Blog Archive: August 2017
Cafe Mixail Malandrakis in Kalydonia, Crete
| Restaurant reviews | 15 seen
Cafe Mixail Malandrakis is located in a small village of Kalydonia, Crete in distance some 25km from Chania town.
We discovered this place by accident, when, after checking out from a hotel room in Agia Marina (see: Vergina Beach Hotel Review, Agia Marina, Crete), took a rental car and decided to head in the direction towards Kissamos. it was still quite early, and we decided it would be a very good idea to have some morning coffee.
As usual, it happens with such lovely roadsides cafeterias, at least for me, it always involves a lot of research work after, to find coordinates, names e.t.c to put this place on my World travel map. This time it involved usage of Greek transliteration (http://gr.translit.cc/), of course, Google Translate, but what makes it special this time, I used a phone book (http://www.locatefamily.com/Street-Lists/Greece/KOLYMVARI-2.html) to find the location of this place and finally make sure, that it probably would be best named in English - Mikhail Malandrakis Bed & Breakfast. As it took some research to get what could possibly "To Mpenteni" (το μπεντεν) means, and just with help of…
Wandering In The Woods B&W Photography
| | 7 seen
For the second year in the row I agreed to go to the same forest and harvest mushrooms, instead of a catch of forest goodies, I spent a few days finding interesting, eye catching elements in the woods.
Don't get me wrong, I did find some forest mushrooms (eatable), but compared to previous year's experience this was nothing much. See the same forest a year ago: Deep in the Forest, also see: Forest Mushrooms - Penny Bun & Red-Capped Scaber Stalk
I did find it interesting, once in the woods, for reason or not I tend to photograph with wide open aperture, probably because of limited light, but usually, I prefer tack sharp over bokeh. Once our forest wanderings were over, when post processing in Adobe Lightroom, again, for reason or not - I did find it should be awesome to feature this story from the woods as a Black & White Photography.
Parking our Hoda CRV at Glade
By the way, we love gathering mushrooms and we are doing that even in Georgia, see: Harvesting Mushrooms in Georgia
Clean forest in Western Latvia
It was hard to spot any forest mushrooms here, but after…
How To Fix Mixed Content Errors From Disqus on HTTPS site
| Servers | 16 seen
Today I noticed that SSL connection on this blog had errors due to “mixed content”, meaning HTTPS site was loading additional content that was served over insecure HTTP. After a little bit of digging in the console, I discovered that the issue was due to our Disqus comment plugin loading over HTTP.
I felt surprised learning that Disqus is serving HTTP content, and quickly googled, are there other webmasters complaining about this, and I found a few articles. What felt even more surprising was that this problem has been around since the end of 2016. See: Mixed Content Errors from Disqus on HTTPS Site
It turns out, Disqus is serving anonymous cookie over HTTP to improve the personalized content and advertising in Disqus comment section. Now, while it can help to improve advertising and personalized content in Disqus comments section, it can also make a harm for your site because of mixed content.
Luckily, there is a quite easy workaround, which involves disabling this anonymous cookie serving:
Disqus advanced settings
How to fix mixed content errors from Disqus on your HTTPS site:
…Mild Summer Evenings at Agia Marina Beach in Crete
| | 16 seen
We traveled to Crete, at the start of June 2016, after capturing mesmerizing postcards from Chania, we continued our route to Agia Marina, where stayed for about 3 nights at Vergina Beach hotel
After, we continued our trip deeper in Island, and at the end of this trip returned to this area for another 5 days
In today's Piece of Love series, pictures from Agia Marina beach
Rock formations near Agia Marina beach in Crete
From what we have seen from our upcoming travels almost all across Crete, Agia Marina was one of the most tranquil places, slow, pretty quiet, despite a lot of Scandinavian folks resting here. Swimming in these beaches - a real joy.
Sunset at Agia Marina
I couldn't resist to take a tripod and make a lovely HDR.
As said, really cool, tranquil and I would even say pretty romantic place (beaches).
Red Dragon Restaurant Review in Platanias
| Restaurant reviews | 27 seen
Red Dragon is a Chinese restaurant in Platanias, Crete serving kind of combo tourist meals for IMHO bit high prices.
Anyhow, as we booked a hotel room in a nearby Agia Marina town (which seems is a hotel area), then most of the dinning options are located in nearby Platanias.
As previous evening we walked about 4 km to The Stones Restaurant, for this night we wanted something closer, Red Dragon was one of the first places we met in our route.
Red Dragon restaurant in Platanias
I don't remember correctly, but it offers like EUR 25 combo meal for two persons (and seems that most places in area focuses on this price level for combo meals), as we had an appetite, we went for some shredded beef and so on.
Corn soup
A typical entree at Chinese restaurants - a corn soup, this was actually really nice prepared, sweet with lot of more ingredients than just canned corn. Delicious.
Shredded beef with vegetables
Ahh, I can eat them like forever :)
Top 15 Kutaisi Hotels in Georgia
| Hotel reviews | 15 seen
Kutaisi lacks 5-star hotels, but there are plenty of 4-star and 3-star hotels, prices for hotels are quite cheap here ( if compared to Western Europe) and you could easy find a decent 4-star hotel with a budget of $50 or less per night.
From my personal experience, I have stayed a few times in middle budget class hotels in Kutaisi, and they have been decent. See: Hotel Edemi Review in Kutaisi, Georgia and Hotel Newport Kutaisi Review
In case you are on tight budget or just want to try out local hostels, see: 18 Kutaisi Hostels That Won't Break Your Travel Budget
For a luxury stay in Tbilisi, see: Top 10 Boutique / Luxury Hotels in Tbilisi (Georgia) and for Batumi, see here: 16 Best Batumi Beach / Seaside Hotels
Returning on my personal preferences for my next stay in Kutaisi, I would most probably choose between: Best Western Kutaisi or Aeetes Palace Hotel
That said - here is the list with TOP 15 Kutaisi hotels in Georgia, according to actual user reviews on Booking.com.
Hotel HarmonyFeaturing free WiFi and a terrace, Hotel…
Tampakakis Bakery in Agia Marina, Crete
| Shopping Venues | 33 seen
Tampakakis bakery is a lovely place in Agia Marina, many pastries and tasty coffee available here. Tampakakis was closely located to hotel we stayed for couple of days in Agia Marina (Vergina Beach Hotel Review, Agia Marina, Crete)
Fresh morning coffee and crispy buns guaranteed.
Tampakakis Bakery in Agia Marina, Crete
Wide variety for morning coffee and affordable prices.
Cookies, buns and bread at Tampakakis Bakery
SEO Results After Implementing Drupal AMP
| Drupal Development | 16 seen
About a month ago I finally managed to implement AMP for my Drupal powered blog. Now, a month latter I decided to take a look and see is there any SEO boost from it.
In the past 30 days traffic have grown my 13%, for the first time cracking 100,000 users milestone. Although, it's hard to say with a 100% confidence that AMP did it - I still will say - AMP is amazing and I would recommend to implement it for any type of websites. If still wonder what is AMP, here is a brief explanation:
The AMP Project is an open-source initiative aiming to make the web better for all. The project enables the creation of websites and ads that are consistently fast, beautiful and high-performing across devices and distribution platforms. Learn more: https://www.ampproject.org/
Why I'm not sure that AMP did the trick? In general month of August for my blog has always seen a good organic search traffic increase.
Website visitors before and after implementing AMP
The total website traffic for the last 30 days has increased by 13.27%, what is an awesome growth, and you know what? Last 30 days have reached for the first time of…
The Stones Restaurant Review - Platanias, Crete
| Restaurant reviews | 19 seen
The Stones restaurant is located in Platanias, Crete. Located kind of remote / roadside. We visited this place on a rainy day, after checked in at hotel in nearby town of Agia Marina (see: Vergina Beach Hotel Review, Agia Marina, Crete). The walk was for about 4 km (each direction)
This place serves traditional Greek and European cuisine, obliviously we opted for Greek salad as a starter. I wanted to order some mussels, but kind owner of The Stones restaurant told me they don't have mussels as this time, as they order only fresh mussels from Chania in the mornings.
As it was raining that day, we were only guests for this evening.
Outdoor terrace at The Stones Restaurant in Platanias
Lovely colors, blossoming rhododendron makes lovely, I would even say romantic mood here.
Pasta Carbonara
Instead of mussels I enjoyed pasta carbonara, but that was one awesome pasta carbonara. Delicious.
The Stones Restaurant in Platanias
Top 13 5-star hotels in Colombo, Sri Lanka
| Hotel reviews | 43 seen
Planing our holiday season for this year we booked plane tickets to Colombo, Sri Lanka.
We are looking to spend about 2 weeks in Sri Lanka, with Colombo just as the first stop for a couple of days. As we have up to a 10-hour flight planned, and the city's airport (Bandaranaike International Airport) is located some 35 km from Colombo center, I decided to do a quick research and list top Colombo 5-star hotels.
Colombo luxury stay starts at about $120 per night and might go up to $240 per night, so that's the price you should be prepared to pay for a 5-star hotel in Colombo something in the range of $150 - $200.
In this article, you will find TOP 13 Colombo hotels, based on Booking.com.
The KingsburyBoasting spectacular views of the Colombo Harbor and the Galle Face Green, The Kingsbury is a 5-star hotel that offers elegant accommodation in the heart of Colombo. Guests can leisurely soak in the outdoor pool overlooking the ocean, and make use of the 24-hour butler service.
Centrally located in Colombo, The Kingsbury Hotel is a short distance from…
Sri Lanka Trip Planning - Obtain Visa Online - Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA)
| Travel guides | 6 seen
Planing our holiday season for 2017/2018, we decided to travel to Sri Lanka, a country in continent, neither me nor my partner, never have been before. This should be one of the most epic trips and many cool photo stories to be developed on this blog.
For traveling to Sri Lanka (Colombo) we bought Qatar Airways round trip tickets - Tbilisi (Georgia) - Doha (Qatar) - Colombo (Sri Lanka), it was a bargain deal and I must admit - I'm keen to try out flying with Qatar Airways, as I have heard only the best about it.
Now, returning to the subject - Visitors to Sri Lanka visiting for tourism purposes must obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) prior to arrival or on arrival to Sri Lanka. Holders of ETA from all countries except the 3 exempt countries (Maldives, Seychelles, Singapore) obtain a visa on arrival that is valid for 30 days. The Business purpose ETA can be obtained only from Sri Lankan diplomatic missions and head office of the Department of Immigration and Emigration. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months. Nationals of Afghanistan, Iran, …
Starting To Learn Crypto Currency Day Trading With EUR 25
| Crypto | 20 seen
Originally I planed to start learning crypto currency day trading with the January 2018 (that's about 5 months from now), but then I realized - why wait?
Let me explain - I've been in crypto currency investments for about 2 months now. I'm the one from buy and hold camp. I use averaging dollar cost approach to buy more crypto coins once in the month. So far my experience with crypto currencies have been like a roller coaster with a positive return. After my first month with crypto investments I experienced a negative return -17.35%, see: Invest in Crypto currencies - Review After One Month, currently when writing this article, my portfolio is with positive + 18.55% sign. And that all have changes just in the past 2 weeks.
Day trading sounds kind of boring, too much time to spend watching numbers and charts going up and down. When I started to my crypto adventures I decided I will stay away from day trading, but rather I will be a long term buy and hold investor. It was so until today, while I had a free time today I decided to watch a few YouTube video's on alt coin trading, here is one of them, after…
Review of Mintos.com Peer To Peer Lending Platform After 6 Month of Investing
| Peer to Peer Lending | 33 seen
I've been investing on Mintos.com peer to peer lending marketplace already 6 months. In today's article, I'll share some of my key findings so far
Before continuing, please see Review of Mintos Peer to Peer Lending After One Month of Investing and Mintos.com Review after 3 month investing in Peer to Peer loans. There is one reason I'm investing here on Mintos - option to invest in Georgian Lari currency, as I've been living in Georgia for a while, I like the idea of having some of my money in the local market. See: Invest in Georgia - Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending - Mintos.com
Both individuals and entities can invest through Mintos. Individual investors must be at least 18 years old, have a bank account in the European Union or third countries currently considered to have AML/CFT systems equivalent to the EU, and have their identity successfully verified by Mintos. At the moment, US citizens or taxpayers cannot register as investors at Mintos.
Affiliate link here: Signup to Mintos.com here. By using this affiliate link for registration both you and I will receive — 1% of our average daily balance…
Souvenir Guide - What to Buy in Tbilisi
| Travel guides | 36 seen
Georgia has already gained an extremely popular reputation among densely-visited tourist countries. Days spent in Georgia no matter what time of the year it is will never fade away from your memory. The name of the country itself sounds as the title of a song but in this case it is a rock ballad that takes you on an exotic journey.
The most convenient part about Georgian cities is that you choose yourself whether you want to stay in the crowded center or move a little bit farther from noisy parties and events. You can be in the main streets but hide in calm places where nothing and no one will disturb you. It is true that chord of different colors and even emotions will strike you right in the country so be ready to miss Georgia a lot and see it in your best and the most cheerful dreams. In order not to languish after a great trip it is better to purchase interesting souvenirs but be careful – don’t go too far, otherwise you will find yourself without a single coin in your pocket!
When buying souvenirs in Georgia the only threat you might be facing is the extra charge and ripping off from the locals. Shop assistants…
Perseid Meteor Shower Time Lapse Video / Photography - August 13, 2017
| Digital Photography School | 14 seen
The Perseid meteor shower, one of the brighter meteor showers of the year, occurs every year between July 17 and August 24. The shower tends to peak around August 9-13.
The 2017 Perseids peaked on the night of August 12 and early morning hours of August 13. I was a little bit late to the party and decided to capture star trails on night from August 13 to August 14.
What was meant to be a star trail photography, actually turned out a lovely time lapse video.
I'm not an expert in astro photography, in fact I've done just one star trail photography before, see: My first star trail photography, a year ago. This year I was prepared technically better, if previous year I did all long exposures manually by pressing shutter release button after each 30 sec exposure, then for this year I had bought - intervalometer - a must have tool for astro photography or time lapse.
Once It was all setup, I decided to stick with largest aperture 3.5, ISO 800 and 20 sec exposure. In total I made 3 different scenes at our rural country house, see: home remodeling
…