Skip to main content

September 28 traveling Home and the Final WTF#9

LAST GAME!!!!
WTF #9.....And the Final Count, our best estimate, your best guess

Our TOAL (Trip of a Lifetime) totals:

Gone for three months, three weeks, four days and two hours of which all but five days were sunny
12 Countries
40+\- Cities 
21 Hotels
3 Apartments
1  Sailboat cruise

11  Plane rides
5 Train rides
5 Boat rides
2 Car Ferries
1 Kayak ride

5 Rental cars for eight weeks
150+  Metro rides
25+ Bus rides
4 Taxi rides 
250+ Miles walked
200+ Meals eaten out
30+ Churches, Cathedrals, Basilicas visited
10 Synagogues visited
4 Mosques visited
10+ Castles visited
25+ Museums visited

12 Beaches visited
4  different Seas swam in
100 Bottles of wine, plus many more glasses
10 Packages sent home
2 Pair of shoes worn out
7 Pair of shoes bought
12+ Pieces of jewelry bought 
16 Scarves bought
10+ Turkish/Tunisian towels bought
4 Haircuts 
3 Touchups

2 Pedicures
0 Manicures
3 Times we really could have used a cell phone 
28 Skype calls and 
3500+ Photos taken ( FILLED a brand new Mini I- Pad)
AND - over 100 Blog Posts, and over 5,000 Page Views
 **************
And the winners are:
Most expensive country-France
Least expensive country-Turkey
Favorite country-Loved them all but France still wins my heart, runner up Croatia
Favorite city-Ditto for Paris but close seconds are Lyon, Vienna, Siena, Istanbul (Marci) and Prague (Steve)
Favorite Beach - Zlatni Rat Beach, Brac Island, Croatia and AntiPaxos, Greece 
Favorite meals, there were a lot -Jeremy Galavan, Lyon; Pierre Sang, Paris; Giritli, Istanbul; La Cote, Arles, France; La Cremerie, Paris ; Verranzano Winery, Greve, Italy
Most expensive meal- Septime, Paris
Most overpriced meal - La Cremerie, Paris, but worth it

Best beer - Karlovacko Radler Limon
Nicest airport- Dubrovnik
Favorite site- 3 stunners - Mont St. Michel, France; Ephesus, Turkey; Pammukale, Turkey
Best Event/Show - Haute Couture, Paris
Best Spa Experience - Suleyiman Hammam, Istanbul
Best museum-  Veletrnzi Palace, part of the National Gallery of Prague, also known as the Trade Fair Art Museum, Prague, Czech Republic
Best hotel- Grand Iberostar Hotel, Budapest, Hungary
Worst hotel- The Melrose House, Pammukale, Turkey
Shoulda skipped- Plitvice Lakes but only because it was pouring
Shoulda done- Cappadoccia, Turkey

And saving the best for last:
 Toasts made - at least 125
 Friends made - hopefully a dozen or more
 
This trip was priceless, but for the last WTF contest...

WTF#9 - since everyone loves the guessing games

WTF did this trip cost????

Guess on the blog, or email Steve at sjs123sjs@gmail.com

3 days to guess, ONE guess per player, closest to actual without going over.....
All cost - airfares, hotels, meals, cash spent, gifts, postage - everything!
We actually know....or will by Tuesday.
Wins a special, handmade, woven in Turkey towel.....

Good Luck....

Marci & Steve

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

#120 - SURPRISE....ONE LAST READ WITH YOUR MORNING COFFEE

Did you think we wouldn't do a wrap up - the woulda, shoulda, coulda list along with our very salient observations of the current state of fashion, food, and fun in France and Spain?   Well, we got a bit sidetracked. So here is the last of Paris and the rest of the Euro 2019 blog.  Our last night in Paris, Laurent returned and we had a dinner at Eels as planned. About a thirty minute walk (perfect, since once we are home I can't get Steve walking at all) but it was raining, so we hopped in an Uber and headed over to the 10th arrondissement in heavy traffic.  Rather than describe the great five course chef tasting menu we did- here it is in photos.  Everything was excellent, especially the bottle of Pinot Noir- too bad it was their last one and we had to switch wines for the next bottle - but that is the only criticism.   The next morning we were packed, said our goodbyes, and were off to the airport for our non-stop to Dulles...

#8 - Two whirlwind days ( and the WTF Answer )

We've literally got about 30 hours to see as much of Sydney as we can before we meet up with our friends on Wednesday at 6PM. And we vow to make the most of it. I've got a list of about six musts that I let Steve vet and although he doesn't tick anything off, I know he's thinking that I am making a killer schedule.  We start off the day with a coffee and the first Opera House tour at 9AM. The structure is surely impressive, the tour not as much, but since there is no Opera or symphony while we are right at the Rocks, the tour is the best we can do to peek inside. The architect was Danish, and the design shows it - from the two-woods paneled concert hall that the Kimmel Center is surely a total knock-off of, to the incredibly comfortable sleek seating that has stood the test of time, like all Danish design.                                             ...

June 24

From Vivaldi  to  Vincent (Van Gogh) THE VIVALDI PART Rewind  a bit back to Saturday, June 22nd. We had dinner at home and then   at 8:00  took a walk down the Seine to Saint Chapelle. Last time we were there in 2000, it was Christmas week and we froze waiting in line for two hours to see the chapel. This time, we simply stood in line to buy tickets to be treated to a six piece string classical concert in this magnificent setting.  The concert was Vivaldi...not just Vivaldi but theFour Seasons.....not just the Four Seasons but played spectacularly....not just played well but in a stirring setting.  The last time the music and its venue engendered  such magic was in 1977 seeing the Vienna Boys Choir sing in the 12th century Cathedral in Durham, England. The lead violin played with the speed and finesse of the finest rendition of the Flight of the Bumblebee. The light was still subtle through the stained glass though the chapel was dark.  The e...