After spending weeks in the Bulgarian countryside, arriving to Istanbul was an assault on all our senses...in the best way possible. The smells, the tastes, the sounds, the sights, even the lingering heat of the air and the sea breeze, the unbelievably inexpensive prices...all simply divine. We hadn’t been to a city of this size (14.5 million, biggest in Europe)…
We had three more days in the land of Türkiye, as the Turks prefer their country name pronounced, just enough time to squeeze in a couple more jaw-dropping wonders. Türkiye was about to add to its already significant wow factor for us at Pamukkale & Ephesus. Paumukkale, aka the Cotton Castle, is not made of salt, nor freshly fallen snow.…
Antalya...was love at first sight. We were enamored by the southern Turquoise Coast that glimmered before our eyes. It’s easy to see how this area explodes with Russian and European tourists during the summer months, but for us, being here in March, it was blissfully slow paced, and sweetly idyllic as it woke up from its winter, sleepily welcoming the…
We can safely say the Lycian Way is epic… or is it magical… or…merely indescribable!?! it has blissfully undeveloped wild mountain terrain matched only by aqua seas and white limestone beaches that mesmerize and majestic old black pine and cyprus tree forests grow alongside ancient olive groves clinging to life on terraced cliffs. The serene mountain hamlets and hidden under-any-radar…
It’s a good sign when you like a country in the winter AND the summer. We entered Bulgaria for the first time last November from Romania. Although they are neighboring countries, Romania and Bulgaria could not feel more different. Bulgaria has a distinct Mediterranean and Roman influence, the food is fresh and delicious (sorry Romania), and the language is unidentifiable…
You can buy an architecturally sound historic property in this region for $20-30k. A night’s stay in a place of your own averages $15-20. The average meal in a restaurant is around $4-8 and includes several courses and a drink. Street food is less than $1. A quality bottle of wine is $2-3. The average train ticket is between $2-4. A…
Our $50/day budget was a complete breeze in Bulgaria...truly a budget backpacker’s dream. We entered this penny-pinching utopia for the second time in late July. Last time...November...bitterly cold and snowing. This time... brilliantly sunny and warm. The language and swooping Cyrillic letters, once completely daunting, was significantly easier to read, the train system even more manageable to navigate and the…
There’s actually a country wedged between Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Kosovo and Serbia. Who knows it? Ah, it’s it the title. Sort of. The name of the country is a bit confusing, but we’ll glean over that little detail a bit later. (North) Macedonia is unfortunately often overlooked and although we didn’t overlook it, we’ll be the first to say we…
