July 07, 2009
June 09, 2009
Visiting Italy, Egypt, Israel, Greece - Major Sites You Read About When You Were A Kid
Last month I was fortunate enough to be able to take time off from work and travel. I did not do a whole lot of planning. In fact, other than arranging for a flight into Europe from the US I did very little advance planning. I knew I wanted my first stop to be Athens to visit the Acropolis and the Parthenon.
The trip turned into a fascinating adventure. I visited The Giza Pyramids, Pompeii (the rest of Italy was done on previous trips), The Parthenon, The Nile, The Valley of the Kings, Karnak temple, Luxor temple, The Dead Sea, The Negev and more. With little pre planning I followed my heart and wound up at major historical sites that I read about when I was a kid. Specifically, monuments that have with-stood the test of time - most of them architectural wonders and the Dead Sea, a natural wonder. With only two weeks available to me there were certainly sites that could not be included. But then, that leaves room for further adventures.
Select photos can be found via the links below. See previous blog posts as well for additional location details
The Israeli game industry meetup
Catching a ride in egypt outside of luxor
Talking on phone while driving outside luxor egypt
Giza Pyramids, Egypt and Giza Again
May 30, 2009
Back in the USA
After two weeks of travel and stops in Greece, Egypt, Italy and Israel I'm finally back in the USA. It was a great trip (see previous posts for photos and highlights). Waiting in the Dulles/ DC airport for the connection back to Austin. It will be nice to be home.
Dead Sea Shorts - The Morning After
Dead Sea Shorts. Wore these while floating in the dead sea Thursday evening. Shot is taken the next morning about 12 hours later. They have enough Dead Sea minerals in them that they stand up on their own. Can you tell I'm facinated by this body of water. Simply one of the most fantatic places on the planet earth.
From Wikipedia: The Dead Sea (Hebrew: יָם הַמֶּלַח, Yām Ha-Melaḥ, "Sea of Salt"; Arabic: البَحْر المَيّت, al-Baḥr El-Mayyit, "Dead Sea";) is a salt lake between Israel and the West Bank to the west, and Jordan to the east. It is 422 metres (1,385 ft) below sea level,[2] and its shores are the lowest point on the surface of Earth on dry land. The Dead Sea is 378 m (1,240 ft) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It is also one of the world's saltiest bodies of water, with 33.7% salinity. Only Lake Assal (Djibouti), Garabogazköl and some hypersaline lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica (such as Don Juan Pond and perhaps Lake Vanda) have a higher salinity. It is 8.6 times as salty as the ocean.[3] This salinity makes for a harsh environment where animals cannot flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea is 67 kilometres (42 mi) long and 18 kilometres (11 mi) wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River.
May 29, 2009
Thanks to Guy Bendov for the Israeli Game Industry Meetup
Thanks to Guy Bendov for hosting a get together with key players of the Israeli game industry. Plus a fantastic Tel Aviv sunset to boot. It was a highlight of my trip to meet local individuals from the game and tech industry. I've only had 3 short days here but have enjoyed getting to know Israeli culture and the land and do hope to make it back again soon for everything that I missed. More photos here.
May 28, 2009
Floated in The Dead Sea - Uncanny
Magical. Simply amazing. Other worldly. Photos tomorrow. While pictures can show the Sea (which has it's own distinct elements unlike any other body of water) they cannot convey the experience of actually floating in the waters. Uncanny.
Waiting for A Lift - Negev Desert, Israel
On the drive from Eilat to The Dead Sea, in the middle of the Negev (Israel's desert country) I saw this. I had to drive back and forth simply to catch it again and see what was up. He's waiting for his lift, which arrives on my third pass. Full stream of shots can be found here.
May 26, 2009
May 23, 2009
Catching a Ride in Egypt (outside of Luxor)
Note the two riders at the top of the photograph.
