Saturday, December 13, 2014

Turkey 2014

Sunday, 16 November 2014   Sitting at the ferry terminal, waiting for the passenger ferry back to Istanbul, after 2 nights in Bursa.  I had decided to include Bursa in our Turkey itinerary, after reading it has been the silk center for Turkey & was the western terminus of the Silk Road. Also a capitol prior to Istanbul, so lots of history. 
Kitap Evi Hotel was delightful—Converted old bookstore inside the historic city wall.  They picked us up from the port & brought us back—on them.  The trip in to Bursa mid-day Friday seemed to take at least an hour, but little traffic for the faster return, leaving some time before the boat departs.      Flight from Athens to Istanbul on Thursday went smoothly.  We had arranged with Marmara Guest House to get picked up at the airport—the way to go, with luggage.  The guest house is about 3 blocks from both the Blue Mosque & Aya Sofia in the historic Sultanamet neighborhood of Istanbul.  A small place, the spiral staircase is tight, head clearance limited a few spots.  I had reserved the  “exquisitely furnished” top floor room, with the canopy bed.  Lucy noted it has something of a hostel feel.  The guesthouse staff were friendly.  Breakfast included many jams made by mother of the staff.    Dinner first night in Turkey was a disappointment.  Not so much the food—mixed plate kebab.  Or the entertainment—a 3-member band.  It was the price—60 Lira for my main dish alone.  That’s about $25.  So much for Turkey being less expensive than the European Union countries.  ‘My fault—I asked for their most popular tradition kebab & they saw the opening for giving me the most expensive. With a ferry departure at 2:30 pm, we didn’t have much time for exploring on Friday morning.  We headed toward the Blue Mosque, with varied info on it possibly being closed on Fridays at mid-day.  A young man near the mosque approached us, told us the mosque was closed.  I asked him about the nearby Cisterns.  He proceeded to TAKE us there & even paid his own (reduced) entrance fee, explaining that his family had a nearby carpet shop, where he wanted to take us, no obligation.  After spending about half an hour looking at numerous carpets, we said we might be back next week, to their disappointment.  I was thinking:  rent for a space right next to the Blue Mosque has to translate to not the most competitive prices. Pics of Istanbul - https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/Istanbul2014#

  The sea bus, from Istanbul's Yenikapi dock to Mudanya, didn’t have the spaciousness of Puget Sound or Howe Sound car ferries—just a boat packed with bodies.  About a 90-minute crossing.  Ride was waiting for us.  As noted, Friday afternoon traffic in to Bursa was slow (but not by Seattle rush-hour standards bad).  A van cut in front of us, which provoked our driver in to pulling alongside, rolling window down & ranting at the other driver.

  After settling in to our spacious suite at 12-room Kitap Evi Hotel, complete with modern clawfoot tub (we didn’t manage to get #1, which reportedly has an antique Turkish bath), we were invited for a welcoming drink in the bar, by the real-wood-burning fireplace (it was notably cool, raining lightly on arrival).  We took the advice of hotel staff, to go for a traditional kebab dinner up the street, where the tab was about ¼ of the previous night, in a quaint upstairs of a house.

  After my most restful night of the trip & a varied breakfast spread (see pic), we set out to see Bursa.  Shoes off, Lucy’s head scarf-covered, we explored the Grand Mosque, then visited the silk market next door, where we made several buys.  While the silk now comes from China, the tailoring of scarves and other silk clothing is locally crafted.

  On to visit the Green Mosque & Tomb.  As we were leaving, we encountered Yunus.  Good English—he explained he lived in the States for a few years, adopted by a family  He began by telling us he is hired to do restoration of the mosque tiles.  After some visiting & talk about historic crafts, Yunus led us to his nearby store, well-stocked with ceramics & carpets—new & old.  He tells us he travels Eastern Turkey in his van, buying old carpets.  After looking at many, we narrowed it down to 6, then 5.  Asking price for all 5 was about $800, with shipping,  I got the price down to $530.  While I could have held out for a lower price, I wanted Yunus to see the deal as profitable.  Counting on him to ship the carpets to us, I didn’t want to push too hard for a bargain (a la the necklace in Athens, where the shopkeeper made sure I knew he didn't make a fair profit) & leave him unhappy.

  After dinner last night, we followed Yunus’ suggesting—to go watch whirling dervishes in a center hid up on a hillside in Bursa, walking distance from our hotel.  Saturday night, the dancing was preceded by an inspirational talk (no translation—we were the only non-Turks there).  We were befriended by a school teacher, who in turn introduced us to a ship’s captain who spoke good English, had lived in Vancouver BC for 4 years, who took us under his wing---in to watch the dancing & then showed us around the center.

  Back at the hotel, Lucy found Yunus on Facebook, asked him to be a friend.  Within minutes he responded!  He then, rather late at night, called Lucy (via Facebook) & sold us the 6th carpet—a small matrimonial one, which he brought to the hotel this morning.
Bursa pics - https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/Bursa#
https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/BursaMosques#
https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/BursaDervish#

Early morning, Tue, 18 Nov, Marmara Guest House, Istanbul

  On debarking from the ferry ride back from Bursa, we literally ran in to the Istanbul marathon.  ‘Looked like wall-time for the 4 – 5 hour group, as we pulled our bags across the road between them.  Roads were closed for the marathon, so we walked a ways. We should have followed the recommendation of taking the tram.  Instead, we did hail a taxi—the driver should turn in his keys &  retire—he couldn’t read the address on the Marmara Guesthouse card, without us loaning him readers.  He was still befuddled.  I ended up giving him the 50 Lira he demanded, due to special challenges from road closures.

  Great evening meal that night nearby, at a TripAdvisor suggestion.  Yesterday morning we walked about 3 blocks up the hill to Topkapi Palace, the opulent compound of the Ottoman rulers, who peaked in the 16th ti 18th centuries.  Talk about conspicuous consumption.  How did those sultans manage without Viagra? - 4 wives and a couple hundred concubines! We toured the harem also.  Beautiful mosaic tile work everywhere.

Topkapi Palace pics - https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/TopkapiPalace#

On the way to the Grand Bazaar, we stopped at a lambskin “factory” store,  Lucy spied a very nice red lambskin & I got a wallet—to replace the one lifted from my pocket in Naples.  Of course, the shopkeeper had an upstairs room with old carpets,  We looked at some.  Prices were gratifyingly high, making us feel we did a decent job of bargaining with Yunuk in Bursa.

  The Grand Bazaar, in my 20-minute revue, doesn’t merit inclusion in 1000 Places to See Before You Die.  It lacked the historic character of the Tetouan medina I visited in the 1970s in Morocco.  While the walkways were old, glass storefronts make it look like just a semi-quaint super mall.

  Next we made our way via twisting streets of more shops to the Spice Bazaar.  A smooth shopkeeper sold Lucy a variety of spices, including the much more expensive saffron from Iran.

https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/GrandBazaarSpiceMarket#

We found our way back to the guesthouse, in time to shower & rest, prior to dinner at a sit-on cushions restaurant up the hill a couple of blocks, build over ruins that can be viewed through the glass floor.

  Wed morning, 19 Nov, Marmara Guest House

As has been the case most of the trip, early to bed, early to rise.  The bed here is hard. the comforter too thick.  I’ve felt rested during daytimes, even if not sleeping through the nights.

  Yesterday we saw Aya Sofya, mosque turned museum.  Lots of visitors, even tho’ mid-November is in to the off season. I can’t imagine what the crowds must to like during high season. We then visited the archaeological museum.

https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/AyaSofyaArchaeology#

Lucy still had energy for the Museum of Turkish & Islamic Arts, but it was closed—‘listed on our 3-Day Museum Pass—no mention it’s been closed for months for renovation.  One less museum didn’t disappoint me—gave us an hour to rest before our hamam—the guesthouse made a reservation for our Turkish baths & we were picked up here taken to the old baths, in use since the 1500s.  Separate baths for men.  After steam room & sauna, my masseuse laid me on a marble slab, lathered me up & worked on my tight muscles.  After more steam & sauna, I followed the example of other bathers (all locals—no fellow tourists), I laid on the marble slab for a while, followed by dumping pans of hot & cooler water over me.

  We fly to London this afternoon.

  Seattle-bound on a flight out of Philadelphia, stuck in the middle seat of a packed plane,  2 rows from a screeching baby.  The 8.5 hour flight from London was more relaxed—plenty of empty seats so I moved up & had Seats A & B to myself.  And my own video screen—I watched 3 movies.  This plane has no screen, even for communal viewing & not even any music for headset listening.  Oh well, this too will pass.  Lucy a has an ear ache—a cold coming on.  I feel fine.  No bouts of anything during the 3 weeks.  The script of Cipro will be saved for next trip.

  Our night in London (West Drayton, about 20 minutes from Heathrow), was mostly uneventful.  Hostess at the Oakwood B&B has family living in Puyallup! Indeed, 7 degrees of separation, it's a small world...

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Athens 2014

Thursday, 13 Nov, Plaka Hotel, Athens   Just had our last buffet breakfast here.  Like the Sorrento hotel, the options were so many that we won’t need to think about lunch.  We fly to Istanbul today, after 3 days in Athens.  Flight from Rome was mostly empty, some fine vistas of Greek islands as we came in.  Cabbie from the airport tried to get us to use him during our stay,
but he asked 6 Euros over the 39 on the meter when we arrived at the hotel.  We got around a lot on the hop on/hop off city bus.  First afternoon we walked around the Acropolis, along a street of vendors in historic Plaka neighborhood, including Zorba Jewelers.  Nice shopkeeper, quick to argue the investment perspective on buying a lovely gold necklace with various gems embedded, made in their workshop here.  Up to the rooftop terrace at the hotel, for a panorama of the Acropolis by night.  Dinner the first night in an outdoor cafe just steps from the hotel—very tasty lamb.
  Pics of Athens -
https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/Athens2014#

Tuesday we did the Acropolis, after taking the double decker on a tour of the port—I recommend skipping that hour, as aside from some harbors with lots of small boats moored, it wasn’t remarkable.
Acropolis pics -
https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/Acropolis#

After the Acropolis, we did the nearby Acropolis Museum.  Followed, next morning, by the Archaeological Museum.  Big place, LOTS of statues, stellas & vases.  And jewelry.  Lots of history in this eastern Mediterranean.  https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/AthensMuseums#

Then a walk through the National Gardens, a nod to statue of Zeus, on our way back to Zorba Jewelers.  My foot cleaning with little fishes in a tank softened me up, to drive a bargain on that necklace.  They had offered to take about half off the asking price of 6000 Euros (that’s right--3 zeros, not two!).  I offered 2000, which was summarily dismissed (“Not one Euro under 2950!”).  But when I came up to 2500, the game was on again.  They tried 2750.  Then 2600.  ‘Talked of kids to support, keeping the craftsmen in their workshop busy making new pieces.  When I held firm at 2500, they relented, clearly not happy about it—expecting a traveler with money to come here should be more willing to pay the expected price.  Lucy is beholden.

  Another nice day.  We’ve had excellent weather the whole trip so far.   We’ll call a taxi for the airport in a few minutes.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Italy 2014






Italy 2014



Fri am, 31 Oct, Rome



My laptop says 7:40 pm.  I think that is 5:40 am here this week, if Rick Steves is right—that Italy is now standard time, a week before the US.  Usually, Italy is 9 hours later than West Coast time.



Lucy is sleeping soundly.  I, on the other hand, on the left side of the bed, due to my inexorable assignment to sleep between her & the entry in to the room, am cat-napping, after getting some sleep, going to bed 2-3 hours earlier than usual—which of course is meaningless with the 9 hour change.  I don’t feel sleep deprived, after not even try to sleep on the red-eye to Berlin. I watched, on my personal TV in the seat back in front of me, almost 6 episodes of Season One of Breaking Bad, after first filling in the story of BC & the Sundance Kid, the leap from the bluff being the unforgettable scene from that classic when Paul was still young.



Nate dropped Lucy & me off at Sea-Tac at 5:30 am Wednesday morning.  Via JFK & Berlin, we arrived on time in Rome just before noon yesterday. 



Exiting the airport was so easy we didn‘t even pass through Customs & get our passports stamped.  Our nice ride was waiting, from FCO Airport in to the city, via a maze of freeways then city streets.  Good move, John, deciding no car rental this trip to Italy

http://john-at-large.blogspot.com/2009/11/finally-big-retirement-trip-northern.html



Instead of 45 minutes, I could easily have taken more than half a day, making my own way in a rented car, repeatedly asking directions in Spanish (which is closer to Italian than most languages.  Like Brazil, I think I can get across my message better than I can understand the reply in the other Romance language.) 



We have a view of St Peter’s dome from our balcony window.  Named “A View of Rome”, I found this B&B via TripAdvisor.  Host, Daniele, was charmingly welcoming, giving us some pointers on what to see & recommending a couple of restaurants nearby.  An old building, the B&B has been recently been renovated.  Bathroom clean, shower a bit small.  Good bed.



We went to Hosteria Pizzeria Da Vito e Dina for a nice dinner this evening, marred slightly by my knocking the olive oil in to my water glass, spilling it in to my plate of lasagna, which the friendly staff promptly replaced.  With both mushroom (I should have touristed up & taken a pic of the waiter & the tray of huge mushrooms we were invited to choose from) & brochette for appetizers, a half (0.375 liter) bottle of wine to go with main courses, a bill of 70 Euros wasn’t bad.  The dollar has gained some strength against the Euro in recent months—now about $1.30 = 1 Euro, 0.77 Euro equals a dollar.



Fri, 31 Oct, Rome



Livio, co-operator of the B&B with Daniele, is very affable.  After a breakfast chat with him, we walked a couple block to the Metro, caught a train to Spagna, emerged at the Spanish Steps, where a free walking tour was promoted by reviewers on TripAdvisor.  Kiosk guy & bank guard had no clue.  Just about 10:00 am, Manuela arrived, flag on stick.  After a couple of hours working our way past historic monuments, including the Parthenon, we arrived at St Peters, where the line waiting to visit the church circled around the huge plaza that can accommodate 70,000 to hear the Pope speak from a balcony on Sundays.  Manuela informed us we could skip the line by joining a tour of the Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel, then get side door access to St Peters.  Which we did.  Unfortunately, my camera battery went dead part way through the museum.  Pics prohibited in the Sistine Chapel anyway.  ‘Busy walls & ceiling.



For pics of Rome walk & Galleria Borghese, go to

https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/ItalyRomeWalkGalBorghese#



Hit “Slideshow”. To return here, use back arrow rather than close the window on your computer screen.



Saturday we visited the Galleria Borghese, walking up through the extensive park from the Metro.  A mansion crammed full of art. We spent the afternoon on the double-decker bus, seeing sites of Rome.



Sunday morning I decided to not try to catch the early (7:35 am departure) fast train to Naples.  Next train was 10:10.  We got there with time to spare.  I had done a miscalculation of the lodging bill at View of Rome, so I was in need of Euros.  All 3 of my cards got declined at the one cash machine I could find at Termini, the big Rome transit hub, so I got 200 E from a cash exchange booth, paying their premium price.



The tickets were expensive for the fast train.  I might tell you how expensive by the receipt, IF I still had it.  After the fast train arrived in Naples, we found our way to the Circumvestuviana—the commuter train around the Bay of Naples.  In contrast to the expensive fast train, this one was very inexpensive – 4.20 E each to get to Torre del Greco, stop  for Villa Patrizia B&B.  Then again, it was by far the most expensive train ride of my life—as I was getting on, computer bag over one shoulder, another bag over the other, a guy was blocking the door—not moving in to the train. I pushed past him & a few minutes later reached for my wallet..  You guested it—GONE!   After getting the cargo pants for this trip, I was disappointed to find, with so many pockets, none had zippers.  The front pockets, where I’ve been keeping my wallet, are not that tight.  Without doubt, it was the guy making me push past him that found me easy pickings.  We called credit card carriers as soon as we got to the B&B.  One Mastercard already had multiple $1000 + new charges on it.  Chase will eat those, but no recourse for the 400 Euros.



Robbie, here at the B&B, has been great.  He picked us up at the train station, brought us to their lovely villa overlooking the bay.  After we  made our calls about stolen cards, we decided the vacation needs to go on*.  Robbie drove us over to the Herculeum (AKA Ercolano) ruins—little sister to Pompeii, also buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in  AD 79.  We timed it just right--to join a tour by an enthusiastic guide who alternatively explained in English & Italian



*If vacationing is about making memories, bring on the misfortunes!!



For Herculeum pics, go to

https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/ItalyHerculeum#



Hotel Antiche Mura in Sorrento is thankfully only about 3 blocks from the train station (Even ‘though the weather is quite comfortable, I think my life-long propensity to sweat with even moderate exercise has worsened. We got a great rate (80 E/night, huge breakfast buffet included), big, comfortable room.  Instead of fitting Pompeii in on the day we traveled, again on the Circumvestuviana train, from Ercolano to Sorrento, we took a ferry to Capri for the afternoon.  Pleasant, mostly sunny weather.  Lucy window shopped while I hiked past one estate after another, to a vista at the SW corner of Capri town.




For Sorrento & Capri pics, see

https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/ItalySorrento#br />
&

https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/ItalyCapri#



Next day we hopped back on the Circumvestuviana to Pompeii & meandered around the ruins during the mid-day.  Back to Sorrento for a 2nd night. Pompeii pics at



https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/Pompeii#



Wed morning we boarded a crowded Sita bus for Amalfi.  Rather small bus—good thing, given the narrow, twisting road above the sea.  I deleted most of my pics taken on the move, but a few will give you an idea of this awesome coastline & road.  When I bought the tickets, I was told there was a landslide before Amalfi—that the bus wasn’t able to go thru, but there would be mini-bus service.  Repeated efforts to talk to the bus driver about what was to happen were useless—he dismissed me with “I don’t speak English”.  All passengers were left to figure things out on their own, when the bus stopped, short of the road closure.  No mini bus, to take us on to Amalfi.



I went in to a shop where the bus turned around & the nice keeper allowed me to call Pio, our B&B host.  I informed him of the road closure & being abandoned by the Sita bus driver, with no way to get past the landslide, other than walk.  Even tho’ we’d left the largest suitcase in Rome, we were not going to walk with the luggage we had for 5 days.  Pio arranged for a friend to come get us, taking side roads up the mountain—for less than half the price of a usual taxi rate (I assume Pio chipped in—to his benefit rather than have our room sit empty 2 nights).



Amalfi Coast pics at

https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/ItalyAmalfiCoast#



Our deck at Eva Rooms B&B in Atrani is straight up from the surf crashing in to the ancient walls of the historic town.   Tall ceiling, antique furnishings.  Pio is an affable host. The Russian sunning himself on the adjacent deck has a resemblance to Puten—physically & temperament—he didn't so much as look our direction.   Breakfast on the patio.  We roamed around Amalfi, caught a bus up to Revallo.  After 2 nights, we caught another Sita bus, with more white-knuckle cliff hugging road on our way to Salerno, where we caught the fast train back to Rome.



Eva Rooms & Atrani pics -

https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/ItalyEvaRoomsAtrani#



Back to A View of Rome B&B for 3 more nights.  Saturday we caught the Metro to Palentine Hill, the Forum & the Colosseum, then found the fabric shop Lucy had learned of.   We then walked to Trevi Fountain, only to find it under major renovation (which is the case with many historic places.  Alas, preservation often means looking at scaffolding). Pics -

https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/ForumColosseum#



About dusk, we hiked past the Spanish Steps to the Spagna Metro station.  A crowed time of night on Rome streets, a closure of the Metro station resulted in an immediate crush of people in the entrance to the station.  We  managed to retreat & made our way back to the B&B near the Vatican via foot.



Sunday we went to the Museum of Rome, then meandered through an area of clothing shops, before walking back to the B&B.  Planning to return to a favorite restaurant, we found it closed.  We found Mamas, with a TripAdvisor  rec in the window.  ‘Turned out to be great.  I’ve had my fill of pasta for a while. Museum pics -

https://picasaweb.google.com/102259876019428056805/NatLMuseumOfRome#