The above views are from an apartment building, 8th floor, in Ulus, the highest point in Istanbul. I probably have these two pictures from 8 years ago as well, but the skyline from the west view is different. The tallest skyscraper in Europe was constructed. Do you see it? In the east view photo, one can see two bridge supports, the bridge that joins Istanbul, the European side and Asian side of Istanbul.
Some minarets peaking above the buildings:
Eastview from Levent
View of Golden Horn from Galata Tower
Walking down hill in Ulus
And the same skyscrapers from a different vantage point, up the Galata Tower:
We headed down the hill to a beach, guided by a friendly, collared dog. The dog had started to walk with us a while back. It's a small Island and Islanders are known to be friendly. We joked around that he would be paid with a steak. Or hotdog.
A rocky beach it was. Roof tiles scattered throughout.
Upon a closer look I discovered broken kitchen tiles.
And a broken plate.
Back on track for a renovation blog perhaps!
At least 65% of the beach floor is tile! Surely, the tiles had not blown down here. They had been here for awhile, the edges softened by continuous waves. The Island is vehicleless. We guessed that this was the place to recycle tiles. In fact, on our hike down, I noted a few old doors leaning against trees along side the road. Maybe for trash pick up. But that must be scarce. We suspected it would be difficult to renovate or even just fix a home on an Island with no cars and probably no hardware store or delivery service.
We enjoyed the beach anyhow. Chaz had fun smashing rocks...
and Lucy licking the salt off the tiles.
The story does not end here. Sadly, actually. See our friendly guide, laying in the background... Well we got up to leave. We were at the trail head and I looked back to see if the dog would escort us up the hill. And he did. He got up and came along with us.
We met some chickens on the path. Momma chicken and a clutch of chicks. I called back for Chaz to come look. And while I was taking a picture of this cute chickie...
The dog came charging. I grew up on a farm. My mom has dogs that chase squirrels and any other moving rodent. I thought this dog was just having fun. And no quicker then I had that thought he leaped in the air and snatched that little chickie (the one above). I was too late in protecting him. Didn't really no what to do, but surely I should have been doing something other then taking his picture.
The other chickies and momma all made it back under the fence. The dog went back down the hill, with his ... reward? We went up the hill, heads hanging low, low, low.
That is our Princes' Islands story. Read here to learn why these Islands in the Sea of Marmara are thus named.
We had a few hours in Paris, 3 hours less then planned for due to a delay on JFK tarmac. We managed to get out of airport, catch the RER B and head to Saint Michel-Notre Dame station. A very central station for a quick visit. Peak at the Notre Dame, find my bearings, a bank machine and a cafe for nourishment. Crisscross over the Seine and take a stroll towards the Eiffel tower. Notice the vendors have an affinity for pictures of cats, paperback books and Tin Tin comics. Spot the Eiffel tower on a ped. bridge, perhaps named Locks of Love. Discover the Eiffel tower is an hour walk, so we snap an ultra zoomed in picture of it and head back to the RER.
postscript:
Before we embarked on this layover adventure I had googled "what to do in Paris on a 10 hour layover". The answers confirmed (mostly) that seeing Paris in 10 hrs was worth it and doable.
I also wondered about whether I should bring a stroller or not. I'm a person of ease and didn't want to lug around anything extra. But if baby L would be more comfortable laying down and sleeping ... a dilemma.
Here is how it worked for us - 1 adult, 8year old and 15mth old:
We arrived @ CDG around 11am, 3 hrs later then our ETA.
Terminal 2E
The airport was not busy.
Our checked bags were going straight on to our destination.
There are no lockers in the airport for carry on bags.
We spoke with an Air France attendant and she was helpful and did not discourage us from leaving. She gave us directions to the train and advised us to be back no later then 5pm, 2 hours before our departure. She also let us know it would be much busier in the evening, so we needed to account for that.
We walked through customs. No line ups. No questions. (Unlike crossing usa/can borders, they ask you how long you will be traveling, where are you going etc) We got our stamps and a nod.
Took the shuttle to the departures area / train platform. And then we followed RER signs.
Bought tickets at the green kiosks. Easy to follow instructions.
Got on RER B to St Michel - Notre Dame station.
We arrived in Paris around 1pm - approximately 2 hours to get off plane, walk walk walk, go thru customs. walk walk walk. get on train and a 45minute ride into Paris.
I opted to leave the stroller at home and carry baby L. in the Ergo and let her walk when she felt like it.
I wanted to have two free hands, to hold two precious little hands.
We kept our time in Paris simple. Had we arrived @ CDG on time (3hrs earlier), we may have perused the rest of the trains to get to the Eiffel tower or ... anywhere.
A light stroller would have worked as the sidewalks we were on were wide and flat. But one might have to carry it up escalators in the metro.
We used an ATM to get $$. This is the quickest way and supposedly the cheapest rates. But my bank is charging me 5 dollar international fee / transaction. yikes!
I do not like to be late, so we aimed to be back at the RER for 3:30, w/ 30 minutes grace time.
The train back to CDG was much longer (physically, like 10 cars long rather then the 2 car train in) and had many passengers, just as the attendant noted.
Arrived at CDG T2.
And although we used the metro tickets easily on the way in to Paris ... hold on to your tickets as you need them to get in AND out of the train platform ... we had a bit of a SNAFU on the way back.
When I used the kiosk to buy the return tickets something happened and a bunch of tickets came out of the machine.
We took the first 2 tickets and I gave the rest to my son to play with. I shoved the receipt in a pocket.
We got through the turnstyle onto the platform as per usual. (like, in all my experience, as the 1st time, a few hours earlier)
When we arrived at the CDG platform and departed the train and got to the turnstyle/exit, and sent the ticket through the slot, it was rejected.
And then mine was rejected.
Holding up the line, we moved away and I went into alert mode.
C. gave me the bundle of other tickets and we tried a few of these. All were rejected.
A man approached us offering us a way through the gate in exchange for 5 euros.
I don't easily give up and I KNOW I bought the tickets so I noted his offer and went looking for a real employee to assist us through.
I couldn't find any employees but I did find my receipt and realized I had bought the wrong tickets. 10 of them for 8 Euros. Since no one was around to let us through and since I don't like to attract attention to ourselves such as going under the gate - I would have gotten stuck with Lucy on my body, we approached the "entrepreneur", made sure his deal was real and paid him to let us through.
Financially, this didn't cost me anymore had I bought the correct tickets to begin with. Seriously though, I was thankful he was there as there was no one else around and we would have had to jump the gates and that would not have been smooth.
We made our way to Terminal 2F, through security. No questions asked. No smile. Just a nod. And then to our gate with another hour to wait.
If you are thinking of using your layover time outside of the airport, I highly recommend that you do!
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
I went out to buy a showy flower for the backyard garden. It needed something pretty in the corner, in place of the ornamental grass that never grew from 2 yrs ago. Something that will contradict with the Russian Sage and Cosmos. A statement piece.
Instead I returned with a spiky lily and some burgundy ornamental grass. (perplexed expression insert).
The Hydrangeas' were not doing it for me and the Peonies were nowhere to be found. Lucy was having fun in the mud puddle and Chaz had a swim date to get too. There is room for more plants, so we picked these two and I made a mental note to find the showy plant upon our return.
The lily is bright yellow and showy. And it reminds me that I originally wanted a garden of Brown Eye Susan's. In May, I was looking for B.E.S seeds and Daisy seeds and couldn't find any. Aren't these common? (another very perplexed expression). So I got off track. Wanted a nice big red or blue flowering shrub thing and ended up with a lily.
A month ago (replace clover with showy plant)
This morning:
I met to have an after picture but didn't get time to transplant the flower and grass. Which made me think of things NOT to do before leaving on a trip.
List of things NOT to do: Buy flowers / plants for garden.
But tomato plants Get soil and compost
Plant tomato plants
List of things TO do before leaving: Make a list,
Laundry, this never ends.
pack, pet sitter, house sitter, cut grass, 1/2 done
tidy up,
find a ride to airport,
organize work stuff, hair appt. Lucy's Doc appt.
etc.
Follow list.
BUT I want the tomatoes and flowers planted before I leave.
The veggie garden got out of control ... scattered with last years Amaranth. Actually there is a trail of sprouting Amaranth from the garden, through the dug out paver patio area to the gate. I tossed all the weeds and grass onto the cement blocks that I was digging out. I guess the Amaranth got tossed with it. We lugged all the dirt and grass to the front of the house but the Amaranth is hardy and paved itself a path along our work trail. I am happy to see their return, along with chamomile and morning glories but I wanted to raise the garden and plant some tomatoes and beans. Those hardy plants came through and I couldn't toss dirt on top of them. Wild herbal type garden will stay and tomatoes will get planted in pots. Raised garden next summer.
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
*** *** ***
Destination: Ölüdeniz. The dead sea. Not The Dead Sea, the other one. Named thus because of its gentle waves, calmness.
This was part of our Aug 2008 little tour ... we arrived here by dolmus, via Fethiye, via a bus from Cappadocia, via Ankara, via Istanbul. It was worth it.
Accommodations: We arrived in town. Went directly to a patio restaurant to nourish ourselves.
Walked around, checked out a few hotels and picked this one, The Blue Star. Booking online usually gets you a better price, but for some reason we wanted to arrive in the town first. The Blue Star catered to the British folk. Rooms were large and comfy. The inner court yard had a pool, cabana area, bar, pool table and dining. The location was a few blocks from beach actually it was a few blocks in from every side. Centertown.
I would love a grape vine covering a patio pergola
Town:
I tend to wake early, sneak out of the room and go for a walk to explore the area. I find amusing things, such as last nights revelers:
I can assess the stores and restaurants, see which ones are worth returning too:
Just me and the dogs
dawn and an empty beach:
Things to do:
Of course, a boat ride is on the agenda. No marina, just docked at the beach:
Butterfly Valley: Luckily I have a reason to go back as we didn't get to Butterfly Valley. We were on a boat tour that was meant to make a stop there but for some reason we ended up on St Nicholas (yes, the real St Nick, they say) Island. Something about the winds and current kept us from the place I REALLY wanted to see. But I wasn't disappointed...
And Para gliding, if you dare. I didn't dare, I only stood on the landing pad to take pictures of the incoming.
There are many other things to do in this area, ancient rocks, the blue lagoon, dining alfresco, google and travel books are your friends. A truly hot and enjoyable destination.
