Hello all! It is about time that I started a travel blog; I should have started this years ago. I’ll try to update this on a regular basis when I travel. For now, feel free to contact me or ask any questions concerning any of the photos or destinations. Thanks.
Dave
Just booked my flight for a July trip to the Sierra-Nevada Mountains. We will be doing one of the classic mountain hikes–the North Lake to South Lake loop which includes one of the best sections of the John Muir trail. Looks like we will be spending 7 to 9 days in the wilderness with a possible overnight stopover in Death Valley National Park.
My preparation has started as I try to get back into reasonable shape….which hopefully means dropping about 20 lbs by early July.
I am quite certain that the Quest Outdoors store is very appreciative of my month-long spending spree in all three of their Louisville stores. I thought this was going to be a reasonably inexpensive trip until I started reading outdoor gear magazines and online equipment reviews. Of course I needed the latest and greatest gear and now the expense for the trip rivals some European luxury vacations.
I will try not to think about it too much…just glad that the planning and spending are (mostly) behind me.
Police stationed on the walls of Topkapi Palace
Because I missed an opportunity to visit the Archaeological Museum yesterday, I decided to visit this morning before I went to the airport. My alarm did not go off and I woke up 40 minutes late. I also had little Turkish Lira left so I had to visit a money exchange before heading over to the museum. As I was walking towards the museum, a fleet of police and ambulance went streaming by. As I walked past the Hagia Sophia to turn up Bab-I Hamayun street towards the Topkapi Palace (the Archaeological Museum is next to the Palace), I saw a medium sized crowd gathered and no one was proceeding up the street. The large gate to the Topkapi grounds was closed. Police cars and ambulances lined the street. After a few minutes, I heard rifle fire followed by a brief machine gun round.
Initially the police seemed a bit disorganized and allowed me and others to proceed up the street towards Topkapi and I got as close as 200 yards away. Don’t ask me why I wanted to get closer but I think I was just dumbfounded that something like this was happening. I shot some photos and videos as I walked toward Topkapi. Soon the police were pushing everyone back toward the corner of Ayasofya and Bab-I Hamayun streets.
I stationed myself on the corner as I watched waves of police, ambulances and armored cars go by. Gunfire continued the entire hour I stood on the corner.
About 40 minutes into the incident, the media started arriving with local media on the scene first followed by CNN Turkey and CNBC.
I finally decided to head back to the hotel after an hour or so as gunfire still rang out. The walk back to the hotel took about 20 minutes and when I arrived, the receptionist told me that they had apprehended the gunman and that he had wounded two people. I later learned on an Internet news story that the gunmen was shot dead.
I guess I have my alarm issues and lack of money to thank otherwise I could have been right in the middle of the mess.
And I though my last day would be uneventful. More photos from the scene:
Dome of Ayasofya
At this point in the trip, I am suffering from a serious case of Stendahl’s syndrome and my senses are overloaded. I visited the Hagia Sophia today and the Islamic Art Museum. The Hagia Sophia is a place I have been wanting to see for over 20 years; even since taking an Intro to Art class at the University of Pittsburgh. I guess I have prof. David Wilkins to thank for all of this traveling–he let me into his over-booked intro class (even though I was an Econ major) and I was hooked. The next semester I took his Italian Renaissance class and I have since traveled to see most of the things he taught me about in both of those classes.
I followed that up with some serious shopping; so much that I am not sure they are going to let me on the plane tomorrow. I have seen some amazing carpets and iznik pottery–I would be dangerous if I actually had money to burn.
Now that I have bored you to tears, I will share what might be my last set of photos. Not my best, for sure, but my concentration and what little creativity I have are beginning to wan.
Blue Mosque
Well, I have recovered a bit from my travel-related malaise and Italy seems like a distant memory. I received an Istanbul 101 course today courtesy of my tour guide, Serhat. We had a small tour group consisting of me, a couple from Scotland–Dundee, I believe and a gentleman from San Francisco. We started off at 9am and visited the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, the underground Basilica Cistern and the Grand Bazaar (the classic Istanbul tour). We also visited a carpet shop and had a very good lunch on a terrace overlooking the Hagia Sophia. The Islamic museum and the Hagia Sophia are on the agenda for tomorrow morning and then I will improvise the remainder of the day.
Visited a very nice ceramic shop tonight and bought one tiny bowl–so the Istanbul shops only have $25 from me so far….but there is certainly a lot of nice things temping me.
I was relieved to learn that my nephew and my friends made it safely home without experiencing any major delays; I am hoping for the same in a few days.
Before I head to the restaurant across the street, I’ll share some more photos from today:
Tea Man
It was very tough leaving everyone behind and heading to Istanbul myself. It was especially difficult leaving my nephew at the Rome airport–he had never traveled overseas before and I didn’t want him to encounter any unforeseen issues. Honestly, I think I was ready to head back also but I am pressing on to experience new places.
First evening here and I think I am going to use it for some down time. I am not even hungry after eating like a king for over a week. I did manage to walk up the steep hill from my hotel to view a couple of Istanbul’s mosques and have a cup of freshly squeezed pomegrante juice.
I think I will stay in this evening and try to find some NFL games to listen to over the Internet….may head out for a late bite.
A few photos from tonight:
While on a short walk during the morning of our last day in Rome, we spotted an Iranian restaurant a block or so from our hotel. We decided to visit in the evening for our last meal together and it turned out to be our best food experience we had in Italy. Chicken fesenjan and basmati rice, great starters, grape leaves and a couple bottles of wine. Oh, I don’t want to forget the belly dancer for entertainment. If anyone is close to Piazza Cavour, take the short walk up Via Tacito to Ristorante Iraniano–I believe the address is 53 Via Tacito–it is located in the level below the street. You can thank me later.
St. Peter's Dome
I am quite certain that I have had my fill of Italy. Though I seem to say that every time I visit, and almost certainly at the last day of each trip, this time might be it. I don’t think I can visit the Vatican one more time…or walk the streets between Piazza Navona, Piazza della Rotunda and Piazza di Trevi. I need a bit of a break from it all….however, if someone wants to buy me a plane ticket….who knows.
We did do the three hour tour of the Vatican today and I spent about 10% of my time listening to the tour and 90% looking for the perfect photo–which, of course, I didn’t find. Still, as I may have mentioned before, I learned a few things that I didn’t know before and that’s worth the experience. I am quite certain that I can be a tour guide for some of these tours–The Vatican Scavi tour for sure….so if anyone from Vatican City stumbles upon this blog, give me a ring.
We did do our last big walk across Rome this evening, most of it spent looking through the antique shops on Via di Ripetta. I did see a small 5 inch square painting of St. Francis that caught my eye–I was told it was a 17th century piece. However, the 600 Euro price tag was a bit much…but I will be back in Rome in 4 days so you never know….maybe my bargaining skills will be in better form.
I’m off to Istanbul tomorrow and I am trying to get psyche moving in a positive direction. We are heading out to dinner and I am sure that will help. An Iranian restaurant in Rome…sounds perfect. Here are some more photos from today. More from Istanbul the next three days. Ciao, Italia!
Early start as we had a three hour tour of the Colosseum and Roman Forum. We followed that with a visits to the Capitoline Museum and the Capuchin Crypt on Via Veneto. Finished the night with dinner in Piazza Navona.
I have to admit that I have never done this much running around on a vacation and I am not sure how I am going to handle the next final days in Istanbul on my own.
Funny story of the night: me, Derek, John and Sinjin on our way to Piazza Navona veered onto a small side street of antiques shops. Something catches my eye in one particular store and as I lean closer to look, my head crashes against the clearest glass windows I have ever seen (or not seen in this case). I played it cool and thankfully no one in the group saw or heard it (which is surprising since I hit hard enough to break the glass). However, Derek wasn’t so luck as he did exactly the same thing one minute later…we all saw it and, of course, offered him zero sympathy and countless laughs. At least I received verification that it was the clearest glass I had ever (not) seen.
Not many good photos from the day but I do have a few:
Fontana del Pantheon at Piazza della Rotunda
After the whirlwind day yesterday–Florence to Naples to Pompeii to Rome, we took it a bit easy. Slept in late and left the hotel around noon for the Vatican Scavi tour–I think it’s my fifth time on this tour but I discover something new each time–one of the best tours in Rome/Vatican. Early evening spent on a walk through central Rome with stops at the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. Some late dinner and we are calling it a night. Here are some photos from tonight:
Via San Gregorio Armeno - Nativity Scenes
