Mike's Site

Breakfast at the Marmara Guesthouse with a good view from the terrace of the south end of the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul. Across the water is part of Istanbul in Asia. Walked to Basilica Cistern, an underground water storage facility as ornate as a cathedral. Istanbul has plenty of salt water all around but fresh…

Flew from Dubrovnik, Croatia to Istanbul this morning. Staying at a family run Guesthouse not far from the Blue Mosque. The place has 15 rooms, a nice terrace, comes with breakfast and bottled water. I upgraded to a sea view room. I have a good view of the Sea of Marmara and the Asian side…

This morning I walked the walls of old town Dubrovnik. Lots of people do this. You buy a ticket for about $15 and then you get to walk completely around the old city on the path at the top of the wall. There are lots of steps but the views are good. The walk is…

This morning it’s raining lightly. The clouds are low enough that the mountains are obscured. If I had taken the cable car today instead of yesterday there would be no view of the city from the top or even halfway up the mountain. Walked to the Bascarsija area. That’s the bazaar and where the video…

Last shots in Fira. I’m leaving this evening. Two days here is enough. Santorini is expensive and crowded with tourists. Of course, I’m a tourist so I guess I’m part of the problem. I think the story with the locks is that couples put them on to lock their dislike for each other to Santorini.…

Took a ferry from Heraklion, Crete to the island of Santorini about 30 miles north. It took two hours and I had a great front window seat. I’ve arrived too early to check in but I can sit by the pool and I can take a walk to kill time until the 3 PM check…

Today, a taxi driver I met yesterday drove me to the south coast of Crete about 60-70 miles south of Heraklion. The driver’s name is George. I couldn’t find a bus that had a route where I wanted to go and since George offered the service yesterday, I called him this morning. I wanted to…