by Jason Bowles | Jul 2, 2024 | Greece, Jason
For graduation, Maile decide to go to Greece; more specifically, to “the island where Mama Mia was filmed”. Eventually, we will get there, but this trip to Greece–like most–starts in Athens. It has been 22 years since we were here last, and much has changed. Even the historical sites are different: more excavated, more ruins to see, and a modern museum for the Acropolis are just some differences. And more people. Travel has become more popular, so crowds are inevitable. With the bad also comes some good . . . More and better restaurants, better local wine, and even the already amazing cuisine has been elevated.
View from our rooftop terrace.
Another difference the years have brought is an upgrade from a backpacker budget to a rooftop penthouse in Monasteraki. Our view of the Acropolis was fantastic!
The Parthenon–certainly one of the most iconic sites in the world.
Another improvement was hiring an archeologist to lead us through the sites of the Acropolis and the new Acropolis Museum. At her suggestion, we pre-booked our timed entry to both sites, saving time standing in line at the site. Purchasing a combined ticket to the Acropolis and several of the surrounding sites allows entry into another highlight of Athens, the Ancient Agora. Also included are the Temple of Zeus, Hadrian’s Library, and the Roman Agora, all a short walk from Montastiraki Square.
The Haephestion, in the Ancient Agora. It is like a scale model of the Parthenon which is much better preserved (the best-preserved Doric temple in Greece)
by Jason Bowles | Jul 24, 2023 | Misc
Alex’s graduation trip. Of course it had to start with a flight on a 747, which led us to Germany.
First class on a Boeing 747. Very nice!
First stop, Trier:
Porta Nigra, one of many Roman ruins in Trier
Berlin, by way of Luxembourg:
Brandenburg Gate
An overnight train took us to Zurich, Switzerland, not far from Interlochen:
Hiking in the Black Forest:
Bavaria, and Ludwig’s castles:
Linderhof and Neuschwanstein
The Eagle’s Nest:
Salzburg:
by Jason Bowles | Mar 20, 2023 | Asia, Japan, Jason
A few pictures from our trip to Japan:
Home of the Big Buddha
10,000 gates at Fushimi Inari Taisha
The Golden Temple, Kyoto
The largest Buddha in Japan at Todai-Ji, Nara
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Kyoto
Godzilla continues to terrorize Shinjuku
Some highlights from Japan
by Jason Bowles | Dec 28, 2022 | Jason, New Zealand
One of the many highlights around Queenstown that we could not fit in was a typical trip to Milford Sound, which usually takes 12 – 14 hours, most of it on a bus just so you can take a short cruise in the Sound (which is actually a fjord). Instead, we cut out most of the travel time and took a helicopter tour. Unlike most heli-tours where you only see things from above, we spent half a day and enjoyed a more immersive tour of Fjordland. After taking off from Queenstown, our pilot–Renee–angled northwest over the Southern Alps to see the peaks and glaciers. Our first stop was near the top of a mountain so we could hike on the glacier.
The only way to access this remote glacier near a peak in the Southern Alps
On top of the world–on a glacier in the Southern Alps
We dropped off the top of this mountain and followed the Hollysford Valley to the Tasman Sea. Here we landed again and walked on a secluded beach with crashing surf that made it all but inaccessible.
Secluded beach in Fjordland, north of Milford Sound
Flying south down the coast of Fjordland we entered the northernmost fjord as a cruise ship was leaving it–Milford Sound. While not very long, the shear drop from Mitre Peak to the ocean is a staggering 5,521 feet. After the short flight up the sound, a sharp right turn took us past Sandfly Point, up the valley that comprised the latter part of the Milford Track. Sutherland Falls, at 1,904 feet, is spectacular when seen from below, but flying over the top to see Lake Quill feeding it defies description.
Lake Quill, the second hanging lake and the origin of Sutherland Falls.
More amazing, still, was landing thousands of feet above Lake Quill near another hanging lake that feeds Lake Quill and ultimately Sutherland Falls.
First hanging lake, 5,000 feet above the base of Sutherland Falls, Milford Track
Flying over the Southern Alps, heading back to Queenstown.
We stopped a final time on a peak overlooking Glenorchy and Lake Wakatipu where Renee prepared a picnic of local delicacies including smoked salmon, cheeses, fruit, and bread, paired with a glass of Sparkling Marlborough wine. I can’t think of a better way to see Milford Sound and the surrounding area than a flight with Over the Top–The Helicopter Company.
by Jason Bowles | Dec 27, 2022 | Jason, New Zealand
So much to do, so little time. Nowhere is this more true than in New Zealand, and in New Zealand, it is nearly impossible to top the number of activities on offer in Queenstown. If you like the outdoors, this is the place. Adventure? Plenty of that. Adrenaline? This is the capital of the world for that. So why did we only leave one day for Queenstown? Trying to see as much of New Zealand as possible in a short two-week holiday. No time for bungee jumping, jet boating, mountain biking, etc. Still, we managed to use what little time we had to our best advantage.
Riding to the top of Bob’s Peak, Queenstown.
Land luge, Queenstown New Zealand
Alex parasailing over Queenstown
Maile parasailing over Queenstown
