Dubrovnik

The last stop on our European adventure was Dubrovnik which was a beautiful old town by the water on the southern tip of Dalmatia.

The imposing fortifications of the old town.

The ruler straight streets of the old town

Me in one of the many guard towers - I think people were a lot smaller back then

Mum and Dad walked all around the walls with Vesna and I on a hot afternoon

A gorgeous sunset

All of us on the morning we are flying out.

With the famous bell ringers in Dubrovnik

Croatia continued

Reasonably relaxed about the world on the Croatian coast :)

As they loaded the car ferries, we were first in line after all the cars in front of us made it on. 

Cute scenes like this are all around the Croatian coast. We saw a huge sea turtle on this boat ride as well.

Dalmatians love wine and would plant vines wherever possible (and you would be amazed at some of the places which are possible!). Here on a steep hill above the crystal clear water.

With Mum posing in Bosnia.

Croatia

We then finished our European trip with a few days touring in Croatia with my Mum and Dad. We had a fantastic few days heading down the coast stopping in at so many little towns. The scenery was gorgeous - stark limestone cliffs with beautiful turquoise water. Tiny little old towns with red terracotta roofs. A picturesque part of the world!

Swimming in the water at Hvar and Mum and Dad enjoying a dip. It was a little challenging getting in and out of the water on the slippery rocks. Once in, it was wonderful.

A great cruise ship which was heading around the Adriatic at the time

Hvar by night

A great breakfast on the balcony at our hotel

Athens

We also visited Athens for a few nights, but I didn't take my camera out much while we were there. Vesna has most of the photos on her camera and they were amazing. We loved the history of the place and the stories of old. Being in the birthplace of democracy and being where some of the greatest philosophers the world has known stood and talked was quite inspiring for me.

We also enjoyed going down to the beach for an afternoon and watching the sunset. It was a lovely place.

This is a shot of the Acropolis with the city of Athens laid out on either side. 

Istanbul continued

Fantastic breakfast down by the water with Melissa

A lovely mosque by the water

Istanbul by night from a rooftop bar

Istanbul

As part of a trip to Europe to spend some time with Mum and Dad in Croatia, we stopped in Istanbul for a few nights to catch up with Melissa - one of our friends from back in Australia. We had an amazing time and loved the vibrancy and the history of Istanbul. We will definitely be back.

The view of the minarets from the waterfront 

The awesome spice markets

The old and majestic San Sofia mosque. One of the places which moves you deeply as you look around at the history, the engineering and the fact that great cultures and civilisations have been around for a long time. Also, that they have not always fought and that truly beautiful structures go beyond the small differences between people that we spend so much of our time magnifying and trying to make significant.

The incredible dome inside the mosque. Engineering at its cutting edge many years ago.

The beautiful Blue mosque - gorgeous from the outside, but does not have the gravitas which the San Sofia mosque commands.

Lunch with a pretty special view!

Box seats at the Yankees

I managed to secure some tickets to the Audi box at the Yankees game, which was a great way to watch baseball. And, of course, the Yankees won the game with a grand slam home run as well. Great afternoon!

Rather nice seats right down the 3rd base line in the air-con box.

Outside on the balcony

Down behind home plate after the game

Nathan and Karola in the big apple

Friends of ours from Sydney, Nathan and Karola, came to visit NYC on their honeymoon around the world. We had a fantastic few days with them hitting a lot of New Yorks best sites. Was a great time!

Down at Wall St

Eating BBQ at the Madison Square Big block party (once a year it is a huge cookoff in the heart of NYC! Yummm).

At the "crossroads of the world" - Times Square NYC

Dinner at Carmines which was potentially enough food to feed an army for a week.

Crabtown - Annapolis with Mikey

Mikey wanted to go somewhere unique near NYC, so we decided to go to Annapolis for excellent fresh crab. Well, it properly delivered on a fantastic meal. 

Mikey well and truly impressed with the crabs at Cantlers and then relaxing with a cold beer on the deck.

Then we headed to the waterfront in Annapolis to share  a nice bottle of wine. 

An excellent weekend all around!

Mikey in NYC

Ginger Mikey visited us in New York city for a few days. It was a wonderful time catching up with him. There were moments of deep philosophy (as always) and times of great relaxations. Lots of fun.

One of the best lunches ever with Mikey at Bar Boulud

Followed by scotch and stogies down at Hudson Bar and Books.

The next day we went and hit Coney Island, which was finished by a cool refreshment at the Beer Island bar.

Massive tailgating party at a Yankees game

One of our friends in New York, Emma, got us invited to a huge tailgating party at a Yankees baseball game. The act of tailgating is a uniquely American phenomenon where you congregate in the outdoor carpark before an event (usually American football) and bbq lots of meat of all kinds and drink beer and cocktails. Football, baseball and other  (more random and unique) outdoor games are played around the cars - but the main purpose is to enjoy being out in the sun and talking with your friends.

Emma and Vesna looking very fashionable.

Ryan and I making sure that there was no food or drink left at the end (One of the beers in my hands was Ryans - they weren't both mine!).

The massive crowd at the tailgate

We did eventually make it inside... where the girls had icecream for dessert.

Philadelphia

I have not been a huge fan of Philadelphia so far, but it does have a long and vibrant history. Maybe I just haven't been to the best places there yet. I am a big fan of their culinary export - the Philly Cheesesteak however!

The famous liberty bell is on display in Philly.

Cool statues of America's founding fathers.

A statue commemorating all the Irish immigrants who came to the USA during the potato famine in Ireland.