Current location: Istanbul, Turkey A big welcome to the 33 new subscribers who signed up! |
Hello,
It's Tuesday and it's time for a newsletter! I've now been in Istanbul for one full week. And it's been a jam-packed week to say the least.
This city is by far one of the best walking cities in the world and I've waked 158,000 steps in these past 7 days. This equates to about 80 miles (128 kms)! My feet are quite sore but I feel great, as every walk here leads to new interactions, new views, new neighborhoods and discoveries! A lot of people have written asking for my recommendations for Istanbul. So I decided to write a straight-to-the-point blog post that highlights my perfect week in Istanbul, complete with my favorite places to visit, eat, wander and relax. --- On Thursday, I fly to Bucharest, Romania. I'm also very much looking forward to being back in that city that I once called home for quite a while. The plan is to buckle down though, by spending most of each day getting some work done (luckily there's no shortage of great cafes to work from in Bucharest). It's important to have this kind of dedicated work time as well, even while on the road. Life can't always be about exploring and it feels good to get focused, make real progress with various projects and ideas and to have, at least temporarily, a routine that doesn't require the use of all your energy. Of course, I'll also leave time for hanging out with friends in Bucharest and getting ready to lead my Romania tour that starts on August 16th. It's time to use your travel knowledge and research skills! Previous photo As usual, the guesses this week varied widely. And while a good amount of people did guess Italy, there were only 7 people who guessed the right city. Congratulations to Hemang, Janice, Patricia, Lorena, Ed, Mafalda, Naomi and Haroun! The correct answer is indeed: Bologna, Italy (the photo is take from the top of the Two Towers) Every time I think of my visit to Bologna I just think of pizza and gelato, as cliche as that may be. I vaguely recall doing other things as well, but pizza and gelato was really the main focus :) This week's photo Where in the world is it? The Rules
1. Try to figure out where the above photo was taken. 2. Reply to this email with your guess.
3. The more specific the guess, the better!
4. The location will be revealed in next week's newsletter.
Good luck :) Travel-related (usually) tidbits that appeared in my inboxes New SoundsMy friend Max sent me the New Sounds website which offers a genre-free online radio stream that makes it very easy to discover wonderful new music, especially international artists and styles. LangscapeThis is a cool map/tool. You can zoom in on any location in the world and see what languages are natively spoken there. You can also learn a little about each language you discover, with links to learn even more if you wish. |
The Most Beautiful Museums
If you love museums, you'll want to make sure you add these beautiful gems to your list of museums to visit at some point.
World's Greatest Places of 2021
Time Magazine created this inspiring collection of excellent destinations all over the world to help get your wanderlust going full speed!
Eye-Opening Transportation
From strange funiculars to a train line with only one stop, here is a global tour of the most intriguing modes of transportation for travelers to experience.
An Incredible, Abandoned Imperial Spa
Located in the southwestern corner of Romania, the abandoned resort spa of Baile Herculane was created by the Romans and became a popular hangout for Hapsburg Empire royalty. Once considered the most glorious spa in the region, it now sits abandoned, with hints of its mystique still clearly visible. Today, a team of young architects is trying to restore its glory.
Random Views of Random Places
With MapCrunch, one click leads to a street view photo of a completely random spot in the world. Right now it shows me a view of a tiny village on the outskirts of Ulaanbataar, Mongolia that seems to have dinosaurs statues on the land. So weird. A Hand-Carved Tunnel to the Outside World
In 1972, the small village Chinese village of Guoliang decided to carve itself out of isolation. They carved their own 1.2 km tunnel through the rocky mountain so that, after many centuries of extremely remote existence, the village could finally connect to the outside world. Why Sri Lanka's Buses Are Tossed in the Ocean By sinking old buses off the coast, the government has created new homes for marine life, with the hope of these buses eventually becoming full artificial reefs. The initial results look very promising and they have now begun sinking old fishing vessels as well. Thanks for reading!
Regards,
Derek (my middle name is Earl) *If you received this email from someone else and want to sign up to A Life of Travel, simply click the button below: |
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