-

Alice laughed. “There’s no use trying,” she said: “one can’t believe impossible things.”
“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
-Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

–

The one thing I always liked about flying in planes was the feeling of being above it all. All my problems and worries have no place in a plane – all I needed was to look down and see how far away I was from them. Whatever issue that was ailing me became minute. In fact, it became so tiny that when I looked out the window I couldn’t even see them. Flying above the world makes you realize just how small we are and how minuscule our problems really are.

But hot air balloon rides aren’t planes. They’re far more special and magical. They don’t just remove you from your worries, they transport you to another place.

I always romanticized about taking a hot air balloon ride. Over time I had reserved a special, hidden region of my brain solely for this ride, accompanied with the fantasy and endless possibilities that go along with images of vintage hot air balloons and their fantastically wild & imaginative pilots. Pilots who dared to believe in boundless creativity and endless possibilities. I imagined how incredible it must be to be captivated by life while bobbing and sailing effortless among the clouds.

Was I really here at last? Floating along the skies in of all places, Cappadocia? Could I truly be that fortunate?

Whimsy. Wonderland. Wanderlust. Imagination.

-

I’ve been trying to come up with the words that can come close to how I felt when we took our hot air balloon ride with Royal Balloon and those words keep popping up over and over again. The truth is that buoyantly drifting through the world in the basket of a hot air balloon was wildly beyond my greatest imagination. It’s hard for me to put it into words.

It immediately brought me to a state of awe. As an adult, it’s not everyday we get to experience such grand feelings of curiosity and wonderment. I’m pretty sure that most people who love to travel (whether it’s for a day or a year), do so because they like to be captivated & enchanted by new places. There is nothing quite like arriving in a new town. Even though you’ll do some of the same things that you’ll do on any other normal day (eat, sleep, figure out public transport) there is something special about that moment. The moment you arrive – step off the train, the bus, the plane or out of the cab – and look at the world around you for the first time.

In that moment anything is possible. Anything.

-

The hot air balloon ride was like that – an overwhelmingly childlike feeling where everything old was new again. A feeling that anything is possible.

The 90 minute balloon ride was perfect in every conceivable way.  Desperately I tried to etch every moment of it in my brain and place in a folder reserved for curious wonder and wild imaginings. In the folder where upon entrance I hear the swing & sleaze of Paris cabaret songs circa 1930. A folder where the impossible doesn’t exist. A folder filed under three simple words – “Anything Is Possible”.

Discard the daily routine for a few minutes, let your mind wander and enjoy a flight of fancy with impossible possibilities.

–

—

–

I hope you enjoyed this photo essay from our hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia. 

If you get the chance to go on a hot air ballon ride – GO! You won’t be disappointed.

We have another photo essay coming out next week from the same flight with a write up from Randy that includes all the technical details about the flight and about our time with Royal Balloon. We had such a fantastic time with them that we can’t recommend them enough. If you are in Cappadocia and planning on taking to the skies make them your go-to hot air balloon specialists. They take care of everything so that you can just enjoy the ride – think gorgeous breakfast buffet, bubbly champagne & some of the most amazing moments you’ll experience in your life. In other words, Royal Balloon will treat you like royalty.

The world would be quite boring without imagination. If you’ve got a favorite photo or feel inspired to imagine ridiculous things please let me know in the comments. I love ridiculous!

-

*Get the first glimpse of our new travel photos & posts! Subscribe by email and get new travel articles delivered straight to your inbox:

Or add us to your favorite feed reader by clicking the orange icon!

*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website, Nariko’ s Nest Weddings & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you do want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

Somewhere In Time is a weekly travel photo from around the world. Enjoy!

Hot Air Balloon. Hot Air Balloooooooooon…

Just saying the words conjures up notions of faraway exotic illusions.  What is it about this magical mystery flying machine that turns me into mush?

Hot + Air + Balloon = Imaginative Thoughts of Wanderlust.

There is nothing else in the world that can bring the same amount of whimsy & travel fascination as a hot air balloon. Sure, planes are cool but they come with TSA & screaming kids; trains are decidedly romantic but no, even they still don’t entrance the way a hot air balloon can. Could a submarine steal the show? For some maybe but no, still not the same. Plus they come with that whole water pressure issue.

I just can’t think of anything else in the world that lights my fancy like the image of a hot air balloon floating effortlessly around the world. It makes my thoughts dance.

It’s my little travel pie in the sky, if you will.

I always dreamed of taking a hot air balloon ride but I never had the chance to make it a reality. Until we went to Turkey.

When we headed to Cappadocia on the 12 hour overnight bus I had a pretty strong gut feeling that we were in for something special. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect – maybe some hiking, some late night photo walks and plates of delicious Turkish yogurt.

I can’t explain it fully – but you know when you get a feeling about a place? You can’t describe it, you can’t put your finger on it but somewhere deep inside there is something brewing – a rumbling, a magnetic force, a calling. Sometimes that one indescribable feeling is all you need to get you going or keep you going.

I had this feeling about Cappadocia. It captured me, enraptured me, kept me dreaming & wanting to walk down the next, dusty alleyway.

Then one morning I saw the hot air balloons floating over the Tim Burton-esque landscape and I knew of all places – this should be it. This should be the place I do mental cartwheels among the clouds and effortlessly skip hand-in-hand with the delicate wind.

It was on a wing and a prayer that I sent an email to Royal Balloon asking if they might like a review of their balloon ride in exchange for a couple seats on their flying fantasy machine known as the hot air balloon. I pushed send, crossed my fingers and then tried not to check my email every 5 minutes.

A few hours later we were booked in for a 5am flight the next day!

I will never forget the feeling – sitting in our little cave hotel room, listening to the call to prayer and realizing that I was going up in a hot air balloon the next day – in Cappadocia, Turkey, no less! It was surreal.

Talk about a dream come true – it was unbelievable. Better than I ever could have imagined. The hot air balloon was the perfect vessel for true escape – letting go of everything yet still being awed at the same time.

In the space of a couple hours I saw Cappadocia in a completely different light and grew more enchanted with it as each minute that passed. I now can’t imagine what it would’ve been like if we didn’t go.

Although the last few weeks have been some of the hardest for my family I’ve been daydreaming back to that day when we floated along the Turkish skies like spellbound children reading their favorite fairytale.

Even on land the memory is still a great escape. The people at Royal Balloon were equally fantastic, especially our pilot Suat, who was beyond compare – knowledgeable, confident & funny.

Behind the scenes I’ve been editing a lot of photos from our hot air balloon ride for 2 upcoming photo essays. This one is a favorite of mine which is why I decided to feature it in the Somewhere In Time series. Please be sure to stay tuned because there are a LOT more hot air balloon photos to come along with some great write ups by Randy.

Until then, I hope you enjoy my little flight of fancy.

*Get the first glimpse of our new travel photos & posts! Subscribe by email and get new travel articles delivered straight to your inbox:

Or add us to your favorite feed reader by clicking the orange icon!

*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website, Nariko’ s Nest Weddings & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you do want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

Somewhere In Time is a weekly travel photo from around the world. Enjoy!

As part of our partnership with Hostelbookers last year we were able to stay at one of the coolest hostels I have ever been in – Wombats in Vienna, Austria – which is where I took this photo.

I was walking around taking photos for our review when I spotted this lovely girl in the hat. Her cheekbones were beautiful and she was just so carelessly cool – just like the person I dream of being when I travel. Instead I am always the person who ends up wearing the same grungy outfit for a week straight and has no cool hats.

The minute I saw her, this is how I imagined the scene. It didn’t look like this at all in the hostel lobby – there were people checking in, checking email & chitchatting the night away but when I saw her in this hat with that gorgeous bone structure I saw Noir and nothing else. If only someone had been smoking a cigarette!

Immediately after I noticed the man across from her, enamored by her I’m sure, the girls standing behind her like anonymous shadows. (In a past life I’m quite sure they were probably her minions.) Then lastly, there was the guy checking his email on the left. The scene was so 1940′s Noir yet modern at the same time – I couldn’t resist it. She inspired this entire photo and captivated me instantly.

The lighting wasn’t as dramatic as this in the hostel so I created the look I saw in my head during the editing process. I love this photo because it will always remind me of this moment. The moment I stood in the middle of a Viennese hostel and in an instant watched 80 years of time disappear into the easy going style of a beautiful girl.

I have also decided that I really need to add a hat to my traveling wardrobe…

*********************************************************************************************************

Stephanie the Travel Chica asked if I could start including technical data in the Somewhere In Time write ups. I’m not sure if I am going to do that for every SIT photo but here are the technical specs for this shot: Aperture  f/2.8, Shutter Speed 1/50, ISO 800.

I always thought adding technical data would detract from the photos in this series but let me know what you think about it.

Also, if you’re interested you can read our review of Wombats Hostel. We loved it!

*Get the first glimpse of our new travel photos & posts! Subscribe by email and get new travel articles delivered straight to your inbox:

Or add us to your favorite feed reader by clicking the orange icon! ;

*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website, Nariko’ s Nest Weddings & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you do want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

If you loved some of the yearly round up posts that were going around the blogosphere then you’re sure to love this new 7 Super Shots Photo round table put together by our friends at HostelBookers.

We were asked to put together a photo post by choosing photos that we loved and that fit within the categories chosen by HostelBookers.

They started the game off on Friday by putting together the first Super Shot photo meme and we’re participating by choosing our 7 super shots and then nominating 5 other great travel photographers that we would love to see participate.

We’ve chosen:

Ken Kaminesky, Drifting Focus/Traveling Tomboy, Ordinary Traveler, OverYonderlust & GoSeeWrite.

To follow along on twitter, check out the hashtag #7SuperShots.

To see the round up HostelBookers put together and the rules and guidelines check out: 7 Super Shots

Without further ado here are the categories and some of our favorite photos. Hope you like ‘em!

1. A Photo That Takes Our Breath Away

Flames of Florence – Florence, Italy

This has always been one of my favorite in-the-moment travel photos. Walking toward the station, we passed this street and photographically, the couple couldn’t have been more ideally placed. They were bathed in the glowing store front light perfectly. It was also drizzling rain, just enough to create steam on the cobblestones and  the perfect atmosphere for sprouting love. His enchantment and nervous tension was unmistakable even from down the street. You could tell they were probably at the very beginning of what would no doubt blossom into a steamy love affair, the kind you only get a couple times in life, maybe only once. The streets of Florence are so old and full of life, I wonder how many people have stood in this spot with this very same twinkle in their eye. Nothing in the world can compare to the blushing skin and golden glow of a love affair about to burst into wild flames.

Learn more about the Flames of Florence.

2. A Photo That Makes Us Laugh or Smile

The Bacchus Band – Pontassieve, Italy

This is one from the personal archives and I can’t help but smile every time I see it. The photo is from dinner on the last night we stayed at the Cerreto Libri farm in Tuscany. We volunteered as WWOOF’ers and spent two of the best weeks in our traveling lives working the grape harvest on the farm. The days were long and laborious and we spent the nights cooking, talking, laughing and drinking endless amounts of wine that the WWOOF’ers two years before us made. We were exhausted and dirty 95% of the time and honestly it’s hard to remember a time that I was so happy. Every night was an absolute blast and on this last night, those of us that remained decided to dine by candlelight. And drink.

Learn about more of our WWOOFing adventures in Italy & Serbia.

3. A Photo That Makes Us Dream

The Crossing – Village of Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy

Cinque Terre is the place where Italian travel dreams are realized. Step into any of the five towns that cling to the sea and you’ll feel as if you waltzed right into the pages of a guidebook, only 100x better. After a long hike throughout Cinque Terre we climbed a hill and turned a corner. Right around that corner was this amazing view of Vernazza. The stone cottage complete with wooden shutters and flower box overlooking the view of the village was too perfect to ignore. As Randy headed down the trail I paused and took this photo before continuing on the hike. We had been traveling for weeks but this was THE moment for me. I was standing right here looking at this very scene when it all sank in. I realized that I had actually changed my life to become a full time traveler and I couldn’t believe it. This photo is the moment when the dream had become a reality. Even though it’s my life, it’s still bizarre to think about it all.

Learn more about our time in traveling in Cinque Terre.

4. A Photo That Makes Us Think

Modern Magdalenes – Red Light District, Amsterdam

This is a new photo that is part of an upcoming photo essay on the Red Light District in Amsterdam. I feel slightly crass in saying this but the best part of Amsterdam was this illicit section of town. It was beautiful in all the sad, cunning and melancholic ways that happen when you have women selling themselves for money in window fronts. Taking photos in the Red Light District is NOT allowed and I heard horror stories about what happened to photographers who were caught. It was dark, I was stealth and I ended up with photos that, to me, reflected the anonymous longing of girls living on the edge. The girls were all beautiful and seemed somewhere on the cusp of something – maybe hope? One foot still lies in the possibility of a normal life while the other is dragged by cheap sex, debts owed & g-strings. I look at this girl and can’t help but think about her life when she isn’t bathed in the red light. Is she happy? Is she sad? Is her glass half empty or half full? Does she knit? What is life like being on the other side of that glass? I wish I knew her.

We’re just starting to publish Amsterdam articles now but if you’re interested you can read a bit more about about our time traveling in Amsterdam.

5. A Photo That Makes Our Mouth Water

Rialto Market Harvest – Venice, Italy

It’s hard to believe but eating in Venice can be tough. There are so many BAD restaurants and unless you’re armed with some insider knowledge there is a good chance you’ll find one or ten of them. However there is a flip side to the coin – cooking your own food. If your hostel has a kitchen or if you stay in an apartment you can completely get away from the barrage of crappy food and create your own dishes. Venice has some amazingly fresh and fantastic foods at the markets. Everything tastes like it was picked off the vine that day – it really makes you wonder how the restaurants seem to muck it up so badly. This photo makes me hungry because I love everything in it and I remember how bursting with flavor everything was. Don’t even get me started on the figgies! Plus, all this fresh food was under $10 USD! Throw in a box of macaroni and a bottle of wine and you’re set for days. Well who am I kidding? You’ll definitely need to buy more wine…

Learn more about our time traveling in Venice.

6. A Photo That Tells A Story

The Mirage – Marrakech, Morocco

It was our first night in the Marrakech medina when I spotted this unlikely duo. The medina was chaotic – people walking, vendors selling & bikes whizzing by. But these two just seemed content in their little world. Honestly I can only hope that’s the truth here – he seemed like a happy monkey but who really knows? I can only hope that this man treats him well and loves him like a friend – it seemed like he did. They gazed at each other for a while talking with their eyes in a way that old friends do when they know each other well. There was something unique between them and I couldn’t take my eyes off them. It was as if they had their own bubble in this sea of Marrakech craziness. Little did I know when I took this photo that I would walk by them about 16 hours later and this cute monkey would end up magically on my shoulder. Sadly, I didn’t have any change so I couldn’t give him any hugs but up close his owner seemed nice and the monkey looked happy.

Learn more about our time traveling in Marrakech.

7. A Photo That I’m Most Proud Of  aka My Nat Geo Photo

Backpacker Blues – Venice, Italy

This category was a tough one. Although this photo is one of my favorites, I wouldn’t say this is the one I am the most proud of. But I do think it has a classic travel feel to it. National Geographic is full of not only breathtaking landscapes but also stylish urban scenes and that’s why I chose it – hopefully it fits! We spent the day walking around Venice and getting lost in its wonderful maze of streets. The end of the day found us facing this large church as the cat-in-the-cradle moon hung low in the sky. Randy went onto the bridge for a better view and behind him a street light glowed, just hiding behind his body and his backpack. I snapped a few quick photos because I couldn’t believe my good luck in having such a perfect silhouette with this stunning Venetian sky as the backdrop.

If you want to see more photos from Venice be sure to check out our photos of Venice After Dark.

Well there they are! I hope you enjoyed them. Keep your eyes peeled for photos from other great travel bloggers as the game grows.

*Get the first glimpse of our new travel photos & posts! Subscribe by email and get new travel articles delivered straight to your inbox:

Or add us to your favorite feed reader by clicking the orange icon!

*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website, Nariko’ s Nest Weddings & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you do want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

Ok, I’ll admit it.

I’ve never been much of a resort person. Generally I prefer a more off-the-beaten path type of lodging. But I had also never stayed at an all inclusive resort before. On my recent trip to Riviera Maya, Mexico I stayed at Barceló Resort and I have to say – it was pretty awesome. In fact, they may have ruined me.

Unlike the more rustic accommodation I am used to (read: bunk rooms, no hot water and even composting toilets) Barceló does it up and does it right. From the minute you step onto the grounds you get the distinct feeling that you are officially on vacation. You know that song – It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere? Well Barceló is 5 O’Clock Somewhere ALL the time! Turns out that being at a place where you don’t have to think about anything can actually be relaxing and fun.

Traveling to new countries can be stressful but at Barceló there’s nothing to stress or get nervous about. Nope – all you need to do is enjoy the countless luxury pools, numerous water activities or simply spend your day swinging in a hammock with a good book. Looking for great views? No problem here – the water is cerulean blue and stretches as far as the eyes can see. Palm trees growing straight out of the white sand complete the utopian vacation vista. I should also mention that the crystal clear water is the *perfect* temperature. You literally walk right in – no need to adjust the internal thermometer. One day the sky was brilliant blue with puffy white clouds and the water was a beautiful jewel tones blue/green. It was so beautiful it was almost surreal. This is the type of ocean you see on travel brochures and dream about. Ocean swimming doesn’t get any better than this.

This is the kind of place you want to go when you want to just unwind, relax and not worry about anything. I swear this is where all those Corona commercials are made. I guess you could say resort vacationing has it’s definite and undeniable perks.

As for the actual lodgings the rooms are LUSH. The beds are really comfortable and thanks to Barceló I have to work about 100% harder because I have discovered what life is like with a nice bathroom. Sure a large bathtub is nice but what’s really luxurious is having a large bathtub AND a doorless, tiled shower with a large circular rain style shower head. No shower curtain to fiddle with, no shower doors to clean – instead just make a large portion of your bathroom a walk in shower – brilliant!

If you need more than margaritas and a good book to entertain you on vacation don’t worry – there’s plenty more. Families, couples & friends vacationing together will all find tons of activities – water sports, mini golf, a spa, life size games and dedicated kids pool to name just a few – to keep busy with. Plenty of food and bars to keep you occupied and a dance club called Jaguars (complete with ambient fog) if you want to take it to the next level.

If you feel like taking the stress out of travel on your trip to Riviera Maya, Barceló is a great place to do it. A few days under the palm trees with a drink in hand and swimming in the balmy waters will take the work stress off instantly.

This place is very laid back and might not be the spot for spring breakers looking to get wild because much to my surprise it remains very quiet at night. I definitely recommend it for families, seniors, couples or groups of friends that want to chill out and have fun.

From the minute I arrived I thoroughly enjoyed my stay. If I was going on a trip to Riviera Maya with my family I would definitely stay here because there is something for everyone. In fact, when I got back to the States I gave my friend Lauren the complimentary bottle of Tequila (yes you read that right – an entire free bottle of Tequila) that I received in my room. She actually said “Barceló! That’s where I stayed with my family last year. We loved it!”

True story.

I took plenty of photos that give a great overview of what it’s like to stay at Barceló. If, like many people, you’re headed south for your February break be sure to check out this great resort for your stay in Riviera Maya.

Welcome to Barcelo!

My room:

–

—

The view from my balcony:

The resort grounds:

–

The resort beaches – Look At That Water!

–

Evening photos including a snapshot from Jaguar’s Dance Club:

–

A cool panoramic that you need to click on to enlarge:

Curious about what else you can expect on your trip to Riviera Maya? Be sure to check out our other posts:

The Unbelievable Food of Riviera Maya

Visiting The Ruins of Tulum – A Must on Your Trip to Riviera Maya

Si’an Kaan Biosphere – A Relaxing Adventure on the Shores of Riviera Maya

*This trip to Riviera Maya was sponsored by the Riviera Maya tourism board but all of the views and opinions in this article are entirely ours.

Get the first glimpse of our new travel photos & posts! Subscribe by email and get new travel articles delivered straight to your inbox:

Or add us to your favorite feed reader by clicking the orange icon! 

*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website, Nariko’ s Nest Weddings & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you do want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

Insanity.

Madness.

Non-stop Circus.

Maybe if I was Allen Ginsberg I could come up with words that accurately describe the Marrakech Medina. It was by far the craziest place that I have ever seen. A constant assault on the senses, surreal & overwhelming. Mind boggling and unlike anywhere else.

Marrakech was everything I imagined it would be and more.

Snake charmers, henna hand painters, trained monkeys, hawks, doves and guinea pigs working the square for unwitting tourists. Men dressed in crazy costumes whirling their heads around non stop, people singing, dancing, playing instruments. Drum circles, Balloon sellers, Snail pushers, trinkets of all kinds, horse & carriages, scooters, mopeds, trucks, bikes and donkeys. A million people rushing around with nowhere & everywhere to go at the same time.

There you are standing in the middle of all of it, mouth agape, mind blown, watching everything around you, trying to process it all. Out of all the things to do in Marrakech one of the best (and hardest) is just taking it all in. There’s so much to see that you can get tired just witnessing it all.

Night was one of my favorite times in the Medina because the scenery starts to take on a bit of a different air – life doesn’t slow down but the insanity looks just a little more romantic under the big, dark sky. Couples walk hand in hand, people seem to relax a bit more and smile often.

Each evening an entire block of food stalls set up camp in the heart of the square. The entire buzz of the marketplace changes.

Snake charmers are replaced by locals selling wares by a propane gas lit single bulb lamp. Smoke rises from the food stalls as fantastic smells waft through the Medina luring you into these ‘pop-up’ restaurants of Marrakech. Juices, snails, nuts & dried fruits line the alleys. Grabbing a seat not only gets you dinner but the chance to sit down and watch the buying/selling, socializing, laughing, kissing, yelling and insanity as it continues on around you.

I hope you enjoy this photo essay of Marrakech after dark. They’ll be plenty more photo essays from our time in Morocco coming up over the next several weeks. In a crazy place like Marrakech it’s almost impossible to stop shooting.

–

-

–

—

This photo essay was part of our collaboration with Low Cost Holidays. If you are interested in traveling to Morocco be sure to check out their cheap holidays to Marrakech for great deals on city breaks.

*Get the first glimpse of our new travel photos & posts! Subscribe by email and get new travel articles delivered straight to your inbox:

Or add us to your favorite feed reader by clicking the orange icon!

*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website, Nariko’ s Nest Weddings & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you do want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

When Beth and Brooke, of Brooke vs. the World, decided they wanted to take the Bosphorus River Cruise offered by Get Your Guide, I said, “sure, let’s do it” and then went back to the tedious task of cleaning out my email inbox.

At one point, I think Beth read aloud the details of the tour, but, apparently, I wasn’t listening.

So, I was a bit surprised (in a good way) when I found out at the start of our four hour adventure that the tour was actually broken into two parts: a trip to the famed spice market and then the river cruise. However, since we took took the tour on Turkey’s Republic Day–October 29–and the spice market was closed, we got the alternate tour, a guided bus journey through Istanbul before embarking on the two hour river cruise.

Because we had already visited the spice market the day before, I was okay with our alternative tour. (If you are booking any Istanbul tour that involves the spice market, keep in mind that it is closed on Sunday and holidays.) As we traversed Old Istanbul around the Gold Horn Bay in our modern bus, we received a lot of information about the city, including historical details and fun facts.

For instance, do you know how many people cross between Istanbul Asia into Istanbul Europe on a daily basis?

Three million!

Apparently, the Asian side is more residential, “cleaner and greener,” while the European area contains much of Istanbul’s historic attractions and is where a lot of commerce takes place.

Istanbul is also the only city built on two continents, and guess what divides the continents?

If you said the Bosphorus Strait, you would be 100 percent right! It stretches 20 miles from the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea cutting Istanbul in half.

*     *     *

Motoring up the Bosphorus revealed a side of Istanbul that I didn’t notice on land: it’s pretty dang hilly. In fact, according to our tour guide, there are seven major hills in Istanbul, each one playing its own role in the cityscape.

On board, we bounced freely from the upper open-air deck to the much warmer lower enclosed deck taking photos and gawking at the scenery. Turkish flags, tiny to huge, were hung throughout the city to commemorate the holiday, adding splashes of red and white to an already colorful backdrop.

The cruise starts just south of the Bosphorus Bridge (First Bosphorus Bridge) and takes a u-turn under the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge (Second Bosphorus Bridge). Motoring under the magnificent suspension bridges is a treat within itself, but the city really out did itself by hanging gigantic Turkish flags from each bridge.

Just like the bus tour, the river cruise is also narrated by your tour guide. The first part of the tour takes place along Istanbul Europe, while the second part (after the aforementioned u-turn) travels along the Asian side.

Know Before You Go

* Wind got you down? Wait until after the u-turn at the second bridge to avoid windy conditions in the open areas of the boat, because the boat starts heading downwind on its way back to port.

* Sticker shock? You can buy drinks and snacks on board, but you will pay a higher price. Coffee was about $2.50 and a beer was $5.

* Sea Sick? We didn’t have any issues with getting sea sick, and the river was pretty rough, but if you are prone to motion sickness you may want to take precautions.

A Note From Beth:

I loved this cruise. It was really relaxing and easy going and a nice way to learn about the city and see it from a different perspective. There’s just something nice about being on a boat that makes you slow down and enjoy life. Then there’s the photos – shooting on the boat was awesome. There were so many flags and other boats going by – it was definitely a romantic tour in that sense. It wasn’t just me feeling the vibe either – several couples cuddled and kissed on deck. If you like the look of these photos I want to point out I shot them with my new Lensbaby lens! I really fell in love with this lens in Turkey and the pictures always remind me of far off memories. I was actually given an entire kit from the good folks at Lensbaby and I’ll be giving a full review of it in an upcoming post and then I will also post a photo essay of Lensbaby shots around Europe so be sure to stay tuned.

We want to also be sure to thank GetYourGuide.com for providing us with this awesome tour. If you’re headed to a new place be sure to check out what they have on offer for tours. We’ll be taking a few more with them in the upcoming days and will give a full report.

Hope you like the photos!

*Get the first glimpse of our new travel photos & posts! Subscribe by email and get new travel articles delivered straight to your inbox:

Or add us to your favorite feed reader by clicking the orange icon! 

*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website, Nariko’ s Nest Weddings & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you do want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

If you’re headed to the Riviera Maya in Mexico for a relaxing vacation, floating down the quiet, peaceful waters in the Si’an Kaan Biosphere is a perfect excursion to add to your itinerary.

Si’an Kaan literally means Born In Heaven and as you roll up the serene coast you’ll see why. Everything is peaceful, quiet & relaxing. It’s kind of like a really great yoga class minus the sweat and awkward positions. Instead of trying to get the perfect spot in class to lie down your yoga mat, you and your friends or family can take off on a boat ride through a Mayan ecological biosphere. You can feel the wind in your hair and the droplets of water as they splash around you.

After a few minutes boating through the open water in the reserve the guide will navigate the boat through a small opening in the tall reeds. Try to transport yourself back in time several hundred years  – you’ve just arrived to the waterways of the Mayans.

As the boat winds through the small, connected lagoon system you’ll learn about the history of Si’an Kaan and why it was so important to the Mayans.

The waterways of Si’an Kaan were created by the Mayans for use in transporting goods. As a result there are several old Mayan buildings within the reserve. You’ll be able to walk around and in what used to be the Mayan Customs House. I didn’t walk in too far because there are a lot of bats residing there now but in any case it was incredible to see an actual Mayan building that once played an important role in the history of Si’an Kaan reserve.

After exploring the Customs House you’ll be able to enjoy the most relaxing part of the tour which is the float down stream. You get to jump into what has to be some of the prettiest blue water in the world and while using your life jacket as a diaper (yes, literally putting your legs through the arms) you’ll bob through the reserve. Relaxed yet?

While bobbing away you can take the time to look for one of the 300 hundred species of birds in the reserve, chit chat with your friends, lie back and look at the sky or you can reflect on the fact that you are floating down an actual Mayan waterway. You can daydream about the canoes and people that floated down this lagoon hundreds of years before you.

Don’t worry – you don’t need to swim. The slow, peaceful pace of the current guides you along the biosphere and gives you plenty of time to notice the unique beauty in this area – enough to grant it a spot on the Unesco World Heritage list.

After your relaxing float you’ll get to head down a wooden walkway checking out the biosphere from land and on your return to shore you’ll be able to partake in another really unique activity – a walk through the jungle! This easy going walk will bring you to a tower perched over the trees which you are welcome to climb to get an overall view of this special place from above.

All in all, everyone had a great time on this tour, including me. I know I’ve said it before, but it was really relaxing. We took our tour with Si’an Kaan Tours and the tour was provided to us by the tourism board of Riviera Maya. The guides were friendly and knowledgeable and increased our understanding of why this area is so important culturally and ecologically to the Mayan people today. I highly recommend this tour if you are in the Riviera Maya and want an educational yet easy going activity.

In the photo’s below there are an array of characters – all of the hysterical bloggers I got to take this trip with: Roni Weiss, Nomadic Matt, Ryan Van Duzer, Ryan Whaley our lovely PR host, Itzel Mejia from the Riviera Maya tourism board and our Mayan tour guides. Carol Cain from New York City Mama was also on this journey but her and I were sitting next to each other and so I don’t have a picture of her! But I have many photos of her from other Riviera Maya adventures that will be coming out soon.

*Get the first glimpse of our new travel photos & posts! Subscribe by email and get new travel articles delivered straight to your inbox:

Or add us to your favorite feed reader by clicking the orange icon!

*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website, Nariko’ s Nest Weddings & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you do want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

As some of you might know last week I was flown to Riviera Maya for a few days of fun in the sun with some other fellow travel bloggers – Carol Cain, Matt Kepnes, Ryan van Duzer & Roni Weiss.

We had an AMAZING time. Riviera Maya was far more beautiful than I imagined and there are a ton of activities to do in the area from zip-lining to visiting Mayan ruins. In the next few weeks I’ll be putting out a ton of blog posts that show the beauty of the area and why Riviera Maya is must see destination for your travel bucket list.

One thing that really blew me away was the quality of food we ate. I’ve spent plenty of time in other regions of Mexico and I’ve never had food as good as what we ate in Riviera Maya. In fact, I don’t often eat food this good anywhere in the world! Not only were all of the dishes visually appealing but the flavors were creative and tasted truly fantastic. All of the food was very high quality and prepared perfectly. Normally vegetarian dishes aren’t that tasty in places that cater more towards meat eaters but I didn’t have any problem getting vegetarian food and to top it off – it was extremely good. I was completely surprised at how good everything was so if you’re a veggie and you’re headed to this part of Mexico – don’t worry – you’ll find plenty to eat!

Wondering what it is your looking at and where you can get it? Here’s a description of eat plate including the name of the restaurant:

*Get the first glimpse of our new travel photos & posts! Subscribe by email and get new travel articles delivered straight to your inbox:

Or add us to your favorite feed reader by clicking the orange icon!

*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website, Nariko’ s Nest Weddings & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you do want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

Somewhere In Time is a weekly travel photo from around the world. Enjoy!

This week’s photo is a personal one. When we went to Rome the first thing (and only thing) we did was meet up with Brigida and Gina. Gina (she is sitting in this photo) was married to my father’s cousin Emilio and Brigida is their daughter. When I was 12 years old Brigida came to the U.S. to meet everyone but that was the only time I had met her previously.

We only had very loose directions to meet her at a train station and I didn’t even know what she would look like or what she would be wearing. As luck would have it, we walked off the train and right into big hugs. We both saw each other and just kind of knew that we were looking for each other instantaneously. We went back to their condo where Gina cooked an amazing Italian meal for us and then later in the day Brigida took us for a tour of the Vatican because they only live about a 10 minute walk from it. While we were there it poured and the entire square vacated except for a couple girls and their mother who were dancing in the rain. It’s a memory that I’ll never forget and I have a picture too! It too will be a part of the Somewhere In Time series eventually – it’s just not ready yet. I should also mention that Brigida speaks basic English and Gina doesn’t speak any. We don’t speak Italian. Looking back, I can’t remember any language difficulties and the conversation always flowed but I’m not even sure how.

This photo was taken in their living room. About 10 mins prior to this Gina decided to call my Auntie Adele (my father’s sister) in the States. Adele is one of the few Italian speakers in our family and her and Gina talk regularly. I remember I was sitting on the couch with Randy and Gina was sitting in the exact same spot as the photo talking on the phone. I heard some scuffling and I thought Gina was laughing at something with my aunt. I couldn’t understand the conversation so I had no idea what they were talking about. Then I looked up and saw that Gina was crying. Not just little tears but big, sad, heavy tears. Brigida told me they were talking about their husbands – both who have passed away. Gina was crying, my Auntie Adele was also crying, Brigida started crying and then I started crying. I couldn’t watch as people I loved cried across continents and not cry myself. In an instant, I felt overwhelmingly sad – I missed my Uncle Ben and I knew that Gina & Brigida missed Emilio immensely. After a few minutes, we all collected themselves and stopped crying. Which was good for everyone and especially good for Randy. It’s one thing for me to sit and cry with people I am related to – even if I’ve met them only once before but for Randy it’s a totally different ballpark. He hasn’t heard stories of Uncle Emilio, he hasn’t spent an entire childhood with one of my favorite uncles – Uncle Ben. He’s not Italian – he’s not used to the crazy dinners, eat until you can’t eat anymore, the big laughs & big cries of the typical overly emotional Italian family. Italians and Italian-Americans are very genuine -they don’t hold their emotions back in any sense. My father can’t even read his birthday cards in public -and by that I mean around the kitchen table. He gets too emotional so he actually takes them into the bathroom or his office, shuts the door and reads them. Then he saves them. FOREVER.

I felt bad for Randy that we were all suddenly crying out of nowhere and he was trapped on the couch not knowing what to do or even what was going on. As usual, he handled it like a champ. I’m telling you if you go to Italy and you happen to be Italian be prepared. The emotions are going to hit you at some point. There is no escaping it. If you are visiting family you might as well buy stock in Kleenex before you go. It’s just the way it is. After the crying stopped Brigida had decided that it was the perfect time to shake things up by bringing their homemade Nocino onto the scene. This was a welcomed relief for everyone and we all took sips of this grow-hair-on-your-chest-in-two-seconds liquor. Nocino is made from unripened walnuts and this stuff is intense! Seriously, I could barely get down more than a sip. It is very, very strong. This particular bottle was made 10 years ago and you can see a little goes a far way. They were extremely proud of their homemade Nocino and it lightened the mood instantly. I took this photo as Brigida was explaining to us what Nocino was made of. By that point even Gina was back to her smiling, beautiful self, thinking of happy memories before Emilio died when they all made the Nocino together. In a strange way this is a little family portrait of them all.

*Get the first glimpse of our new travel photos & posts! Subscribe by email and get new travel articles delivered straight to your inbox:

Or add us to your favorite feed reader by clicking the orange icon!

*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website, Nariko’ s Nest Weddings & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you do want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!