We have only been in Kusadasi, Turkey for a few days, but we are already having a wonderful time. Going to Ephesus and Pergamon are definitely the highlights so far, but we have a lot planned in the upcoming days. We can’t wait to go through all of our photos and truly share what we’ve seen, but here a couple of pictures.
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.
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.
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.
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.
