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  • Christie Mitchell

RTW 2022

“You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” (Winnie-the-Pooh) Read more
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  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Brunelleschi's dome
    Florence CathedralInside of domeThe paintings look like theyre sitting on the edgeJordan loves horsesMichelangelo's "David"You can see the veins in his handsCentral market2Pool time - great lounge chairsPiazza della SignoriaRelica of David - where the original used to stand

    Florence, Italy

    July 16, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 97 °F

    Miles: 6.9 Steps: 17189
    Flights stairs: 4

    We spent the day exploring Florence. There is so much art and history here - especially things related to Michelangelo.

    We started our day early at the Florence Cathedral seeing Brunellelchis dome from the inside. It is an amazing architectural marvel. They built the church but then couldn’t figure out how to put the dome on top, so it sat roofless for over 100 years! Eventually they had a contest to see who could figure out how to design the dome, and Brunellelchi won! They still can’t replicate his dome today. It’s the largest dome in the world made by brick.

    Then we went to the Gallery Academia - a museum that houses Michelangelo’a “David”. It was incredible up close. So much detail and it is HUGE. Originally it was intended to go on top of the dome, but instead it “lived” in a nearby square until eventually moved to the museum for safekeeping.

    On our wandering we came across a giant street market. Neat to see all the goods for sale just out in the streets.

    We headed back to our hostel during the heat of the day (near 100° here) to relax for a few hours by the pool. Very nice choice. In the evening we went back out for to Piazza della signoria - where “David” lived originally (now a replica sits in its place) and saw dozens of other statues. Had a wonderful dinner in the square and called it a night.    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Giotto Bell Tower - climbed to the tippy top
    Just getting started up the stepsMe at the top "recovering" - just a little sweaty1View from the top showing the long streetsGood view of the domeBaptisteryGolden roof in BaptisteryUffizi gallery - long rows of statues"Birth of Venus"Basilica of Santa CroceMichelangelo's burial siteBasilica of Santa CroceOpera Del duomo museumThe Pietà by MichelangeloDisplay showing how the dome was builtSunset starting over the cityFlorence cathedral and dome at nightI believe this is the Basilica of Santa Croce

    Last day in Florence

    July 17, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 97 °F

    Miles: 12.0 Steps: 28151
    Flights stairs: 40

    We had a really busy last day in Florence. We decided to get an early start and beat the heat for the climb up the Giotto Bell tower - 413 steps, in 85° to 95° heat. It was a tough one. It did my old heart good to see even the youngest people reach the top and not look any better than me. Huffing and puffing covered in sweat. Beautiful view tho, so worth it.

    Then to the Florence baptistery. I guess in the old days you couldn’t enter a Catholic Church unless you were baptized. It made it difficult - so the baptistery was a separate building from the church. The gold ceiling was quite the site.

    We headed to the Uffizi museum next and saw hundreds of sculptures, and some amazing paintings - most notably the “birth of Venus”. Jordan studied it in school so really enjoyed seeing it in person.

    We split up at this point - Jordan went back to the hostel to enjoy the pool for awhile and I kept at it. I went to the Basilica of Santa Croce. It’s famous for being Michelangelo’s burial site. And then to the Santa Reparata (the underground ancient remains of the original Florence cathedral). Pretty interesting.

    I popped into the Opera del duomo museum and saw more amazing pieces of art, and then decided the pool was sounding pretty good for my overheated body, so headed back for a swim. The pool was ice cold, which was nice after being so hot.

    After cooling down a bit and having a great Italian dinner, we walked a ways to the highest point in Florence - the San Mianato Al monte to get a glimpse of the city from above, and then over to the Pizzale Michelangelo for sunset and to see the city at night. It’s a beautiful atmosphere with live street performers singing and such. Overall, had a great couple days seeing Florence    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Colosseum

    Travel day

    July 18, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 95 °F

    Miles: 3.4 Steps: 8146
    Flights stairs: 7

    It was a fairly normal travel day today - checked out of the hostel, got on a high speed train, and an hour and a half later we found ourselves in Rome! Still VERY hot here, so hung out in the hotel till the sun went down a bit.

    We went out in the evening and ate dinner with the colosseum in the background. Pretty surreal. We see the full thing inside in the morning.    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Trevi fountain
    Spanish StepsChiesa churchPantheonPantheonII Vittoriano steps .. why so many steps?!?And more stepsEternal flame WW1 memorialII VittorianoEntering the colosseumRoman pastry - Maritozzo

    Birthday in Rome!

    July 19, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 93 °F

    Miles: 8.0 Steps: 18522
    Flights stairs: 32

    I celebrated my 56th birthday today in Rome! It was beautiful and amazing.

    There is a record breaking heatwave that has hit Europe and we’re traveling right in the middle of it. It should be around mid 80’s here and is instead in the low 100’s - 15 to 20 degrees above average. We’re surviving, but it’s HOT!

    Today we got up early and went sightseeing before it got too bad. We started at the Trevi fountain (3000€ a day worth of coins thrown in there, all donated to charity), we walked to the Spanish steps, ran across a gorgeous cathedral, hit the Pantheon (absolutely amazing), hiked up the steps at the II Vittoriano monument, and then finished the day touring the coliseum. Amazing day, seeing amazing things I’ve only seen in the movies!

    We headed out for a birthday dinner of my choice (what else in Italy but Chinese food?!) and hit a Italian bakery for dessert (Tried a Roman specialty - Maritozzo). Then FaceTimed Adam … it was a great birthday!    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Entrance into Vatican Museum
    1The ceilings are INCREDIBLE"The School of Athens" by RaffaelSistine ChapelSuch a huge complexThe small details on the carvings are amazingEven the "exit" is amazing hereEnrance to Palentine Hill and Roman ForumTop of Palentine HillColosseum from the HillPart of thr Roman Forum2

    Vatican City & Rome

    July 20, 2022 in Vatican City ⋅ ☀️ 93 °F

    Miles: 8.4 Steps: 19927
    Flights stairs: 20

    We got up early and headed to the Vatican Museum to see the Sistine Chapel. It’s been a must see for awhile. The series of Museums is overwhelming - reminded me of the Louve. Just too much to see there. It was an amazing complex tho, and to finally see the ceiling in the chapel was incredible. I actually shot one video before I found out it was not allowed - so not too many pics, but still amazing.

    After hours wandering the museums we headed back to our room to cool down (surprised the museum was not air conditioned, actually) and take a rest. We went back out later hoping it would cool down some for our visit to the Roman Forum and Palentine Hill, but not so lucky. The heat here is definitely taking away from our experience - at times you just want to get thru things as fast as possible just to get back to the coolness.

    The heatwave here is real - we read today that 1900 people have died in Europe from the heat. Mostly Portugal, France, UK and Spain as they don’t really have any air conditioning. And I’m really glad we had already gotten thru those places because very true, we had no air conditioning there and even at reasonable temps it was pretty unbearable in our rooms. Scary situation. If we didn’t have air here in Rome. I don’t know what we’d be doing.

    Seeing the ruins was really amazing - so odd to wander around and know you’re seeing things over 2000 years old.    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Pantheon
    Trevi fountainFountain of the four rivers - in Piazza NavonaFontana del Moro - in Piazza NavonaFountain of Neptune - in Piazza NavonaWe dont talk about "Bruno" - in Campo de fiori PiazzaII VittorianoColosseum

    Needed a rest

    July 21, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 93 °F

    Miles: 4.2 Steps: 10083
    Flights stairs: 12

    We took a much needed break today - slept in and hung out in the hotel all day. We have seen most of what we wanted to see so far, and it’s just too darn hot out there.

    We did head out around 8:00pm once the sun was going down hoping it would help, and it did. Plus we wanted to see the city at night. We’ve been finding that cities at night turn somewhat magical - but unfortunately we didn’t find that to be true of Rome. The only way I can describe it was creepy, like wandering around a cemetery at night. It was hard to even get decent pictures of things - very odd lighting.    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    St Peters basilica - climbed to the top of that dome!
    St Peters squareLooking down into the church from first level of the domeMosaic tiles on walls of domeView from the topView of St peters square from the top of domeThe Sistine chapel551 steps!Showing the curve of the dome

    Last day in Rome

    July 22, 2022 in Vatican City ⋅ ☀️ 95 °F

    Miles: 4.01 Steps: 9272
    Flights stairs: 32

    Today was our last day in Rome. Moving on in the morning. The last thing we had yet to see was St Peter’s Square & Basilica. We’ve seen a few basilicas now and I’d agree that this one is the largest so far. It’s claim to fame is it’s the largest in the world.

    We were able to hike up to the top of the dome finally. We didn’t get tickets early enough in Florence, so we’re glad to see we could do it here. It was really high and walking the stairs was weird being right next to the curved walls. Was 551 steps to the top … crazy, but fun even in 103° heat!    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Naples, Italy
    Catacombs of San GerranoHouses we saw as we walked home1Some or the piles of trash17

    Naples, Italy

    July 23, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    Miles: 4.4 Steps: 10234
    Flights stairs: 4

    We made our way by bus to Naples, Italy! Was only 2 1/2 hrs south, pretty comfy ride in a well air conditioned FlixBus. Starting to wonder why we even drive cars - these buses are AWESOME! Enjoying letting someone else do the driving.

    We got checked into our B&B, cooled down in the air conditioning and then took off exploring some. We took a tour of the Catacombs of San Gerrano - the first time I’ve seen catacombs and found it pretty fascinating. most of what we saw was from 300ad.

    Not quite sure what I think of Naples so far. The small amount I’ve seen is REALLY filthy, smelly, just plain nasty with garbage lining the streets. Really sad. And you combine the intense heat with the garbage, and the smell is pretty bad. I’d like to think it’s just “garbage day” but I don’t think so from the way it looked. The piles of trash were everywhere.    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Swimming in the bay
    2Castle sant'elmoMt Vesuvius2

    Another side of Naples

    July 24, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    Miles: 6.8 Steps: 15457
    Flights stairs: 20

    We headed down to the waterfront today and found a whole different side of Naples. It was much nicer, clean … either for the tourists, or the wealthier citizens, not sure. Went for a swim - second time in the Mediterranean Sea 😃. It was pretty warm water, actually.

    Jordan wanted to rest in the room, so we split up and I went to see Castle Sant’Elmo on the hill. It was a beautiful view of the city, the Bay of Naples and of course, Mt Vesuvius! Couldn’t believe how close it is to the city, and how dense the houses are. A lot of people crammed into a very small area.

    We stayed out of the areas we were in yesterday, so no idea whether the trash situation changed any.

    We ended up trying to find Mexican food for dinner - kind of getting tired of pizza and pasta. We found what looked like a great place - I ordered a taco salad, Jordan an enchilada. My taco salad was literally two crunchy shell tacos on a very small bed of lettuce. And Jordan’s enchilada came filled with cubed fried potato chunks. Pretty funny actually.    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Entrance to Pompeii
    2

    I cant believe I saw Pompeii!

    July 25, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F

    Miles: 8.3 Steps: 18937
    Flights stairs: 10

    I remember learning all about Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius in grade school - seeing pics of the “frozen people” that had gotten caught in the volcanic eruption. And today, decades later, I found myself at the foot of Mt Vesuvius walking the streets of Pompeii! This trip is unreal.

    We braved the intense heat and took a day trip, about 45 min south, to Pompeii and walked through the archeological site. Fascinating seeing the remains of the village, the whole time with the mountain looming in the background. The famous eruption that buried the village in 17ft of ash took place in 79 AD. It happened in the morning, when most were still asleep. The last time it erupted was 1944, but it was fairly minor - it is still active today, and they feel the next eruption will likely be as deadly as the first.

    Seeing the plaster casts of the villagers was really sad - to see that it hit so fast they literally were killed and then preserved in the exact state they were in. It was an amazing visit.

    After, we headed to a local winery/vineyard for a tour, tasting and lunch. It was located in the national park and was even closer to the mountain. Great view and great experience!    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Heading underground
    In the "slit"AqueductsDisplaying how the caves were used as greenhousesCastle Nuovo - looked like a classic lego castle to meA shopping mall!The main squareNaples palaceCastle dell Ovo

    Last day in Naples

    July 26, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    Miles: 7.4 Steps: 17154
    Flights stairs: 21

    Our last day in Naples … we took another tour of the underground, but this time not catacombs. We saw Greek & Roman tunnels, acqueducts and tunnels that were eventually used as WW2 bunkers. pretty fascinating. The highlight was probably squeezing thru a 50cm wide tunnel for about 5-7 min, or more like a slit between two cave walls, to get from one area to another. Had to work at not panicking, but it was definitely stressful, but exciting and fun at the same time.

    Then we walked down to the waterfront and saw two more castles as well as the main square in town, which also housed the palace. Chose to just see all these things from the outside and walked along the waterfront for 30 min or so.

    Clearly have seen the difference between the tourist/wealthy areas and where the masses live. We are staying between the two so get a good glimpse of both. Where the people are living is very dirty, trash stacked up everywhere and not taken care of very well. The tourist area is beautiful, well maintained and zero trash in the streets. It’s a shocking difference between the two areas.

    It’s been so hot here - I literally don’t know if I’ve sweat this much in my entire life. Jordan isn’t near as bad as me - she doesn’t seem to have inherited the family propensity to sweat like a pig. (My dad, brother, sister and Adam all understand what I’m talking about - we just really sweat, sometimes when others wouldn’t - fun. 😃). It was 90° but with really high humidity so justified, but dang! At times I was literally drenched in sweat. So glad we have air conditioning here.    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Goodbye Naples!
    2One of the MANY street cats we saw tonight

    Travel day to Greece!

    July 27, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 97 °F

    Miles: 3.2 Steps: 7348
    Flights stairs: 5

    We traveled today - flew to Greece! We’re so excited to be in Athens the next couple of days!

    Pretty uneventful relaxing day actually. Everything went off without a hitch, which is always nice on travel days. Bus to the airport, security, flight, found the metro and made the hour trip to Athens and then walked 20 min to find our “will do the job” hotel. Not the best, but certainly have stayed in worse. Arrived after dark, which is never optimal, but we survived.

    The only thing I noticed in the walk was there are cats EVERYWHERE. Will watch for them tomorrow. Assume they’re strays but who knows.    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    The Parthenon
    ParthenonParthenonAnd ... the Parthenon again!Valley overlookSo dense of a city!Theater of DionysusThe PropylaeaErechtheionErechtheionOdeon of Herodes Atticus2Erechtheion

    Athens, Greece!!

    July 28, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 95 °F

    Miles: 4.9 Steps: 12927
    Flights stairs: 26

    Today was pretty amazing - we spent the day walking around the Acropolis in Greece. Along with the Parthenon there’s another 5 or 6 temples on the hill. Everything was originally built between 500-600 BC. I find it crazy that they are still standing after wars, earthquakes, being taken over by other countries - they’ve had to be restored many times I guess, but still … pretty awesome that something that old is still standing.

    We ate lunch at the foot of the Acropolis .. we’ve decided we like to eat “at the foot of things”. 😂 Mt Vesuvius, Eiffel Tower, the Matterhorn, The colosseum … food at the base of famous places is just more fun! We both loved all the Italian food — can’t go wrong with pizza and pasta — but today the greek food was the best!!! We’ll be in Greece ten days and I don’t think I’ll get tired of it.

    It’s still really hot hear - 95°-100°, but as the saying goes “it’s a dry heat” so actually no where near as uncomfy as Naples or Rome.

    After the Acropolis we went clothes shopping. The joy of being on the road for this many weeks and only having a weeks worth of clothing packed is we wear things out. And sometimes we just learn that what we brought isn’t really working for the weather or culture we’re in. So we have to shop now and again. I think we’re both loosing weight or at least firming up … I usually wear XL and to my amazement I fit into mediums today. Jordan is usually a small and she needed XS. I’d say it’s just European sizing, but we were shopping at American Eagle, so unlikely. I guess that’s what averaging 6 miles a day does for you.    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Temple of Hephaestus
    We like bendhes in the shadeTenple of HephaestusAgora of AthensHadrian's archAcropolis from belowColumn thats fallen at Tenple of Olymian ZeussOlympic StadiumClimbed to the top - cause thats what we do!All the olumpic torchesSome faborite torchesSydney gamesTokyo 2020!Parthenon at nightOlympic atadiu at nightOn Mt LycabettusFun in thr square

    Last day in Athens

    July 29, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 91 °F

    Miles: 9.2 Steps: 23132
    Flights stairs: 44

    We walked around Athens today looking at assorted ruins and temples - they’re kind of everywhere. Nothing as big or impressive as yesterday, but still pretty cool.

    We ended at the Olympic stadium. As in THE OG Olympic stadium. It was constructed in 350bc and is the only one in the world made of complete marble. 1st Olympics held here. Really impressive to sit in the stands and picture everything that’s happened there over the last 2300 years.

    They had a small museum that housed all the torches from the Olympics. Fun looking at them all and picking our favorites.

    We went back to our room to rest and cool off - so we’d be ready to come back out in the evening and see the city lit up. Went to the highest point in Athens and then down close to the Parthenon. Very impressive at night.    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    "Locked" on the bus at the plane
    Plane getting readyGoodbye Athens!Passed over so many islands as we flewSantorini - can clearly see the shape of the caldera of the volcanoSmall runway we landed onBeautiful sunset as we were making our approach

    Flight into Santorini, Greece

    July 30, 2022 in Greece ⋅ 🌙 77 °F

    Miles: 2.9 Steps: 6919
    Flights stairs: 5

    We took off from Athens this evening and flew to the small Greek island of Santorini!! We came in at sunset so only got pics from the air.

    Boarding the plane was interesting. They loaded us all into three buses and then drove us quite a ways out away from the airport. The plane was waiting for us out there but was still getting ready - so they held us on these hot buses for a bit. A lot of airports in Europe seem to operate this way.

    I’ve never flown onto a small island before - kind of freaky. We came SO low to the water as we approached, as the runway was right at the edge of the land — all we saw was water that felt like it was just 10 feet below US, and then boom, there was the land and we were on it. Very odd feeling.

    Santorini is literally a city built on the edge of a active, yet dormant volcano. The whole city IS the rim of the caldera of the volcano. Will be fun to see it in daylight tomorrow.    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    The pool at our hostel
    Winderful shade and bean bags to lounge onHostel entrance - this is a pretty one!Just getting started! Probably a mile or so in.1Shows where we sterted, and all the way to the right on the point is where we ended.Steep edge of the calderaLove the blue and white!!We walked all the way over THERE .. far leftThe misdle of the caldera22Door leading to no whereOia hillside of homes2

    Another massive hike!

    July 31, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    Miles: 12.3 Steps: 26933
    Flights stairs: 55

    We decided to have a lazy morning / early afternoon today and hang out at our pool during the hottest part of the day. It’s a beautiful pool here and loved every minute - so refreshing, perfect temperature.

    We took off at 4:00 for another massive hike. We really haven’t attempted another big one since our Matterhorn 16 mile debacle. (Which still was spectacular regardless!). As I had said, Santorini is built on the ridge of a volcano - and it overlooks this massive water filled caldera. So we went on a hike that walks the entire rim!

    Our hostel is in the city of Fira and the end point is Oia. The Fira-Oia hike. The hike itself was about 7 miles, but of course we had to walk to the starting point, walk once we got to Oia, and walk back home from the bus stop … so it was a LONG ways again. But what an amazing view almost every second of the hike!!

    We stayed for sunset, found a little place to eat, and took the city bus back to Fira. And now we’re dead tired. But it was an amazing day!!!    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell

    Herkloin port

    August 1, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F
  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Hill the bus came down - switchbacks
    2When you irder a hamburger in Greece, this is what you get. ??? It was okay.Droves of people lining up to get on the ferryLeaving Santorini1We eventually went inside to our seats, but sat on the deck for a bit firstThe ferrySunset from the bus window

    Travel day in the Greek Islands

    August 1, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    Miles: 3.7 Steps: 8538
    Flights stairs: 7

    We traveled today! We hung out at our pool after check out and enjoyed a couple last hours of swimming and relaxing. We then took many forms of transportation to get us to the island of Crete!

    We walked 30 min (with our packs) to catch a city bus which drove across the island to the port. Crazy drive where we did switchbacks all the way down the side of the caldera to get us to the water.

    The port is a chaotic crazy place with ferries coming and going, huge ferries! And hundreds of not thousands of people coming and going. We got there a few hours early so sat at a cafe and had lunch, enjoying the food and people watching.

    We eventually boarded the ferry and took off across the Mediterranean for a 2 hour ride. It was beautiful on the deck - warm breeze.

    The ferry took us to the city of Heraklion - we somehow walked to the city bus station where we bought tickets to drive us another 2 hours down the island of Crete to Rethymno - where our hotel is! We finally made it in around 10:30pm and we’re grateful for our own room. Going to be here a few days just relaxing by the pool/beach. Can’t wait to do … nothing. 😂    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Our hotel
    Earing areaPool area2Beachfront about 2 min walk away from the hotel2

    Nothing but relaxing

    August 2, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Miles: 1.0 Steps: 2556
    Flights stairs: 5

    We’re in Crete - I booked an all-inclusive hotel on the Mediterranean just to relax at for a few days. We’re doing and seeing nothing … nothing historical, nothing ancient, nothing … just either laying by a pool, or the sand of the Mediterranean, eating or drinking. That’s all that’s on the agenda for a few days. One, we needed as jordan says “a vacation from our vacation”, and two, it’s just so beautiful here we had to stop and enjoy it for a bit.

    We spent the day at the pool today, and only walked to the beach in the late afternoon to check it out. Tomorrow hoping to spend the day on the beach.

    The hotels not as nice as I’d hoped, but is good enough. Hard to book things online - easy to be “fooled” into thinking you’re getting something better than you are. It’s nice they supply all the food and drinks tho so we literally don’t have to even leave at all. A much needed break from always moving.    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell

    Day on the beach

    August 3, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Miles: .86 Steps: 2097
    Flights stairs: 3

    Spent the day laying on the beach. Perfect temperature in the water and the air. The surf got way too big eventually (I can attest it was scary - got knocked on my butt a few times) and eventually no one was allowed in the water but still awesome just laying there all day.Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    2

    And back to the pool …

    August 4, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Miles: .5 Steps: 1140
    Flights stairs: 2

    Another gorgeous day at the pool … I think it was the lowest mileage day of the trip so far. Didn’t even break a half a mile. 😂 All rested up tho and ready to move on tomorrow …. ✈️Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell

    Athens airport layover

    August 5, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F

    Ugly layover … we’ve gone thru some poorly run airports on this trip, but Athens is one of the worst if not the worst we’ve experienced so far. (Amsterdam being a VERY close second). This is our second time thru Athens and both times it was not good.

    The departure screens weren’t correct or updated (both times) so who knows if you’re at the right gate … sort of a hide n seek situation. (which is especially fun and a challenge when you don’t speak Greek!). And this time after a delay, we finally boarded the flight, pulled away and went 50 ft to be told there were mechanical issues and we were returning for further investigation. 🥺

    After the “engineering team” boarded they said the problem was bigger than they anticipated, we would need a new plane and disembarked us. 🙁 This is our 17th flight, so I guess I should just be happy that the prior 16 went off with very few glitches.

    The kicker was after two hours they put us back on the exact same airplane! There were distinct “markers” we could identify in our seats so positive it was the same plane. So … hoping the problem wasn’t that big of deal as we head back up into the sky. 😳😧😬 🤞    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Sunset over the Aegean sea from the bus
    First plane to AthensUnknown island see from the planeSecond flightIstanbul from the air - a huge town!2Yep, there are squat toilets here. Normal ones too, but had to get a picture at the airportBeautiful decoration at the airport2I got my 2Oth flag today - as well as got credit for entering asia! 3rd continentDinner on the terrace - surprisingly tastyRiver view from the terraceDenice the Golden lives at the hostelPretty photgenic poochJumped up and joined me on the bench after dinner

    Travel day

    August 5, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    Miles: 4.4 Steps: 10113
    Flights stairs: 6

    We were up early this morning … 4:00 am. Our hotel in Crete was a couple hours from the airport so we had to take a two hour bus ride first thing. I watched the sunrise over the Aegean Sea as we drove. ❤️

    Our first flight went great to Athens - and then it went south from there as my earlier post said. We eventually got on our plane and made it to Istanbul but it wasn’t without some concerns. Maybe our imagination but the plane just didn’t sound and act “right”. But we made it so … all is good.

    One thing I underestimated about this trip was travel within the cities. Like here in Istanbul - the airport is a good hour away from the city, and it’s a city that doesn’t have a great mass transit system. So it is tough. We eventually found our way on another bus, and then a taxi once we got closer to the city.

    Traffic here is crazy, as well as the drivers!! It’s pretty nuts. There doesn’t seem to be too many rules being followed by anyone. The taxi ride was hairy.

    Our hostel is pretty nice. A Turkish woman who works at the hostel made us a homemade dinner tonight (for $4 each), and we ate it on the terrace overlooking the river, with Denise the golden retriever at our side. Pretty nice way to finish the evening.    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    The Blue Mosque
    Inside the Blue MosqueCeiling of the Blue Mosque - during constructionObelisk from EgyptEntrance to Topaki PalaceInside the palaceThe palace groundsPalacePalacePalacePalacePalaceBoat on the Bosphorus River"Asia" side of the riverJordan carefully befriended a street catThe Basilica cistern

    Day in Istanbul, Turkey

    August 6, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Miles: 7.5 Steps: 18681
    Flights stairs: 19

    What a crazy place Istanbul is! There are SO many people here, and everyone is going somewhere very fast. Cars honk constantly, just as a form of communication. Not a sign of anger, or danger - it’s very different. Chaotic is the only word I’d use to describe the city.

    This is a VERY old city with so much history - Istanbul is what was ancient Constantinople, and is the largest city in Europe. Had no idea.

    We went to the Blue Mosque, which sadly was under construction inside so didn’t see much. Pretty from the outside tho. The skyline is littered with mosques and towers.

    We also went to a few squares and saw an Egyptian obelisk that was brought here by the Roman’s in like 350ad. Seem to find Egyptian relics in lots of cities. Kind of sad so many were taken from there.

    We went to the Topaki palace, and discovered we just don’t seem to like palaces very much. 😂 they’re interesting, but just not our thing, I guess. Very pretty gardens tho.

    I have found I LOVE boat rides … any and all boat rides in any city. Jordan, not so much, but she kindly humors me and comes along. So we took one down the Bosphorus River. Beautiful. And a fact I didn’t know - Istanbul sits on two continents. Half is in Europe, and half is in Asia - separated by the river. Who knew?? Once we got off got some street food and jordan befriended a street cat that was really loving.

    Our highlight of the day was going to the Basilica Cistern. It was an old aqueduct way back when underground that they’ve now made into a tourist attraction by lighting it up and such. It was really unique, pretty and a great way to get out of the heat!

    The poverty here is intense in places. There are trams that run on the streets and we saw barefoot young kids hanging on the back to get a free ride. And the absolute worst I’ve seen here is mothers and their children sitting on the sidewalks with the trash dumped out between them sorting thru it looking for edible discarded food. Terrible.    Read more

  • Christie MitchellRTW 2022Christie Mitchell
    Hagia Sophia mosque at night
    Blue Mosque at nightStrays being tended to

    Another day in Istanbul

    August 7, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Miles: 4.4 Steps: 10482
    Flights stairs: 9

    We had a pretty low key day today - went looking for the Grand Bazaar to find it was closed. Maybe tomorrow?

    Walking around the city is interesting. When near the mosques, there is what we think to be prayer music being broadcasted. Turn the sound up on one of the videos and you’ll hear some of it.

    There are stray cats and dogs everywhere. People tend to take special care of them on the street tho. There are bowls of food and water set out on the streets, and even home made houses for them. And I have to say all the strays we’ve come across so far are really friendly and sweet. Tonight we started to walk over to a couple and a police officer asked us not to, as the cats were sleeping and we needed to respect their need for rest. Very cool to see them protected like that.

    Nighttime is especially nice here. It cools down quite a bit and they light all the mosques up. Very pretty.

    We’re definitely not enjoying the constant harassment by the men trying to sell us things. We experienced the same thing in Mexico, but this is so much more aggressive and intense. They even follow us for a block or more yelling at us trying to get us to buy whatever they are selling. It has definitely made us feel the least “safe” yet, which is too bad because this appears to be a very beautiful country.    Read more

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