Heaven: That's what I first thought about Atilla's Getaway at 8:00 in the morning. Our night bus from Istanbul arrived early, so I struggled to enter the world and put in my contact lenses while Scott found the tourist office and called the hostel to pick us up. Five minutes later we were standing in front of a serene pool surrounded by faux Greek statues, hammocks, and cushions, being offered a choice of 6 delicious breakfasts. Our excitement defeated our ex...

We're free again. Out of the predetermined schedule, Scott and I are free to explore at our own pace, and to make decisions based on our own priorities. Sitting on our beautiful rooftop terrace, the Blue Mosque towering above me to the right, the Marmara Sea stretching out to my left, I am caught between extreme emotions. As much as I enjoyed both Serbia and Romania, I am very glad to get my life back into my own hands again. But every time I allow myself the...

Another amazing and unusual two weeks have past. To catch up on the first half of my Romanian adventure, go back to the Miklosvar entree. Roving Romania wasn't as bad as I'd feared. Cramming six people into the Land Rover was more comfortable than I'd imagined, and the trip itself was way more fun. But Dad had planned two many monasteries in too few days and we never had any down time. We drove for many hours each day through incredible scenery, and often ar...

My travel-crazy parents have taken Scott, my brother Ben, and me to the most luxurious and bucolic place in the world. In Miklosvar, Romania, Count Kalnoky has just recovered his estate from the long reign of the Communist regime, and he is busy restoring it and offering guestrooms to strange clients, like us! I could have spent all week hanging out at the beautiful estate, sleeping in in our luxurious rooms, playing cards at the pretty picnic table by the duck...

Greetings from Belgrad. I am taking an hour to update you fine people during my one day of rest. I have just spent two weeks in the middle of nowhere, Serbia, and tomorrow I am off to Romania to vacation with my family for another two weeks. This month is so different from the rest of the trip I can't even describe it. The last two weeks were wonderful! I got to meet new beautiful, amazing people. I got to relax in peaceful Grza in a cottage in the forest, ...