Pisa
I got the opportunity to take a tour from Florence to Pisa while I was studying abroad in Italy. I decided to share some photos and information that I think would be valuable to anyone who is planning a visit. The Leaning Tower of Pisa (or …
Tag: photography
Marseille & Aix-En-Provence
The first city that comes to mind when everyone thinks of France is Paris. Although Paris is lovely, it is different from the South of France. Paris is where you go to be overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the art, the shopping, the people, and the streets. There is an energy around Paris. An energy that is entirely different from the provence. Paris is New York and Provence is California. You go to the South of France to relax, delicately soak in the culture, and stroll through life.
Marseille
the city of ships & Old Port
The main attraction in Marseille is the Notre Dame de la Garde. This basilica was built in the mid-19th century in the Roman-Byzantine style. Even if art history doesn’t interest you, the inside of this basilica is worth the visit. The design on the arches is similar to that of the Mosque of Cordoba.
Looking around you’ll notice a theme with the interior. Nope, not candy canes. Ships! The basilica has ships painted on the walls and hanging from the ceiling. Survivors from near disasters at sea would have replicas of their ships made to bring to Notre Dame de la Garde as a gift to Our Lady. At the top of the dome of this basilica, viewed from most points in Marseille, is a large gold statue of “la Bonne Mère” holding the Christ Child. The people of Marseille, and especially the sailors and fisherman, believe that Our Lady watches over and protects them.
I wasn’t able to stay until sunset, but if you are, definitely go around that time! I’m sure the pictures from up here will be beautiful and romantic.
Other things to do/see: Marseille Cathedral, La Vieille Charité, Abbey of Saint Victor, Parc Borély, Marseille History Museum, Fort Saint Nicolas, La Friche, Cantini Museum, and Porte d’Aix.
Aix-En-Provence
the city of art & fountains
In Aix-en-Provence, Grace and I went on a walking tour of some of the main sites (Cours Mirabeau, Saint Sauveur Cathedral, & Place d’Albertas). The city is a beautiful place to walk around because there are so many lovely stores, restaurants, fountains, and buildings with French architecture.
Once the walking tour was over, Grace and I made sure to go inside some of the stores. One of the places we went to was an amazing French macaron bakery. Inside was every flavor of macaron you could imagine. I am not the biggest fan of macarons, but if I was, I would have got a huge box of them. However, these macarons were AMAZING. Far better than any macaron I’ve had in The States. If all macarons tasted that good, I would have been a bigger fan when it comes to these delightful cookies. Not only were the macarons great, but so was the woman working there. After having been to Paris, I assumed all French people hated their jobs. Usually the service in Parisian stores isn’t pleasant. I find them to be very rude to everyone. Either they will rush you out the door or follow you around the entire store. However, everyone in Aix en Provence was very pleasant and happy to see us walk inside.
Where we ate: Les Macarons de Caroline and Tutti Frutti, 3 Rue de la Couronne, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France
Other things to do/see: Musée Granet, Aix Cathedral, Hotel de Caumont, and Pavillon Vendome
Lavender is famously grown in the South of France, so of course I went into all the lavender stores we saw (& there was a lot!). I went home with a small bar of lavender soap for my father since that is his favorite scent of soap. Something I wish I had the opportunity to do is visit a lavender field while I was in Provence. There are tours that depart from Aix-en-Provence to the largest lavender field in the South of France here for anyone who’s interested. If you get the chance, please go for me. & tag me (@aylaboswell) on Instagram so I can see them.
-Ayla♥
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Istanbul
As I mentioned in a previous blog post, Grace and I went on an adventure of a lifetime. We spent three weeks traveling on our own in Europe by cruise. This post is a continuation of those adventures. We are now exploring Turkey.
Istanbul
the city that straddles two continents
Since I only had one day to spend in Istanbul (6 hours to be exact), I sadly wasn’t able to go inside of many of the buildings. Signing up for a tour that included a boat ride along the Bosphorus was the best option. But if you do have a longer stay in Istanbul, I would still recommend taking this boat ride, as well as checking out the beautiful palaces, mosques, and fortresses.
The boat ride along the Bosphorus is a great idea for anyone traveling in Istanbul since you will be able to see up close what makes this beautiful city so famous. And no, it’s not its beauty. Even though it is very beautiful (some parts). Istanbul is famous for being the city that straddles two continents. The Bosphorus splits the city in two, dividing Europe and Asia! This was not something I knew before taking my tour. To be completely honest…I did not know Europe and Asia were so close to each other! Maybe I should spend more time studying a globe…
After the boat ride on the Bosphorus, our tour let us have a few hours to explore the exotic atmosphere of the Grand Bazaar. Walking through this shopping mall can be a bit overwhelming. It’s like any other mall with rows upon rows of stores. The only difference is…these stores have staff that will talk to you as you walk by or sometimes even call you over to buy something from them. A shopping experience like this is not for everyone but I would still recommend at least taking a quick walk inside to see all the beautiful food and cheap trinkets.
Note: The Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays. The Spice Bazaar is another option if you happen to only be in Istanbul on a Sunday.
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (or famously nicknamed the Blue Mosque because of the beautifully tiled walls covering the inside) was the only mosque we had a chance to go inside of. If you have more time in Istanbul, I highly recommend stopping to see the inside of the Blue Mosque as well as Hagia Sofia, which is directly across from the Blue Mosque.
If you’re visiting mosques in Turkey, it’s important to respect their local customs. It’s inappropriate to walk around in short shorts, a crop top, and shoes on. When entering the mosque, you will be given a plastic bag and asked to take your shoes off. Don’t try wrapping the bag around your feet and shoes thinking you’ll be okay getting inside that way. You MUST take your shoes off and place them in the bag. Women are also given scarfs to wrap their heads.
Side note: After having walked around the Grand Bazaar, I would recommend dressing conservatory even inside there.
Each tile inside the Blue Mosque is individually painted and designed to look like plants and flowers. Capturing the true beauty of this mosque is impossible with a camera. Maybe some highly professional photographers would know some tricks. I tried my best to edit the images a bit to capture what I saw with my eyes but they are still not as wonderful as it was in person. I had a similar issue photographing the Sagrada Familia.
Funny story, while we were inside the mosque it began pouring rain and we could hear loud thunder. By the time we had to leave, the streets were flooded. I mean FLOODED. The water walking back to our tour bus was anywhere from ankle deep to all the way to my knees! Car alarms were going off, drains were shooting out water, and some streets looked like rivers instead of roads. This was not something I’ve ever seen in person being from California.
Where we ate: Sütiş Special
I had turkish tea (which taste like hot apple juice) and a döner kabab. Grace had turkish coffee and a döner kabab as well. I took her to a very good kabab place in Venice, Italy so she was excited to try one in Turkey.
Other popular things to see/do: St. Sophia Museum (most important Byzantine monument in the world), Topkapi Palace, Byzantine Basilica Cistern, Taksim Square, Golden Horn, Bulgarian Orthodox Church, German Fountain, Hippodrome (the Egyptian Obelisk, Serpentine and Constantine Columns), Suleymaniye Mosque, and Chora Museum.
In my next post, we will continue our Turkish adventures in Kusadasi and the beautiful ancient cities surrounding it. They were truly surreal.