TravelStream™ news feed for member mkosmack on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/mkosmack en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Tue, 15 Aug 2006 11:00:38 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1155597480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1155597480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1155597480/tpod.html Tue, 15 Aug 2006 11:00:38 -0400 The littlest Kosmack explores Europe from the far West to the far East...

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London, United Kingdom

Ah London, don't you just love terrorist threats?
anyhow, I made it to London sans problemes from Istanbul, I even had my little plastic bag all ready (we all looked like orphans kids as alexandra pointed out...haha) but was able to have carry-on luggage anyways...It felt great to get here and be in a real home and out of hostels, although the 18C weather is NOT to my liking! eeeek forget culture shock, weather shock is more like it! Everyone's got their hats and scarves out...

So I've spent the last few days in London relaxing and catching up with one of my favorite aussies, Megs:) We had a grand time at the markets and caught up on all our summer gossip...it sure didn't feel like London was suffering from a "critical" level threat, but what do I know? Now that they've downgraded the threat to a "severe" level, everyone seems MUCH more at ease..(whaa?!?!?!)anyways...so now I'm just doing some last minute sights here (aims and court - westminster=great) then tomorrow morning I head out to Heathrow to brave the crowds, the security checks, the lines and the chaos in hopes of making my way home at last. Running into the arms of the family will never feel so good! wish me luck, hopefully i don't look like a terrorist and they won't have to body search me...but u never know, i do look like a bit of a rebel...

So all in all it's been a most fantastic trip. 80 days, 2 continents, 7 countries, 32 cities...I must say hello to all the amazing people I've met along the way - shaz, mallorie, genevieve, kelli, cassy; katherine; chris, justin, jeannie, amanda; alex+ally; erin, emma; gustavo, jessika, gabby, george; simone; and of course kate, jess, aaron and ana. I hope all your travels are going, or finished well, you guys made my trip that much more incredible and hopefully we'll meet in some far off place sometime in the future...
I've posted some pics for you guys to take a look if you so please...don't worry to all my fellow travellers, there's more to come in emails in the near future...
hope you enjoyed my travel log, it was great to know people were following me along (though I still have no clue WHO most of you are that are actually checking this thing!)...there's sure to be more travels coming soon, but for now it's back to canada, back to the fam, back to school. Travelling was absolutely incredible, but it's time...sing it Bubbles "another aeroplane, another sunny place...but I wanna go home"
see u soon
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1155302580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1155302580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1155302580/tpod.html Sun, 13 Aug 2006 05:13:07 -0400 The littlest Kosmack explores Europe from the far West to the far East...

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Istanbul, Turkey

hello my name is margaret and Ý have tanorexia...Ý am suffering from the illusion that i am not tanned anymore (sarah and dev i know u feel my pain) and hanging around with all these australians is not helping! get me back to canada - the land of white! haha

So we left the Cappodoccia Sunday night and rolled into Ýstanbul monday morning...we got to our hostel and napped for a good 3 hours...we then met up with another aussie-jodie-and began the touring...we hit up the blue mosque - amazing - then spent a solid 4 hours at the bazaar...good lord! haha it was great fun with all the bargaining and apple tea and people yelling out asking if we are charlies angels or the spice girls...classic.
the next morning we were up at 6 and headed out for a day tour to Gallipoli...although it doesnt hold the same meaning for me as it does for the aussies and kiwis it was incredible nonetheless...a very educational day:)
Day two was Kate's last day - we did the Aya Sofia..more bazaar..and had a fantastic lunch at the most turkish of places...we said farewell to Kate as she headed back to australia...Day three was a day of rest. We ventured out to the Prince's Ýslands and spent the day lounging by the pool in the sweltering heat...good times were had. Ýt was Jodie's birthday so we had a lovely dinner downtown and they even sang her a turkish happy birthday...:) Jodie and Ana both left this morning leaving me on my lonesome once again! My last day in Ýstanbul was spent at Topkapi Palace and doing some last minute shopping...tomorrow morning Ý head to London for my last few days and prepare for the big homecoming on wednesday! Ý am definitely ready to get home...istanbul is a bit much on my own and Ým ready for a home cooked meal and a real bed:) (and real temperatures...45C just isnt ok anymore!)
So although I am pumped to get back home to real life, as we drove into Istanbul in the wee hours of monday morning and Ý watched the sun rise simultaneously over Europe and Asia I thought to myself, life is pretty great.
until london,
margaret
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1154800200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1154800200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1154800200/tpod.html Sun, 13 Aug 2006 04:55:03 -0400 The littlest Kosmack explores Europe from the far West to the far East...

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Goreme, Turkey

Soooooooo
Our last couple of days in olympos were bliss...we spent one day at the beach then the next day we went to a hammam in the next valley over...i got the traditional exfoliation then a bubble massage-so great...like 2 feet of bubbles surrounding u and then someone massaging u...wonderful...we spent the rest of the day on their rooftop terrace in the jacuzzi and drinking at the bar...we made it back just in time to hop on our bus at 9pm to head out for the Capodoccia...10 hours on the bus after a few cocktails is not the funnest...however we made it!
capodoccia is ýncredible...caves and fairy chýmneys and weird structures everywhere...like nothing else...i love it!

our first day here we were basically zombies having spent the night on a bus so we got to our hostel and slept for a few hours. After a yummy lunch of kebap in a clay pottery pot (they break the pot right in front of you and pour all the delicious kebapness onto a plate steaming hot - genius) we headed to the open air museum - i know all of you in toronto are also dying of heat stroke so you can appreciate my complaining about the stifing heat - but nonetheless we had a great time clımbing in caves and staying in them as long as possible since they were about 10 degrees cooler inside...we felt like the flinstones in an ınferno. That evening we got all dolled up and went for a 'Turkish Night' which consisted of 4 hours of entertainment including belly dancing, whirling dervishes, traditional dancers, sword fighting, fire dancing and more...all the with all you can eat and drink including wine, beer and a bottle of raki and vodka - so you can all imagine how that night turned out! İt was loads of fun.

Yesterday we got up early and set out on a day tour through the Cappadocia...we saw pıgeon valley, fairy chimneys, hiked the ihlara valley and visited a pottery making studio. İt was great fun but in 43C weather it was a bit tough...but we're glad we did it then since today is going up to 46C - awesome. Luckily we have a pool at our dısposal so its been a lazy day...tonight we get on another lovely overnight bus and will arrive in Istanbul in the wee hours of tomorrow morning.
one week to go on the trip...lets see what trouble i can get into in the grand finale few days...
xoxo
margaret
ok so the doritos are nowhere to be found...either a) sarah and dev drank too much raki and dreamed them up, or b) you guys ate the company out of all they had left...im going with b) but ill keep my hopes up for istanbul...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1154508120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1154508120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1154508120/tpod.html Sun, 13 Aug 2006 04:39:44 -0400 The littlest Kosmack explores Europe from the far West to the far East...

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Olympos, Turkey

There had to be a hiccup eventually...
So Ý have at last arrived at Kadir's here in Olympos on the southern coast of Turkey...Ýve been travelling with four aussies for the past week or so...The boat trip was fantastic though we ran to a little trouble...our captain turned out to be a wee bit crazy and sparing all the details in this entry, we all decided to disembark the boat a day early for our own safety...it was a shame but was the wisest decision under the circumstances. Anyhow, so this meant that we arrived in Olmypos a day earlier...Upon arrival we were all in heaven...treehouses everywhere in the middle of huge mountains and basically just gorgeous scenery everywhere. We went for a swim immediately which was well deserved:)
That evening we let loose a little, went to BullBar right on the compound which is an open air bar/club with a raging fire in the centre...these people are mental since its about 35degrees at night time..but it was great fun nonetheless! Yesterday we went for a massive hike up and around the ruins they have all over and found a secluded little cove to swim in...great fun...we spent the rest of the day basically being lazy - the theme of this entire place!
Today we are hitting the beach again and tomorrow heading to a turkish spa right down by the water...shall be bliss!
There's the update...hope u enjoy!
pics to come sooooon
xoxo
margaret
- sarah and dev, i am looking high and low for your doritos but cant find the black olive ones...i will continue the search but dont get your hopes up! ps which treehouse did you stay in?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1154259540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1154259540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1154259540/tpod.html Sun, 13 Aug 2006 04:30:39 -0400 The littlest Kosmack explores Europe from the far West to the far East...

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Kas, Turkey

So I have finally arrived in turkey and well life is amazing...
the trip over last week was long and included an 8 hour stop in mykonos and a 6 hour night ferry with no sleep...good times...? nope.
but the rewards were worth it! I arrived in Kusadasi on Monday morning and checked into my great hostel...Ý spent ample time there laying by the pool but also visited Ephesus-an ancient city that frankly (no offence italy) completely blows Pompeii out of the park! Ýt was incredible...wednesday Ý was picked up by the hop-on-hop-off bus tour Ý am doing and left for Koycegýz...too bad our bus driver got lost but we made it to our wonderful hostel in the tiny town in time to see the 50 year old owner belly dance for us...bangles and all!
The next morning 4 of us hopped on the bus headed for Fethiye...en route we stopped at a carpet making factory which was amazing then at Saklikent Gorge which was amazing...its this enormous gorge and we went tube-rafting down it then had a mud fight in the mud baths (i have a photo - we were covered from head to toe...haha) then we walked through the other end of the gorge to the other mud baths and layed in it up to our necks...the spa treatment for sure...loved it!
We arrived in Fethiye early evening and had a swim in the pool then had a nice dinner in the town...the next day Ý ventured out on an all day boat tour and went to some cool little coves and such and most importantly to Butterfly Valley which is a valley behind a beach that is only accessible by boat...it literally ÝS the movie "the beach"...hippie paradise complete with waterfalls and butterflies...wow.
yesterday i began the glorious boat trip...4 days 3 nights on a gulet boat sailing the coast of turkey...meals cooked for us and nothing to do but swim eat and read...our captain Mustafa looks like a pirate and acts like one too...love it! its paradise...we are currently taking 2 hours on the mainland catching up with reality and filling supplies...two more days to go then onto Olympos and the infamous treehouses...(though they are sure to be different as there has been much drama there in the last few weeks...sarah and dev - you wont be pleased! Mike has departed...) So that ýs my life in a nutshell! As you can imagine thats only the tip of the iceberg but time and space leaves me constrained...internet is not easily accessible here in turkey and being on a boat doesnt help...
anyhow! much more to come as soon as possible!
gule gule
xoxo
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Kusadasý, Turkey

Finally arrived..
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1153665900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1153665900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1153665900/tpod.html Sun, 13 Aug 2006 04:18:37 -0400 The littlest Kosmack explores Europe from the far West to the far East...

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Naxos, Greece

(Although I write this as from Naxos, I am actually in Mykonos at the moment.)
Soooo I left Ios, Simone and I had a wonderful last night there drinking wine and laying in hammocks by the water, but we were ready to get out. We ferried over to Naxos and on our bus ride into the center of the island we got chatting to a couple who happened to be from Canada, and we quickly discovered that I know his brother who goes to Dal (jon berger)...strange coincidences just keep on happening! We all 4 ventured into this tiny town in the middle of the hilly countryside, called Filoti and proceeded to look for accomodation. This involved asking every greek man in the 3 taverns that make up the main square, and basically the entire town. There was no hostel, nor hotel that we could see, and nobody spoke english...we eventually ended up finding some rooms below a hotel run by a sweet greek family. It was fantastic! That afternoon we ventured back into town and rented some ATVs for the next couple days. We had a fabulous greek dinner in town, and wandered back to our bikes only to discover we all had parking tickets...jerks. Guess it was too good to be true! We then biked a long 45 minutes in the dark through the hills to get back to our rooms! Saturday Simone and I took our bike and wandered through the island a bit. (I felt like i was in the the Long Way Around...so adventurous...haha) It was great fun and we went along the coast and stopped off at a beach for a little while. I stayed in town that night as I had to catch my ferry this morning, but the two of us had a nice final evening together and indulged in some freshly made greek pastries by the port:)
So now I am in Mykonos, though only for a few hours as I await my overnight ferry to Samos then a quick ferry to Turkey. Lots of travelling, but it will all be worth it in the end!
I have loved Greece, the islands are gorgeous and the people here have been the most hospitable. The beaches, the water, the towns, the food...good times. But everything must come to an end and so I head eastwards for the final leg of the trip!
xoxo
margaret
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1153411920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1153411920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1153411920/tpod.html Sun, 13 Aug 2006 04:12:21 -0400 The littlest Kosmack explores Europe from the far West to the far East...

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Ios, Greece

So let's listen to this (dad, you will appreciate this)...I am laying on the beach in Ios (as you do here) and a girl (Simone) comes and layes nearby and I could tell she was a lone traveller as well, so we got chatting. She's a aussie, so of course we hit it off. We decided to have dinner that night together and she kept talking about her two girlfriends that were coming down to Mykonos to meet her in a couple weeks. I got curious and asked their names...TURNS OUT, one of them is MEG BURNS (i.e. one of my bestest friends from the delawana last summer)...we both freaked out at the chances of this and have then on been spending all our time together! INSANE!

So anyhow, Santorini was incredible. Nothing less. I absolutely loved it there. My hostel was a dream, all white and blue with a pool outside my window. My one full day there I did a day trip where you get to go to the volcano, these hot springs, another island and then to Oia to see the famous sunset. It was a fantastic day! I ended up hooking up with 4 other travellers (all new yorkers) and we formed our little santorini family. It was great day, the volcano was pretty awesome, the hot springs were more like a mud bath, but fun nonetheless, and we even rode donkeys up the mountain in Oia (note to all of you out there, it's not as much fun as you think, especially when your donkey decides to pass another one and you feel as though you may be thrown off the jagged cliff any second...) ANYWAYS, the sunset in Oia was really breathtaking, and pretty hilarious to see alllll the people gather there. That evening I was all prepped to go out on the town with the crew, but grew violently ill from some bad souvlaki...not the greatest way to spend my last night in the island of bliss...

Yesterday I arrived in Ios and was quickly bused over to Far Out Camping...Good lord this place is insane. My tent leaves much to be desired, but what can you expect. It's a great place, right in front of the beach, a couple pools and lots of young people. So last night Simone and I had some mexican food for dinner, then strangly got stranded at the restaurant for a few hours as we found ourselves in the middle of this memorial gathering for an employee who had passed away...very sad, and very awkward for us as we didn't have the heart to ask for the bill nor get up and leave...definitely an odd night.

Today we hit up the pool, talked to some aussies (who were still hitting the vodka at 11am - oh ios) then set out on a "canoe safari." all I have to say is good times! There were about 15 of us all in kayaks and we paddles through the wind to these rocks you can jump off and barbecued, sun tanned, snorkeled and listened to some good tunes in the sun. It was a fantastic day! Tonight will likely be slightly low key...partying until 6am with a bunch of americans I don't know isn't my cup of tea at the moment, so I'm leaving two days earlier than expected and Simone and I are taking off tomorrow morning for another island.

so there you have it! the adventures continue, the stories get stranger and stranger, and I think I have reached my maximum tanning potential in western europe...turkey, bring it on!
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Santorini, Greece

Love it love it love it
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1153063140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1153063140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mkosmack/magsdoeseurope/1153063140/tpod.html Sun, 13 Aug 2006 03:52:43 -0400 The littlest Kosmack explores Europe from the far West to the far East...

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Athens, Greece

I thought I had dealt well with the bug bites so far, no complaining, just dealing with it. Until this morning when I woke up, my first day in Greece, with a huge welt on my face. Really? Did you have to bite me on my face? and now its all swollen and I look like sloth from the goonies (i know, so hot)...welcome to greece!
But things could be worse! I arrived yesterday in Athens after a 35 hour trip from Sorrento. Train to Bari then a 16hr ferry to Patras and a bus to Athens. *sigh* It wasnt so bad though, I actually got a decent sleep on the ferry which was unexpected. I love ferry rides, it makes me feel like I'm in the Titanic, minus the sinking and Billy Zane...everyone is all separated, all the poor students sleeping on the deck and eating chips for dinner, all the rich families in the cabins, eating at the a la carte restaurant...classic...

So Athens is great. It cracks me up, you walk by all the "typical" greek restaurants: filled with tourists, then I walk by Subway: filled with Greeks. My hostel is like a palace, so wonderful, even if it is in what seems to be the "red light district of Athens"...a little sketch, but I'll survive...I went to the Acropolis this morning which was awesome, i love ruins! Then I spent the afternoon walking the markets which were packed and fun since it's sunday. For lunch I ate the best gyro known to man (jess traub, it was 1.40, called Savvas or something, is this the place?!)...So that's basically all I needed to see in Athens, great city, but a day is all you need! Especially when Santorini awaits me tomorrow!

More to come for your bug bitten canadian...
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