Reset search
Oliver & CA - Turkey & FranceOliver & CA - Turkey & France
SatelliteEdit route
A 24-day adventure by Carol Ann & Oliver Read more
  • 13footprints
  • 2countries
  • 24days
  • 104photos
  • 0videos
  • 9.1kkilometers
  • 7.8kkilometers
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date ascending
  • Oliver & CA - Turkey & France
    Day 1

    Aaand, we’re off to Turkey!!!

    April 14, 2022 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Ollie’s first time on a “real train” and we’re headed to Montreal to catch our first flight … to Geneva!
    Surprised Ollie with a business class upgrade with my points - tapas in the AC Lounge :)

  • Oliver & CA - Turkey & France
    Day 3

    Istanbul!

    April 16, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Not only the place where Europe and Asia meet but also where the Wood and Hartung families meet! We are so pleased to join in on Carly, Aaron, Adelia and Arthur’s adventures… normally we just meet up on their front porch our neighbourhood! We were met with smiles and birthday cake - it was a different birthday yesterday - most of it spent mid-air or in airport lineups but what a terrific gift to arrive in a new country to see such lovely familiar faces! Our friends arrived here first and did some good recce- Aaron got the metro all figured out… so we took advantage of a sunny day and took a hop on hop off boat tour - crossing from Europe and into Asia and back, with some fun stops in between to explore and to sit and have some çay (tea) while people watching along the waterfront boardwalk. We saw lots of jellyfish in the Bosphorous but we were
    all very excited at the sight of a pod of dolphins swimming along! Great day if a bit tiring on the feet (jet lag and old cobblestones).    Read more

  • Oliver & CA - Turkey & France
    Day 4

    Hagia Sophia Mosque and The Blue Mosque

    April 17, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Today we visited the Hagia Sophia Mosque and The Blue Mosque. On the inside of the Hagia Sophia mosque it was beautiful and we saw some people praying as it is a functioning religious site. We had to take our shoes off before we entered but there was comfortable green carpet all over. The painting of the roof and walls and the at architecture was amazing and we saw a black cat inside. Before we went in we walked through a garden with tulips and beautiful trees. There where a couple venders of food and scarfs and at the entre ce there where some people trying to get us to buy tours. It was nice to visit and I would do it again if there wasn’t so many people. It started raining shortly after we left.

    The Blue Mosque was under construction so we couldn’t do much but we could hear and see some people praying behind gates.

    After we grabbed a bite to eat as a restaurant called The Pudding Shop. We had some donner kebab and it was ok. Not the best but it was nice. We then grabbed some baklava and headed home. It was a nice day out and It was enjoyable.    Read more

  • Oliver & CA - Turkey & France
    Day 5

    Topkapi Palace

    April 18, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    On our 4th day we saw Topkapi Palace to learn some history and to see some historic buildings. We saw 3 courtyards, amazing views, and beautiful buildings. There was a room full of very old and interesting clocks, 2 full rooms dedicated to coffee and the coffee brewing process, old weapons and armour, and the 5th largest diamond in the world. The harem where the Sultan’s wives lived was fully decorated in some places from the floor to the ceiling in paint or gold or sculptures and beautiful mosaic tile. It was cool to learn about the history of the palace. Mom and I both agreed there were many beautiful parts to the visit but we especially loved the view of the city, the harem and the library (so did the sleeping cats!!).Read more

  • Oliver & CA - Turkey & France
    Day 6

    A typical family day in Istanbul?!

    April 19, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ 🌧 7 °C

    So today we thought we’d do what we think the locals would do on a day off together… so we went to the always-crowded İstiklal Caddesi, which runs from the main Taksim Square to Tünel Square, and is one of the city's main shopping streets. We stopped in a mall where Oliver and Arthur spent an hour jumping around in a trampoline gym and then we shopped for some essentials for the rest of our trip at Decathlon. Then we went to hang out at Starbucks, naturally. When the barista asked, Carly said her name was “Jack” and even that came out interestingly spelled in Turkish! And they have resident cats like everywhere else in Turkey 🐈

    Finally, we took a fun but crowded tram back up the busy street and then a funicular down to the water and the metro back to the neighbourhood with lots of great restaurants and we had a nice last meal in Istanbul!    Read more

  • Oliver & CA - Turkey & France
    Day 7

    Now to explore Turkey - Göreme

    April 20, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    After delighting at the ease of domestic travel through the new and lovely Istanbul airport and civilized flight to Kayseri, we took an hour long shuttle to Göreme. It was super interesting to see the landscape changing. So arid, rocky and some new construction mixed in with some very old.

    We arrived at our destination - Shoestring Stone House, which is a lovely stone hotel with nice large rooms.
    We wandered around this awesome little town and immediately fell in love! It was hard to get to sleep early as we were so excited about all of the adventures we were about to have.!    Read more

  • Oliver & CA - Turkey & France
    Day 8

    Up, up and away in Cappadocia!

    April 21, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    What an incredible start to the day - Oliver, Carly, Adelia and I headed out to the “hills” above Göreme to embark upon a hot air balloon ride. There were so, so many hot air balloons ready to take off. We got into our quadrant of the balloon and held on tight - as it turns out we were in good hands and our pilots lifted us up effortlessly - and so smoothly - we really felt like we were just floating, happily through the air! With smiles of joy, we marvelled at the snow-capped peaks in the distance, the “fairy chimneys” (hoodoos) and cave dwellings below, but most of all, we were in awe of the hot air balloon dotted sky all around us!

    Once landed, ever so gently (these guys were such pros, they touched the basket right down onto the trailer!), we celebrated our first trip with some sparkling fruit “champagne”. Thrilled as can be, we returned to the hotel and caught a few zzz’s before continuing with our days’ adventures. This was a morning we’ll not soon forget!!    Read more

  • Oliver & CA - Turkey & France
    Day 8

    Göreme’s Open Air Museum - Dark Church

    April 21, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    After a short nap and a huge and wonderful Turkish breakfast, we headed out to the Göreme open air museum, which is a phenomenal complex of medieval painted cave churches carved by Orthodox monks several hundreds of years ago.

    There are over 10 cave churches in here and many are painted with beautiful and historically important Byzantine murals that date as far back as the 9th century.

    As we explored the UNESCO World Heritage Site and its unusual cave churches, we noticed that although the Byzantine frescoes are in remarkably good condition, many of the faces and hands are scratched out.

    This seemed very odd to us. We were told that the reasoning for this was because superstitious inhabitants were afraid of the Evil Eye that would bring them bad fortunes (faces in pictures were considered bad luck).

    We, on the other hand, felt very lucky to have experienced these cave churches - especially the Dark Church, where many of the images of Jesus remained untouched. All in all, a special place to visit!    Read more

  • Oliver & CA - Turkey & France
    Day 8

    Traditinal Turkish pottery

    April 21, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Pottery in Turkey is an important part of the culture and making pottery dates back to about 10,000 years ago to when the people in Turkey used pottery to start making useful things such as better and stronger vessels to store water and better and stronger pots which is still used today in certain cooking methods. One of the most popular methods is to use a clay pot with a lid filled with food to cook being placed over a fire and when the food is ready the lid be popped or smashed off to pour the stew.

    Today my Mom, Adelia, and I were kindly driven to the pottery workshop recommended by the hotel manager who drove us on his way to his house. Adelia and I were given a chance to shape some clay on their pottery wheel after a demonstration by one of the family apprentices. Then we were led to the basement to see all the masterpieces made by the pottery masters in the family. We saw 2 people painting the designs and a lot of beautiful pottery. Some of the pottery was glow in the dark. It was definitely worth checking out and we got some good pottery, including one beautiful piece by an artist we met!    Read more

  • Oliver & CA - Turkey & France
    Day 9

    Almost lost in the underground city

    April 22, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    The underground city is a complex tunnel system in the mountains that was used as shelter and refuge for as many people over the years being adapted to suit their needs. The Greeks who converted to Christianity were being killed and needed shelter and a safe place so they adapted the caves and built chapels. Now it has been adapted and put in lights, much needed directional arrows, and other safety features for tourism and to learn about the history.

    Carly, Aaron, Arthur, and I went into the underground city for a tour and it was cool. All the passageways were really small and the hallways were smaller and it felt weird to be underground but it was fun If you get a chance to go to Cappadocia I definitely recommend the “green tour” which includes the underground city, some panorama views, some history, and some hiking and lunch by a river!    Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English