Kars to Van
Van is an actual place in eastern Turkey. It sits on the shores of Lake Van, the largest lake in Turkey and our destination today. Our itinerary was as follows:…
Erzurum to Kars
Today’s plan takes us from Erzurum to Kars and then a side trip to the ancient city of Ani. Our visit to Ani will be in the next post because…
Road to Erzurum
We started our day in the Black Sea coast town of Trabzon. After fruitlessly looking for an ATM (hard!) we blew out of town and headed to the Sumela Monastery…
Sunrise on the Black Sea
The Black Sea is 7,000 feet deep. If it were a Great Lake it would be the greatest at over twice the size of Lake Superior. It’s big. It also,…
Wow, it’s here
Months in the planning, months in the waiting, and now suddenly it’s upon us. Crazy! I bet the next two weeks zoom by too. But for now the entire trip…
Bars and Restaurants
We ate some beautiful meals in Paris, which is not difficult to do, and also managed to spend some time in a couple of great bars. Our favorite was Dirty…
Paris at a Pace
After our drive from the Loire Valley, we returned our rental car and hopped into a taxi to get to our new hotel, the Hôtel du Louvre. As you might…
Loire Valley Mélange
A collection of random experiences and stray thoughts while in the Loire Valley… Our chariot for the trip: a Renault Captur. It’s a small, small SUV that turned out to…