Merry Christmas … Happy Holidays

Thursday, 24 December 2015
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: Hi 72F (22C) / Lo 66F (19C)

Merry Christmas — or if you prefer, Happy Holidays — and a Happy New Year to all.  May 2016 be a healthy, happy, and enriching year that we all share with family and friends … one that is filled with safe travels to destinations of our choosing regardless of the mode we use to get there ;-)

The Emperors of the Ross Sea join Erin & Mui
in wishing everyone a fantastic holiday season.

P.S. I published this post using OLW — the Open Source version of Microsoft's Live Writer, which no longer works with Google/Blogger.  Sure, there are some functionalities that are missing, such as the ability to add categories (I simply went into the Blogger html tab after I published this post to add the categories).  But that's a minor irritant ... just having the ability to write WYSIWYG blog posts offline is priceless.  Thanks to all those who volunteer their time to make OLW possible.  Now could you work your magic and make OLW possible for MAC OS ... pretty please ;-)

© 2004-2015 Two to Travel.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

PostCards from a TransAtlantic Crossing

Friday, 14 October 2015
Houston, Texas

Sixteen days — most of it at sea — passed by in the blink of an eye as NCL Jade whisked us from Barcelona, Spain to Houston, Texas.  Par for the course with TransAtlantic Crossings, we had just a few ports of call between our embarkation and disembarkation ports — just three of them to be exact … Funchal, Madeira (Portugal); Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas (US Virgin Islands); and Miami, Florida.

Embarkation Day — 29 October; Barcelona, Spain

Mirador de Colom (Columbus Monument)	Dárcena Nacional (National Dock)

Barcelona skyline across Muelle Adosado.

Funchal, Madeira — 1 November

Arriving in Funchal …

… and view of the pier where Jade docks for the day.

Fortaleza de São Tiago

Teleférico do Funchal … and up to Monte we go.

Tile panels like this one line the path at Jardim Tropical Monte Palace
and serve to educate visitors about the history of Portugal.

Monte Palace & Tropical Gardens

Hydrangeas at Jardim Tropical Monte Palace.

Funchal from the overlook at Jardim Botânico.
[The smaller of the two ships is NCL Jade.]

Formal garden at Jardim Botânico.

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in downtown Funchal.

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean — 2-7 November

Seven quiet and relaxing days crossing the calm Atlantic Ocean.

Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, USVI — 8 November

Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, USVI … where NCL Jade docks for the day.

Cruz Bay, St John — USVI ... where the ferry from Red Hook docks so we can play at Cinnamon Bay.
Unfortunately we get rained out :-(

Miami, Florida — 11 November

Port of Miami … first to arrive, we watch the ships streaming in behind us.

sunrise over the Port of Miami.

The Miami Skyline on the port side of NCL Jade.

The marina …

… and the Miami skyline on the starboard side of NCL Jade.

Disembarkation Day — 14 November; Houston, Texas

Port of Houston from our aft veranda … waiting to disembark NCL Jade.

“Weren’t you bored with so many days at sea,” you might ask.  Not in the least — they were the perfect opportunity for some R&R between our busy days of traveling in Europe and resuming our routine at home.

© 2004-2015 Two to Travel.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

Teaser: İzmir … Week Two in Review

İzmİr, Turkey

Boy, is time flying by fast or what!?!  My second week visiting family in İzmir was a busy one … here’s a quick look back at some of what I experienced.

As the ferry leaves Karşiyaka [literally, Opposite Collar], I catch a
glimpse of the “Atatürk, His Mother, and Women’s Rights Monument.”

Two cruise ships become part of the Alsancak skyline (from the ferry).

Atatürk Evİ Museum, Alsancak
Depiction of a War Games Meeting following the liberation of İzmİr.

Burchell’s Zebra Family at the İzmİr Wildlife Park – Sasali.

Siblings at play … One-year old Denİz with her older sister, İzmİr.
İzmİr Wildlife Park — Sasali

Shoe Museum … a work in progress.

Shoe Museum — IŞikkent, İzmİr

Taxiarches Church (1844) — Ayvalik, Balikesİr

Ayvalik Islands Nature Park — Ayvalik, Balikesİr

The Taxiarches Church on Cunda Island was originally constructed in 1873.
Today, it has been restored to house the Ayvalik Rahmİ M. Koç Museum.

Ceiling detail from the Cunda Island Taxiarches Church, which was
dedicated to the protective archangels Michael and Gabriel.

On exhibit at the Ayvalik Rahmİ M. Koç Museum are a wide variety of items
ranging from tin and wood toys, to dolls and model ships, to antique cameras.

A necklace of salted and dried fish … not quite ready for consumption.

A tasty meal at Bay Nİhat on Cunda Island … (clockwise from top left) stuffed zucchini
florets; calamari; octopus salad; cİbez salad; blackened goat cheese; mixed salad … yummmm!

We’ll see what week three has in store for me ;-)

© 2004-2015 Two to Travel.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

A Drive Around Switzerland

9-18 October 2015

Less than a week after we disembarked Oceania’s Nautica in İstanbul and went our separate ways to spend time with our respective families, Mui was on the road again — this time with his mom and his sister.  Their destination: Switzerland.

Mui’s never been big on writing, but I convinced him to at least share a few of the photos he took during their short jaunt around the land of — in no specific order — watches, chocolate, cheese, the majestic Alps, lush green valleys, and crystal clear lakes.

The Travelers — in Lucerne.

Lac Léman — Montreux

Gruyères

"Samples Table" — Cailler Chocolate Factory in Broc.

From the aerial tramway ... on the way up to Mürren.

Mürren — yes, there was plenty of snow up there.

The smart thing to do would be for us to plan a trip to Switzerland while the research Mui did for this short jaunt is still fresh in his mind.  The big question — when and how to fit it into our already busy travel schedule ;-)

© 2004-2015 Two to Travel.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

Teaser: Chios, Greece

Sunday, 11 October 2015
İzmİr, Turkey
Temps: Hi 81F (27C) / Lo 61F (16C)

After three weeks of active-sightseeing in Rome and 12 days of equally active port calls on the Mediterranean cruise that brought us from Italy to Turkey, I was quite happy to take it easy during my first week of visiting family in İzmir.  But that changed Thursday night when we headed to Çeşme for an overnight stay before a short two-day jaunt to Greece the next day.

Across a narrow strait from Çeşme is the Greek island of Chios — the Turks know it as Sakız … a reference to the mastic trees that dot the landscape.  It’s just a short ferry-ride away … 15-20 minutes if you take the catamaran instead of the car ferry.  Though we’ve spent many-a-summer in Çeşme, this was a first-time visit to Chios for all of us — one that we enjoyed very much.

The Medieval village of Pyrgi is known for buildings decorated using the graffito technique.

Lunch time finds us in the Port of Mesta.

Everywhere you turn in the Medieval village of Mesta you encounter narrow,
maze-like cobblestone streets winding between buildings made of stone.

Nea Moni [New Monastery] is a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating to the 11th Century.

Avgonyma from a distance … its first inhabitants can be traced back to the 11th century.

At the base of the deserted hilltop village of Anavatos we find a charming decorative planter.

Inside the old Chios Fortress is a recently-restored 17th century Ottoman Hamam [bathhouse].

The weather, which cooperated for our two-day visit, turns cloudy and
starts spitting rain as we bid Chios Town farewell from the ferry.

Of course there was food involved during this outing …

Loukoumades in Chios Town	Breakfast Feast in Çeşme

Chios proved to be quite delightful.  It would be nice to rent a place for a week and explore the parts of the island we didn’t get to this time.  Perhaps next year …

© 2004-2015 Two to Travel.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.