I just got back from a two month trip in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay and am now preparing a book about my trip. Here’s a playlist I created which represents fairly well the soundtrack of my trip:
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Hi there! It’s been a while…
I’m at a turning point in my life. I just got back from a two month trip in South America (Chile, Argentina and Uruguay) and I’ve now officially started my life as a full time freelance writer and translator. Exciting stuff!
In order to get a nice start on this new life, I decided to build myself a standing desk. Of course, being broke and lacking the skills to build a piece of furniture, I decided to take the easier road: an IKEA hack.
We just decided to get rid of our TV. The poor thing wasn’t getting the love it deserved. It hadn’t been turned on in over a year and was just sitting there gathering dust. Finally, we put an ad up on Kijiji and within hours, some happy couple came to get it.
Underneath the TV, there was a nice TV stand, still in great condition. I didn’t want to throw it out so I went to the hardware store and bought some wood, wood glue and 2 shelves. That’s it. I glued the pieces of wood onto the existing legs and let it dry for 1 day. Afterwards, I built the shelves and put everything up together. The last step was to paint the legs a nice shade of turquoise green. Done! A new desk! (If you’re wondering, yes, it’s very solid)
In life, turning points are always a bit scary but building this desk and having a designated work spot has made it a bit easier to face new challenges!
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Il fait bon explorer la côte Lycienne turque. Située aux abords de la Mer Méditerranée, cette région est dotée de plages magnifiques, de villages côtiers charmants et d’une multitude de paysages d’une beauté apte à couper le souffle.
En bateau sur la Médittérannée Nous avons d’abord posé nos valises à Antalya, une grande ville qui attire souvent les comparaisons avec Nice (France). Nichée entre la mer et une importante chaine de montagnes, Antalya inspire le repos et la vie vécue au ralenti. Au centre, la vielle ville regorge de sympathiques restaurants et de petites boutiques toutes plus mignonnes les unes que les autres. Il s’agît donc d’un bon endroit où s’arrêter pendant quelques jours avant d’entamer une excursion sur la côte Lycienne.
La marina d’Antalya Après deux nuits à Antalya, nous avons mis le cap sur Olympos, petit village isolé agréablement situé sur le bord de la mer. Pour s’y rendre, il faut d’abord prendre l’autobus qui nous dépose au bord de l’autoroute, puis on monte dans un taxi partagé pour se rendre au village Le trajet est d’une durée de 2 heures et offre des paysages montagneux spectaculaires.
La plage d’Olympos Avant d’arriver, nous imaginions un petit village typique avec une place centrale et des rues. Olympos ne rentre pas dans ce moule. Il s’agit plutôt d’une longue rue bordée de restaurants, de pansions et de bars. Connue à travers le monde pour ses tree-houses et pour son ambiance festive, elle attire une clientèle jeune qui accourt durant l’été. D’ailleurs, si nous avions effectué notre voyage aux mois de Juin ou Juillet, nous aurions probablement choisi un autre endroit où rester (Cirali, village voisin partageant la même plage qu’Olympos, est beaucoup plus tranquille). Puisqu’on a voyagé hors-saison, nous avions décidé d’y passer quelques jours afin de pouvoir se reposer un peu et d’avoir la chance d’admirer les superbes ruines issues des diverses périodes d’âge d’or de la région.
Les ruines d’Olympos Ce choix, nous ne l’avons pas regretté! Hébergés à la Saban Pansion, nous avons eu droit au traitement royal de la part des frères et sœurs Meral, Ali et Mustapha qui gèrent ce splendide lieu d’hébergement. Les délicieux repas servis sur la grande terrasse de la pansion à chaque soir valent à eux seuls le détour!
Saban pansion = confort et bonne bouffe assurés -
So, as you can see I’ve been busy enjoying summer in Montreal and I’ve sort of neglected this blog.
I can’t promise that I’ll be back here on a regular basis because I like to keep this fun and spontaneous. For now, here are some photos of summer events and happenings that I took part in during the summer.
I had fun and it went by way too fast!
Here is a small playlist featuring the songs that got the most airplay on my iPod this summer
And here’s what I was up to:
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Turkey’s Lycian coast is one of the country’s most beautiful regions. Set along the coast of the Meditteranean sea, it’s a pleasure to explore the beautiful beaches, charming seaside towns and breathtaking valleys.
Our first stop was in Antalya, a big city often compared to Nice (France). Set in a lovely mountainous environment, it is a great place to put your bags down for a few days before you set out to explore the rest of the region. The old town, known as Kaleiçi is simply beautiful.
We spent two nights in Antalya, then set off to Olympos, The ride through the beautiful Taurus mountains was exhilarating, with spectacular views all along the way. After a two hour trip (with a bus and a shared taxi) we arrived at the secluded village.
The ruins of Olympos Olympos is a road lined with pansions, restaurants and bars. Known for its treehouse accomodations and impressive ruins (dating back to the 2nd century), it attracts a young crowd, especially during the busy summer months. Had we been traveling in the months of June or July, I would have considered staying elsewhere (there are tons of great options on the coast), but since we were there early in the season, Olympos seemed like a good place to stay for a few days of R&R.
Lots of comfy cushions to lounge on for hours at the Saban Pansion I was right. We had a blast and loved staying at Saban Pansion. The sibling hosts Meral, Ali and Mustapha took great care of us, preparing delicious meals every night and going out of their way to help us plan day trips and airport transfers.
The beach at Olympos 
Relaxing on a boat, not a bad way to spend a day 
A Lycian tomb in the water near Kalekoy 
The beautiful village of Kalekoy 
A stop along the coast during a long drive to reach our boat 
Lunch on the boat 
The chimaera are eternal flames that have been burning constantly for thousands of years due to gas emissions that seep out of the mountain.
A storytelling home by Léa Plourde-Archer 