Colorful Burano

Burano is an island near Venice that is an easy day trip by boat.  When we arrived it was clear what made this island remarkable.  Brightly colored houses reflect in the water of the canals.  The lines of laundry are noticeable not only for the old-time feel, but for the unique items that residents decided to hang out their windows. 

Rome, Venice and All the Pasta

September seems to be a recurring month of few posts for me.  This year, I have a good excuse.  We divided the month between five countries: Greece, Italy, the Czech Republic, France and the United Kingdom.  The days blurred together as Eric and I celebrated his birthday in Paros, flew to Rome to meet his parents for their vacation, and then traveled with them through Rome, Venice, Prague and Paris. 

Eric's 31st also included stuffed grape leaves, Greek meatballs and chocolate croissants.

Seeing and Understanding

Our overnight bus from Istanbul arrived three hours early in Thessaloniki.  Eric and I found ourselves deposited on the side of the road, blinking and disoriented.  After asking for directions at a nearby hotel's reception desk, we trekked towards the train station.  We passed a storefront covered in plywood and I commented, "I wonder how much of this is construction and how much is vandalism."

Eric shook his head.  "I don't think any of this is construction."

Kalambaka, Greece, our destination from Thessaloniki

Back in Greece

Though we've been in the country for two weeks, I haven't written about Greece yet because I haven't found a way to do so without sounding like I'm bragging.  "Yeah, I saw some really cool monasteries and then hopped a ferry to one of the islands.  No big deal."

That said, I love being in Greece and want to share what we've been doing.  Here are some photos from the past couple weeks of adventures with limited commentary.

We're Halfway There

Eric and I are halfway through our nine months on the road.  The time is going by so quickly, and I've been thinking about what has and hasn't changed in the past four and a half months.  It's not a very long time, but it is enough to notice a few differences.

In our apartment in Philly
My bag has since been dubbed "The Avocado."

From living out of a backpack, I've learned I can live with less.  I've also learned that I'm happy not to do so.  My current wardrobe consists of three tank tops, three short-sleeved shirts, a long-sleeved button down, a pair of shorts, a skirt, a cotton dress, a pair of jeans, a pair of gray pants, a thin sweatshirt, and a silk dress I picked up at the Chiang Mai Sunday Market.  

I Want to Go to There: Istanbul

As soon as we got off the tram at Sultanhamet, I could feel how happy I was to be in Istanbul.  I kept grinning as we walked past the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia.  After months of talking about Istanbul, we were finally here again.

Hagia Sophia at sunset

The Blue Mosque at night during Ramadan

Photos from Chiang Mai

I fell in love with Chiang Mai quickly.  The city won me over with its walls and canals, its bookstores, and its markets.  Perhaps more than anything else, though, I fell in love with Chiang Mai's food.  I joked to Eric in our first few days that I'd only taken pictures of meals.  As we got on our night train three weeks later to head back to Bangkok, I realized that in fact my food photos outnumbered all the other photos I took of Chiang Mai.  I don't have that many pictures of the city itself.

Elephant statues by the canal

(That should probably be a warning to you now.  This post is going to be mainly photos of food.  Either get yourself some fried noodles now or be prepared to eat lunch directly afterward.)