Viva Italia

Yes, unfortunately I must start this (very) belated entry with an appology. Dearest readers, I have been a slack slacker slackerson and am now months behind in my blog updates. Of course now I am writting this in "sunny" Brisbane and not basking in the Italian sunshine. Yes, this upsets me too, but lets get down to business. Better late then never... right?!

With a weary heart and head we departed the party of Oktoberfest and headed south to the warmth of Italy. Our first port of call was the canals and lane-ways of beautiful Venice. This city has tantalised peoples imaginations and filled their hearts with romantic notions for years. The city was a great introduction to some of Italia's most notorious- pizza, pasta, wine, gelato and the skill of being wildly disorganised. The best advice I ever received before arriving in Venice was, "ditch your map - get lost", and that is exactly what we did. Wondering the amazing alleyways and skipping over canals we were able to stumble on some little gems. Highlight for me was when one night we happen upon a small square where local couples were swooning away to jazz and salsa. All the women had attached LED lights to their feet, which gave this strange sight such an amazing glow. Only in Europe baby.

Oh so Venice - canal time baby

Team PoKa and some other dashing tomato

From Venice we headed south to one of the most famous cities in history, Roma. (or Rome for us english speakers). The sheer scope and size of this amazing historical city is mind blowing. My biggest regret from Rome is I only had a few days to explore. To maximise my time, me and team PoKa (Porter and Katie) joined a "bad asssss" Vatican tour (so named after our bad ass guide Justin) and general city highlights tour. Hands down favourite moment of the tours had to be the BAD ASS sandwich I inhaled outside the Vatican. No joke - there was a sandwich party in my mouth, and it was hosted by Kim Kadashian. Yes, it was THAT over the top fabulous! Moving on from fatty James, it was definitely a trip highlight seeing some of man kinds most famous constructions, including; the colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and St Peter's Basilica.

Bad ass sandwich time. Crusty roll, olive paste, chilli paste, cured meat, smoked cheese, fresh rocket, olive oil.
SNACK DOWN

Inside the Vatican + Bad Ass tour guide doing bad ass dance

What happens when Sleepy Joe wakes up...

Happiest super tourist in the World

It was with a heavy heart I had to depart both Rome and PoKa and make my way to fabulous Florence. Although Florence itself was pretty cool, I think the highlight of my short visit to the Tuscany region was getting out into the countryside. I joined a few of my new Busabout hommies and spent the day wine and food tasting in the Chianti wine region. I'll be honest, my standard wine consumption involves a rotating clothes line and the added benefit of being used as a pillow at the end of the night. Although I remained pillow-less, the wine on the tour was delicious and sparked a semi-flirtation with being a wine drinker that happily lasted until I returned to Australia. The scenery was amazing, great company and plenty of good stuff inside to round out a top day. Other Florence highlights included; checking out all three statues of David (one real, two copies), haggling for leather goods at the markets, snacking down on a Florentine steak served very rare and "Contiki watching" the night away at a karaoke bar with the crew.

Nom nom nom

More nom nom nom

Florence from afar

Farewelling Florence we made moves with a quick pit stop at Pisa for the much needed token leaning photo, before arriving at the picture perfect coastline of the Italian Riviera and Cinque Terre.

This beautiful area of Cinque Terre is composed of five villages connected along the coast by some beautiful walking trails. Although by this stage my travel belly had swelled, I'm proud to say I completed the walk (eventually - no thanks to the 2.5hour detour) and got to experience some of the most unbelievable views of the entire trip. I was lucky enough to have met up with a great little group of solo travellers and together we were gob smacked at every turn in the path. The weather was perfect and the place shone. I'll have fond memories of the walk for many years to come. At night we converted our dorm/ mini apartment into a family style kitchen and snacked down to some delicious home-made pesto pasta. Go team! Sadly, in the last few days I've read reports of major mudslides, destruction and deaths in the Cinque Terre villages. It makes me feel even more lucky to have experienced one of the most beautiful places on Earth while it was intact.

Lovers walk

the crew enjoying the view

Yeah... not bad I guess

Not a bad way to end a day

From the beautiful Cinque Terre I had to board the bus again and revisit an old French lover for a Nice quickie. As I'd already spent time in Nice at the start of my Europe trip, it was only an overnight stay before I had to say goodbye to most of my busabout buddies and keep on trekking. Next stop - Spain!

Ich liebe dich Deutschland

From the far reaches of Turkey it was time to rejoin the euro-spending team and hop on over to Germany!

Armed with the most BASIC (hello year 7 and 8) understanding of German, I first tore into Hamburg. The city is one most people sometimes miss, but it did end up being pretty interesting. Highlights included visiting the World's BIGGEST miniature city, complete with a massive train network. It was a nerds paradise and even impressive for us cool kids. 

The city tour I took pretty much covered all the other highlights, which gave me some time to relax and recharge the batteries. After meeting some cool kids at the hostel we spent our nights playing drinking games, seeing some live music and exploring the Reeperbahn - Hamburgs mile long red light and clubbing district.

From Hamburg I scooted down to Berlin and was lucky enough to couch-surf with the lovely Maike! She was the most amazing host and gave me an instant awesome welcome to the city. We explored local markets, rode around the hip-neighbourhoods on bikes and partied until dawn. Berlin locals know how to party, so we ended up pulling an all night and partying with all the cool kids in an former indoor pool centre. The place was massive with two empty pools with DJ's playing in the deep end. There were also several stages set up underneath in the pump and chlorinator areas. Party on.

Berlin has a rich history and is continuing to grow and change daily. I spent some time taking in all the historical sites including the Brandenburg Gates, Berlin wall, several war memorials, museum island and  Checkpoint Charlie, to name a few. I then finished the day by chomping down on the famous Currywurst - sausage + curry powder + tomato sauce = delicious.

After soaking up the past, I also spend a day enjoying the present and explored Berlin's amazing gritty and grungy underground scene of artist squats and graffiti/ street art. It definitely gave me a very different view of the city and an inside to how locals may see their city.

For a change of pace I decided to take a stroll out in the forest surrounding Berlin. After enjoying a leisurely wonder I stumbled upon a beautiful lake. I could hear the sound of people swimming and having a good time so wondered over to take a took. Here I was introduced to the German tradition of nudity. Unfortunately... mostly male and "older" female nudity. Awesome, I know. Maike later told me this is very normal in Germany and often shocked people. I was just embarrassed I was the only one with a tan line...

After the excitement of Berlin, I was gagging to get down to Munich and get amongst the shenanigans of OKTOBERFEST!! After travelling for 7 months I was also super excited to catch up with friends from home Porter and Katie. We had arrived a few days before the fun began so got to explore the city centre, stock up on traditional outfits and visit the Dachau concentration camp. It turns out all my former "German" stereotypes are in fact just Bavarian/ Munich stereotypes. Think beer, lederhosen and nazis and you should be thinking about Bavaria only. Lesson learnt. 

We then made the move into our camping grounds where we would be spending the opening weekend of Oktoberfest. After a wet start the sun eventually came out in force for the first day. As we hadn't been lining up since 7am, we couldn't get a seat in any of the beer halls. We did however get to check out the parade of breweries, which was amazing. The locals are really passionate and love dressing up and hitting the drinks! We eventually found a beer garden and downed our first (of many) steins. Afterwards I just continued to explore the grounds and soak up the atmosphere.

The next day I was up early and in the Lowenbrau beer halls for opening. 9am - the first beer was a little tough to get down. I was lucky enough to avoid the torrential rain that bucketed down all day and stayed safely shacked up at my table. This was what Oktoberfest was all about as random strangers partied together and shared giant pretzels and beers. It wasn't long until everyone was dancing on the benches and having a good time. I almost kidnaped a small german kid who became my new best friend. Yes... super creepy.  At around 7pm I got a little too excited and my table dancing resulted in me being kicked out. BOOO I know. Luckily I slide straight into the HB tent, found some new friends, and partied the night away.

We had a slightly late start on our final day and staggered into the festival just before lunch. Luckily it was Monday and the rain has kept the crowds at bay. We managed to find another beer hall and settle in for a slower start. The crowds slowly built and so did the atmosphere. After a few too many steins, Porter and I jumped on the roller coasters and other rides having a great time! Porter also showed his expertise at drunken darts and won himself a whistle. We then stumbled back into Lowenbrau tent (seeing a theme here?) and kept the party going. At some point Porter went to the toilet and never returned... oops.  I kicked on with my new awesome table friends and danced the night away. 

After the beer halls closed, we jumped on the ferris wheel and got a birds-eye view of the festival site. It was an amazing (and cold) way to finish my Oktoberfest adventure. It had been a wet and wild few days and the memories, those I still have, will last a lifetime. PROST!

Lone Wolf devours Turkey

I trust my last blog left your mouths watering for more delicious Turkey. Dinner is now served. This delectable offering comes with a side of creamy culture, a helping of history and some parr boiled partying. Feel free to complete the feast with some turkish delight.

After a slight rocky patch (pun) in Cappadocia I made my way east, via Izmir, to Selcuk. The main draw card here is the ancient Greek and Roman city of Ephesus, just out of town. There are so many ruins left you can really imagine what this city must of felt like. Pretty amazing.

Slightly less impressive, but also right down the road, is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World the Temple of Artemis. Sadly this is all that remains....

yep, one pillar. Wow. Thankfully I've already seen the Great Pyramids of Giza so can cross another off that list. I then also visited the house where the Virgin Mary died, leant how to make carpet and watched a leather fashion parade. All-in-all one big Turkish day out.

From here I scooted inland and made a bee-line for the breathtaking hot springs and travertines of Pamukkale. Check the photos (more on FB)... they barely do it justice.

After spending the afternoon "pool side", I retired back to the town and rested for my LONG bus ride the following day. After "nine turkish hours", better known as 12 hours for normal people, I arrived at the northwestern city of Canakkale. Like thousands of Australians and New Zealanders before me, I was drawn here for one simple reason - Gallipoli.

Only a short ferry ride across the Dardanelles and I was whisked back 96 years and immersed myself in the stories and history of the ANZAC's and their infamous campaign.

The Gallipoli day trip was without a doubt one of the highlights of my whole overseas adventure. Simply a must-do for any Australian or New Zealander who gets the chance. Truly moving.

After the quiet reflection of Gallipoli I launched myself head first into the melting pot that is Istanbul. This place is unique and offers a great mix of culture, history, food, shopping and shenanigans!

I started out by filling my culture quoter by tackling the two big players in town, the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque. Both were mind blowing! The detailed construction, decoration and sheer size makes for impressive structures. I enjoyed them both so much during the day, I came back at night to see them lit up and sparkling.

From here I ducked underground and explored the eery and cool Basilica Cistern. This subterranean structure is complete with mood lighting, countless columns, giant Medusa head pillars and even some fish! Very cool side of the city.

The next day I strapped on my shopping stilettos and hit the streets. I roamed the maze-like Grand Bazaar with 4000 different shops selling exactly the same things and then wondered over to the Spice Bazaar where I gorged myself of turkish delight, nuts and dried fruits. Thankfully I controlled myself and only brought a few snacks to share back at the hostel.

After a hard day on my feet, (stilettos can really hurt), I decided I should live like a Sultan and check out Topkapi Palace. This sprawling estate was super luscious and overflowing with obscene wealth. Those crazy Sultans really knew how to live it up. Highlights had to be the beautiful view over the Bosporus river and the collection of giant swords made out of gold and jewels. Bling never goes out of fashion baby.

After seeing it from a far, the following day I jumped on a ferry and sailed the Bosporus river that separates the European and Asian halves of Istanbul. I eventually reached the ocean and spent a few hours exploring a small town with its own ancient castle. Pretty good way to spend a relaxing day.

On my final day I kept it classy and sampled the amazing Burger Turk with some partners in crime from the hostel. We then spent the rest of the day checking out the "alternative" part of Istanbul, Taksim. We rounded out the day by watching Justin get a super sweet tattoo from a cool Georgian woman and her crazy fire twirling assistant.

Really cool people to hang out with and while away the hours in one of Europe's most interesting cities. After almost a whole month it was finally time to say goodbye to the delicious Turkey. Good times were had by all. Next destination, Germany. PROST!

Turkey turkey gobble gobble - Part 1

Our first bite of Turkey in Marmaris left a distinct Pommy taste in our mouths. During summer this seaside town is overrun by those sunburnt chavs from the Mother Land drawn to the cheap "five course meals", pebble beaches and sports bars named after famous football stadiums. To make transitioning to a crazy foreign land easier, the Turks even offer all prices in Pounds… which really doesn't help all the other non-pommy travellers. All negativity aside, it was here that we experienced our first Turkish Bath. It was time to strip down, jump in the sauna before being rubbed down by burly turkish men, before being fully cleaned with bubbles. We also chose to indulge in some much needed foot care and I continued my love affair with the old school barber shave. Luckily our stay was short lived as we headed further down the coast to Fethiye.

Fethiye was one of the first "must-do's" of our Turkey adventure due to a friends enthusiastic referral. Although not the most happening town, we did base ourselves in a cool hostel and made a bee-line for all the highly recommended day trips. The highlight had to be our visit to Saklikent Gorge where we donned sexy rubber shoes to wade through the icy water. 

Our biggest disappointed of our day trips came when we were informed that OBVIOUSLY Turtle Beach would have no turtles. I guess I must of missed the subtleness in the name… sad face. Luckily our next day out provided the perfect remedy for my blues… a WATER SLIDE!! Because we both hadn't spent enough time relaxing in the sun, we decided to do a full-day boat cruise to the 12 Islands surrounding Fethiye. My only stipulation… our boat had to be the one with a  huge water slide. Winner winner! Good lazy day out. 

From Fethiye we decided to take the scenic route and jump onboard a Blue Cruise and sail our way to Olympos... and by sail, I mean sit on my bum and tan. With a great crew and crazy captain on board we embarked on a few relaxing days skirting the coast. In between swim stops, water sports and extreme relaxation we visited butterfly valley (yes… again NO butterflies), blue lagoon, a sunken roman city, Kas and a pirate cave just to name a few. At night we all got to know each other after a few drinks, games and magic tricks and had many an awkward laugh at our crazy captain. The poor fella has been out at sea too long and needs to work on his Romeo and social skills. The last night ended in drama with Simon from our boat teaching us all how NOT to swim at night, gaining himself 25 stitches and a tea cosy pressure hat in the process. Sometimes its hard to not laugh. The final morning we docked at Andriace harbour before visiting even more ruins on our way to Olympos. 

Most visitors to Olympos are there for the super relaxed hippy vibe and to stay in the treehouse hostels.  Once again Turkey lead me astray with the "tree houses" really being wooden huts… sometimes in the air. I guess In a way they were made from a tree… but I still feel jooped! As you walk to the beach you pass some amazing ruins scattered amongst the forest - pretty cool. Not far form here are the underwhelming natural eternal flame. I was envisioning a flamethrower off the top of a mountain, but alas it amounted to nothing more than a few camp-fire sized bun toasters. Not worth the night-time trek up the mountain.

From Olympos we made the quick jump up to Antalya for a few days. Unfortunately not long after arriving we received the terrible news that Edwina's grandfather Jack had passed away. Plans were quickly re-organised and flights booked for her to head home in a few days time. Obviously this was a very upsetting time for her and the whole family and a very sad ending to an amazing trip. In an attempt to remain upbeat we continued further north to Goreme in the famous Cappadocia region of Turkey. 

This area has many unique geological, historic and cultural features, so with no time to spare we jumped onboard a day tour to let Edwina see as much as she could! I would describe this place as a geologists wet dream... and I should know because I lived with Scrim and Couch Dave long enough to see what got their rocks... okay I'll stop the joke now. Truly amazing country side with amazing mountains, volcanos and odd rock formations. Rock on! (Please delete this paragraph is bad jokes offend)

Highlights included the amazing underground city, originally built to protect the population from invaders, Ihlara Valley, Selime Monastery and Pigeon Valley. It was a big day full of amazing natural beauty. 

We were up early the next day to squeeze in my belated birthday present… HOT AIR BALLOONING!!! It was an amazingly beautiful way to spend our last morning together. Edwina had to then rush to the airport to spend at least one day in Istanbul, where she managed to squeeze in all the "must do" sights. 

After listening to Alanis Morissette on repeat for a good four hours… the lone wolf was born. I guess this marks a turning point, and probably a decline in readers, for this blog. For those dedicated "Team Edwina's" out there, I must remind you that with her departure I now have even more time to come up with the witty humour you all love so much. 

All jokes aside, it will be hard to finish up Turkey without my favourite travel and life companion as this was always meant to be "her country". Alas, there are people, places and pleasures (non sexual) to enjoy to lets get amongst it! I must apologise in advance because editing of the blog was always her role… so good luck reading from now on. 

Anyways, I was lucky enough to have some new friends to keep me company and I enjoyed a lovely last dinner out with Dan, Emily and the Garbarino family. The next day I kept busy on another day trip, taking in the beautiful Goreme Open Air Museum, small local villages, Pasabag Monk Valley and Devrent Valley. We also visited a local ceramics factory where I almost impulse purchased way too many bowls. Close call. 

After more chilling out, I eventually made my way to the airport and did the cross country jump to Izmir. But you'll have to wait to see what all the fuss is about over there... 

My next blog will be the first tale of the lone wolf and his european adventures. Never fear, there is plenty more Turkey to come yet… and it's only getting more moist. On a side note, my good friend Cody informed me turkey meat has a natural sedative called tryptophan in it that makes you sleepy… I sure hope my Turkey blog doesn't contain it to. Gobble Gobble - happy reading.