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vita

29 Blog Entries
2 Trips
75 Photos

Trips:

MP goes to Europe
vita's Travel Blog

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http://blogabond.com/vita


Vita, Jeremy and Sashas' travels through Spain, Portugal and Turkey!


Pergamon

Bergama, Turkey

We left Istanbul just before the floods started, so timing was perfect for us. We slowly made our way south and stopped for a day in Bergama, where a little drizzle didn't deter us from visiting Roman ruins. This is a picture from the Acropolis, where Jeremy and Sasha are standing in the amphitheater that was built about two thousand years ago!

permalink written by  vita on September 15, 2009 from Bergama, Turkey
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Last day in Istanbul

Istanbul, Turkey


The Blue mosque - built in 15th century

Sasha demonstrating the use of a pillow for granddad
Today was our last day in Istanbul and it rained periodically. I think Vita and I are both done with the press of the city, the traffic and all of the people. We went with Sasha to the grand bazaar and bargained our brains out and ended up with a beautiful 6 tile piece very representative of the early tiles in Turkey. it is a handmade piece that I will have to frame on returning to the states. Luckily I will be getting my chop box and biscuit cutter from Denver very soon.

Sasha has suddenly started to talk in the last several days. She now says 'No', 'More' and 'Milk'. She has the cutest little voice, which I am sure will change once she gains some confidence.

Tomorrow we are taking a ferry across the Bosporous to a smaller town and picking up a rental car and then travelling to Iznik. Iznik is a small town that has been making the tiles I mentioned since about the 15 or 16 th century without much change. I am looking forward to checking it out. We are then taking 2 days to make our way to the coast and we will visit the ruins at Euphesus.

Well we had a great time with David and Patricia and I hope they will recover from the intense Sasha time within a few months. They may need counseling.

We will blog it up as soon as we can although we may be out of touch for a few days.

Jeremy

permalink written by  vita on September 8, 2009 from Istanbul, Turkey
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the spice bazaar

Istanbul, Turkey


spice market
The bazaars here are as grand as expected. Crowded, all the haggling and bargaining in multiple languages, very vibrant. As expected, we needed nothing but walked out significantly more poor.

permalink written by  vita on September 7, 2009 from Istanbul, Turkey
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street candy

Istanbul, Turkey


enjoying freshly made candy

street candy maker
All around the Blue Mosque there are food stands. This one is where they custom make hard candy on a stick for you. At the end they pour a little fresh lemon juice on top to give it a little tang. Yummm

permalink written by  vita on September 4, 2009 from Istanbul, Turkey
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Istanbul

Istanbul, Turkey


Turkish coffee
Enjoying Turkish coffee in an outdoor cafe! Delicious!

permalink written by  vita on September 3, 2009 from Istanbul, Turkey
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attempting to make pottery

Goreme, Turkey


Pottery in Avonos
We did a little side trip, using public buses, to a neighboring town famous for it's pottery. we went into a shop/studio, the owner claimed to be 4th generation pottery maker, some of his items were just amazing. He demonstrated at first, and then he let me try. My creation is not one of those pieces. But luckily my child has no experience, and was fascinated by the whole process and clapped at the end.

permalink written by  vita on September 1, 2009 from Goreme, Turkey
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The baby assault

Goreme, Turkey


Sasha with a gang of town kids
In Turkey our child seems to feel that she is finally getting the attention she deserves. No Turkish person seems to be able to resist walking up to her, and at the very least give her a smile. She usually gets her cheek pinched and sometimes head or foot patted. Older children fight over who is going to push her stroller. People rush to her help if she falls down or drops (well, to be honest, throws) something on the ground. It is now Ramadan, so around the Blue Mosque in Istanbul there is a huge celebration every evening, with tons of people and food and music. Our Sasha interprets it as an opportunity to dance and run around. People offer her food, candy, and sometimes even take her photograph. It will be a rude awakening for her when we will return to our puritan WASPy culture

permalink written by  vita on September 1, 2009 from Goreme, Turkey
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Puppet show

Madrid, Spain



permalink written by  vita on August 23, 2009 from Madrid, Spain
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Madrid

Madrid, Spain

Today Vita and I Split up to go to a museum called the Prada. The Prada is a huge collection of painitngs of mostly italian and Spanish painters dating to the 1500's. It was amazing to see these works from "El Greco" or The Greek, Velasquez and Goya. Goya in particular went through a despondent period right around the 1800's called the black period where he painted in exile in france. It was all amazing works, I was blown away and actually moved to tears!

Well Madrid has looked up since we arrived. Tomorrow we are headed to the original capital of Spain called Toledo, as in Holy Toledo!

permalink written by  vita on August 20, 2009 from Madrid, Spain
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madrid

Madrid, Spain


Sasha's initial impression of Madrid
Well, we got to Madrid last night. Holly shit! this is a big city, and we are smack in the middle of it. If Barcelona was like San Francisco, Madrid is more like New York. Except we haven't found the Central Park yet. And who really wants to go to New York in the middle of August?

Our apartment, Plaza Espana II, does have a lot of local charm, just as advertized. It features such local flavors as bathroom separated from the bedroom by a curtain, rustic furniture that falls apart when you just look at it, and a couch that hasn't been replaced since 1960's. The building itself is also very authentic - it has an old marble and very slipery stairway with rickety railing and we are on the third floor (british system, so actually 4 flights as the ground floor is 0). And no no, not safe to leave the stroller downstairs, must bring it up all the way. But at least we feel safe - there is a police station and a jail on our street, right next to the bail bonds and a few strip clubs.

All right, more on Madrid later, these are just a few of the initial impressions...

permalink written by  vita on August 19, 2009 from Madrid, Spain
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