A-Z Guidebook: Izmir Konak Square

If you’re a regular reader, you’re probably wondering how I ventured back to a Turkish post.

Well, I’ve decided to join a monthly travel guide link up organized by Fiona, a fellow travel blogger, based in Brisbane, Australia, Tiffin Bite Sized FoodAdventures. Each month features a new letter of the alphabet. This month is the letter “I.” I know I’m joining in a bit late so I won’t cover letters A-H, but I thought this link up would push me to publish a few more of my thousands of travel photos. The trick is to only chose ONE photo per post.

It would be easy to write about Istanbul as I’ve done so often on the blog. However, I thought I’d feature a different Turkish city – Izmir, the country’s third largest city.

I is for Izmir, Turkey

During the three years we lived in Turkey, I visited this Aegean coastal city on three separate occasions. My Izmir trips coincided with visits to Çeşme, Kuşadası and then lastly the Greek island of nearby Samos. As I looked back through my photos, I realize we hardly gave Izmir a chance. I should have spent more time wandering the city’s cobblestone streets or along the seafront.

At least, we spent some time in one of the city’s main highlights – the Konak Square (Konak Meydanı). This busy square is located at the southern end of Atatürk Avenue and is named after the Governor’s Mansion or Vali Konağı. The singular word konak means mansion in Turkish.

In the middle of this square is the ornate Izmir Saat Kulesi, a historic clock tower designed by a Levantine French architect and built in 1901 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Sultan SultanAbdülhamid II's accession to the throne. Interestingly, the clock was a gift from German Emperor Wilhem II who also has a fountain in Sultanahmet’s Square named after him.

Izmir itself is a lovely city and definitely deserves its own time for a longer visit. Pop on over to my blogger friends at Turkey’s for Life to read about their numerous tips for visiting Izmir.

Join me in March for the letter "J"!

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Celebrating Chinese New Year in Melbourne

As if Melbourne needed an excuse to organize a party, or parties in this case, around food!

Happening now through February 22, the city is hosting heaps of festivities to celebrate Chinese New Year – Year of the Monkey. The easiest ones to find are located along the Yarra River, inside Crown Casino, along the Harbour Esplanade in the Docklands and of course, in Chinatown Melbourne. For a list of local events, please check the Only Melbourne website for more details. The city’s big Dragon Parade took place yesterday, but unfortunately we missed it because we’re traveling.

The other weekend, I watched lion and dragon dances in Federation Square kick off the Chinese New Year and enjoyed taking tons of photos. It was funny to watch the “Laughing Buddha” who is dressed in a mask and monk's robes and often teased the lion to make him dance around. The dances were accompanied with traditional Chinese drums and symbols.

During the week, I strolled along the Yarra River at dusk so I could photograph the colorful Chinese Zodiac lanterns installed near Southgate Melbourne mall. The lanterns lit up the city’s skyline beautifully, and I wished I had my tripod with me. However, I was still able to capture some good images, don’t you think?

At Queensbridge Square, you’ll find the Monkey Arch Corridor which is positioned as an extension to the currently decorated Sandridge Pedestrian Bridge. Nearby, there are a handful of food trucks here selling a variety of Asian food, tacos, burgers and ice cream for lunch, dinner or an afternoon snack.

Of course, Chinatown is always worth stopping by and finding a small place to enjoy steamed dumplings and other delights. One of my favorite spots is at Hutong Dumpling Bar whose stir-fried dishes are as good as their dumplings.

Celebrating #chinesenewyear with yummy dumplings in #Melbourne! 😊

A photo posted by My Traveling Joys (@mytravelingjoys) on Feb 9, 2016 at 4:42pm PST

Happy Chinese New Year!

Joy

How are you celebrating the Year of the Monkey?

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Dreaming of Palm Trees in Palm Cove

A Travel Guide on Where to Eat and Sleep in Palm Cove, Queensland

If you’re looking for a relaxing oasis in Queensland, we found the small seaside village of Palm Cove quite delightful.

Palm Cove, 27 kilometres north of Cairns, is named after the long stretch of palm trees that line the beach here in Northeastern Australia. Many tourists opt to stay in either Cairns or Port Douglas (both bustling locations) when visiting the Great Barrier Reef, but we found Palm Cove the perfect tranquil spot. We simply strolled along the beach, sunbathed at our hotel and enjoyed eating and drinking along the Esplanade during our weekend stay. That’s all we needed.

However, kayaks or windsurfers were available to rent if we had wanted to be more active.

Sunrise in Palm Cove

Not wanting to miss a single sunrise, we woke up early on both Saturday and Sunday. All we had to do was stroll across the street, less than 50 meters, and we were on the beach. I was surprised by how many people were up early exercising or taking photos like us. Trying to capture that perfect sunrise moment through the palm trees seemed to be a popular activity.

Where to Sleep in Palm Cove

Luckily, we had a Hotels.com free night to redeem, so we only paid 288aud (about $200usd) for two nights at the luxurious The Reef House. This boutique hotel was definitely one of the fancier ones we’ve stayed at in awhile and the price was just right too. The Reef House has two pools, and it’s best to arrive early in the morning (by 10 a.m.) if you want one of the lounge chairs.

The hotel offered a poolside honor bar by day and a staffed bartender after 5 p.m. when free punch and snacks were served. This was a fun way to chat with some of the other guests. Plus, who turns down a free drink? Not us!

Palm Cove offers a variety of accommodations from local apartment rentals and small motels to a spacious campground and caravan park.

Where to Eat in Palm Cove

Despite being a small town, you’re spoilt for choice on where to eat in Palm Cove. We enjoyed one the best meals at The Reef House Restaurant, which has been regarded as one of Cairns' top restaurants. Reservations are definitely recommended. I loved the restaurant’s signature dish of crispy skin Barramundi with a Thai red curry, Asian salad and rice! We also tried the local dish of Moreton Bay Bug (basically a small lobster) for the first time because of it’s strange name. Not bad.

We had two other dinners at Vivo Bar and Grill, which has an international menu with Asian influences and delicious cocktails, and a simple, homemade Italian pizza and salad at Il Forno, which seemed very family friendly.

For a casual, diner-like experience for breakfast or lunch, we sat outside at Pete’s Place. The menu here offers eggs, toast and bacon for breakfast and the likes of BLT sandwiches or fish and chips for lunch. For a more typical Aussie brekkie, head down the street to Cocky’s for poached eggs with avocado, pancakes or Eggs Benedict.

Would you like to stay in Palm Cove?

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Snorkeling Among Colorful Coral in the Great Barrier Reef

Since it’s the midst of summer here in Australia, I can’t help but think about beaches and tropical destinations.

Australia has heaps of beautiful destinations to visit, but one of the most tropical places we’ve visited so far is the Great Barrier Reef. The reef covers a whopping 344,400 km2 and includes more than 3,000 coral reefs in Northern Tropical Queensland.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park contains about 600 different types of coral – which come in an underwater rainbow of colors and different shapes and sizes. When I was snorkeling over this coral, I was in awe! And I also was concerned about not kicking my flippers into the nearby coral.

Luckily, we even saw the Great Barrier Reef at low tide when the tops of the coral reefs are exposed to the air. What a sight!

Coral forms the backbone of the reef and is where many fish and sealife call home. There are two main types of corals — hard and soft. I don’t know much about the biology of coral, but from what I understand the softer corals are the ones that are often more visually striking than the hard variety. Soft corals are especially important as they serve as home to marine algae, which is one of the reef’s most essential food sources for the small fish, and then bigger fish eat the small fish. Such is the circle of life!

Sea anemones are related to soft corals and is therefore actually a living animal - not a plant.
Do you see the lil Clown Fish?

Looking back through my photos, it appears that we saw quite a bit variety of both hard and soft corals on our snorkeling trip. I only hope that this stunning underwater world maintains this beauty as it’s threatened by global warming, illegal fishing and the Crown of Thorns.

If you visit Australia, definitely make sure to explore the Great Barrier Reef! (Oh, and maybe rent an underwater camera like we did too.)

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