Getting Ready

We are planning our next trip to Europe and Asia. It is very much in the preliminary stage. Our plans are to go to Istanbul (3rd time), Cyprus (2nd time), and Hungary (multiple times). A side trip is planned for Prague.

Stay tuned as we get closer to making the final arrangements.

Follow-up to horseback riding

Well, at it turns out, I'm not that interested in the horses after all. I enjoyed the experience of handling horses (not really handling) but it's just not for me.

Good to know these things as I wind down my work routine. There are still lots of possibilities out there.

Stratford Festival - Evita

We went to see the stage production of Evita at the Avon Theatre in Stratford. This is probably known as a rock opera and is a bit different from most 'musicals.' Once I got used to the dialogue being completely sung, it was a very entertaining play.

I had seen the motion picture by the same name by Madonna and just couldn't get into it because of the singing dialogue. But this time, because I knew what to expect, it was a very enjoyable experience. The singing and set designs were excellent.

Here is the Stratford Festivals advertisement.

We groom and ride the horses

Today, Warren, Alex and I met at the RB Paint farm and had our first taste of grooming and riding horses. Alex was our instructor and is very friendly and helpful. She is also very good at training humans and well as horses.

We met at 11:00 a.m. and we were shown some of the 18 horses in the corral. We then went into the barn where we learned how to brush and groom the horses. Also how to clean the hoofs.

Later, we leaned how to saddle the horse and then took our teaching horse, Sherry, out for a spin. I was first after instructions from Alex. Guess, what? I didn't fall off or anything. Warren did have to help me up because I'm a little out of shape.

Next, Warren had a turn and we both enjoyed the ride immensely.

We will likely make this a weekly meeting and training session. Warren is going to be retired at the end of this month and can ride more often. But I'm not far behind.

More pictures on Picasa.

The Beach

We went to the beach yesterday and found this little guy on the beach. We poked it because we thought it was dead. It was very much alive. A woman sitting next to us wanted her kids to see the frog and called them down. They arrived and chased it all over and had a hard time capturing it

Montreal Civic Weekend

The weather was perfect. We took in the Botanical Gardens and several neighbourhoods. Take a look at my Picasa site for pictures.

Hey Bartender Video

Here is one of the videos from the evening:

Randy's and Patty's

The band played at Randy and Patty's BBQ and Birthday party last night. Lots of good food, fun and music.

The summer of 2010

This summer has been exceptional. The heat and sunshine and the rainfall all have made for a pleasant summer. Because of the amount of rain, we have some very good veggie crops and the grass needs cutting every week.

I read an article about Tokaj in Hungary in the New York Times and was very impressed with the region. I will make it part of our plans for our next trip to Hungary.

We are going to my brothers sometime this afternoon to celebrate Mary's birthday and enjoy the summer day and do some singing and dancing.

Itty goes to the vet

Itty-Bitty had to go the vet again today to get medication for tape worm. She weighs a mere 4.2 kilos. But she has always been a small cat hence the name.

Joe's comments now that we're at home

We've been home for a week and it feels great to sleep in my own bed again. I knew it was warm here but I was still surprised to see how everything greened up during April. The grass needed to be cut right away. Luckily we managed to catch the Magnolia tree in its full glory. Today, only a few petals remain. Unfortunately, most of the Crab Apple trees have tent caterpillars. Everything else seems to be okay.

Itty-Bitty showed up the first time I called her and she spent the night indoors, taking turns sleeping with me and Wayne. I guess she missed us. Warren must have fed her enough food because she looked full and healthy. And knowing her, I'm sure she supplemented her food with mice, birds, rabbits and whatever else she could catch. She's not one to starve to death when we're gone.

Last Days in Istanbul

We were driven from our hotel in Kuşadası to the airport in Izmir and we took a no-frills flight on Onur Air to Istanbul. We arrived late but made it back to the Alaaddin Hotel without any problems, or so I thought. My stomach felt uneasy and I had to use the toilet only to discover that somewhere along the way I managed to get a bad case of "travellers diarrhoea." It lasted four days and I was wasted.

We managed to visit Kadıköy on the other side of the Bosporus and we made it to the Spice Bazaar but, because of the diarrhoea, I didn't enjoy the crowds or the hustle and bustle of the city. The city-run ferry on the way back from Kadıköy was brand new with lots of comfortable seating. It's a short ferry ride but Turkish tea and snacks are available but you have to pay. It wasn't the best day of my life but at least I didn't waste it stuck in the hotel room

Macaristan or Hungary?

I have a confession to make: I was born in one of the "Stans." You know - Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kurdistan, etc. I was born in Macaristan! Actually, I was born in Hungary (Magyarország) but Turks and many Arabic nations refer to it as Macaristan. The "c" in Turkish is similar to the "gy" in Hungarian so they're saying Ma'gy'aristan. We were often asked where we were from and we'd say Canada and I'd add that I was born in Macaristan. They understood right away, unlike four years ago when people though I was saying something about being hungry. Sigh...

Budapest

We arrived in Budapest on Saturday, April 24. We were met at Ferihegy Airport by Attila, Peter and Hami (I hope that's how it's spelled). Peter and Attila spent some time with us last summer and Hami is Julia's live-in boyfriend. Julia spent some time with us three years ago. Along the way, Peter was dropped off and Julia was picked up from work. She has a part-time telemarketing job with ING in Budapest. Apparently her babysitting job pays better. Should I be surprised?

When we're in Budapest we stay with our "Hungarian Family" in the Buda hills. We met Zoli and Zsuzsa and their children, Attila and Julia, in 1994 when Zoli came to UW to work on a chemistry project. They give us the keys to the house so we can come and go as we please and they make us feel like family. They are great hosts!

When we arrived, Zoli and Zsuzsa and Zoli's mother and father were waiting for us. In a few minutes Peter and his mother arrived. Because I still wasn't feeling well I decided to have a rest but I got up after a couple of minutes because a large picnic to welcome us was underway. The food looked great but I didn't indulge except for a small piece of home-made cottage cheese strudel that Zoli's mother made.


Zsuzsa works in the pharmacy in a hospital and she told me that doctors often recommend Cola for children who have diarrhoea. The following day I drank a large bottle and it seemed to help. Who knew? The anti-biotic may also have helped. But I was self-medicating and perhaps didn't even need the anti-biotic. My dentist prescribed them in case my tooth got an infection. So it may have been all the gunk in the cola...

We visited some of our favourite areas of Budapest. We went to the Nagycsarnok and walked along the small ring road, passing by the Hungarian National Museum as well as the second largest Synagogue in the world. It has been recently sand-blasted(?) and it looks great. Unfortunately I forgot about the Memorial of the Hungarian Jewish Martyrs so we didn't see it. Perhaps next time.

We walked up Andrássy út (a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of my favourite streets in Budapest) until we got to Franz Liszt Square, near the Oktogon. Along the way we stopped at a ticket office and got two tickets for a modern dance performance at the National Dance Theatre in the Castle District.

At Franz Liszt Square we stopped for lunch at the Bohemia Restaurant and Beer Hall and I had one of the biggest schnitzels available anywhere. They call it the "Giant Wiener Schnitzel with mixed salad and steak fries" and it cost 2290. Hungarian Forints ($10.75). It was paper thin with an incredibly light breading and it was delicious. I washed it down with some fabulous beer called Prágai Tavasz - a sör forradalom (Prague Spring - the beer revolution). I wonder what the Czechs think about that?



After lunch we walked to the Oktogon and took the number 4/6 Tram to Moszkva tér. From there we took the 61 Tram to Hűvösvölgy. We planned on spending some time in the early evening with Attila and some of his friends.

After meeting Attila's friends we walked up to the glider/ultralight air field in the forested Buda hills. His friends were friendly but perhaps a bit shy. All of them were studying graphic arts in school and one of them, Istvan, drew the whole time we were together. The day ended with a beautiful sunset over the hills.

New York Café

One day we took the tram down to the Oktogon and started walking along the Big Ring Road. The street isn't as glitzy as it once used to be, thanks to new super malls in the centre of the city, but it's still a great walk. Around noon we stopped at a faux Mexican Restaurant because their lunch special was inexpensive. The food wasn't bad and eating alfresco and watching the people go by made it worthwhile.

For dessert, we stopped at the New York Café. The building was built between 1892 and 1894 and the New York Café was called, by some, the most beautiful café in the world. No kidding. Check out the pictures from the hotel's site or Wayne's pictures. As we approached the building I could see the top of the crown and the torch of the Statue of Liberty towards the top of the building. It was made to look as if the statue was behind the building. The bourgeoisie sure knew how to live... And you might understand why the communists took power...


We were shown our table by a very attractive maître d'. Wayne ordered his favourite Somlói galuska and I ordered some Esterházy torta, a cake with lots of walnuts. Both of our desserts came in two different versions. (Check out the pictures on Wayne's Blog under "extreme indulgence.") Very impressive and very tasty. No complaints, except perhaps for the price. But when you enter this place you just know it won't be cheap. And it wasn't.

Etc.

That evening, we went up to the castle district to see the modern dance production at the National Dance Theatre we bought tickets for the day before. Before the show we had a small meal at an incredibly overpriced restaurant a block from the theatre. Don't eat in the castle district!

"Pikáns történet / A Hullámos és a Nimfa" were two pieces performed by two dancers. The dance was in the Refektórium, a small side-room, with good seating, in the Theatre. One piece was called "Salt and Pepper" and the other (I can't remember the English) was about two caged birds sharing the same perch. Very interesting performances. I'm not an expert on modern dance but both pieces seemed to have something to do with sex. Duh!

Lady Gaga, Elton John and Paul Anka will be in Budapest this summer/fall. I'm glad to be home.

Highlights

Tunisia is an amazing place. Dugga, even more so! I would have liked to have spent much more time there. English is spoken in tourist areas and French is spoken everywhere. If you've never been to Africa, Tunisia is a good place to start.



Turkey. Anything and everything was a highlight. Friendly and helpful people everywhere. Great food everywhere. Istanbul is to be experienced. Turkey is very English friendly. It was spoken everywhere we travelled. Visit Turkey before you die. You'll be amazed!

Budapest is one of my favourite cities in the world. It's very English friendly (the announcement on the 4/6 tram are in English and Hungarian!) and if you avoid the tourist traps the visit will be more that enjoyable. The food tastes great but it's a bit heavy. Salads have started to make an appearance in this formerly carnivorous country. And the metro 4 will be finished one of these years. What more can one ask for?

Joe

Birthday Party

My Hungarian friends celebrated my birthday one day early in my favourite restaurant in the Buda hills.

The birthday cake at the end of the evening was a great surprise. It was again my favourite dessert called Somloi Galuska.

Thanks to my Hungarian family for such a wonderful time, meal and dessert.

Here are some pictures of the evening.

South of Budapest

Yesterday, we spent some time with Peter and his father, Janos. We went for dinner in a small village about 40 kilometres south of Budapest. We visited a Serbian Church built in the 17th century. Later, we went to a new park in Budapest.

The day was great for the drive to the countryside. I had a very good meal of Babgulash with fresh bread. To top off the meal, Joe, Peter and I had a very delicious crepe called palacinta in Hungarian.

We finished the day with a draft beer at one of the micro breweries in Budapest.

Today is our last full day in Budapest and we will fly to Istanbul tomorrow.

More pictures on Picasa.

Extreme Indulgence

We strolled the large ring road in Budapest today and came across a very beautiful building. It houses one of the old established coffee houses. The building was destroyed by tanks in 1956 but has now been brought back to it's former beauty.

More pictures on Picasa.

Vacation

Our vacation is slowly winding down. We have five more days in Budapest and then off to Istanbul for one night and then to Toronto.

We did lots of things and visited lots of places. It is a memorable vacation, one that I will remember for a long time. I also have all the pictures that we took over the course of our holiday.

If there is one thing to remember on this vacation, it is to keep an eye on your belongings at all times. The camera being pick-pocketed could have been avoided.

Who knows what adventure awaits us in coming months and years. But one thing is for certain, I still have the travel bug in me and plan on doing more of the same.

Budapest

We have arrived in Budapest and are with our Hungarian family. We enjoyed a very good picnic dinner in the backyard.

We are off to the market today to see if I can find something of interest.

Hope to take some pictures in Budapest and will post them later.

Pictures are located here.

Kadikoy

The train station on the Asian side of greater Istanbul (Kodikoy). This was our third visit to the Asian side. We took a very modern passenger ferry to Kadikoy. There is lots of shopping and people on that side too.

More pictures here.

Some disordered comments on Turkey

Previously, I mentioned the unusual toilet in a restaurant in Istanbul that was nothing more than a hole in the floor. You have privacy since they are enclosed cubicles but they are very different from the ones back home. It turns out that they are everywhere.

On our long, overnight, bus ride from Ürgüp to Kusadasi, our modern Mercedes-Benz bus stopped several times for a washroom and quick, snack break. When the bus pulled into one of these "service centres" the bus windows were thoroughly washed while the driver and passengers took a break, smoked, ate or visited the washroom. (It seems that even ultra-modern buses don't have toilets.) These breaks usually lasted a half hour. On one break I had to use the toilet and payed the .75 Turkish Lira service charge. When I was finished I looked around and saw the women's toilet and, to my surprise, I noticed that there was a prayer room on one side. Why would there be a prayer room in the toilet area? It seemed very odd, even inappropriate, but then I guessed that since practising Muslims wash their face, feet and hands before they pray this was probably convenient.

I should mention that even though the bus stopped at service centres, drinks and snacks were offered for free on the bus. It was part of the ticket price. I got some water, cola and a cake-like snack. The bus had video monitors and food trays, very much like an air plane. I have seen nothing like it in Canada.

I had no idea where Kusadasi was and I was getting irritable since I didn't manage to sleep on the bus. When would we get there? What if I fell asleep and missed the place? And why are we going there instead of Selçuk , which is next to Ephesus?
The young man who served the drinks and snacks indicated that we would stay on the bus until we got to Kusadasi but when we got to Aydin we were asked to transfer to a local bus to finish the trip.

After a couple of hours we arrived at the Kusadasi bus station, which was much later than we expected and our driver was not there. We must have looked lost and the only bus driver there asked what we were looking for and Wayne started to tell him we were part of a tour and that someone was supposed to pick us up. The bus driver really didn't speak English and Wayne doesn't speak Turkish but the driver took our itinerary and went to the ticket office. After a couple of minutes a man from the ticket office came over and indicated that we sit and said "five minutes." Sure enough, in about five minutes a mini-truck shows up, the driver looks around and, not seeing two men "together," drives away. (Wayne took half a minute to get a snack from a nearby food stand.) In about 20 minutes the young guy in the same truck shows up again and picks us up and takes us to Ephesus and we join the tour.

I was really impressed by the original bus driver who asked us what we were looking for and the ticket office staff who made the phone calls to straighten things up. They didn't have to do any of that. And they didn't charge any money. I remember from my first trip to Istanbul four years ago that Turks are very friendly. Now I know they are incredibly helpful, too. I don't think most Canadians would be that friendly and helpful to total strangers. There's something very special about this place!

Our trip to Cappadocia, Ephesus, Pamukkale, and the hot air balloon ride were exceptional. Wayne posted many pictures on this Blog and the links to Wikipedia can give you more information about these incredible sites if you are interested.

Turkey is a very large country and the geography, vegetation and agriculture are diverse. This time of year, in south-western Turkey, the roses are in bloom. The tall irises are almost finished and there are some really beautiful, purple, cascading ground covers and succulents with larger flowers everywhere, especially in the raised medians along the highways. The palm trees are tall.

On our way back from Pamukkale we stopped for a toilet break and to sip some çay. On my way to the toiled I stopped to look at an unusual red flower. Our tour guide was behind me and he said it was a pomegranate flower.

I have not seen any fig trees before this trip and I was surprised to see some growing by the roadside. The valley near here is very fertile and there are fig, olive and orange groves everywhere. Near Atça, there are strawberry fields forever. (Sound like a song, eh?)

In Istanbul we decided to take a tour of the places we visited rather than making the arrangements ourselves. I think it was a good decision. Along the way we met people from all over the world. We met people from Germany, France, Canada, Australia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Korea, etc.

At least twice we were asked if we were Americans. I answered, "better." Both times the persons hesitantly asked "Canadian?" So there you go... But I'm concerned that Harper will ruin these nice little vignettes that we can play in other countries.

Parts of Turkey seem like the first, second and third world at the same time. There are some very fancy, expensive cars but you can also see a few wagons pulled by horses. There are roads with huge potholes and there are controlled access expressways. In Aydin, I saw pedestrian overpasses in the heart of the city. I didn't expect to see the covered escalators that took pedestrians up and down.

My senses are overwhelmed. And that's not a complaint! The sights, sounds, tastes and smells are a feast for the soul.

More later, if I can get my act together.....

Joe

Coastlight Hotel

We are staying in a new hotel on Aegean Sea. The hotel has a very beautiful view and we are on the 5th floor. Some pictures are on my Picasa Web Site:

http://picasaweb.google.ca/wybell/Kusadusi#

Pamukkale

Pamukkale, which means "cotton castel" in Turkish is made of terraces of carbonate minerals left by flowing water. This UNESCO World Heritage site is located below the ancient city of Hierapolis. The pictures we took today are on my Picasa Web site.