Most Of you know at least something about Istanbul. I just want to add some of my experiences. These are my Notes on Istanbul. I have a preference for where I stay and it’s near Taksim Square. Buses from either of the airports leave very close nearby every 30 minutes and there are quite a few hotels in the area which you’re not that expensive and which are well equipped. And you also have a good bus hub as well as the metro right nearby. The one thing you need to watch in this area it’s really geared towards the incoming and outgoing tourist which means most of the people who come to these shops in this area will never show up again. And that creates a very touristy attitude which is not typical of much of anything outside of Istanbul. Here I will give you some examples.
There is a restaurant called Big mama’s. The food was very good. I ordered what’s on the plate and without asking they brought bread.Then they brought something very tasty made of lamb and offered it to me saying, “it’s free”. Even though I didn’t need more food I accepted it. I also enjoyed it. Next they brought some tea saying, “it’s free“. You should note here that every restaurant in Turkey except for Istanbul brings tea after the Meal as a service, no charge. The total of what I ordered was 800. The bill was 1000. So obviously either the “it’s free“ was not really the case or as some people on Google maps reviews have indicated they like to charge a “service fee“ which in two months in Turkey I have never come across. But this is the tourist treatment. I didn’t complain about the bill. The food was delicious and the service was very good and the people were very nice so I didn’t mind the extra 200. But this is just one case of the tourist situation here in this small area. Almost every restaurant seems to have some little tourist thing going.
as you’re walking down the streets here you are constantly being requested to eat in the restaurant or come into the store so it can be a little bit irritating. Since it happens in almost every Second store, going to the metro station you may pass 20 of these people asking you to come in. I just smile politely and keep walking. One thing I should add, out of all of the restaurants I’ve been to in this little area near my hotel which I explained is near the bus station, all of the food was very good and of good quality except for one restaurant which I will never go back to again. So even if you’re facing the tourist tricks here I think the food will still be pretty good.
The fellow outside this restaurant said he would give me a beer for 250 instead of the usual 400. There was only one table full and he said he wanted more customers to sit down so that it would look busy and more people would come in. I felt like I wanted a beer so I came in and I ordered the soup as well. The bread came without a request. Then I was reading a comment on Google Maps about the same situation here and a bill arriving with a much higher price than promised. The person was very irate. So I decided to take care of the situation by asking the fellow who called me in to remind me again of the price for the beer. He said, “no problem, I told everybody here to give you that price”. But when the bill came it was 400 for the beer which I expected knowing this is a tourist area. So I called the fellow over, showed him the bill. He explained to the fellow the situation and they changed the bill to the appropriate amount. So just watch out for this and resolve the situation in a quiet and friendly way.
There is an area of Istanbul I really like. The Uyghur and Mixed Race Chinese people from that area (a colony of Communist China) live in this area and have a variety of very interesting restaurants which are for the local people so you don’t get the frustrations of the tourist atmosphere. The food is really excellent in all the restaurants I visited and it’s very interesting food. It’s much different than Turkish food and you can get the Uyghur Style food or the Chinese types of food in this area. I opted for the Uyghur Style food since it’s new to me. The prices are very reasonable and as I mentioned before it’s all very delicious.
This is at the Köklem Uyghur restaurant. I don’t know if they provide chopsticks but I didn’t request them because I always take my own. This was a eggplant and vegetable dish with very different flavors from the Chinese style.
From my hotel near Taksim Square I walk about five minutes to the bus stop and get on a bus that takes me directly to this restaurant in about 20 minutes.
As you can see I ate pretty much everything except for one and a half grains of rice.I guess this was a secret bus going back to the airport.
Overall Istanbul is a great place to visit. You just have to slink past all of the people who are trying to pull you into their shops especially the ones trying to sell carpets. They are unrelenting. But just know that the rest of the country isn’t really like Istanbul. It’s much more relaxed, you don’t get the tourist treatment except for a few of the big tourist attraction areas, and the people are really Gracious , kind, honest and friendly. It’s a fantastic country to visit and spend time in. If you’re used to driving a car in Thailand then you can definitely drive a car here in Turkey And Car Rental prices are Reasonable.
Down Below I will make some comments about the Georgia wine tasting itself but first I want to explain that Tbilisi Was my first stop in Georgia and I decided to stay here and do some tours to the surrounding areas to get an idea about the country, the culture, the food and so forth. You may like to rent a car and go around but kind of like in Thailand the rules are a strong suggestion so you have to be very careful. What I found interesting is they had a few cars with the steering wheel on the right side instead of the left side so I guess those were imports. The city is pretty well organized but public transport is mostly by taxi or the Bolt app. Things here are not that expensive and you can see the desire to join the EU and decrease the influence from Russia which occupies 20% of the country so you can imagine the animosity. There are a lot of people begging and many people trying to find different ways to get money from you so just try not to fall for those on the street requests.
This was one of the worst I saw but quite a few cars without front and back bumpersGetting a Turkish coffee before the tour which was a full day Strings of grapes and other fruits mixed with flour and a center with a nut and put on strings. I bought one with grapes and it was very tasty. I highly recommend trying some when you’re here. We were told soldiers would take these with them and they would last up to two years without any preservative methods.The old way of making bread without yeast so that it can stay longer than yeasted bread. There are two special tricks to the bread you see here. The fuel to make the bread is wood from the grape plant after they pruned the vines. The second trick is the lining of the oven is red brick which breathes. These things help create a unique consistency and taste. Everybody loves a kitten. There were many tourists Here petting the kitten and the little boy waited until he got his chance to come in pet the cat.Monastery of Saint Nino at Bodbe. The story is Nino came here in 326 after after a vision of Mary to spread Christianity in Georgia 600 years before the Tzar Of Russia decided to adopt the Greek branch of Christianity because he could become the head of the church. Here you see the Bell towerNot much is left of the original monastery but we were told that inside this building the crypt we saw was the burial coffin of Saint Nino. There are many beautiful frescoes inside dating back 200 years. Photos were not allowed.A new church is being built on the site Part of the garden This is extremely well organized and a nice place to walk around Then we went to the town of Sighnaghi. This is the statue of a famous philosopher who died at the age of 35 with a statue that makes him look much older and wiserNear the statue is the list of names of those who died in World War II. This town is the center hub of protection for a number of surrounding Villages. We were told out of 6000 residence in the area 4000 died in World War IILooking down into the valley which has almost no rain throughout the year you can see where they have some ponds Fort water storage. It’s a very active agricultural area groin many different kinds of things. In the foreground you can see the flag of GeorgiaThis is interesting to see a Mexican restaurant here. If I was alone I doubt I would eat here. I have had enough European style Mexican food for the rest of my life. This is the old fort and there were walls all the way around with Lookout towersEverywhere you see people selling things. You also see the red Tiled roofs which are fairly new since the year 2000. This was a very poor town and the roofs were made of everything that would protect the house. But now people are able to afford a nicer roof because of tourismOne of the gates to the fortOn the right you will see a bell tower for the church which is built on top of one of the Lookout towers You see the villages below and on the left side you can see the extent of the wall which goes all around the area to protect the village on top A lot of the wall is falling down but we have a walkway to take us along part of it Parkway down the hill is a glamping hotelPanorama view On the corners of the wall you can see one of the 23 Lookout TowersNow we go to the winery for a very late lunch add wine tasting. Georgia wine historyEvidently UNESCO recognizes Georgia As the first wine producing area. Archaeologists Found remnant of winemaking In clay pots going back 8000 years.This is just one of many vineyards. The first red wine had an extremely strong alcohol smell which I didn’t like. The “semi sweet“ rosé and reds were actually very sweet. The one wine I appreciated most was the most expensive, having a flavor similar to a Cabernet Sauvignon with a nice semi full body. But I bought the rosé foreign after dinner aperitif. In the photo you can see one of our Russian companions on the tourThe customers are encouraged to write something on all of the walls This had a fairly nice taste though very sweet. I was not really impressed with these wines but they seem to be very popular in the former Soviet Union countries.
in general the seascapes and seaside on Crete are really beautiful but don’t expect most of the beaches to be sandy. In fact you will find most to be very large to small pebbly. Most beaches you will want to be wearing sandals down to the edge of the water to protect your feet from the pebbles but whether there is some course sand you could find it’s extremely hot so be prepared. But the water is beautiful and generally very clear.
MelidoniGeropotamos beachHeraklion port which is very close to the airportAt the port there is this large fort at the end of a long walkwayThe speech was interesting because it seemed most of the pebbles had been eroded into flatness. So if you like skipping rocks on the water you will find a beach with millions of these flat pebbles GeropotamosSunset at iguana Beach, Kato DaratsosChordakiChordaki. Seitan Limania BeachKolyymvariA sunken ship near KaloudianaAnd nice Greek salad with a lot of cheese at KissamosA very nice beach PlatanosKissamosPlatanosPlatanosZooming in on the beach. I went down there for a lunch and there was only one other person thereCalamari, very tastyA Sheep herder Was moving his stock AmygdalokefaliMany of the roads in the smaller villages are much narrower than this PaleochoraPaleochora was a nice quiet place to make a new friendMyrthiosPlakiasI just had to try the mixed grilled plate which was really way too much food for me Dessert watermelon in a very nice environment Wht is this Messi Fan doing?There were a number of these ducks just walking around. They were very friendly but I assume that’s because they’re looking for food MyrthiosNighttime at Plakis. This is a nice little beachside town to visit with some nice beach area
Santorini is one of the significant islands off of Greece with tons of tourists. It has an airport and the transportation is really very good but very packed. If you come during the summer season you have a lot of competition for space but I found a number of places that were not so crowded in the main city of Fira. I stayed in the Villa Roussa Hotel Which was actually pretty nice and the people were there were extremely interested in making sure everything was in good shape and working properly. It is not an expensive hotel to stay in And it’s right next to the bus station which is the center for 20 to 30 minute interval travels to the different parts of Santorini. I found a few restaurants that were serving good food at reasonable prices. This place is very expensive Considering the economic Situation Greece is in. They are charging more in most restaurants than in large tourist cities in Italy. I was planning on island hopping to Turkey before my 90 days in the Schengen area We’re finished but the other islands Had the cheapest hotels priced at more than $200 per night and that was for a budget Hotel. I don’t find that attractive at all so I decided to fly out to Istanbul and come back to these islands when it’s not the tourist season which people tell me is around March and April and again in September and October. Between October and March people on Santini have told me they shut down for Lack Of business. If you want a good taste of the Aegean sea Beaches, the nice little islands around and the beautiful white buildings with some blue domes which are so often pictured as typical buildings on these islands, Santorini is a good place to get a taste of all of that. But even during tourist seasons you can find accommodations which are reasonable.
Fira
This is the area where everybody comes in the evening to watch the sunset on the west side of Fira most of the city is terraced down to walkways with shops and restaurants so it’s easy to get slightly disoriented but eventually if you go back towards the main streets you’ll find your way back no matter how far north you go on this terraced areaThe steps will eventually take you down to the old harbor just one of the stones on the walkway which I thought was very beautiful Very often in Europe you find “Asian food restaurants“ which give you their own ideas of food based upon some basic Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai and other food. But in increasingly I see these Indian and Thai restaurants. I’m sure they are set up by Indians since Thai people are not interested in making Indian food.The cruise ship was all lit up You can see how intricately the terracing is doneThe West, sunset side of FiraI left Asti weeks ago but here they are with a nice wine from thatWhile sitting at my often frequent breakfast restaurant, the magma city Café, this fellow walks by and what I thought were his pajamasWalking up toward the sunset west side by the Orthodox Church And you see people are gathered to take photos of the sunsetYou can walk on the windy pathways up to the top of this little city You can see many boats in the harbor sitting out there to watch the sunset.
I want to add here I met a very nice lady on Crete telling me I can go to Santorini for two nights, watch the sunset and then leave for another island indicating that’s all that was interesting on Santorini. Actually I found the island a kind of interesting although overly touristy Fira There are places and beaches to go which are very quiet and relaxing like the place I stayed for four nights in Kamari.
The cruise ship in daytime You can see the number 572 on this step. There are about 600 steps to go down to the old harbor, or you can take the cable car downHere you can see some of the winding steps going down and the southern part of FiraThis looks like something man-made. I didn’t check to see what it wasMetropolitan Church of the Presentation of the LordPeople are painting their houses to show different colors to interest visitors China Famous Foods 溢香居. The one Chinese restaurant had adequate food at reasonable price prices. There are so many gelato shops with products that are double or triple the price of what I found in the smaller cities in Italy. But this is a tourist Mecca. This was a mocha with coconutOne of the smaller islands nearby The light here at this time was obviously plannedAnd you can see where the light is coming from I find the orthodox churches to have more two dimensional style artwork than the Roman Catholic medieval art Not everything is buildings on the island. There is some open space
Peressia
There doesn’t seem to be much at this village except some places on the beach. I didn’t find it interesting at all But this sign is very clever The squid was very tasty but also very expensive
Kamari
On my way to Kamari. You can see how crowded the bus gets during the tourist seasonThe beach is not Sandy, it is pebbly. You need to find a place that doesn’t have too many large pebbles which are difficult to walk on but this is a big area with very nice swimming so I stayed here for four nightsAnd of course I had to have one of these. Occasionally this is necessary food for me
on your first or second trip to Italy you definitely need to visit Siena and definitely Siena Cathedral. this church is incredibly beautiful and provides a lot of interesting history since this is one of the great cities under the Medici control in Firenze. of course you can just walk around this beautiful city and spend a couple days too take in the uniqueness of a city built on a defensible hilltop.
The front of the cathedral Cathedral from the side The history of the cathedral There are these amazing marble mosaics in the floor that make you wonder how much work went into this beautiful place The main entranceway. I think these pillars remind me of Egypt though I’ve never been there Another one of the beautiful mosaicsThe ceilings are also beautiful works of Art These figurines are either famous bishops or PopesThis map shows the different artists which created the various artworksa medieval scene The library has this truly amazing walls and ceilings they just don’t seem to end This is a hymnal with incredible artwork The library Library ceiling Detail of some of the artwork in the books Quite a beautiful organ arrangement Looking back towards the entrance Beautiful stained glass window
Tholos is the center of the volcano which created Santorini so you can say it’s the Santorini Volcano. to get there from Santorini you have to either climb down 600 stairs or take the cable car down for €10 one way. I decided since I’m going to be walking on the volcano I will save my steps and take the cable car down which only takes a few minutes but it is a very steep few minutes.
This is called the “old port” where many of the island tours which are very close will board. Here you have the cable car arrivingit was very crowded not only with people getting on tour boats but also with the cruise ship visitors getting off to visit Santorini. You can see how crowded these tour boats get. Many people are enjoying the sunshine. I was trying to stay out of the sun as much as possibleThis is the cruise ship waiting to unload its passengers Our very nice sailing ship taking us to the volcano You can see the strata from the different volcanic layersBlack volcanic rockWe are coming close to the craterHere we have docked with two other ships between OURS and the dockThis is the small craterA view of Santorini from the crater The largest crater on the volcano. This volcano last erupted in 1956 was such a large Force the seismic activity leveled much of SantoriniYou can feel the warmth from the Steam coming out and the smell of sulfur Santorini behind the different volcanic rocks Thirasia can be visited of course but you have to climb all of those steps from the port up to the villageThere are many monitors on the volcano to measure activity Proof I was there Beautiful black volcanic rock Just to the left of the temple which is on the lower left, the white building just above the waterline, we went swimming on Nisis Palaia Kameni. you could see that very close to the shore is Brown water. That is the heated hot spring so you get to experience the warm hot spring water and also the cooler ocean water on your swimHere we are going back. You can see these people here from Madison Wisconsin in the afternoon the line to get on the cable car went on for many hundred meters. It would’ve been a long time waiting in line to get down to the old port. I’m glad I went in the morning. There was nobody in front of me. And coming back in the afternoon also was not crowded. So if you visit you might want to plan your trip accordingly
this place is famous for Saint Francis so if you’re interested in him or something related to him and the Catholic Church or the foundation of the Franciscan order, this would be a great place to visit. He is also entombed in the main basilica.
A big complex on the hill, a few from the trainScreenshotThis church is in the Little town by the train stationThe church has seen from AssisiPeople may think this is a minor church but it has the tomb of a very young and early saint which is Kind of interestingIt was the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis. I hope they are making an adjustment for the old and new calendarWatch left a very old fresco Up in the main town on the hill the streets are medieval widthHere you can see some water coming out of a pipe. The water was traveling all the way down the city to the streets below. While I was there, after taking this photo, the repair people came to fix it, probably people from the water company. This is the police station in AssisiAnd afternoon is not complete without gelato. I think this was just a two scoop, strawberry and lemonScreenshotThis is where Saint Francis is in a cement coffin down below. You can visit the burial coffin and do your religious stuff. So you walked down here to see the tomb There is an area where there are relics, clothing and artifacts eight years agoThe detail indeed books are really amazing. Look at what the fellow is writing. In the photo above you can see this little emblem is on the lower left corner.I found this painting really amazing in color and texture. The detail on this metal box is very interesting This is just one of the trinkets you could buy in the shop. This is just one euroProof I was there in my Borsalino This is interesting architecture.
Geropotamos Beach. I did not go in the water on the beach but it looks like fun
I came to Crete because it’s one of the major islands and I thought it was a good place to start some island hopping in Greece. The highlights of course of these islands are the beaches and some amazing scenery. Since this is a volcanic area you recognize right away how rugged the terrain. I rented a car and as soon as I started driving it became very clear I was going to find some pretty steep and windy roads which is what the island is pretty much made of. But people drive slowly so it’s pretty easy to make your way down a road which is the width of one car while having another car come at you. People cooperate and they make it work.
A lot of the advertising photos of Greece are the clear blue Aegean waters. You will see some of that along your journey on Crete but many of the beaches are like others around the world with a lower visibility of a few meters to maybe 5 m. But I have been in several beaches where the visibility is maybe 30 to 40 m which is very good. For you people from the US 1 m is approximately 1 yard. My first stop was two nights in Chania at Kosmoss A. G. K. The people there are exceedingly helpful, nice and the accommodation was just fine. Within a few minutes walking distance you have a choice of a few beaches which can get crowded in the afternoon but it seems the tourists here prefer starting their beach and sunbathing exercises at about 11 AM and finish about 5 pm or so. So if you go earlier or a little bit later you can beat the crowd and sometimes have a beach all to yourself. The two beaches I went to within walking distance are Yannis beach and Iguana Beach. There is a larger beach at Golden Bay.
Iguana Beach
Then I traveled along the road looking for a good fish restaurant and this name came up on the map in Kissamos, Akrogiali seaview rooms and restaurant. When I arrived there were no restaurants open even after 1 PM but their were a few people in the water. Even though the beaches was small stones you take a few steps and you are in deep enough water to have a good swim and you won’t have many people around. The second day I went there and I was the only person.
Seitan Limania Beach. The speech seems to be pretty famous but it is a little difficult walk all the way down to the beach. I didn’t go, too much work.
The next day I wanted to try the famous Falasaena beach. When I got to the southernmost point there was a huge parking lot for five euro and I couldn’t believe that I would have to pay to park a car to walk to a beach so I went farther north, found a free parking place and walked down to the beach and took a short swim. It was very nice but it was around some old broken down coral heads so I had to be a little careful where I was swimming so I wouldn’t bump into these old coral formations. I would not recommend this place if you have kids. There’s two much stuff to bump into and cut them or scratch them. So i was not really impressed with this arrangement at the beach.
In the distance here you can see the Falasaena beach Area. The large beach is accessible from a free parking area but you might have to walk a little bit. Actually, you actually have to walk a little bit if you park in The 5€ Area as well.
The next day I went south along the west side of Crete and I was told that Elafonissi Beach was really superb and I had to go there. When I arrived I was waved into a five euro Parking place. But the strange thing was they wouldn’t let me continue down the road. They stood in front of my car and insisted that I go into the five euro parking area. I thought this is such a famous beach I have to try it so I parked there and I walked down 100 meters and there was a not full three euro parking lot, actually two of them. As I walk further down the road there was a souvenir shop where you could park for free if you were going to buy something. Walking down a little bit further there was a minimart where you could park for free if you were a customer. None of these parking lots were full. So you can figure out the appropriate word for this kind of behavior. Anyway, to walk to the beach it was about 1 1/2 km or about 1 mile which I found to be too much for me in the hot sun but since I paid five euro for parking I decided to continue. I got down to the beach and there were thousands of people. I got down to the water and there was nobody anywhere at that beach in water above their pelvis. It was a child beach area. If you’ve ever been to a decent beach before that had any depth you would recognize this as the child’s pool at the hotel. I found this very strange because I have never seen this before. I have seen very shallow beaches but I could never imagine adults going in. And I have never seen a shallow beach that was the shallow for such a distance. But I guess Europeans are OK with hanging out for hours at a very shallow beach which I should add has pretty nice sand for a European beach. It was definitely not my cup of tea so after about a half hour in the water and cooling off in the hot sun I walked all the way back to the parking, getting way too much sun on the way and not really happy with that venture.
That evening I drove for a one night stay in Palaiochora which is a nice little town and if you have extra time you might want to stay there a couple nights. It’s very relaxing with many restaurants and bars, it’s very low-key but it’s a cute little town and it has nice beaches. The most popular and biggest beache is on the west side which tends to get pretty crowded. It’s a nice Sandy Beach. I was staying on the east side and while it was more of a large pebble beach, once you get in the water you get some depth and it’s quiet water so it’s very good swimming. I went in the early morning for a swim and there was only one other person there at 8 AM. I stayed in the water about an hour and during that time a few other people showed up, setting up their beach equipment and umbrellas. The waters were extremely clear and calm.
My last beach stop was yesterday at Plakias. There evidently are some very nice beaches around here but I don’t really need to be around hundreds or thousands of people and difficulty trying to find some space to sit down my sandals and small bag. Within about a five minute walk there is a nice entrance to the town beach which I went to at 6:30 in the morning and there was nobody there. The sun was still behind the mountains. The waters were extremely clear and calm. I stayed for about a half hour in the water, nobody else showed up, and I went back to get a shower and some breakfast. So that’s the extent of my beach experiences in Crete. My next stop is Santorini
Plakis from The drive down
It seems that many of the tourist are interested in setting up equipment or lying in a lounge chair with an umbrella for the day. Many of them also are sunbathing. Living on the beach for almost 15 years I don’t find either of those activities interesting or healthy for me. After eight years in a diving business and getting too much sun it’s now important to protect myself so I tried to be pretty careful. My best time at the beach is always in the water with the sun behind me.
these are just a few photos I took first stopping in Terni for a couple days and then going to the airport in Rome to take a flight to Athens.
These two are interesting photos from the cathedral in Ternia pretty interesting image, the technique is unusual A pride flag hanging over a parking lotIt was mango and coconut and limoneHere you can read about the town of TerniThe pizza at the hotel by the airport was not bad they also made a decent Campari SpritzAt the hotel it was a nice sunset And if you look closely This airport shop is selling gin in a can usually identified with engine oil And of course one of the vendors at the airport needed an old Fiat for promotion
This is a very beautiful museum to visit and highly recommended. One thing I keep getting reminded of when I enter a cathedral or visit a museum of ancient art, at certain periods of history the money was in religion and religious art. I don’t know how many museums I’ve been in since I started visiting areas in Europe including Ireland and the British Isles but I think my senses have become jaded by the overflow of religious art. I recommend when you want to visit this museum or any other it might be a good idea to read a little about the different artist displayed and what to look for that makes them stand out over the others. I think that will help give you a little more sense of excitement and anticipation at the detail, technique and display.
I wasn’t quite sure if she was dressed as intended. Maybe I was missing some new fashion technique. at the entrance you see this over the door. You can do your own translation. That numbering system is different from what I learned. The entrance. It was fairly crowded but not too bad there are various stories and interpretations. What I have come to understand is that some scholars from Persia were early astronomers and they saw an alignment of stars indicating they should look for someone special. So they went looking and found a baby that was born on the day this alignment started. But don’t take that as the gospel. This painting I have seen several times and it’s stuck in my mind. I think it’s because the artist is recognized as someone truly excellent. This one is extremely famous Many statues crumbled and were found in pieces. Many were put back together under supposition, what they were probably intending to show. But some pieces just kept hanging around without a main edificehe looks very triumphant. Recently I came to understand gods and extremely strong and capable heroes, male and female, were often depicted without any clothing. The reason was pretty simple. They were so powerful they did not need any demonstration of power or position, something clothing very much indicated at the times the statues were created.When you walk through the museum make sure to look around and up at the ceiling as well. It’s a very beautiful building ScreenshotPonte Vecchio seen from the museum what interested me in this painting is the sense that you are really looking through a window at something happening outside. It just struck me as a unique presentationThe action here is interesting. He is going for a good catch? This was not as boring as it seems
