La Dolce Vita

As the countdown on our Bamako tour continues we decided to take one last long weekend out of town for Memorial Day.  Destination:  Rome!

It was spur-of-the-moment, which for me means only about a month of planning.  We stayed near the Colosseum in an apartment booked through Booking.com.  

Again, we took Turkish Airlines via Istanbul.  However, now we transited through the new Istanbul Airport.  It's new and it's huge.  It just opened and they are still working out some kinks, like better signage for transiting passengers and coffee machines that work at the airport concessions.

First stop in Rome was a haircut and beard trim at Machete Barber Shop.

After the freshen-up we had an evening tour of old Rome

The Altar of the Fatherland or The Vittorio Emmanuelle Monument or The Wedding Cake

Michael and Mark in Rome

Trajan's Forum 

The Roman Forum

Piazza Campodoglio

On the Piazza Campodoglio  

The Palatine Hill (I think)

The Colosseum 

The Colosseum 

Inside the Colosseum 

The Colosseum at sunset 

The Colosseum at sunset 

The next day was a bike ride around Rome.

At the Colosseum, again.

One of the quaint streets we rode down

Trevi Fountain

Yes, we tossed a coin - hopefully we'll come back!

Another Roman back street

The Spanish Steps

The Fontana della Barcaccia in the Piazza di Spagna

That would be a fun ride, too.

Our bike group on the Piazza di Spagna

Inside the Pantheon

Michael and Mark inside the Pantheon, bathing in the light from the oculus.

"No don't let that ugly church (St. Agnes in Agony) fall on me" in Piazza Navona

Having some bubbles on Piazza Navona.

Gelato stop in Trastevere.

Not only are artichokes delicious, they're pretty, too.

Dinner that night was at Restaurant Giulia along the Tiber.  It was soooo good.  Expensive, but worth it.  We had the tasting menu and it was a great contemporary take on traditional Italian/Roman food.  

My drink at Restaurant Giulia - the side is candied ginger.

Saturday was the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica.

Inside the Vatican with St. Peter's in the background

Michael and Mark in the Vatican

Statue of Diana of Ephesus in the Vatican Museum

The School of Athens fresco by Raphael in the Vatican Apartments

Stepping inside St. Peter's Basilica

The dome of St. Peter's, taken with my iPhone camera

and taken with our Nikon

Michaelangelo's Pieta

A Swiss Guard at the Vatican

Saturday evening we headed over to the Testaccio area for drinks and dinner.  Drinks at Tram Depot and dinner at La Fraschetta di Mastro Giorgio.  Tram Depot is adorable and a perfect spot for an aperitif.  La Fraschetta was recommended and it didn't disappoint.  Not quite the same level as Giulia, but not nearly as expensive, either.

There's a pyramid in Rome - who knew?

At Tram Depot for a cocktail

The artichoke was so delicious!

Sunday was another bike ride day - this time along the ancient Appian Way.  It rained for some of the ride, but it turned out to be quite refreshing.

Along the ancient Appian Way.  All roads led to Rome.

Out in the Aqueducts Park.

Out in the Aqueducts Park.

One of the tombstones that line the Appian Way.

Michael and Mark out in the Aqueducts Park.

Part of the ancient aqueducts of Rome.

Rome was the perfect short getaway to end up our time in Bamako.  Since we'll be in SE Asia for the next three years with lots of good regional travel opportunities, it was nice to have one last European jaunt.  I'll keep my eye on Rome as a posting further along in my foreign service career.  Who knows.

Piazza Campodoglio by night.

Last R&R: SAFARI

A few months ago we took our last R&R trip:  South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana.  It was a bit of a birthday splurge - the big five-oh for me - but what a great way to celebrate half a century.

We booked through Out2Africa, the LGBT division of Rhino Africa.  I can't recommend this company and our travel consultant, Matt Smith, enough.  Communication was great, accommodations were excellent, and we only had one or two small glitches which were easily taken care of.  You can read my full review on Trust Pilot.

Anyone who has lived in Africa knows that intra-Africa flights are still either scarce or expensive.  We flew Turkish Airlines via Istanbul (still the old airport at that time) and had a 14-hour layover.  Turkish has a great program of either a free city tour or a free hotel stay if your layover is over ten hours (or seven hours for business class).  This is a great perk and one of the things I've come to like about Turkish Airlines.  We decided to take a tour on this layover and a hotel on the return.  Here are a few pics of us in Istanbul on the layover

At the Blue Mosque

In the Grand Bazaar

In Sultanahmet (the old city)

After the city tour we relaxed in the Turkish Airlines Lounge until time to depart for Durban, South Africa.

Turkish Airlines Lounge

Durban is South Africa's third largest city and is on the east coast on the Indian Ocean.  The area has big, white-sand beaches with warm, tropical waters.  There are also some nice natural parks.  We did two bicycle tours with Bike & Saddle.  One was a city tour and the other a ride in the Yellowwood Park.  The city has a fun, young vibe and the Florida Road area has tons of bars and restaurants.  We stayed at Durban View Guesthouse.  My quick review is on Booking.com.

View of Durban from Durban View.

Michael on the city bicycle tour in Durban

Moses Mabhida Stadium

In the Yellowwood Nature Park

In the Yellowwood Nature Park

uMhlanga Rocks Beach north of Durban

uMhlanga Beach

After Durban we had an overnight in Johannesburg.  We stayed at The Residence and it was lovely.  Only one night in Jo'burg, though; we need to return for a longer stay.  From there it was up to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

Mosi-oa-Tunya = the smoke that thunders

In Victoria Falls we stayed at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge.  It's a beautiful property on the edge of the Zambezi National Park.  The lodge had a watering hole and all of the rooms have balconies that face it.  It's pretty cool.

Elephants at the watering hole at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge.

The watering hole view from the balcony

We took another bicycle ride with Bike & Saddle and had another great time.  I recommend this tour to get away from some of the overly touristy areas of Victoria Falls.  We biked through town, over the bridge, and also in the Chinotimba Township.  We even stopped for a beer along the way.

Beer stop in Chinotimba Township.  I'm not sure who the two on the left and right are.

At a school in Chinotimba Township, Zimbabwe.

We did a Zambezi River sunset cruise...

 On the Zambezi

 The Zambezi Queen

One Zambezi Sunset

and another Zambezi Sunset

We also did a sunset game drive in the Zambezi National Park.

Elephants in the Zambezi National Park

Elephant in the Zambezi National Park

 In the Zambezi National Park

And of course...The Falls.  Breathtaking and photos don't really do them justice.

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe Side 

 Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe Side 

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe Side 

Mark at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe Side 

Michael at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe Side 

Victoria Falls Bridge, Zimbabwe Side 

From Victoria Falls it was on to Botswana.  First stop was Chobe National Park.  We stayed at the Chobe Game Lodge.  It's gorgeous.  Really gorgeous.  Unfortunately, I didn't get pics, but here are some that are not mine.

Not our exact room, but ours was much like this one

Gorgeous common spaces

Very nicely designed

Romantic, as well.

Chobe Game Lodge has a good schedule of game drives and boat excursions.  We did at least two drives and a boat ride each day.  Chobe is THE PLACE for elephants.  We were told that the park has over 140,000 elephants.  Yes, that many.

We saw other animals, too

Fish Eagle 

Crocodile

Hippopotami

Cape Buffalo 

More Cape Buffalo

Some Baboons

More Elephants splashing in the Chobe River

After lots of tracking we finally spotted a big male lion

Fishermen in the Chobe River on the Namibia side.

A Chobe Sunset

Everyone looks good in Sunset Glow.

After Chobe we went into the Okovango Delta, still in Botswana.  We took a little bush plane to Camp Xakanaxa in the Moremi Game Reserve.  It is really a camp - although more "glamping" than camping.  But it's a tented safari camp and it was awesome!

Easiest boarding ever...

It's a big area...

Our tent at Camp Xakanaxa

Camp Xakanaxa from the water

We did game drives and a delta boat ride in the Okovango.

Wild Dogs in Moremi Game Reserve

The Old Alpha Male of the Pack

He's not quite as cute as Cosmo

Meanwhile, Cosmo was at doggy camp with Haechi back in Bamako (thanks, Sena and Keith)

A Moremi Sunset

Coffee's ready...

An Okovango Delta Sunset

Zebras

Camp Xakanaxa's resident Hippo (not me, btw).

How you doin'?

Giraffes on the loose.

On the last day we spotted (lol) this beauty...

Next up was Cape Town, South Africa.  The safari portion was incredible, but it was nice to be back in a city.  We stayed in the De Waterkant area and really liked it.  We did a city tour bike ride one day and another full day out on the Cape Peninsula with a marine biologist.  Both were fun, but the outing with the marine biologist was really cool.  We found it on Air BnB Experiences.  I highly recommend it.  We also visited the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art.  It's really cool in an old grain silo on the V&A Waterfront.  Unfortunately, the weather never quite cooperated for us to go up Table Mountain.  Maybe next time.

Inside the Zeitz Museum

Inside the Zeitz Museum

Inside the Zeitz Museum

Inside the Zeitz Museum

Inside the Zeitz Museum

Table Mountain in Cape Town

View of Bo Kaap neighborhood from our Air BnB

Bo Kaap Neighborhood

Bo Kaap Neighborhood

Bo Kaap Neighborhood on our bicycle ride

Chocolate shop by day...

Gin Speakeasy by night...

Mmmm, gin!

Penguin!

Penguin!

Penguin!

Penguin!

Out on the Cape Peninsula with a Marine Biologist.

Out on the Cape Peninsula with a Marine Biologist.

Out on the Cape Peninsula with a Marine Biologist.

Out on the Cape Peninsula with a Marine Biologist.

Out on the Cape Peninsula with a Marine Biologist.

Out on the Cape Peninsula with a Marine Biologist.

Out on the Cape Peninsula with a Marine Biologist.

Our last stop was a couple of nights in the Cape Wine Country.  We stayed in Stellenbosch at the Majeka House.  It's very charming and the town of Stellenbosch, which has a university, is a cute town especially on a lovely autumn (southern hemisphere) evening.  We did one last bike ride around Franschhoek, Paarl, and Stellenbosch.  And tasted wine, obviously.

Riding around Cape Wine Country. 

Riding around Cape Wine Country. 

One of the wineries we stopped at.

Mark in Cape Wine Country.

Riding around Cape Wine Country. 

More Wine!

One last stop at Babylonstoren, a renovated Cape Dutch farm in the wine country, before heading to the airport and back to Bamako.  It was a wonderful end to an amazing vacation.

Babylonstoren

Babylonstoren

One last wine tasting.