Travel experiences across the world
My entire stay so far had been confined to the same landmass, so today it was time for a change! I hopped on the tram and crossed the Golden Horn, via the Galata Bridge, up to the district of Beyoglu, the modern, cool quarter of Istanbul.But first I went to the palace of Dolmabahçe, which… Continue reading Dolmabahçe, Istiklal, Galata
After the historical, contemplative visits of this past couple of days, it was time for something a bit more vibrant: I went to the Grand Bazaar!I wasn't sure at first whether it was within walking distance or tram distance, looking at the map, so let me save you the trouble: it's a mere 15 min… Continue reading The Bazaars
So I woke up today and set the clock forward one hour (again [AGAIN]). Sigh.Today the big plan was the palace of Topkapi! I couldn't have asked for a better day to spend sightseeing: gloriously sunny, but cool, and the crowds were blissfully small. When I walked in, at about ten or ten thirty, I… Continue reading Topkapi Palace, the Bosphorus
Today I woke up, as all y'all did, with the clock set one hour forward, and went down to find that breakfast hadn't even been set yet! That's how I found out that Turkey decided to postpone the hour change to tomorrow, because of today's local elections, and I had in fact woken up an… Continue reading Aya Sofya, the Basilica Cistern
-- The streets of Sultanahmet are overrun with cats, who walk up and down the pavement like they own the place (and who's to say they don't?). Some are cute; many look ready to claw my eyes out. The hotel has two or three house cats, all of whom look lovely.-- It's true that the… Continue reading Byzantine Musings: I
I'm in Istanbul! One year after my Japanese oddysey I'm once again out and about, so I'm coming back to the blog to make sure you don't miss a thing!The flight from Orly to Ataturk airport, which takes three hours, went without a hitch. Things got interesting once in Turkey. When I landed I was… Continue reading Landing in Istanbul
So I had to do the whole bus/cable car/train combination again, and it felt decidedly longer this time around. Eventually I arrived in Namba Station at about noon.I am so proud of the prescience I showed when I booked the Dotonbori Hotel. I had a vision that by this point in the trip I would… Continue reading Osaka: Last day in Japan
Guys! Guys! I forgot to write about this. I found a place that serves REAL hot chocolate in Japan. It was called Café Ciao Presso and it was in Nara Station. Eat your heart out, Paris (that's the second time I use that sentence in this blog). I assume because it was in a station… Continue reading The Pillow Blog: IV
Last night I took Ekoin's night-time tour of Okunoin, Koya-san's famous cemetery and Unesco World Heritage Site. It was a good idea to leave my own visit to the cemetery until after taking the tour, as I later had a better idea of the history of the place as I walked on my own. It… Continue reading Okunoin
So! Time to travel! I woke up early this morning to bid farewell to Kyoto, say goodbye to Liza and begin the journey to Mt. Koya (or Koya-san in Japanese). Koya is a small sacred town, 820 m high in the mountains, notable for being in essence the birthplace of Japanese Buddhism. I was dreading… Continue reading Koya-san
This Is A Lake 