Departing HappyHill for LAX at 4am, Willie and I excitedly began our journey across the globe to Istanbul. Our flight to JFK was uneventful as I watched all the Curb Your Enthusiasm shows, and Willie listened to Adele on his I-Pod while diligently creating birthday cards.
The next leg started smoothly, as Willie and I settled into our cozy Delta business class seats at JFK. We were served multiple OJs, and about 30 minutes later after we placed our orders for lunch ("grilled chicken thank you!") the announcement came from the pilot that the AC unit needed to be serviced and we all needed to wait "for just a few minutes." Then 30 minutes later another announcement comes on that we have to get off the plane for up to 2 hours (you know what that means) so they can do a repair. AND "you must stay in the boarding area.. and not in the premium lounges".
Willie insisted on having a word with the pilot but after I threatened him with his life, he chose to instead have a cheeseburger at the Bonfire Grill in terminal 2. In the meantime I found myself sitting (on the floor) near a gaggle of teenage girls who had t-shirts that read "Person to Person volunteers." Turns out these young ladies (the ones I spoke to were from Alabama, ma'am) travel all over the world during their summer break doing humanitarian work. They became increasingly enthusiastic about the prospect of taking our dollies with them on future trips - seriously!
Ah yes, every cloud has a silver lining. Amidst all this, a huge pigeon is flying at top speed all thru the terminal and bulldozing down to pluck left over french fries. I now turn to my needlepoint.
Thursday
Friday
Day One
Hello Friends & Family:
We arrived in Istanbul on Friday mid-afternoon, later than planned due to delays at JFK. But we both slept for a good 6 hours so we felt fine and tossed our luggage in the room and were off to The Grand Bazaar, which was located about 4 blocks away.
The bazaar is a huge colossal series of buildings wehre everything imaginable is for sale - well for negotiation!
There were pashminas, pottery, dressy children's clothes (like you would find on Olvera Street) and food. We walked into #7 entrance and you could go in any direction of small narrow walkways which have items piled high up to the ceiling. The shop owners try their best to induce you to buy their stuff. Willie found several gelato shops and then we continued walking about 6 blocks downhill to the large spice market. This building had booths piled high with spices and candies.
As we walked through the market and came out the other end there was a giant mosque (one of many in Istanbul) so we walked up the stairs and approached the entrance. Before we were allowed in, we had to take off our shoes and put them in plastic bags which we would carry inside. Then I had to put on a large silk scarf to cover my head.
The inside room was enormous, and it wasn't very crowded so we walked all over...until a young man came and shushed me back to the small entrance area of the mosque, where the women were allowed to stand. Only men can enter the main section, and the women hover behind a wooden fencing. We watched as the men did their prayers, alternating standing and kneeling and then prostrating, and then all over again. When we went outside we saw a very young boy (maybe 8) dressed in a very elaborate white suit-costume. His mother was proudly taking photos of him in front of the mosque, so of course I did too! The next day I showed the photo to our guide, and she said he was dressed that way, as it marked a special day for him in his Muslim religion - he would be circumcised a few hours later! Note the smile on the young boy's face...wonder how he looked a few hours later!!!
When I tried to explain this all to Willie, he was totally grossed out and told me to stop talking about someone's private part. We took a taxi-cab back to the hotel and the driver kept trying to get me to give him more money, complaining about the traffic. I finally said, "I'm from LA - I know about traffic". That led him into asking me all kinds of questions, mostly about Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers! That night we were exausted and went to bed and had a fitfull night's sleep, as our minds couldn't decide if we were in Pacific Palisades, on an airplane, or in some foreign land called Istanbul.
We arrived in Istanbul on Friday mid-afternoon, later than planned due to delays at JFK. But we both slept for a good 6 hours so we felt fine and tossed our luggage in the room and were off to The Grand Bazaar, which was located about 4 blocks away.
The bazaar is a huge colossal series of buildings wehre everything imaginable is for sale - well for negotiation!
There were pashminas, pottery, dressy children's clothes (like you would find on Olvera Street) and food. We walked into #7 entrance and you could go in any direction of small narrow walkways which have items piled high up to the ceiling. The shop owners try their best to induce you to buy their stuff. Willie found several gelato shops and then we continued walking about 6 blocks downhill to the large spice market. This building had booths piled high with spices and candies.
As we walked through the market and came out the other end there was a giant mosque (one of many in Istanbul) so we walked up the stairs and approached the entrance. Before we were allowed in, we had to take off our shoes and put them in plastic bags which we would carry inside. Then I had to put on a large silk scarf to cover my head.
The inside room was enormous, and it wasn't very crowded so we walked all over...until a young man came and shushed me back to the small entrance area of the mosque, where the women were allowed to stand. Only men can enter the main section, and the women hover behind a wooden fencing. We watched as the men did their prayers, alternating standing and kneeling and then prostrating, and then all over again. When we went outside we saw a very young boy (maybe 8) dressed in a very elaborate white suit-costume. His mother was proudly taking photos of him in front of the mosque, so of course I did too! The next day I showed the photo to our guide, and she said he was dressed that way, as it marked a special day for him in his Muslim religion - he would be circumcised a few hours later! Note the smile on the young boy's face...wonder how he looked a few hours later!!!
When I tried to explain this all to Willie, he was totally grossed out and told me to stop talking about someone's private part. We took a taxi-cab back to the hotel and the driver kept trying to get me to give him more money, complaining about the traffic. I finally said, "I'm from LA - I know about traffic". That led him into asking me all kinds of questions, mostly about Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers! That night we were exausted and went to bed and had a fitfull night's sleep, as our minds couldn't decide if we were in Pacific Palisades, on an airplane, or in some foreign land called Istanbul.
Sunday
Day Two
It is Sunday morning and we are about to leave our Kent Hotel to baord the cruise. (This is an ancient computer, so I hope to transcribe easier from the ship, where maybe the computer is more recent than the Byzantine times!
Willie woke up late at 11AM and is now tormenting the kitchen staff in his quest to get his scrambled eggs, prepared just as he likes them. First, the eggs came with spices so he very politely sent them back. Then they came very wet and he sent them back saying "oh hey.. no worries." In the meantime he is under the impression that Costa (the waitress) is his new BFF, however in reality, she is actually about to punch him out! But he is oblivious to this and thus, sometimes a bit of autism and the alternate universe comes in handy.. haha! Meanwhile, I am way across the room at the computer station listening in one ear to the exchanges going on and staying out of navigating his breakfast.
The bus arrives in 10 minutes so hopefully by the 3rd time, they will have gotten it right... or shall I say, to Willie's liking.
Willie woke up late at 11AM and is now tormenting the kitchen staff in his quest to get his scrambled eggs, prepared just as he likes them. First, the eggs came with spices so he very politely sent them back. Then they came very wet and he sent them back saying "oh hey.. no worries." In the meantime he is under the impression that Costa (the waitress) is his new BFF, however in reality, she is actually about to punch him out! But he is oblivious to this and thus, sometimes a bit of autism and the alternate universe comes in handy.. haha! Meanwhile, I am way across the room at the computer station listening in one ear to the exchanges going on and staying out of navigating his breakfast.
The bus arrives in 10 minutes so hopefully by the 3rd time, they will have gotten it right... or shall I say, to Willie's liking.
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