Clicking My Heels

To wrap this trip up with a nice little bow, I thought I'd do one last entry (not sure if anybody is still reading this...).

Leaving Nice, I thought it'd be easier to get a direct train to Paris. I'd tried waiting in line the night before but the wait was way too long. By the time I returned to the train station early the next afternoon, there were no direct trains to Paris with seats available. Instead, I was forced to buy a ticket to Marseilles with a connection to Paris which would get me in around 11PM. Oy. At least I had enough time to do laundry in Nice before taking off. Then I got on to a very nice TGV train and jammed out of Nice and on to my last destination.

I notified the hotel I tried reserving at (which no final confirmation) that I'd be coming in quite late, but in Paris it was just a leap of faith to see if they'd actually take me. Fortunately, L'Hotel de l'esperance (Hotel of Hope) did take me in and I was able to stay there both nights I was in Paris. It was a nice 2 or 3-star hotel and I just thrilled to be in Paris, on my own, in a hotel, safe and sound.

The hotel had a wireless network but I couldn't get it to connect. Fortunately, I was able to hop onto somebody's else's network (there were a million and one of them where I was in Paris...very wired, indeed) and my being connected helped me to feel right at home.

Saturday, I woke up and was really excited to be in Paris. While I didn't have much time in Paris, I knew I wanted to get my hair cut, go to the Marais to shop, walk some of the city and go out that night. I shopped and ate and enjoyed the day but the soonest hair appointment I could make at the super-cool hair place, Space Hair, was at 9pm. So I went back to my hotel to rest and finish watching the last season of Sex and the City (based in Paris) and relaxed. Then over to the Quartier Latin to drink coffee at one of those famous cafes and write postcards, then quickly off to the Marais for my all-French haircut (I made most of my time in Paris all-French, but there was no choice at Space Hair -- and it's always tough to speak when there's a certain vocabulary you're just not familiar with), then back to get ready at the hotel, then finally to go meet Luis for a drink in the Marais.

Luis was a guy I'd met in Seattle and we started down the road of having a fling but it never developed. When I saw him on the street corner waiting for me in Paris, I didn't know what to think and I just kept an open mind about the meeting. As time went on that night, we started falling for each other yet again. He has some hangups that prevented us from taking it any further, but it was magical and unexpected. I guess we're just inescapably drawn to one another. It couldn't be helped. Maybe that's the best type, and at least that remains in the realm of an amazing feeling that I definitely want to feel again.

We hung out at a couple of busy bars in the Marais and casually met lots of other guys. It was a good time, but really we didn't see anybody else, we were so focused on talking. We spoke in English because that was the most comfortable language to converse in. I was driving myself crazy hanging out with Luis, and I did want to go dancing, so I pulled myself away from him and said a long goodbye.

I was told the Queen on the Champs d'Elysees was the place to go. Previously, I'd only been there on a Sunday and it was lots of fun so I looked forward to going. It was a mess. 20 Euros to get in and just a big, packed drugged-out mess. I had more fun getting there, waiting for a bus because there were no taxis to be gotten. I met a couple of guys and made friends with them in our long wait and then long bus ride towards the Arch de Triomphe. My French, once again, had gotten quite good and I found myself in the situation of speaking casually in French with strangers and really having very little of a problem with it. This was to my great delight. It was the first trip I really felt as though French was my second language. Not as effortless as English, but really getting to the point of easy. I love it -- it feels as though I've cracked a secret code (along with millions of other francophones) and that is a good thing. Strange to describe, but it definitely felt like a breakthrough.

The next day I got picked up by the airport shuttle. I got to the airport in plenty of time, but when I got there (a little hungover and really wanting to smoke) and got through the line, they said I was booked for the flight but didn't have a ticket. It seemed as though that woman who booked my flight didn't charge my card. I thought she had and I had no money left anywhere, on any card or in any account. The situation took a long time to take care of and at the end, the guy needed a credit card. He tried a couple with no luck and I was sweating bullets. Then he was able to charge one and it went through -- absolutely a miracle. I almost missed the 1/2 hour deadline to get checked in before a flight and then they told me I had to go directly to the gate. I was so stressed out I really just wanted a smoke. I sneaked outside for a few puffs then went to the gate, only to have to wait in a huge line that wasn't planning on moving anytime soon. So we just stood there. Eventually they opened up the other security entrance and we got to board. I actually did feel safer with all the security precautions, even if I wasn't able to bring my cough syrup on board the plane. I took a big gulp, settled down (a little stoned now) and eased my way into my trans-Atlantic flight.

I went through Dulles (a mess with immigration and customs) and got into Seattle that evening. My parents picked me up. I've never been so happy to be home.

Keo greeted me like a mad-dog. The kitties didn't care that I was home. I did care. It had been a long month and I wanted a little comfort, a little more predictability to my experience...and I was about to get it.

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My trip to Europe was an essential trip for me. I needed to test my coping skills, needed to shake myself out of my comfortable day-to-day life to have a bit of an adventure, both physically and spiritually. I think there are many lessons from my trip that I have yet to see, that will become clearer in time. I'm happy to wait to see them unfold as they're meant to.

I'll be back to Europe, and will be off to adventure soon. But for the time being, I really want to stay grounded, near home and in the city. It's getting to be the start of Fall in Seattle. So much to look forward to, so much to plan.

Life's good. I'm grateful to have opportunities like this and look forward to many more. And so it is.

The Last Leg

After a brief layover in Florence (I'd been there before), I headed up to Cinque Terre. My original plan had been to stay there a few days. Cinque Terre has five small towns tucked between the sea and mountains and is gorgeous. It was breathtaking as I came through on the small train that services the area.



But shortly after I got there, I had a tough time getting hotels for more than one night and the Internet situation was spotty (I had intended to work). So I turned to the bottle of wine I got at my villa in Tuscany to see if it had any answers for me. And it told me to head north, young man, head north.



So North I went, to Nice. When I got on the train in Monterosso (one of the cities in the Cinque Terre), I was seated right across from an American Girl, Kelly. She and I started talking right away. One of the reasons we'd both left our previous locations was the fact that it wasn't suitable for a single person traveling alone and not speaking Italian (although mine was improving). I wanted gentler travels, and so did she.

Thus began our two days together. It was a long trip to Nice, but arriving there was a breath of Fresh air. We both got separate hotels. Mine was one that had all these separate rooms designed by artists. Very cool.

Nice was all about the beach during the day, good eating in the evening and good sleeping at night. It was bliss and just what both of us needed! Kelly was great company and we got along famously. I'm so thankful I ran into her. It helped to wrap up the last part of my trip with a very pretty little bow.



We decided yesterday to go parasailing...we'd both always wanted to do it and never had done it. So after laying out, we went and did it. Very cool! Only the beginning and end were heart-pumping. The rest was actually quite serene, being way up high and looking down at the beautiful azur water of the cote d'azur. Most excellent!





People, I think, were constantly confusing us as a couple, which was fine with me. We made a beautiful couple! Kelly left last night to go to Paris, then to London to fly out.

For my part, it's my last morning in Nice. I take off this afternoon on a fast train to Paris. Two nights in Paris and then I fly home (early) to Seattle on Sunday evening. I've had an amazing trip (I'll do one more post from home), but I was just ready to come home and get in the last slice of summer in Seattle and prepare for all the big happenings of fall.

More from Seattle...

The Rise and Fall of Rome

I went to Pompeii last week, and it's odd, I should've been amazed by it but it's almost too much. This was a huge city and nearly every house and store was uncovered. All I needed was one city block to get the point. It's probably the most amazing archeological dig on the face of the earth, though. Under the watchful eye of Vesuvius, who was responsible for the downfall, Pompeii is quite the tourist's mecca, but honestly, I think the Italians haven't done a great job at helping make sense of the vastness of the place. My audioguide had numbers in places, but oftentimes I couldn't find where there were supposed to be numbers because the map was so screwed up. I would've gone with a regular guide but he was hawking the tour rather than waiting patiently to gather a group. Hawking always makes me a little nervous.



Mt. Vesuvius is gorgeous, Naples (Napoli) a little chaotic and the day a bit hot. It'll be interesting to back and read some of the historical data about pompeii after having been there. I think it'll make much more sense in context now that I've been there.

Back in Rome, I decided to spend another full day there because I didn't feel like I'd been there long enough. Certain places on trips, for whatever reason, feel like a little slice of home. You know how to get around, there are places you'd still like to visit there, you've made friends and acquaintances. I guess you get invested in a place. After Tuesday in Pompeii, I spent Wednesday and a good portion of Thursday in Rome.

I tried going to the Sistine Chapel but I missed the entry by 5 minutes (last entry is about 1 1/2 hours before the actual Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel close). So I saw St. Peter's again and had the most amazing Gelato (seen here below the walls of the Vatican) -- Yogurt and Coffee Gelato with whipped cream. Divine, indeed!



On my way to the Vatican, I crossed a "Bridge of Angels" which had these really amazing Baroque statues but it was the drama of the clouds behind them that made them especially amazing. Here's a sample:



When I tried gathering money for the hotel I'd statyed at for 4 days, one of my main cards I just had money transferred to wouldn't work to get cash out of the cash machine. At least it'd work as a credit card...right? But it didn't, and we tried to call the credit card company, but they wouldn't be open until morning, so I had to wait until after 5 p.m. Rome time to reach this credit card company to get things settled. Very aggravating! But rather than let it bum me out, I decided to make a good day of it in Rome. I went and had my portrait done in the Piazza Navona. All of you reading this have been to my house so you've seen the sketch from my last trip to Europe 16 years ago. I really wanted to get one done this trip, too, and I shopped around for good artists. I'd seen this guy do amazing work during the night crowds several nights earlier.



I didn't want to show the final piece, which is really interesting. I sort of like it, but I can't help but feel like I've been made to look like an Elf. There was a certain youthful, magical glow to the picture. Then I started to think that maybe it did look just like me...it fucked with me a little and how I think I view myself. A very interesting lesson! Perhaps I should get it done one more time this trip and see if I still look like an elf!

That evening, after finally getting my credit card working, I left for Siena and Tuscany. Because it's tucked out of the way, Siena is hard to get to by train, so I took a bus from Rome so I could get to the middle of the city. I walked around for a bit with all my bags because I needed something to eat and there were a lot of people wandering around the midieval city. When there are lots of non-backpacked people around, they always give me a strange look: "Look at that American with all those bags..." It is a good workout, though. I had no idea if there'd be food available out in the country where I was staying, but I assumed not so I got some pizze and then got a taxi out of the city. It was a very expensive taxi ride (60 bucks) but my place cost about half price, so it all worked out.

There's no denying Tuscany is gorgeous. There are just as many vineyards as you'd expect. Lots of Olive Trees, too, and fields upon fields of Sunflowers. Unfortunately, I arrived after the peak of the sunflower season, and for the most part all I saw were the carcasses of dead sunflowers in these vast fields. It was fascinating.



I'm not even sure the point of the sunflowers. Rarely is something grown on such a large scale for visual appeal only. Perhaps they harvest the seeds? Maybe it's to fix nitrates in the soil to give it a break from grape productions? Inquiring minds want to know.

Tuscany should be enjoyed with a car and a companion. I had neither, so it was very difficult to get around, nobody spoke a single word of English (no kidding) and the people that ran the Villa couldn't give me any instruction of what to do out in the country, but instead told me to go to Siena, the city.

I did drink wine one night and had a homemade meal from the proprieter. A couple of times, I snuck into the fields and grabbed a handful of grapes. They were delicious, sweet and plump. Yummy. This is the actual vine I grabbed my grapes off of:



I ended up going back to Rome after Tuscany so I could go out and join the gay boys at the Gay Village. I made many new friends and (no joke) danced for 3 hours or more. I had a fantastic time.

The next morning was the only Sunday this month the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel were open (open the last Sunday of the month, and free to the public), so it was packed out! I have never seen a line like that.



I really wanted to get to see the Sistine Chapel before I left because I hadn't seen it since it was restored. With the throngs of people, the guards yelling "no photos!" and "shhhhh!" in the chapel, and something that had shifted in me, I just wasn't as enthralled as I'd been when I was a kid. That's something I'm finding this trip. I'm getting more out of fun and connecting than I am about seeing things and doing tourist stuff.

I'm in Florence right now and will be leaving for Cinque Terre in a few hours. I plan on staying there several days, getting a little work done and trying to relax and get some sun before I come home. It's now just a little over a week until I return home, and I'm looking forward to it. I need to truly rest for a while. I hope to get some of that in Cinque Terre.

Ciao for now.

Empires

My travels through Greece ended up being a lot of fun. On my way out of Turkey, I met Tal, a New Yorker, and he and I hung out on Samos before heading off to Mykonos. On Mykonos (see previous pictures), he and I hung out with Kate and Katie, from Canada and Australia, respectively.

I went to Santorini by myself and had a great hotel but then they came to join me and I found a new hotel in Kamari, the beachfront resort area where I'd stayed with my Mom and Dad 16 years earlier. This, however, was not the same Kamari. I found a really nice beachfront hotel for the 4 of us to stay at (Tal, Kate, Katie and I) and I ended up saving a ton of money plus had some great folks to do stuff with.



This was a time for me just to have fun. To eat, to go to the beach, to try and catch on my journal (a common thing for me to TRY to do on this trip). On our first night together, we saw a Prairie Home Companion at the local outdoor cinema where I'd been with my folks. On our second night, we were going to go to Ioa at the end of the island, but the hotel manager, Tony, told us to go to this Mexican restaurant for an amazing sunset. We ended up getting in this huge row about women's liberation issues (which totally destroyed the friendship between the girls and Tal as well as ruining the lovely night) but at least the Mexican food was lovely and the view unbeatable.



The next day we all went to Ios (the girls in the morning and Tal and I in the afternoon), which is a total party town. First, though, we got Thai takeout and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset from the terrace of our hostel, Francesco's.



The night out was messy but fortunately I didn't drink too much. We ended up at a mixed bar that was a lot of fun, but all in all it was what I referred to as a Pussy Party. I tried to make it into a Pooter Party (again, my term), but it didn't work. Nevertheless, we danced to the Italian's World Cup Song (the whistling song which is heard throughout Europe right now), to Shakira's Hips Don't Lie and we many of the locals (by locals, I mean Australians). I'm through partying like this -- in fact, I don't know if I ever started -- but it was worth taking a look at briefly.

The next morning, the girls and I said goodbye to Tal (the girls tried for handshakes, I definitely hugged Tal, a good buddy of mine by this point) and we were off to Athens via Patros. Our layover in Patros was something like 5-6 hours so we ate and sunbathed on the beautiful beaches there until it was time to go to Athens. we arrived at our hotel around 2 in the morning, and next day were off to see the sights. It'd been 16 years...long time since I'd been to Athens. It'll be interesting to compare the pictures.



It was near 100 degrees in Athens, though, and especially once I took off with my bags, the heat was unbearable. I decided to take a flight (rather than boat and train) to get to Rome so I could get there to go out on Saturday night. So I did.

Saturday night was amazing. I met some Italian guys (who ended up being gay) so instead of staying at my $230/night hotel for Saturday night, I stayed somewhere for free and had a free tourguide for the gay scene here in Rome. We ended up going to a pre-funk at "COMING OUT" near the Colisseum and my gay guide took me to this thing called the gay village which happens all summer long on the weekends. He didn't end up coming in (too tired) but I went and it was great. 2 huge outdoor dancefloors -- it was like a big circuit party that came every weekend (that girls could go to as well). I ended up meeting an Italian Movie Actor (we'll call him M.) and he was my date for the rest of the amazing night. We rode through the Rome night on his moped and I've never felt so free. It was this same Saturday night that I was throwing a party (an underwear party, to be precise) in Seattle, and I like to tell my friends that same night I was having my own underwear party in an amazing Roman Flat. Hehe (sorry, Mom).

But then the excess of heat, and lack of sleep and perhaps Roman men caught up to me and I got a bad cold. Yesterday I was worthless. I did meet up with my former juice bar guy and now friend, Bernie, who's been taking a book-making class in Siena. We met up at my hotel and walked across the city to the Trastavere area of town and had a beautiful dinner. Unfortuntely, I didn't feel so great and didn't really appreciate it like I could. But it was good to get to know Bernie better...I'll be visiting him in Siena shortly.



Today, though, I felt much better and I rented a scooter and have been zipping around the city on it -- oh, so good! I toured the Colisseum today and took a tour to really soak it all in. I'll be continuing my tour shortly.



Off to Pompeii tomorrow and then up north to Tuscany for some real R&R. More shortly...

Off to Rome

In the airport in Athens after a lovely time in the Greek Isles. Will write more from the grand city of Roma, Italia. Scalding hot here...can't wait for Rome, it's supposed to be hotter.

Istanbul to Santorini, Greece

No doubt I have one of the most beautiful bits of scenery from my hotel veranda that a man could ever want. I'm into my last few hours in my hotel on the caldera of the ancient volcano that is Santorini, but I'm fine with leaving. Everything beautiful has its time, but then you have to move on 'cause after a while you won't think it's so beautiful anymore. Some friends are coming in today and we'll be staying in Kamari, right on the book, and just down the road from where I stayed with my folks when we were here back in 1990.

The last night in Turkey, I was scammed. At the time, it was depressing and a real challenge to my sense of vulnerability, but since then it has significantly lessened in power. Basically, I met a Turkish guy on the streets, and we were walking the same direction. He said he wanted to treat me to dinner, so we looked for a restaurant and found one, having a nice time together. His name was Ali. We thought we'd have a beer after dinner so he takes me to this seedy bar where girls soon show up and try to work me. I told Ali I was gay, but he didn't really care, just wanted me to continue drinking. This is the part of the scam where the bill comes and our beers were like $50 each and the cocktails for the girls we were supposedly buying for were over $100 each and my "friend" Ali paid half of the bill but then expected me to come up with the other half. Management tried frisking me and sent their security guy with me to get money from Cash Machine. All the while, Ali is saying how disapppointed his is that I did this or that or didn't do something in regards to the bill. Basically he was using the trust we built against me. Long story short, I lost $200 but a big piece of my dignity (and trust for Turkish men). I was all too happy to leave the next morning to head south and then out into the Greek islands.

I flew into Izmir, which is a common launching point for some ancient ruins in Turkey. My time was limited since I had to be in Santorini the next night, so I planned on getting to Samos that evening. I rented a car at Izmir and had just enough time to go to Ephesus (Ancient Greek Outpost, well-preserved, very cool), run up the hill, take pictures running down, drive back to Izmir, get a ride to the bus station, and make my 3pm bus just barely. Takes a little over an hour to get to Kusadasi and the Port Control closes the gates for the 5pm ferry at 4:30. I arrive at 4:20. The taxi driver calls to make sure I can get on. I can. Make that connection by 1 minute or so.



It's on this ferry that I meet a couple of American girls (who took a picture of me at Ephesus earlier in the day) and they had just met this guy from NYC, Tal. We all hit it off great. At Samos, I trade numbers with the girls to perhaps join with them later but Tal and I find out there's a night boat leaving for Mykonos, which gets us more into the Greek Islands, so we decide to take it. We had a nice Greek dinner together and then are off to Mykonos. Only one problem: we arrive at 2:30 in the morning and calls for accommodations reveal nothing. Our ride is very pleasant and Tal and I bond and honestly have a several hour conversation. I'm a big fan of the Tal -- very sweet, honest, genuine guy. So we have trust built up enough by the time we get to Mykonos that we agree to go camping at Paradise Beach, even though neither one of us has a sleeping bag or tent. At the Ferry Terminal (getting off the same ferry we were on), we met two girls (one from Australia, one from Vancouver) and they were in the same predicament as we were. Also on the bus to camping were the Australian couple who barely made the boat (like me) in Kusadasi. Long story short, we ended up camping in this huge hotel/beach/party/camping complex, and we all were slumming it on the ground. The Australian Couple and I had no sleeping bags or sheets or anything and other weren't too better off. We slept to the side of this row of bamboo directly on the ground with our bags off to the side. From 4-Star to 0-Star, and we made a great time of it. I had a blast with everybody, and although the party was going on not too far away, we actually got some sleep.



The next morning we all had breakfast together and hung out on the beach. They were busy making their sleeping arrangements for that night on Mykonos and I was preparing my exit.



It was nice to have company for once (and fun company at that) and I hated leaving again to go be on my own, but I had bought my Ferry ticket and had reserved my hotel. I pretty much didn't have a choice. I couldn't get a Taxi so I ended up taking a public bus into town but was running very late for the boat. In town, I got a cab and went to the Ferry and, although I was twenty minutes late, it was still loading! On the high speed to Santorini. Who else was behind me in the seats on the ferry but the Australian couple, Garrett and Sharon, and they were making their way to Eos. Familiarity is great on trips like this. They left and I made my way to the great volcanic island, arriving at my hotel in the middle of the evening, the sun still up.



I was in heaven! Such a gorgeous view. This night was a big volcano celebration with fireworks so I had a nice dinner near to the hotel and then came back to enjoy the spectacle. It wasn't very shiny or wasn't put together seamlessly, but it was interesting to watch as though the volcano was coming to life again and then exploding in its former destructive glory. Great timing on my part...I arrived just in time for something special, and I was grateful.



So I've been hanging out on Santorini. Yesterday I went to find a hotel for me and my girls coming in (Kate and Katie from Mykonos) and then I find out Tal is coming in, as well. So we'll be reuniting for a couple of days and I can't wait! A few more hours and I'll be in the mix of it again, and I found a place right on the beach down in Kamari (where I stayed with my parents back in 1990).

I enjoyed one last sunset from my room last night -- the most amazing sunsets on earth. I'm ready to get moving along the road, particularly if it involves fun with friends, but I've loved my time on the Caldera and will treasure the memories of this place.

Auschwitz in Retrospect

My day at Auschwitz was certainly a sobering reminder of what must be the biggest human tragedy of the 20th Century. What many people refer to as "Auschwitz" is actually Birkenau (they call the complex Auschwitz/Birkenau). A much larger camp, Birkenau is where the mass of torchered humanity lived for years, either immediately sent off to the gas chambers or living in a subhuman existence not sure if they would be alive tomorrow.

The main take-away I have from the day is that no human can even begin to fathom the magnitude of the tragedy that happened there. How do you feel anything about 1.5 million people having died in the place you're visiting? If you felt what you were supposed to feel, you would die. As humans, we have a mechanism to make sure that doesn't happen: Denial. And not denial in the sense that I didn't think it happened, but in the sense that I couldn't possibly even start to get my head around the amount of misery that came from that plot of land in Poland.

Along the way to Krakow from Berlin, I took pictures from the little window at the top of the big window next to my seat. As much as I could (or couldn't), I was trying to imagine what it would have been like to have a little hole to peek out through and not even sure if what I saw I would ever see again. Trees. Birds. The Sky. Buildings. What do you think of when your future is so clearly uncertain? More than anything, you feel a sense of gratitude for this very moment. Close to that on either side of magnitude would certainly be fear. The complicity that had to occur with thousands of people, maybe more, is inhuman. The people that perpetrated the atrocities at Auschwitz and in death camps around Europe are nothing less than monsters. There have been times in the past I've admired the the nolstagic part of the Nazis, mostly from things we would see in old movies. After seeing what I saw, I can see them as nothing less than the most worthless of humans. As much as I don't necessarily agree with Israel's aggressions these days in the middle east, seeing their history through the lens of places like Auschwitz, you can imagine how a people coming from that past would fight with everything they have to preserve there future, because there was a time when a few people were doing everything possible to make sure they didn't have a future. I think we would fight as they do if we'd been through that.

Taking pictures of yourself like a tourist is odd in a place like Auschwitz, but I still got many. This is a picture of me in front of the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign ("work makes you free").



Afterwards, the couple I was traveling with that day, Jen and Ollie from Vancouver, B.C. and I went out for a beer in Old Town in Krakow. A delightful end to a tough day.



I was off to Istanbul the next day after a short trip to Munich to send some of my crap home. It became clear after just a few days traveling that my load was not only heavy but cumbersome. Hopefully, my load will now be a little more manageable. It was easy enough to get to the curbside at the airport in Istanbul, which was all that was necessary. It was time for me to adventure in Istanbul.

Around 4 p.m., I checked myself in to my hotel, a 4-star hotel in a beautiful location in the Old Town (Sultanahmet) in Istanbul. Right up the hill from my hotel window was the famous Blue Mosque -- photo is below. This photo is from my hotel room. After a few days, I've already gotten so used to it, but it's really the most gorgeous mosque and I'm so lucky to be able to wake up to everyday. I hear it's beautiful inside, too. I'll see tomorrow!



Originally, I planned to simply stay in my room and rest. But it was my first night in Istanbul and I felt it would be an opportunity missed if I didn't do something that first night. As the sun started to fall in the sky, I thought I should find a place to view the sunset. I packed up quickly (it was getting late and we're much closer to the equator, so the sun falls quite quickly), went downstairs and had them hire a taxi for me. He showed up in a few minutes and we were off.

My driver was Mahmet and he was goofy and friendly. The gentleman at the front door had recommended a place called Pierre Loti, and that's where we went. Actually, we sat in really bad traffic for an hour trying to get there, but I was so amazed to be in Istanbul that it didn't really matter. The sun glowed like this amazing luminescent orb, shooting out a brilliant orange shadow into the sky. The sky looked like it was on fire! Mahmet finally got me to this lookout which is on a hillside with amazing views of the Sea of Marmara and the Asian side of Istanbul. It's flanked on both sides by a huge cemetary that seems to continue down to the sea. This was a cafe, though, and so I invited my driver to have coffee with me. He decided on tea and I actually had both, wanting to sample everything. In return for the tea, Mahmet started to give me English lessons.



Yesterday I did some siteseeing, taking a look at the old Palace and later checking out the Grand Bazaar, the covered shopping area full of thousands of shop where visitors haggle to get trinkets and treasures of every sort. I finished the day on the terrace of a great little kebab restaurant, from which I called my brother Carew and his wife Dawnie to congratulate them on the birth of their Sun, Cutter Dane. I believe he came into the world late Tuesday Night or early Wednesday, but I'm not sure because of the time difference. I took a picture so that they would know where I was calling them from. Congratulations, you guys! A long road to get to this point, for sure. I'm thrilled for you guys. And to my parents, finely grandparents by your eldest. Ah shit, the pressure's on :)



That's it for this update. One more day in Istanbul and then off to ancient ruins along the Turkish coast of the Aegean. Finally, off to Santorini for some R&R, and some web design work. That's all coming along nicely, too, as I find a way to have balance between work and fun on this crazy adventure.

Thanks for being along for the ride!