A summer in pictures

At long last, here are the photo albums from my travels this summer.
They're listed from newest to oldest...


Istanbul & Cappadocia (July '09)


Florence & Castiglione (June/July)


Innsbruck & Karlovy Vary (June/July)


Berlin & Munich (June/July)


Prague (June)


London & Amsterdam (June)


Cabo (June)


Costa Rica (May/June)

Thailand & Cambodia (April/May)

Camping in Big Sur (April)

Seattle, Vancouver & the drive north (April)

Home renovations (April)

Travel tip: leave the laptop at home

Was really pleased with my ability to travel light over the past few months. It made such a difference in my quality of life on the road. One key decision was to leave my laptop at home and rely on Internet cafes and my iPhone.

In fact, 90% of my blog posts were done from my iPhone! Using an app called Blogpress, I was able to post directly to my blog service, embed photos, etc. Of course blogger also let's you email in blog posts but you have less control of formatting and it doesn't seem to address the need to edit existing posts. Typing in the iPhone is a bit of a pain but it encourages you to keep your posts concise ... Which is a good thing!

As the camera on the iPhone improves it will also be viable to leave your digital camera at home, as well. I found myself leaving the camera in the hotel. The iPhone benefits from always being with you. I know the quality isn't as high, but my favorite shots from the trip were on it.

-- Post From My iPhone

Unintential bathroom humor

No apologies for this post...

Cave houses of Cappadocia

Last sight seeing I did here in Turkey took me by bus to the center of the country. Saw an underground city used by settlers over 1000 years ago to hide from invading forces. There are hundreds of active cave houses in use, carved out of the mountains formed by volcanic eruptions thousands of years ago. Pretty surreal stuff... Looks like Tatooine.

The overnight bus ride (13 hours each way!) is only for the dedicated (and poor)... I recommend flying if you can afford it.

Bambi burger!

... is on the menu. I opted for the cheeseburger... was a little like white castle only with pickles instead of onions and salt.

Random observations from Istanbul

* there are cats everywhere. Many appear to be strays which makes it hard to resist the temptation for some kitty time.
* Istanbul is mostly muslim but not devoutly so - for instance, you see many women in burkas or head scarfs ... though just as many aren't wearing these and dress more or less like we do in the west
* another example is that there is some openly homosexual activity going on (public handholding, gay clubs, etc)
* at the same time you hear the call out from the mosques every few hours, singing and inviting people to prayer
* I'm pretty taken with the architecture within the mosques and palaces... If anyone knows where to get ahold of one of the chandeliers from the Aya Sofia for my loft, please let me know.
* kebobs on the street are *the* way to go

Last stop: Istanbul

My world tour wraps up in Turkey. I arrived in Istanbul a couple of days ago. Have already taken in some amazing sights and sounds (details to come) - am enjoying the very comfortable hostel here that offers a swanky rooftop dining area along with it's $15 beds. Tea at dusk overlooking the water ain't bad living...