Oh, Seattle

A few weeks ago I ventured over to the Northwest and found myself in Seattle. I had no clue what to expect, but I didn't think I would love it as much as I did. The only thing I really knew about Seattle was that the Seahawks are from there and the Space Needle is located there (which by the way surprisingly took a lot longer to find/see than expected). As you can tell I really didn't have any knowledge about Seattle, I still don't have much knowledge but now I know what the city is like.

I would describe Seattle as the child of San Francisco and London. Why? Well they have similarities, but don't believe for a second that Seattle is identical to those two cities. Seattle is its own city and one that I highly recommend visiting.

One of the first things I did was attend a Seattle Sounders game and boy, was I surprised. The whole city turned into a ghost town while the game was going on. I expected there to be a good amount of people since it was at the CenturyLink stadium, but I was not expecting that many people to attend a MLS game.

The next two days involved exploring the city. I went to Pike Place Market, to the Space Needle, found an amazing sushi restaurant (Umi Sake House), and walked up and down many hills.

Introduction | YouTube

I decided a few weeks ago that I'm going to start doing more YouTube videos. I really think that YouTube is an awesome network and a community that I really want to be apart of. On that note, I made an introduction video, it's very short, but I would love for you to see it so you can get an idea of what I plan to do with my channel!

#MelTakesFlagstaff

I finally got around to putting together the Flagstaff video. It can now be found on the YouTube channel: racquelandmel or you can watch it here! I hope you guys like it.

#MelTakesFlagstaff

This wasn't the first time I had been to Flagstaff, but the experience this time around was a lot different.

I was only there for a weekend, which wasn't long enough. However, in that short amount of time I fell in love with the city. It is such a wonderful place to go if you love nature and want to experience that whole small town feel, but without it being extremely small.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was going to Downtown Flagstaff, because it had so many interesting shops and restaurants. Everywhere you went was a little treasure on its own.

My other favorite part was the fact that no matter where I looked I would be able to see some form of forest or a mountain. It was like every nature lovers dream. Not to mention that Flagstaff has the San Francisco Peaks, where Humphreys Peak resides, which is the highest natural point in all of Arizona. I wasn't able to hike the great peak that weekend but plan to the next time I visit.

If you ever find yourself in Flagstaff here are a few places you should check out:
- Mars Hill
- Humphreys Peak
- Lowell Observatory
- Crystal Magic in Downtown Flagstaff
- Armadilla Wax Works in Downton Flagstaff
- Basically all of Downtown Flagstaff

Here are a few pictures from Flagstaff. I'll be posting a video soon as well!

#MelTakesGirne

I'm aware that this post is long overdue, but I've finally had time to put together the footage from my time in Girne, Cyprus, together in one nice video. The trip to Cyprus was amazing and I honestly would love to go back there again. The video shows a glimpse of some of the historic places found on the island. I also have included a few photos so you can understand how beautiful it is in Girne.

#MelTakesBodrum

After surviving off of the wifi found on the beaches, I'm finally able to share my adventures in Bodrum with you all!
Bodrum is exactly what you would expect it to be like. Full of amazing beaches and people sun bathing. Aside from all this there are actually things you can do that don't involve going to the beach like hiking! I can easily understand how hiking doesn't sound like something one would want to do during summer, but Uyku Vadisi is a place that you wouldn't want to miss. About 11 km from the Bodrum airport, Uyku Vadisi is a stunning place with a small waterfall, hammocks to rest on (or sunbathe), a pool, and even a restaurant/café. It also has a trail that you can follow which leads up to the mountains. There you come across rivers, caves, and even an abandoned house up on the mountain.
Uyku Vadisi is a great place for nature lovers and those who want to get away from the party life of Bodrum for a bit to relax.

I'll be posting a video soon of my adventures there because these pictures are not enough!

#MelTakesIstanbul

I recently went on a Bosphorus tour that took me to several different places located on the Bosphorus. It was fun and extremely refreshing.

This video contains footages from that tour as well as a few clips from when I went to Bebek, a town located along the Bosphorus.

If you're ever in Istanbul, I highly recommend giving this tour a shot. Although it isn't the type of tour that stops at different locations, allowing the passengers to get off and look around, it is a great tour to just sit, relax, and enjoy the scenery.

There may be different locations where they have this tour available, but the one I went on is located in Ortaköy, which is another place that I recommend visiting.

#MelTakesIstanbul

I've been to a good amount of places already during my stay here, so I decided to put together a little video documenting my adventures. Hope you enjoy the first of many to come.