abroadtravelingabroad

I Did Not Come to Queenstown to Behave: Skippers Gorge & Running Off a Mountain

1 Comment / Blogging, Natural Wonders, Oceania, Sights to See, Solo Travel, Travel, Videos / Pamelahawthorne

There are trips. And then there’s Queenstown — where the mountains look like they’ve been airbrushed by God and the town politely suggests you fling yourself off one of them. Equipped by one of the thrill providers on every corner! Skippers Gorge: Where the Road Is Basically a Suggestion Let’s discuss Skippers Gorge. First of […]

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Ankara: A Fifty Year Lookback and Now

1 Comment / Asia, Blogging, Sights to See, Solo Travel, Travel / Pamelahawthorne

Ankara: Then and Now, Through My Eyes It’s hard to believe fifty years have passed since I first walked the streets of Ankara, a college student on break with waist length hair and a backpack stuffed with 6 weeks of “essentials”. The city was simple, yet magnetic and foreign. My traveling companion, a multi-lingual American

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Whirling Spirits, Silent Stones: From Mevlana to Sagalassos

Leave a Comment / Asia, Blogging, Sights to See, Solo Travel, Travel / Pamelahawthorne

Turkey’s spirit is one of contrasts — the living mysticism of Konya and the haunting silent ruins of Sagalassos. One hypnotizes with the spinning, haunting prayer and poetry of Sufism; the other stands in solid, still testimony to the genius of Greek and Roman empires. Click on images below to enlarge. Sagalassos –

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Two Cities, One Amazing Journey to Plovdiv and Sofia

Eastern Europe, Shopping, Sights to See, Solo Travel, Travel / Pamelahawthorne

Bulgaria offered many surprises. History and charm of course, but Roman theaters still in use, the golden orbs of Orthodox cathedrals in the night sky, Ottoman courtyards, a modern café scene that felt effortlessly cool and a chance to see Les Mis performed in Bulgarian. More on that later… Plovdiv – A City Woven Through

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Beautiful Veliko Tarnovo & Arbanassi: Bulgaria’s Tsarist Capitals

Leave a Comment / Eastern Europe, Sights to See, Solo Travel, Travel / Pamelahawthorne

Nestled in the mountains above the winding Yantra River, Veliko Tarnovo keeps the secrets of its thousand year history. Once the proud capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, the city still carries itself like royalty, reaching its golden age under Tsars Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before being slowly conquered by the Ottomans in the

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Registan Square: The Beating Heart of Samarkand

1 Comment / Asia, Sights to See, Solo Travel, Travel / Pamelahawthorne

There are places in the world that exceed your dreams. Registan Square, the architectural heart of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, is one of those rare places. It is the real world setting of the enchantment of One Thousand and One Nights and storyteller Scheherzade, one of the greatest Arabic, Middle Eastern, and Islamic contributions to world literature,

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My Visit to “One of the Noblest Monuments of Asia”

3 Comments / Asia, Sights to See, Solo Travel, Travel / Pamelahawthorne

—solemn, symmetrical, and magnificent in its melancholy.” Lord Curzon, British statesman 19th c. The colors had begun to deepen in late afternoon shadows when we arrived in Samarkand, tired after a long bus ride through the desert but the mood changed instantly. We were in a sacred place, the burial monument to the legendary Tamerlane,

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Captivating Khiva: An Astonishing Life Inside the City Walls

Leave a Comment / Asia, Blogging, Sights to See, Solo Travel, Travel / Pamelahawthorne

Khiva’s roots stretch back over 2,500 years, but its golden age began in the 16th century when it became the capital of the Khanate of Khiva. As a major oasis along the Silk Road, it prospered from trade — and infamously, from a large slave market that once operated within its walls. The real magic

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Tashkent: A Vibrant Clash of Exotic Culture and Commerce!

Leave a Comment / Asia, Blogging, Sights to See, Solo Travel / Pamelahawthorne

The term “Silk Road” evokes images of camel caravans crossing deserts, laden with silk, spices, precious metals, and exotic goods, and was the intrigue for my 8,650 mile journey to Central Asia. That along with stuff of legend; the conquests of Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and Tamerlane. For over a thousand years, the Silk

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Rio de Janeiro and the Girl from Ipanema: Where Music Meets the Sea

Leave a Comment / Food and Wine, Sights to See, Solo Travel, South America, Travel / Pamelahawthorne

Rio de Janeiro is more than a city—it’s sun-soaked poetry. From the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue gazing over the city to the energy of Copacabana, Rio pulses with life. But one neighborhood in particular, Ipanema, has etched its name into global culture—thanks to a girl who walked along its beach and into musical history.

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