Oslo, Norway - 1991

My first trip abroad. I was alone. My parents decided to send me to a friend of my father's Erturhan Cedsal. The guy had lived in Norway for more than 30 years (he was originally Turkish). He had 4 daughters and a wife called Greta.



During my stay in Norway, I never really had a chance to communicate with any people other than Mr. Cedsal since I could not speak a word of norwegian nor english, but my sign language developed rapidly during my 3 weeks of stay.

"Tante" Greta was fine (I was supposed to call her this way) and Uncle Erturhan was my only guide to the outside world.

Norway was cool as far as i remember. It was very proper and clean compared to Istanbul. I was only 11 then so I did not really realize the beauty of the girls. Now I look at the photos that were taken during my trip and see the hot blondes caught in the frame by chance.

I should go back to Oslo someday to feel the nostalgia, It would be soo awkward to see the house that I stayed, more than 15 years ago. Fuckin' time goes by so fast!



Places i remember:

Aker Brygge (shopping mall where Mr. Cedsal had a shop)
Hollmen Kollen (ski jumping spot and the amundsen museum)
Vigilands Parken (the park with statues)
Leker (an arcade store where I played computer games 8 hours a day.)

Hmm.. What else... I went fishing by the harbour. I ate Lax (it was claimed to be the most expensive fish in the world), I tasted wonderful sardines.

I was 11, it was a great experience but does not feel the same today but believe me it was fucking fantastic.

Travels Part 2 - Sejour En France

The year 2004 was an important year for humanity. I moved from Istanbul to Paris. The world regarded this decision as the most important social event since the Wall came down in 91.

Let's see where I traveled, when the my base was in Paris.

October 2004, Vienna, Austria

November 2004 - Lille, France

February 2005 - Toulouse, France

February 2005 - Lyon, France

April 2005 - Brive La Gaillard, France

April 2005 - Tignes - Val D'Isere - Bourg St Maurice, France

May 2005 - Lausanne, Switzerland
May 2005 - Milan, Italy

June 2005 - Kopenhagen, Danmark
June 2005 - Malmö - Lünd - Göteborg, Sweden

June 2005 - Athens - Paros Island - Thessaloniki, Greece

July 2005 - Nice - Cannes - Monaco, France

August 2005 - Leiden - Amsterdam, Holland

November 2005 - Marseille, France

November 2005 - Milan - Livorno - Pisa, Italy

March 2006 - London - Cambridge, The UK

March 2006 - Auron - Nice, France

April 2006 - Skopje, Macedonia
April 2006 - Prizren, Kosovo
April 2006 - Thessaloniki, Greece

May 2006 - Washington DC
May 2006 - Charlottesvile, Virginia
May 2006 - Clemson, South Carolina
May 2006 - Nags Head, North Carolina
May 2006 - Baltimore, Maryland
May 2006 - New York City, New York
May 2006 - Chicago, Illinois

My Travels

I won't be only writing about my travels, but it is good theme to begin with... Maybe If I am successful with it, this thing might become something more sophisticated.

Here is a list of places I've been, with dates. There two episodes of traveling in my life, first I was based in Istanbul and from September 2004 till June 2006, I was based in Paris.

This is the first episode...

September 1991 - Norway (Oslo)

June 1991 - Cyprus (Lefkosha)

May 1993 - United Kingdom (London, Bath)

July 1994 - United Kingdom (Middlesbrough)

September 1998 - Italy (Treviso, Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples, Pisa, Milan)
September 1998 - France (Nice, Cannes, Monaco)

April 1999 - Portugal (Lisbon, Madeira)

May 2000 - Holland (Rotterdam, Amsterdam)
May 2000 - Denmark (Kopenhagen)

July 2000 - France (St. Malo, Dinard, Dinan, Rennes, Mt. Saint-Michel)

January 2001 - The USA (Las Vegas, Chicago, New York City)

July 2001 - France (St. Raphael, Cannes, Nice, Monaco)

July 2002 - The USA (Santa Barbara, Carpenteria, Los Angeles, Chicago, Michigan)

September 2003 - Holland (Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Groeningen)

July 2004 - France (Nice, Cannes, Monaco)

And after September 2004, I moved to Paris for my master's studies...

Let's Roll..

in the last two decades, I've seen more than 20 different countries... I took many photos, I had a lot of memories... But after a while the memories seem to fade away, and the photos become meaningless... Sometimes I find few scratches written about nice moments, and some tickets or booklets from different cities and towns. I even find e-mail addresses that don't mean a thing right now, or some phone numbers and business cards which wake my memories vaguely..

I created this website in order to remind myself of the good times I had during my travels. This blogger will also help me with my future voyages. With the existence of an online "diary", I might take more advantage of the places I visit.

Finally, the last but not the least, best purpose of this website is to share everything with friends. Hope I don't get lazy and neglect this blogger... That is the main challenge!