Travels With Maria

Travel

There is so much to see…

Istanbul – Sultanahmet

We stayed just behind the Blue Mosque on a quiet side street, at the Kaftan Hotel. The location was great, an easy walk to the main sites, in a neighborhood with lots of restaurants and shops, yet on a quiet side street, so we didn’t get a lot of the racket we would have had we stayed in one of the many other nearby hotels. We were in Istanbul for 5 days and didn’t see everything we wanted to. We spent most of our time within walking distance of our hotel – there is a LOT to see all packed into a small area. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia are…
More

Cappadocia

Upon arrival at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, we hung around the domestic terminal for 5 hours to catch a flight to Cappadocia. Cappadocia is pretty rural, with beautiful landscapes that reminded us of Bryce Canyon in Utah. Instead of sandstone, the rocks are volcanic ash, not nearly as colorful, but the erosion effect is similar, as the “fairy chimneys” are eroded out of the surrounding material by the wind and rain. We stayed at the Cave Hotel Saksağan in Göreme. This was a cave room in a fairy chimney.    They arranged a rental car, so we were able to drive away from the Disney-esque bus crowds and see the region on our own.…
More

Saint Martin, April, 2011

Maria was the number 1 salesperson in her group again last year, so we got to go to St. Martin on Iron Mountain. The event was from Thursday to Sunday; we traded our timeshare so we could go down the previous Sunday for some real vacation. We stayed on the Dutch side at Cupecoy. We rented a little Hyundai from a guy who met us at the airport. Windows down, we rolled off at 30 mph. Over the next several days, we went from beach to beach and dined on fabulous French cuisine. The awards festivities were very nice, though our hosts couldn’t be there (as it turns out they…
More

Carthage

We took the local commuter train to Sidi Bou Said, a small town overlooking the Mediterranean. Nice little town where all the doors are painted blue. [caption id="attachment_694" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Sidi Bou Said[/caption] [caption id="attachment_696" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Blue Door[/caption] Then we got back on the train and went a few more stops up the line to Carthage, the ancient city, home of the Cartheginians who, under Hannibal, attacked Rome with elephants that he had marched across Spain, and France, attacking Rome from the Alps. The Romans retaliated by destroying Carthage. All that is there now, besides some excavated holes in the ground is Roman. [caption id="attachment_688" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Carthage[/caption] [caption…
More

Tunis

After a week in southern Tunisia, we spent a couple of days in the capital, Tunis. This is a modern city with a small older section. We stayed on an upper floor in a modern hotel on a main boulevard. The neighborhood was not that interesting, but was clean and vaguely Parisian. The rooftops were peppered with satellite dishes, many on every building. We walked around the old town, a labyrinth of a bustling covered market and little quiet alleys. We visited a food market with spices, herbs, fruits and vegetables and fly-covered meat including a tray of turtles.
More

Djerba Island

Djerba island is just off the east coast of Tunisia. It is a resort area with lots of European tourists. We hung around Djerba for several days, relaxing around the pool, visiting the spa, taking a motorbike tour and riding camels. A former French colony, Tunisia has a lot of visitors from France, but we were surprised by the number of Italians we ran into. But then, looking at a map, Italy is really close. We bought a lot of spices from this guy. Big bags of lots of good stuff. Our luggage smelled of spice market for the rest of the trip. [caption id="attachment_645" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Something we don't see…
More

The Biggest Surprise

Our tenth anniversary was going to be April 29, 2005.  Some months earlier, I began planning a surprise trip for Maria. I had given her a series of cryptic hints in the weeks leading up to departure and told her what to pack but she had no idea where we were going, only when. On departure day, we went to Logan and were dropped off at terminal E, International Departures. We went inside and ended up in the line to check in for Paris. "Oh, we're going to France!" she said excitedly. "That's where we start," I replied. The overnight flight brought us to Paris, where we landed in the early…
More

The Sewers of Paris

In 1998, Maria and I visited Paris, arriving the morning after France beat Brazil in the World Cup. We ran around the place sightseeing, trying to pack in as much of this great city as possible. One interesting thing we did was to take a tour of the sewers. I had heard of this years before, so when we discovered that the tour location was right on our way between one site and some other, we decided to check out Paris underground. The Paris sewers are an engineering marvel. They follow the streets, small streets have small sewers, larger have larger sewers. The whole system works by gravity, including a…
More

Istanbul – Sultanahmet

We stayed just behind the Blue Mosque on a quiet side street, at the Kaftan Hotel. The location was great, an easy walk to the main sites, in a neighborhood with lots of restaurants and shops, yet on a quiet side street, so we didn’t get a lot of the racket we would have had we stayed in one of the many other nearby hotels. We were in Istanbul for 5 days and didn’t see everything we wanted to. We spent most of our time within walking distance of our hotel – there is a LOT to see all packed into a small area. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia are…
More

Cappadocia

Upon arrival at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, we hung around the domestic terminal for 5 hours to catch a flight to Cappadocia. Cappadocia is pretty rural, with beautiful landscapes that reminded us of Bryce Canyon in Utah. Instead of sandstone, the rocks are volcanic ash, not nearly as colorful, but the erosion effect is similar, as the “fairy chimneys” are eroded out of the surrounding material by the wind and rain. We stayed at the Cave Hotel Saksağan in Göreme. This was a cave room in a fairy chimney.    They arranged a rental car, so we were able to drive away from the Disney-esque bus crowds and see the region on our own.…
More

Saint Martin, April, 2011

Maria was the number 1 salesperson in her group again last year, so we got to go to St. Martin on Iron Mountain. The event was from Thursday to Sunday; we traded our timeshare so we could go down the previous Sunday for some real vacation. We stayed on the Dutch side at Cupecoy. We rented a little Hyundai from a guy who met us at the airport. Windows down, we rolled off at 30 mph. Over the next several days, we went from beach to beach and dined on fabulous French cuisine. The awards festivities were very nice, though our hosts couldn’t be there (as it turns out they…
More

Carthage

We took the local commuter train to Sidi Bou Said, a small town overlooking the Mediterranean. Nice little town where all the doors are painted blue. [caption id="attachment_694" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Sidi Bou Said[/caption] [caption id="attachment_696" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Blue Door[/caption] Then we got back on the train and went a few more stops up the line to Carthage, the ancient city, home of the Cartheginians who, under Hannibal, attacked Rome with elephants that he had marched across Spain, and France, attacking Rome from the Alps. The Romans retaliated by destroying Carthage. All that is there now, besides some excavated holes in the ground is Roman. [caption id="attachment_688" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Carthage[/caption] [caption…
More

Tunis

After a week in southern Tunisia, we spent a couple of days in the capital, Tunis. This is a modern city with a small older section. We stayed on an upper floor in a modern hotel on a main boulevard. The neighborhood was not that interesting, but was clean and vaguely Parisian. The rooftops were peppered with satellite dishes, many on every building. We walked around the old town, a labyrinth of a bustling covered market and little quiet alleys. We visited a food market with spices, herbs, fruits and vegetables and fly-covered meat including a tray of turtles.
More

Djerba Island

Djerba island is just off the east coast of Tunisia. It is a resort area with lots of European tourists. We hung around Djerba for several days, relaxing around the pool, visiting the spa, taking a motorbike tour and riding camels. A former French colony, Tunisia has a lot of visitors from France, but we were surprised by the number of Italians we ran into. But then, looking at a map, Italy is really close. We bought a lot of spices from this guy. Big bags of lots of good stuff. Our luggage smelled of spice market for the rest of the trip. [caption id="attachment_645" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Something we don't see…
More

The Biggest Surprise

Our tenth anniversary was going to be April 29, 2005.  Some months earlier, I began planning a surprise trip for Maria. I had given her a series of cryptic hints in the weeks leading up to departure and told her what to pack but she had no idea where we were going, only when. On departure day, we went to Logan and were dropped off at terminal E, International Departures. We went inside and ended up in the line to check in for Paris. "Oh, we're going to France!" she said excitedly. "That's where we start," I replied. The overnight flight brought us to Paris, where we landed in the early…
More

The Sewers of Paris

In 1998, Maria and I visited Paris, arriving the morning after France beat Brazil in the World Cup. We ran around the place sightseeing, trying to pack in as much of this great city as possible. One interesting thing we did was to take a tour of the sewers. I had heard of this years before, so when we discovered that the tour location was right on our way between one site and some other, we decided to check out Paris underground. The Paris sewers are an engineering marvel. They follow the streets, small streets have small sewers, larger have larger sewers. The whole system works by gravity, including a…
More

Istanbul – Sultanahmet

We stayed just behind the Blue Mosque on a quiet side street, at the Kaftan Hotel. The location was great, an easy walk to the main sites, in a neighborhood with lots of restaurants and shops, yet on a quiet side street, so we didn’t get a lot of the racket we would have had we stayed in one of the many other nearby hotels. We were in Istanbul for 5 days and didn’t see everything we wanted to. We spent most of our time within walking distance of our hotel – there is a LOT to see all packed into a small area. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia are…
More

Cappadocia

Upon arrival at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, we hung around the domestic terminal for 5 hours to catch a flight to Cappadocia. Cappadocia is pretty rural, with beautiful landscapes that reminded us of Bryce Canyon in Utah. Instead of sandstone, the rocks are volcanic ash, not nearly as colorful, but the erosion effect is similar, as the “fairy chimneys” are eroded out of the surrounding material by the wind and rain. We stayed at the Cave Hotel Saksağan in Göreme. This was a cave room in a fairy chimney.    They arranged a rental car, so we were able to drive away from the Disney-esque bus crowds and see the region on our own.…
More

Saint Martin, April, 2011

Maria was the number 1 salesperson in her group again last year, so we got to go to St. Martin on Iron Mountain. The event was from Thursday to Sunday; we traded our timeshare so we could go down the previous Sunday for some real vacation. We stayed on the Dutch side at Cupecoy. We rented a little Hyundai from a guy who met us at the airport. Windows down, we rolled off at 30 mph. Over the next several days, we went from beach to beach and dined on fabulous French cuisine. The awards festivities were very nice, though our hosts couldn’t be there (as it turns out they…
More

Carthage

We took the local commuter train to Sidi Bou Said, a small town overlooking the Mediterranean. Nice little town where all the doors are painted blue. [caption id="attachment_694" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Sidi Bou Said[/caption] [caption id="attachment_696" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Blue Door[/caption] Then we got back on the train and went a few more stops up the line to Carthage, the ancient city, home of the Cartheginians who, under Hannibal, attacked Rome with elephants that he had marched across Spain, and France, attacking Rome from the Alps. The Romans retaliated by destroying Carthage. All that is there now, besides some excavated holes in the ground is Roman. [caption id="attachment_688" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Carthage[/caption] [caption…
More

Tunis

After a week in southern Tunisia, we spent a couple of days in the capital, Tunis. This is a modern city with a small older section. We stayed on an upper floor in a modern hotel on a main boulevard. The neighborhood was not that interesting, but was clean and vaguely Parisian. The rooftops were peppered with satellite dishes, many on every building. We walked around the old town, a labyrinth of a bustling covered market and little quiet alleys. We visited a food market with spices, herbs, fruits and vegetables and fly-covered meat including a tray of turtles.
More

Djerba Island

Djerba island is just off the east coast of Tunisia. It is a resort area with lots of European tourists. We hung around Djerba for several days, relaxing around the pool, visiting the spa, taking a motorbike tour and riding camels. A former French colony, Tunisia has a lot of visitors from France, but we were surprised by the number of Italians we ran into. But then, looking at a map, Italy is really close. We bought a lot of spices from this guy. Big bags of lots of good stuff. Our luggage smelled of spice market for the rest of the trip. [caption id="attachment_645" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Something we don't see…
More

The Biggest Surprise

Our tenth anniversary was going to be April 29, 2005.  Some months earlier, I began planning a surprise trip for Maria. I had given her a series of cryptic hints in the weeks leading up to departure and told her what to pack but she had no idea where we were going, only when. On departure day, we went to Logan and were dropped off at terminal E, International Departures. We went inside and ended up in the line to check in for Paris. "Oh, we're going to France!" she said excitedly. "That's where we start," I replied. The overnight flight brought us to Paris, where we landed in the early…
More

The Sewers of Paris

In 1998, Maria and I visited Paris, arriving the morning after France beat Brazil in the World Cup. We ran around the place sightseeing, trying to pack in as much of this great city as possible. One interesting thing we did was to take a tour of the sewers. I had heard of this years before, so when we discovered that the tour location was right on our way between one site and some other, we decided to check out Paris underground. The Paris sewers are an engineering marvel. They follow the streets, small streets have small sewers, larger have larger sewers. The whole system works by gravity, including a…
More

Istanbul – Sultanahmet

We stayed just behind the Blue Mosque on a quiet side street, at the Kaftan Hotel. The location was great, an easy walk to the main sites, in a neighborhood with lots of restaurants and shops, yet on a quiet side street, so we didn’t get a lot of the racket we would have had we stayed in one of the many other nearby hotels. We were in Istanbul for 5 days and didn’t see everything we wanted to. We spent most of our time within walking distance of our hotel – there is a LOT to see all packed into a small area. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia are…
More

Cappadocia

Upon arrival at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, we hung around the domestic terminal for 5 hours to catch a flight to Cappadocia. Cappadocia is pretty rural, with beautiful landscapes that reminded us of Bryce Canyon in Utah. Instead of sandstone, the rocks are volcanic ash, not nearly as colorful, but the erosion effect is similar, as the “fairy chimneys” are eroded out of the surrounding material by the wind and rain. We stayed at the Cave Hotel Saksağan in Göreme. This was a cave room in a fairy chimney.    They arranged a rental car, so we were able to drive away from the Disney-esque bus crowds and see the region on our own.…
More

Saint Martin, April, 2011

Maria was the number 1 salesperson in her group again last year, so we got to go to St. Martin on Iron Mountain. The event was from Thursday to Sunday; we traded our timeshare so we could go down the previous Sunday for some real vacation. We stayed on the Dutch side at Cupecoy. We rented a little Hyundai from a guy who met us at the airport. Windows down, we rolled off at 30 mph. Over the next several days, we went from beach to beach and dined on fabulous French cuisine. The awards festivities were very nice, though our hosts couldn’t be there (as it turns out they…
More

Carthage

We took the local commuter train to Sidi Bou Said, a small town overlooking the Mediterranean. Nice little town where all the doors are painted blue. [caption id="attachment_694" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Sidi Bou Said[/caption] [caption id="attachment_696" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Blue Door[/caption] Then we got back on the train and went a few more stops up the line to Carthage, the ancient city, home of the Cartheginians who, under Hannibal, attacked Rome with elephants that he had marched across Spain, and France, attacking Rome from the Alps. The Romans retaliated by destroying Carthage. All that is there now, besides some excavated holes in the ground is Roman. [caption id="attachment_688" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Carthage[/caption] [caption…
More

Tunis

After a week in southern Tunisia, we spent a couple of days in the capital, Tunis. This is a modern city with a small older section. We stayed on an upper floor in a modern hotel on a main boulevard. The neighborhood was not that interesting, but was clean and vaguely Parisian. The rooftops were peppered with satellite dishes, many on every building. We walked around the old town, a labyrinth of a bustling covered market and little quiet alleys. We visited a food market with spices, herbs, fruits and vegetables and fly-covered meat including a tray of turtles.
More

Djerba Island

Djerba island is just off the east coast of Tunisia. It is a resort area with lots of European tourists. We hung around Djerba for several days, relaxing around the pool, visiting the spa, taking a motorbike tour and riding camels. A former French colony, Tunisia has a lot of visitors from France, but we were surprised by the number of Italians we ran into. But then, looking at a map, Italy is really close. We bought a lot of spices from this guy. Big bags of lots of good stuff. Our luggage smelled of spice market for the rest of the trip. [caption id="attachment_645" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Something we don't see…
More

The Biggest Surprise

Our tenth anniversary was going to be April 29, 2005.  Some months earlier, I began planning a surprise trip for Maria. I had given her a series of cryptic hints in the weeks leading up to departure and told her what to pack but she had no idea where we were going, only when. On departure day, we went to Logan and were dropped off at terminal E, International Departures. We went inside and ended up in the line to check in for Paris. "Oh, we're going to France!" she said excitedly. "That's where we start," I replied. The overnight flight brought us to Paris, where we landed in the early…
More

The Sewers of Paris

In 1998, Maria and I visited Paris, arriving the morning after France beat Brazil in the World Cup. We ran around the place sightseeing, trying to pack in as much of this great city as possible. One interesting thing we did was to take a tour of the sewers. I had heard of this years before, so when we discovered that the tour location was right on our way between one site and some other, we decided to check out Paris underground. The Paris sewers are an engineering marvel. They follow the streets, small streets have small sewers, larger have larger sewers. The whole system works by gravity, including a…
More

Istanbul – Sultanahmet

We stayed just behind the Blue Mosque on a quiet side street, at the Kaftan Hotel. The location was great, an easy walk to the main sites, in a neighborhood with lots of restaurants and shops, yet on a quiet side street, so we didn’t get a lot of the racket we would have had we stayed in one of the many other nearby hotels. We were in Istanbul for 5 days and didn’t see everything we wanted to. We spent most of our time within walking distance of our hotel – there is a LOT to see all packed into a small area. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia are…
More

Cappadocia

Upon arrival at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, we hung around the domestic terminal for 5 hours to catch a flight to Cappadocia. Cappadocia is pretty rural, with beautiful landscapes that reminded us of Bryce Canyon in Utah. Instead of sandstone, the rocks are volcanic ash, not nearly as colorful, but the erosion effect is similar, as the “fairy chimneys” are eroded out of the surrounding material by the wind and rain. We stayed at the Cave Hotel Saksağan in Göreme. This was a cave room in a fairy chimney.    They arranged a rental car, so we were able to drive away from the Disney-esque bus crowds and see the region on our own.…
More

Saint Martin, April, 2011

Maria was the number 1 salesperson in her group again last year, so we got to go to St. Martin on Iron Mountain. The event was from Thursday to Sunday; we traded our timeshare so we could go down the previous Sunday for some real vacation. We stayed on the Dutch side at Cupecoy. We rented a little Hyundai from a guy who met us at the airport. Windows down, we rolled off at 30 mph. Over the next several days, we went from beach to beach and dined on fabulous French cuisine. The awards festivities were very nice, though our hosts couldn’t be there (as it turns out they…
More

Carthage

We took the local commuter train to Sidi Bou Said, a small town overlooking the Mediterranean. Nice little town where all the doors are painted blue. [caption id="attachment_694" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Sidi Bou Said[/caption] [caption id="attachment_696" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Blue Door[/caption] Then we got back on the train and went a few more stops up the line to Carthage, the ancient city, home of the Cartheginians who, under Hannibal, attacked Rome with elephants that he had marched across Spain, and France, attacking Rome from the Alps. The Romans retaliated by destroying Carthage. All that is there now, besides some excavated holes in the ground is Roman. [caption id="attachment_688" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Carthage[/caption] [caption…
More

Tunis

After a week in southern Tunisia, we spent a couple of days in the capital, Tunis. This is a modern city with a small older section. We stayed on an upper floor in a modern hotel on a main boulevard. The neighborhood was not that interesting, but was clean and vaguely Parisian. The rooftops were peppered with satellite dishes, many on every building. We walked around the old town, a labyrinth of a bustling covered market and little quiet alleys. We visited a food market with spices, herbs, fruits and vegetables and fly-covered meat including a tray of turtles.
More

Djerba Island

Djerba island is just off the east coast of Tunisia. It is a resort area with lots of European tourists. We hung around Djerba for several days, relaxing around the pool, visiting the spa, taking a motorbike tour and riding camels. A former French colony, Tunisia has a lot of visitors from France, but we were surprised by the number of Italians we ran into. But then, looking at a map, Italy is really close. We bought a lot of spices from this guy. Big bags of lots of good stuff. Our luggage smelled of spice market for the rest of the trip. [caption id="attachment_645" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Something we don't see…
More

The Biggest Surprise

Our tenth anniversary was going to be April 29, 2005.  Some months earlier, I began planning a surprise trip for Maria. I had given her a series of cryptic hints in the weeks leading up to departure and told her what to pack but she had no idea where we were going, only when. On departure day, we went to Logan and were dropped off at terminal E, International Departures. We went inside and ended up in the line to check in for Paris. "Oh, we're going to France!" she said excitedly. "That's where we start," I replied. The overnight flight brought us to Paris, where we landed in the early…
More

The Sewers of Paris

In 1998, Maria and I visited Paris, arriving the morning after France beat Brazil in the World Cup. We ran around the place sightseeing, trying to pack in as much of this great city as possible. One interesting thing we did was to take a tour of the sewers. I had heard of this years before, so when we discovered that the tour location was right on our way between one site and some other, we decided to check out Paris underground. The Paris sewers are an engineering marvel. They follow the streets, small streets have small sewers, larger have larger sewers. The whole system works by gravity, including a…
More

Istanbul – Sultanahmet

We stayed just behind the Blue Mosque on a quiet side street, at the Kaftan Hotel. The location was great, an easy walk to the main sites, in a neighborhood with lots of restaurants and shops, yet on a quiet side street, so we didn’t get a lot of the racket we would have had we stayed in one of the many other nearby hotels. We were in Istanbul for 5 days and didn’t see everything we wanted to. We spent most of our time within walking distance of our hotel – there is a LOT to see all packed into a small area. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia are…
More

Cappadocia

Upon arrival at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, we hung around the domestic terminal for 5 hours to catch a flight to Cappadocia. Cappadocia is pretty rural, with beautiful landscapes that reminded us of Bryce Canyon in Utah. Instead of sandstone, the rocks are volcanic ash, not nearly as colorful, but the erosion effect is similar, as the “fairy chimneys” are eroded out of the surrounding material by the wind and rain. We stayed at the Cave Hotel Saksağan in Göreme. This was a cave room in a fairy chimney.    They arranged a rental car, so we were able to drive away from the Disney-esque bus crowds and see the region on our own.…
More

Saint Martin, April, 2011

Maria was the number 1 salesperson in her group again last year, so we got to go to St. Martin on Iron Mountain. The event was from Thursday to Sunday; we traded our timeshare so we could go down the previous Sunday for some real vacation. We stayed on the Dutch side at Cupecoy. We rented a little Hyundai from a guy who met us at the airport. Windows down, we rolled off at 30 mph. Over the next several days, we went from beach to beach and dined on fabulous French cuisine. The awards festivities were very nice, though our hosts couldn’t be there (as it turns out they…
More

Carthage

We took the local commuter train to Sidi Bou Said, a small town overlooking the Mediterranean. Nice little town where all the doors are painted blue. [caption id="attachment_694" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Sidi Bou Said[/caption] [caption id="attachment_696" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Blue Door[/caption] Then we got back on the train and went a few more stops up the line to Carthage, the ancient city, home of the Cartheginians who, under Hannibal, attacked Rome with elephants that he had marched across Spain, and France, attacking Rome from the Alps. The Romans retaliated by destroying Carthage. All that is there now, besides some excavated holes in the ground is Roman. [caption id="attachment_688" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Carthage[/caption] [caption…
More

Tunis

After a week in southern Tunisia, we spent a couple of days in the capital, Tunis. This is a modern city with a small older section. We stayed on an upper floor in a modern hotel on a main boulevard. The neighborhood was not that interesting, but was clean and vaguely Parisian. The rooftops were peppered with satellite dishes, many on every building. We walked around the old town, a labyrinth of a bustling covered market and little quiet alleys. We visited a food market with spices, herbs, fruits and vegetables and fly-covered meat including a tray of turtles.
More

Djerba Island

Djerba island is just off the east coast of Tunisia. It is a resort area with lots of European tourists. We hung around Djerba for several days, relaxing around the pool, visiting the spa, taking a motorbike tour and riding camels. A former French colony, Tunisia has a lot of visitors from France, but we were surprised by the number of Italians we ran into. But then, looking at a map, Italy is really close. We bought a lot of spices from this guy. Big bags of lots of good stuff. Our luggage smelled of spice market for the rest of the trip. [caption id="attachment_645" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Something we don't see…
More

The Biggest Surprise

Our tenth anniversary was going to be April 29, 2005.  Some months earlier, I began planning a surprise trip for Maria. I had given her a series of cryptic hints in the weeks leading up to departure and told her what to pack but she had no idea where we were going, only when. On departure day, we went to Logan and were dropped off at terminal E, International Departures. We went inside and ended up in the line to check in for Paris. "Oh, we're going to France!" she said excitedly. "That's where we start," I replied. The overnight flight brought us to Paris, where we landed in the early…
More

The Sewers of Paris

In 1998, Maria and I visited Paris, arriving the morning after France beat Brazil in the World Cup. We ran around the place sightseeing, trying to pack in as much of this great city as possible. One interesting thing we did was to take a tour of the sewers. I had heard of this years before, so when we discovered that the tour location was right on our way between one site and some other, we decided to check out Paris underground. The Paris sewers are an engineering marvel. They follow the streets, small streets have small sewers, larger have larger sewers. The whole system works by gravity, including a…
More

Istanbul – Sultanahmet

We stayed just behind the Blue Mosque on a quiet side street, at the Kaftan Hotel. The location was great, an easy walk to the main sites, in a neighborhood with lots of restaurants and shops, yet on a quiet side street, so we didn’t get a lot of the racket we would have had we stayed in one of the many other nearby hotels. We were in Istanbul for 5 days and didn’t see everything we wanted to. We spent most of our time within walking distance of our hotel – there is a LOT to see all packed into a small area. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia are…
More

Cappadocia

Upon arrival at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, we hung around the domestic terminal for 5 hours to catch a flight to Cappadocia. Cappadocia is pretty rural, with beautiful landscapes that reminded us of Bryce Canyon in Utah. Instead of sandstone, the rocks are volcanic ash, not nearly as colorful, but the erosion effect is similar, as the “fairy chimneys” are eroded out of the surrounding material by the wind and rain. We stayed at the Cave Hotel Saksağan in Göreme. This was a cave room in a fairy chimney.    They arranged a rental car, so we were able to drive away from the Disney-esque bus crowds and see the region on our own.…
More

Saint Martin, April, 2011

Maria was the number 1 salesperson in her group again last year, so we got to go to St. Martin on Iron Mountain. The event was from Thursday to Sunday; we traded our timeshare so we could go down the previous Sunday for some real vacation. We stayed on the Dutch side at Cupecoy. We rented a little Hyundai from a guy who met us at the airport. Windows down, we rolled off at 30 mph. Over the next several days, we went from beach to beach and dined on fabulous French cuisine. The awards festivities were very nice, though our hosts couldn’t be there (as it turns out they…
More

Carthage

We took the local commuter train to Sidi Bou Said, a small town overlooking the Mediterranean. Nice little town where all the doors are painted blue. [caption id="attachment_694" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Sidi Bou Said[/caption] [caption id="attachment_696" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Blue Door[/caption] Then we got back on the train and went a few more stops up the line to Carthage, the ancient city, home of the Cartheginians who, under Hannibal, attacked Rome with elephants that he had marched across Spain, and France, attacking Rome from the Alps. The Romans retaliated by destroying Carthage. All that is there now, besides some excavated holes in the ground is Roman. [caption id="attachment_688" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Carthage[/caption] [caption…
More

Tunis

After a week in southern Tunisia, we spent a couple of days in the capital, Tunis. This is a modern city with a small older section. We stayed on an upper floor in a modern hotel on a main boulevard. The neighborhood was not that interesting, but was clean and vaguely Parisian. The rooftops were peppered with satellite dishes, many on every building. We walked around the old town, a labyrinth of a bustling covered market and little quiet alleys. We visited a food market with spices, herbs, fruits and vegetables and fly-covered meat including a tray of turtles.
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Djerba Island

Djerba island is just off the east coast of Tunisia. It is a resort area with lots of European tourists. We hung around Djerba for several days, relaxing around the pool, visiting the spa, taking a motorbike tour and riding camels. A former French colony, Tunisia has a lot of visitors from France, but we were surprised by the number of Italians we ran into. But then, looking at a map, Italy is really close. We bought a lot of spices from this guy. Big bags of lots of good stuff. Our luggage smelled of spice market for the rest of the trip. [caption id="attachment_645" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Something we don't see…
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The Biggest Surprise

Our tenth anniversary was going to be April 29, 2005.  Some months earlier, I began planning a surprise trip for Maria. I had given her a series of cryptic hints in the weeks leading up to departure and told her what to pack but she had no idea where we were going, only when. On departure day, we went to Logan and were dropped off at terminal E, International Departures. We went inside and ended up in the line to check in for Paris. "Oh, we're going to France!" she said excitedly. "That's where we start," I replied. The overnight flight brought us to Paris, where we landed in the early…
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The Sewers of Paris

In 1998, Maria and I visited Paris, arriving the morning after France beat Brazil in the World Cup. We ran around the place sightseeing, trying to pack in as much of this great city as possible. One interesting thing we did was to take a tour of the sewers. I had heard of this years before, so when we discovered that the tour location was right on our way between one site and some other, we decided to check out Paris underground. The Paris sewers are an engineering marvel. They follow the streets, small streets have small sewers, larger have larger sewers. The whole system works by gravity, including a…
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Istanbul – Sultanahmet

We stayed just behind the Blue Mosque on a quiet side street, at the Kaftan Hotel. The location was great, an easy walk to the main sites, in a neighborhood with lots of restaurants and shops, yet on a quiet side street, so we didn’t get a lot of the racket we would have had we stayed in one of the many other nearby hotels. We were in Istanbul for 5 days and didn’t see everything we wanted to. We spent most of our time within walking distance of our hotel – there is a LOT to see all packed into a small area. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia are…
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Cappadocia

Upon arrival at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, we hung around the domestic terminal for 5 hours to catch a flight to Cappadocia. Cappadocia is pretty rural, with beautiful landscapes that reminded us of Bryce Canyon in Utah. Instead of sandstone, the rocks are volcanic ash, not nearly as colorful, but the erosion effect is similar, as the “fairy chimneys” are eroded out of the surrounding material by the wind and rain. We stayed at the Cave Hotel Saksağan in Göreme. This was a cave room in a fairy chimney.    They arranged a rental car, so we were able to drive away from the Disney-esque bus crowds and see the region on our own.…
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Saint Martin, April, 2011

Maria was the number 1 salesperson in her group again last year, so we got to go to St. Martin on Iron Mountain. The event was from Thursday to Sunday; we traded our timeshare so we could go down the previous Sunday for some real vacation. We stayed on the Dutch side at Cupecoy. We rented a little Hyundai from a guy who met us at the airport. Windows down, we rolled off at 30 mph. Over the next several days, we went from beach to beach and dined on fabulous French cuisine. The awards festivities were very nice, though our hosts couldn’t be there (as it turns out they…
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Carthage

We took the local commuter train to Sidi Bou Said, a small town overlooking the Mediterranean. Nice little town where all the doors are painted blue. [caption id="attachment_694" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Sidi Bou Said[/caption] [caption id="attachment_696" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Blue Door[/caption] Then we got back on the train and went a few more stops up the line to Carthage, the ancient city, home of the Cartheginians who, under Hannibal, attacked Rome with elephants that he had marched across Spain, and France, attacking Rome from the Alps. The Romans retaliated by destroying Carthage. All that is there now, besides some excavated holes in the ground is Roman. [caption id="attachment_688" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Carthage[/caption] [caption…
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Tunis

After a week in southern Tunisia, we spent a couple of days in the capital, Tunis. This is a modern city with a small older section. We stayed on an upper floor in a modern hotel on a main boulevard. The neighborhood was not that interesting, but was clean and vaguely Parisian. The rooftops were peppered with satellite dishes, many on every building. We walked around the old town, a labyrinth of a bustling covered market and little quiet alleys. We visited a food market with spices, herbs, fruits and vegetables and fly-covered meat including a tray of turtles.
More

Djerba Island

Djerba island is just off the east coast of Tunisia. It is a resort area with lots of European tourists. We hung around Djerba for several days, relaxing around the pool, visiting the spa, taking a motorbike tour and riding camels. A former French colony, Tunisia has a lot of visitors from France, but we were surprised by the number of Italians we ran into. But then, looking at a map, Italy is really close. We bought a lot of spices from this guy. Big bags of lots of good stuff. Our luggage smelled of spice market for the rest of the trip. [caption id="attachment_645" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Something we don't see…
More

The Biggest Surprise

Our tenth anniversary was going to be April 29, 2005.  Some months earlier, I began planning a surprise trip for Maria. I had given her a series of cryptic hints in the weeks leading up to departure and told her what to pack but she had no idea where we were going, only when. On departure day, we went to Logan and were dropped off at terminal E, International Departures. We went inside and ended up in the line to check in for Paris. "Oh, we're going to France!" she said excitedly. "That's where we start," I replied. The overnight flight brought us to Paris, where we landed in the early…
More

The Sewers of Paris

In 1998, Maria and I visited Paris, arriving the morning after France beat Brazil in the World Cup. We ran around the place sightseeing, trying to pack in as much of this great city as possible. One interesting thing we did was to take a tour of the sewers. I had heard of this years before, so when we discovered that the tour location was right on our way between one site and some other, we decided to check out Paris underground. The Paris sewers are an engineering marvel. They follow the streets, small streets have small sewers, larger have larger sewers. The whole system works by gravity, including a…
More