Category Archives: Europe

Day 6 in Croatia: From King’s Landing to Qarth to the House of the Undying

07 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by in Croatia, Europe

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This is the final post of seven posts on the Selfish’s customized Game of Thrones tour.  Check out the other posts here:

Mr. Selfish and I saved Dubrovnik for our last stop in our Game of Thrones tour. Dubrovnik is the current filming location for King’s Landing and formerly provided the sets for Qarth and the House of the Undying. We knew that it would be the pinnacle of our GoT tour, and we weren’t disappointed.

Looking for Tyrion in King’s Landing

Even though Malta was the filming location for King’s Landing in season 1 of GoT, Dubrovnik has been King’s Landing since seasons 2 forward.

Dubrovnik 01Dubrovnik 02

Although there’s a lot of CG going on in the two above stills, you can still see Dubrovnik all over it. It’s such a beautiful walled city.

Dubrovnik 03Dubrovnik 04

Continue reading →

Day 5 in Croatia: Walking in Khaleesi’s footsteps in Meereen

06 Tuesday Jan 2015

Posted by in Croatia, Europe

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

This is the sixth of seven posts on the Selfish’s customized Game of Thrones tour. Check out the other posts here:

From Split, Mrs. Selfish, Cousin Selfish and I started the 5-hour long drive to Dubrovnik. Our first stop? Klis fortress, the Game of Thrones exterior shot location for the city of Meereen.

Meereen

Yeeeaahhh… Klis Fortress doesn’t really look like that.

The actual fortress is pretty damned impressive. Perched high atop a rock bluff, Klis fortress has been a defensive stronghold in the area for over two thousand years.

Klis!

Continue reading →

Day 4 in Croatia: Crashing a Braavos Set and the Masters

05 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by in Croatia, Europe

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

This is the fifth of seven posts on the Selfish’s customized Game of Thrones tour.  Check out the other posts here:

After eight days in Ireland and N. Ireland, Mr. Selfish and I finally made it to Croatia. We met up with Cousin Selfish, who is coincidentally also a Game of Thrones nerd, in Zadar, Croatia.

We stayed a couple of nights in Zadar and visited Plitvice Lakes National Park before heading to Split, Croatia. There wasn’t too much GoT action until we left for Split though, but that’s when things got real.

Kastel Gomilica: A Clandestine Visit to Braavos

On our way to Split, we stopped by Kastel Gomilica since I had read online that they were preparing a filming location for Braavos there. We parked the car near the beach and started walking. We didn’t know where the set was but we could see a picturesque building from afar so we started walking in that direction.

Update: After having watched Season 5 Episode 2, this is indeed where Arya Stark lands in Braavos.

vlcsnap-2015-04-26-08h36m31s228GoT Sets 06

Continue reading →

Day 3 in N. Ireland: Dragonstone, Renly’s Camp, and a Trip to Dorne

04 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by in Europe

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

This is the fourth of seven posts on the Selfish’s customized Game of Thrones tour. Check out the other posts here:

After an exciting day traversing the North Eastern side of Northern Ireland, Mrs. Selfish and I settled into our new base camp at Port Stewart. Located just west of Portrush and Giant’s Causeway, Port Stewart is a quaint, seaside town.

After a brief chat with our B&B owner, we learned we had just missed the Game of Thrones crew, who had been in the town a week earlier filming on the local beach!

Game of Thrones Day 3 017

Zounds! We were hot on the trail. (Also, not my pic)

Continue reading →

Day 2 in N. Ireland: The Iron Islands, King’s Road, and the Red Woman

03 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by in Europe

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

This is the third of seven posts on the Selfish’s customized Game of Thrones tour. Check out the other posts here:

During Day 1 of our Game of Thrones Tour, Mrs. Selfish and I drove from Dublin to Belfast, which was a bit too fast if I’m honest.

Availability to Ireland was tight, so I ended up booking us on 2 Red-eyes to Dublin – TWO! I didn’t even think that was possible, but it is if you do one red-eye to Charlotte North Carolina, crash in a Hyatt Place for 6 hours, then jump on another red-eye to Dublin.

So yeah, kind of brutal. Fortunately, by Day 2 of our unofficial Game of Thrones tour, the jetlag was starting to wear off. Partially thanks to an excellent sleep at the Hilton Belfast, star hotel of Season 1 of “The Fall.”

the-fall-highres_8colThe Fall

Yes! A cameo show location WITHIN another show location tour. Wha??

Ok, ok. So no one watches The Fall. But you should – it is an excellent show about a cop (Gillian Anderson) hunting down a serial murderer in Belfast. Plus, said serial killer is played by the dude that’s slated to be Christian Grey in the upcoming 50 Shades of Grey adaptation (squeal!). But again, I digress…

Day 2 saw us jumping back in the car and tackling Northern Ireland’s North Eastern coast. Despite Northern Ireland’s notoriously shitty weather, it is absolutely gorgeous.

Continue reading →

Day 1 in N. Ireland: The Haunted Forest, Winterfell, and the Twins

02 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by in Europe

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

This is the second of seven posts on the Selfish’s customized Game of Thrones tour. Check out the other posts here:

After spending two nights in Dublin, Mr. Selfish and I embarked on our Game of Thrones tour proper. On our drive to Belfast, we had three filming locations on our list – the Haunted Forest, Winterfell, and the Twins.

Tollymore Forest Park is the Haunted Forest

First on our list was Tollymore Forest Park, otherwise known as the Haunted Forest in GoT. The most notable scene in the Haunted Forest/Tollymore is in the first episode of season 1, in which the Stark family discovers the dead dire wolf and her pups.

Mother_of_direwolves

Tollymore is a beautiful park with a very large area for exploration. We had to pay admission for our car, which was only 4.5 pounds. As soon as we arrived, we knew we were in the right place to start our GoT tour.

Tollymore and Castle Ward 02

Yes, that’s a Game of Thrones tour bus with a tour guide all dressed up.

Continue reading →

The Selfish’s Very Own Game of Thrones Tour

01 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by in Croatia, Europe, Game of Thrones, Ireland, Northern Ireland

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

This is the first of seven posts on the Selfish’s customized Game of Thrones tour. Check out the other posts here:

As we were still recovering from the triple jet lag we suffered as a result of our trip to Greece and Taiwan, Mr. Selfish asked me where I wanted to go next. After a brief moment of consideration, I said that we should do a Game of Thrones tour. I had recently become obsessed with the television series and had started reading the books. So just like that, it was settled.

The next step was to figure out where Game of Thrones was filmed. Some quick Googling revealed that GoT has been primarily filmed in Northern Ireland, Malta, Croatia, Morocco, and Iceland.

N. IrelandMaltaDubrovnikMoroccoIceland

The only place that we had previously visited was Morocco, so I decided to skip that location. It seems like you need to visit Iceland during the winter to get the GoT experience, and we were planning our trip in August, so Iceland was out too. That left N. Ireland, Malta, and Croatia.

Mr. Selfish looked at our points and decided that the best routing for us would be to N. Ireland and Croatia.

Continue reading →

The Trashy Side of the Greek Islands

28 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in Europe, Greece, Mykonos, Rant, Santorini

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

, , ,

This is post fifteen of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:

Visiting the Greek Islands was a dream for Mrs. Selfish and I, and they certainly are beautiful. This is not to say that the trip was perfect, however. Our trips frequently aren’t, and we tend to gloss over some of the crappier parts of traveling: food poisoning, scams, mediocre foods, gross hotels, etc.

I have often found, however, that our experiences are tinged by our expectations and for better or worse my expectations usually match the pictures I see online: a solitary monk visiting Angkor Wat in the morning omitting the tourist hordes just off camera, the perfectly framed cafe in Paris minus the next door McDonald’s, the Great Wall of China at sunset with the silhouetted screaming hawkers pushing their wares.

Stunning… so what’s the catch?

So here, in no particular order, are the many downsides of visiting Santorini and Mykonos. Hopefully they help you make your own informed decisions when traveling to these high profile hot spots.

The crappier side of Donkeys

Donkeys are everywhere in Santorini. Thanks to Oia’s narrow streets, it’s nearly impossible for a car to maneuver, so donkeys are used to haul trash and tourists around.

Continue reading →

A Delightful Day Trip to Delos

27 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by in Europe, Greece, Mykonos

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

This is post fourteen of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:

Mr. Selfish and I weren’t too overly impressed with Mykonos. We felt that the crowd was too young and drunk for our liking. Nevertheless, if we hadn’t spent two nights in Mykonos, we wouldn’t have taken a day trip to Delos, which was awesome.

Mykonos 01

Delos is known as one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece. According to mythology, it is the birthplace of the gods of Apollo and Artemis. Although Delos is still being excavated, a great deal of excavation has already occurred. Mr. Selfish loves ruins and was in heaven.

Continue reading →

Shots! Shots! ShotsShotsShots! Heading to Mykonos

26 Friday Dec 2014

Posted by in Europe, Greece, Mykonos

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

This is post thirteen of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:

While researching the Greek islands, I discovered that Mykonos is known as a huge “party” island. Against our better judgment, particularly since we are not (and never have been) rambunctious party-goers, Mr. Selfish and I still decided to spend two days in Mykonos. It just looked so lovely in all of the photos I saw online.

Well, we were not let down. Mykonos is indeed as pretty as the photos but also full of young, loud, and drunk party-goers as its reputation would have you believe. Mr. Selfish will go over the party side of Mykonos in a later post. This post will focus on all things pretty in Mykonos.

Mykonos 01

Continue reading →

There’s a Meat Town in Naxos!

24 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by in Europe, Food & Drinks, Greece, Naxos

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

This is post twelve of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:

Fresher is always better when it comes to food. We know this, but at home it’s hard to beat the allure of convenience that a super market promises.

Restaurants have been quick to pounce on the rising foodie trend, however, with phrases like “locally sourced” and from “farm to table.” It’s both annoying that we have to use these phrases and a sad state of affairs that most of our food is actually imported from farms over half a continent away.

This is not the case on islands, where the food is often incredibly fresh since the economics of the island often force them took cook only what they grow there. I first noticed this during our Selfish Year trip to Tasmania, which consistently had some of the tastiest, freshest eats I’ve ever had.

So when I found out that Naxos had a town the locals were describing as a “meat town,” Mrs. Selfish and I immediately jumped in our car and headed there for lunch… and then dinner… actually I kind of want some now.

Continue reading →

It’s All Greek to Me: Heading to Naxos

23 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by in Europe, Greece, Naxos

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

This is post eleven of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:

When I was researching which Greek islands to visit, it was clear to me that we should visit the renowned islands of Santorini and Mykonos. Since both of these are very popular islands, I wanted to visit a lesser known island as well. I ended up settling on Naxos because it was easy to travel between Santorini, Naxos, and Mykonos and because it is supposedly the island on which the Greeks vacation.

Naxos ended up being my (and probably Mr. Selfish’s too) favorite island. It was so much less touristy than Santorini and Mykonos but equally beautiful. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t visit Santorini or Mykonos. But if you want to experience a more low-key Greek island, then Naxos should be on your list.

This is the view of Naxos as you’re approaching on the ferry from the water.

Continue reading →

Looking for Santorini’s Best Eats

22 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by in Europe, Food & Drinks, Greece, Santorini

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

This is post ten of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:

Santorini is a major tourist trap – there’s no use mincing words here. Despite that, it is also one of those must-see-before-you-die locations.

Unfortunately, like most tourist traps Santorini (and in particular Oia) is filled with over-priced mediocre restaurants whose main selling point is the view. Fortunately thanks to some local recommendations and the power of the Internet we managed to score a few good meals.

Fresh Squid at Amoudi Fish Tavern

Located at the Western most part of Oia, the Amoudi Fish Tavern can be found right at sea level, which is always a good sign when one is looking for fresh seafood.

Continue reading →

Santorini’s Spectacular Sights: Part 2

21 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in Europe, Greece, Santorini

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

This is post nine of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:

On our way from the airport to our accommodations in Oia, Mr. Selfish and I asked for recommendations from our driver. We were wary of the many tourist traps in Oia and inquired about any less popular restaurants. Our driver informed us that we had to go down to Amoudi Bay, where the hoards from the cruise ships typically didn’t go and the seafood was outstanding. We were glad we listened to him.

Continue reading →

Santorini’s Spectacular Sights: Part 1

20 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by in Europe, Greece, Santorini

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

This is post eight of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:

Since I’ve been frantically preparing for Baby Selfish, Mr. Selfish has taken on the responsibility of finishing up our 2014 trip reports, which was fine with me. But, then the other day, I heard someone refer to this blog as “Mr. Selfish’s blog.”  So, here I am, back to writing trip reports. There’s no way that this blog is Mr. Selfish’s blog!

The main reason that I wanted to visit Greece was to bask in the views of Santorini. I’ve never seen a bad photo of Santorini, and after having been there, I must admit that it is difficult to take a bad photo of it.

Santorini - Sites 2 005

Continue reading →