Istanbul

Southwestern Turkey

Belgrade, Serbia

We ended up in Belgrade by chance as there was no more direct way to get to Turkey from Montenegro. The plan had been to go through Greece but the ferry schedule was infrequent and we weren't up for the challenge of crossing Albania. So Belgrade it was! It is a very funky town with lots of art galleries. Cool lounges scattered the city, like the one we went to with beachy chairs set up in a public plaza and red umbrellas with gold lights.

Kotor, Montenegro

The scenery in Montenegro is straight out of Jurassic Park. A huge storm was coming in and there were lots of low-lying clouds sweeping by. We hiked up to an abandoned fortress looking down over the bay of Kotor which is the southermost fjord in Europe. We met an intrepid British traveler who has been scouring the country looking for land to invest in. Prices are going up daily as more and more foreigners come in looking to make money on what will surely be the next Croatia.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

What can you say about Dubrovnik? The pictures do the talking. We rented an apartment 900 steps above the old town for next to nothing with a washing machine and a spectacular view of the Adriatic Sea. The old town was bombed heavily during the Balkan War in the 90's but it has since been fully rebuilt. The historic wall completely surrounds the old town and one can walk on top of it along the entire 1- mile length.

Adriatic Coast

The original plan was to island hop from Split to Dubrovnik, perhaps by hitching a ride aboard Valentino's boat as we'd read about in some gossip magazine. He wasn't in town so we set out along the spectacular coastal road via bus. Our driver ensured an adventurous trip by dedicating one hand to his cellphone for most of the winding journey. The US warship in the bay is keeping an eye on the short stretch of coastline belonging to Bosnia and Hercegovina.

Split, Croatia

From Slovenia, it was off the Croatia and the Adriatic Coast. When we arrived in Split, we were instantly greeted by a group of Croatian grandmas eager to rent us a room. This is the view from St.Dominus Bell Tower, and a shot of the tower at night. Split has a beautiful Old Town built onto and around the remains the retirement palace for the Roman Emperor Diocletian.

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Our next stop was the capital of Slovenia. We spent several nights ın thıs fantastıc hostel that was converted from a former prison. The prison cells were turned into rooms by different artists and architects and each room is completely unique. It ıs run by the student organızatıon at a local unıversıty makıng ıt a very funky place to hang out.

We vısıted the market on Saturday, whıch was THE event ın Ljubljana. The vegetable, clothıng, and cheese stands overlooked the river. We both sampled the cheeses and wandered the stalls before checkıng out some archıtecture by a famous Slovenıan archıtect, Josef Plecnık. Oh, and Ljubljana had the best fried chicken we've ever had. Crispy exterior, moist interior, completely non-greasy... It was truly unbelievable.

Sunrise in Venice

We took a night train from Naples to Slovenia that made a 4-hour layover in Venice at 5am. This allowed us to catch a water taxi to watch the sunrise over the lagoon and to stroll the town for a few hours while the fish markets were setting up and before the bus loads of our fellow tourists arrived.

Paradise on Earth - Atrani, Italy

The Amalfı Coast south of Naples.

Atrani is a small seaside town on the Amalfi coast just around the bend from the better known and much more touristed Amalfı. Atrani is truly paradise on earth. The hills are covered in lemon tree orchards and the towns hug the valleys between hills. The freshest seafood pasta one could imagine is steps away from a spectacular swim in the Mediterranean. We sampled both and felt like the only thing missing were the paparazzi.


















The lemon orchards around Atrani produce the biggest lemons we've ever seen.

Roma

We love climbing to a high vantage point in a new city to get a wide panoramic view. Rome provided this view from the top of the dome of St. Peter's basilica. It was a clımb of about 800 steps, wıth part of it ascending up a narrow stairway at an angle between the outer and inner domes. We had a very busy 4-5 days in Rome of sighstseeing and of course, eating. The Borromini churches in particular are absolutely stunning in the way that daylight falls across their interiors. The second image is of St. Ivo by Borromini.

Atop Barcelona

We are sitting on top of Park Guell by Gaudi enjoying the beautiful view of Barcelona. The park looks like a giant version of the game Candyland.

Granada

We were fortunate enough to meet with our architecture buddy Julie Fisher and her dad in Granada. After Daniel and I ran around the Alhambra, we enjoyed a lengthy dinner with them, which consisted of hopping around from tapa bar to tapa bar throughout the town. Everything from boiled octopus in a spicy garlic sauce to ham and cheese on a bagel type bread were sampled. Yum! Oh, and the Alhambra was fantastic to tour around for the day.

Madrid

Madrid was awesome! After Morocco, it was a pleasure to travel through a western country. As luck would have it, Real Madrid was playing a Champions League game at home, so of course, we went. It was a great game and a full house with 80,000 fans witnessing the 5-1 victory over Dynamo Kiev. Yes, that is David Beckham just above Cristina's head.




Many museum outings and tapas outings in Madrid as well. Here is the crowd to view 'Las Meninas' by Velazquez.




Dan was obsessed with the airport in Madrid by Richard Rogers. The wood ceiling undulates up and down and helps to humanize the building. It's also quite sophisticated technically with all kinds of daylight sensors and air purification systems.

Fez

These are the tanneries of Fez. It stinks pretty bad from the materials used in the tanning process. The white vats are where the hides are cleaned. Lyme and pigeon poop are used to strip the hair and pre-treat the hides. Then they are rinsed thoroughly before the dying process. The darker vats at the bottom are the dying vats. Various natural dyes are used such as poppy and indigo. The hides are dried on the roofs of the surrounding houses as can be seen in the image as well.

The panoramic view of Fez was breathtaking. The medina is the oldest part of the town and it is composed of thousands of narrow streets and alleys that are impossible to navigate without a guide. Cars are not allowed in the medina and even donkeys are banned from the oldest part. We hired a guide for the day who was supposed to be official, but whatever. His tour consisted of taking us to as many vendors as possible (ceramics, carpets, brassware) so he could get a commission from purchases. He didn't like us very much. It was a fascinating city but a very challenging one as well.

Backtracking a bit - Porto

We spent a night in Porto being educated on various types of port wine. Between each vintage we were served figs, raisins, prunes, or apricots.





Casa de Musica in Porto. Wild Building. Skateboarders and kids on bikes enjoyed the sloped plaza, while we took a tour of the inside.

Marrakech

This is from the main square in Marrakech. It is an incredible place that fills up every night with snake charmers, fortune tellers, food vendors, juice stalls, and many hustlers. Each food stall competes fiercely for clients. We are sitting in the midst of all this raucousness enjoying some grilled kebabs and chickpea salad while the circus unfolds arounds us. Smoke rises from each stall and it fills the square. Music from the snake charmers and other hustlers also fills the square. it´s a mesmerizing scene. The lower image is of one of the many vendors. This one is selling dried fruit and nuts. Figs, dates, apricots, walnuts, etc.

Soccer in Braga

Daniel really wanted to catch a soccer game in Braga to check out this new stadium built into the side of a quarry. So without a ticket to the match, a place to stay, or any idea of how to get to the stadium once in town, we decided to head to Braga. We managed to find a pension--in a former convent--run to the stadium and get a ticket to a Uefa cup game! It was incredible. Braga won 2-0. Braga is also home to 35 churches, so at 8am sharp the following morning, we awoke to the bells of what seemed like a billion churches and had breakfast with the ladies of the house.

Sintra

The fairytale town of Sintra has castles complete with turrets, drawbridges, and moats. Straight out of Harry Potter.



The town is located less than an hour from Lisbon towards the coast. It served as the royal retreat from the hustle and bustle of Lisbon.

views of lisboa

the view from the castle atop the city.













a few historic street cars and funiculars are still in operation to serve the steeper parts of town.

Lisboa

Having problems loading photos from Lisbon as a USB connection seems too hard to find (Daniel forgot the cable). This is a gorgeous town with a very mellow vibe. Cheap and fresh seafood, gorgeous historic architecture, and picturesque topography. The city spreads over 7 hills and grows northwards from the huge river. We spent the other night hanging out at a brazilian bar listening to a mellow dude singing bossa nova and other brazilian tunes. It´s north to Coimbra from here. Hopefully we´ll be able to post more photos soon.

mighty dog

Greetings from under the Eiffel Tower.

















We had a picnic on the banks of the Seine and were entertained by a leaping Mighty Dog.

Wedding Details

Ceremony
Sunday, September 3, 2006
4pm
St. Francis Xavier Church
6th Avenue and Carroll Street
Park Slope, Brooklyn

Reception
iCi Restaurant
246 DeKalb Avenue (at Vanderbilt Ave)
Fort Greene, Brooklyn

Questions
Cristina: 917 304 5232
idalia_chang@yahoo.com

Daniel: 917 541 8174
d.arbelaez@gmail.com

The church in a winter blizzard

Top of New Haven