CYPRUS: Paphos & Limassol
“Would that I go to Cyprus, the island of Aphrodite, where the Loves dwell, who charm mortals’ hearts, and to Pafos fertilized without rain by the streams of a foreign river flowing with a hundred mouths.” EURIPIDES, Bacchae Pafos became the center of the ancient world through the myth and celebrations devoted to Aphrodite. The […]
BULGARIA: Varna – Black Sea Relaxation
After yet another all nighter preceding a couple of flights, I arrived in Varna to find a welcoming, super social, honest to goodness, backpackers hostel. My room is huge with high ceilings, air conditioning, and a large desk. This is going to be a nice relaxing six days. Our favorite Irish, bicycling, vagabond Peter charges […]
ARMENIA: Yerevan
Landing safely in the land of Cher (and the Kardashians, Ugh!), I arrived at passport control where the officer noticed that I had just visited Azerbaijan with whom Armenia has extremely strained relations. I had anticipated this, but my plans were made long before I was made aware of this problem. Thankfully, after stating that […]
GEORGIA: TBLISI – Great Food & Hospitality
After an all-nighter and a 5:00am taxi to the airport, I was treated to a beautiful sunrise before departing Baku. It was such a break to have a room just waiting for me in Tblisi so I could crash for seven hours to be followed by a glorious dinner accompanied by a table of Georgians […]
AZERBAIJAN: Baku – My Daughter’s Birthplace – Country #90
Man, the people at the Moscow Airport were so rude this morning. The lady at the desk where I had to pay for baggage handling slapped my passport down on the counter like an angry blackjack dealer. So when I arrived at the hordes of people waiting at passport control, at least I could rest […]
RUSSIA: Moscow
Somehow I missed a rescheduled flight in my emails, and showed up at the airport seven hours too early only to become embroiled in an aviation mystery to be solved. Luckily I managed to figure things out before having to purchase a new ticket for $250. That would have stung a lot. I arrived in […]
RUSSIA: St. Petersburg – White Nights
Riding from the airport in the wee hours I watched a colorful sunrise at 3:45 am as we sped toward downtown St. Petersburg. Ringing the bell at my hostel received no response so I went in search of some sustenance of the 24-hour variety. Burger King was shut, but the ever-dependable kebab joint was open […]
GREECE: Mykonos
It’s not exactly clear why I came to this island other than the fact that it is one of the most visited of the Greek islands. I don’t drink, and that is one of the major pastimes here on Mykonos. Also, loud and crowded venues hold little interest for me either so it is probably […]
GREECE: Santorini
Santorini is a thoroughly enticing volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is one of the Cyclades, and was devastated by the eruption of a massive volcano in the 16th. century B.C. Perched on the cliffs, Fira and Oia, the two prominent cities of the island, stand watch over the enormous underwater crater called the […]
GREECE: Athens – Lucky #88
Got in very late, but discovered my place is well located in a very good neighborhood called the Plaka right next to the Acropolis and the Agora. For that matter, any place not in Morocco is a good neighborhood from where I sit. Looking forward to the Parthenon and all of Athens’ greatest hits. The only […]
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