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    Sümela Monastery

    Though our blog may appear otherwise, I promise our life is more than travel excursions! Things have been crazy here as we prepare to close the school year and our time in Turkey. I’ll try to share some of that soon, but our travel photos are a lot more fun and I want to write about these memories before I forget the details.

     

    Sumela Monastery

     

    We had a long weekend the first weekend in May. David and I traveled with three friends to the northeast region of Turkey on the Black Sea. (The area is called Pontus in the Bible and is mentioned in Acts 2:9 and 1 Peter 1:1.) It was an incredible weekend away in the mountains. We love to explore cities when we travel, but there is something so refreshing and special about the countryside, especially in Turkey.

    We left Ankara after school on Thursday and stayed the night in Trabzon at Anıl Hotel. Another thing I love about Turkey: there is always someone looking out for you. We booked two rooms for the five of us. When we arrived, there was some confusion about sleeping arrangements. They apologized not having the correct room configurations. After some back and forth in our limited Turkish and their limited English, I realized the hotel man was trying to put the four girls together and David in another room (which would have been fine if a 4-person room was available). I told him David and I were married, and all was made right. It was sweet of him to consider our virtue.

     

    Trabzon at night

     

    Even though Trabzon has over 1.2 million people, it was not a super modern city. We didn’t spend much time there. After breakfast at the hotel, we drove to 30 miles south to Sümela Monastery. The drive along the Altındere valley was gorgeous. We loved all of the green and the mountains!

    The Greek Orthodox monastery was first built into the cliffside in 386 AD. The hike up the mountain was just over a half a mile long with a rise of 820 feet. Whew! Entrance cost 15TL or was free with the Müze Kart. Only a small portion of the monastery was open to the public. The views were incredible and the Rock Church frescos (dating back to the 1300’s!) were amazingly well preserved. After exploring the monastery and hiking all the way back down, we drove up a winding road to a lookout point.

     

    Black Sea mountains

     

    Purple flower

     

    Steep walking path

     

    Sumela Monastery

     

    Sumela Monastery stairs

     

    Sumela Monastery

     

    Clay roof

     

    Sumela Monastery

     

    Leah at the Sumela Library

     

    Friends in Sumela

     

    Frescos

     

    Rock Church frescos

     

    Sumela frescos

     

    David in Sumela Monastery

     

    Plants growing out of rocks

     

    Sumela Monastery

     

    After Sümela, we drove back through Trabzon and then east through Rize towards Ayder.

     

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    Rome, Italy

    Spring Break Day 7 & 8: Rome, Italy
    We left Florence and arrived in Rome by train around 5:30 on Friday. We had all of Saturday to see Rome and flew back to Ankara very early on Easter Sunday.

     

    Rome park

     

    Where we stayed
    We spent two nights at Sleeping Beauty Guesthouse. The room was large, clean, and the staff was friendly and incredibly helpful.

    By the time we made it to our hostel, I was exhausted and my feet were killing me. (Wear good shoes when you travel!!!) We got dinner, then came back to the room. David turned on the news and saw that the Pope was at the Colosseum for an Easter lighting ceremony. I stayed in, but he went to check it out. He ended up missing the Pope by about 20 minutes.

     

    Colosseum with moon

     

    Before we left for our trip, we pre-booked 8:45 am tickets to the Vatican and signed up for the breakfast inclusion, because it was the only advanced deal left. It actually worked out great. It was a typical American continental spread, and it gave us enough energy to make it through the afternoon. We walked through the many halls of the Vatican, saw the Sistine Chapel (gorgeous!), and stopped in Saint Peter’s Basilica.

    We had a rainy day for touring Rome. (The gelato did make up for it!)

    After the Vatican, we visited the Colosseum. David was especially excited because his mom had visited it and told him about it in homeschool. It’s kind of a morbid place to tour, if you think about it. So many people were murdered and martyred inside. I’ve been studying Romans this semester with my Bible study group, and it made me think about how greatly Paul longed to encourage the body in Rome.

    After the Colosseum, we searched for the Secret Vatican Keyhole. It’s nowhere near the Vatican, but gives you the most amazing, aligned view of St. Peter’s! The hole looks through The Knights of Malta gardens. We found other beautiful garden views in a nearby convent.

    Where we ate:
    At the suggestions of our hostel, we ate at Spaccio Pasta and Trattoria Pizzeria Da Simonetta. Both were walking distance from where we stayed. Neither were particularly amazing, but were cheap and tasty. Spaccio seemed more like a chain restaurant. Simonetta was a rustic, local restaurant. I had a delicious eggplant casserole dish. The owner was so proud when I told him how good it was and told me his mama made it.

     

    Vatican breakfast

     

    Vatican

     

    Vatican hall

    Vatican art

     

    St. Peter's Basilica

     

    Gelato cone

     

    Colosseum sign

     

    Colosseum rocks

     

    Colosseum maze

     

    Colosseum cross

     

    David and Leah in Colosseum

     

    David looking through keyhole

     

    The Knights of Malta keyhole

     

    David in front of old door

     

    Orange tree through hole

     

    We had a stressful time getting back home. We experienced a bit of reverse culture shock in dealing with the shuttle to the airport. Terravision leaves right when it says it does. I don’t know what we were thinking… I guess we were used to people loading around the time on the ticket, since that’s usually what happens in Turkey. We missed our shuttle, but fortunately they let us hop on the next bus an hour later. That put us at the airport just an hour before our international flight. We sprinted through the airport to check our bags and stood in the longest customs line we’d ever seen. (We should have known better since it was Easter weekend!) By the grace of God we made it through and safely back to Ankara.

     

    We loved our trip to Paris, Venice, Florence, and Rome. It was David’s and my first Europe trip on our own! We came back to school refreshed. It was the trip of a lifetime!

     

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    Florence, Italy

    Spring Break Day 6 & 7: Florence
    We said goodbye to Venice in the morning, hopped on a train, and pulled into Florence around noon.

    We were supposed to stay at an AirBnB spot, but unfortunately the owner overbooked. The man was kind and found us a difference place to stay and covered the cost difference. He even met us at the train station and walked us to the other B&B. We stayed at Belfiore40. It was okay… not nearly as clean and private as the AirBnB place looked, but it worked fine for a night. The owner was nice and it included a basic continental breakfast.

    After we dropped our bags, per the AirBnB guy’s recommendation, we headed to Mercato Centrale. The man was a food writer. He told us he’d recently rated Sud Pizzeria as the best pizza in Florence. Who were we to argue with that? Mercato Centrale is an incredible place. The main floor is a huge farmers market and there are the most amazing artisan restaurants upstairs.

    We hung around Mercato Centrale and its free wi-fi for a while, then walked to Galleria dell’Accademia. Our friends recommended that we pre-purchased our tickets online, which we did. You should, too. The line was super long. Overall, we thought the Academia was a bit dull, aside from the David statue. But seeing the David is one of those once in a lifetime sort of things, so, when in Florence! We also saw the Duomo Baptistry and the Ponte Vecchio bridge (built in 996!).

    The next day we visited the Duomo. The church is massive! The outside is ornate and just stunning. We were super bummed the dome was under renovations, but we were able to visit the cathedral. (We decided against walking up the tower. At least, my feet did.) Florence is a beautiful city. We spent the rest of the day walking around, taking in a panorama view of the city from the Piazzale Michelangelo lookout point, and then more time in Mercato Centrale.

    If I could change one thing about our time in Florence, we would have bypassed the less than impressive restaurant our first night and spent more time in Mercato Centrale. We went back for a progressive final meal. Per a recommendation from another friend, we got a panino bollito sandwich with salsa verde from Nerbone in the lower level. Oh so good. After that, we went upstairs and got a meat and cheese plate, fresh pasta, and tiramisu. Mmm. Florence, I will forever remember you for your food.

    Enjoy the photos!

     

    Venice water

     

    Mercato Centrale

     

    Sud pizza

     

    Sud pizza makers

     

    David with pizza

     

    David statue

     

    David statue

     

    Florence street

     

    Duomo

     

    Duomo cathedral frescos

     

    Duomo Cathedral

     

    Duomo tower

     

    Duomo baptistry ceiling

     

    Nerbone

     

    Nerbone sandwhich

     

    Cheese and meat plate

     

    David with tiramisu

     

    Florence view

     

    View of Florence

     

    Florence sidewalk art

     

    Leah in Florence

     

    Next up – our final stop: Rome!

     

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    Venice on David’s Birthday

    Spring Break Day Five: Venice – David’s Birthday!
    David is one lucky April Fool and gets to celebrate his birthday all around the world. Last year, we were in Slovenia and Croatia on his birthday. This year, it was Venice!

     

    David's birthday

     

    We had our traditional birthday coffee to start the morning, this year with tiramisu! We found a great little restaurant on a canal and soaked up the sunshine as the gondolas rowed by.

    Speaking of gondolas, there’s an official city rate of €80 for a gondola ride. We didn’t have enough to pay for that, but fortunately I came across a great tip! I follow an author on Instagram and saw her post about a €2 gondola ferry. Now, it quite literally takes you from one side of the canal to the other and lasts all of about 60 seconds… BUT! For €2? That, we can do.

    We spent David’s birthday walking around the island and browsing the cute little markets and shops. We had the most amazing pasta for lunch at a hole-in-the-wall joint.

    After lunch, we visited Saint Mark’s Basilica. (Free admission!) Photos weren’t allowed inside the sanctuary, but it was incredible! I spent just as much time looking at the floor as I did everything else. The tiling inside of the church is remarkable. There are so many colors and patterns and designs. (Just Google Image search it!) You can get a glimpse of it from the photos I took just outside the sanctuary.

    We also took the elevator up to the top of Saint Mark’s Campanil for a great view of Venice.

    It was a relaxing day and such a beautiful place to wander!

     

    Venice canal

     

    Gondola Ferry

     

    Leah on a gondola

     

    Venice gondola ferry

     

    David holding Del Moro Pasta

     

    Gondola going under a bridge

     

    David with a Davide apron

     

    Leah on Venice bridge

     

    St. Mark's Basilica

     

    St. Mark's Basilica floor

     

    St. Mark's Basilica tiles

     

    St. Mark's Basilica Ceiling

     

    View from St Mark's Campanile

     

    View from St Mark's Campanile

     

    View from St Mark's Campanile

     

    Leah and David by a Venice canal

     

    Where We Ate
    • Ristorante Florida for breakfast. Good coffee and free Wi-Fi.
    • Dal Moro’s Pasta for lunch. Man, this place was so good. They make everything fresh on the spot. David got a red sauce on his pasta and I had pesto. They give it to you in Chinese take-out boxes with a ton of parm sprinkled on top. They also tell you to eat it quickly because it’s best fresh and the taste changes. (And they were right! There was so much we could barely finish, and by the time we reached the bottom of our boxes, the consistency of the pasta had changed.)
    • Ristorante Santo Stefano for a fantastic birthday dinner. David ordered a really great steak and I had one of the menu dinners with the fish.

    Venice Tips:
    1. Avoid all piddles in the street. (There are a ton of dogs in Venice.)
    2. Save money by finding the €2 Traghesso Santo Sofia gondola ferry.
    3. This is an everywhere tip, but buy bottled water from the grocery store. Instead of paying €3 or more, buy the 1 liter bottles for as little as €0,65!

     

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    Our First Views of Venice

    Spring Break Day Four: Venice, Italy Part One

    Venice is a dream! We took a bus from the Treviso airport and arrived in Venice in the early afternoon. We hopped on a water ferry and made our way down the canals.

    I could gush on and on about Venice. It was my favorite city on our trip. Could a place be any more picturesque? (…The answer is probably yes. This place was swarming with tourists. I came across this CNN article shortly after we returned titled “Are We Loving Venice to Death?”) Were it not For the mass of tourists, I would have sold all that I own and moved here on the spot. The canals, the little shops, the colors, the winding streets… I think we should make it a tradition to visit an island on spring break. Being near the water is good for my soul.

     

    Venice view

     

    As what I feel might be a right of passage for everyone visiting Venice, we got thoroughly lost before we found our hotel. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around, grabbing a bite to eat here and there, and taking it all in. The weather was much warmer than Paris and it was bright and sunny!

     

    Gondolas

     

    Venice canal

     

    Venice laundry

     

    Venice masks

     

    St. Mark's Square

     

    St Mark's Basilica

     

    Venice laundry

     

    Venice canal

     

    Venice street and canal

     

    Where we stayed:
    We reserved two nights through Booking.com at Hotel San Maurizio. We enjoyed our stay. The staff was friendly, it had fast wi-fi, and it had the cleanest bathroom ever! Cons: the walls were a little thin and we could hear the conversations of the people in the next rooms; the bedding was a bit dated, but clean. San Maurizio was around the corner from a store that sold two scoops of gelato for €2,50 and right across from a serve-by-the-slice take out pizza place. Venice is very small, so everything is within walking distance.

    Where we ate:
    We ate pizza and pasta for lunch at the Art Blu Cafe and had pizza for dinner from the place mentioned above (not sure of the name!).

     

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    Paris: Notre Dame, Lock Bridge, and More!

    Spring Break Day Three: Our last day in Paris
    We packed in the sights again on our last day. Fortunately, the skies were clear! It made a HUGE difference in getting around town.

    First stop: Notre Dame during the morning this time. I was a little skeptical about seeing it again. When we saw Notre Dame our first night, we walked right in the doors. This time there was a long line out front. However, the line moved really quickly, and it was so worth seeing the stained glass windows during the day time. They were stunning.

     

    Notre Dame

     

    Notre Dame gargoyles

     

    Notre Dame Entry

     

    Notre Dame chandeliers and windows

     

    Notre Dame window

     

    Notre Dame stained glass

     

    Notre Dame candles

     

    Even though it was on our list of things to see, we didn’t realize the lock bridge was right behind Notre Dame! We ran into it on accident. We did not leave our own lock. We contemplated writing on someone else’s lock, but it just didn’t feel right. Oh well! We ran into a wedding shoot while we were there.

     

    Lock bridge with Notre Dame in back

     

    Lock Bridge in Paris

     

    Paris lock bridge

     

    Wedding at lock bridge

     

    After that, we hopped on the metro to see the Eiffel again:

     

    Us with the Eiffel Tower

     

    Next, we took the metro to see the Moulin Rouge. It was in a sketchy part of town. We got off the metro, took a photo, then got back on the metro. We went back across town to get some dinner.

     

    Moulin Rouge

     

    We ate an incredible cheese fondue and followed it up with crème brûlée. And since we had never had them before, we stopped in a shop for some macaroons. (Chocolate was our favorite. It was like a brownie!)

     

    Macaroons

     

    We had hoped to find a cheap river cruise to take us back over by the Eiffel, but none were to be had.

     

    Paris river at night

     

    So it was back on the metro to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. Did you know it twinkles on the hour? That was a fun surprise.

     

    Eiffel Tower at night

     

    Eiffel Tower twinkling

     

    Looking back on the day, I still can’t believe how much we saw. We really made the most of our time in the City of Light!

    We left France early the next morning for Italy. Next up – Venice!

     

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