Mediterranean Trip Part III: Oh Sicilia!

Our next stop was Catania on the island of Sicily. After our day of Malta car rental excitement, we decided to hire a driver to take us around Sicily. We hired a Sicilian named Salvo thanks to the awesome translating skills of my bro-in-law. He sat pilot and entertained our driver and himself as we navigated the island.

On the road with Etna smoking in the bg.

Our first stop: Mount Etna. I don't know why I'm so obsessed with volcanoes, but I am. I love their awesome power, and it intimidates me to no end to think that towns and cities can be wiped out by these mountains of destruction. This trip we got to visit two, and Mt. Etna was the first.

Overlooking Catania

Etna is huge. It's one of the most active volcanoes in the world (thanks Wikipedia!) and was definitely smoking when we were there. We took plenty of pictures, hiked around some craters, and oogled at the amount of lava rock spewed around this massive mountain.

An unfortunate house caught in a lava flow

Next stop, Taormina. Taormina is a quaint little tourist town along the coast with beautiful beaches and a history that stretches back before 734 BC. Crazy. It was fun to walk the town, explore the crooked alleyways, and eat the Sicilian way.

Eating my gelato "the Sicilian way" in a brioche bun.

One from Salvo's roadside photo shoot

That coast, tho <3

The cacti! So many cacti on Greece and Malta and Sicily! I couldn't believe it.

Mediterreanean Trip Part II: A Day on Malta and a little note on Mykonos, Greece

Due to our troubles at Ataturk airport in Turkey, we missed our cruise ship departure and one day at sea. We caught up with our ship in Mykonos, Greece. An incredibly touristy and fun little town full of white stucco and blue trim and delicious eats. 

As soon as we got to the cruise ship, we jumped in the ocean. It felt oh so nice. We roamed around the island that night, exploring the streets, the five huge windmills, and a couple more beaches, before we left for Valetta, Malta.

View from the cruise ship

Valetta, Malta. A city built by gentlemen, for gentlemen. I love that tagline. Aaanyways, this was one sweet little island. We rented a car and had a grand ole time driving on the left side of the road with round abouts galore! I don't know how close we were to covering the entire island, but by the end of the day it definitely felt like we covered the entire island! Our highlights and stops included:

The Blue Grotto: This little gem was beautiful. We took a little boat ride from a fisherman's harbour and explored different sea caverns. The water was so blue and it looked fake at times, like kool-aid.

That water, though

The Dingli Cliffs: Offered excellent views of the ocean and this really delicious, all-local and natural restaurant. 

St. Peter's Pool and other Swimming Holes: The best cliff jumping. Though it was swarming with French teenagers, this place was awesome. We had a great time jumping and swimming.

We followed these signs...

To this.

Valetta: This yellow-stoned, walled city was beautiful. I loved the views from the Upper Barrakka Gardens and the old cathedrals throughout the city. 

Mediterranean Trip Part I: Why I Haven't Written and Istanbul

I don't want to take a lot of time excusing why I haven't written in over a year, so I won't. The cross-country move, the purchase of our first home, being back in Utah, the milestones of our small and growing family are all post-worthy and I'm sure they will make appearances in future blog posts. I fell off of the blogging wagon, but I miss documenting and I miss going back and reminiscing (life is SO much cooler and better when you're reminiscing!) so I'm back on. The bandwagon, that is. And I'm starting off with a bang.

We went on a 12-day Mediterranean adventure.

And so I am going to blog about it. With pictures. I'm so excited! Travelling is my passion. I love it. It illuminates my soul, it beautifies my life, every time I do it. I don't know why I didn't go into travel guide or cruise ship professions. I always thought I had to find something academic which would then allow me to travel, but I should have just gone for the jugular: travelling itself. Because I love it.

Tyler and I had this incredible opportunity thanks to his parents. Tyler's brother served his LDS mission in Rome, Italy and the surrounding area and so we had the opportunity to travel back with him and Tyler's parents. However, Ty's brother chose to do it cruise-style so not only did we get to see the beautiful city of Rome, we also made stops in Greece, Malta, Sicily and the Amalfi coast.

The travelling crew outside of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul

We began in Istanbul, Turkey, an exotic place that I have always wanted to visit. This city didn't disappoint, though the government did as an hour after we landed there was a military coup which left us hostage in this beautiful country for three days.

A surreptitious shot of a military tank outside of Ataturk airport

 Though the circumstances were stressful, we kept away from large political gatherings and instead explored the charming and deserted streets. We heard the calls to prayer and took in the breathtaking skyline filled with minarets. The mosques and the minarets made this city very different from other places I have visited. I found them beautiful. The minarets seem so fragile, but the mosques are strong with their large domes and thick stone walls. Many, like the Hagia Sophia and the Sultan Ahmed (Blue) Mosque, have lasted for hundreds and, in the former case, thousands, of years.

That skyline, though

So, the must-sees and must-dos of Istanbul (even in a coup):

• Sulta Ahmed Mosque or Blue Mosque: my favorite cultural site we visited. Stunning inside.
• Hagia Sophia: this place has been around since 537 AD, how can it not be amazing?
• Basilica Cistern: cool, subterranean and ancient, this stored over 21 million gallons of water 
• The Grand Bazaar: where I promptly purchased leather gladiator sandals, an all-seeing eye, and apple herbal tea. And a tile. And a bunch of other presents. And a t-shirt. I love markets.
• Eat baklava: seriously. I've never liked baklava. But then I ate it in Istanbul. Fresh is best!
• Drink apple tea. It's herbal. And good.
• Kebabs, anyone?
• Topkapi Palace: I loved the holy relics display especially, and the beautiful views from the garden. 

Outside of our charming hotel

The Hagia Sophia at night

Grand Bazaar, before I spent all of my money

Inside the Hagia Sophia

 And because the Blue Mosque was my favorite, I went picture crazy. Here were my tops:

The execution could have been a little better on this one...

The Basilica Cistern

Oh kebabs

and Baklava

Istanbul, you are beautiful.

Christmas in Utah!!!!!

We had the longest, most beautiful Christmas break with family in Utah.  I will attempt to do it justice by an even longer blog post, heh heh heh.  Seriously, 18 days of vacation is long enough to (almost) forget the flight over!  We got up bright and early Christmas Eve (Hannah got up at 3:30 a.m. to get us all ready for the plane) and headed on our way.  Our flight was pretty uneventful save at the beginning when Hannah spilled apple juice alllll over herself and Dad.  We didn't get any more apple juice and one of us was lucky enough to ride pant-less across the whole U.S.! (Hannah, not Dad.)

We arrived just in time for Grandma Barbara's annual Christmas Eve party.  It was lovely.  Wonderful food, even better people, and we felt like we were home again.  After those festivities we headed down to the Harlan's for the next few days.  

With the Harlans:

• All of us together!  SO FUN!
• A white Christmas
• Adelaide Lynn's baby blessing
•  Boggle, Forbidden Island, Avalon
• Tennis domination! (one day...)
• Movies
• Indoor Surfing
• Provo Rec Center
• The Rio (insert one million hearts here)
• Sledding
• Good eats and 5 lbs heavier
• The Dillard's Sale

Christmas Morning.  After going non-stop the day before, jet-lag finally catches up to Hannah.

Chloe the hardcore surfing babe

And boyfriend Briant (whom I will not call babe)

Hailey, another surf babe

And Glen, a surf bro

Tyler, the most bodacious surf babe of all

The wipeouts (and me reaaal tiny.  My post-preggo self was not surf-babe ready for this photoshoot, but I did surf!)

Gotta love the Rio!

Addy on her blessing day!  (a separate post to come later!)

With the Kelleys:

• Up at Brian and Amy's Cabin!!!
• Snowboarding <3
• More good eats! Ribs, anyone?
• Boggle, For Sale
• Hannah with Mr. Potato Head and the "nice" toys (all the mean ones got thrown out of the room, haha)
• Museum of Natural Curiosity
• City Creek
• Dining at the Garden
• Tracy Aviary

Addy with Grampa Kelley and her best new toys!

A tea set for Hannah

Hannah geared up in googoo goggles for snow mobiling

Tracy Aviary.  Addy supports the birds.

And Other Highlights:

Seriously, seeing and visiting with family and friends was the highlight of our trip.  We got to spend time with Grandma Barbara and Brian, Amy, Zach, Trevor and Dan up at the cabin (Hannah is still talking about it :).  We spent a half-day with Grandma Cathy at her home and she took us out to lunch at CousCous.  We loved it!  We got to spend time with Grammy and Grandpa and Douger when we were down at my parents.  We also got to see a lot of our friends--Amy, Brooke and Gordy, Steven and Chery, and Adam and Alicia.  It was so fun to catch up, and so weird to see us all grow up.

Alicia and I.  Weird to think that six years ago, we were kidless and in France!  Now, two little girls apiece!  Yay us!

We also got to spend the night up in Brigham City at DJ and Camille's home.  Their home is so beautiful and so are they!  DJ and Camille took such good care of us--delicious food, games, and a stay in their oasis master bedroom.  We visited Promontory Point, a national park out in the middle of no where which celebrates the joining of the railroad in 1869, and we saw a whole herd of cows up close and personal on our way.

Promontory Point

On this trip, a good time was had by all.  Thank you all so much for taking such good care of us and really, just spoiling us silly.  We brought so much back with us that the security lady was raising eyebrows when we flew home (and making comments, haha).  We miss our Utah family and friends so much and we hope you know how much you mean to us!  Thanks for a wonderful holiday!!!!