbed, washed and massaged, feels GOOD. The body is fully relaxed afterwards! I wouldn't mind doing that every couple of days. It is really worth the experience (it is a much different, in the sense that it feels more ancient, experience from the Hungarian Hot Spas, which also have roots in Turkish tradition).

Unfortunately photos inside were not possible (too wet), so only one photo of the price list.
For souvenirs, I can thoroughly recommend the calligraphy shop next to Chamberlitas Hamams. Great, fast work, for a very good price and with a wide range of canvases (from simple paper, to real canvas to musical instruments!!). A real deal (and no, I was not paid for that, I just really appreciated his work)!
I also attended a Dervish Dance Show at the "HadjaPasha Culture Center" for which I can only say "see it ONLY if you REALLY want to see one such show at any cost"... plus I really didn't like the fact that two of the musicians were trying so hard not to laugh out loud during the entire show!
I repeat that THIS IS JUST MY OPINION. Nothing more. Nothing less.

No photos or videos were allowed inside the stage.
Last, but certainly not least, the Bosporus cruise. Though I missed taking one "full" cruise, I *did* travel by ship across Bosporus, from Eminonu to Kadikoy and back and I have to say it was worth it, if only for the seagulls following the ship! My advice is: be sure NOT to miss it, if you are travelling to Istanbul.

And, finishing my memories off, with my favourite travel subject: FOOD! A quick run through of the places I ate:

Orient Express Restaurant: Great setting and service, but the food was sadly lacking. The worse Kunefe I ate in Istanbul.
Buhara 93 Restaurant: Much advertised in guides, but for no good reason. Reasonable quality and prices, but just that.
Saray: Patisserie, with great sweets, but food as well. One of the best Kunefe I have eaten!
Gulluoglu is thought to be the king of Baklava for good reason! Thumbs up! (plus great Bosporus views outside).
Street Food: In street food we trust :) Always there, with lots of spices and hot or cold, for every taste. Some of them are shown below:
- Simitci Sellers
- Kestane (chestnut) seller
- Pilaf (boiled Rice) seller
- Sahlep (sweet drink) seller! (street versions exist too)
- Sandwich with Fish Fillet (don't ask which fish) :)

Finally, you can see all videos from the trip here in YoutubeAnd simple photos here in Flickr, and the panoramas/stitches here in Flickr

Barcelona - All-in-one

2011-03-10T14:30:00.000-08:00

Everything about my view on Barcelona:

Blog posts
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5

Photos

Barcelona Photos
Barcelona Stitches & Panoramas

Videos

Barcelona Day 5: Barcelonetta, Forum and L'Aquarium!

2011-03-10T13:51:00.000-08:00

It was quite apparent that it was the wrong season to go around Barcelonetta and Port Olimpic. The area screams "SUMMER TIME" and the few beach-volleyball players weren't enough to make it so...

Still, as you walk from Barcelonetta, through Port Olimpic to Forum area, you come across all kinds of super-modern, beautiful and imposing skyscrapers! It is like you suddenly step in a South-East Asia mega-city!! It is worth the walk, even if only because of this!

But what you must certainly not miss is the not-so-vast-but-thoroughly-imposing Poblenou Cemetery.

Walking among its high walls, amongst the graves really gives you the sense that this is a place of the dead, and the vast expanses of the "Classical" and "Gothic" cemeteries at the far end of it, make it worth the walk there.

If you DO go there, try not to miss the marvelous "Kiss of Death" statue!

Finally, we visited the Barcelona Aquarium (L'Aquarium). Apart from loads and loads of fish...

...and other creatures of the deep....

its most impressive sights are:

The (sadly short) Corridors that goes through the enormous "shark tank"
The JellyFish Room: Pure Magic

(and in video)

That Sunday night we tried to go out for a drink, but we discovered that almost all bars in the Tourist area were closing by 00:00!!! Unbelievable!!! In any case, we were lucky enough to find a great bar with Dumpling Tapas and have a drink! :)

Goodbye Barcelona!!

Barcelona Day 4: Tibidabo and around!

2011-02-13T08:49:00.000-08:00

We decided to go and check out the grand church that we were seeing on top of a surrounding hill! It turned out that it was the "Temple de Sagrat Cor" (Church of the Sacred Heart) at the Tibidabo district Hill!

In order to go there we went by Metro to Av. Tibidabo station, then rode on the cute (but short ride) "Blue Tram", until its final stop and took the Funicular up to the top (nice views of the city uphill), where the Church sits majestically over the city, with a little Fair right next to it, complete with a Roller Coaster and an Automaton Museum (older Fair Exhibits from an era where Automatons were all the craze)!!

The Church itself is very impressive (actually there are two churches, one on top of the other). The top one in particular, is very impressive and beautiful with colourful paintings and stained windows!

Climbing up to the top of the grand church, where the Jesus Status is standing, is a very rewarding walk. The staircases become more and more beautiful and the views of the city and the Fair more and more impressive!

It is really worth your time and after you are done, you can sit and relax at the creperie that's opposite the church entrance.

After we had enough of walking around and admiring the view of the Barcelona cityscape, we went back down to Barcelona for food and sight-seeing. The best of them were:

Museu d'Història de la Ciutat (Barcelona History Museum), with its impressive underground level, where you walk amongst the ruins of the Ancient Roman Barcelona (Ciutat). Photos not allowed, sadly, but you can have a brief look here.

It's really worth your time and money, if you are into history.

Other than that, since it was Satturday we had a taste of clubbing as well. Night life in Barcelona is alive and strong!

Finally, some more pretty pictures from this day:

Kitty at Tibidabo Hill

Avenue Tibidabo

Street Artist

Japanese-style masks in the beautiful mask shops of Barcelona

Performer in an event about immigrants.

Barcelona Day 3: Gaudi's Day!

2011-02-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

The 3rd day in Barcelona was dedicated to Gaudi and his masterpieces! But before that we visited another beautiful building: the Baroque "Palau de la Musica Catalana" (Palace of Catalan Music). It is a very beautiful building to view, full of rich details and colours.

And don't miss the cute "Jamaica Cafe" close by, excellent for a quick relaxing rest.

Back to Gaudi then and starting off with his unfinished masterpiece: La Sagrada Familia!

It is a HUGE HUGE church, surprisingly in a quite unfitting, completely modern urban setting.

Inside it is even more impressive, with its high columns, vaults and arches and the colours provided by the sunlight that passes through the large stained glass windows!

My only objection: It's too white! :)

PS: don't forget to visit the Crypt Museum too, for a more through look on its design and continuous building.

Second off the list, Park Guell: Where Gaudi actually lived quite a big part of his life in a house near the entrance (and not up the hill, don't be confused like I was).

Park Guell is mostly "just a park", except from the entrance area, that is graced with a most beautiful terrace,

that sits above a hall full of Doric Columns,

which is behind the famous, colourful "Gaudi Dragon" statue/fountain.

And don't forget to visit Gaudi's House, full of furniture that he designed himself and get a glimpse of this genius' everyday life.

Casa Batllo was the next destination. It's in line with three other very beautiful buildings, from which the most noteworthy is "Casa Amatller" (still inhabited, so you can only see the beautifully decorated entrance hall).

At first the ticket to Casa Batllo seems ridiculously expensive (at 17,8 Euros it is even more than the Sagrada Familia), but it is worth it (just don't forget to get an audioguide too, or you will miss most of it).

The house is the perfect demonstration of Gaudi's architectural design: curves, great natural lighting, ergonomic design and on top of all that: BEAUTIFUL from the entrance stairs up to the rooftop chimneys!

Casa Mila/La Pedrera, was the last one for that day. You can actually only visit the entrance hall and an appartment at the top floor, which is decorated as was at the beginning of the 20th century, kind of like an "older life museum". It was mostly unimpressive, BUT the rooftop was extra-ordinary! Filled with curves, beautiful chimneys, gaping holes (the courtyards) and fantastic view, it tops that of Casa Batllo and In My Opinion is the only thing worth experiencing here.

Taking a moment's notice, "L'Eixample" (the neighbourhood in which Casa Batllo and Casa Mila are located) is a really nice place to walk around, with lots of beautiful building facades and a little "Rambla" (pedestrian street) as well. I was also told, but not witnessed, that the bar scene is very lively here at nights.

Finally, after 3 days in Barcelona, I would like to make some observations about living here as a tourist:

There is NO free tap water given at restaurants or bars!! (outrageous for a Greek person, since we gets loads of it here). You have to pay for mineral water. Life sucks.
I was not really impressed by the food in Barcelona: the bakeries had mostly cold and not-so-tasty food, the restaurants around the city were just OK and the Tapas were ridiculously too expensive for their size.
I was almost scammed from a gypsy woman asking to "sign for a cause for disabled persons". My friend, Sofia, actually saved me since she blocked her escape path.
The "souvenir sellers" that are everywhere around the tourist places, generally have exactly the same products at exactly the same prices. Bargaining is not really effective.
When you order a drink, they JUST bring you the drink. No nuts (paid extra as Tapas), no water (paid extra for mineral). Outrageous :)
Finally, Night-Life in the tourist area (Barri Gotic, La Ribera) is generally just like Monastiraki-Psirri area in Athens, Greece. Just that, almost all of the bars close exactly at 2:30!! (and at 00:00 at Sunday Night!!). "Go to a club if you want more", they tell you...!!!

Barcelona day 2: Barcelona's Squares, Paral.lel, Castle Montjuis, El Raval, La Rambla, Barri Gotic

2011-01-13T14:39:00.000-08:00

Sightseeing full-speed-ahead on the second day. Picking up the best and/or most popular:

Placa de Catalunya is a big square (last/first stop of the Aerobus, too) with lots of nice buildings all around it, as well as cafes, restaurants, hotels, etc
Placa d' Espanya is also a big square (the Aerobus stops here too!) with the ex-Bullfighting-Arena and other grand buildings as well. A pedestrian street takes off from the imposing "Venetian Towers" and leads to a big park.
The area around metro Paral.lel is a bit "suspicious". Homeless people, people that look like drug users, sex shops and peep shows welcome you as you get out of the metro station. Other than that not much to do here, other than go to Montjuic Castle.
Montjuic Castle is really worth going to, if only for the marvelous views of Barcelona city and its harbours!. The ride up from Paral.lel metro station is very easy to find and really cool: by Funicular first and then by Cable car (too far of an uphill hike for walking, unless you have LOTS of hours to spend and/or are physically fit!).
El Raval neighbourhood is kind of the immigrants' neighbourhood, full of Pakistani (or countries around it) and Chinese people. It is a bit like the area around Omonoia in Athens, but without the drug users. Also some of the most persistent "beggars" I have ever seen, greatly varying in age too, from young kids to elderly people, are located here!!

Sights:

Saint Paul del Camp church Was closed for noon (13:00-16:00) when we got there, but it's most interesting for the pagan/early Christianic symbols above the front door.
Palau Guell is one more of Gaudi's creation, but it was closed for renovation, sadly.
Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu. If you are into gothic architecture like me don't miss its library. Other than that, the building now houses an institute and its serene courtyard is just the right place for relaxing inbetween walks (esp. at the close-by "La Rambla").

"La Rambla" pedestrian street. The great pedestrian street of Barcelona stretches from "Placa Catalunya" till the harbour. It is full of street artists: mimes, sketch drawers, portrait drawers, actors, dancers, musicians and (the other great art) PICK POCKETS! So be aware of your belongings, as it is always packed with people!

Other than that, it's got many faces along its long stretch: museums, peep shows/sex shops, fashion shops, more fashion shops, beautiful buildings, restaurants, it's all there.

My favourite performers were the "Gold and Silver Demon"! Really crazy guys with matching voice and lots of fun!

Finally, at the end of La Rambla, is the Columbus Statue standing high on its column, gazing the sea!

Oh, and don't forget to visit the colourful "St. Josep food market", if only for a quick refreshment (great icy fruit juice!).
Barri Gotic is the main old-city-tourist area of Barcelona. Narrow alleys, beautiful street lights, surprises at every corner, events, sights and LOTS and LOTS of churches!

The main one is (of course) the Barcelona Cathedral. A huge temple, complete with a crypt and a cloister, that features a lovely pond with (loud) ducks!
Santa Maria del Pi is another gorgeous gothic church! Recommended to visit inside and sit to take in the beauty of it, then relax at a cafe/restaurant at the square in front of it.
Also look out for the mask shops nearby. Pure magic!
The Sants Just i Pastor church is also a pretty gothic church. Take a look inside if you got the time.

And that's it for day 2 :) Quite full!!

Barcelona, day 1: Arrival, L'Arc De Triomf and "La Ribera"

2011-01-06T04:11:00.000-08:00

For Barcelona, I decided to use a different approach: Since we visited specific sites (clustered in specific neighbourhoods), I decided to share my impressions of the city in similar-sized chunks: 1 for each of the 5 days!! Starting with day 1: Arrival in the airport, the area around L'Arc De Triomf and "La Ribera" Neighbourhood!

Airport
It is quite easy to navigate, a long corridor where all gates are either side of it and the check-ins etc, at one end of it. It's also very clean and feels "fresh" (for some reason)! It connects to the city through buses that run pretty frequently and cost 5,05 Euros!!! (Did they REALLY need those 5 cents?? Couldn't they just "round it" up or down?)

Metro System
The Metro has many lines and thus one can travel to most parts of the city with it. The cars are also large and spacious. Its only downside are the long walking corridors between lines at the same station and that some older stations are so narrow and claustrophobic!

Arc de Triomf - Parc de la Ciutadella
Arc de Triomf is a really impressive arch, modelled after the one in Paris (I think) and apparently is a meeting point for people that live arond this area. The most important however is the park that stretches "behind it" (as you exit the metro station): Parc de la Ciutadella. A nice, quiet place, perfect for relaxing or taking a stroll. Many people also practice here or have a pic-nic. Plus it features a beautiful pond with all kind of birds and a work of art (that we sadly missed). Two museums are also in the park limits and right next to it is the Barcelona Zoo!

La Ribera
It's the name of the neighbourhood stretching to the west of Arc De Triomf and Parc de la Ciutadella. It's a really nice place, full of narrow little streets lined up with bars/cafes/restaurants and shops! It's the perfect place to get lost in, as it's also quite safe (no suspicious looking people here, like in "El Raval"-following day). I guess you could say it's the "Plaka" of Barcelona.

Some of the sights/things to do here are:

Visit the Picasso Museum (we didn't visit, thought it was overpriced. Still the building looked nice).
Eat at UDON Restaurant. I can really recommend it: OK prices and delicious food (esp. the "Rice Burger" pictured below!)
Walk along the Carrer de Montcada. More than once!
Enter the beautiful Santa Maria del Mar Gothic church!!
Find this beautiful little cafe, located in a courtyard close to Museum of Chocolate!
See the Mercat de Santa Caterina
Visit the Chocolate Museum in order to learn about the history and making of , of chocolate and to marvel at the chocolate scultpures!
Alternatively, just drink a thick aromatic chocolate at the Chocolate Museum Cafe (no entry ticket required)

Some more impressions from my first day there:

The prices are not rounded up. There exists prices like: 2,96 or 16,78 (unthinkable in Greece :) )
Pinchos are great (but overpriced). The paying-system (they count your toothpicks to see how many you have eaten) is too-trusting in my opinion!!
Tapas, on the other hand, are not great and are too overpriced!!! Moreover it feels ridiculous that you pay up for a drink and you ONLY GET THE DRINK. No glass of water (costs extra), no supply of peanuts or chips (each bowl costs extra and quite a lot too!). They should get a lesson from Greek shop-owners in that regard :)

Istanbul, Turkey (Κωνσταντινούπολη), part II

2010-11-15T14:53:00.000-08:00

Back in Istanbul, again this time for one whole day!! (actually 22 hours, but it's poetic license :-) )

Since, once more, I had limited time.to spend, I haven't got much to write about other than sight-seeing: I was staying in the old town so I saw everything just by walking around (and using the tram just once, for the experience) and I didn't get a feel of "living in the city", the limited time didn't allow me to get to know people or use the Mass Transit Media or Taxis. So once more, brief impressions from Istanbul:

The Asian Side
Since I landed on the "Sabiha Gökçen" airport this time, I was lucky enough to see the Asian side too (from inside the Havas bus) and I was really impressed! Being developed at the current time, is quite unlike traditional Istanbul and its grand skyscrapers resemble mostly big Asian cities, like Hong Kong.

Sight-Seeing

Taksim Square
I only changed from bus to taxi in Taksim Square, so I can't say much, other than it seemed like a normal extremely large European Square to me.

Top Kapi Gülhane Park

Gulhane Park is the park that is situated right next to Top Kapi. It is very beautiful (and very green) with nice walk-ways and lots of beautiful trees! In addition it is extremely couple-friendly (that translates from: "there were couples kissing on almost every bench"). If you are visiting TopKapi Palace, I recommend it for taking a rest before or after the grand tour of the Palace.

Top Kapi Palace - Harem

I mention the "Top Kapi Palace Harem" as a separate sight from the rest of the Palace because:

So does the Top Kapi Palace management evidently, as they are charging an extra ticket and extra audio guide for it.
It is the most beautiful and most extensive part of the palace!

Life in it was not as exciting as the movies said apparently, as it was more like an intern school for the future possible wives of the Turkish Emperor. However, the whole hierarchical system of women and eunuchs, as seen throughout the tour is fascinating!! And the level of luxury in the appartments of the Emperor is simply breathtaking!!

Top Kapi Palace - Rest of it
The rest of the palace is a testament of the wealth and power of the Turkish Emperors.Luxury, impressive buildings, gardens, great views and treasuries full of unimaginable treasures! (Sadly, no photos allowed there, but there are treasures both invaluable from a money point of view and invaluable from a religious point of view!).

Yeni Camii-New Mosque
Not as impressive as the nearby Blue Mosque, but the "new Mosque" (at least new when it was built) is a large, colourful, imposing mosque as well. Open for tourists and believers. Worth a visit if you got time for more than one mosques.

Istanbul Old city
A nice place for taking a walk and enjoying a cup of tea with the famous Turkish sweets. But not so recommended for the night, as it is very crowded and noisy (not to mention overpriced and very tourist-y).

Istanbul by night
I didn't have the chance for a full-night-out (too little time :( ), but I wandered around the Bosporus Bridge by which Yeni Camii is located. I found out that Istanbul is well and alive at night! Restaurants, bars, clubs and lots of stalls with delicious fast food :)

Food in Istanbul
Eating in Istanbul tourist area was a big disappointment!! The food does not taste as, well.. "Turkish" as in Ankara.The rich flavours are just not there, the use of spices is reduced to the bare minimum, the bread (Arabic Pie) is just not as good and not as easily "refilled" and (the worst for me) the initial 3 free dishes are not there (yoghurt, spicy sauce, tomato/cucumber salad). I hope that in the rest of the Istanbul area the food is significantly more Turkish and less tourist-y.

Other than that, when you walk at night, there is no place without food. You are sure to find some Food Stall to eat some delicious (or at least edible) fast food!

At least Kunefe is the same! <3

All in all, there is still much more to see in Istanbul. Looking forward to my next visit!

Extras:
Photos from Istanbul
Panoramas/Photo Stitches from Turkey (got many from the TopKapi Harem here)

Ankara, Turkey

2010-11-14T05:48:00.000-08:00

I spent just three(3) days in the capital of Turkey, mostly for vacation/tourism (and also had the pleasure to attend the "2nd Ankara Cosplay Party" as well).

First things first, the capital city is not a tourist city. For tourism Turkey offers the grand Istanbul and the area around Izmir. Although there ARE sights to see, it is the decision center of a very large country and as such it is full of government buildings and also quite "strict". For instance, the lasting presence of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is very strongly felt, with his photographs/paintings from various periods of his life (young, older, old) all over the city buildings, usually accompanied by huge turkish flags as well.

Off to useful information, first:

Information about moving around

Orientation The city is literally "cut in two" by the "Atatürk Bulevard" which runs from North to South. If you get to AtatürkBulevard finding the major sights is easy:

Ulus, the "old city" with most of the sights, is north
Atakule, with the Tower, is south
Kizilay, the bar/club/restaurant/tourist area, is almost in the middle

Other than being useful, this boulevard is a sight itself, with many modern architecture buildings, skyscrapers and squares/parks at both sides.It takes about 2 hours to walk from one end to the other and you can always stop for a coffee or snack at the numerous cafes/restaurants along your way or take a rest at a square or one of the numerous public parks (my favourite was the Kugulu (Swan) Park) of which you can see photos, below.

Language/Currency
The official language is Turkish (of course), but you are bound to find people that know English as well. In any case, there is no big culture gap, like in the Asian countries, so basic pantomime works perfectly!

The Currency is the Turkish Lira and its value is approximately half a Euro.(So 1 Euro equals to 2 TLs)
Transit (Metro, buses, taxis)

The Metro is clean, efficient and easy to understand with lots of signs everywhere, but it still needs development, as it's not very convenient for "tourist use" with the current routes (it only sports two rather short lines for now, maybe it is convenient for locals going to/from work, though).
Buses are the cheapest way to move around. There are large "European-style" buses, which you can find at sign posted stops along the roads and which sport clear markings of their origin-destination-number... and there are the mini-buses (Dolmus). They are small and blue, most of them don't have clear markings, you can get on/get off them virtually anywhere, your ticket depends on how far you will travel (I think) and they are really convenient IF you know which one to take and its route. Thankfully, I had local friends with me whenever I rode in one, as I didn't dare ride one alone.

And as it says in the photo: MASALLAH (which translates roughly as "May Allah Protect us" I think).
Taxis are a mixed bag. On one hand, you can stop them anywhere and ask to go anywhere. On the other hand, much like most vehicles in Ankara, they are driven recklessly. And i REALLY mean that "recklessly". I haven't been so scared riding in a vehicle since the 3-wheeler in Hangzhou, China that rode over the pavements and had people dashing to the sides for safety... In any case, they are your best bet for getting around town and they are not expensive. Luckily the meter charges ONLY when the taxi is moving and not when stopped (luckily because there are often traffic jams in highways and long stops in blocked alleys). Moreover, the drivers are quite nice overall and helpful (though occasionaly, some like to drive the tourist around in circles [as my GPS informed me] but this happens all over the world after all). As long as paying is concerned, the drivers like to round the fare. Usually to the nearest half Lira. So some times you pay more and some times you pay less than what the meter shows, but in the long term all balances out.

Sights

Ataturk Boulevard and Kugulu Park
I already mentioned Ataturk Boulevard and Kugulu (Swan) Park, above, in the section "Orientation", so nothing more to say/show here.
Kocatepe Camii
Kocatepe Camii is the big camii (mosque) that dominates the Ankara Skyline. Impressive on the outside as it stands alone in a big square and beautiful on the inside, with colourful carpets, wall paintings, religious symbols, etc. Truely, a nice religious experience.
Atakule Tower
The big, modern tower/mall of Ankara hosts shops, restaurants and cinemas, as well as a viewing platform with great views to the city. Worth the money, especially at sunset.
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations If you visit only one Museum in Ankara (and have the slightest interest in the history of human kind) make sure that it's this one! It's large, with impressive findings on display and covers the evolution of human civilization (in the Anatolia region, sure, but it is quite representative of the whole as well) since prehistoric times until the Roman era. Audio-guide is strongly recommended.
Ankara Citadel
Very close to the Anatolian Museum (indeed, just a few minutes of uphill walking) is the Ankara Citadel. An old castle, with magnificent 360 views of the city below (and lots of tourist-traps, souvenir-sellers, etc).
Anit Kabir (Ataturk's mausoleum)
Ataturk's burial grounds is monumental. Housed in a beautiful huge building (which also houses a museum dedicated to his life and work), one can see his empty memorial grave (the real one is below ground). Even if you are not interested in modern Turkish History, the location of the mausoleum is great (with views over the city), it is a beautiful, imposing building architecture-wise and in a big, beautiful park. Moreover, in order to get to the mausoleum, on has to walk along a path lined with stone lions.

Of course, there would be a strong army presence as well. On the other hand you might be lucky enough to witness the "change of guards".
Roman Bath
The Roman bath ruins are very interesting for anyone interested in the ancient Greco/Roman civilizations. They are extensively big, well maintained and easily identifiable. Moreover, they are exhibited with a wide collection of Byzantine tombstones and a whole Byzantine Grave!

Food!

I just LOVE the food in Turkey. It is so much like the food we eat in Greece, but with more herbs/spices/etc. Moreover there is gyros (kebab) everywhere [big plus] and the sweet are just.... amazing! Especially, the "oven sweet" for which they are so famous (baklava, kataif, etc).

Keftes.

Restaurant Menu.

In Ankara you get these 3 dishes for free at most restaurants: salad, yoghurt sauce, spicy sauce.

Tea in the traditional small glass.

Infinite refill of delicious hot bread ("arabic pie" in Greece).

Meat. :)

Guvec (misses the pasta in Turkey)

Lahmatzoun

Gyros (Kebab) is weighted in scales!

Gyros (Kebab)

And last in this page, but first in my heart:

KUNEFE!!!! <3

It should be mentioned that if you have only been to tourist-y Istanbul, you are in for a treat in Ankara, where the food is really Turkish and not tourist-spoilt. Spices and flavours abound!!

Nightlife
Nothing much to say here, because it is mostly the same as in Greece. Bars, clubs, discos, etc... There is fun to be had (in Kizilay District, for sure)!

Women
Black hair. Beautiful. Enough said.

Extras
My Photos from Ankara
My Panoramas/Stitches from Turkey
My Videos from Turkey

Next stop: Istanbul!

Tips for mid-range city travellers!

2010-09-25T00:53:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share some tips for mid-budget world-travellers such as myself. It's based on experiences I have accumulated after some trips and I think it might be useful for some people.

First of all... Who is a mid-budget traveller?
Travellers who don't like to spend more money than necessary,but no less as well. For example: they appreciate eating in a nice, mid-budget restaurant over street food or fast food, but won't go to a luxurious restaurant. They also prefer to stay in 2-3 stars hotels, over hostels or luxurious hotels. This collection of tips won't be useful to low-budget travellers (back-packers, hostel lovers, etc.) and high-budget travellers (luxurious restaurants and Hilton, Sheraton, Peninsula, Ritz, etc. you know who you are).

Moreover, this guide refers to visiting cities/towns and not the countryside/jungle/desert/etc. where the rules differ greatly in all aspects.

Now that we got that out of the way...:

Airplane tickets

For popoular destinations: Airplane tickets are best booked early, though there are exceptions, depending on availability and cancellations. But, best prices tend to be available 2-4 months in advance. Also be in the lookout for special offers from airplane companies. They usually send an email notification to subscribers when that happens, so take the extra burden on your mailbox and subscribe to their newsletter!

For the rest destinations: Prices tend to be stable throughout the year, peaking only when there is a holiday or some other special reason for people to travel in mass, in either the destination or the departure city/country. Try to avoid these days if possible.

Of course, there are also charter flights that are really cheap. I tend to avoid them due to safety/etc. concerns, but many people don't seem to care. Still I can't advise about them.

My best practice tip is to pick a 3-day period, 3 months before you travel and check the ticket prices online 2-3 times a day, every day in that period, to get an idea of the prices and how they flactuate. Also ask your travel agent(s) and keep checking regularly. Book the cheapest you'll find as soon as possible (I happened to lose extremely cheap tickets for a 20 second decision interval!).

Hotels (and Transportation)

Booking hotels is much trickier than booking airplane tickets, because it also involves lots of information gathering instead of just surveillance. First off, be sure to know the layout of the city you are visitng and where the places you will spend most of your time visiting are. This is invaluable.

Then, use meta-search and reviews sites, such as TripAdvisor.com (not paid to advertise, mind you, but it has saved me more than once) and be sure to read what other travellers say about the hotels, excluding very bad and very good reviews. For example, there are hotels that look great in comfort, price and place, but they are dirty, or usually, in a very noisy part of town. On the other hand, there are hotels who seem rundown or "too small" but happen to be a small oasis of comfort and politeness. So, read what other have to say.

Prefer to book hotels near tram or, even better, metro stations. Buses have been unreliable in every country I have been in, due to traffic and it is hard to plan a route timetable when using them. Moreover, in most of the countries (Poland being a notable exception) you have to know the street names or at least how the place you want to get off looks, in order to get off at the right stop. On the other hand, if you prefer nightlight and tend to get back in the middle of the night (around 3 am) then maybe you should prefer a hotel along a night bus route (if available). Otherwise you can just wait until 5 or 6 am for the first tram/metro, or even get a taxi.

All that because: taxis needed to and from a cheap hotel that hasn't got good traffic connections usually outweigh its price benefit.

When arriving in a hotel, better take a minute to check the room that has been assigned to you. If you don't like it or doesn't live up to your expectations, it is usually easy to negotiate a transfer or a cheap upgrade.Don't be shy, you are paying for it! Furthermore and much more important, take a moment to scout the area around your hotel. Locate useful stores such as mini-markets, super-markets, bakeries, etc.. It is better not to search for them when hungry or in dire need.

When checking out, mind for mini-bar claims (it happens much more often than it should). Talking of hotel mini-bars, avoid them like the plague. Almost always, everything is over-priced (3-5 times up the usual price, depending on the hotel) and they take up useful fridge space too! What I do, is head out to a super-market or mini-market on arrival and buy everything that i will need (water, milk, biscuits, etc.)

Food

AVOID THE TOURIST RESTAURANTS (and what's recommended in the various travel guides, no matter how good the guides are)! They are over-priced and the food is not close to how the local cuisine actually is, as it is "rigged" for tourist tastes (Istanbul is a good showcase of that). What I do, is walk around the city and enter any eatery/restaurant that has lots of locals inside. The locals know where there is good and well-priced food, trust them. For example I had a great meal in a small Tai-O restaurant in Hong Kong Lantau island, by doing just that. (Although in general, in Asian countries this practice may lead to "strange" results, so be strong :) ).

If you are in a country with low water quality (or even worse, known to have bacteria in it) avoid raw salads, drinks with water, and anything that is not boiled or roast. It might save you a day or two of stomach ache (or worse). The locals might have immunity, but you most probably don't.

Oh, don't be afraid to try new tastes and things to eat. If they can eat it, then so can you (unless the immunity factor comes into play again).

P.S.: If you want something familiar, I've noticed that McDonalds and Starbucks exist in every country of the world. They have some localised offers, but their basic menu is the same everywhere. Can't go wrong with that :)

Transportation (mostly Taxis)

As I mentioned before, prefer the metro: it's fast, reliable and not affected by traffic. In many countries it even has strict timetables, so planning is made easy. Then it's the tram and then the taxis. Buses tend to be slow, difficult to track and even more difficult to get off at the right stop at most countries (but not in Poland, btw. There, they are the best way to move around).

Since i wrote about public transportation in the "Hotels" section, I will especially mantion the taxis here. I hope I am not hurting anyone's feelings by stating that in every country I've been to (from East Asia to Central Europe) I have happened onto bad taxi drivers that tried to rip me off: Either by taking advantage of my need (Taiwan), by making bad bargains (Greece, Turkey) or by driving me around (everywhere!). Problem is that you can't do or prove anything about it and usually there's not much time to find and go to Tourist Police, so my advice is: if you notice anything strange, get off immediately and get another taxi.

Hong Kong Food!

2010-06-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

Since Hong Kong is a food-paradise (lots of restaurants with all kinds of food and not forgetting the chinese cuisine which is wonderfully flavoured), I thought that I should devote a special post on that! So, things I ate/saw in Hong Kong. Last trip first:

Food and medicine at the Western Markets
Nepalese Cuisine at the "Nepal" restaurant at SoHo
Korean Noodles at Mong Kok Shopping Mall restaurant
The ice-mountains (don't know how to describe them, and sadly I only have photo of the Mong Kok shop selling them).
Hokkaido Rice Pizza from "Toi"
Thai cuisine (Thailand) at Causeway Bay
Night Market Butcher Shop near Mong Kok
Heart-Shaped Cookies at the "Flower Market"
Korean Burger Shop at iSquare Mall
Yokohama Ramen at iSquare Mall
Night time Cook at Mong Kok
Durian Dessert (i swear this thing STINKS)
Coconut Milk Dessert
McDonalds Meal with sweet Taro Pie

And my first trip, last :)

Seafood at the "Good View" Restaurant in "Tai O" village
Duck Breast Pizza
Various "traditional" Chinese dishes at a restaurant
Shark Fin Soup (at same Restaurant)
Bird's Nest soup (at same Restaurant)
Fast Food Menu
Home Made Filipino Pasta

And that's not even ALL!! Tasting new flavours and dishes is one of the primary reasons I want to go to Hong Kong again and again.... it's just SO GOOD for food lovers!

PS: Plastic Noodles Fridge Magnets!!

Hong Kong, China (2nd visit)

2010-06-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

I spent five (5) days in Hong Kong this time, but much more relaxed, since I had seen most sightseeings the first time around. So now I had time to sit back and relax, see some sightseeings and taste more and more of strange/exotic/mostly delicious food!! :)

First things first, I have to deeply thank all my Hong Kong friends for their precious help (and the various lunch/dinner choices :) )

Other than that: Hong Kong remains a huge Asian megalopolis with a distinct Western "touch". I guess it's the most "Western-friendly" Asian mega-city out there, though the majority of the people still can't speak acceptable English. :( In any case, if it's huge neon signs, crowds and a bustling nightlife that you want, this is the city for you!! On the other hand, if you want hiking trails, endless forests, beautiful temples then AGAIN, this is the city for you!!

And having said that, I will do a quick summary of what i saw this time around :)

Day 1:Avenue of the Stars - Tsim Sha Tsui

My favourite spot in Hong Kong is the Avenue of the Stars, where many HK-film-stars have their own "star" on the sidewalk. It's especially beautiful for a night walk, with all the harbour building lights lighting up the sky. If you can also catch the "Symphony of Lights", do yourself a favour and watch it. It's a simple, yet spectacular view!

Day 2:Western Central Markets - Mong Kok

There is a photographer's paradise, tucked away, in the Western Markets. Right next to the huge skyscrapers...

... there are the Western Central Markets. Streets brimming with all sorts of people/things:

workers
herbs
strange food/medicine
Statuettes and other souvenirs
and most importantly, lots of colours and everyday-life-stills!

And after a morning's walk around, you can go "next door" to SoHo, for a food at one of the many many restaurants of the main and backstreets.

Mong Kok is also a very crowded district. Shopping by day, bars, clubbing and 24-hours fast food shops by night, is guaranteed to be lively 24/7, though I've been told that quality nightlife is at other districts.

Day 3:Sha Tin/10.000 Buddhas monastery

I spent the 3rd day mostly in Sha Tin, in the "New Territories" area. It is easily accessible by metro line, conveniently located almost underneath a huge mall.

The main reason I went there was to visit the (rather famous) 10.000 Buddhas monastery! Be careful not to confuse it with the temple that is located near the station at ground level.

Though it is beautiful, with its own small waterfall and pond and a temple with three large Buddhas, this is not the famous temple. This is just a normal temple with a rather large cemetery.

Nor is this the way to the 10.000 Buddhas temple

The correct way is to the right as you face that temple, through a park and up a winding road lined with monk statues.

At the end of this road is the temple and it's not because of those statues that it is called thus, but due to the 10000 small statues all around its walls!!

Other than that it is an old, small and rather "under reconstruction at the time of writing".

Other noteworthy sights in the area, include the state library and hall, as well as the promenade by the river.

All in all, I would not recommend "Sha Tin" to anyone with less than 7 days to walk around Hong Kong. It is a rather "I have time to spend" destination, mostly for leisure and seeing the temple, than anything else. But, if you have time, it's a nice break from the hustle of Hong Kong.

Day 4:Tsim Sha Tsui Harbour area and Canton Road, Mong Kok/Yau Ma Tei/Prince Edward markets

The Tsim Sha Tsui Harbour area is another one of my favourite in Hong Kong, though it is not luxurious and sometimes rather smelly.

But, I like the feeling of being so close to the Ocean, watching the ships load/unload or just rest at bay and walking the back of hotels and malls.

Parallel to that is the "luxurious shops" road: Canton Road. Full with, eh..., luxurious shops where Hong Kong people don't mind queuing for (even though the shops are practically empty inside. I guess it's a Quality of Service thing). [Or Hong Kong people just like to wait. More on that on the Food section, in the next post.]

And after the long walk up the harbour and down Canton road, sit for a coffee or lunch at the beautiful (and new) "Heritage" complex, situated in a renovated old building (from the 1880's).

In the afternoon, I headed to the Mong Kok/Yau Ma Tei/Prince Edward markets

and more specifically to the

Fish Market
and Ladies' Market

But, what IS a Hong Kong "market"? Put plainly, it's a collection of shops selling the same merchandise.

So, the Fish Market shops all sell Fish and Fish-raising-accessories, while the Ladie's Market must have began with selling Women Clothing, but now sells almost everything cloth and accessory related!

Day 5:A little bit of everything

Since that was my last day in Hong Kong and I was all alone, I decided to walk around and enjoy "the simple pleasures". So...

I listened to the musical instrument player at the underground passage
Took a glimpse of a post-wedding gathering and photo-shooting
Sat on a bench and watched the misty harbour (it's more entrancing than one would think)
Enjoyed the view of blooming flowers and trees
Took a stroll around Mong Kok/Yau Ma Tei/Prince Edward markets: and more specifically the FLOWER market, BIRD market (housed in a most beautiful site),

but also strolled through the mostly closed at that day SHANGHAI STREET MARKET (utensils and house accessories) and the completely closed at that day JADE STREET MARKET (which i would not be interested in, anyway).
Took a break to read the newspaper and watch old men play board games (Shogi?) at the Tin Hau Temple
Got lost in the Mong Kok backstreets, amongs small street markets and dubious places.
Witnessed a bit of the preparation of a wedding from professionals.

And that's it for this trip! I still love Hong Kong (though I didn't buy the T-Shirt after all) and wish I can visit again sometime in the future!!!

Istanbul, Turkey (Κωσναντινούπολη)

2010-05-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

Well, as I only had 12 hours to see Istanbul, due to "free time" between changing flights to my next destination (next post), I can't comment much on the city. But I can describe my experience high-lights:

The passsport control was very slow both of the times. Only in the U.K. have I encountered more strict and slow passport control.
Despite what the guides and many people say, I had no problem exchanging money at very logical rates at the airport. Of course I went to a bank branch and not to suspicious men or no-name-exchange-offices.
Many taxi drivers are rip-off artists!! A particular one at the airport was asking for 50TL (25 Euros) to take me to the hotel, claiming the bus (that does not even pass close) costs 10Euros (While it costs 10TL, aka 5 Euros in reality). In any case, I preferred to get on the bus, drop off at one of the stops, and THEN get a taxi, at a more normal price and I suggest you do the same and save yourself the trouble and your money. However, the taxi driver that drove me from the hotel back to the airport, was really honest and had a fine-running taxi-meter.
Other things to beware while in Istanbul: Tourist traps (bugging salesmen/tour guides): If i had a Euro for every time someone approached me and bugged me for giving me tour guide services (though most of them were old men and looked a bit pitiful) or giving me the "Turkish hospitality" in their (oh, what a coincidence) carpet shop (!) I would have made quite a lot of money!! On the other side, you can't help but admiring their ingenuity. They use all sort of tricks to approach you: From "oh excuse me from bumping into you" to using words from your own language to foster "friendship between people".
Sights: I only had time to visit 3 major sights:

Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque): Impressive does not even begin to describe it... I am sure it was built on something like the following "Hey, Ahmed, look at what those Christians have built. This 'Hagia Sophia' church looks pretty impressive, huh? Let's build something even grander and teach'em of our might". And so they did. The Mosque looks bigger, more beautiful and more impressive than next door Hagia Sophia.
But Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) still retains the architectural marvel that is the Dome!! Other than that, it was "islam-ised", thus all its beautiful paintings were covered or torn off and thrown away. Still, it is a marvelous and awe-inspiring building to step around.
Finally, I went (running because of lack of time) to the " Grand Bazaar", As the its title says, it's one big bazaar (like a pre-modern-era mall for the youngers :) ), housed in a very beautiful complex. I didn't have neither time nor interest in shopping, but it's avery nice place for photography, colourful and crowded ;)

Sadly, I cannot pass judgment on the transportation system, or other aspects of the city, but i can attest that the tourist center at least is highly overpriced, verging on expensive.
And the food, is OK, very close to some aspects of Greek food, but with more spices.

I am DEFINITELY going back for another visit!!!

PS: You can see photos from my trip at my Flickr Account (<-click it)

Warsaw, Poland

2009-11-19T10:09:00.000-08:00

Some general remarks about Warsaw/Poland:

It is the GREENEST city I have ever been to!! Large parks, trees everywhere. Seems like half the city is green. And it feels GOOD!!!
The buses are extremely useful, once you get the hang of them. Following a little weird (for me) system, of naming the stations from the streets they are in, it turns out to be really useful (until the point where you find many stops with the same name in a crossroads... this is NIGHTMARE!!!). But, overall they are really efficient and almost always precise! I was pleasantly surprised!!
There 's nice graffiti all around the city. Sometimes it needs it to look good, with all the USSR-era buildings (Which are not really different from the non-USSR-era Athens buildings)
You don't get plastic bags at the super markets. You have to explicitly ask for them. (typical north European, but never ceases to surprise me)
No stray dogs in the streets. NONE at all!!! No idea where they go when they are stray....
Polish women are by far the most beautiful i saw in my trip around the Baltic. Not as great as the Latvians maybe, but way cuter ;)
Last, but not least, it appears that Polish people have SEVERE drinking problems!! I can't think of any other reason why they have banned not only drinking in public (as in Latvia and Lithuania), but also HAVING alcohol!!! (After witnessing my Polish friends, drink "a little" I instantly knew why though).

Now, to the travel impressions!

First off, I explored the old town of Warsaw and one thing stood out: it is small. Really small. You can see all of it in one day. If you want to see the museums too, two full days, but no more. But it is really beautiful nevertheless It's a good thing then, that Warsaw has so much MORE to offer than just the old town, but more on that later on. When visiting the old town, be sure not to miss:

The imposing monument to the World War 2 resistance (there is also a "bit weird" military church nearby if you want to visit)
The old town square with the beautifully painted buildings, the crowds and the mermaid statue, symbol of the city
The beautiful lookout spot to the north-east of that (not much in the ways of view, but it is nice and relaxing)
The Magnificent Saint Anna Church (With the "GIANT" poster of the ex-Pope on it, can't miss it) and the large open square around it, full of tourists and street performers!
I didn't go to it (because i had already seen enough of them), but they say the castle is worthy too
If you (like me) are into it, there are tens of churches to visit (as in most North European countries).
Finally, and most importantly, just walk around the old town alleys. It's worth it!!!

As far as the new town is concerned, there are lots to pick, all around the new city of Warsaw:

First off I would advise you to avoid the "Citadel". There is nothing to see now, other than some graves and a small park and it's not worth the trouble.

Moreover there is a military camp inside now, so mostly it's not accessible too.

BUT, there is lots to visit in Warsaw! First off, lots of beautiful parks!! And I mean LOTS of them. As I said, it has to be the greenest city, or at least capital, in Europe!

Be aware that you might come upon people kissing intensely in public view, though. (I don't think I should upload photos of that, just trust me :)

Moreover, there are small and large Palaces, scattered around Warsaw new city. I only went to Wilanow, but it's guaranteed to keep you occupied if you are into past-luxury!

Last, but not least, another infamous "sight" of Warsaw is the "Warsaw Rising Museum". It is about the rising of Warsaw people against the German occupation, during World War 2. The museum is full of interactivity and LOTS of text and audio-visual material to have you need around three hours or more to see all of it.

To be honest, I got tired after around 1,5 hour... but that's just me.

Finally, the food! Don't forget to taste the local (not only Poland but around too) "snack": PIERPOGIs! They are essential dumplings, with various fillings. Perfect to go with a drink at some "traditional" restaurant :)

Enjoy! :)

Auschwitz Concentration and Elimination Camp at Oscwiecim, Poland

2009-11-15T09:23:00.000-08:00

Auschwitz is not just another open-air museum. It is an experience.A look at the horrors of humankind, mistakes that we must avoid in the future. That's why I think that everyone should visit. What follows is a brief travel-guide of my experience

First off. Auschwitz in Oswiecim, a small village. You can get there easily from Krakow by bus, and it's rather cheap, too.
.

When one arrives at Auschwitz, a ticket has to be bought for one of the language groups. As expected, only the English language group is often enough, so check first. And it did not came as a surprise that there is only one German group per day, since most of the Germans come with the English group....

First off, there is a screening of the 15-minutes documentary film, that is made from footage of that era (the Soviets that liberated the camp, had also cameras with them for making propaganda-films. Everyone did and does it even now [Iraq e.g.]! ). That helps to understand many things to come.

Then, there is an assembly where the guide-radios are being handed out and tested.

And then, the tour guide of Auschwitz I begins.

It is a rather chaotic run through all the ex-barracks/prisons/headquarters now turned into museum rooms, with lots of disturbing facts and sights.... most of all, all the stuff that the Nazis were keeping from the prisoners to reuse (suitcases, clothes, prosthetic limbs, glasses, even HAIR!!).

And if you wonder what the hair is for... there is the finished product on display, too. CARPETS!!! .....

Anyway, other disturbing sights were:

the execution wall
the prison cells (in categories: normal, standing, starvation, darkness)
the showers/gas chamber

the furnaces

Then, there is the option of going to Auschwitz II, the larger, harsher (but mostly demolished to keep the costs down) truly ELIMINATION camp, sporting the ruins of the big four furnaces (Nazis blew them up while retreating)

However, you shouldn't miss the tour to Auschwitz II because there is a lot to learn from the guides for the living conditions at this horrible camp.... such as the fact that they were staying in pre-made stables here, not even prison cells or barracks.

To conclude, it is highly recommended for everyone (not with too weak stomach or heart) to learn from it.

Krakow "old town", Poland

2009-11-15T07:50:00.000-08:00

As in Riga too, I only had time to see the old town of Krakow, since it was just one-day trip, so I will comment only on that and not on the whole of the city.

Unfortunately, Krakow came towards the end of my 2-weeks trip to Lithuania-Latvia-Poland. What that means is that I was getting tired of seeing the usual layout of fabulous churches-small palaces-castles. And it's a pity, because Krakow Old Town REALLY is beautiful! It just felt so much like.. one more serving of the same...

All in all, its size is a bit larger than Warsaw's and the alleys are more beautiful and have a certain "magic" to them, so my best recommendation is to put your map aside and just get lost in them. You can't stray too far off anyway, as the limits of the old town are clearly visible.

I can only list my illustrated-top-5-"TO SEE" in Krakow Old Town (in this order):

Wawel Castle and Cathedral (including the crypts [!] and the small ecclesiastic museum). Don't forget to see the HUGE Bell!
The main square, including the main market and Eros' (S&M) head sculpture! Get inside for an even better photo!
Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady (at the main square). Even after so many churches, it still felt impressive!
Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology (just across the river from Wawel Castle, for something different)
The alleys (As I already mentioned). Lovely!! (at the Jewish quarters' too)

Torun, Poland

2009-11-01T05:35:00.000-08:00

Torun is a small town roughly at the center of Poland. It used to be quite a lucrative little town, but now its biggest attraction tourist-wise is that it is the town where Copernicus was born. And of course, the wonderful Pierniki (gingerbread)!!

And really, that's that to it. The "new town" is cute, but nothing much and the old town is very very small. Actually one can see everything, including its small museums, in less than one full day. Coming by train (as most do) just get the bus or walk to the old town (less than 20 minutes of nice walk). That will bring you to the entrance of the old town, with the Copernicus' theory sculpture marking the perimeter.

Its main attraction is the main square with the Town Hall, its tower offering magnificent views of the town, the statue of Copernicus and the famous gingerbread shop (lots of people inside, at least 30 waiting in a queue at any given time when i was there).

The house of Copernicus is close-by, though i didn't see the point in going inside (as i didn't see the point with Mozart's house in Salzburg).

The museums are small and really cool, a weapons and ethnographic museum, an Asian artifacts museum, etc... there is quite a diversity for such a small town and this is nice!! Be warned, that the museums don't get many visitors, so they operate on a per-visit-basis. That means, that when you enter, THEN they turn on lights, they unlock the doors and walk the museum with you (as guardians of the exhibits). It's OK I guess, but spoils the flow....

Other than that, I was lucky enough to visit during the representation of a Medieval History event: the revolt against the Teutonic knights, that lasted a good 1,5 hour and was really nice (though a bit too-low-budget) and included a mock-knight-battle. (Too bad all was in Polish and I couldn't understand anything :( )

And also there are two magnificent churches: the "Saint Mary" HUGE Gothic church and the "Saint Johns' Cathedral", both with great stained glass windows.

Other than that, the little alleys are NOT always a joy to walk around, as some are in very bad state: Although there are nice corners to take, and nice buildings to see, it's not as grandiose, as say, Warsaw... so it feels a little lacking. (Plus the castle is all ruins)

All in all, it is a nice town to visit, plus it makes for a nice 1-day trip from Warsaw, so I would recommend it.

Riga & Jurmala, Latvia, travel impressions (Aug 2009)

2009-10-11T05:34:00.000-07:00

I went to Riga for a "2-days, 1-night" trip from Vilnius, so I really didn't have time to see much, other than the (rather small) Old Town and Jurmala, the beach resort.

Starting off, at the Old Town, it reminded me strongly of Prague actually: too many beautiful buildings and churches, packed in a very small space!! And I mean it with 'small': in just 6 hours I had seen almost everything that was there to be seen in the Old Town and around (bar the big museums, that I almost never visit in short trips).

I especially loved all the narrow short alleys and backstreet, more than anything. Walking and getting lost around them felt good, because in every corner there was something beautiful to marvel at. It certainly IS a great tourist destination, but considering the size, I suggest you combine it with Tallinn or Vilnius too, for a full "Baltic-tour".

Unfortunately, due to being sick I couldn't enjoy the infamous night life, so I cannot commend on that :(

As far as Jurmala is concerned, it is a nice resort with a VERY long beach with white sand, mostly clear waters (lots of "EU blue flags" waving around too) and too many facilities (WC, showers, beach sport courts, bars, clubs, etc etc). It is great to spend some days by the sea and swim etc, but as I am from Greece, I did not find it particularly exciting.

Last, but not least, be warned that Latvia is a VERY expensive country (at the levels of England I'd say) and the currency is rather strong (around 1,5 EUROs). Moreover almost every place of interest has an entrance fee of at least 3 EUROs. I think I spent around 40 EUROs for entrance fees, just in the course of the first day!!

And one last, and least, thing: there is a growing rumour that I keep hearing, about the women of Latvia being the most beautiful in Europe (as opposed to the previous rumour about Czech women). While some of them are really impressive (and, I have to admit, in largest percentage than in other countries I have been), in average I wouldn't support that rumour (unless you are into tall, skinny, blonde women, but I am not :)).

A few of my favourite photos follow this post.
For more you can see:

Photos are in Flickr:
Stitches and Panoramas
Normal Photos

A few videos in Youtube:
Summer 2009 Videos

1. Getting lost in alleys and beautiful dead ends!

2. Eating traditional (and not only) food, at old town restaurants!

3. Lots of churches and a big semi-destroyed monastery too. (Dome Cathedral Monastery)

4. Watching the change of guards, by pure accident

5. Walking around the beautiful canal park.

6. Relaxing around the National Opera

7. Eating at a medieval-restaurant!!! Rozengrals!

A. At the Jurmala beach

B. Colourful sea bikes

C. Sea birds

As a conclusion, Riga, Latvia is great for a small trip (2-3 days), but be prepared to pay quite a lot...

Lithuania, part 3: Vilnius Old City and around :)

2009-09-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

Vilnius being the capital of Lithuania, it has a really beautiful and vibrant old city that consists mostly of churches (as most Middle- and North- European old cities ;-)).

It's easily a 1-day affair to see most of the old city (And around it) and it requires a full two days to take in EVERYTHING. The best thing is that it is quite compact and easy to walk around, plus it's quite a pleasure with its curved alleys, narrow arc passages and courtyards all around.

As far as churches go, it features everything, from Baroque to Simple (Protestant?) ones to ruined ones that are being rebuilt. Plus there is a variety of cafes, restaurants, etc to keep you entertained and full.

And don't forget to visit the sometimes-charming-sometimes-depressing UZUPIO REPUBLIC! A self-proclaimed republic of artists, hippies, punks (and some drug users too, i guess). You can spot really nice work of arts and the vibe is completely different :) Enjoy :)

Here follows my top-10 of places to see (or just weird things/people/situation that i saw)

10. Unique dressing styles

9. A rather vibrant street art community

8. The Vilnius University, with the beautiful courtyard, the library and the magnificent "Saints Johns" church

7. The view from the hill!

6. The "Love Lockers" Bridges: I found two, one in Gedimino Avenue and one in Uzupio (pictured)

5. Uzupio Republic with all its oddities

4. The Magnificent Baroque 'Church of the Holy Spirit'

3. Eating local food (I ate at 'Forto Dvaras' so i can guarantee for it :-))

2. Local beauties!

1. The magnificent Gothic-style St. Anne church!

Enjoy!!!

Bonus: my 3 most favourite shots of it

A. Old ladies at Uzupio

B. Beautiful sky over the city

C. Praying time

Lithuania, part 4: Kaunas in detail

2009-09-20T02:44:00.000-07:00

Kaunas can be summarized in the phrase "a lovely small town". Nothing big to see: a run down castle, a nice Gothic church and the old buildings along the riverside, then anything that is around the old main square and the main street that leads there. It's all nice and cozy, but don't expect anything mind blowing.

I highly recommend to visit (except from the usual sights: Castle, Cathedral, etc):

The Perkunas house (sadly closed when i visited)
The "Folk Instrument museum" (for a touch of traditional Lithuania, all in all around 45 mins)
The "Medical History museum" (only for the recreation of the 19th century pharmacy - all in all around 20 mins)
The "Devil museum" (for something completely different)
One of the malls for some serious shopping (i visited the AKROPOLIS one). I was really AWED by the ice skating rink in the middle of it, but apparently is no big deal up in the north :)

Lithuania, part 1: general impressions

2009-09-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

I was in Lithuania for 5 days, in August 2009. So, i will kick off the LT blog posts, with what seemed "weird" to me in this country...!

Drinking alcohol in public is FORBIDDEN!!!! (wow, they must have had a HUGE drinking problem to come to that...)
There are basketball baskets EVERYWHERE, even in the forests!! I guess that's why they got so many good players!
At most of the crossroads in country roads, there are huge crosses by the side, in order to being protected from traffic accidents.
Most of the fruits are SUPER MINI!!! Below is me with an "apple". And wait till you see the cucumbers and carrots!!! (but the taste is equally good, although the size)
Speaking of food, Lithuanians seem to be eating lots of POTATOES!! I mean, it's everywhere and in everything!! Meat, too!! But mostly POTATOES!!
Another mini thing in Lithuania, are mini-kiosk-banks in some areas. Having only one clerk and one ATM, really convenient for quick transactions.

And talking of mini-kiosk-banks let's not forget the KIOSKS that are invaluable when on the road :)
A thing that surprised me was (because it does not happen to Greece at all) that if someone pays enough money to the state, he/she can have ANYTHING on the car registration plates!!
And talking about cars, the drivers are rather OK, but the long-range bus drivers need some more teaching. Overtaking at curves and corners at high speed is not usually considered safe :P
It's a good place to write down that the roads condition is as bad as in Greece, so that would make them BAD. :) But well, they are repairing them with EU funds now :)
And speaking of buses, i was surprised that although they have rather high-tech tickets (e-cards etc) they also got the DO-IT-YOURSELF-medieval-TICKET-PUNCHER in the buses.

PS: If you can get your hands on the "VILNIUS bus routes map" you can really go EVERYWHERE with ease! Try to find it!!!
Another thing that COMPLETELY surprised me, was the fact that in many gas stations you can SELF SERVICE (and then go and pay inside the station!). I mean, that's so w-o-w!!! (in Greece that would never work :P)
Finally,a "male note". The women have a really cute face and are overall quite beautiful. Either having a super-slim or really-fat body (i didn't see much in-between), and TOO conscious about their breast (here BOTH the Greek bra-uplifting AND the Japanese bra-padding are sciences :)
And the small stuff: you have to explicitly ask and pay for plastic bags, even when it is OBVIOUS you need them :(. There are NO stray dogs! (just a growing number of cats :P). And, there is a lively graffiti/street art scene, with lots of tags but some real artistic gems too ;)

Lithuania, part 2: Trakai (and Kernave and Centre of Europe) in detail

2009-09-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

Trakai
******

Trakai is a top-rated one-day excursion from Vilnius and I have come to agree with that. Easily accessible from Vilnius on bus, train and/or car, with lots of sights to see and of course THE fully-preserved medieval CASTLE!

First things first, Trakai was the home of the Karetites, a Jewish tribe if i am not mistaken, with a special way of building their houses (3 windows at the road side):

and they are still strong in Trakai, with a museum, a synagogue and many restaurants with Karaites traditional food!

Museum

Synagogue

Meat pies and meat soup juice (Traditional food)

Getting to Trakai is really easy using bus or car. If you use car you cannot miss all the (poor) old ladies that sit in the sun all day long, offering parking space at pieces of land (parking for a small fee per hour, that is).

But the main attractions are the two castles.

First off, the "Peninsula Castle" of which only ruins and the surrounding wall remain, but is home to a medieval fair every year.

And then there is the "Island Castle", a fully functioning remained-as-it-was medieval castle (That now functions as a medieval history museum with lots of exhibits). It's really worth to take your time in it and look around. No need to say that it is a MUST for medieval lovers :)

But, the two castles are not the only thing that Trakai has to offer. There is also the Uztrukis Palace, that is not much in terms of a building (now works as an art gallery) but it hosts a beautiful french-style garden and nice vies of the lake (click on the panoramas to see on large size).

Rounding off a 1-day trip around Vilnius county, you can (as I did) also visit Kernave, that hosts a nice gothic church and the ancient defensive hills (actually some hills that served as a high point of defense, worth for the beautiful view, see below).

Finally you can pass from the (one of many) geographical centre of Europe, according to a French university at least.

Finally, the most beautiful photo I took from that day, a boat at Trakai lake.

Cities of Cyprus, Paphos (Πάφος) and Larnaka (Λάρνακα)

2009-06-02T01:12:00.000-07:00

I only visited these two cities very briefly, so I can't write a really detailed report of them, but in short...

Larnaka
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was a quiet little town. A nice seaside walk, the usual old city, and some marine attractions (submarine, shark fishing, open sea fishing, etc). Other than that, I couldn't find something to make it feel special and worth spending time there.... though it appears a good place to live.

Paphos
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Paphos on the other hand is a more "traditionally tourist" town. Much looked after and full of beauty, also sporting some GREAT archaeological sites in-town and a medieval port fortress, too. It really is THE place for summer tourism in Cyprus, as it combines culture, sea, beauty and all the tourist facilities one would expect I.M.O. (though i still root for Limassol as the number 1 place to stay, when NOT for summer vacation).

Some of the photos below, are from the main archaeological site: "The tombs of the Kings", a vast necropolis, and by far my favourite culture-stop in Cyprus.