Sicily Cycle Trip, Catania, Day 18

Today was our last morning with the Backroads group and, rather than taking the bikes out for a final spin, a group of us visited a Greek/Roman archeological site right outside the city (you'd think we'd have seen enough ancient ruins!). It was a small site, with the remains of a Greek theatre, a Roman amphitheatre, and a Greek sacrificial altar. Our guide was very informative, though, so Rich and I were glad we went.

Later in the morning, we said goodbye to Siracusa and were then bussed to the Catania airport where we said our goodbyes to each other. All in all, it was a fun group of people this week and our trip leaders were exceptional. Rich and I are spending the night in Catania and then heading to the airport at 4:30 AM tomorrow morning (groan). There was another couple overnighting in Catania so we met up with them for one final dinner together, which was fun. We even talked about doing the Backroads trip through Puglia next year, which we had heard was absolutely beautiful, with most of the rides following the Adriatic coastline. I understand from Ashley that our 2012 Backroads catalog has just arrived in the mail. I wonder if they planned it that way?

See you all next week.

Sicily Cycle Trip, Siracusa Route, Day 17

Today was to be our last full day of riding as we traveled from inland Ragusa to Siracusa on the sea. Our guides suggested we shuttle past the busy roads and traffic of Ragusa and start our ride just east of the town and then stop just west of Siracusa and shuttle to our hotel (again, because of heavy traffic). A few hearty souls decided to brave the Ragusa traffic, but Rich and I opted for the shorter 37 mile route. This was a beautiful, although mostly uphill ride to Palazzolo, where we stopped for lunch. The countryside was much more scenic, with blue lakes and groves of lemon and orange trees. Like the rest of the week, the day was blisteringly hot.

When we reached Palazzolo, we parked our bikes near the vans and headed uphill into the old part of town. We found a nice restaurant with outdoor dining on a lovely side street and sat down to lunch with a number of our fellow riders. As we waited for our lunch, the skies started to cloud up and I thought I heard the distant rumble of thunder. All of a sudden the skies opened and a deluge of rain came down. There were large umbrellas covering our tables and initially, we thought we could just stay outside and eat and it would blow over. Before long, however, we decided we needed to run for cover indoors and wait out the storm.

When it finally stopped, the streets were like rivers. Most of us decided to forego the rest of the day's ride as it was primarily downhill and we didn't feel comfortable riding that kind of terrain with wet, slick roads. All in all, we only rode @ 23 miles today. With all of the hills, though, it felt more like twice that distance.

Siracusa is a charming town on the sea and Rich and I spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering down by the water and through some of the smaller streets and alleys. We had our farewell dinner at a lovely restaurant down the street from our hotel and, as I've done this entire week, ate way too much (although it was sooo good).

Sicily Cycle Trip, Scicli Loop, Day 16

Today was Rich's birthday (true to form, I hadn't initially remembered) and when we came down to breakfast this morning, our tour leaders, Jill and Tony, immediately wished him a happy birthday (which of course, belatedly jogged my memory). Then, when we met to review the day's ride and get our bikes ready to go, they had strategically hidden his bike on top of the one turrets so he had to search for it before he could ride. Tony also led us in the Italian version of Happy Birthday.

Once we retrieved Rich's bike from the turret, we set out on our ride to Scicli for a tour of the town and lunch and then on to the beach town of Donnalucata for a gelato. Today was a much easier cycling day than yesterday, although I could tell on the first uphill climb of the day that my legs were still tired from yesterday's ride. I could also tell that Rich's legs were tired, because he was riding much further behind me than he did yesterday. Total miles traveled via bike today was @ 27. At Donnalucata, we had the option of continuing our ride back to our hotel (another 13 miles, 95% uphill) or taking the shuttle back. Today, only 5 opted for the grueling ride back.

Until today, the scenery in Sicily has been brown mountains and hills with a few groves of olive and citrus trees. Today, however, when we reached Donnalucata, it was almost magical riding into town toward the sea. I've included a few pictures here but they really don't do the view justice.

Sicily Cycle Trip, Eremo Route, Day 15

Today was an awesome (but very tiring) day. I have no idea how much elevation we got under our belts, but we had a couple of very long hill climbs that left me practically falling asleep at the dinner table tonight.

Our ride started off mildly enough with some nice downhills and an easy ridge ride. We had a few uphills before lunch, but nothing major. We stopped for a picnic lunch at an agriturismo where they make olive oil and sampled some of their product. True to form, our Backroads picnic lunch was one of our meal highlights.

The afternoon ride started off with a 6+ mile uphill climb over the mountains, which Rich and I (along with the majority of the group) decided to forego. (The temperatures here have been in the mid to upper 90's all week.) Six out of the 20 of us set off to climb the mountain, while our guides "vanned" us to the top of the hill to continue our ride from that point. That being said, we still had a 3.5 mile uphill climb (in the baking sun) and, at the very end of the ride, another 2.1 mile climb to our hotel for the night. All in all, we rode @ 47 miles today, which made it the longest ride Rich has ever done (and it wasn't his rear end that he was complaining about tonight!).

Our accommodations tonight and tomorrow night are in a restored convent, so most of the rooms are very tiny. Rich and I, however, seem to have gotten the cream of the crop. We have a large downstairs living area with a comfortable sofa and chairs, dining room table and a couple of large armoires. Upstairs is the bedroom and bath. I'm not sure how we lucked out with the accommodations, but we're not complaining (although each time we climb the stairs our legs let us know they're not happy).

Sicily Day 14 Caltagirone Loop

Day 2 of our ride and our route today took us through a number of small Sicilian hill towns (the operative word being "hill"...we climbed up and then back down before climbing to the next town). Our first climb was to a town called Mineo. That wasn't too bad as it was still fairly early in the morning and not too hot out yet. We had a few more long descents and ascents (@ 2 miles at a stretch) before starting our final ascent into Caltagirone (our lunch destination). At this point, the road was fairly heavily traveled with cars and trucks, so the van was available for those who didn't want to make this ascent into town. Rich opted for the van, but I decided to make the climb. By this time it was at least 11:30 AM and the day was getting VERY warm. The ascent into Caltagirone went on for 3.5 miles!!!! The van passed me halfway up and Rich said my face was pretty red. When I finally rode into Caltagirone, Rich was waiting for me on the side of the road and rode the rest of the way up to the historical center of town (which of course was at the tip top of the hill). We had a little bit of flat road and then a STEEP (at least 11% or 12% grade) 1/2 mile climb. Rich and I both ended up walking this stretch (even walking, my calves were hurting like h...).

After lunch, it was another 16 miles back to our hotel. Even though it was at least 95 degrees at this point, Rich and I decided to give it a go. At least a third of the group opted for the shuttle to the hotel. This time we climbed @ 2.5 miles (over the course of a 9 mile stretch) to a little town called Grammichele. When we reached the piazza, there was a little cafe serving gelato and granitas. The support van was also there for those who were done riding for the day. Rich and I each got a lemon granita and climbed into the van for the last 7 miles back to the hotel.

All in all, I think we climbed @ 2500 feet over the course of @ 37 miles. Tomorrow the temperature is supposed to be a little cooler, but it looks like we're riding further with more elevation gain. I'll let you know how we do.

Sicily Cyle Trip, Vizzini Route, Day 13

Today started our long awaited Sicily bike trip! We've been carting a third suitcase around Turkey and Greece and today we were finally able to make use of its contents. Rich and I got dressed in our bike clothes and went down to breakfast where we immediately met another couple who were on the tour with us (they said our clothes were a dead giveaway...ya think!).

We ended up sharing a cab to the airport (with suitcases on laps and wedged everywhere) and met up with Backroads soon after. From the airport they shuttled us to an "agriturismo" an hour and a half away where we had an awesome lunch (antipasti and two kinds of fresh pastas). The good news was that the agriturismo was at the top of a large hill, so our ride started off downhill (a nice, pleasant downhill...not too steep). The weather had started off VERY warm in Catania, but we had a nice cloud cover for our ride so it made it very pleasant. We rode 25 km or @ 15+ miles...a perfect warm up ride.

This seems to be a very nice group of people. There are 20 of us, a little smaller group than last year's Loire Valley trip. We have a number of couples (as typical), but also a father and his two grown sons, and a group of 3 men from Sao Paolo, Brazil. Sue, Linda is awesome and her friend Maddy is a hoot! She suggested we get together for some rides when we get back to Portland, but it sounds like her typical ride is up through Washington Park and along Skyline and Germantown...@ 4500 feet of climbing!! Today is our long 67 mile (4500 foot elevation) ride, so I'm going to see how I do on this one before committing to Linda's ride!

Dinner tonight was a 4 hour affair...from aperitifs at 6:30 continuing to dessert at 10:30. But the company was enjoyable and the ambience unforgettable.

Athens to Catania Travel Day 12

As I write this, it is now 6:30 PM in Catania, Sicily (7:30 PM in Athens) and we have been traveling non-stop since 9:15 AM (Athens time). Taxis are still on strike in Athens so we made our way to the airport via the Metro and got to the airport a little before 11:00 AM. From then on, we've either been sitting in airports or on a plane. We only had 3+ hours of actual flight time, but where did the day go?

We're now sitting in our hotel room trying to decide if we have the energy to do any sightseeing and where we might go for dinner. This is a lovely hotel in the middle of downtown Catania, but it cost us $75 in cab fare to get here and we have to do this 3 more times!!! We meet our Backroads tour at the airport at 10:00 AM tomorrow morning. I thought I was so smart to arrive a day early and spend a little less on a hotel room than if we were in Rome. I think this is another live and learn lesson.

As we flew into Sicily, I was looking at the topography of the area and, other than the airport strip, I swear everything else was hills or mountains. I'm beginning to worry as to what we've gotten ourselves into!

P.S. These pictures are about it for today, other than the picture of the ruins of a Roman Amphitheatre in downtown Catania.

Delphi Day 11

Our second day in Delphi and we were up early so we'd have plenty of time to consult with the Oracle (also so we could beat the heat and take an early bus back to Athens). The Delphi ruins were impressive, but not nearly as impressive as those in Ephesus. The ancient Greeks built the Sanctuary of Apollo on the side of Mt. Parnassos and boy, you really had to have had something pressing to talk to the Oracle about because it was a steep climb up! They definitely made you work for your prophecy. We also discovered that the Oracle (who was the mouthpiece of Apollo) was probably high on laurel leaves or some other mind-altering drug and mainly spoke in gibberish. The priests of the temple interpreted what the Oracle said. That being said, the Oracle correctly foretold the Athenian victory over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon (just a lucky guess?) and also foretold Nero's assassination (was this more a wish than a prophecy?), so I guess one can understand why people put their faith in the Oracle's prophecies.

We were able to grab a quick lunch in Delphi town and caught the 1:30 bus back to Athens and, of course, hit rush hour traffic on our way back into town. I don't think I've ever been on a more crowded subway train (Morgan and Ashley, this was even worse than the subways in Rome or the "cattle boat" in Venice!).

Tomorrow we're on our way to Catania, Sicily and the third leg of our trip and the great "Sicily Bike Tour". I'll write more when we reach Catania.

Delphi Day 10

Today we traveled via bus to Delphi, the home of the ancient Oracle and about a 3 hour drive from Athen. Taxis were on strike in Athens today, so we either had to walk or take the metro/bus to the bus depot (Terminal B) where we would catch the bus to Delphi. We had sketchy directions on how to get to Terminal B, so I'm actually amazed we found our way with minimal trouble. Thank goodness for a kindly bus driver who tried to help us even though he didn't speak any English. Rich and I are continually amazed at how friendly and helpful the Greek people are.

We arrived in Delphi @ 1:30 PM, checked into our hotel, and then walked down to the Delphi Archeological Museum which is next to the ruins themselves. The temperature was well over 90 so we decided to spend the afternoon inside the air conditioned museum and tackle the ruins themselves early tomorrow morning. Hopefully, we'll finish in time to catch the 1:30 bus back to Athens tomorrow.

Both Rich and I are starting to feel a little "museumed out". It's amazing as you walk through these archeological museums that they can take a piece of broken statue that's only 6 inches in size and extrapolate what the larger statue was and what it looked like. Sometimes, when you're looking at the friezes or whatever, all that's in the exhibit are small broken fragments...it's hard to envision the whole thing. In fact, it's starting to make my head hurt! I guess that's why I'm not an archeologist.

Athens Day 9

We did more sightseeing and shopping today and ended up walking another 9 miles. I hope all this walking is burning off all the calories I'm eating because it's the only exercise I'm getting!

Today we saw the Roman temple to Zeus, Hadrian's Arch, the Roman Forum, Syntagma Square and the nearby Parliament building, three different Greek orthodox churches, and then took a stroll through a very quiet, pleasant neighborhood called Anafiotika. After lunch we visited the Acropolis Museum. At the Parliament builidng we saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Does every country have a tomb like this?). It's guarded by two members of the Evzone guards, an elite (and much photographed) infantry unit of the Greek army. We watched the changing of the guard and Rich was able to capture it on video. I tried to upload the video here, but I don't think it worked. Attached is a picture of the guards.

Tomorrow we're on our way to visit the Oracle at Delphi via a 3 hour bus ride (groan!). I have a feeling it's going to be a pretty boring day.

Athens Day 8

Today was spent sightseeing and do our feet feel it!! We walked somewhere between 9 miles and 15+ miles, not sure which. Rich had his pedometer on (registered @ 9 miles) and his bicycle GPS (registered 15+ miles). Normally, I would trust the GPS but I think it got a little confused when we were inside the archeological museum. Either way, it was a lot of walking.

We headed out early this morning for the Acropolis in hopes of beating both the heat and the crowds. I believe we accomplished both. I have to say the Parthenon was more impressive than its pictures; in fact, the entire Acropolis hilltop was pretty impressive. We spent @ 2 hours exploring this area and by the time we left at 10:00 AM, it was getting pretty warm and the tour groups were starting to arrive in earnest.

From the Acropolis we climbed Mars Hill (not very high, but the rocks were VERY slippery) and from there we walked down to Athens' ancient Agora (Athens' equivalent of the Roman Forum). This was the commercial hub of ancient Athens and, although a lot of it was in ruins, it was fascinating. We spent almost 2 hours wandering through the Agora as the temperature got hotter and hotter. By this time, it was almost 12:30 and we decided we needed to rest our weary feet and have something to eat. We found a nice sidewalk cafe off Monastiraki Square where I had an authentic version of a Greek salad (delicious!).

Since the temperature was now in the mid-nineties we decided an indoor activity (such as the Archeological Museum) would work best this afternoon. The problem was that it was in the northern part of the city and, rather than taking the metro (not sure why we made this decision - I think the heat addled our brains) we decided to walk. Anyway, it was an interesting walk and I'm sure we saw parts of Athens the typical tourist doesn't see (a HUGE meat and fish market, for one). The museum was well worth the walk, though. When we were done, we decided to walk back to the hotel with a little shopping thrown in to divert us (well, to divert me at least). Our reward to ourselves when all was said and done was a late afternoon gelato.

Athens Day 7

Today was spent almost exclusively on traveling and doing laundry (how boring!). We were up early to catch a 7:27 AM train to Izmir and from there we had an 11:30 AM flight to Athens. By the time we made it through Passport Control and retrieved our luggage it was close to 1:00 PM. Rather than hail a cab and take the easy tourist way into town, Rich and I found the train station and took the metro in from the airport. It took us a little over an hour to get to what we guessed was the metro stop closest to our hotel. Riding the metro in Athens with 3 suitcases and a computer bag (that weighs close to 20 lbs!) is so much easier than in Paris: at least we had escalators and elevators rather than having to carry our bags up and down stairs.

Anyway, we found our hotel without getting too lost, got settled in and then set out to do our laundry. You'd think we'd want to see the city a bit on our first day here, but the laundry situation was getting a bit desperate. Once we finished that chore, we set out for a walk and to find someplace for an early dinner. All we had had to eat all day was a light breakfast in Selcuk and half a sandwich and a chocolate bar on the airplane and some chocolate wafer cookies at the laundromat, so food was definitely a high priority on our list. We found a charming restaurant at the top of a narrow alley with a sweeping view of the city and found ourselves to be the only customers (Athenians eat very late, but you would have thought there would be someone in the restaurant at 6:00 PM). We had a delicious, 2000 calorie (at least) dinner of salad, tzatziki, olives, garlic bread (drenched in olive oil), friend zucchini (it's a vegetable so it's got to be healthy, right?), fried potatoes (again, lots of olive oil), and pork chops with a lemon sauce that was absolutely delicious. Rich had a healthy dessert of fruit while I had the yogurt with cherries and honey.

On our walk back from dinner, we took a few pictures of the Acropolis so I'd have something to add to the blog. The one at night is from our balcony. Tomorrow we're scheduled for some SERIOUS sightseeing.

Ephesus Day 6

On the recommendation of our host, we had hired a guide to escort us around the Ephesus ruins and had arranged to meet him in front of our sister hotel at 8:30 AM. Nazmi, the hotel owner, drove the three of us to the archeological site. We spent the next 3 hours spellbound by Mahmet's commentary and the physical structures around us. From the small theatre called the Odeon to the larger or Great Theatre with room for 25,000 spectators, down the Curettes, Marble and Arcadian Ways, we saw temples, bath houses, public latrines, and brothels. One of the most impressive structures was the Library of Celsus (the large building in the background in the first two pictures).

At the end of our tour, Nazmi picked us up and arranged for us to have lunch at a small local restaurant serving traditional tribal food where we ate lunch lounging like sultans. Rich and I both had gozlemes (the thin crepe-like pancake I mentioned yesterday), although I had the mixed vegetarian option and he, of course, opted for one with meat. We also toured the Cave of the Seven Sleepers and, later in the day, the house of the Virgin Mary,which is where Mary is believed to have spent her last years. We also did a little shopping in town, bought our train tickets for tomorrow (as we head back to Izmir and then onward to Athens), and had dinner at a quiet neighborhood kebap restaurant.

Ephesus Day 5

Day 5 of our trip found us traveling from Istanbul to Izmir and then on to Selcuk/Ephesus where we'll be visiting an archeological site of ancient Roman ruins that rivals Pompeii. Our plane-to-train travel went like clockwork but, save for a chance occurrence, it could have been disastrous.

When I initially booked our flight from Istanbul to Izmir, I was trying to find the lowest possible fare, not realizing that Istanbul has two airports. Yesterday, when I arranged the shuttle from our hotel to the airport I assumed we were flying out of Ataturk Airport, the airport we had flown into. It was only when I was working with the desk clerk trying to print our boarding passes that he noticed we were flying out of Sabiha Gokcen Airport, which is twice as far from the town center as Ataturk and three times the shuttle fare (I think what I saved in flight costs I spent on the shuttle). Oh well, live and learn!

We arrived in Selcuk/Ephesus before 10:00 AM, checked into our room and then spent an hour or so at the Ephesus archealogical museum. We're staying in a small, family run hotel and the owner had someone drive us to the nearby town of Sirince for lunch and bazaar shopping. While wandering through the bazaar, I had seen women squatting on the ground making these filled crepe-like pancakes on a small outdoor grill and decided to give them a try. I ordered the spinach and cheese version (the dish was called Golzeme) and it was fantastic...probably the best lunch I've had since we're been here. Rich's menu choices haven't been as good and consequently, he's not a huge fan of Turkish food (personally, I think he needs to stop ordering the meat dishes and give the vegetarian ones a try).

The weather here is much hotter than Istanbul (@ 95 degrees today) and when Rich and I got back from Sirince we just wanted to get out of the sun for awhile. Later in the afternoon we walked down the road to the ruins of St. John's Basilica and then walked over to our sister hotel for another outdoor terrace dinner. Tomorrow we'll be meeting our tour guide at 8:30 AM for a 3-4 hour tour of the Ephesus ruins...let's hope we finish our tour before it gets as stifling hot as it was today!

Istanbul Day 4

Today was our last day in Istanbul and we spent it busily sightseeing. We started our day at the Topkapi Palace, the seat of Ottoman rule and the residence of the Ottoman sultans for 400 years. It always amazes me during our palace tours (whether it be Hapsburgs or Ottomans, French kings or Spanish royalty) the opulence in which the ruling class surrounded themselves while their subjects lived so poorly. During our tour of the Topkapi we saw an 86 karat diamond, emeralds larger than walnuts, and more rubies than I could count. We also saw jewel encrusted thrones and kaftans worn by the various sultans (some of these guys had a SERIOUS weight problem!). Our tour also included a look at some of the most significant holy items of the Muslim faith: Moses' staff, Abraham's cooking pot, Joseph's turban, David's sword and Muhammad's footprint (I would have thought most of these would be considered Jewish holy items, but what do I know?).

After spending 2+ hours at the Topkapi Palace, we made our way to the Grand Bazaar, the world's oldest shopping mall, and an experience in itself. The Grand Bazaar was a maze of streets and alleys teeming with people. There were a number of times where I got totally turned around. It was a good thing Rich was with me. Surprisingly, we didn't buy anything, but just wandered the streets.

From the Grand Bazaar we caught a tram to Istanbul's cosmopolitan New District and spent the remainder of the afternoon strolling the Istiklal Caddesi (also a mass of people as evidenced by the photo above). Before tackling Istiklal, we fortified ourselves with a Chai tea and a chocolate Frappucino at the local Starbucks. By the time we got back to our hotel, Rich's pedometer measured almost 8 miles. It was time for a short rest before heading out later in the evening for dinner.

Istanbul Day 3

We spent the day today cruising the Bosphorus from Istanbul to Anadolu Kavagi, a fishing village on the Asian side of the Bosphorus at the mouth of the Black Sea. I had read a number of blogs from people who indicated that the Bosphorus cruise was the highlight of their trip to Turkey, so I was excited to make time for this (I'm not sure how excited Rich was, but I think he was glad to give his feet a rest for a day).

On the way to the ferry terminal we overheard an American couple asking directions to the ferry so we asked them if we could tag along. After talking for a few minutes we discovered that the couple were from Hockinson!! They're both members of the Clark County Running Club and the Vancouver Bike Club. Bill has completed a number of Ironmans and they've both run numerous marathons. In fact, they look for events in different locales and use this as an excuse to travel. The other amazing thing is that Bill must be in his early 70's and Janet's not much younger. Needless to say, we had a lot in common and ended up spending the day with them.

We had a 3 hour layover in Anadolu Kavagi so we decided to hike up the hill to the ruins of the Byzantine Yorus Castle. It was a short, but steep, climb to the top and, although there was nothing to see in the castle, the views of the Bosphorus were fantastic! We then had lunch at a seaside restaurant as we watched the boats go by until it was time to get back on the ferry. All in all, it was a very pleasant, relaxing day.

Istanbul Day 2

We spent our second day in Istanbul immersed in the sights of Old Town, specifically within the Sultanahmet district: the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sofia, the Hippodrome and the Istanbul Archeological Museum. Both the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia are huge, impressive spaces. The Hagia Sofia was originally built as an Eastern Orthodox church by the Holy Roman Emperor Justinian. When the Ottomans conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in the 15th century they converted it to a mosque and obliterated all vestiges of figurative images. This means all paintings of Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints were whitewashed over. The Hagia Sofia is now a museum and some of these paintings have been semi-restored, but most have been lost forever.

The weather here has been warm, making the evenings nice and balmy. We had dinner tonight on the upper terrace of a small restaurant overlooking the sea and had our first taste of Turkish pizza, called pide. It was excellent! I don't think this is going to be a calorie-neutral trip. Maybe when we get to Sicily and start riding all those hills, I'll burn some of this off, but for now, I'm going to sample as many different dishes as I can.

Istanbul Day 1

As I've already been scolded by my youngest daughter because I haven't posted anything since we've been here, I thought I'd better get busy and provide an update on our travels and let you all know that we're alive and well.

Surprisingly, given the closure of JFK only hours before, our flights from Portland to New York and then from New York to Istanbul were on time with no delays whatsoever. We arrived in Istanbul @ 9:30 AM Tuesday (11:30 PM Monday PDT) and got to our hotel by 11:00 AM. Our hotel, the Sultanhamet Palace, is practically next door to the Blue Mosque (one of Istanbul's primary sightseeing sights) with a lovely garden courtyard in the front. We have a room with a balcony and views of the Blue Mosque. The only unusual feature of our room is the bathroom/shower fixture (I've included a picture). The first time Rich took a shower, he totally flooded the bathroom! I did a little better, but there was still WAY too much water everywhere. I think we're going to resort to doing it the Turkish way by filling the basin with water and using the silver bowl to pour water over us.

Istanbul's sights and sounds are enchanting and I love the foreigness of the muezzin's call to prayer as it reverberates throughout the city. Our first night's dinner, on the third floor terrace of a small Ottoman restaurant located in the heart of the Sultanhamet (recommended by one of the MANY carpet salesmen in this area) was perfect. We watched the sun set behind the Blue Mosque and listened to Turkish music from the square below.

Pre-Trip Jitters

Well, it's V-1 (Vacation Day -1) and I've decided to post something today rather than 3:00 AM tomorrow morning. We're pretty much ready to go...bags are packed and boarding tickets are printed. We'll go to bed early tonight so we can get up at an unGodly time of the morning to get to the airport by 4:30 AM. The only potential fly in the ointment (and it's a BIG one) is Hurricane Irene, or I should say, the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. We have a non-stop flight from PDX to JFK tomorrow morning and, if you've been following the news, New York airports (including JFK) are currently closed. They're scheduled to open tomorrow afternoon, but there could be LONG flight delays. Hopefully, we'll leave Portland relatively on time and be able to connect through to our outbound flight to Istanbul without any major delays, but there's the possibility we may be spending the night in New York or even at home here in Vancouver. I'll keep you all posted.

Not the best omen for the start of this vacation!