Waterfall relief

 The famous Koung Si falls beckoned us as a way to escape the heat.  We asked at the desk and they recommended hiring  a driver in a van rather than taking a tuktuk.  It was a little more expensive but still very reasonable, and I'm glad we did.  The road was curvy and bumpy, and it rained on the way home.  The driver was so nice- he pointed out his house and daughter as we went by, and told us a lot about the fields and animals we were passing.  It took about 45 minutes to get there.

 

At the falls you pay an entry fee and then walk through a small reserve for Asiatic bears before arriving at the bottom of the falls.  The bears are hairy.  

You start at the bottom pool of the falls and the work your way up the path to the left of there river.  A few spots had areas for swimming. Several people were setting up to sell food for the day.  We decided to go all the way to the biggest fall first, before the rest of the tourists arrived.  Julie wanted to climb all the way up. I did not- my stomach was a little off and the van ride hadn't helped.  I hung out at the bottom while she climbed the stairs up.  It took about an hour until she got back.  We then decided to swim. The water was so cool and refreshing.  I loved it.  We sat on the edge of one of the falls for while just enjoying the feeling of not sweating.  

We shared a snack - granola for me, Julie tried sweet basil lays (they were pretty gross) and then talked to some girls from England who were also there.  It was great people watching overall.  Lots of Laotian families had come up for the day since it was a weekend.  They had elaborate picnics spread out on tables.  Once we got really hungry we went back down to the street outside the falls, where we had skewers of delicious chicken and ice cream bars for lunch.  Julie bought a sticky rice basket from one of the shops and then we headed back.  It started to pour on the way home, so we hung out at the hotel until it stopped and then headed up for dinner and more marketing.

We meant to go to the View Khmer Kong restaurant for dinner, but accidentally went to the one next door, called LPB food.  It was good and the view was beautiful.  The sun set across the river behind the mountains.  I tried Beerlao, which was not terrible.  It's a light lager.  

Overall the drive through the countryside great fun. We saw more of how the locals live, some of the farming including growing sticky rice and bananas, and several large waterbuffalo. There were also little kids playing soccer in the rain- including a naked boy who was very shocked to see a car come around the corner! It's such a beautiful country.

Luang Prabang first impressions

We arrived late last night and didn't get to see much of the town, so this morning we wanted to explore.  Our hotel has another great breakfast buffet- I'm thinking of opening a restaurant in Boston called "Asian hotel breakfast"- pancakes and bacon, friend rice and noodles, all alongside fresh fruit and made-to-order noodle soup and omelettes.  It's a genius concenpt.  

We went first up the Phousi hill to the temple at the top.  It was a long, hot climb up the stairs.  I am so sick of being soaking wet with sweat! My clothes are just never dry.  The view from the top was beautiful. You could see the two rivers as well as the mountains beyond.  Laos is nothing what I expected.  The city feels spacious and clean, and the standard of living in what we've seen is quite high.  I imagine it changes a littler further away, but from a first glance it's a lovely place.  On the way down we took the back stairs, though a set of Buddha statues for each day of the week.  There was a monk there taking photos like us.  When we told him we were American, he said "oh, Independence Day!" So cute.  The final stairs down had white naga railings which were a whimsical touch. We ended up by the other river and walked back up to the center.  

 

We went to the national museum, which consisted of the royal palace and a pretty wat.  This was the first time I've ever taken my shoes off to go into a museum! The throne room was decorated in mosaic scenes from daily life in Laos, and the wat was done in green and gold.  Toward the end of the tour I realized that my capris had completely worn through, shredding really, so that was back to the hotel to change before lunch. I was annoyed; it was only the second time I've worn them. 

We had lunch on the river, a cute place with some breeze.  Then we walked to the end of the peninsula to see the famous Wat Xhieng Thom.  It was so hot.  I was dying.  They were doing construction at the wat so it was rather underwhelming.  We took some pictures, but I couldn't really enjoy it. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the 3 Nagas, a highly recommended restaurant that had lemongrass mojitos on special.  They were amazingly refreshing! The heat was really just oppressive.

We hid in the AC of the hotel for a bit before heading out for dinner. People apparently eat late here, but we eventually ended up back at 3 nagas. 

Our final activity was the night market.  The night market here in Luang Prabang takes up a whole street for blocks.  Many of the sellers had the same goods, but we found some gems mixed in.  I made a list for gifts for people but didn't buy anything today.  Julie got a picture of a bodhi tree drawn by a young art student.  

Overall Laos has been a pleasant surprise, and I hope it cools off enough to appreciate it more in the coming days.

Goodbye to Cambodia

IAfter four days, it's sad to be leaving Cambodia.  The people here have been wonderfully friendly and it has just been such a welcoming, easy place to travel. I fear that Laos is going to be much more difficult.  Today we slept in a bit and then had our last big buffet breakfast at the hotel.  When they asked us what we liked best at check out, we both answered "breakfast"! They had a huge mix of western and eastern food.  I tried a lot of new fruits- longan, rock melon, and pink dragon fruit.  I really loved the noodle soup for breakfast- they made it fresh while you waited.  I topped mine with fried garlic and roasted shallots, and a few spoonfuls of soy sauce.  I usually also had a croissant and some fried rice, and bacon. Oh, and yogurt and granola and dried fruit. See what I mean? Amazing.

We decided to pamper ourselves with some of the refunded money from our cancelled plane tickets and went to the spa for rejuvenating foot massages.  It was just lovely.  Quiet room, hour long massage that included head and shoulder massages too.  It was positively relaxing.  

We checked out, had lunch (cashew chicken for me, roasted pork with coconut and mango for Julie), and then went to the Angkor national museum just down the street from the hotel.  It was a great museum. Their collection was limited but it was enough to give and example of the art styles and filled it in with great explanations, pictures of the ruins, and videos.  Everything was in Cambodian and English. There were really informative sections on Hinduism and Buddhism, the Khmer kings, and the sites of Angkor Wat and Angkor Tom.  It ended with an exhibit on costume styles during the Khmer era based on the he apsara carvings.

That was the end of our imminence in Cambodia.  We took a tuktuk back to the hotel and got our bags, then it was off to the airport.  Or flight was slightly delayed, but we are in the air now and heading for Luang Prabang.  There was a Dairy Queen on board and we got blizzards to celebrate the Fourth of July.

Outside of Angkor

Today was a weird day.  We got up really early so we could go to sunrise at Angkor Wat.  Ewe left the hotel at about 5:20. They said it was too early for a cab, so we walked out to the street and about a block down we found a tuktuk driver to take us.  He was just getting set up for the day, putting on his shirt! He drove us out for $5.00 each way, waiting for us to return.  Sunrise was beautiful.  We watched for about half an hour, from a sky with just a hint of pink until the sun was above the temple.  After, we rode back to the hotel for breakfast and then went swimming at  the hotel pool. It really is a beautiful pool! 

At that point, it was only a little after nine, so we hung around the room for a bit before lunch.  We walked down the street toward town, looking for an ATM for Julie, and found a cute pottery studio.  I bought a little elephant.  Siem Reap is lovely but it really isn't a walkable city.  Everywhere tuktuk drivers were calling out to give us a ride.  Probably should have taken them up on it, since it was so hot.  We got to the old market area and had lunch at a place on pub street called Cambodian soup.  I was so hot, though, that I was fading pretty quickly, so after failing to find a market area that was on the map, we took the tuktuk back to the hotel and crashed.  Julie didn't want to sleep since she keeps waking up at 3 am, but I had a nice nap.  We rode back down to the old market for dinner.  Poor Julie, I dragged her through the grocery area, where women were squatting up on the tables scaling fish and chopping out their guts.  I love that sort of thing- real travel.  There were no backpacking tourists in there! 

We ate at the red piano, which had been recommended but wasn't great.  We talked a bit with a guy from Norway who was living in Thailand.  Then Julie got a new bag since her drawstring backpack was ripping, and we headed home.  Oh, there was a stop at The Blue Pumpkin for ice cream first- caramel cashew and green lemon.  Both were great.

Angkor in detail

After a wandering around on our own yesterday, today we wanted some expertise on our side.  We hired a guide and a driver for the day.  We started back at Angkor Wat, in the back door this time.  Our guide had excellent English and he explained to us the history of the building and the people as well as the religious aspects.  We got the full story of the churning of the sea of milk relief, as well as the celestial impact of the image.  We also got to go to the temple at the top, since we were dressed appropriately.  Shoulders and knees had to be covered, and not by a scarf but actual clothes.  The view was spectacular from the top of the tower, the former king's space.  There wasn't much decoration there which surprised me, but the guide said most of these decor was at the lower level, for the people.  There were also several libraries at the site, which I hadn't realized.  They wrote on Palm leaves.  

Our next stop was Angkor Tom, where we once again went through the Bayon temple.  I loved the reliefs we had missed the day before.  They showed scenes from everyday life, a great history of the people.  You can see the Chinese and the Khmer people clearly distinguished, as well as the defeat of the Cham by the king.  We went to the top again, not as spectacular saw yesterday when the light was more glowing than glaring and there were fewer people.  Or guide too us from the temple to the terrace of the elephants and the other sites in Angkor Tom: the Bauphon temple with the reclining Buddha, the former royal palace (only the walls remain since it was wood) and the first temple built by the kings.  We also saw the stones left when  Pol Pot's regime burns all of the archaeological records during the reconstruction of the temples.  Tragic.

Lunch was near the place from yesterday, and I had the most delicious thing: amok.  It's a Khmer dish, made of coconut and kafir lime leaves.  I had it as a soup with chicken, over rice.  I adored it, ate every bit.  Julie had cashew chicken.  

In the afternoon, the clouds rolled in but we stopped at two more temples: one was similar to Ta Prohm, but had a lot of Buddhist iconography that had been destroyed.  The other was a very early brick temple to Vishnu, with some impressive molded brick carvings.  

We got back to the hotel before 4 and waited out the rain.  We took a cab down to the night market, but were disappointed in the mass produced commercialism we go found there.  Dinner on pub street was good- I had a fried amok that wasn't as good as the soup, but still tasty.  We took a tuktuk ride back- those things are way fun.

Today was a long day, and I've got a rocking heat rash on my face thanks to the heat and humidity,  I hope it clears up by morning, it's the first time in many summer trips that has happened to me!

Introduction to Angkor

We arrived in Cambodia yesterday after a seamless transit from Bangkok.  Bangkok airlines was phenomenal- a full breakfast box served on an hour flight.  He airport here was tiny me well set up to give visas.  We were at the hotel under an hour after landing.  The shuttle driver was waiting for us with our names on a sign, cold water, and a cool cloth. At the Meridien, our room wasn't ready so they held our bags as we went exploring.  

We hired a driver for the day and got our tickets, then went right to Angkor Wat. Without a tour, our first taste was just exploring, taking in all of the relief carvings.  I thought it had some similarities to the Alhambra in layout and decoration.  However, the reliefs were much more dramatic in some places.  We spent about two hours, then went to Talk Prohm temple.  It rained there. A lot.  We tried to hide inside but the roots dripped.  Eventually it let up and we continued our explorations.  I loved way it was mostly unrestored, with toppling walls and trees growing over it.  

We had lunch after (chicken with vegetables and cashews over rice) and then went to the Bayon temple.  Built later, it is Buddhist not Hindu and it has giant stone faces over the towers.  It was nearing sunset to the light was amazing, and we were almost the only ones there.  I couldn't believe that this gigantic, striking place was just there, so empty.  How is this not more famous, more visited? This trip has been so easy, I fear in 10 years it will be discovered and the masses will emerge.  But now, it's here, with nothing more than a few "don't sit on the ballistrade" signs.  

We ate at the hotel tonight, a meal much bigger than expected.  Then Facetiming with home before bed.  Ten years ago when we traveled we were searching for pay phones - how times have changed.  

In transit

Got to Bangkok after a long day of traveling. We stopped in Philadelphia first, then twelve hours to Doha, then finally six more hours to Bangkok. We landed at 7 pm, just after sunset.  The highlight of the flight was definitely seeing the Arabian desert from the air as we landed in Qatar. I watched Catching Fire, monuments men, saving mr banks, and anchorman 2, and read a book called the Paris time capsule on the way.  I got a little sleep, but pretty much stayed awake and them crashed when we arrived in Bangkok.  Our bags were here too, so we were able to just get to the hotel and sleep.  The Novotel was excellent, and breakfast this morning was delicious.  I tried rambutan and kiwi jelly as new foods for the meal.  Now we're heading to Siem reap and Angkor Wat! We stopped at the Bangkok airlines office and cancelled our other flights, and actually got back a lot of money! So far everything is going great.

Mother-Daughter getaway

It was a rough year at work, and not having a summer trip planned was quite literally killing me.  When I started looking for last-minute trips, my mother chimed in "You know, I'm retired now.  I could go away!"  We hadn't done a trip just the two of us in a long time, so it seemed kismet.  We toyed with ideas of cruises or Sweden for a while before finally deciding to go somewhere neither of us had been- Amsterdam.  What a great choice!

Everyone's first reaction to Amsterdam is usually pot and prostitution, but people, I was there with my mom.  We did not imbibe.  Our jaunt through the red-light district was brief and awkward.  However the rest of the time in the city was simply lovely.  What a bad reputation this place has!

We stayed at the Hotel Pulitzer, made of a series of old canal houses.  Our room was small without much of a view, but the location couldn't be beat.   We were only a block from the Anne Frank House on a beautiful canal.  I never realized Amsterdam was so similar to Venice.

We filled our week with typical touristy things: art museums, canal boat tours, and day trips.  One day we doubled-up, visiting the windmills and a wooden shoe factory in the morning and then Delft and the Hague in the afternoon.  It was a long day with temperamental weather.  The other day we crossed the border into Belgium to visit Bruges, because I wanted to see Michelangelo's Madonna and Child.  It's now checked off my "see every Michelangelo" bucket list.  I loved Bruges- the food!  The medieval city feel!  It was such a lovely day. 

Back in Amsterdam, we found that the central palace lacked any charm, and was quite dirty.  We much preferred the quiet canal neighborhoods to the bustle of the city center, and spent many hours wandering between shops and cafes. 

For a summer that didn't have a trip, Amsterdam turned into the perfect getaway.  The short direct flight made it easy to get there, and having one hotel to use as a hub made it much calmer than most of my travels.  By the time I headed home, I was ready to relax for the rest of the summer and gear up for the new school year.

Manual Antonio and Monkeys

Our last stop on the trip was Manual Antonio National Park on the Pacific Coast.  We had a lovely drive here, first crossing a bridge above tons of
 alligators, and then cruising down the coast.  Our hotel is the Costa Verde, and we've got an AMAZING view of the Pacific coastline from high up on the hill.  In the morning we saw monkeys right outside our hotel room window.

The first night we grabbed dinner at a barbecue pirate place.  You can tell this is much more touristy than the other locations, sort of honky-tonk beach town.

One day 2, we did a Mangrove tour by boat, something my parents had done on a cruise stop that promised a lot of wildlife.  It didn't disappoint.  There were SO MANY MONKEYS.  This was definitely my highlight of the trip. The guide was a local who seemed to know the animals well having grown up around them.  We also saw Jesus lizards and a scary looking snake.  We stopped for lunch on the way back and had the most amazing fried plantains.

We went to the beach that afternoon- I've never seen such beautiful water.  It was even purer than the turquoise of Cancun, even clearer than the stillest pond.  It was also incredibly rough surf!  We read and sunbathed in between swims and then caught a cab ride back up to the hotel (the walk down was a lot further than expected and flipflops were a poor choice).

On the last day we switched to a penthouse suite, which was just amazing.  The views were 360, even from the bathroom!  We did a guided hike and saw a few new things, including bright red and blue land crabs and a gorgeous blue morpho butterfly.  It feels like we could give the guided walk ourselves though by this point.


For the afternoon we went back into the park and hiked on our own up to a lookout (nothing special, our hotel room had a better view!) but then saw more lizards and got to stop off at the beach for some pretty scenery on the way home.  Overall it was a great last day.  There are lizards everywhere here.  By the end of the week, this was the conversation:

Do not want him in my bathroom!

"Hey, there's a lizard in the bathroom?"
"Big or little?"
"Little."
"Ok.  He'll find his way out then"

In the morning we packed it up and drove back to the airport in San Jose.  I definitely recommend Costa Rica for an ecovacation, especially to anyone looking to travel with kids.  It was affordable, adventurous, with good food and great people.  Pura Vida!

Cloud Forests and Rainy Days

The Monteverde Cloud Forest in Central Costa Rica is one of the most tranquil places I've been.  We didn't see much sun during our trip but the lushness of this place was uncomparable.

We stayed at the Hotel Belmar, which by far exceeded our expectations.  It was dark when we arrived, and pouring rain, but we got checked into our beautiful room and had a luxury meal at the hotel's restaurant.  It was one of the best I've ever had, honestly.  The room is all done in wood, with a private balcony.  It's an ecoresort but you'd never know it from the amenities.  Breakfast was included and had everything you could want, including some of the best blackberry syrup I've ever had.

We did a hike from our hotel the first day.  It was a private guided walk.  We went way up into the hills looking for a Quetzal, but didn't find one.  We did see some bell birds and a really scary eyelash viper.  It was a little too close to my bare legs for comfort.  Orchids grow everywhere here.

It rained as we finished the hike, so we had lunch in town and then went to some of the local art galleries.  Everything is so colorful here- maybe because the days are so grey and cloudy.  The sun started to come out as we drove out to the National Park to buy tickets for tomorrow and see the hummingbirds.

It rained more in the afternoon so we crashed at the hotel, hoping it would stop before our night hike.  It sort of did.  We were picked up in a cab, and I had the nicest conversation with our cab driver.  In Spanish!  I love getting to practice speaking, since I'm so very bad at it.

The night hike was pretty cool.  We saw a lot of bugs, and a very lazy sloth.  Leafcutter ants are weird, like something out of little Disney cartoons.  We also found a dink frog.  After hiking we ate at a tapas place- this is definitely not a country with a night life, everything was closing up at 8 PM.

Our final day we did a guided hike in the National Park and found the Quetzal!  It was a young one without the long tail feathers, but it still counts.  The rest of the hike was getting a little repetitive, but still beautiful.

As we pulled into the parking lot before the hike, we realized we had a flat tire.  (Mi coche esta pinchado!) A few efforts trying to change it ourselves led to the assistance of several guys from the park- good to know chivalry isn't dead.  We got it patched at the gas station by the hotel, then were on our way to the coast for the last part of our trip.

Costa Rica, Pura Vida-- San Jose and Arenal

A completely different type of trip this year- nothing historical about it.  My friend and I headed to Costa Rica for a bit a eco-tourism.

The trip was full of firsts for me: first time driving in a foreign country, first time seeing monkeys in real life, first time repelling.  There were some pretty scary moments but overall it was an AMAZING trip.

We started in San Jose, the capital, staying at the aLoft hotel.  It was a little remote, but having a car made it do-able.  We drove up into the hills for dinner at a great roadside restaurant.  I had some amazing chincharon, and some chips and salsa.  The place was totally local, which made it the perfect first meal. 

Downtown San Jose

Huge oxcart art

The first day we explored downtown San Jose- the cathedral and the museum, which was full of gold.  We had lunch at a little diner-style restaurant that was pretty good, and then hit the road for Arenal.  It was a long drive.  We stopped off in a local crafts Mecca for some shopping and to stretch our legs, and again to see some waterfalls at the side of the road.  By the time we got into the town of Arenal it was already dark.  We had dinner at a rather touristy restaurant, but the pollo alla plancha was delicious.  Then it was up the mountain, on a very long dirt road in the dark to the hotel.  We just made it before the office closed for the night!

Me, being brave

The next day was probably the best of the trip.  We went repelling in the
morning.  It was actually canyoning, which meant jumping down waterfalls.  It was the scariest thing I've ever done.  Jumping off high things is the one fear that I have.  But I did it!  I really thought I wouldn't be able to hold myself up on the ropes, but once I took that first tentative jump off of the top and realized I wasn't going straight to the bottom, it was all good.  I loved it- could have kept going for many more cliffs.  Afterwards there was a lunch, which was fine. 

One of the waterfalls in Tabacon

We spent the afternoon at Tabacon Hot Springs, the MOST luxurious place I've ever been.  The river has been diverted through a tropical paradise, where the volcanic waters tumble over rocks and falls creating an unearthly haven.  Some of the waterfalls act as natural massages.  Others were just lazy pools.  There were beautiful flowers everywhere, and delicious cocktails.  We spent a lot of time on the loungers in the adult area called ShangriLa.

It was another long dark drive back to the hotel.  The next morning we did a hike around the Arenal National Park with a guide from the hotel.  We saw monkeys and many different birds high up in the trees, as well as tons of exotic plants.  Then it was on the road again, the scenic route to Monteverde.  The ride was fine, lots of cows. 

Istanbul Pictures!

Here's the full set of pictures that I took.  I certainly don't meet my dad's record of over a thousand pictures per vacation.  Here are some of the sites I felt worthy of capturing.  Perhaps when my friends Julie and Andrew return I'll add some of their photos to the collection.

Day Five

Heading home today! I'm currently in Dulles Airport, waiting for my connecting flight back to Boston. I was delayed getting in here and missed my scheduled plane, but they got me on another flights happily. I got some dinner (OK, a pretzel and a frappucino, but really, I've been away for 23 hours now, this is about 5th meal of the day.)

Turkey was amazing. It was definitely one of my bumpier vacations, but totally worth it in the end. The language continued to baffle me but I was finally starting to get hello, please, and thank you when it was time to go.

I also met an 8th grade teacher, Vedat, who worked at my hotel. He's a history teacher too, and we are going to try to set up a letter writing exchange with our students. I'm excited about it as a chance for my kids to talk to someone who lives in a Muslim country, and he's excited for his kids to get to practice their English. What luck that we started talking as I waited for my taxi.

At the airport were a bunch of people heading to Mecca, dressed in the white robe of a pilgrim. I was already in a secure zone so I couldn't really talk to them, but they didn't have any carry on luggage except a copy of the Koran.

Day Four, wishing for more

Last full day in Istanbul, and I'm finally getting the hang of this city.  Of course that means I have to leave.  I'm starting to be able to pronounce words correctly from signs and from the guidebook.  I've figured out how to get from the hotel to the old quarter of the city where the sights are without getting lost.  Alas, that's what always happens.

We started at the Blue Mosque, along with the mass of tourists.  I have such a fierce hatred of big tour groups, and today didn't help.  They tend to ignore etiquette signs and block views from others, and there's such a sense of entitlement, that individuals can be shoved out of the way in favor of these groups who are trying to keep to a schedule.  We arrived in the giant crowd and stood in line, then had to cover heads and take off shoes before going inside.   Lots of people with no shoes meant that it smelled like stinky feet inside, not fun.  However, the tile work was beautiful.  The dome seemed impossibly high, with half domes blooming out from it like petals.  The colors were amazing- I wish we could have gone upstairs to see it closer, but I had to rely on camera zoom to do that.

After the mosque we went to the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, which was blissfully uncrowded.  There were exhibits and artifacts highlighting the history of the Turkish people and the Islamic Empires.  My favorite thing there?  A yurt.  I love a good yurt. 

We grabbed a quick lunch at a place that was too touristy for my taste, but I tried pide, sort of a cross between flatbread and pizza, with ground beef, tomatoes, and green peppers.  We then headed back toward the hotel.  Julie and Andrew went to rest while I did some more shopping at the Grand Bazaar.  Then I headed off into the lower section of the peninsula to find some lesser sites.  I found a church-turned-mosque called the Little AyaSofya, with the help of a friendly restauranteur and a cute little old guy in a suit.  Inside it looks nothing like the bigger church, but the outside design was similar.  I also studied the remaining wall of the Hippodrome (called the Spheredrome) which now looks like a crumbling retaining wall, and found another mosque by Sinan that I could only go into the courtyard of because of prayers. 

As evening approached, Julie and I went up to the main street again and walked down to take some nighttime shots of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.  They were lit up beautifully and I played with my camera settings a little bit trying to get the best shot.  We then went back to the restaurant district by our hotel for dinner, and watched quite the show.  The roving Turkish bands were incredibly amusing with a group of Chinese tourists who were dancing and singing, then launched into a Chinese song.  They then moved on to a group of what looked like Turkish business men, who were downing the raki and having a grand old time.  It was a great last night there.

Day Three, Wheeeee!

Today has been FANTASTIC!  The rain finally stopped, our bags arrived late last night (right after we left a department store, which had just closed so we couldn't return what we'd bought), and we got into some amazing sites.  We started at the Chora Church, a site I hadn't really know about but it's one of the 1000 Places to see before you die.  The Church is full of nearly complete Byzantine mosaics depicting the lives of Mary and Jesus, as well as some cool medieval frescoes.  It's from the late Byzantine period, so it's better preserved than those in the Hagia Sophia.  We used the tour book to guide us around.  I couldn't get over the tiny, tiny pieces that were in the mosaics- I'd always imagined them small, but they were smaller than my little fingernail.  I can't even fathom how many pieces were in there.

 We had lunch at a restaurant called Asitane, which featured traditional Ottoman recipes that had been researched from imperial kitchens.  My chicken dish had apricots, raisins, and onions and dated back to the 1500s!  It was really good too.  Andrew had what looked like a prehistoric shank of lamb.

After lunch, we took a cab to the AyaSofia, which was simply amazing.  The scaffolding was DOWN!  Gone, gone, gone and it made me so happy to see straight up into the dome with no obstructions.  I was amazed by the size and how light it was inside.  The hanging chandeliers were numerous, but it was the natural light from the windows that were most impressive.  We read a lot about the architecture and how the weight of the dome was distributed through the arches.  We went to the second floor to see some of the mosaics and look down into the nave.  I was really happy to finally be at a place I've seen so many times in a virtual tour, to put together the pieces.  It looks just the same, from the ruins of the old basillica to the giant Arabic decorations inside the church (for the kid who asked what they said- Muhammad and Allah in the front, the four caliphs around the middle, and the name of two of Muhammad's grandsons who were assassinated at the back).

 

So, after AyaSofya came the disastrous Skype session.  I guess there were connection problems at the Ottoson end, which is so disappointing because I left it set up just ready to go, but something jammed over the long weekend and it had to be rebooted, and it just all got messed up.  I was able to connect and see everyone, and I think they saw me, but the sound wasn't coming through from Ottoson, and I don't know if they could hear me.  I tried a few times, then went to the ancient cistern while the kids were out of cluster, then tried again but it just wasn't working for me.  I'm bummed that the school's technology failed again.  It's such a continual issue that prevents so many cool things.

Anyway, I would have kept trying but people were giving me really strange looks, and the guards were really not happy with me standing in one spot with a webcam for hours, so I had to give up.  We walked through the Hippodrome, where ancient chariot races were, though no real indications of it remain except historical memory.  It was where the Nika Riots began.  Then we took the train to a funicular to Taksim Square, in the modern part of the city.  We wandered down through Ishtikal Street, which was all fun modern shops and restaurants.  Yes, there was Starbucks and McDonalds, but also lots of fun Turkish places.  We ate in a traditional restaurant, and I had Turkish ravioli, which weren't very good.  That's ok, though, it was fun to try something new.  We walked the rest of the way down the street, stopping in a few stores but not buying anything, then took a different funicular and a train back to the hotel.

So I'm still bummed Skype didn't work, but at least I tried and got to see everyone back home for a few seconds.  Hope you're all doing well.  Only one more day here for me- maybe I'll wear some of my new Turkish clothes tomorrow.

Much better now!

Have dry clothes and a grand plan for tomorrow including the Hagia Sophia skype. Can't wait!

Day Two, nothing new

Turkey is still very wet and I still have no luggage.  I'm getting really sick of the same pair of jeans and same sweater.  The airlines swear that the bags will be arriving in Istanbul at 4 PM today, but it was only after a lot of calling that we had to locate them and then alert the airlines as to where they were.  It seems that the airlines should have figured that out on their own.  I'm already penning the angry letter in my head.  Thankfully with trip insurance I was able to get clean socks and things, and my LLBean moccassins have held up incredibly well even in the wet.

Swords for sale- none for you, Remy!

This morning we headed out to the Grand Bazaar, which was happily indoors.  There was so much there, mostly pottery, textiles, rugs, and a few oddities like silver and musical instruments.  We wandered for most of the morning.  I have no patience for bargaining, so it's not really my scene, but Andrew got some great deal on new jeans (yay, clean!) and I ended up with a couple of pillow cases.  We ate lunch at an attached restaurant that had been recommended, and it was so good.  Andrew and I had this lamb thing mixed with vegetables under a cover of pastry and cheese.  There was also an amazing eggplant puree.  Julie had her favorite tomato and cucumber salad, but said it was more vinegary than in the States.

After lunch it had stopped raining so we walked to the Suleimanie mosque but it was closed for prayers.  Grr.  then we walked to the spice market, while it started raining again.  It was in a giant maze of pedestrian streets.  One shopkeeper let us try a few spices, and I bought a mix called Jannisary Blend.  Then we tried to find a cab back but we were in the middle of that huge pedestrian zone without knowing it so we walked until we were back at the Grand Bazaar, and eventually had to just walk to the hotel.  Now I am wet, cold, and sort of cranky, and really just want my luggage to arrive.

Day One, so much fun!

It's raining, it's pouring, I have no luggage, so I'm wearing free airline socks and getting wet because my umbrella was in my suitcase.  Great way to start the trip!  Apparently our bags are in DC and won't be here until tomorrow afternoon.  We stopped to get a few necessities (yay, trip insurance).

So today, we went to Topkapi Palace today, fording mid sized streams to get there and only getting slightly lost.  Thanks to the kindness of strangers at other hotels, we were redirected to the big open area where all the major sites (and tour buses) were.  Blue Mosque!  Hagia Sophia!  I had to marvel just a bit at the Hagia Sophia, taking a picture even though it was pouring rain.  It's just as impressive as I'd imagined, and yes, there is wifi nearby.  Skype plan is ON!

We got up to Topkapi Palace and got our tickets, our audio guide.  My mom said Istanbul was impressive but not beautiful and I could sort of see that there.  It's not restored much and while inside is very elaborate, outside was sort of blah.  But the treasury was AMAZING with tons of jewels and gold, and the reliquary was full of wonders including hairs from Muhammad's beard and the supposed staff of Moses (note to self: find decomposition rate of wood).  I love relics, I've said that before.


We went into the harem too, which was all fancy tiles.  It got a little overwhelming.  It was beautiful but sort of too busy for my taste.  All the patterns mixed together was dizzying.  I tried to zoom in on some close ups for pictures.

The archaeology museum had some cool sarcophagi but I was more impressed with a delicious Ottoman dinner - some beef on pita concoction after an appetizer of cucumber yogurt dip.  We got Turkish delight and baklava on the way home, along with a change of clothes for tomorrow since ours are still missing.

Arrival!

Made it into Istanbul safely after a delightful flight on Turkish air. Unfortunately, bags got lost.