11-7 (Mon)
The Lord works in wonderful and mysterious ways . . . I was not sick at all on the way home but as soon as I hit the Orlando airport and went to the bathroom I was back to square one with my illness. Hope to get in to see the doctor today.
I saw a foreigner at the Orlando airport who looked like he didn't know what to do, I asked if I could help. He was from Morocco and had been waiting in NY all night for a flight to Orlando where he would meet his daughter. I helped him get his luggage and showed him where to wait for his daughter. When my cousin picked me up we tried to call his daughter but there was no answer. I felt good that I could help him just a little bit because I felt like I was paying back some of the kind people that had helped Barbara and me on our journey.
Monday, November 07, 2011
Sunday, November 06, 2011
11-6 (Sun)
We're home!!! I'm back in Orlando and Barbara is soon to be in WI. The Lord works in mysterious ways . . . I was not sick at all on the way home but as soon as I hit the Orlando airport I was sick again. I'm so thankful I made it home. I'm doing laundry now and ready to jump in the shower.
I'm going to post some pictures later.
We're home!!! I'm back in Orlando and Barbara is soon to be in WI. The Lord works in mysterious ways . . . I was not sick at all on the way home but as soon as I hit the Orlando airport I was sick again. I'm so thankful I made it home. I'm doing laundry now and ready to jump in the shower.
I'm going to post some pictures later.
Saturday, November 05, 2011
11-5 (Sat)
Barbara writing . . .
Holocaust Museum is largest but I like the one in DC better. I waited 1 ½ hours for Nancy at the reception area and then went back to hotel and Old City. Nancy showed up at 4:00ish. There is a brand new Tram here running only about 1 month. It is now free for everyone cuz they don’t have the ticket machines working. They want everyone to be able to take the Tram so free it is!! We ate at the same place that we did on the Walking Tour. Nancy must have caught something cuz she got violently ill starting about 8:30 that night. Was in the bathroom most of the night (out of both ends sometimes at the same time - I know TMI) I had to go down to reception to get more toilet tissue at 2:00am. She stayed in bed yesterday still sick. I went to Bethlehem on the bus which let us off somewhere?? so had to find my way to the Church of the Nativity. Didn’t pass thru check point of the way there so walked all the way from the church to the check point to experience the wall and security involved passing from Palestine back into Israel side. Nancy was in no shape to leave hotel so I continued on touring/shopping - went back to the Church, more Stations of the Cross, out Lions Gate, thru Muslim cemetery, past the closed Golden Gate and back thru Dung Gate to wind my way back to hotel. Nancy felt good enough to play some cards then bed around 9:30. Forgot - I went looking for a doctor early Thurs morning (6:30) cuz Nancy was sooooo sick. Went into dining room and asked a large group if they had a doc with them. They did and he came to our room right away giving Nancy pills for nausea and diahrea (don’t know how to spell it and don’t want to know!! Just know it was real bad). She is better today but VERY weak. I got a taxi to take us to Tel Aviv. It is a lot more expensive than the bus but I AM NOT LUGGING THAT DARN LUGGAGE OVER THESE COBBLE STONES UP HILLS, ETC one more time. My knees and back are worth a few $$ more and besides Nancy could never make it today. Taxi is to pick up us at 1:00 for drive to new hotel in Tel Aviv.
Barbara writing . . .
Holocaust Museum is largest but I like the one in DC better. I waited 1 ½ hours for Nancy at the reception area and then went back to hotel and Old City. Nancy showed up at 4:00ish. There is a brand new Tram here running only about 1 month. It is now free for everyone cuz they don’t have the ticket machines working. They want everyone to be able to take the Tram so free it is!! We ate at the same place that we did on the Walking Tour. Nancy must have caught something cuz she got violently ill starting about 8:30 that night. Was in the bathroom most of the night (out of both ends sometimes at the same time - I know TMI) I had to go down to reception to get more toilet tissue at 2:00am. She stayed in bed yesterday still sick. I went to Bethlehem on the bus which let us off somewhere?? so had to find my way to the Church of the Nativity. Didn’t pass thru check point of the way there so walked all the way from the church to the check point to experience the wall and security involved passing from Palestine back into Israel side. Nancy was in no shape to leave hotel so I continued on touring/shopping - went back to the Church, more Stations of the Cross, out Lions Gate, thru Muslim cemetery, past the closed Golden Gate and back thru Dung Gate to wind my way back to hotel. Nancy felt good enough to play some cards then bed around 9:30. Forgot - I went looking for a doctor early Thurs morning (6:30) cuz Nancy was sooooo sick. Went into dining room and asked a large group if they had a doc with them. They did and he came to our room right away giving Nancy pills for nausea and diahrea (don’t know how to spell it and don’t want to know!! Just know it was real bad). She is better today but VERY weak. I got a taxi to take us to Tel Aviv. It is a lot more expensive than the bus but I AM NOT LUGGING THAT DARN LUGGAGE OVER THESE COBBLE STONES UP HILLS, ETC one more time. My knees and back are worth a few $$ more and besides Nancy could never make it today. Taxi is to pick up us at 1:00 for drive to new hotel in Tel Aviv.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
10-30 (Sunday) Petra
10-29 (Sat)
We went to Wadi Rum on the local bus Friday morning. We bounced along and then raced up and down the mountain roads for an hour and a half.
Our guide met us at the Visitor’s Center and took us to his village where he promptly parked us in a “house/room” where some children brought us tea. Barbara fell in love with a four year boy who entertained us. He would be on meds for ADD in the States - he was such a little pill but all good stuff and so cute.
We finally met another couple, Simon and Amelia, from France who were going to be with us in our van to tour the desert. First we were taken to a “grocery store” to buy our lunch. That was a joke, there was nothing to buy. I bought potato chips and Barbara bought a candy bar and a Fanta. After that lovely purchase it was off to the desert.
We finally got to our camp and unloaded our stuff into our tent. I took a walk and when I got back I found that Barbara had moved us to a nicer better tent.
The sun going down in Wadi Rum was a lovely site. Everyone took pictures. We had dinner with 6 from France, 3 from Switzerland and 2 from New Zealand.
We weren’t too impressed with the bathroom facilities, by that I mean one was a squat and the other was a toilet with the seat half broken.
As soon as the sun went down it was pitch black. You couldn’t see you hand in front of your face. Barbara left the dinner area first and I returned with he 2 from New Zealand. When I got back to the tent I had to go to the bathroom but I didn’t want to go to the one they provided so I just stepped outside the tent and went there. By 7:00 and we were both in bed.. We woke up at 10:00 and both of us had to go to the bathroom so once again we stepped outside the tent. Barbara squatted down and couldn’t get up, I was trying to pull her and I didn’t have the strength to get her up because I was laughing so hard so she fell on her knees in the sand. I finally got her up. We found out at breakfast that everyone heard us.
Barbara is writing . . .
About the bathroom - if we thought the smell in that train bathroom was the worst, we were wrong!! Dinner in the desert was very interesting. While our group was in the dining tent getting acquainted the Muslim cook came to tell us to come see the chicken being cooked. It was in the sand all covered up in a big round metal container being cooked by the stones that we saw in a fire earlier. The cook came in the dining tent after we were finished eating (he sat and ate with the French family) without his head turban and robe - Nancy and I didn’t recognize him he looked so different in regular clothes. It was so cold sleeping Nancy had to sleep with her fleece on and hood up.
There was a camel ‘crying’ in the village we were in waiting for the bus back to Petra. I went over and talked gently to it and started petting it. It shut right up and even kissed me - found out it was 1 year old and his mother died 1 month ago so he was crying for her. Okay, it’s 10:00 and you all know what that means……………..nighty nite
10-29 (Sat)
We went to Wadi Rum on the local bus Friday morning. We bounced along and then raced up and down the mountain roads for an hour and a half.
Our guide met us at the Visitor’s Center and took us to his village where he promptly parked us in a “house/room” where some children brought us tea. Barbara fell in love with a four year boy who entertained us. He would be on meds for ADD in the States - he was such a little pill but all good stuff and so cute.
We finally met another couple, Simon and Amelia, from France who were going to be with us in our van to tour the desert. First we were taken to a “grocery store” to buy our lunch. That was a joke, there was nothing to buy. I bought potato chips and Barbara bought a candy bar and a Fanta. After that lovely purchase it was off to the desert.
We finally got to our camp and unloaded our stuff into our tent. I took a walk and when I got back I found that Barbara had moved us to a nicer better tent.
The sun going down in Wadi Rum was a lovely site. Everyone took pictures. We had dinner with 6 from France, 3 from Switzerland and 2 from New Zealand.
We weren’t too impressed with the bathroom facilities, by that I mean one was a squat and the other was a toilet with the seat half broken.
As soon as the sun went down it was pitch black. You couldn’t see you hand in front of your face. Barbara left the dinner area first and I returned with he 2 from New Zealand. When I got back to the tent I had to go to the bathroom but I didn’t want to go to the one they provided so I just stepped outside the tent and went there. By 7:00 and we were both in bed.. We woke up at 10:00 and both of us had to go to the bathroom so once again we stepped outside the tent. Barbara squatted down and couldn’t get up, I was trying to pull her and I didn’t have the strength to get her up because I was laughing so hard so she fell on her knees in the sand. I finally got her up. We found out at breakfast that everyone heard us.
Barbara is writing . . .
About the bathroom - if we thought the smell in that train bathroom was the worst, we were wrong!! Dinner in the desert was very interesting. While our group was in the dining tent getting acquainted the Muslim cook came to tell us to come see the chicken being cooked. It was in the sand all covered up in a big round metal container being cooked by the stones that we saw in a fire earlier. The cook came in the dining tent after we were finished eating (he sat and ate with the French family) without his head turban and robe - Nancy and I didn’t recognize him he looked so different in regular clothes. It was so cold sleeping Nancy had to sleep with her fleece on and hood up.
There was a camel ‘crying’ in the village we were in waiting for the bus back to Petra. I went over and talked gently to it and started petting it. It shut right up and even kissed me - found out it was 1 year old and his mother died 1 month ago so he was crying for her. Okay, it’s 10:00 and you all know what that means……………..nighty nite
Thursday, October 27, 2011
10-27 Fri petra
Spent yesterday at Petra. We rode a horse in and then hiked for miles and miles. Barbara rode a donkey to the Monastery, I didn’t go because I have done it in the past. We hiked up questionable steps and rocky areas to the Mountain of the High Sacrifice. A Bedouin woman explained exactly where the animals were slaughtered - there was a hole and a trough for the blood to run down.
We had dinner with a very traditional Muslim family. We were honored by this invitation even though we did everything in our power to get out of it! We immediately took off our shoes upon entering the house. We took family pictures only to find out that was a “no, no.” We had to look at wedding photos on the mother’s cell phone for about 45 minutes. We sat on the floor and all ate off the same huge round platter. Thankfully I had put a bug in their ear about wanting chicken otherwise I think they would have served us lamb. We each had one large spoon with which to eat. I had a hard time eating my chicken with a spoon. The mother had to get up halfway through dinner to go pray. When we arrived the mother did not have her head scarf on but put it on just before she went to pray. Barbara wore her shorts so half way through the dinner the mother called for a blanket and covered Barbara’s legs.
Barbara is writing now . . .okay, it’s me………..Nancy owes me big time for having to join the Muslim dinner. Abrahem (the man Nancy remembered that drove her to Amman after her Petra visit about 5 years ago) talked about Muslim life and traditions - stating “oh no, a boy is not allowed to even talk to a girl and must communicate thru a female member of his family to the girl and must propose marrige with a ring before being able to look directly at her or talk to her. This is how he got married as well as his oldest daughter who just got married 3 months ago - those were on the telephone photos we saw. The chicken with rice and vegetables and a salad I have no idea what all was in it were both tasty. My knees hurt so bad after the 5+ miles touring up and down Petra, I thought I would die trying to sit on the darn floor trying to eat without spilling altho the big round serving plate and separate salad bowls were on a piece of plastic - no napkins or anything to drink. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful - it truly was a unique experience and feel very honored to have had it. It is such a different way of life. Abrahem’s children are all beautiful - the littlest girl so cute and shy. He explained that his wife shampooed the girls hair each morning and dressed them “just so”. Two of the daughters drove with us on the way back to our hotel - Abrahem said girls are not allowed to leave the car at night so they could not get out to bid us farewell. Nancy took a picture of me with the youngest son who is 15. Abrahem said it was the first time he has had his picture taken with a female. Next week starting Friday is some kind of special religious celebration. Everything is shut down for one week. The tradition is to bring a live lamb INTO the home where it is slaughtered while all family member watch, then cooked and eaten. We are so thankful that we didn’t come during that time - we laughed about this as our luck has not always been good on this adventure. Nancy is now trying to sleep and it is not even 10:00 but she is not happy about the lights on so until Nancy turns this over to me again - good night (even tho I am not tired yet!!)
face book . . .
Spent yesterday at Petra. We rode a horse in and then hiked for miles and miles. Barbara rode a donkey to the Monastery, I didn’t go because I have done it in the past. We hiked up questionable steps and rocky areas to the Mountain of the High Sacrifice. A Bedouin woman explained exactly where the animals were slaughtered - there was a hole and a trough for the blood to run down.
We had dinner with a very traditional Muslim family. We were honored by this invitation even though we did everything in our power to get out of it! We immediately took off our shoes upon entering the house. We took family pictures only to find out that was a “no, no.” We had to look at wedding photos on the mother’s cell phone for about 45 minutes. We sat on the floor and all ate off the same huge round platter. Thankfully I had put a bug in their ear about wanting chicken otherwise I think they would have served us lamb. We each had one large spoon with which to eat. I had a hard time eating my chicken with a spoon. The mother had to get up halfway through dinner to go pray. When we arrived the mother did not have her head scarf on but put it on just before she went to pray. Barbara wore her shorts so half way through the dinner the mother called for a blanket and covered Barbara’s legs.
Barbara is writing now . . .okay, it’s me………..Nancy owes me big time for having to join the Muslim dinner. Abrahem (the man Nancy remembered that drove her to Amman after her Petra visit about 5 years ago) talked about Muslim life and traditions - stating “oh no, a boy is not allowed to even talk to a girl and must communicate thru a female member of his family to the girl and must propose marrige with a ring before being able to look directly at her or talk to her. This is how he got married as well as his oldest daughter who just got married 3 months ago - those were on the telephone photos we saw. The chicken with rice and vegetables and a salad I have no idea what all was in it were both tasty. My knees hurt so bad after the 5+ miles touring up and down Petra, I thought I would die trying to sit on the darn floor trying to eat without spilling altho the big round serving plate and separate salad bowls were on a piece of plastic - no napkins or anything to drink. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful - it truly was a unique experience and feel very honored to have had it. It is such a different way of life. Abrahem’s children are all beautiful - the littlest girl so cute and shy. He explained that his wife shampooed the girls hair each morning and dressed them “just so”. Two of the daughters drove with us on the way back to our hotel - Abrahem said girls are not allowed to leave the car at night so they could not get out to bid us farewell. Nancy took a picture of me with the youngest son who is 15. Abrahem said it was the first time he has had his picture taken with a female. Next week starting Friday is some kind of special religious celebration. Everything is shut down for one week. The tradition is to bring a live lamb INTO the home where it is slaughtered while all family member watch, then cooked and eaten. We are so thankful that we didn’t come during that time - we laughed about this as our luck has not always been good on this adventure. Nancy is now trying to sleep and it is not even 10:00 but she is not happy about the lights on so until Nancy turns this over to me again - good night (even tho I am not tired yet!!)
Spent yesterday at Petra. We rode a horse in and then hiked for miles and miles. Barbara rode a donkey to the Monastery, I didn’t go because I have done it in the past. We hiked up questionable steps and rocky areas to the Mountain of the High Sacrifice. A Bedouin woman explained exactly where the animals were slaughtered - there was a hole and a trough for the blood to run down.
We had dinner with a very traditional Muslim family. We were honored by this invitation even though we did everything in our power to get out of it! We immediately took off our shoes upon entering the house. We took family pictures only to find out that was a “no, no.” We had to look at wedding photos on the mother’s cell phone for about 45 minutes. We sat on the floor and all ate off the same huge round platter. Thankfully I had put a bug in their ear about wanting chicken otherwise I think they would have served us lamb. We each had one large spoon with which to eat. I had a hard time eating my chicken with a spoon. The mother had to get up halfway through dinner to go pray. When we arrived the mother did not have her head scarf on but put it on just before she went to pray. Barbara wore her shorts so half way through the dinner the mother called for a blanket and covered Barbara’s legs.
Barbara is writing now . . .okay, it’s me………..Nancy owes me big time for having to join the Muslim dinner. Abrahem (the man Nancy remembered that drove her to Amman after her Petra visit about 5 years ago) talked about Muslim life and traditions - stating “oh no, a boy is not allowed to even talk to a girl and must communicate thru a female member of his family to the girl and must propose marrige with a ring before being able to look directly at her or talk to her. This is how he got married as well as his oldest daughter who just got married 3 months ago - those were on the telephone photos we saw. The chicken with rice and vegetables and a salad I have no idea what all was in it were both tasty. My knees hurt so bad after the 5+ miles touring up and down Petra, I thought I would die trying to sit on the darn floor trying to eat without spilling altho the big round serving plate and separate salad bowls were on a piece of plastic - no napkins or anything to drink. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful - it truly was a unique experience and feel very honored to have had it. It is such a different way of life. Abrahem’s children are all beautiful - the littlest girl so cute and shy. He explained that his wife shampooed the girls hair each morning and dressed them “just so”. Two of the daughters drove with us on the way back to our hotel - Abrahem said girls are not allowed to leave the car at night so they could not get out to bid us farewell. Nancy took a picture of me with the youngest son who is 15. Abrahem said it was the first time he has had his picture taken with a female. Next week starting Friday is some kind of special religious celebration. Everything is shut down for one week. The tradition is to bring a live lamb INTO the home where it is slaughtered while all family member watch, then cooked and eaten. We are so thankful that we didn’t come during that time - we laughed about this as our luck has not always been good on this adventure. Nancy is now trying to sleep and it is not even 10:00 but she is not happy about the lights on so until Nancy turns this over to me again - good night (even tho I am not tired yet!!)
face book . . .
Spent yesterday at Petra. We rode a horse in and then hiked for miles and miles. Barbara rode a donkey to the Monastery, I didn’t go because I have done it in the past. We hiked up questionable steps and rocky areas to the Mountain of the High Sacrifice. A Bedouin woman explained exactly where the animals were slaughtered - there was a hole and a trough for the blood to run down.
We had dinner with a very traditional Muslim family. We were honored by this invitation even though we did everything in our power to get out of it! We immediately took off our shoes upon entering the house. We took family pictures only to find out that was a “no, no.” We had to look at wedding photos on the mother’s cell phone for about 45 minutes. We sat on the floor and all ate off the same huge round platter. Thankfully I had put a bug in their ear about wanting chicken otherwise I think they would have served us lamb. We each had one large spoon with which to eat. I had a hard time eating my chicken with a spoon. The mother had to get up halfway through dinner to go pray. When we arrived the mother did not have her head scarf on but put it on just before she went to pray. Barbara wore her shorts so half way through the dinner the mother called for a blanket and covered Barbara’s legs.
Barbara is writing now . . .okay, it’s me………..Nancy owes me big time for having to join the Muslim dinner. Abrahem (the man Nancy remembered that drove her to Amman after her Petra visit about 5 years ago) talked about Muslim life and traditions - stating “oh no, a boy is not allowed to even talk to a girl and must communicate thru a female member of his family to the girl and must propose marrige with a ring before being able to look directly at her or talk to her. This is how he got married as well as his oldest daughter who just got married 3 months ago - those were on the telephone photos we saw. The chicken with rice and vegetables and a salad I have no idea what all was in it were both tasty. My knees hurt so bad after the 5+ miles touring up and down Petra, I thought I would die trying to sit on the darn floor trying to eat without spilling altho the big round serving plate and separate salad bowls were on a piece of plastic - no napkins or anything to drink. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful - it truly was a unique experience and feel very honored to have had it. It is such a different way of life. Abrahem’s children are all beautiful - the littlest girl so cute and shy. He explained that his wife shampooed the girls hair each morning and dressed them “just so”. Two of the daughters drove with us on the way back to our hotel - Abrahem said girls are not allowed to leave the car at night so they could not get out to bid us farewell. Nancy took a picture of me with the youngest son who is 15. Abrahem said it was the first time he has had his picture taken with a female. Next week starting Friday is some kind of special religious celebration. Everything is shut down for one week. The tradition is to bring a live lamb INTO the home where it is slaughtered while all family member watch, then cooked and eaten. We are so thankful that we didn’t come during that time - we laughed about this as our luck has not always been good on this adventure. Nancy is now trying to sleep and it is not even 10:00 but she is not happy about the lights on so until Nancy turns this over to me again - good night (even tho I am not tired yet!!)
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
10-26 (Wed) Petra
Does anyone remember the movie, The Midnight Express? It was about Billy Hayes, an American kid, who was caught trying to smuggle hash out of Turkey. Anyway, the Four Seasons in Istanbul was that prison years ago. I found this fascinating.
We flew from Istanbul to Amman on Mon. The international airport in Istanbul is really nice but it took forever to get through passport control. The airport was like the Olympics - there were people from all over the world dressed in their native costumes. There was a tribe from Senegal, they were carrying their bags on their heads and had on bright blue outfits. Then there was the huge group of men running around the airport in their towels! We couldn’t believe our eyes. We thought maybe they had taken showers some place, maybe a Turkish Bath in the airport but we never saw it advertised. The last we saw them they were down near the gates. I wonder if they were getting on a plane in those towels.
When we landed in Amman I had to go to the bathroom. I accidentally went in the MENS room. The men were all laughing when I came out.
We got up at 4:30 Tues morning to take the bus to Petra where we are now. We have hired Abraham, a guy who drove Lynda and me from Petra to Amman five years ago, to drive us back to Amman on Sunday. He invited us to his house this afternoon to meet his wife and four of his seven children. We had tea with them. Thurs night we will have dinner with them - we tried every way we could think of to get out of it but to no avail.
Last night Barbara decided she didn’t like our shower so at 10:00 (lights out time) we were moving to a new room!
Dinki,
Are you going to be home on Nov 6th. If so could you pick me up at the airport at 11:00 a.m?
Does anyone remember the movie, The Midnight Express? It was about Billy Hayes, an American kid, who was caught trying to smuggle hash out of Turkey. Anyway, the Four Seasons in Istanbul was that prison years ago. I found this fascinating.
We flew from Istanbul to Amman on Mon. The international airport in Istanbul is really nice but it took forever to get through passport control. The airport was like the Olympics - there were people from all over the world dressed in their native costumes. There was a tribe from Senegal, they were carrying their bags on their heads and had on bright blue outfits. Then there was the huge group of men running around the airport in their towels! We couldn’t believe our eyes. We thought maybe they had taken showers some place, maybe a Turkish Bath in the airport but we never saw it advertised. The last we saw them they were down near the gates. I wonder if they were getting on a plane in those towels.
When we landed in Amman I had to go to the bathroom. I accidentally went in the MENS room. The men were all laughing when I came out.
We got up at 4:30 Tues morning to take the bus to Petra where we are now. We have hired Abraham, a guy who drove Lynda and me from Petra to Amman five years ago, to drive us back to Amman on Sunday. He invited us to his house this afternoon to meet his wife and four of his seven children. We had tea with them. Thurs night we will have dinner with them - we tried every way we could think of to get out of it but to no avail.
Last night Barbara decided she didn’t like our shower so at 10:00 (lights out time) we were moving to a new room!
Dinki,
Are you going to be home on Nov 6th. If so could you pick me up at the airport at 11:00 a.m?
Sunday, October 23, 2011
10-23 (Sundat night) Istanbul
First let me assure everyone that we are okay. Many have written about the earthquake in Turkey but that was a long way from us in the eastern part of the country.
We returned to Istanbul yesterday. I was sick as a dog . . . sore throat and sinus infection. The hotel staff told Barbara they thought I should go to the hospital. I must have looked really bad. I got in bed when we arrived and slept 17 hours. Thankfully I'm almost well today.
The night before we left Cappodicia we had a Hamami (Turkish Bath!) WOW what an experience it was . . . first, after undressing and putting on a cloth wrap we went into the sauna. When we could no longe breathe and were ready to pass out we went to the "bathing room" We were laid out on a marble slab. It wasn't private (Barbara was right next to me) I had a cloth over my private parts and a woman washed me. Barbara on the other hand had a man and she was more buck naked They poured hot water over you then rubbed your entire body with some sort of rough fabric to exfolate your skin. Next they put bubbles all over you. These were like the bubbles you see in the movies - they stayed puffed up. This was to make sure you were good and clean. More water poured over you and then it was off to the "relaxing" room. They came in and painted "mud" all over our faces. After that dried we washed it off then we went to the massage room. They must have worked on us for 45 min to an hour. Then it was back to the "relaxing room." We were at the Hamami for 2 1/2 hours.
First let me assure everyone that we are okay. Many have written about the earthquake in Turkey but that was a long way from us in the eastern part of the country.
We returned to Istanbul yesterday. I was sick as a dog . . . sore throat and sinus infection. The hotel staff told Barbara they thought I should go to the hospital. I must have looked really bad. I got in bed when we arrived and slept 17 hours. Thankfully I'm almost well today.
The night before we left Cappodicia we had a Hamami (Turkish Bath!) WOW what an experience it was . . . first, after undressing and putting on a cloth wrap we went into the sauna. When we could no longe breathe and were ready to pass out we went to the "bathing room" We were laid out on a marble slab. It wasn't private (Barbara was right next to me) I had a cloth over my private parts and a woman washed me. Barbara on the other hand had a man and she was more buck naked They poured hot water over you then rubbed your entire body with some sort of rough fabric to exfolate your skin. Next they put bubbles all over you. These were like the bubbles you see in the movies - they stayed puffed up. This was to make sure you were good and clean. More water poured over you and then it was off to the "relaxing" room. They came in and painted "mud" all over our faces. After that dried we washed it off then we went to the massage room. They must have worked on us for 45 min to an hour. Then it was back to the "relaxing room." We were at the Hamami for 2 1/2 hours.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
10-20 (Thurs) Cappadocia, Turkey
I forgot to mention that we are staying in a cave in Cappadocia.
Barbara now
Nancy is being a teacher right now she said "you write now" so here goes
I am so happy I got my chores done before lights out tonight. I had an amazing birthday starting at 6:40am pick up for hot air ballooning over the caves of Cappadocia - they are not really caves like I think of in the ground but pyramid looking things called fairy chimmeys that were chiseled out in the 11th century. We entered several cave churches today one called "Dark Church" because there is only one very small window. Back to my BD - upon returning from ballooning, the staff and Nancy prepared a surprise breakfast complete with cake and candles - then the tour including the Open Air Museum and a rather strenuous hike steep ups and downs and yes Nancy fell AGAIN and then AGAIN on the bus - no laughs this time tho. Nancy is sick with bad sore throat - I made her take vitamin C so expect her to be all well by morning. We had a nice dinner at our favorite resturant Farmville and back to hotel after booking a Turkish Bath at lovely hotel (right next door to our hotel) for tomorrow night. We sauna then get all the dead skin scrubed off then soaped up and hosed down. Hope we don't clog the drain with all our dead skin - will infor about that later. It's 10:00pm nighty nite
I forgot to mention that we are staying in a cave in Cappadocia.
Barbara now
Nancy is being a teacher right now she said "you write now" so here goes
I am so happy I got my chores done before lights out tonight. I had an amazing birthday starting at 6:40am pick up for hot air ballooning over the caves of Cappadocia - they are not really caves like I think of in the ground but pyramid looking things called fairy chimmeys that were chiseled out in the 11th century. We entered several cave churches today one called "Dark Church" because there is only one very small window. Back to my BD - upon returning from ballooning, the staff and Nancy prepared a surprise breakfast complete with cake and candles - then the tour including the Open Air Museum and a rather strenuous hike steep ups and downs and yes Nancy fell AGAIN and then AGAIN on the bus - no laughs this time tho. Nancy is sick with bad sore throat - I made her take vitamin C so expect her to be all well by morning. We had a nice dinner at our favorite resturant Farmville and back to hotel after booking a Turkish Bath at lovely hotel (right next door to our hotel) for tomorrow night. We sauna then get all the dead skin scrubed off then soaped up and hosed down. Hope we don't clog the drain with all our dead skin - will infor about that later. It's 10:00pm nighty nite
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
10-20 (Thurs) Cappadocia, Turkey
We have been bobbing around on the Mediterranean for the last three days. Remember the awful train room I wrote about? Well . . . the room on the boat was worse than that in many ways. It was so small only one person could stand at a time. We had requested 2 beds so we got bunk beds. I slept on top and it was a nightmare. The only saving grace was there were 2 windows up there. It was so close to the ceiling that not only could I not sit up but Barbara had to pull the covers up for me. There was only 13 inches between the mattress and the ceiling, that means I only had 4 inches between my nose and ceiling.
A highlight of the trip was when Barbara taught us all to play “butt darts.” It was hilarious.
We met some great people: four from the UK, 2 from Canada and 6 of us from the US. We swam in the Mediterranean, read, soaked up the sun, took shore excursions and got rained out. When it started to rain on the last day, and looked like it wouldn’t let up, all of us except the four from the UK decided to abandon ship. We took a bus to Antalya where we spent the night and explored the next day. Barbara and I had a BEAUTIFUL hotel (we deserved it.) It was in the old quarter so the location was perfect.
Late Tues night (9:00) we, and the two doctors from San Francisco, flew to Cappadocia. I thought I was going to perish on the leg from Antalya to Ankara. We were flying over the mountains and I guess got caught in some bad wind currents. The plane was nose diving down so the pilot put down the flaps to bring it back up. People were screaming and I was shaking from head to toe. Then we rolled to the right and people screamed again. Obviously we landed safely (everyone clapped) but that was a flight I would not like to repeat. Then we had to get on a prop plane and fly on to Cappadocia. That flight was fine.
When we arrived we got picked up at the airport and taken to our hotels. We didn’t arrive until 1:30 a.m. Unfortunately Barbara and I were let off at the wrong hotel. It was more like a hostel. They were not expecting us so we had to wake the guy up. After we got in bed Barbara said she thought we were at the wrong hotel - she was right! The next day we were transported to the correct hotel and it is heaven. It is like a suite . . . We have 2 huge rooms and the bathroom is to die for. We’re so happy.
Today (Oct 22) is Barbara’s birthday. She has gone hot air ballooning to celebrate. It is really cold here so she has on everything she owns. We left all our cold weather stuff in Istanbul!
If you don’t know anything about Cappadocia you should look at it on the internet. It is such an interesting place.
We have been bobbing around on the Mediterranean for the last three days. Remember the awful train room I wrote about? Well . . . the room on the boat was worse than that in many ways. It was so small only one person could stand at a time. We had requested 2 beds so we got bunk beds. I slept on top and it was a nightmare. The only saving grace was there were 2 windows up there. It was so close to the ceiling that not only could I not sit up but Barbara had to pull the covers up for me. There was only 13 inches between the mattress and the ceiling, that means I only had 4 inches between my nose and ceiling.
A highlight of the trip was when Barbara taught us all to play “butt darts.” It was hilarious.
We met some great people: four from the UK, 2 from Canada and 6 of us from the US. We swam in the Mediterranean, read, soaked up the sun, took shore excursions and got rained out. When it started to rain on the last day, and looked like it wouldn’t let up, all of us except the four from the UK decided to abandon ship. We took a bus to Antalya where we spent the night and explored the next day. Barbara and I had a BEAUTIFUL hotel (we deserved it.) It was in the old quarter so the location was perfect.
Late Tues night (9:00) we, and the two doctors from San Francisco, flew to Cappadocia. I thought I was going to perish on the leg from Antalya to Ankara. We were flying over the mountains and I guess got caught in some bad wind currents. The plane was nose diving down so the pilot put down the flaps to bring it back up. People were screaming and I was shaking from head to toe. Then we rolled to the right and people screamed again. Obviously we landed safely (everyone clapped) but that was a flight I would not like to repeat. Then we had to get on a prop plane and fly on to Cappadocia. That flight was fine.
When we arrived we got picked up at the airport and taken to our hotels. We didn’t arrive until 1:30 a.m. Unfortunately Barbara and I were let off at the wrong hotel. It was more like a hostel. They were not expecting us so we had to wake the guy up. After we got in bed Barbara said she thought we were at the wrong hotel - she was right! The next day we were transported to the correct hotel and it is heaven. It is like a suite . . . We have 2 huge rooms and the bathroom is to die for. We’re so happy.
Today (Oct 22) is Barbara’s birthday. She has gone hot air ballooning to celebrate. It is really cold here so she has on everything she owns. We left all our cold weather stuff in Istanbul!
If you don’t know anything about Cappadocia you should look at it on the internet. It is such an interesting place.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
10-12 (Wed)
This morning we flew to Izmir where a driver picked us up and drove us an hour to the Dreams Guest House in Selcuk which is 4 km from Ephesus. The "Dream House" isn't as dreamy as it sounds . . . there is no top sheet on the bed but that is not uncommon. Now the bathroom is something else . . . Dinki it reminds me of the one in Nepal only slightly better. It is set up so you can sit on the toilet and take a shower at the same time. There is a single light bulb hanging from the middle of the ceiling and a TV that doesn't work. I have washed my clothes and have them hanging out on the balcony in hopes that they will dry. Quite honestly I think that is wishful thinking. We'll be here two lovely nights so hopefully by tomorrow night my clothes will have dried.
This morning we flew to Izmir where a driver picked us up and drove us an hour to the Dreams Guest House in Selcuk which is 4 km from Ephesus. The "Dream House" isn't as dreamy as it sounds . . . there is no top sheet on the bed but that is not uncommon. Now the bathroom is something else . . . Dinki it reminds me of the one in Nepal only slightly better. It is set up so you can sit on the toilet and take a shower at the same time. There is a single light bulb hanging from the middle of the ceiling and a TV that doesn't work. I have washed my clothes and have them hanging out on the balcony in hopes that they will dry. Quite honestly I think that is wishful thinking. We'll be here two lovely nights so hopefully by tomorrow night my clothes will have dried.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
10-10 (Tues) Istanbul
Today we went to the other side of the river but not the Asian side. It was rainy when we left but it soon quit and it was just cold!
We weren't impressed with "New Istanbul" we like the old part where we are staying. When we got back to our side we went to the Spice Market and then walked to our favorite restaurant for lunch. After that we decided to walk around on some of the back/side roads. We walked by a "men's game room." One table saw us and invited us to come and sit with them. We went in and sat down in a room full of Muslim men to watch them play cards and other games.
The call to prayer has just ended and Barbara is in the bathroom shooting the hair dryer down her jammies to get warm.
Barbara is writing now . . .I have 1 1/2 hours before lights out - you all must know Nancy goes to bed exactly at 10:00pm. We have laughed at certain things until Nancy has to stop and bend over and be still cuz otherwise she will wee wee - that happened yesterday after she fell down and her jeans got sll wet from the rainy sidewalk - a bus was ready to run her over but she couldn't move because of the wee wee issue. I just read this to her and it's happening all over again!!
We only get a couple of TV channels in English - AlJazeera is one of them - surprisingly, it's more neutral than those in the USA.
We are so happy our last room here is smell free. They promised us this same room when we return from touring the south and central parts of Turkey. We leave for Izmir tomorrow morning. That is the area of Ephesus. We will be going to the calcium pools in that area - the pictures of this area are amazing. Nancy will write now -
bye,bye
Today we went to the other side of the river but not the Asian side. It was rainy when we left but it soon quit and it was just cold!
We weren't impressed with "New Istanbul" we like the old part where we are staying. When we got back to our side we went to the Spice Market and then walked to our favorite restaurant for lunch. After that we decided to walk around on some of the back/side roads. We walked by a "men's game room." One table saw us and invited us to come and sit with them. We went in and sat down in a room full of Muslim men to watch them play cards and other games.
The call to prayer has just ended and Barbara is in the bathroom shooting the hair dryer down her jammies to get warm.
Barbara is writing now . . .I have 1 1/2 hours before lights out - you all must know Nancy goes to bed exactly at 10:00pm. We have laughed at certain things until Nancy has to stop and bend over and be still cuz otherwise she will wee wee - that happened yesterday after she fell down and her jeans got sll wet from the rainy sidewalk - a bus was ready to run her over but she couldn't move because of the wee wee issue. I just read this to her and it's happening all over again!!
We only get a couple of TV channels in English - AlJazeera is one of them - surprisingly, it's more neutral than those in the USA.
We are so happy our last room here is smell free. They promised us this same room when we return from touring the south and central parts of Turkey. We leave for Izmir tomorrow morning. That is the area of Ephesus. We will be going to the calcium pools in that area - the pictures of this area are amazing. Nancy will write now -
bye,bye
Monday, October 10, 2011
10-10 (Mon) Istanbul
Another rainy, miserable day in Istanbul. When we left the hotel it wasn't raining but it wasn't long before it started. We went to the Four Seasons to use their facilities and then we just hung out there until it wasn't raining so hard.
We walked over to the Basilica Cistern built in 532 AD. It was used to store water for the Palace and surrounding buildings. It is supported by 336 columns arranged in 12 rows. In one corner are two columms supported by upside down Medusa heads.
We walked around this erie cavernous underground with it's "gold" lighting and carp swimming aound in the waters.
We walked in the rain to one of our favorite restaurants before continuing on to the Grand Bazzar with its 4,000 shops
On our way home I did it again . . . Barbara heard a scream and found me lying face down on the sidewalk. I think I stepped on a big wet leaf and my feet just flew out from under me. If I make it home without a broken leg or hip it will be a miracle. I was so upset because I broke my umbrella when I fell. This called for more laughing all the way home, laughing until I almost wet my pants.
We are doing okay in our third room, it isn't stinking yet!
Another rainy, miserable day in Istanbul. When we left the hotel it wasn't raining but it wasn't long before it started. We went to the Four Seasons to use their facilities and then we just hung out there until it wasn't raining so hard.
We walked over to the Basilica Cistern built in 532 AD. It was used to store water for the Palace and surrounding buildings. It is supported by 336 columns arranged in 12 rows. In one corner are two columms supported by upside down Medusa heads.
We walked around this erie cavernous underground with it's "gold" lighting and carp swimming aound in the waters.
We walked in the rain to one of our favorite restaurants before continuing on to the Grand Bazzar with its 4,000 shops
On our way home I did it again . . . Barbara heard a scream and found me lying face down on the sidewalk. I think I stepped on a big wet leaf and my feet just flew out from under me. If I make it home without a broken leg or hip it will be a miracle. I was so upset because I broke my umbrella when I fell. This called for more laughing all the way home, laughing until I almost wet my pants.
We are doing okay in our third room, it isn't stinking yet!
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Saturday
Saturday
Today is a miserable day in Istanbul. It started raining in the middle of the night and hasn't stopped. It is also supposed to rain all day tomorrow.
We are in a really nice hotel but the bathroom stinks. The sewer gases are coming up through the drains. We are in our second room and will move to our third room today. They are even moving the beds for us because we have to have two beds and the room we're moving to only has one bed. We're praying room #3 doesn't smell.
We don't know what we're going to do for the next 3 days with all this rain.
Saturday
Today is a miserable day in Istanbul. It started raining in the middle of the night and hasn't stopped. It is also supposed to rain all day tomorrow.
We are in a really nice hotel but the bathroom stinks. The sewer gases are coming up through the drains. We are in our second room and will move to our third room today. They are even moving the beds for us because we have to have two beds and the room we're moving to only has one bed. We're praying room #3 doesn't smell.
We don't know what we're going to do for the next 3 days with all this rain.
Saturday, October 08, 2011
10-8 (Sat) Istanbul
That darn call to prayer which I'm listening to right now is driving me nuts. I wake up to it and go to bed with it echoing in my ears.
As you know we couldn't get into Greece so we changed our plans and landed in Istanbul. That isn't a bad thing, the bad part is the hotels in Greece won't give us our money back. Shame on them!
I think Barbara was bummed out when I suggested we take the metro and tram into Istanbul from the airport. It saved us about $35-$40. The metro was great but the tram was an adventure in itself. People were litterly pushed into the cars. You couldn't turn your head it was so tight.
We have already toured a lot of the top spots: the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia Museum, Topkapi Palace, the Spice Market, the Grand Bazzar and a cruise on the Bosphorus. Tomorrow we're taking the tram over to the Asian side to do a little shopping and looking around.Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Monday, October 03, 2011
10-3 (Mon) Sophia
Yesterday we walked the city. We went in a museum (it used to be a bath house) and saw a mosic art collection on loan from Italy. Then we went to the Banya Bashi Mosque to have a look. We took off our shoes and had to put on green hooded robes so we could enter. When I saw Barbara in hers it was all I could do to keep from laughing. There were two guys in there praying and one in another room snoring so loud we could hear him as soon as we walked in.
We walked down to the Sheridan to use their facilities. On our way we stopped in a real nice five story mall but it was dead as a doornail. It appeared that nothing was open on the 4th and 5ht floors. A lot of the stuff in the stores is really cheap but then there are also high end designer stores. We can't figure out who is buying in those stores. Of course no one is in them as we walk by.
We went into a tiny stone church, St Petka Samarjiiska, that was built in the 11th century!
We were both hungry since it was almost 4:00 so we went to McDonalds. While we were eating two girls came up to our table with the intent of robbing us. One held out a map to us like they wanted us to help them. We said, "no, we're tourists" so the one girl came around to the other side of our table to draw our attention in that direction. We were on to them. I said to Barbara, "watch your stuff." We grabbed our packs and they left. They didn't bother to ask any of the locals for help. A woman in Budapest was also planning to rob us so this was a second attempt, hopefully it will be the last.
Yesterday we walked the city. We went in a museum (it used to be a bath house) and saw a mosic art collection on loan from Italy. Then we went to the Banya Bashi Mosque to have a look. We took off our shoes and had to put on green hooded robes so we could enter. When I saw Barbara in hers it was all I could do to keep from laughing. There were two guys in there praying and one in another room snoring so loud we could hear him as soon as we walked in.
We walked down to the Sheridan to use their facilities. On our way we stopped in a real nice five story mall but it was dead as a doornail. It appeared that nothing was open on the 4th and 5ht floors. A lot of the stuff in the stores is really cheap but then there are also high end designer stores. We can't figure out who is buying in those stores. Of course no one is in them as we walk by.
We went into a tiny stone church, St Petka Samarjiiska, that was built in the 11th century!
We were both hungry since it was almost 4:00 so we went to McDonalds. While we were eating two girls came up to our table with the intent of robbing us. One held out a map to us like they wanted us to help them. We said, "no, we're tourists" so the one girl came around to the other side of our table to draw our attention in that direction. We were on to them. I said to Barbara, "watch your stuff." We grabbed our packs and they left. They didn't bother to ask any of the locals for help. A woman in Budapest was also planning to rob us so this was a second attempt, hopefully it will be the last.
Sunday, October 02, 2011
10-2 (Sun) Sophia
Oh my gosh, you won't believe what we have been through . . .
Friday night we left for the train station at 10 p.m. for our 11:30 departure to Sophia, due to arrive at 9 p.m. Sat night. It was to be an 18 hour train ride. We pulled our luggage over to platform 11 to wait for the arrival of the train. Some guy came along and asked where we were going, when we said Sophia he told us the sleeper car was already there on the track and that we could get on. He was right, just the sleeper was sitting on the tracks waiting for the rest of the train to arrive. Before boarding I remarked to Barbara how old and dumpy the car looked. Well . . . that was only a preview of what was to come. The conductor helped us get our bags onto that filthy, dark car. We couldn't believe how miserable the compartment was that we would be sharing for the next 18 hours. With our suitcases pushed up against the wall there wasn't enough room for us each to stand at the same time. There were three beds hanging from the right side of the compartment. We pushed the middle one up to give us more room. We opened the window because it smelled so bad in there. Fortunatly I slept on the top bunk on the first two trains so it was Babara's turn to climb the shaky ladder to the top. First she checked out the bathroom down the hall only to come back and announce she wasn't going to "go"for the next 18 hours. She said she had booked us into a "rat hole"in Budapest and now we were traveling in a skunk hole. It wasn't long before the main part of the train backed into ours and "docked,"after that we were off. We decided we may as well go to bed. We had a top and a bottom sheet, I had two wool bankets and Barbara had her stolen airline blanket. My blankets smelled like urine! Somehow we managed to fall asleep when the conductor came by banging on all the doors. Then he came back and threw them all open. We were at the Hungarian border (2 a.m.) and had to get ready for the guards to check our passports. After that was over I got up my nerve and went to the bathroom. We had gotten the room freshner out of my suitcase so I sprayed before I went in. Awful doesn't begin to describe it, there was a toilet with NO seat, a nasty sink and a toilet cleaning brush in the middle of the floor.
When I got back in bed we laughed and laughed our heads off. We could not stop laughing at our miserable situation. Barbara was about to die to go to the bathroom but wouldn't give in.
About 30-45 minutes later there was more knocking at the doors. That whole night business sounded like the Nazis or KBG were coming for us. The second group of guards were from the Serbian border.
We were awake about 8:00 the next morning to find the train stopped. Barbara finally gave in and went to the bathroom. armed with the spray. On her way back to our compartment I heard her screaming, "No, No, No!" She had just heard the news that the Serbs had stopped our train in Belgrade and we couldn't leave until 9 p.m.!!!!! When I heard that I was screaming, "No, No, No!" A German guy decided to get off the train and go check on a bus to Sophia. He came back and reported we could get a bus out at 12:30 p.m. arriving in Sophia at 9:00 p.m. There were only 5 of us in the sleeper so we all decided to take the bus. We never figured out where the other people (if any) were on the train. By this time they had pushed our sleeper car far away from the station and left us just sitting on the track
We got off with our bags in the middle of no where. Thankfully the two conductors helped Barbara and me with our luggage or we never would have made it. We bought bus tickets for $36. This was turning into an expensive trip, two train tickets and one bus ticket.
We had to wait three thous for the bus so Barbara and I had "breakfast"with two Germans. They watched our stuff while we walked around and "shopped!" This is a very poor country and we could find very little for sale. This county may not be communist anymore but you sure couldn't tell. Everything smells of communism. We walked away from the station and down some streets - nothing to buy but we did find a decent hotel and went in and helped ourselves to the bathroom. To me it looked as good as the bathroom at the Four Seasons compared to the toilet on the train.
Fortunatly we had food with us (crackers and peanut butter) because there was nothing to eat. We boarded the bus at 12:30. We drove for about three hours then changed to a mini van in Nise. Once again we were off for the border. When we crossed out of Serbia a guard came on board and checked our passports, when we crossed into Buglaria we all had to get off the mini van and be checked inside a passport control building. All 7 of us passed! We drove on.
We arrived in Sofia at 8:00 p.m. local time (an hours sooner than the train would have.)
We had met a girl on the bus out of Belgrade who spoke perfect English, she was on her way to visit her boyfriend. She sent her boyfriend a message and asked him if he knew where our hotel was. When we arrived he pointed down the street and we could see our hotel. The two of them drove us there in his car. We could have walked but Barbara was getting sick and really needed the ride. Getting our bags into his tiny car was a real challenge.
We have a wonderful clean room here in Sophia.
Oh my gosh, you won't believe what we have been through . . .
Friday night we left for the train station at 10 p.m. for our 11:30 departure to Sophia, due to arrive at 9 p.m. Sat night. It was to be an 18 hour train ride. We pulled our luggage over to platform 11 to wait for the arrival of the train. Some guy came along and asked where we were going, when we said Sophia he told us the sleeper car was already there on the track and that we could get on. He was right, just the sleeper was sitting on the tracks waiting for the rest of the train to arrive. Before boarding I remarked to Barbara how old and dumpy the car looked. Well . . . that was only a preview of what was to come. The conductor helped us get our bags onto that filthy, dark car. We couldn't believe how miserable the compartment was that we would be sharing for the next 18 hours. With our suitcases pushed up against the wall there wasn't enough room for us each to stand at the same time. There were three beds hanging from the right side of the compartment. We pushed the middle one up to give us more room. We opened the window because it smelled so bad in there. Fortunatly I slept on the top bunk on the first two trains so it was Babara's turn to climb the shaky ladder to the top. First she checked out the bathroom down the hall only to come back and announce she wasn't going to "go"for the next 18 hours. She said she had booked us into a "rat hole"in Budapest and now we were traveling in a skunk hole. It wasn't long before the main part of the train backed into ours and "docked,"after that we were off. We decided we may as well go to bed. We had a top and a bottom sheet, I had two wool bankets and Barbara had her stolen airline blanket. My blankets smelled like urine! Somehow we managed to fall asleep when the conductor came by banging on all the doors. Then he came back and threw them all open. We were at the Hungarian border (2 a.m.) and had to get ready for the guards to check our passports. After that was over I got up my nerve and went to the bathroom. We had gotten the room freshner out of my suitcase so I sprayed before I went in. Awful doesn't begin to describe it, there was a toilet with NO seat, a nasty sink and a toilet cleaning brush in the middle of the floor.
When I got back in bed we laughed and laughed our heads off. We could not stop laughing at our miserable situation. Barbara was about to die to go to the bathroom but wouldn't give in.
About 30-45 minutes later there was more knocking at the doors. That whole night business sounded like the Nazis or KBG were coming for us. The second group of guards were from the Serbian border.
We were awake about 8:00 the next morning to find the train stopped. Barbara finally gave in and went to the bathroom. armed with the spray. On her way back to our compartment I heard her screaming, "No, No, No!" She had just heard the news that the Serbs had stopped our train in Belgrade and we couldn't leave until 9 p.m.!!!!! When I heard that I was screaming, "No, No, No!" A German guy decided to get off the train and go check on a bus to Sophia. He came back and reported we could get a bus out at 12:30 p.m. arriving in Sophia at 9:00 p.m. There were only 5 of us in the sleeper so we all decided to take the bus. We never figured out where the other people (if any) were on the train. By this time they had pushed our sleeper car far away from the station and left us just sitting on the track
We got off with our bags in the middle of no where. Thankfully the two conductors helped Barbara and me with our luggage or we never would have made it. We bought bus tickets for $36. This was turning into an expensive trip, two train tickets and one bus ticket.
We had to wait three thous for the bus so Barbara and I had "breakfast"with two Germans. They watched our stuff while we walked around and "shopped!" This is a very poor country and we could find very little for sale. This county may not be communist anymore but you sure couldn't tell. Everything smells of communism. We walked away from the station and down some streets - nothing to buy but we did find a decent hotel and went in and helped ourselves to the bathroom. To me it looked as good as the bathroom at the Four Seasons compared to the toilet on the train.
Fortunatly we had food with us (crackers and peanut butter) because there was nothing to eat. We boarded the bus at 12:30. We drove for about three hours then changed to a mini van in Nise. Once again we were off for the border. When we crossed out of Serbia a guard came on board and checked our passports, when we crossed into Buglaria we all had to get off the mini van and be checked inside a passport control building. All 7 of us passed! We drove on.
We arrived in Sofia at 8:00 p.m. local time (an hours sooner than the train would have.)
We had met a girl on the bus out of Belgrade who spoke perfect English, she was on her way to visit her boyfriend. She sent her boyfriend a message and asked him if he knew where our hotel was. When we arrived he pointed down the street and we could see our hotel. The two of them drove us there in his car. We could have walked but Barbara was getting sick and really needed the ride. Getting our bags into his tiny car was a real challenge.
We have a wonderful clean room here in Sophia.
Friday, September 30, 2011
9-30 (Fri) writting from Budapest
We were supposed to leave on the 10 a.m. train for Sarajevo but we couldn't find a way to Athens from there so we have completely changed our plans. We are leaving tonight at 11:30 p.m. for Sofia, Bulgaria. We will be there for 4 nights and then fly to Athens.
Yesterday we took a cruise on the Danube among other things. We wanted to go to the Jewish quarter/museum etc but everything is closed until Sunday due to the Jewish New Year. We were so sorry we missed it.
Gotta run and get ready for the next adventure.
We were supposed to leave on the 10 a.m. train for Sarajevo but we couldn't find a way to Athens from there so we have completely changed our plans. We are leaving tonight at 11:30 p.m. for Sofia, Bulgaria. We will be there for 4 nights and then fly to Athens.
Yesterday we took a cruise on the Danube among other things. We wanted to go to the Jewish quarter/museum etc but everything is closed until Sunday due to the Jewish New Year. We were so sorry we missed it.
Gotta run and get ready for the next adventure.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
We had a very busy day. We started off with a tour of Parliment, fabluous. It looked like some of the churches inside, lots of gold and very fancy. We toured St Stephen's Cthedral and even went to the top most point in the tower. We had a great view looking down on the city. We walked down Andressy St and stopped off at the House of Terror. This was the building where the Nazis and then the Soviets tortured people. It was quite graphic especially in the basement where the cells and torture rooms were. We walked on down to Hero's Square and looked in on the public baths and spa. One thing about the Europeans, they don't care what they look like in a bathing suit, they are just there to have a good time. The heck with what anyone else thinks.
Tomorrow is our last day and we have it packed full of things to do.
I love Budapest!
Tomorrow is our last day and we have it packed full of things to do.
I love Budapest!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
9-27 (Tues)
We took the night train from Krakow to Budapest Sunday night. Barbara almost had a heart attack when she saw our hotel. I think it was a room in some lady's apartment. We were at odds with each other the whole day because of that room. Beside walking around the city and getting familiar with things we were looking for another place to move to. We hadn't made a decision on anything by 7:00 p.m. when we went back to the "Carmen" where we were staying. We decided to go back and take one place that we had looked at. As we were walking along the street I saw a sign that said "hotel" so we decided to go take a look. Turns out not only did we both LOVE it but Barbara had stayed it in when she was here many years ago.
Today we tried to get in to see Parliament but by the time we finished lunch all the tickets were sold. We're going first thing in the morning. We walked across the chain bridge today and to the Buda Castle. We also went to see the Hospital in the Rock. This is an underground hospital that was used during WWII and also when the Russians were in control.
Wish I could send pictures. LOVING Budapest. Hate to leave but that won't be until Fri.
We took the night train from Krakow to Budapest Sunday night. Barbara almost had a heart attack when she saw our hotel. I think it was a room in some lady's apartment. We were at odds with each other the whole day because of that room. Beside walking around the city and getting familiar with things we were looking for another place to move to. We hadn't made a decision on anything by 7:00 p.m. when we went back to the "Carmen" where we were staying. We decided to go back and take one place that we had looked at. As we were walking along the street I saw a sign that said "hotel" so we decided to go take a look. Turns out not only did we both LOVE it but Barbara had stayed it in when she was here many years ago.
Today we tried to get in to see Parliament but by the time we finished lunch all the tickets were sold. We're going first thing in the morning. We walked across the chain bridge today and to the Buda Castle. We also went to see the Hospital in the Rock. This is an underground hospital that was used during WWII and also when the Russians were in control.
Wish I could send pictures. LOVING Budapest. Hate to leave but that won't be until Fri.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
9-25 (Sun)
We spent most of our day at the Schindler Museum today. It was so well done. It doesn't just tell about the factory but the time of occupation 1939-1945. It showed what life was like during this time and during the first days of freedom in the new communist post-war era. There were posters, TV screens with survivors giving their testimony, there were sounds that made you believe you were in certain places such as the sound of trains as they took the Jews to the camps. We must have spent at least 4-5 hours in the museum.
Later we went to the old Jewish Quarter going in a Synagogue and walking through a cemetery. After lunch at 5 p.m. we walked over to Hero's Square. In the square are big empty chairs which reminds one of all the furniture that the Nazis threw out the windows and into the square as they were evacuating the ghetto.
We are currently waiting on our taxi to arrive. We're taking the night train to Budapest at 10:00. It's a ten hour trip.
We spent most of our day at the Schindler Museum today. It was so well done. It doesn't just tell about the factory but the time of occupation 1939-1945. It showed what life was like during this time and during the first days of freedom in the new communist post-war era. There were posters, TV screens with survivors giving their testimony, there were sounds that made you believe you were in certain places such as the sound of trains as they took the Jews to the camps. We must have spent at least 4-5 hours in the museum.
Later we went to the old Jewish Quarter going in a Synagogue and walking through a cemetery. After lunch at 5 p.m. we walked over to Hero's Square. In the square are big empty chairs which reminds one of all the furniture that the Nazis threw out the windows and into the square as they were evacuating the ghetto.
We are currently waiting on our taxi to arrive. We're taking the night train to Budapest at 10:00. It's a ten hour trip.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
9-24 (sat)
We spent most of today touring the Wawel Castle. It was first built in the 1300's but has burned and been rebuilt several times.
We have seen so many georgous churches, they are dripping in gold. Although they are jaw dropping I still think the winter palace in Russia and some of their churches beat all.
We went to one late this afternoon and were able to see a wedding party just coming out of the church.
Tonight we had a beer and toasted to our stay in Prague and Krakow. Tomorrow we take the night train to Budapest.
I wish I could put on pictures . . . I'm still working on it.
We spent most of today touring the Wawel Castle. It was first built in the 1300's but has burned and been rebuilt several times.
We have seen so many georgous churches, they are dripping in gold. Although they are jaw dropping I still think the winter palace in Russia and some of their churches beat all.
We went to one late this afternoon and were able to see a wedding party just coming out of the church.
Tonight we had a beer and toasted to our stay in Prague and Krakow. Tomorrow we take the night train to Budapest.
I wish I could put on pictures . . . I'm still working on it.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Fri. 9-23
Today we went to Auschwitz/Birkenau. We caught a two hour bus ride for $4.00. The concentration camp is a symbol of horror, a memorial to man's inhumanity to man.
We were on an English speakers tour - we all had headphones so it was easy to hear the guide.
We saw the original gas chamber and crematory, the holes where they dropped the cyclon B into the chambers, the executation wall, the camp commandoant
s house where he lived with his family right next to the crematory, block 11 whichwas the tourcher/death house, the hospital where no one wanted to go.
After a two hour tour we got on a bus and went to the Birkenau camp. This was much bigger than Auschwitz - the men lived in wooden barracks and the women in brick. We saw a "cattle" car that brought them into camp and the "selection" platform. It gave you an erie, sad feeling to be standing where so many people had been murdered.
I have done it again . . . I fell flat on my face tonight when we were walking home from the train station. I had a bottle of water in one hand and my camera in the other. It was dark and the streets are uneven. I was so lucky I didn't knock my teeth out or break my bones.
The only reason I'll be happy to leave Krakow is to get out of this hotel. We haven't be4en able to sleep because it is right on a VERY busy street. We hear the trollys, the police, motorcycles and people partying half the night.
Today we went to Auschwitz/Birkenau. We caught a two hour bus ride for $4.00. The concentration camp is a symbol of horror, a memorial to man's inhumanity to man.
We were on an English speakers tour - we all had headphones so it was easy to hear the guide.
We saw the original gas chamber and crematory, the holes where they dropped the cyclon B into the chambers, the executation wall, the camp commandoant
s house where he lived with his family right next to the crematory, block 11 whichwas the tourcher/death house, the hospital where no one wanted to go.
After a two hour tour we got on a bus and went to the Birkenau camp. This was much bigger than Auschwitz - the men lived in wooden barracks and the women in brick. We saw a "cattle" car that brought them into camp and the "selection" platform. It gave you an erie, sad feeling to be standing where so many people had been murdered.
I have done it again . . . I fell flat on my face tonight when we were walking home from the train station. I had a bottle of water in one hand and my camera in the other. It was dark and the streets are uneven. I was so lucky I didn't knock my teeth out or break my bones.
The only reason I'll be happy to leave Krakow is to get out of this hotel. We haven't be4en able to sleep because it is right on a VERY busy street. We hear the trollys, the police, motorcycles and people partying half the night.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
I wish I could send pictures but my computer is so messed up. I'm using one in the hotel now.
Prague is like a fairy tale city. The building are so elaborate and beautiful. We took a day trip to Kunta Hora. One of the things we saw was the Church of All Saints. It was unique because the elaborate decorations were made from the bones of 40,000 people. The chandelier was made from every bone in the human body.
Tuesday we took the night train from Prague to Krakow where we are now. Neither one of us slept on the train even though we had a sleeper to ourselves. After we arrived and checked into our hotel we walked down to the old town square. It is also quite a lovely place. As in Prague going inside the churches is unbelievable. A church can look so so on the outside but when you go in you can't believe your eyes.
Today we took the local bus to Wieliczka where we toured the salt mine. We were almost 400 feet underground. It first opened to tourists in the 1700's. It is no longer in operation except for tourists. The miners from years gone by have carved human figures out of the salt. There was a huge chapel and all the statues of Jesus etc are made of salt. Even the chandeliers are of salt. It was fasinating.
Tomorrow we are going to Auschwitz.
Prague is like a fairy tale city. The building are so elaborate and beautiful. We took a day trip to Kunta Hora. One of the things we saw was the Church of All Saints. It was unique because the elaborate decorations were made from the bones of 40,000 people. The chandelier was made from every bone in the human body.
Tuesday we took the night train from Prague to Krakow where we are now. Neither one of us slept on the train even though we had a sleeper to ourselves. After we arrived and checked into our hotel we walked down to the old town square. It is also quite a lovely place. As in Prague going inside the churches is unbelievable. A church can look so so on the outside but when you go in you can't believe your eyes.
Today we took the local bus to Wieliczka where we toured the salt mine. We were almost 400 feet underground. It first opened to tourists in the 1700's. It is no longer in operation except for tourists. The miners from years gone by have carved human figures out of the salt. There was a huge chapel and all the statues of Jesus etc are made of salt. Even the chandeliers are of salt. It was fasinating.
Tomorrow we are going to Auschwitz.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
We went to downtown Mitchell this morning to see the Corn Palace, originally built in 1892. Each year a new theme is chosen and the outside is stripped and redecorated with new corn and grains. Over the summer, 3000 bushels of rye, oat heads and sour dock are tied in bundles and attached. When the corn is ready 275 thousand ears of corn are sawed in half lengthwise and nailed to the building following patterns crated by local artists. We only drove 214 miles today. We’re going to try to do better tomorrow. Tonight we’re staying in the tiny town of York, Nebraska tonight.
Corn Palace in 1892
Corn Palace today
These murals are all made of corn
Saturday, August 13, 2011
This past Wed we ended up in Bozeman exactly where we began our trip 10 days ago! We drove east through Billings and on to Sheridan, on of our favorite little towns, where we spent the night.
On Thurs we drove to Deadwood, SD. They were having the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, 15 miles away. Deadwood was full of motorcycle dudes and their biker babes. They were parked solid from one end of the town to the other.
We took a tour visiting Boot Hill where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried. In the evening we drove over to Stergis to see what that was all about. Basically it's about being seen on your motorcycle and looking at others, trying to determine who has the coolest wheels. We drove through town and then had our picture taken in front of the “Stergis” sign. Some guy let us sit on his motorcycle.
Yesterday, Fri we drove to Mt. Rushmore and toured it. We rented an audio device and thought that was the way to go. Then we drove to Custer Park and drove the entire loop. We spent the night in Keystone , SD.
This morning we drove on eastward. We ended up in Mitchell, SC. The Corn Palace is here. We'll check that out in the morning.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
The day we left Apgar we walked down to a coffee shop to buy some breakfast but the English Muffin was 50 cents more than and McDonald Lodge so we decided to drive there for breakfast since we were going by it anyway on our way to Many Glacier. We stopped at Logan Pass and walked around for a little bit, we saw some Big Horn Sheep, then it was on to Many Glacier.
We ate lunch in the Many Glacier Hotel. We didn’t want to spend a lot of money so we ordered a salad listed on the menu under “starters.” When they served it it was about the size of the palm of my hand. We were starving when we got up from the table.
The scenery from the hotel was just breathtaking. There was a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains. Fabulous.
We decided to try to find our lodging, the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn. Before going to our room we sat down in their restaurant and ordered lunch!! Our room wasn’t nearly as nice as our old dorm room at Aspen. We threw our stuff down and set out on a hike. We wanted to do Iceberg Lake but it was too late in the afternoon to go up and come back plus there had been numerous sightings of a mother grizzle and her two cubs. We weren’t anxious to tangle with them. We decided to do Red Rock Falls instead. It was less than four miles. The falls were fabulous. They were so full of water and it was gushing all over the place. We were glad we hadn’t tried Iceberg Lake because it started thundering although we made it back before the heavens opened up. On our way back we saw a bird, a Ptarmigan, and her four chicks.
We did our laundry and then bought a cold sandwich at the campstore. We hung most of our laundry all over our room to dry.
The next morning we drove towards Canada. The wildlife that we saw along the way was cows! They were free range cows and they were all over the road just like the bison at Yellowstone.
When we crossed the border into Canada I got a tongue lashing from the guard. He said I ran through two stop signs. He said the fine for going through a stop sign in the park is $700. Thankfully he didn’t throw a fine on me. The lashing was enough.
We drove to the Prince of Wales Hotel which was build in 1927 overlooking Waterton Lake. It is historic but could use a LOT of updating. The hotel has huge picture windows that frame a seven mile long string of mountains. It was named for King Edward VIII while he was Prince of Wales. We went into the town of Waterton to have lunch. The town is small and really cute however the prices are sky high. The US Dollar isn’t worth much. We went to all the restaurants and looked at their menus. We couldn’t afford a hamburger for $14 so we ended up eating at Subway. It started raining so we decided to get on the road back to the US. We wanted to drive to East Glacier and see their lodge. We had read so many things about it. It was one of the best lodges we have seen. It is sometimes refereed to as The Big Tree Lodge because the lobby is lined with gigantic Douglas Fir trees. By this time it was late afternoon and we thought we’d better find a place to spend the night. There was only one room that we found around that area and it was $265, needless to say we decided to drive on. We were going to stay in Cut Bank but there was nothing there, we drove on to Shelby, nothing, so we ended up driving all the way to Great Falls, MT where we checked into the Motel 6. After our stay last night in the national park motor inn this place was like a palace.
Hiking Red Rock Falls
Many Glacier
Many Glacier
Prince of Wales Hotel
East Glacier Lodge
East Glacier Lodge
East Glacier Lodge
One of the workers wearing a buffalo hat
East Glacier Lodge
East Glacier Lodge
There are LOTS of windmills in this are of the country
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Last Sat. morning we went zip lining in White Fish. We didn’t start until 10:00 and didn’t finish zipping until 1:00. They forgot to tell us that we were going to have to carry a 15 lb. trolly on our shoulder as we hiked up the mountain. In one place we went up so high that we rode in a chair lift but mostly we hiked with that damn trolly on our shoulder. To tell the truth we loved it - the zipping that is. We drove to Apgar Village in Glacier. Our room/cabin overlooked the river. We had a great view!
The next day (Sun) we got up at 6:30, put on our clothes over our PJ’s, grabbed our TRIPODS and went down to the lake (Lake McDonald) to take pictures before the sun came over the mountains. We drove to the transit center and caught a bus to McDonald Lodge where we had breakfast. We were still hungry when we finished because we could only afford an English Muffin. We got on another bus to Avalanche Creek where we hiked to Avalanche Lake. It was a beautiful hike but it took us a couple of hours because we kept stopping to take pictures. We were freezing when we started off since we didn’t wear jackets but it wasn’t long before we warmed up and were glad we didn’t have them.
After the hike and lunch we took an hour cruise on Lake McDonald. They had a ranger on board who gave us information about the lake and park.
When we got back to Apgar Village we headed out to Polebridge. The night before we met a couple down by the lake and they told us that Polebridge is a historic, quaint, tiny, little village where they serve a lovely special every night. It’s about 25 miles from Apgar Village. We drove and drove over paved and unpaved roads in and out of the park. Some of the paved roads were only “lightly” paved. They were just like the Yellowstone roads - full of potholes! They had outlined the really bad holes with red paint so people wouldn’t fall in and get stuck.
We were almost ready to give up when we finally arrived. There were only two commercial buildings: the Mercantile Building and the Northern Lights Saloon where we intended to eat. Remember this place is 25 miles from anywhere and there is nothing around, the place was packed!!! They were eating out in the yard on picnic tables and also inside. The building (log cabin) is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The food looked great but it was too expensive for us, around $12-15 a plate. We decided to go back to Apgar Village and have a hamburger.
We went into the Mercantile/Bakery and on a table was a big jar with a sign asking for donations so they could get the internet!
When we got back to Apgar the only place to eat was even more expensive than the saloon at Polebridge so we had wine and crackers in our room.
Lake McDonald
Behind our cabin/room
Hiking at Avalanche
Avalanche
Collecting donations at Polebridge
Friday, August 05, 2011
We decided to go to Glacier this morning (8-5.) At Apgar Village it was breathtaking to look across the lake at the mountains. We got on a shuttle to tour the park (Going to the Sun Road.) At McDonald Lodge we got off and had lunch before continuing on to Logan Pass, and finally St Mary. On our journey we were thrilled to see Mountain Goats, Big Horn Sheep and deer. The scenery was spectacular. We didn’t get back to White Fish until almost 8:00.
On our way to Glacier we saw this truck decorated to advertise a place that sells plants
Lake McDonald
My newest boyfriend
Apgar Inn
Mountain Goats
On our way to Glacier we saw this truck decorated to advertise a place that sells plants
Lake McDonald
My newest boyfriend
Apgar Inn
Mountain Goats
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