#dailyescape

I woke up this morning feeling a bit sad. Facebook reminded me that same time last year I was on a road trip with my sweet pup Lola. We were driving from where I was living in Austin to my parent's house in Florida, where she would stay until I returned from my travels. My original plan was always 13 months and I'm hitting 12 soon, but enjoying this lifestyle abroad too much to quit. I figured that getting out to explore would cheer me up, so, I threw on some new summer gear and took off to explore my current home city of Izmir, Turkey. We've been living here for almost 2 full months now and never realized there were Roman/Ottoman empire ruins, the ancient city of Smyrna, right in our own backyard. Anyway, it turned out to be a beautiful day and I always try to focus on the positives, so I'm thinking about this Marilyn Monroe moment I had while walking through the windy ancient arches. Another positive, we were the only ones around so no one saw what came next except the camera and that evidence has already been deleted. I'm sure there's more bright side, but to be honest, I still miss the hell out of my dog. #wishyouwerehere #Izmir #Turkey . . . . . #traveldeeper #tlpicks #travelstoke #beautifuldestinations #dametraveler #travelphotography #dailyescape #postcardsfromtheworld #lonelyplanet #travelingphotographer #travelgram #createexplore #visualsoflife #stayandwander #livetotravel #travelpics #travelhunting #fradonointurkey #visitturkey #traveltagged #travelinspo #lifewelltravelled #instatravel #instapassport #travelblogger #asseenonme #ancientruins (at İzmir / Smyrna)

Saturday Sail Missing These Beautiful Moments Of Hearing Nothing But The Wind Against The Sails

I remember back when I was in 6th grade, learning about Greek mythology, and being particularly smitten with the story of the ancient city of Troy. Legend had it that the son of King Priam had kidnapped Helen, the queen of Sparta, and the most beautiful woman in the world. According to Homer's Iliad, the quest for her return caused a war that lasted 10 years, when finally the Greeks had an idea to build a large wooden horse, fill it with soldiers, and send it into the city as an offering to the goddess Athena. What's most interesting about Troy is how they just continued to build over it each time the city was destroyed; there were 10 layers discovered. Although worth a visit to see this part of history (and climb up into the reproduction of the horse) the ruins were pretty "ruined" and if you're short on time, there are others nearby with much better preservation. #troy #Turkey . . . . . . #ancientruins #mytinyatlas #traveldeeper #beautifuldestinations #troy #wearetravelgirls #dailyescape #darlingescapes #postcardsfromtheworld #travelinspo #ladolcevita #travelgram #visualsoflife #stayandwander #livetotravel #travelpics #travelhunting #fradonointurkey #travelingphotographer #femmetravel #amazingtravelbeauty #speechlessplaces #prettylittletrips #citizenfemme #islandfever #sidewalkerdaily #travelerslife #iliad (at Old Troy)

Old flour mill from the 1900s, restored in 2011 - overlooking the beautiful Aegean Sea #cundaisland #Turkey . . . . . . #traveldeeper #tlpicks #travelstoke #beautifuldestinations #dametraveler #travelphotography #dailyescape #postcardsfromtheworld #lonelyplanet #travelingphotographer #travelgram #createexplore #visualsoflife #stayandwander #livetotravel #travelpics #travelhunting #fradonointurkey #visitturkey #roadtrip #traveltagged #travelinspo #lifewelltravelled #instatravel #instapassport #travelblogger #islandfever #neverstopexploring (at Cunda Island)

Legendary Petek Döner has been feeding hungry shoppers in the Kemeralti Market area for years. This very popular Turkish dish is called Iskender; pieces of pita bread, topped with yogurt, beef (or lamb) döner, tomato sauce and melted butter (optional). #izmir #Turkey . . . . . . #hautecuisines #worldfood #foodoftheworld #instatravel#mytinyatlas #travelphotographer#wearetravelgirls #dailyescape  #ladolcevita#travelgram  #livetotravel #travelhunting #fradonointurkey #visitturkey #eatfamous#buzzfeedfood #gloobyfood #huffposttaste #spoonfeed#heresmyfood  #feedyoursoull #buzzfeast #eeeeeats #iskender #doner #turkishfood #foodphotographer #travelblogger (at Petek döner Salonu)

Mount Pho Si was absolutely stunning! I recommend going about 60-90 minutes before sunset, take your time getting up to the peak and stopping at the buddhas/temples along the way. It's best to start on the Nam Khan Riverside while it's still light out - this is the side where all of the Buddha statues are. You can descend on the other side and come out at the night market, as there's not much else to see there. I really enjoyed catching the views of the market from up high as well. We spent about 2 hours walking up and around - noticed a lot of monks around, caring for the property, sightseeing, and just striking up general conversation. It is supposed to be a Lao tradition to buy a caged and release it for good luck (photo 5 - the cages in a tree). There's also a really cool rock that you can climb at the top by the stupa to take a sunset photo - I loved this part because I felt like I was on top of the world 😁 Note that there are around 360 steps and it costs 20k KIP pp ($2.50 USD) - the sunset views are well worth it! #LuangPrabang #Laos . . . . . . #wanderlust #instatravel #mytinyatlas #tlpicks #bbctravel #traveldeeper #forbestravelguide #beautifuldestinations #fodorsonthego  #travelphotography #wearetravelgirls #dailyescape  #darlingescapes #passionpassport #postcardsfromtheworld #lonelyplanet #ladolcevita #travelgram #recliningbuddha #temples #stayandwander  #livetotravel #travelpics #travelhunting #fradonoinlaos #fradonoinluangprabang #visitlaos #mountphousi (at Mount Phou Si, Luang Prabang, Laos)

Pak Ou Caves are on the Mekong River about 25 km outside of Luang Prabang, Laos. They can be reached via private boat (about 3 hours round-trip for 300k KIP - just go to the dock and negotiate with the boat captains) or Tuk-Tuk (about 2 hours round-trip and 200k KIP). They are a group of two caves - Tham Ting (lower cave) and the Tham Theung (upper cave). They have become a very popular tourist attraction because of the hundreds of wooden miniature Buddha sculptures inside. The caves themselves were a bit underwhelming, but the boat ride alone was worth the trip. #LuangPrabang #Laos . . . . . . . #wanderlust #instatravel #mytinyatlas #tlpicks #bbctravel #traveldeeper #forbestravelguide #beautifuldestinations #fodorsonthego  #travelphotography  #wearetravelgirls #dailyescape  #darlingescapes #passionpassport #postcardsfromtheworld #lonelyplanet #ladolcevita #travelgram #createexplore #visualsoflife #stayandwander #livetotravel #travelpics #travelhunting #fradonoinlaos #fradonoinluangprabang#pakoucaves #visitlaos (at Pak Ou Caves)

Discovering Laos has been a true delight! It's a place I never would have thought to visit and ended up here after a Skyscanner search came up with Vientiane as the cheapest flight from Seoul. So glad that my mind was open and I've now found another place to love in the world! Have you ever tried open-ended flight searches on Google flights or Skyscanner? Just put in your starting point, pick your month and leave your destination blank - it's a great way to discover new places on a budget! #vientiane #laos . . . . . #wanderlust #instatravel #mytinyatlas #tlpicks #afar #bbctravel #traveldeeper #forbestravelguide #beautifuldestinations #fodorsonthego  #travelphotography #wearetravelgirls #dailyescape  #darlingescapes #passionpassport #postcardsfromtheworld #lonelyplanet  #ladolcevita #travelgram #createexplore #visualsoflife #stayandwander #livetotravel #travelpics #travelhunting #fradonoinlaos #fradonoinvientiane #watmixai (at Wat Mixai)