Today we are launching AbsoluteVisit.com – A Guide to the Top 100 Places You Absolutely Must Visit! A quick 30-second visit to the site will surely get your travel juices flowing and you will instantly be ready to pack your bags and conquer the globe. Enjoy!
AbsoluteVisit.com
February 13th, 2011 by bradharbach Comments Off
Ephesus, Turkey
September 5th, 2010 by bradharbach Comments Off
We checked out of our hotel in Kusadasi, the one with the beautiful view of the harbor that Will shared with you in our last post, on August 16th. Our stay in Kusadasi was quick and really only intended to provide us a comfortable nights rest before exploring the ancient Roman ruins of Ephesus. In the morning we were picked up at our hotel and joined a full day tour of Ephesus that would drop us off at the bus station that evening to catch our overnight ride back to Istanbul.
[Read More...]Pamukkale, Turkey
September 2nd, 2010 by willcrowthers Comments Off
After a couple days and only one night in Cappadocia, it was time to get on our second overnight bus in Turkey and head for Pamukkale. Pamukkale, which means ‘cotton castle’ in Turkish, is in the South-West of Turkey near the city of Denizli. The ancient city of Hierapolis was built atop the hills which make up Pamukkale.
What is now famous about the area is the reason for the name of Pamukkale which are the white hills that make up the region. The reason the hills are white is that the 17 hot springs which sit atop Pamukkale contains a high concentration of Calcium Carbonate which is deposited on the hills and forms terraced pools of water. The effect often makes it look like ice glaciers in some pictures as you will see.
[Read More...]Cappadocia, Turkey
September 1st, 2010 by bradharbach Comments Off
We boarded an overnight bus early on the evening of August 12th in Istanbul bound for Cappadocia. Cappadocia is a region is central Turkey best known for its unique moon-like landscape, underground cities, cave churches and hotels and houses carved into the rocks. In addition, it is widely known as being one of the top places in the world to ascend into the sky on a hot air balloon. Before leaving Istanbul, Will and I booked ourselves on a two-day tour of all of the major sites in Cappadocia and we also deviated slightly from our budget and reserved a spot in the clouds on the first hot air balloon trip of our lives.
[Read More...]Istanbul, Turkey
August 31st, 2010 by willcrowthers Comments Off
After re-connecting in Budapest, Brad and I were back together to tackle Turkey. For myself, I conjured up images similar to what we had seen in Jordan, Israel and Cairo as to what it would look like, but I would soon find out I was quite wrong.
We arrived in the early afternoon, made our way via subway and tram to our hostel and then headed out to explore while there was still a couple hours of daylight. As we were coming from Budapest where I had been wearing a jacket we were immediately shocked by the heat – not the hottest we have felt but very hot and extremely humid. Over the next several days we heard from several locals that this was the hottest temperatures they had seen in over a hundred years – yikes.
[Read More...]Rome, Italy
August 30th, 2010 by bradharbach 1 Comment »
While Will was off touring Budapest and Vienna, I made a stop in Rome to visit some old friends and to explore one of the most magnificent cities in the world. I split with Will at the airport in Barcelona before boarding a couple of quick flights to get me into Rome. Unfortunately the time I could spend in Rome was limited, but I thought that I would be ok because I was in good hands with my friends who after living in Rome for some time now have become expert tour guides of the city.
[Read More...]Budapest, Hungary and Vienna, Austria
August 24th, 2010 by willcrowthers 2 Comments »
After a whirl-wind tour of Barcelona Brad and I would make our second split of the trip. He would be taking on Rome and I would be checking out Budapest and Vienna. I had been to Rome before and wanted to see something new, but it was certainly a must for Brad to see Rome. I flew directly from Barcelona to Budapest with no worries.
Upon arriving at the tiny airport in Budapest, I moved terminals so that I could wait for my friend and colleague from Accenture Grace. Grace has done an extraordinary amount of travel herself and this time was partially for leisure and partially for volunteer work. She was there to meet with her mom and a group of 20 Junior High kids from Taiwan who would be doing a cultural exchange for about 2 weeks in Hungary.
[Read More...]
