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A Month of Turkey

I’m well into my 2011 travels. After an exciting month in Italy, next up is another of my favorite countries: Turkey.

I’m actually taking one of those Rick Steves Turkey tours I’ve heard so much about. (I signed up with a pseudonym ‘ the group was really surprised when I showed up at dinner in Istanbul.)

Turkey ‘ one of our most popular destinations ‘ is fast-changing. During this tour, I’ll be scouting for new TV shows as well as fine-tuning Turkey for our tour program. I also have a little hedonistic R&R planned after a wonderfully productive (but brutal) May in Italy.

Starting with today’s entry, I’ll post a month of daily video clips ‘ “Your Daily Turkish Minute…or Two” ‘ sharing a candid peek into my Turkey fun. These rough yet spiffy little impromptu moments will be intended to capture and share the magic of Turkey.

This daily string of Turkish delights will be followed by a summer of travel in France, the Alps, Germany, and England.

Let your traveling friends know about our month of Turkey here on Blog Gone Europe. And thanks for traveling with me.

On this first Turkey clip, I meet my friend and fellow tour guide, Lale Surmen Aran. We go guide-on-guide in Istanbul’s Hippodrome.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

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Our Android App Is Here

Our Rick Steves Audio Europe app, which we released for iPhone in April, is now also available as a free app for Android smartphones.

I was just in Florence and Rome, and a sizable share of the travelers I met ‘ from the Uffizi to the Colosseum ‘ have me in their ears, enjoying our free audio tours of Europe’s greatest sights and walks. People kept asking me, “Hi Rick. How’s Lisa?” At first, I didn’t know who they meant ‘ but then I got it: Lyssa is the audio tour narrator, who says things like, “Now cross the street and let Rick tell you about this or that.”

When we first released our app, a loud chorus demanded, “Where’s the Android version?” The answer: It’s right here… and it’s free. Just click to download and enjoy our audio tours ‘ from London to Athens ‘ and the best of our public radio show, all organized in practical, information-rich, and geographic-specific playlists. (And if you haven’t tried the free iPhone version of Rick Steves Audio Europe yet, 40,000 travelers have and all we’ve heard is rave reviews.)

Happy travels…and travel smart.

Rick

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The Duomo in Florence: A Very Popular Church

There are three or four sights in Florence that have notoriously long lines. The Uffizi (on yesterday’s post) is one, and the Duomo (cathedral) is another. To illustrate how many people are waiting to get into the Duomo, here’s a jog down the length of the line.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

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Uffizi Tricks

I like to say that there are two IQs of European travelers: Those who wait in lines and those who don’t. Many tourists needlessly wait in lines when there are simple ways to see the sight with no wait. Here in Florence, you can easily avoid lines at the main and most crowded sights in two different ways: Buy the new Florence Card, or call in advance to make an appointment. My camera ran out of memory halfway through this clip; I intended to walk all along the hundred-yard-long line of people wasting time in an avoidable line to enter the Uffizi Gallery. I love the fact that a good percentage of the people entering the museum through the fast lanes (with the card or reservation) have my guidebook…and no one in the long line (with lower travel IQs) has my book.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

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Chianina Beef

Florentines love their Chianina beef. Joined by local friend Tommaso, our film crew shot and devoured a great steak dinner in a great steakhouse.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.