Kervansary Hotel Armutalan

... are a new experience for southern californians but i learned how to get out in the middle of the street and wave like i knew what i was doing and then show the driver the card in turkish the concierge gave me - on the last leg back to the hotel - he tried to drop me off at a different hotel - luckily i recognized that it was not mine so refused to get out and showed him the card again - finally he got me to the correct hotel - that is enough of an adventure ...

... s steep cobbled streets.  Sweating, hungry and  out of breath, we arrived on a  pleasant terrace overlooking the  farthest end of the Golden Horn.  Unfortunately and unexpectedly,  Pierre Loti restaurant did not serve any food.  We ordered a couple of bitter and sweet Turkish coffees that came with a sizable "beautiful view" tax and shared a simek, a sesame seed covered  pretzel/bagel hybrid from a nearby cart.  Twenty feet away ...

Well, in typical traveller fashion, it is 4:40 a.m. on.....Saturday? and I am up and awake and alone on the terrace of our hotel restaurant with one weak light on and Louis Armstrong playing on the radio of a German Radio station.  Hugo and I keep trying to place what Istanbul, what Turkey reminds us of.  It's not enough for it to be itself, we search for a cognate in our already travelled ...

... name. Excellent. This was followed by spaghetti with white truffles and then John Dory with white truffles. For dessert, I went main stream. Anything sweet with white truffles just didn't sound appetizing. So for a short visit, I did a lot, huh? There was just one little matter at the health clinic that I wasn't able to get done today because I arrived too late. Tomorrow on the way to the airport we'll take care of it. Bedtime.

... been jammed full with socializing and sight-seeing. but dont let me forget AWKWARD moment #1 in my whole entire life! do you remember the guy who said he "loved" me? oh yes, im sure you do and you have an idea as to what happened... i ran in to him. first on friday night, my friends and i saw him but being as awkward as awkward can be, guess what i did... i ran away. i am pretty sure that he saw me so that would explain what happened on saturday night. my friends and i ...

... sauce on top and gave off this dank smell. i didnt try it - i thought it may give me some foreign food sickness that hasnt been seen before. but usually, eggplant is pretty good. a word to the wise - be sure to bring cash when coming to turkey, especially to Bogazici university. they charge for everything here. to swim at the pool, it costs 5 lira. to play on the field inside of the track, it costs 1000 LIRA FOR AN HOUR, to go to the gym, it costs 5 lira,the shuttle in ...

... d come out to get the food) asks if I want to be shown a place where I can go for seder on Saturday night (so they accept the fact that I am Jewish). She takes me to a kosher home with a cafeteria (as in apartment building) for the poor and people alone (is it because I am alone or poor?). They let me in but will not let me go to the Ashkenazic synagogue until I have a letter of permission as a result of the fax being sent to the Rabbinate from my ...

... you really have to beat people off with a stick. But the history and sights are amazing. Decent Side ('seeday') Pension was my base and I came back for a night between Cappadocia and Lebanon. Aya (Haghia or Saint) Sofya - Built between the years of 527-565, was part of Emperor Justinian's effort to restore the greatness of the Roman Empire. Was church, later converted to a mosque, now museum. For almost 1000 years, it was ...

... the valley we went, through the apple orchards, fields of millet, white washed villages and past the snow melt waterfalls - down to Tatopani! Magical! 42 degree springs piped into tiled pools were you could just sit all day and prune. That is just what we did, for 2 days while eating cake - it was so decadent. But the clock was ticking, Craig and I had to get back to Pokhara to ring my brother for his wedding. Normally this would not have posed a problem but we ...

... Siad took Pat to the station on the back of his moped to get the tickets then on Friday evening they took the both of us to the station to catch the bus. The journey was 13 hours and all in all was pretty good. Air con, free drinks and biscuits, even a waiter in a bow tie to look after you - not bad for 20 quid really. National Express please take note! Afetr what seemed like forever the sun came up and we boarded the ferry for the final stint in our ...