Sensory overload in Istanbul, Turkey

And deliver it did! We experienced sensory overload in Istanbul. This city never seems to sleep. We rented an apartment in the Beyoglu area, which is close to Taksim Square. Before coming here, I had read that many of the tourist sites are in Sultanahmet, but that it’s best to stay in Beyoglu because that area has great restaurants and nightlife. Those articles said that it gets pretty crazy on Friday and Saturday nights and boy, were they right! We were a bit sleep deprived, in part due to the noise from the partygoers (do I sound like an old person?) but also due to the call to prayer…it woke us up around 4:40am – 5:10am each morning. The first time I heard it and mind you, I had earplugs in too, I thought it was a drunken person singing in the street. The 2^nd morning, we realized that it was either that same person or something else…and after some googling, it became apparent what it was. The call to prayer seemed to go on anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour every morning and actually sounded like someone was right beside me with the megaphone...all across the city, there are megaphones on the towers next to the mosques so I guess that’s why. By the 4^th night/morning, I actually started to find it kind of interesting and tried to look at it as a cultural experience. It did help wake us up for our early morning flight on the 4^th morning.

There is just so much to do in Istanbul. It’s huge! We spent time exploring the famous Grand Bazaar (one of the world’s oldest and largest bazaars in the world). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Bazaar,_Istanbul

We bartered on some lamps and got the price we wanted…then we had to figure out how to ship them, which cost almost as much as the lamps (we picked the slowest shipping possible so we’ll see if they make it home before us). We ate some good Turkish food (think kebaps or kebabs as we know them, mezes etc.). There seem to be more vegetables in typical dishes than we have found so far on our trip and dishes aren't as rich as all that yummy French food. Perhaps my clothes will fit again. Mike continued his newfound love for coffee by sampling Turkish coffees. Turkish coffees are served in small cups (almost like espresso cups) and the coffee is made by boiling water and ground coffee beans together (sometimes with some sugar too, depending on one’s taste). The grind settles to the bottom of the cup if you let it sit for a few minutes before drinking it and you don’t drink the bottom portion.

We also took a Bosphorus boat tour, which was very interesting because we got to sail down the strait that separates Europe from Asia. Again, we gained a new appreciation of how big Istanbul is and how many different areas there are! 

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Mike bought his first souvenir in the Cinque Terre area – a new wedding ring! He lost his original one in the fall. Anyway, I caught him looking at jewelry while we were in Vernazza and next thing I knew, he had a new ring. Best 18 euro ($27) he’s ever spent, according to him. Of course, it's already starting to tarnish and it’s only been a week but hey, it does the job. J  

Ah yes, starting the flight with a Turkish Delight. Not quite what I was expecting but still delicious!  Also showcases his new stainless steel masterpiece.

Europe and Asia in one shot. That's the bridge dividing the Bosphorus.

Turkish coffee 

More varieties of Turkish Delight. Good to have selection.

Inside the Grand Bazaar...I didn't expect it to look so fancy (expected something more like Nepalese style shops). You can buy anything here.

Disclaimer: I have no idea what this is.

Mosque 

Istiklal Street 

Scene VERY close to our apartment

Waldo - you're supposed to hide! 

Tried shisha or flavoured tobacco (this one was apple)...don't worry Mom and Dad, this was a one time deal. :) 

Lots of people smoking shisha and having tea on this street

Turkish breakfast - complete with nutella in the middle. Random or traditional?

Lots of fishermen along this bridge...we walked by numerous times and it never seems like anyone catches anything.

Beautiful garden at Topkapi Palace. Used the toilets here and saw women hoisting their feet up to wash in the sinks. Ah, now the 'no foot washing' signs make sense (I didn't see them here but in a couple of other places).

Inside Hagia Sophia

So hard to capture this place...it was breathtaking but our pics do not do it justice (they were also doing some construction updates so tried not to get that part in the photo). Look on google images...they have better.

Blue Mosque - still an active mosque but they allow everyone to visit.

You need to remove your shoes to enter (and I didn't know this so of course I had ridiculous socks on).

They have a women's section for prayer at the side and the men's section is in the middle. It closes during prayer times so these people are tourists.

It was nice inside...we tried not to let the stinky feet detract from the experience (no shoes plus carpets that are likely not often cleaned).

Walk back along the water. We're still on the European side.

I do appreciate people's entrepreneurship and this was sure a good one...he had blown up balloons and had a gun to shoot to pop them. Ha!

Back to wearing two pairs of pants and eating quinoa salad. 

There were nice properties all along the waterfront (and a fair bit of waterfront to choose from)! 

Bosphorus Bridge separates Europe and Asia (both sides are Istanbul).

Phew...these hills are wearing me down but are also wearing off all that cheese and bread! I know this is downhill but there was an uphill to get here.

Mike in Taksim Square.

Still haven't figured out how they eat the heads. Think I'll pass on this one.

Nice, France and a walk in Monaco

We stopped in Monaco after leaving Italy and walked around for a couple of hours. Wow. I’ve never been anywhere that felt so rich before. Just walking around the streets - they were setting seeing up for a car event happening that coming weekend - made me feel like I had entered into a different world. The Grand Prix is not until the end of May but they were putting out bleachers for some weekend event. We passed a restaurant advertising 120 euro brunch which is about $180CAD (some seats had a view of the event but still, you’d have to drink a lot of mimosas to justify that!). Did you know citizens of Monaco don’t pay income tax? It’s no wonder all of the wealthy people move there! I read that Monaco's per capita income is estimated at $186,000, although they never publish official data. We also toured the palace and then I did a bit reading about the royals…I’ve always been interested in the 'Grace Kelly turned Princess Grace' story but never realized that it wasn’t quite the fairytale romance after all.

Nice also felt quite wealthy, although much less exclusive. It is a really pretty city with a nice promenade along the water. We had one last rich French meal, went over our yearly quota of croissants and used our French again. And this time, I finally remembered a bit, unlike in Paris, where I accidentally used Spanish words on several occasions and got some strange looks. We also drank the tap water in restaurants (for free and with no hassle), something I gave up asking for by the time we got to Germany when it turned out they just didn’t do that there.

I think it's time to for a change. I only have one pair of pants that still fit comfortably! All we’ve been doing is eating and climbing old towers. ;) We’re ready for a bit of an adventure (Mike misses Imodium) so we’re heading to Turkey. Let’s see if it delivers!

Finally! No banana hammocks allowed. This was posted at the entrance to Monaco's castle. Although I'm not sure why they would have to tell people that. Who walks into a castle wearing only that?

Palace in Monaco

View of Monaco - look at all those yachts!

Bleachers down below

This cafe probably serves croissants since that's all I seem to eat these days.

View of Nice (we walked up to a lookout point)

Mike is getting into the coffee culture and actually ordered an espresso (as some of you know, he hates coffee). He says that he likes espresso since he gets it over with quicker.

A little cool down  

Again, lots of sidewalk restaurants, similar to Paris 

Truffle chicken with cream and pasta...gotta start cutting back soon. Like tomorrow.

Serramazzoni and Cinque Terre, Italy

After leaving Bologna, we stayed in a place I’d found on airbnb that was in an old mill…the Muzzarelli family had converted it into a suite to rent out. We ate lunch and dinner at their restaurant and spent the afternoon exploring the countryside…sounds picturesque except that the Ferrari factory is close by so it seems like people do their test driving on the back country roads quite frequently. There were also so many motorcycles (groups of them) racing along with lots of cyclists on road bikes. We have seen more cyclists here in Italy (on road bikes and in full gear) than anywhere else.

Giorgio and Ivanna Muzzarelli were really sweet and we got a tour of their vinegar factory. Giorgio knows some english and he had google translated his menu so that helped. I still don't know what courchettes are though! He left us a nice review on airbnb, part of which translates to: "...are two wonderful boys, young, cute and full of vitality." haha, very sweet.

We only stayed one night and then continued to Cinque Terre area. Cinque Terre is made up of five villages right on the coast and you can hike between them. Unfortunately, there was severe and fatal flooding due to rainstorms in 2011. Two of the villages were greatly affected, Vernazza and Monterosso, but they have managed to rebuild. There are some hiking routes closed off (I’m not sure if this is due to maintenance required before they can safely reopen them) but there are alternative paths between the towns and you can take the train as well so we had a great time exploring these places. They reminded us of the Amalfi Coast, only perhaps a little rougher (but still charming). Our favourites were Vernazza and Riomaggiore.

An aside: We were a bit confused with the spa etiquette in Italy. In the first agriturismo we stayed in, there was a steam room and sauna so we went down there in our robes (no bathing suits). Another guest was there in his swimsuit so we went running back upstairs to put our suits on, with the host calling after us ‘what’s wrong?’ Then in the next agriturismo, we went down with our bathing suits and found people walking around naked. We thought maybe you were supposed to book your time and so we also left in a hurry to ask our host if we should reserve a time. Nope! So back down we went, but kept our bathing suits on. Such Canadian prudes. ;)

Italy always gets to my heart…I love the food and wine (and it's not too expensive if you stick with pasta and house wine), the people are friendly and there are so many interesting places to explore. We will have to return.

Giorgia making irish coffee for us...quite a production but a delicious result.

Goose carpaccio

Best risotto ever...made with his balsamic vinegars 

Our pad for the night

Who knew sleeping in an old mill could be so cute? Those mill workers would laugh. I wonder what we'll find cute 100 years from now.

Giorgio pointed out a trail we could take but then followed on his dirt bike to make sure we didn't get lost.

We toured a parmigiano reggiano factory. Look at those vats of yummy cheese.

After it's made, it can be stored for a while.

We wanted to try some cheese but the smallest they had was 400g...yet it was only 5 euros (this cheese is so $ at home). So we bought it and I had a big block beside me in the car throughout the day, which got considerably smaller by evening.

View of Monterosso after we hiked from Levanto (where we were staying) to Monterosso and past it.

Getting close to the 2nd town, Vernazza.

Next up, Corniglia! You can see it on the hill with Manarola in the distance.

Vineyards

Mike is allowed to wear his sleeveless shirt again (was not in Zanzibar, Tanzania). 

Getting close to Manarola (this is the 2nd day of hiking).

Riomaggiore, our final stop.

Lots of lemon trees here 

Discovering that I like anchovies

Different but good take on tiramisu, complete with limoncino. 

Ciao Italia.