There are so many things I love about this photo of a Japanese wedding couple in Miyajima, Japan.  I love the old traditional style of Japanese wedding garb – the extremely heavy bride’s dress [furisode kimono] and groom’s lighter but still confining hakama. I also love the big dSLR camera that the groom has in his lap that represents the new.

What amazed me the most was how hot and humid it was that day.  The Japanese wig [katsura] that the bride is wearing is extremely heavy and unless it is custom fit to your head is ridiculously uncomfortable. The weight of the multiple layers of kimono, along with the confining sash [Obi] sometimes makes it hard to breathe if you’re not used to it [which most modern young couples are not].  Yet she’s still glowing and smiling.

Happy marriage, lovely couple!

7 Hills. That’s what Petek, our landlady told us. There are 7 hills in Istanbul, Turkey.  That explains why we were walking uphill both ways wherever we went, all we were missing was the snow to make our treks complete. We were situated in a charming 2 bedroom apartment in Beyoglu, which is in the “new town” or Pera, meaning “across”, from the Old City.

Despite my laziness and being incredibly out of shape, I loved the location of where we were staying. It was the perfect place for us to start and end our day.  It was close to everything we needed and convenient to everywhere we needed to be. And it had a view.  It had a gorgeous view that I loved staring at regardless of how miserable it became in the torrential downpours that we were experiencing.  It didn’t matter – I was finally in ISTANBUL!!

Petek was a great hostess and was kind enough to provide us with maps, suggestions on places to eat, drink, have our laundry done, and where we can pick up common necessities.  She also arranged for our transportation to and from the apartment, which turned out to be the best thing since the apartment was tucked away – I don’t know if I’ll ever find it again!

I have to admit that when I first arrived at our apartment building the neighborhood had me a little nervous…Ok, it actually had me a lot nervous.  I really wasn’t sure if it was safe or not.

As we walked around our neighborhood, we began to realize the magic that was Beyoglu.  It was a neighborhood that could really only be explored by walking up and down the streets & alleys aimlessly, and sometimes [many times in our case] getting lost in order to discover some new gem.  Our neighborhood was incredibly family friendly with a host of antique shops.  I must have picked out a dozen couches, carpets, and tables that I wanted to stuff into my 22″ suitcase.

One of the first things we discovered in our neighborhood were the breathtaking views.  We made our way to the Galata Tower [after a fun uphill climb], up the elevator and onto the deck when our dry weather respite gave out to a torrential downpour.  Apparently, people weren’t as inclined to enjoy the view in gusty winds while cold rain lashed out at you.  It was amazing to be able to walk around the circumference of Galata Tower and see all of Istanbul without having to climb over too many people. I recommend coming to this site just to get a stunning overview of the city.  I can only imagine how far you can see on a clear day.

View of Eminonu in the Old City

One of the best things about coming home to an apartment after an exhausting day of walking around seeing the sights, was being able to unwind in the living room, or the family room, or if we needed, our respective rooms. A few hours later when we I finally unearthed myself from my cocoon, we found the close proximity of a lot of great restaurants, cafe and bars made it more bearable than having to trek across the river to the Old town for a bite to eat.  If we had to do that, we probably would’ve starved to death.  Luckily, Beyoglu was the nightlife central so everything was open late…every night we were there!

After the sun went down, Istiklal, a main shopping thoroughfare, became the hub for thousands of locals and tourists alike.  It was easy to get swept up into the flow of traffic, which we struggled against to search the side streets for the perfect place to eat.  We found a little cafe called Hayvore which had the best Bean Stew and Hamsi [anchovies] and Rice.  That place earned itself a repeat visit from us.

We also tried wonderful desserts in the form of baklava, quince and Turkish Ice cream called Dordurma.  Just when I thought I couldn’t possible stuff myself any more, I always seemed to find more room.  I loved how the Turks managed to elevate desserts to an art form and how readily available all these luscious desserts were!!

One of the places that we had wanted to visit was Pera Palace.  It had the first elevator in Turkey, the 2nd in all of Europe.  Earnest Hemingway, Agatha Christie and a host of other dignitaries were guests of the hotel.  I wanted to have a drink at the bar that Hemingway frequented.  Carrie wanted to see the inspiration for Christie’s books.

I loved how dark & sexy this bar was.  They had ridiculously overpriced mediocre drinks.  There was a hodge podge of the very young hipsters to the elderly who looked like they’d been in the bar since it’s inception.  And us…somewhere in between the young and the old.  I looked around the bar and imagined it as a place of international intrigue.  What a rich and gorgeous backdrop it was.

We liked the look and feel of Pera Palace so much that we came back on another day just so that we could get in a tour of the Pera Palace Museum and hitch a ride up in that old elevator!  We even enjoyed an afternoon high tea at Pera, although in retrospect, I think we would’ve rather have eaten our way through the dessert shops in Beyoglu while sipping some tea.  I don’t think I could ever get tired of eating my way through this town.

After all of our touring, shopping, eating, and drinking it was always great to come home.  Every day we had this wonderful view to look forward to…

Debbie from European Travelista invited me to share my Travel ABC’s.  I was so excited by this invitation because these questions were things I actually knew the answer to…well for the most part.

A: Age you went on your first international trip: The first one I remember is when I was 4 years old and my mom took me to Japan to meet my Ojiichan [grandpa] for the first time.  I remember having to get vaccinations and how I howled in pain – Melodramatic then…melodramatic now. 

B: Best (foreign) beer you’ve had and where: MMMM…honestly, it’s a toss up between the un-named beer I had in Salzburg and the multitudes of excellent beer I had in Belgium.  I had more variety of good beer in Belgium but I had the best pour in Salzburg.

C: Cuisine (favorite): Japanese. Italian. Greek. Turkish. French. Mexican. Chinese. Korean. Thai…*SIGH*…I love them alllllll.

D: Destinations, favorite, least favorite and why: Favorite is probably France. I just feel so comfortable in spite of the language barrier there – the food, the wine, the climate – what’s not to love?  My least favorite was Slovakia. I didn’t care for how much I was hated there…I mean, I can understand the people I know hating me but complete strangers?? Thankfully, we met a fellow American who was just as lost as we were and he took everything in stride.  He was our “muscle”.

E: Event you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”: Ziplining in Monte Verde. I am TERRIFIED of heights but as I was gliding across the tree tops, I had that moment of realization that I was actually flying where the birds played and frolicked.  It was the most exhilarating experience I’ve ever had.

F: Favorite mode of transportation: Flying. I’m not good at enjoying the journey – I just want to GET there.

G: Greatest feeling while traveling: FREEEEEEDOM!! My curiosity for all things new can be satisfied to my heart’s content.

H: Hottest place you’ve traveled to: Japan in August. It’s Obon season then so I do like to go and pay my respects to my ancestors and visit with my family but not at the expense of nearly dying in that heat.  It’s this suffocating sensation that never goes away.  Especially if you live in the country like my family does and YOU DON’T HAVE AIR CONDITIONING.

I: Incredible service you’ve experienced and where: Wow.  That’s a tough one. I’m pretty fortunate that I’ve had a lot of opportunities for great service – Four Seasons Palm Beach, Fairmont Kea Lani, InterContinental New Orleans to name a few.

Lufthansa First Class is incomparable. I don’t think I’ve ever been as pampered as I was on the flight. Caviar….I had CAVIAR….and they had a car waiting for me to take me to the 1st class lounge and take me to my connecting flight.  It was the best flight and service EVER.  I only dream of being able to fly with them in First again.

J: Journey that took the longest: When I first started traveling as an adult, I had this insane need to find the cheapest flight.  My longest journey took me about 26 hours to get to Prague. We were unspeakably wiped out.

K: Keepsake from your travels: I’d have to say that the thing I’ve kept the longest are my photos.  I have all kinds of keepsakes but nothing that’s stood the test of time.

L: Let-down sight, why and where: Ummm…Ephesus.  It was the crowds that killed it for me.

M: Moment where you fell in love with travel: I’ve always loved travel.  I don’t actually ever remember NOT loving to travel. My parents were instrumental in the development of my lust for travel - from road trips to trips to Japan.  My parent even made sure that I was able to join my best friend’s family in Hawaii, even though money was tight.

N: Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in: Fairmont Kea Lani…I stayed in a 2 bedroom Villa with a full kitchen and barbecue. 

O: Obsession—what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling?: I don’t know what it is but I love taking photos of doors…and bridges…and animals.

P: Passport stamps, how many and from where? I’ll just refer to my current passport because I have no idea where my expired passports are.  45 stamps from [I couldn't read some of them so I'm guessing]: Japan, Austria, Bahamas, Canada, Netherlands, Mexico, Cayman Islands, Spain, Netherland Antilles, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, UK, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Austria, France, Belgium, Costa Rica.

Q: Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where: The Hair Museum in Avanos, Turkey [Cappadocia area].

R: Recommended sight, event or experience: Visiting an Onsen [Japanese Hot Spring] in the winter when it’s snowing.  It’s the most refreshing experience you can ever have!!!

S: Splurge; something you have no problem forking over money for while traveling: Food.  Always food.

T: Touristy thing you’ve done: Ugh. I’ve been up the Empire State Building more times than I care to admit.

U: Unforgettable travel memory: I forget.

V: Visas, how many and for where? 1 for turkey…i had to buy it from the window next to Immigrations…does that count?

W: Wine, best glass of wine while traveling and where? Best glass of wine was at a Wine Spectator show in Las Vegas. I got to sample a glass of Screaming Eagle.  Twice. *SIGH*

X: eXcellent view and from where?: I would say Haleakala in Maui just as the sun is rising but I’m still a bit bitter that the clouds came up just as the sun started to peak.  Otherwise it would’ve been perfect. Locally, I love hiking up in the Santa Monica mountains and staring out into the Pacific Ocean from Inspiration Point like I used to do with my grandpa was I was a kid. 

Y: Years spent traveling?: All my life, non consecutively. I know that’s more years than most of you guys have been alive.  Yikes.

Z: Zealous sports fans and where?: Not zealous but I love a good basketball game [I'm a big LA Clippers fan]. Unless we are now including shopping as a sport.  I’ve got that nailed. 

And now it’s MY turn to invite 5 Travel Bloggers to share their ABC’s of travel:

Erin from A Sense of Place

Hannah from Further Bound

Gerard & Kieu from GQ Trippin

Keryn from Walking On Travels

Kristina from Wired 2 the World

It may be better to give than to receive but I won’t complain if I receive when I give! Passports with Purpose is an annual travel bloggers’ fundraiser. Started in 2009, the annual fundraiser has raised nearly $100,000.  The goal for 2011 is $80,000 to help build TWO libraries in Zambia [sandwiched in between Zimbabwe, Angola, and Malawi in Africa] through a partnership with Room to Read.

What personal stake do I have in this, you ask?  From the moment I learned to read, I’ve had a passion for books.  I’ve stayed up all night in elementary school just so I could finish a book, much to my parents horror.  I was one of those kids who used to read under my covers with a flashlight.  Nothing would give me greater joy than to give that opportunity to a child who would not have otherwise had that chance.

So what can you do?? Visit the Passport with Purpose donation page, look through the list of prizes, make a $10 donation for each entry on your prize of choice.  Fundraising is from November 30 – December 16.  Winners will be selected on December 23rd. For more information, please visit the Passport with Purpose Rules page.

Eh hemmm…A few items that I would love to get, in case you wanted to submit an entry for me for Christmas!

Marquis Los Cabos, Hosted by Nancy Brown [3 night stay, dinner for 2, shopping gift card]

I’ve been to the Marquis.  What a wonderful hotel…I love the fact that they’ll bring you coffee and a basket of pastries in the morning in a little cubby hole right by your door.  The resort has a stunning view of the Pacific and if you time your trip right, you can watch the whales migrate right from the pool deck!  Can’t you imagine yourself on that pool deck above just sipping a margarita?

Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, Hosted by The Traveling Philospher [2 night stay, bottle of wine]

I love the Fairmont Hotels.  I love their service and I love how they spoil me rotten.  The Sonoma Mission Inn is perfectly located between the Russian River Valley, Healdsburg, and Napa.  Located near downtown Sonoma, you can take a bike out and ride to the area wineries.

Stay in Budapest with Town Hall Apartments, Hosted by Inspiring Travellers [5 night stay for up to 4 people & more!]

I went to Budapest back in 2006 for a few short days.  I don’t feel like I did that city justice in that amount of time. We barely went to see the Bastion, the baths [Széchenyi Spa], and the Great Market Hall and had to leave. I’d love to go back and have another visit.

I was going to put up a picture of the resorts but I just like the sea turtle that hangs out at the Fairmont.

Stay on The Big Island, Hosted by Wanderlust & Lipstick [3 nights at the Hilton Waikoloa Village & 2 nights at the Fairmont Orchid]

I love the Big Island. I just unwind the minute I get off the plane.  You can visit volcanoes, an observatory, waterfalls, snorkel, flumin’ da ditch, or just lay out on the beach and do nothing.

The Hilton Waikoloa Village is a huge resort equipped with enough to keep you occupied for a week!  Swim with dolphins, spa, shop or eat.  It’s all there on property.

One of my most favorite hotels is the Fairmont Orchid.  When I walk into the lobby, I always say that I feel like I’m coming home [ok, not MY home but someone's home].  You have a stunning view of the ocean the minute you walk in.  If you go during whale watching season, I’ve heard that you can see whales breaching from the beach. I’ve never actually seen it myself since I was always working and never had enough time to sit and watch the ocean.  The beach area is in a protected cove safe for children to play in.  Be warned, sea turtles do hang out in that cove and it is against state law to touch them. So if you think you’re standing on a smooth rock and it suddenly starts to move, the odds are that it’s a sea turtle.  Not that it happened to me.  Because that would’ve been illegal.

I wish I had a picture of the Carousel Bar located at the Monteleone. Beautiful - must visit!

Hotel Monteleone New Orleans, Hosted by A Travelers Library [3 night stay]

I love New Orleans. I love the people, I love the city, and I love the food.  The first time I went to New Orleans I stayed at the lovely Hotel Monteleone.  The sales manager took me out for my first Hurricane….and my last. There’s more to New Orleans than Bourbon Street.  There’s the garden district, the mansions, and did I mention the wonderful food??

There are TONS of other things you can bid on.  For a complete list of available items, please click here.  What are you waiting for?? Go check out what’s available!

“Be sure to have the Pottery Kebabs,” advised a few blogs and guidebooks that I my friend, Carrie, read. When we reached Cappadocia, Dibek was the first restaurant we stumbled into [not because we were drunk...I just stumble a lot] which is known for it’s Pottery Kebabs, very similar to a salty stew cooked in a one time use vase like pottery. The stew had to be pre-ordered when you made your reservation, which we didn’t even bother to make. I watched in envy as all the other tables were presented with piping hot pottery, skillfully cracked in one whack, and carefully poured into a shallow bowl, steaming hot.

The kitchy presentation of the Pottery Kebab was unique enough to make me want to purchase some of my own so that I could try my hand at making it when I got home.  Our hosts at Kelebek Cave Hotel recommended a visit to Avanos which was only about 20 minutes away by car.  Avanos is known for its earthenware pottery that is still the largest industry in that town.  You can still see the women artisans painting beautiful earthenware.

We searched for my pottery up and down the streets of the historic town dating back to the Hittites and came across a potter. Well, not exactly a potter, he was more a shopkeeper.  But for some unfathomable reason, he thought he was a potter.  He wanted to demonstrate his mad skills to us.  The only problem was that I actually knew how to throw a pot.  I know the first thing you need to do is to center the slab of clay, something he apparently was not taught.

As he worked his slab of clay into an unrecognizable mass of clay, we sat there in morbid fascination wondering how he was going to extricate himself from this pile of poo he managed to put himself in.  He offered to allow us to throw, which we declined because we still wanted to see how he would finish off his work – (a) build up his bowl so high that it collapsed on itself, (b) fake a seizure, or (c) throw the bowl at us. He kept looking at the door in hopes that someone would walk in and he’d be forced to stop. Luck was not with him, so he helplessly finished off his work and presented us with this pot that looked like a 3 year old had thrown it. We started laughing because there was really no other graceful way we could get out of it.  We thanked him for the entertainment and made our way back out.

I came across this vision…of…well. I’m not really sure. I saw this sign for a Hair Museum. I had to go in and check it out.  I walked through the caverns of pottery, some very beautiful, others a little more rustic.  When I finally reached the promised land, I couldn’t move I was so horrified by the strands and strands of hair hanging from the walls and the ceilings.  I didn’t want to get too close lest I actually touch any of the strands.

Although I didn’t actually go home with any pottery, I did leave a strand behind at the museum. I couldn’t help myself.

If you’d like to see my Pottery Kebab being served, check it out!

As far as I’m concerned, finding souvenirs to bring home is the worst part of traveling. It so hard to try to find thoughtful gifts for friends and family. Since I travel so much, I’m not expected to bring back something from every trip, but going to a destination like Turkey that is new to most of my friends and family, it’d be pretty unforgivable if I came home empty handed.  We Japanese are really big on Omiyage.

I wanted to make things as easy and quick as possible for my souvenir buying spree. I had some ideas of Turkish handicrafts that I wanted to pick up but also wanted to keep an eye out for things that I may “discover”.

Turkish Delights: I discovered that the junk delicious Turkish Delights that I’ve had before weren’t really that good.  I had the opportunity to try some truly delightful Turkish Delights from Altan Sekerleme.  The lokum was just softer, sweeter, fresher than the ones that I had out of boxes.  The shelf life was a lot shorter so it was critical to eat these things within a few days [I tried, I swear I did].

Turkish Towels: I had a bridal shower to go to the day after I got back. I didn’t have time to mess around so I decided to pick up Turkish towels for her gift [as opposed to trashy lingerie...clearly I suck at Bridal Shower Gifts].  But, oh…these towels from Jennifer’s Hamam was so sinfully thick and soft.  I felt like I could sink my fingers into the towel for miles.  I would like to use mine as a blanket, it’s so soft and cozy.  It’s not an inexpensive option, as it is handmade on a loom, but it’s still cheaper than how much you’d pay for similar quality in the US.

Hamam Towels: Flat cotton towels, perfect for a scarf, beach towel, or sarong [striped towels in the photo above].  Anywhere from $5 – $35, from cotton to linen, these towels are perfect in weight and thinness to pack up and take home as gifts.  I found some great colors that I love.  I had to refrain from the linens, even though those were the most gorgeous of the towels.

Spices: Do not get your spices from the Spice Market. Prices there are so high!  Go around the outskirts of the Spice Market and you’ll find an array of spices available at a much better cost.  I bought an entire grocery bag filled with various spices for only $5.  I was so thrilled and excited about these prices that I had to go back and buy some more.  Now that it’s the holidays, I’m kicking myself for not picking up cinnamon sticks for my cranberry sauce!

Nuts: This is going to sound crazy since these things are so flipping heavy but I had the room for it so I bought it. Blanched hazelnuts are pretty expensive in the States. I bought a 1 pound bag for less than $7.50. Not THAT much of a savings but it does help when you bake as much as I do.  [Ok, I admit it, this one was a personal souvenir.] I requested 15 Turkish Lira worth of nuts, which ended up being about 1 pound.

Coffee: Turkish Coffee is a rich espresso-like brew, with the fine grounds left in the coffee.  You need to be careful not to drink the sludge or it’ll cause you to choke violently…uh…not that I know from personal experience or anything.  I loved the stuff but I’m a coffee freak.  It’s probably why I’m crawling up the walls most days.

Tea: Most of the tea in Turkey comes from Ceylon.  The area of Rize in Turkey actually grows black tea but I had a hard time finding the tea in Istanbul.  My next trip to Turkey will have to include a stop in Rize since I love tea so much.

I have to admit that I purchased a lot of souvenirs to bring home.  I have to further admit that I bought a lot of souvenirs for myself. Spices, Nuts, and towels turned out to be my undoing.  I am ashamed. I hope you don’t think less of me.

With the spice market & new mosque to your back, look across the open square [see image above] towards Rustem Pasha Mosque. Walk across the square towards the mosque opposite the New Mosque. As you walk along the main road [Ragip Gumuspala], you will see a Blue Awning stand that reads “Sadik Bufe” [see below]

Just past this stand, you’ll see a set of stairs…walk up and you’ll find the spice store on the left

Hocao Gullari, Nuts store is located directly across from the spice store.

One of the leading reasons why I wanted to go to Turkey was so that I could visit Ephesus.  I’ve read Paul’s letter to the Ephesians so many times, I wanted to see the life of the Ephesians come to life. Apostle Paul had such a great love for the Ephesians that I wanted to see and walk the path that he walked.  I’ve said before that I try to keep my expectations low.  I can honestly say that I didn’t do the same for Ephesus.

We started off our trek from Izmir to Selcuk before the sun even crested, which was rather dumb seeing as how the train station kiosk didn’t open for another hour after we got there.  We killed time by doing what we do best – eating:

We were able to purchase our tickets through sign language…and guesswork…making up words here & there to finally get our tickets.  As we were waiting in line to board the train, we saw someone holding a huge hank of rope and a few sets of knives, everything a serial killer would need to commit a crime.  I’m not sure who he was selling his goods to but he was headed to Selcuk with us.

The minute we stepped off the train and onto the streets, we were overwhelmed by “tour guides” offering to take us to the Virgin Mary’s House then on to Ephesus.  We first wanted to get our bearings straight, pick up some bottled water, and figure out our course of action [I didn't arrive into Turkey until midnight the night before so we hadn't had an opportunity to talk about the game plan other than, "hey, let's go to Ephesus"].  This was a great plan until we realized that all the taxis left and there wasn’t going to be another one swinging by the train station until the next train arrived an hour later.

We started to head towards Ephesus in hopes of finding ourselves a taxi along the way.  About 20 minutes into our walk we found a taxi station where we were able to negotiate a ride to St Mary’s House and Ephesus for less than $50.  The road was windy in an uphill swerve.  I was a little worried that I might get car sick but we made it to our destination before it became a problem.

All the websites and guidebooks I read mentioned that St Mary’s was overrated.  My whole thinking was that it would be silly of me not to check it out since I traveled halfway around the world.  Really, what was another 5 kilometers?  Ummm…I guess I didn’t delve too much into the history of why they thought The Virgin Mary lived there.  It was based on visions that an invalid German woman had.

Further, the original structure was no longer there, a new[er] building in its place.  WHAT???!!! Seriously??  And yet there’s this line of people [me included] waiting to shuffle through an empty building, the entire length of the shotgun home taking no more than 30 seconds to cross through.

I left there with a sense of …nothing.  No deeper emotions, no sense of awe, no sense of inspiration.  I was let down.  I felt a wee bit foolish.

We got back into the cab and headed towards Ephesus, hopeful that the ancient structures would fill us with a sense of awe.  I wondered if I’d have a sense of being an Ephesian, strolling the promenade, imagining what it was like as a port city [The water has receded about 3 miles or 5 km from Ephesus].

Ephesus was not exactly what I expected.  I had a hard time imagining Ephesians strolling through the Promenade when it was being over run by cruise ship tourists.  I had a hard time imagining what the structures looked like when it was first built because the columns and structures that were currently displayed were proportionately bizarre [see above photo - I'm not sure what that's supposed to be]. There were pockets of beauty like the first image on this post. The Library, the 2 story building pictured in the distance, is a spectacular work of art.

The detail work on the Library [pictured above] was impressive.  These are the type of structures that I could spend hours looking at. I got a crick in my neck trying to figure out how they placed each of the beams, tiles, stones into place.  It was crumbling but still gorgeous.  Even more interesting was the Terraced Houses that are being restored.

I don’t know what kind of paint they used but I want it.  The fact that you could still see even a HINT of paint after all those centuries is amazing.  I would never have to paint again. Even more amazing was this guy below who was putting the tile pieces back together.  I don’t think I’d be able to survive that job.  I always wanted to cut my puzzle pieces to fit into the puzzles when I was a kid.  I was a very lazy kid.

Over all, I was a little disappointed with my trip to Ephesus.  Perhaps I was being unrealistic.  Perhaps it was the crowds, or the odd mishmash groupings of columns and edifices, or the apparent lack of protection from hands [and feet] of the remaining ruins.  Whatever it was, I didn’t feel that sense of awe that I thought I should have felt.  A little let down, we headed away from the crowds and in search of a meal.

Kebab House was our destination.  Part restaurant, part carpet sellers [seriously, they kept trying to sell me carpets], the proprietors were warm and welcoming, asking us where we came from and where we were going.  This was my first “real” meal of my trip to Turkey.  I hate tomatoes.  I mean, I want to love tomatoes but my body just rejects the acidity in the tomatoes and makes me want to spit it out as soon as it touches my tongue. Regardless, I will try it every single time [I know I'm ridiculous]. When I saw the beautiful color of the tomatoes [this really is how red they were!!], I had to try it.  These tomatoes were perfect. I continued to eat tomatoes all through Turkey.

This meal revived my tired spirits.  It made me remember why I was here, to experience everything about traveling – the highs, the lows…and somewhere in between. I remembered that traveling isn’t only about seeing famous sights or my own prejudiced expectations, it’s also about the small things – the human interactions, the tastes, the smells, the sounds, and the unfamiliar experiences of being outside of my familiar day to day life.

A lot of times, certain places won’t live up to expectations. How do you manage the situation? How do you change your thinking to move towards positivity?

I am suspended high up in the air in nothing more than a wicker basket that is hanging by a string attached to a huge sack of hot air.  The very same person who can’t even stand on a chair because of her knee knocking fear of heights.  Conceptually, it sounds crazy.  Luckily, I lack common sense so I didn’t have that to prevent me from being the first to climb into the basket as everyone else pondered the mechanics on how best to get into the basket [note: it's impossible to maintain lady-like composure when climbing into the basket when you're barely 5' 3" - even if you took gymnastics for the better part of your childhood].

The rain that swept into Cappadocia in the middle of the night came as a surprise to me, given the beautiful day before.  Much to my disappointment, it was still raining when the van came to pick up a bleary group of hopeful aeronauts at 6:00am.  In true “L.A. Story” fashion, we were driven down the hill about 100 meters away to a waiting area stocked with a light breakfast and coffee.  After 45 minutes of “go”/”no go” flight statuses, our flight was finally a “go”…maybe. We were taken to an alternate launch site in hopes of re-routing our flight pattern to avoid some gusty winds.We [the amateur photographers] tried to be as unobtrusive as possible as we stepped in, out, and around the balloons as they were being inflated.  The pilots were surprisingly patient in the face of our obnoxious efforts to get that “perfect shot”.  I was unsuccessful in my attempts at staying unobtrusive or at capturing the perfect shot.  However, I considered it a win that I managed not to set myself on fire.  That would’ve put a damper on the trip.

Even as we boarded the balloon, we still weren’t sure that we’d actually take flight.  The goal was to wait for the perfect moment for lift off.  So we waited…and swayed in the basket…and waited.  Took a few pictures…swayed some more…

I'm the Japanese woman next to the guy in Green. I swear I'm not that short.

I was so busy taking photos of everything, doing little 360′s in our 1/4 of the basket that I didn’t even realize when we were up in the air.  Once I did, I kinda panicked. The annoying cackle you’ll hear in the video – yeah, that was me.

Unfortunately, soon after we took off, Captain Mike felt that we needed to land as we were headed into the storm.  He was truly disappointed that we weren’t able to take flight but expressed his concerns over our safety.  It was actually the best of both words – we got to take flight and we were refunded our money since we were only up for about 10 minutes.  I enjoyed the short flight that we did have but I do feel the need to go back for another chance at a flight…and to hang out and relax at the Kelebek.

Since I was unable to truly experience a full flight, Can you share your experiences with me if you had the opportunity for a successful flight?  What did you see??  If you haven’t done this before, is this something you’d want to do – or are you like me and terrified of heights??

I try not to set my expectations too high about anything lest my expectations get crushed to bits and pieces.  That didn’t really work out well for me when I headed out to Turkey.  There were so many people singing the praises of the food, the people, and the sights that it was impossible not to have heightened expectations.

I set up a tour with Istanbul Eats based on a few recommendations from the friendly folks in Twitterland.  I set out on a cold and rainy Thursday with my friend, Carrie, with very high expectations.  I was determined to eat my way through Istanbul the best I could and, as my over-6-feet-tall-dainty-eating-male-colleagues from Arkansas can attest to, I approach eating like it’s an Olympic sport. I was so anxious to get there “on time” that we showed up 30 minutes early.

As we stood there in the rain, I saw a man wheel up with a cart of jars filled with black wormy things.  I did a double take.  Those weren’t worms, they were leeches. I watched in fascination as he began cleaning out each of the jars while carefully picking out the dead floaters with tweezers.  I looked in askance to Carrie, “what the hell is he doing with barrels of leeches??” Carrie shrugs her shoulders and responds, “bloodletting?“  We never figured it out because our guide for the Old City Food Tour, Angelis, arrived [but if you guys know what this was for, please let me know].

He enthusiastically beckons all five of the members of the tour over towards him.  Apparently we were all waiting on the wrong side of the building which I suspect was my fault since the other tour members waited around Carrie & me. First words out of his mouth after, “good morning” was, “I hope that you are hungry because we’re going to be eating a LOT of food.  Come on,” and off we went.

I loved this String Cheese like cheese. Just a bit salty.

I was a little nervous about the pace we started off at, thinking there was no way that I would be able to keep up, but it was a case of hurry up and wait, while we picked up the components of our traditional Turkish breakfast.  It continued to rain lightly as we went from stall to stall as Angelis greeted each vendor warmly and respectfully, stopping in his movement only to explain what each product we were picking up was.

I was baffled as to where we would find a spot to sit and eat as he walked us through a narrow passageway into a lobby that had huge bags of coffee beans piled up high along the wall.  Just beyond those bags was a rickety table with a newspaper “tablecloth” spread out on it. We began placing the food we collected onto the newspaper.

We dug in to the cheeses, meats, and simits [similar to a sesame bagel] as we waited for the tea/turkish coffee to arrive.  I started laughing when I saw a pulley system that reached from the top floor 3 stories up down to the lobby where we were sat, that sent down the hot drinks to us.  It was awesome.  It was ridiculous.  It was at that point that I knew I was in for a special treat the rest of the day, taken to places that I wouldn’t have found or discovered on my own as a tourist.

Some highlights of the food tour included a stop at the the Kral Kokorec, which consisted of lamb intestines wrapped around offals. It first cooks on a spit, then is chopped up and fried to a crispy consistency with some fresh finely chopped vegetables, then placed into a bun. Most of the people in our tour were turned off by it but I actually really liked it – spicy and flavorful.

We continued on to various savories – Pides from wood fire ovens, Soups from traditional and somewhat historic Soup Kitchens, deep fried anchovies from the street, and a doner kebab that I wish I could eat right now.

Interspersed with the savories was my personal favorite – the sweets! Fresh figs from street vendors, Baklava from my friends/supermodels at Gaziantep [they told me that if I needed a job, they'd hire me], Altan for Turkish delights, and some Chicken Pudding – chicken slow cooked in milk until fully melted – that was absolutely wonderful [I never would have guessed there was chicken in it]!

This is not an inexpensive tour. However, food rates very high for me so I didn’t mind shelling out the money for it.  I enjoyed my time with Angelis.  He was very flexible when I expressed an interest in having some Hamsi [anchovies] and made sure he incorporated it into our tour.  Istanbul Eats also puts out a book, at a much less financial commitment, which we used as well.  It was a great resource.

I lost something here, something I never expected to lose.  The best thing about losing it was that it opened up my hands to grasp something even better.  You see, the thing that I lost was my sense of time. Generally speaking, my every day life is ruled by time – how much [or little] time I have to accomplish all my tasks. I get a little crazy when I see the clock moving forward and I’m not moving with it.  In my career, I am almost in constant motion.  However, somehow I couldn’t seem to move away from this spot at the Kelebek Cave Hotel in Goreme.

No matter how much I tried to move away from this spot, the cushions seemed to suck me right back in [I'm pretty sure that there's some sort of vacuum attached to these cushions].  I spent hours here, doing everything and absolutely nothing.  I did some daily activities that one would expect to do in Cappadocia but ultimately, I just couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel.  Some days I would be so sleepy, that I’d have to crash for a bit in my very large cave room, equipped with a fireplace.

I loved starting my day off with a traditional Turkish breakfast [where I seemed to lose some more hours sitting and drinking tea].  It was hardy enough to get me through lunch.  Well, it was probably hardy enough because I had to try EVERYTHING on the boards.

I’d bring my tea out onto the patio to take in the stunning views.  I took countless photos every day I was here.  The scenery seemed to change by the seconds.  I could post hundreds of my craptastic photos but I suspect you’d leave before getting to the end of this post.

I learned how to slow down here.  In my usual whirlwind to get everything done, I tend to overlook so many small details, like the quietness of the valley seconds before it’s inhabitants start moving about.  Looking back at my trip, I realized that the strongest memories I have of Turkey is my time in Cappadocia.  I gave myself a chance to breathe here and to take everything in.  I learned that just because I’m in motion doesn’t mean that I’m absorbing or acquiring anything.  Sometimes the best course of action is inaction.

Slowing down is a relatively new concept to me. What I gained from that slow down in the middle of my trip was invaluable as a traveler, one that I try to do in all my trips.  What have you gained from slowing down in your travels? 

Note about the hotel: I paid for my own hotel stay.  My reviews are my own.  Some suggest getting the chimney rooms but I really like having my bathroom en-suite since it gets pretty cold [for my Southern Cali Girl sensibilities] during the evenings.