Turkey is an unforgettable experience.

Turkey is home to infinite locations that are beyond your wildest dreams! Full of ancient sites, unique beauty, and unparalleled destinations, visiting Türkiye is an unforgettable experience.

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. If you are making mistakes…you’re Doing Something. “

A wonderland of tastes

Türkiye is home to the freshest and tastiest fruits and vegetables since it enjoys a temperate climate with all four seasons. The food here is mind-blowing! It is a true culinary paradise!

In next 3 blogs that I will write, I will bring you closer to the country that divides east from the west and has a lot to offer and many places to visit.

Turkey is friendly, beautiful, culturally rich and good value for money. Also it is modern enough to be comfortable yet traditional enough to be interesting. Turkey is one of the world’s top 10 travel destinations, welcoming more than 35 million visitors every year.

Istanbul

I might not be telling you anything new but you should be hearing this.

Put a visit of Istanbul Turkey in your traveling plans! This city that is half European and half Asian is within reasonable travel distance, and offers so much, that you can make a week vacation just to see this incredible place. People are very serviceable and want to always offer you better for less. In other words, you feel special when you are going through the streets of Istanbul.

Denizli

The City Where History and Nature Meet

Located at the crossroads of Aegean, Central Anatolia and Mediterranean regions, at the junction point of Anatolia, Denizli has hosted many civilizations throughout history with its geographical location and natural beauty.

Denizli where you can see the traces of many civilizations such as Hittite, Phrygian, Lydia, Roman and Byzantium, is known all over the world for Hierapolis Ancient City, included inUNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. Denizli, located on the fertile soil of Lykos Valley, has a rich potential in terms of historical, archaeological, cultural and natural beauties.

Patara Beaches

Patara was one of the heavenly corners of Antalya since ancient times, and has maintained this feature till today. In parallel with its sea, its tides and current, Patara was frequented by thinkers, pioneers and mystical aspects from across the world. This tradition continues in our days with visitors who come from across the world to explore the city and its famous beaches.

Patara Harbour

Thanks to its geographical and climatic feature, the harbour of the city has become one of the indispensable stops of the east-west maritime trade route in the south of Anatolia, and thus a first-degree determining factor in the history and development of the city’s settlement. The alluvium carried by the water of the 130 km long Eşen River have filled the harbour of Patara, which ended settlement in the city in the 14th to 15th century CE. Today, the desert-like sand dunes close to the sea provide a different atmosphere to visitors.

Cappadocia

The “Land of Beautiful Horses” and Fairy Chimneys

Cappadocia is a beautiful region in central Turkey famous for its fairytale scenery, cave dwellings, remarkable rock formations and, of course, the hundreds of hot air balloons that soar in the sky during sunrise each morning.

There is also so much awesome hiking in Cappadocia, that it will take you at least a week to explore all of the diverse hiking trails in the region.

Your very best day

Türkiye’s many magical lands are full of fairy-tale wonders that create once-in-a-lifetime memories. Whether it is for a wedding, a honeymoon, or a special occasion, Türkiye promises to make the best day of your life even more special! Get ready for the next blogs!

Weekend escape in a lovely Wroclaw

I love the basketball lifestyle, especially since it allows me to travel and visit new places. Sometimes, these places I would never have thought of going. Now I can tell you about a place where little Gnomes rule. Do you feel like making the visit with me?

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. If you are making mistakes…you’re Doing Something. “

Let’s enjoy this magical experience of getting to know this wonderful city in the southern part of Poland. I tell you my dear readers, what a pleasant surprise Wroclaw has been!

City with many different architectural styles, an old part of town, new neighborhoods and places where time has stopped completely.

It’s a perfect place to spend a great weekend with family, or a nice getaway for couples.

It’s impossible to walk around and not feel moved by your surroundings. You might browse through many streets in this polish city, where there are as many as 180 bronze statues of Gnomes. These little creatures “rule” the city and it is one of the main attractions. If you want to make a collage of selfie photos with all of them, you might need a lot of space on your SIM card.

This beautiful city offers opportunities for adventurous types, like myself. River Oder cuts through the city and gives it the powerful image along with many bridges the cross quite imposant body of water. There are 12 islands that the river created within the borders of the city, and there are as many as 100 bridges that make Wroclaw known as Venice of The East. Where, of course, you can find another collection of Gnomes.

I highly recommend to use some comfortable shoes to go around because you can walk some serious distances, depending how active you want to be.

Wroclaw (Breslavia) (Wrocław) Ciudad en Polonia

If you are interested in architecture, you should visit Rynek square that should please you well. The more you walk, the more you get to see and the more you will love it. You will see renaissance and gothic facades of the buildings, some of them well kept, some of them, well, not so much. To my surprise, there was a lot more to see even outside of the city center, where you can usually find most of the sights to see.

And then, there is the gastronomy. Another positive thing about walking is to create appetite and there are plenty of places to conquer your hunger. You can literally find any type of restaurant with a variety of quality, just like pretty much any big city. Meaning, you can eat like a kind and you can also go low cost with pretty good quality food. Your choice!

I have heard great stories about club life and being able to go out literally all night, all the way to the morning. Unfortunately, we live in a pandemic and all the clubs are closed, but it is something that would really make me come back and experience it.

  

Maybe a visit as a couple will be in order once things get to normal. I can’t wait to be able to sit outside, drinking my beer or glass of wine, and feel the great scenery of the city.

I already know that I will be coming back soon enough, and anyone, who is in Germany or Czech Republic, should definitely consider visiting Wroclaw. You will not regret it!

Embracing the Change From the Inside Out!!!!

Throughout my life I have had change come at me when I least expected it.

I am pretty good at making decisions, when something feels right for me. I am also not scared of change, when I can see the road ahead or when I believe that it will be good change.

However, like so many other people, when we don’t know what will happen, we tend to wait to create change until we have to or we hit a “pothole” on life’s journey and we have to stop and reflect on where we are going. Even when we know it is time for change, even when it hurts to stay where we are, when we long to grow emotionally, mentally, personally and professionally, even then we tend to wait.

But what are we waiting for?

Even when we long to feel better and get healthy, we tend to wait to clean up our habits, until something happens where we simply have to.

WHY TO WAIT?

 

Why are we so scared of challenging ourselves?

We tend to wait until the pain of staying stuck is bigger than the pain of change. Yes change is effort and it feels like pain.

For the past 18 years of my life and changing cities, meet new culture, new people, I realizade that, people are create in kind of custuming and culture and they are fraid of changing.

 

What if we could look forward and wonder what we would do with change, rather than what change would do to us?

 

It is possible to create a life we love, but it starts with seeing change as a journey. It starts with having the courage to look inside and discover you own special, silly, beautiful, funny, clumsy, awkward, lovely self. And then there is also the dark side of ourselves, the parts we want to hide and the parts we don’t love because they are not so fluffy, or sweet, or pretty.

The thing is, nothing about being human is ever perfect.

 

“Life is not about perfection, it is about discovery….” In my experience it has been a “trip to me”— an open door to “me” discovering my whole self.

 A dialogue begins as you listen to your body and discover your personal relationship with food and what that means.

You learn that self-nourishment extends beyond eating healthy. It’s a beginning that extends to the whole self, emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Changing from the inside out.

You feel the love and power that comes with the understanding that you can own your “emotional” real estate—the whole self.

When we approach big change in our lives from the inside out, it means we unearth, understand and then begin to address the thought patterns and limiting beliefs about ourselves and our world that got us here.

  

That’s really how and when we begin to change the behaviors that we adopted as a result of that thinking that are no longer working for us.

 

That’s when we begin to unlock our power and address the underlying problem and not just the outer symptoms. And that’s when we are truly able to create long-term change.

 

Embracing the Change From the Inside Out!!!! “SO I INVITE YOU TO JOIN ME FOR SOME CHANGE”, be the change you want to see in the world!!

By Keilley Lee Marques

New season, New city, New home!!

Sometimes, we are so keen on making plans, short term, or long term, and we don’t realize that so often, life makes plans for us. Or in other words, we are just reacting to the situations that we are thrown into.

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. If you are making mistakes…you’re Doing Something. “

Right now, I am in the middle of adjustment to our “new home” that is surprisingly not located with the borders of the United States, as we planned. Instead, I am in Brno, Czech Republic, trying to figure so many different things, regarding my kids, school, getting settled and thousands of other things to be taken care of. Luckily, I am equipped with the basics of the language (for those who know little bit about the local tongue, IT AIN’T NO JOKE), so this transition is not as hard as it could be.

My husband took an opportunity to come to Brno to be part of the new project, to stay active during this difficult period of time. Covid 19 pandemic has been hard on virtually everyone, and like I mentioned before, it has rearranged plans for many.

So, I am here, at the outskirts of second biggest city in Czech Republic, looking at the field of sunflowers that are almost all dead. School just started, and our kids are thrown into a brand-new environment,

almost new language. New everything. But they are great, they do not sweat it as much as we adults would.

  

They are young, they adopt. They look at the bright side, and maybe we should take a note, and behave like them.

I feel truly fortunate that my husband has a job, we live in a safe place and pretty much everything is taken care of. Not everyone can say that. I am sure that Brno offers more things to do, and it is not going to be only about basketball this season. I am excited to get to know this part of Czech Republic, Moravia, the land of local wines. Let’s go!

  

Navigating through the pandemic

I feel an urge to express myself through these next paragraphs about the current situation we are in right now. As a mother of two and a wife to a basketball guy (my husband Lubos is ex professional player and has been coaching last 4 years), I had been dealing with many issues and situations.

In my opinion, there has been many things that people are afraid of, but I think the worst one by far is the uncertainty we are facing every day. Suddenly, we are not able to plan ahead, look forward to anything, really, and I think it is very hard for anyone do deal with.

 

 

This season, my husband and I tried to go overseas and be a coach in the US.

He even went twice over there to meet people and stayed with Baylor basketball team for the whole semester.

Just in eve of landing a job or possibilities, the virus broke out, season ended, and everything else just stopped.

Luckily, he was able to return to Barcelona to be with us, but our chances to make a transition to the other side of Atlantic has been postponed and there is a thick fog in front of us, as far as the upcoming season.

Our situation is a specific one and I am certain that there are many others, who have been caught in a delicate situation. We have to be strong and support each other, because that is what strong teams do – in tough times, they pull together. I have been very supportive of him going away for 4 months, and I am still supportive now, when it seems like there is nothing clear in the forseeable future.

 

 

At the same time, Lubos is trying his best to be positive and makes me feel appreciated. He knows that this situation is not easy for me either and we constantly communicate.

We are trying to use this time to spend meaningul time with each other, we are doing homeschooling and did many little projects with kids at home. I can see that Lubos is closer to our kids more than ever, has the time to spend with them, and that is always good. So let’s focus on the positive and let’s do positive thinking towards the future as well. 

We just celebrate this last weekend our 9th wedding anniversary, staying at home, all of us together, healthy and with positive attitude towards future. Because there is not much else you can do right now, We will pop a bottle of champagne, maybe see a movie all of us together, and just be greatful for us to be healthy and able to spend time. Not everyone is so fortunate these days.

So please, stay strong, stay positive and stay safe! 

With love from Barcelona, Spain

Keilley

Mother Earth, you have our attention!

One way or another, our lives have changed dramatically over the past weeks. Covid-19 and its rapid spread, halt our daily busy life into a stop, made us shelter, and distance from each other.

 

It’s the first time in recent history, that this happen globally, affecting every country on every continent. Just like billions of people everywhere, I have been confined at home, with my kids, leaving my Barcelona apartment only for the necessities.

I try to play my role, helping to stop the spread of this virus, and educating my kids to do so as well. (Something that I come back to later on). I also have lots of time to think about the present situation, as I am sure, many people do. I follow the news, the developments and try to stay away from panic and fear. Those two things are worse than the virus itself.

SO LET’S STAY POSITIVE! I have been following and focusing on the bright side of this current situation. Obviously, my biggest sympathy goes to the people that are suffering and are in poor health, or already lost their lives, or their loved ones. Just like in every situation, there is always something good in something bad.

In Japan, they call in Yin Yang.

I want to point out, that just in 3 weeks of slowing down industries, travel and every day “routine”, our Earth already took a note.

A positive one. Water has been clearer, air has been fresher and amazingly, the ozone layer has recovered noticeably in such a short period of time.

I hope that everyone noticed and that maybe it will change laws and the way we treat our planet.

People also have opportunity to practice many things, that we are not accustomed to do. It’s the best time to stay home, clean your house, organize and practice discipline. Staying fit and trying not to eat too much is very challenging while staying at home ALL THE TIME. That’s where discipline takes place, and everyone should improvise and try to do the best they can. There are only few rules to follow during this time, and yet, some people have very hard time to do so.

People should also practice solidarity, togetherness (while staying apart) and being considerate.

There is no room for selfishness during this time.

Parents should spend some quality time with their kids, oversee their schoolwork, and maybe try to be their teacher for once.

Families should pull together during this tough period, help one another, since there are many people losing their jobs over this short period of time.

This health and economic situation are uncovering some uncomfortable truths about our society, our character and our laws.

Let’s get out of this situation as better people, better society, and with more values. I hope that politicians, lawmakers and industries learn from this period and we will improve. (Like improve our view on doctors, nurses, fireman and pretty much everyone, who has been on the front line, dealing with this virus and helping the sick.

  

They are the true heroes of 2020 so far!) We still take too many things for granted, and I think that our planet – Mother Earth – is telling us something. Are we smart enough to learn? Or is it going to be just a scare, little hiccup in our way to destroy our planet completely.

I certainly hope that we are going to change our ways.

Red Dress

When you venture to live the life to the fullest, enjoying the best moments that God gives you and you overcome every obstacle along the way, it is when you really value your friendships. My dearest friend Tania Askenazí is much more for me, it is a true friendship.

It has been 14 years since we started to live through great moments, shared parties, went on the trips and unique adventures but also we have gone through some difficult moments.

 

The way we met was very curious. It was for that red dress! lol. I remember we were at a party in Barcelona, and Tania approached me intrigued by a nice red dress that I wore that night. She came over and said “Oh, what a cute dress! Where did you buy it?” And I sincerely confessed: “Well, in a Chinese shop, and and it was very cheap… hahaha.” Tania quickly understood that as I valued top clothing brands, I also appreciated the original and beautiful simple designs, even if they are not created by a large well known firm. Like is life to appreciated the little moments and little things.

 

Just at that moment a beautiful friendship was born, since beyond that beautiful cheap red dress that caught her attention. We both noticed that we had many things in common, we had much to talk about and many adventures to live.

 

Tania is a girl that is full of energy, always has a smile on her face that makes your day. It’s that person you always want to have by your side, to enjoy a good coffee, watching a sunset. Or to enjoy a night full of dances, drinks and lots of fun with friends.Today is her birthday, and I wanted to share with you a little of me, because this girl is worth gold. 

 

We always travel together, we have had wonderful adventures in different destinations such as Cuba, Brazil and all around Europe. Tania has always been the friend who doesn’t do something to please you 24 hours a day.

 

For example, sometimes when she went to sleep I was going to dance (hahaha) and if I felt tired, she was going to ride a horse on the beach. Afterwards, we would meet to enjoy talking about our experiences. It’s like we always understood our differences and made room for one another. 

It has really been a very sincere friendship. She really has been a great pillar of friendship, of courage, has always given me valuable advice with the right words (even though sometimes maybe things that I didn’t want to hear, and that’s what real friends do for each other) , and she is someone who understands me very well. 

Friendship is to have fun, not to take advantage of the other, true friendship does not imply a plan for exchanging favors, but the fact of always being there during the happiest and also the most difficult moments. That is the true friendship that we have and it’s definitely worth of writing about. 

 

A friendship that not even distance can break, sometimes when I had to go to live outside of Spain for my husband’s work and after months that we did not travel, or because each one with a busy schedule of work and travel. And there are always those moments when I would love to be with her, and I confess, whenever we are separated I count the days and hours to enjoy my “black panther” as we call her with love.

 So, Today, on your birthday, I wish you the best in the world, that every day to come be loaded with new learning, new goals met, a lot of joy and enthusiasm that characterize you and that the true friendship that unites us will last forever.  

I love you my dear friend…

“Paris is always a good idea!!”

“Paris is always a good idea!!”

Yes, this phrase is very famous and typical but so true. It doesn’t matter how many times i have been to Paris, I put my hand up without a second thought when someone brings up potential trip to french capital.

 

 

Staying in Paris makes me feel glamorous, fancy, romantic…hold on…the romantic part can be tricky because to be fully enjoying Paris on a romantic getaway can be quite pricey, so i would advice to bring your handsome to cover or share the costs hahaha…

 

 

Paris is very expesinve place, especially most of the places and restaurants that I like to see or to visit.

Last time in Paris, I was there with my BFF to celebrate a birthaday of our mutual friend. The whole 3-day weekend was amazing, and she showed me many places that I have never known before. Still, I have to find a cheap place within the borders of the City of love.

As soon as possible, I will write about staying in Paris as a couple, with kids on the family visit, and with friends. All of theses experiences are great and they are all different.

Ok. Let’s concentrate on what happened last weekend.

We stayed in Melia Vendome Paris hotel,my first time staying at this place and actually even in this area. I always drifted towards taking a hotel closer to the Eiffel tower or its vicinity. The reason was generally because I usually come to Paris by car.

This downtown quarter, District 8, is a very charming place. It happens to be the most important street with shops near to the Louvre mueseum and Vendome square.

 

We were just 5 minutes of walking from the Hotel Costes, which also has a great restaurant. Make sure that you have reservation here because if you don’t, the girls by the reception might have a bad humor with a slight bitchiness in their voices (female feud I suppose). Right, just a bad experience for my first time there.

Thanks goodness we had a great waiter who saved the day, gave us a better table and even better service.

By the time we had our glasses filled with wine, the unpleasant hostess was long forgotten. Afterall, everythnig went just fine, the food and drinks and our waiter was great!!

Coming alone without kids I had time to make this little trip outside of Paris, to Riems Champagne area, wordily known for its popular…hmm..CHAMPAGNE!

 

I was waiting and making plans for so long to visit this place, that I have enjoyed every single minute. I did my Champagne tour with Pariscityvision, which brought me to two different little towns, Reims and Epernay. Definitely I will do it again.

Back in Paris we had dinner at Matignon is a place that is both inspired and inspiring, with its restaurant designed by Jacques Garcia. And it’s a club by Charles Tassin. Just amazing from the begginig to the end, just a great pleasure to be there. Totally recommend this to you.

Next day on Saturday morning, I had my complete breakfast in our hotel and we went out to walk around. We saw some amazing stores around us, by the way, the new Loius Vuitton store is opened, after four years of renovation project.

Loius Vuitton made a great return to a place where it was founded over 160 years ago. Just on the corner of Vendôme square and Parisian street, there is very important fashion area, and definitely the best shopping place.

 

From there on we went to Armani Cafe restaurant. I must admit, we had reservation in another place, but it didnt workout and Armani was the closest second option for us. I called to make sure we could go in and get a table, and they just received us with open warm welcome. The food was fabulous, get more details on my Tripadviser profile.

As normal, it was time to take a nap, and to get rest and ready for the later party!! Sounds great, right! Since I didn’t have my kids around, I could move around easily without really paying attention to a time frame, schedules etc. (I absolutely love my kids, but I really needed that time for myself… let it go with the time, without looking at my watch or phone).

Let’s not forget why was I in Paris to begin with. It’s Birthday party time!

We had dinner at Manko Paris, which was a great ”success”!! And later on our party moved to a club called RASPOUTINE Paris, discoteque for the local elite, since you have have to buy a whole table to get in. Basically, you have to be a V.I.P. to party there. Not a cheap thrill by any means. But great music!!

Being the firsts ones to leave the club and make it back to our hotel made me realize that I am getting old. Or maybe more responsible, since I had busy schedule planned out for the following day.

Sunday morning, I wake up later than I wanted, had my coffee at Mandarin hotel, and actually, tha was a great idea!! (Guys, you should try the Mandarin hotel in Barcelona as well, situated in the city centre, Paseo de Gracia. It’s a 10!)

 

We were walking on the street Paresian until get to the avenue des Champs-elysees. It was a nice stroll with many stores opened (on Sunday!), difficult for a shopper not to buy anything.

Then we had lunch at Al Ajami Lebannese restaurant with the whole group from the last night and of course everybody showed up with a hangover and a story to tell. So much fun!!!

Being in Paris and not visiting the most famous landmark, the Eiffel tower, is straight up unforgivable.

 

 

 

So we took an Uber and we did the tour. Afterwards, we were walking around in the streets, chily but beautiful weather, we treated ourselves with an excellent crepe, perfect ending for my stay in Paris.

Au revoir

By

 

Keilley Lee Marques

 

 

#Paris #blog #france #hotelcostes #melia #Eiffeltower #matignon #tripadiviser #mankoparis #raspoutine #mandarin #alajami

  

 

The Northern Lights will take your breath away!

We don’t know how they are being produced but they surely amaze us. We would go to the end of the world to see it in person. We are talking about the Northern Lights, a natural phenomenon. The one that will take your breath away. Surely, you have heard about this natural wonder, and you also probably seen this magic through a video. This time I will tell you some curiosities that you may not know about the Northern Lights.

Northen lights  

In the north of the planet the magic happens, places like Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Alaska, Finland and Canada are the privileged so consider any of these destinations if you want to enjoy this phenomenon.

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. If you are making mistakes…you’re Doing Something. “

Basically the sky is dyed in different blue-green tones, but it’s more than that, those who have had the opportunity to see a Northern Lights describe it as a worthwhile experience, unique and indescribable, worth repeating at least one more time.

Enjoy a Northern Lights better with a camera, That’s right, the magic of a Northern Lights is much better enjoyed through a camera and who does not take one to the vacations of his life.

 

In the north of the planet the magic happens, places like Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Alaska, Finland and Canada are the privileged so consider any of these destinations if you want to enjoy this phenomenon.

On the contrary, the cameras are more sensitive, just adjust it so that Capture images with high explosion and voila, you’ll have the best pictures of your lifetime.

I can tell you that there are pictures of Northern Lights that exceed what the eye Human can get to catch.

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The Northern Lights are produced thanks to the interaction of the particles solar with the earth’s atmosphere. The clash of these particles with the magnetic shield of the earth attracts the poles and they release energy by penetrating into the upper atmosphere. That whole process is what produces the beautiful and hypnotic colored lights in the sky.

Now the colors of magic will depend on the atomic species of particles and the level of energy they release. Northern Lights with beautiful shades of greens have been observed, but also there are red and blue, even a fabulous combination of all those colors.

So if you are very lucky and you are in a place with altitudes of 100-200 km

Surely you will see a green northern lights. Red northern lights occur with oxygen emission above 200km while the blue auroras are born by the emission of particles of nitrogen at 120 km.

So if you are very lucky and you are in a place with altitudes of 100-200 km

 

Surely you will see a green northern lights. Red northern lights occur with oxygen emission above 200km while the blue auroras are born by the emission of particles of nitrogen at 120 km.

 Enjoy the Northern Lights with all your senses When we go to a destination we have to be alert all the senses to to be able to fully enjoy each experience and if it is to see a dawn Borealis with much more reason. And is that researchers say that not only is seen, but also listen, the northern lights produce a slap-like sound and so you can perceive 70 meters from the ground level.

Don’t you think it’s great? The explanation is that the solar particles they discharge Light emit that sound. A complete experience for lovers of nature that are willing to appreciate the greatness of the universe.

When to travel to see a Northern Lights? 

Anyway, I do not think there is someone who does not dream of seeing a northern lights, if you already You decided to remember to travel between the months of October and March. No matter the destination you choose, you are more likely to spot this natural phenomenon during winter or what is the same December, January or the February month.

During those three months the moments of sunlight decrease and the nights are longer Organize your trip, gather your best friends and enjoy the experience of seeing a northern lights.