M40間諜米格魯的秘密日誌

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國際線轉國內線:轉機與行李的問題

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Greece has hundreds of islands big and small, and many of these islands have a common feature: they are
a) home to some famous Greek gods, goddesses or heros with a demi-god status in Greek mythology;
b) home to key figures, thinkers and writers in the history of philosophy, arts, sciences and mathematics,
c) place of refuge for Christian Saints
 
For the time being, I can think of:
- Samos: the island of Pythagoras, the famous philosopher and mathematician that forumlated the Pythagorean Theorem
- Lesvos: the island on which Sappho, the Greek poetess, was born
- Kos: the founder of modern western medicine, Hippocrates, was born on the island of Kos and received his medical training at the Asklepieion of Kos (about 5km outside of present day Kos Town)
- Patmos: the island on which St. John the Apostole took refuge and wrote the last book of the Holy Bible, the Book of Revelation
- Chios: legend has it that Homer was born in the village of Volissos, Chios; some said that he had spent a considerable length of time on the island

Anyway, I was fortunate enough to visit Kos on several occasions in the past few years thanks to its proximity to the Bodrum Peninsula, Turkey and the island's strategic location as the transport hub of the Dodecaneses Islands means it is possible to travel from Kos to many different Greek islands by ferry or air.

The pretty little harbour of Kos Town. The island has some of Greece's best beaches (most of which are located on the eastern half of the island). Kos and Rhodes are the only two islands of the Dodecaneses islands on which Ottoman Turkish population were allowed to settle down during centuries of Ottoman Turkish rule.
Ottoman Turkish legacy could still be seen all over the place. Here, at Kos Town's main square, buildings with distinctively Ottoman architectural style have been converted into public buildings and elegant cafes.

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Mallorca is the biggest of the Spanish Belearic Islands and a popular holiday destination for tens of millions of tourists from all over Europe and beyond. At the beginning, I was put off by the island's infamous reputation as the island of Ballermann, a satire of fat, overweight German prolet holidaymakers with beer bellies who fly to Mallorca to drink cheap beer, eat sausages and spend most of their time doing stupid things on the beach.
The thing is, Mallorca has so much to offer in terms of history, culture, food and shopping, as well as sceneries. Most working-class holidaymakers tend to cluster in resort towns on the southern and eastern parts of the island, while those who are looking for stylish refinement and natural scenic attractions will head to the more exclusive resorts in the north, such as Port de Soller, seen below:

The Lighthouse and the Bay of Port de Soller, about 5km outside of the town of Soller, famous for its Cathedral, delicious Italian galati ice-cream and excellent olive oil from the hills nearby. Another famous tourist attraction is the Tram de Soller, another antique tramway line built in the late 19th century which connects Soller town with Port de Soller, passing through orange grooves and along the seafront en route to the centre of Port de Soller.

Above: Orange Grooves near Fornalutx, about 5 km outside of the town of Soller, where some of Spain's best olive oils come from.

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To be honest, I did not like Alanya at all when I visited the town for the first time in the summer of 2004. I thought it was the worst place one could possibly go on a holiday: a town full of soulless modern concrete blocks, beaches packed with topless fat European pensioners eager to bake themselves brown in the sun, restaurants and bars serving bratwurst and sauerkraut to German tourists, and it was so hot I did not even want to go out in the afternoon.
And there were so many shops in Alanya selling cheap-looking counterfeit designer wears and bags; it seems turkish shop owners were all convinced that fake Gucci bags and Prada t-shirts are all that European holiday makers want to take home with them after their 2-weeks vacation in the sun.
Which is why I thought I would never ever visit Alanya again, until some Belgian friends of mine invited me to visit them in Alanya. My first reaction was 'Oh My God, no thank you, I had been there before and I don't want to go there again', but they kept reassuring me Alanya has become a much nicer place since my previous visit and I would give it another try.
Since I had nothing better to do then, I decided to accept their invitation and check out the town for a second time. Maybe the sunny, mild climate of mid-March does make a difference to the steaming hot sun of September, but Alanya in March is actually quite a nice place for a short visit ..............

The harbour of Alanya where boats leave for an 1-hour excursion of nearby coves and beaches. Unlike the Aegean coast, tourist season in Alanya lasts throughout the year. Average temperature in March is already 20 - 25 degrees Celsius during the day, which makes it the best time of the year to visit. Mass hordes of tourists will begin to arrive in April, reaching the peak in the summer months.

The town has a natural deep water harbour and a pictursque setting. During the summer months, there are weekly high-speed ferry to the port of Girne, Northern Cyprus, from Alanya.

Cleopatra Beach, Alanya: 傳說中 Alanya 是安東尼送給埃及艷后克麗歐佩特拉的結婚禮物,兩人還在此地渡蜜月, 這片海灘因此而得名.

Most European holiday makers come to Alanya for the white sandy beaches and the warm sea. One of the most well-known destinations is the Cleopatra Beach (picture above), named after the Ancient Egyptian Queen. Legend has it that Alanya was the wedding gift presented to Cleopatra by her lover, Marcus Antonius, and both of them spent their honeymoon in Alanya. Hence the name 'Cleopatra Beach'. What is also true is that the Egyptians hacked off most of the forests in the mountains near Alanya and ship the timbers back to Egypt.

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               西班牙是 2008 European Championships 歐洲杯優勝者!!!!!!!
                        Viva Espana!!!! Viva la Furia Roja!!!

(Photo Courtesy of AS, Guardian Unlimited and Marca. Getty Images.)
西班牙國家足球隊隊長 Iker Casillas (Real Madrid) 舉起 Henri Delaunay 冠軍杯的那一刻,讓我高興的一個星期都睡不著覺

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The first time I came across the idea of visiting Ayvalik was while I was on a Turkish Airlines domestic flight from Istanbul to Ankara. In THY's inflight magazine was an article about the life of 20th century Turkish Fauvist painter Fikret Muallâ Saygi (1903-1967), and I was immediately attracted to the bright, bold colours and expressive emotions of his works. In one of the photographs published in the article, the painter was shown to stand near the harbour of a small village with some pretty Greek houses in the background. The photo was taken while Saygi was teaching at a school in Ayvalik soon after his return from Europe. The little village in the photo seems so peaceful and picturesque, it aroused my interest immediately.
However, it would take me another 2 years or so before I could finally accomplish my intention of visiting Ayvalik and the nearby archipelagos.

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After 3 days in Mytilini, I decided to look for a new hotel to stay. It was weekend when I first arrived at Mytilini and most hotels near the harbour were fully booked. Thus I had had no choice but to settle for any accommodation I could find.
After walking around the centre of Mytilini for a while, I came across a small hotel in a side street right behind the main harbour avenues. It is situated in a restored old Greek house and looks all right from the outside. I asked at the reception if they had any room available for next week, half expecting they would say 'sorry, we are full' but to my surprise, they still had vacanies and they accept credit card payments.
The room is sunny and I particularly like the stone wall and the homely feeling of this little hotel.
 
                                              
                                                     Main Entrance to the Hotel

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Turin is a beautiful city. Situated against the backdrop of snow-capped Italian Alps, the city is a wonderful mixture of culture, elegance and efficiency. The city has several grand squares and is very well known for its cafes. Lavazzo, one of Italy's foremost coffee brands, comes from Turin.
Many people know about Turin thanks to the film classic 'The Italian Job' (the Original Version, not the re-make). Football fans will know this is the seat of one of Serie A's giants, Juventus - known as 'the Old Lady'. Others will associate Turin with Fiat the car-maker. But my interest in this northern Italian city was ignited when I started drinking coffee.
A few years ago, while I was on holiday in Trieste, another Italian city famous for excellent coffee (illy) and coffee houses, I came across an article in the Travel Section of the Financial Times on coffee houses in Turin. In terms of flaire, Turin is very well-organised and disciplined compared to other Italian cities. The laid-out of the city centre reminds me of Lyon and Zurich, perhaps because both Zurich and Turin are surrounded by snow-capped mountains. The air in Turin is fresh, without any trace of pollution or dust so common in other Italian cities, the traffics are orderly and efficient public transport networks connect the industrial and cultural capital of Piedmont with nearby towns and countryside. And there were almost no tourists in sight - in stark contrast to Milan, Florence or Venice. Most visitors to Turin are business travellers, or they come to Turin for the winter sports.
The hotel I stayed at is about 100m from Turin's main train station. It is a small hotel but very cosy, and my room has pretty painted fresco ceilings. The breakfast is so-so, not great but it's adequate. The rooms are comfortable and the bed is great to sleep on.

The room -


Sitting area near the reception desk where guests can have a chat and relax

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Thessaloniki is a great city, one of my favourite cities in the world, and 100000 times prettier than Athens !!!
Unlike the never-ending traffic jams, air pollution, terribly bad streets and ugly buildings in Athens, Thessaloniki has everything that I like: scenic setting on the coast, tree-lined boulevards which reminds me of spring in Paris, numerous beautiful squares with marvellous architecture in the city centre (very similar in terms of flaire to Turin, my favourite Italian city), elegant and chic open-air cafes, great shopping opportunities, picturesque buildings and very friendly inhabitants.
I stayed at Hotel Luxembourg, located right at the heart of Thessaloniki's upmarket shopping districts when I visited Thessaloniki in August. The hotel's exterior looks more French than Greek. There are many good cafes and restaurants nearby, you won't be running short of options.
                                             
                                        

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