Adventure to Turkey and Bulgaria is Imminent

On September 26, 2022September 26, 2022 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Bulgaria, Turkey5 Comments

We realize that we have been relatively quiet as of late, mostly due to our recent move across the country to Baltimore. We have finally settled in as we near the six-month milestone and an actual adventure has been long overdue. We have scheduled a trip to Turkey and Bulgaria that leaves this coming Thursday and we are extremely excited to be on the road once again. As is fairly typical, we are planning on making the most of our time and seeing as much as possible, but we will take a few days to unwind a little bit while we’re on the west coast of Turkey near the beaches. Our itinerary is roughly as follows:

Seven days in Kusadasi, Turkey where we will visit Ephesus, Pergamom and Asklepan, as well as Apjotdisias and Pamukkale. It is an area rich with historic sites and beautiful scenery, so we can’t wait to spend some time exploring. It is also where we will take advantage of some much needed relaxation.

Three days in Istanbul where we will see all of the historic sites of the old town area, including the palace and the Blue Mosque. We have also scheduled a food and spice market tour that we are looking forward to as well. Needless to say, we will be enjoying as much local food as possible, but this will provide us some cultural background as well.

Finally, we will spend four days in Sofia, Bulgaria where we have a tour to the historic towns of Plovdiv and Koprivshtitsa. Then we have a wine tasting at the Rila Monastery followed by a city tour of Sofia on our final day before returning home. The total trip will last sixteen days and we are truly looking forward to sharing everything that we see and do during the trip.

Discovering the Historic Charm of Annapolis, Maryland

On August 1, 2022August 1, 2022 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn MarylandLeave a comment

We love the history and character of many of the towns and cities all along the east coast. It had been many years since we had visited Annapolis, so we certainly enjoyed having the opportunity to stay a couple of nights and explore the historic town. The United States Naval Academy is located in Annapolis, but there are many other historic homes, churches, restaurants, and other locations that are well worth visiting. Just walking along the water and seeing all of the various yachts and sailboats is enjoyable in and of itself.

Historic Building and Restaurant Where We Ate a Couple of Times

The architecture in Annapolis has a little bit of everything from the coastal seaside village cottages to the colonial mansions with an abundance of history. It even served as the capital for the fledgling country and was the location where George Washington surrendered his commission in order to eventually become the first president of the United States. There are several historic mansions that offer tours, which we would definitely recommend doing at least one of them during a one or two day trip to Annapolis.

Statue of George Washington Resigning His Commision

As with any place that we visit, food is definitely a highlight of our trip and Annapolis was certainly not any different. There are many wonderful places offering a variety of food choices, but seafood is certainly top on the list at many of them. Maryland is known for their crabs, but seafood in general can be found on many of the menus and you will often find that several places will claim to have the best Maryland crab soup. In addition to restaurants, there are plenty of locally owned shops selling clothes, antiques, and novelty items where you can find a unique gift or just take time to window shop.

The historic district in Annapolis is quite popular, so the crowds tend to grow throughout the day, but people seem to start their days a little later and take time to relax and enjoy the atmosphere. We really enjoyed our weekend getaway and found it to be a great place to recharge our batteries and walk the historic streets.

The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City

On July 11, 2022July 11, 2022 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn New York13 Comments

You might not have a bookstore on many of your travel itineraries, but we actually enjoy browsing interesting books when we travel. We had heard about the Mysterious Bookshop when researching some unique places to visit during our trip to Manhattan and decided to walk there after lunch in lower Manhattan. It is located in Tribeca and originally opened in 1979, making it the oldest mystery specialist bookstore in America. One of the things that makes the bookstore unique is the wide variety of mystery novels that are stocked on the floor to ceiling shelves as well as their specialization in signed first editions.

If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes, the store has one of the largest collections of the sleuth stories in the world. One of the things that we found interesting was that in addition to the various first edition books on their shelves, they also have a variety of counterfeit books, of which they will let you know that they are not truly originals. To some extent, browsing the shelves of the Mysterious Bookshop reminded us of one of our favorite experiences in Paris when we came close to buying a first edition, four volume set of Don Quixote. There is something fascinating about seeing rare or unusual books and glancing at the various illustrations.