2007 – Istanbul; Istiklal, Old City and the Topkapi Palace
We’re staying in the old Beyoglu District, near the Istiklal pedestrian zone, about a 20 minute walk from Taskim Square. This is the old Pera, once a wealthy suburb across …
2007 – Cappadocia Turkey; a natural wonder of the world
In Istanbul, we purchased our $20 visas, walked through customs, went to the ATM to withdraw some Turkish Lira and I left my credit card in the ATM machine. When …
2007 – Budapest; two cities along the Danube River
We’re staying on the Buda side of the river. Buda and Pest were joined as one city in 1873. We checked into the Art-otel, a group of old houses connected …
2007 – Shanghai; the consumerism and an amazing museum
It’s really hard to believe we’re in a communist country, or even a socialist country. Shanghai is the most commercial consumer city we’ve ever visited in any country. The reports …
2007 – Beijing; the Forbidden City and the Great Wall
All we heard about was the traffic jams, the crowded millions of people and the pollution. We were expecting a chaotic city on par with Bangkok. Au contraire!!! The city …
2006 – Paris; the roof leaks and we sell our apartment
2006 Every apartment building in Paris (by charter and law) is required to hire the services of a “Syndics de copropriétés”, a management company that works on behalf of the …
2006 – Rome; Christmas, Zampognari and Santo Bambino
One would think Christmas is a big deal here in Rome, bigger than anywhere else in the Christian world. One would expect holiday themed store windows and crazy sales, attracting …
2006 – Vilnius, Lithuania; Capital Days and Ancestral roots
We’ve been flying lots of low cost airlines around Europe, and there are a lot of them out there. Most are “no frill”, some are about as comfortable as a …
2006 – The train from Krakow and a visit to Warsaw
Train to Warsaw We mostly used hand signals to purchase tickets from the Krakow train station to Warsaw. Raise the thumb for one ticket, thumb and forefinger for two tickets. …
2006 – Rome in August; summer thieves and Barbarians
It’s summertime here in Rome and there can be more people in the streets at 11pm than at 11am. Even though the city seemed at ease ( Rome also clears …
2006 – Krakow and a visit to the Aushwitz Memorial
Krakow Our pockets are filled with Zlotys and we’re out of the Airport Terminal building. The first thing we notice is that our cab driver at the airport is dressed …
2006 – Western Sicily; Palermo and the ruins of Magna Grecia
Ferragosto The Italian holiday of Ferragosto commemorates the 15th of August, when the Virgin Mary ascended, body and soul, into heavenly glory. With regard to the timely co-incidence of Christian …
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