I never thought I’d find myself in Tirana, let alone Albania. It wasn’t exactly near the top of my list of places to visit, but it turned out to be one of the most interesting places I’ve ever been.
Every ferry route in Istanbul is fun to ride, but my favorite is the route between Kadıköy and Eminönü. It gives you some of the best vistas of the UNESCO World Heritage listed historic city and its famous landmarks.
The highlight of my short road trip in Canada was absolutely Québec City. I had wanted to visit the historic city on the St. Lawrence River for a very long time, and it was well worth the trip up from Montréal.
If you think it’s impossible for a human being to lose their passport between the front door of their house and their car in the driveway, think again. My ever-so-responsible brother somehow managed to do this within a 30 second window. After 2 hours of searching the house and tearing apart my car, I took off and headed to Toronto alone.
From Kyiv, I took an easy day trip to Chernihiv, one of the most historic cities in the Ukraine. It’s over 1300 years old and has lots of cathedrals and monasteries.
Kyiv overall is a great city with lots to see and do. It’s very accessible and easy to find your way around with the tourist information signs posted all over the city. That being said, I was happy to be there, but after my week was up, I was equally happy to leave.
After a good report from some friends who had taken an Egypt tour with Expat Explore, I decided to book one for myself. It was only the third time I had taken a tour like this. I chose the Best of Egypt tour (no longer available as of January 2017).
The Turks are the most hospitable, friendly, and helpful people I’ve ever encountered. They usually go well out of their way to make sure their guests feel welcome in their country or city. I’ve always met people curious of foreigners, many eager to ask questions about me and compliment my bad Turkish, and others who happily want to practice their English for a few minutes. When I rolled into Afyon, I was expecting the same, but Afyon is different. Afyon is a Turkish parallel universe.
Kütahya is not on the tourist trail but it’s an interesting city nonetheless. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It’s a pleasant city, the people are friendly, and there are plenty of things to see. I had busy day visiting restored Ottoman homes, historic mosques, museums, and a ruined castle.
Sharm el-Sheikh is an Egyptian resort town on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. It’s very modern and has tons of restaurants and entertainment, several possibilities for tours and adventures, decent beaches, and all-inclusive resorts on the crystal clear Red Sea if you just want to relax.