Lisbon

Hello Portugal! After a rest at an airport hotel (30 hours flying and transit from Rio to Lisbon via Heathrow with delays in both steps) we visited Parque das Nacoes, built for the world expo in 1998,Read more
Lisbon, exploring Alfama

We are staying in the old town area, called Alfama, which was originally founded by the Moors in the 8th century, the Tagus River runs below.
We took the metro a little further up the river to find aRead more
Lisbon, Belem

Today we headed up the coast to Belem, first stop was at Pastis de Belem for some famous pastels de nata (custard tart) and duck empanada, and a few other delicious bites, all were were fantastic andRead more
Lisbon - Sticky Fingers

May day holiday! We got caught out (again). We had planned to go to Sintra today but all the castles we wanted to see were up hills and spread far and wide, so we would have needed a tour to view.Read more
Evora

Today we left Lisbon early and took 2 trains to Evora, a 2 1/2 hour trip on the fast trains. Evora is an inland town in the South of Portugal that has some well preserved Roman ruins in a medievalRead more
Porto

We arrived in Porto after an early start and a long train trip (actually 6 1/2 hours door to door). We had a few glimpses of the city through the showers of rain that turned up at the same time as us.Read more
A day on the Duoro

We went to the Duoro River area today to explore the historic riverfront of Ribeira and walk over the Ponte Dom de Luis I. First we got off the metro at Jardim do Morro and admired the views from SeraRead more
A Misty day in Coimbra

We took a train from Porto to Coimbra today, unfortunately it was heavy rain in Porto and shortly after we got to our accommodation here in Coimbra it started again. We got a quick look around theRead more
Coimbra, a town of Traditions

What a day! Coimbra concentrated all the best parts of Portugal into one city. We walked up the steep hill to Coimbra University where our 1st stop was Biblioteca Joanina, a baroque wooden libraryRead more
Goodbye Portugal - more photos

We spent our final night in Portugal last night, in Coimbra. Today we travelled to Lisbon and tonight to Athens, from there we fly to Santorini in the morning.
Here are a few photos that we reallyRead more
Santorini - a blue and white beauty

We arrived late last night at Athens Airport, our flight was an hour late, and the hour was insane, after midnight, so many tired people, so many bags and so few taxis and buses. Luckily ourRead more
Santorini - the views

Rest morning, then after lunch we (the royal we, actually Geoff) walked around the village here (Pyrgos) then climbed Mount Profitus Ilias. First up was an old Greek orthodox church beside some GreekRead more
Santorini - and Oia, the town of caves

We got a lift down to Fira from our hosts, we then looked around the town of Fira, before catching a bus to Oia. This town is on the rim of the caldera (volcano) and is the 'perfect' town shown on allRead more
The Greek Island of Naxos

Today we enjoyed a late breakfast at Oia, and a quick visit to the fortress above us before we took a bus back to the main town of Fira. We had a quick walk around the town and some lunch. From thereRead more
Naxos - beach beauty and the old town

Today we explored part of Naxos Island. Firstly we wandered through some of the cobbled alleyways of the old town on our way to Naxos Kastro, which is actually a 13th century Venetian castle, with aRead more
Naxos - beach day.

This morning was hot without a cloud in the sky, glorious! We walked around the area a bit ending up at a taverna at the end of the beach, and a (belated) mothers day lunch of stuffed tomatoes,Read more
Athens - we got here!

We arrived in Athens after a 6 hour ferry trip from Naxos, actually a very scenic cruise through the Aegean sea and past assorted Greek Islands. We were lucky enough to get a lift down to the portRead more
Athens- walking in ancient footsteps

Today we went to the Acropolis (which is the hill in the centre of Athens) it is less than 20 minutes walk from where we are staying. We were lucky to easily get the tickets. We are in the PlakaRead more
Athens - The Ancient Athenian Agora

Another busy day exploring Athens!
First up this morning we walked 10 minutes up the road to The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, it is a representative tomb of Greek soldiers. This is guarded by theRead more
Farewell Athens, Hello Istanbul

We left Athens today, actually 2 full days and we were ready for new horizons, and then a short 90 minute flight to Istanbul. Istanbul Airport is very spread out and far from the city and it took us 3Read more
Istanbul- formerly Constantinople

Our first full day in Istanbul, it is hard to convey how striking this city is, the hills, the old town studded with dozens of Mosques, the calls to prayer ringing out across the city, The BosphorusRead more
Gallipoli - Chunuk Bair

Today we took a 15 hour return trip to Gallipoli, 4 1/2 hours each way to Ecebat (the nearest town) by mini bus. Well worth it even though we had unwittingly arrived on a public holiday, Memorial Day,Read more
Two Bazzars and a boat

Today we walked up the hill to the Grand Bazzar and then down the other side to the Spice Bazzar which is right near the shores of The Bosphorus. The Grand Bazzar was huge and had a lot of jewellery,Read more
Lunch on the Continent of Asia

Today we crossed The Bosphorus strait to the Asian side of Istanbul , we actually walked across a bridge from one continent to another!
For lunch we had a famous Istanbul street food called BalikRead more
Portugal, Greece and Turkiye memories

The cobbled streets and alleys on the hills of Lisbon. A mysteriously cancelled train and no taxis avalable. A temporarily lost passport in Lisbon airport. Colourful tiles covering the outside andRead more
Traveler
Loving the bright colours
Traveler
lots of green areas