Meteora, Greece! Suspended in the air!

This week we are thinking about Meteora, Greece. What place! What a marvel of nature! It leaves you breathless, opens your thoughts and fills your soul with positive energy and light. This year we chose Greece again as a holiday destination and decided to stop at this legendary place. Meteora (Greek Μετέωρα, ad literally "the middle of the sky", "suspended in the air" or "up in the sky" - etymologically referring to "meteorite") is one of the largest and most important Orthodox monastery complexes in Greece, the second after Mount Athos. A place that seems unreal, considering both the unique relief forms in the respective geographical area, as well as the location of the 6 monasteries on the peaks of the mountainous formations. At this moment the Meteora complex consists of 6 monasteries, one more beautiful than the other. The writings mention that initially there were 24 monasteries, but half were destroyed by the Turks, and the rest, up to 6, were destroyed during the Second World War. Some of them were abandoned and later reoccupied, now in Unesco heritage. The rocks on the top of which the monasteries are built are, according to ancient writings, rocks sent to earth from heaven, hence the name of meteors, to allow the ascetics to retreat and pray. Monastic life began at Meteora around the 9th century. Saint Athanasius being forced to leave Mount Athos, he comes here in 1334 with other monks and begins to raise on a rock at 613 m altitude a...

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Walking Through Vienna

This week we arrive in Vienna, the capital of Austria. What a wonderful place! For Vienna, you definitely have to prepare your feet to go a long way because there are so many to see, both indoors, museums, galleries, exhibitions, churches, but also outside, so if you want to admire as much of this architecture as possible imperial city, the best option is to take a walk on the streets. As I mentioned in other articles, I like to explore every time I visit, so I prefer to walk or scooter / bike from one location to another. Vienna is a place of great political and cultural importance. Vienna's old town and the Schonbrunn Palace have been listed by UNESCO on the list of World Heritage monuments. This great city boasts of culture and art, a place that has a peaceful air despite the thousands of tourists and crowds. A place where things are in a well-established order and common sense prevails. What I noticed the first time I arrived in Vienna was peace. This place seems to have its peace of mind, even if it is crowded, each person has an intimacy to speak so as not to disturb the others, even if the cars make less noise there. I was surprised that I could hear my thoughts. After we landed, from the airport we bought City Cards that I had read so much about before. I opted for the valid 72 hours and paid 30 euros per person. Depending on what you choose...

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Walking through Istanbul

Savory, color, diversity, crowds, Bosphorus, sun, warm, joy. A few words that come to mind when I think of our trip to Istanbul or Constantinople as it was called until 1930. I could hardly wait to discover the culture, life and being of a people who conquered the world, to explore the capital of the Empire Byzantine. Istanbul is the only megalopolis in the world on two continents, a wonderful amalgam that will surely leave you a pleasant impression. It covers more than 100 km and has a population of 18.8 million inhabitants, it is the largest human agglomeration in Europe. Truly impressive! At such a population and the very large number of tourists you will immediately notice the crowding, even if the city enjoys the freeway in the heart of the city if you drive by car you will be caught in traffic, so I recommend you to take the subway or just walk from one side to the other. Personally I really like to take it step by step when I visit because it fascinates me with everything around me and I don't want to miss anything. In addition, you have the opportunity to discover all kinds of places that are not found on tourist maps. This city is so diverse, so if you go from one neighborhood to another you will see huge differences in the architecture of buildings, culture and people. We went during the election, so the city was very busy because everyone stayed in the city over...

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Walking around the wonders of the ancient world (Cairo, Egypt)

The long-awaited trip to Cairo. Cairo (in Arabic القاهرة, Al-Qāhirah, meaning "the triumphant", "the overwhelming"). I have always wondered how it is to walk on that ground and to be in front of the wonders of the ancient world. Here's how I finally found the answer. As I wrote in the previous article about Egypt, we stayed in Hurghada, where we enjoyed the sea and the golden sand, but most of all we wanted to visit the pyramids and as much as possible the fascinating universe of Egypt that was once upon a time. The road from Hurghada to Cairo was about 8 hours. We left at 1 o'clock at night, and caught the sunrise on the road, and in the first hour of the morning we broke into the chaos of Cairo. I want to confess that I did not expect it to be the way I saw it, I did not look for information before because I wanted to be surprised and the truth is that I was. Until we arrived to visit the Pyramids and the Sphinx we crossed the city. The capital of Egypt is a place filled with the history of mankind, where you are fascinated and shocked at the same time, where you have to deal with the chaos that surrounds you. There are no traffic lights or traffic rules, you have the impression that the cars will always trample, but the pedestrians have no fear. You'll meet in the traffic with donkeys who struggle to shoot a bitter...

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Walking through the ancient city of Theba (Luxor), Egypt

I dreamed, I wished, and I waited so long to get to Egypt, and here I finally did it. Little by little I was fascinated by this world, I never get enough to read books about the pharaohs, about the life there, about all those mysteries. It's just fascinating. When you get there and drown and breathe among the wonders of the world, you feel you do not need anything else. Beyond history, culture and religion, Egypt is also a treasure from the point of view of art, gastronomy and entertainment. I'll give you all the details of our visit to Luxor, the former city of Teba, but first I will write to you more about our trip to Egypt. We managed to get there in August, I know everyone recommends not to go in the summer months, but I did not mind. I love the warmth and the sun, so when the wind blows and I feel the hot air as I walk through my hair, it just seemed wonderful! In addition, the temperature was not much higher than in Greece during the same period of the year. So if you like Greece in the summer, you will surely like Egypt as well. To go to Egypt you need: Tourist Visa. The travel document used ( passport or temporary temporary passport) must be valid for at least 6 months from the date of entry into Egypt. The tourist visa can be obtained very simply at the airport, the cost of which is about 25 USD. We...

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