Enough of this however, as I promised you another segment of Rosa and my honeymoon to Turkey, and this time, we arrived in the region known as Cappadocia where there are opportunities for hot air balloon rides, but unfortunately, the winds did not cooperate, but the abandoned cave cities, churches and other bizarre landscapes certainly made up for it. One of the highlights for me was the MDC Cave hotel carved right into the rock. I have clients who have stayed there. It is a truly unique experience and one I would highly recommend to anyone who comes to Cappadocia, and more are being built. ​

Our guide, Mustafa, was great, as were all the other guides and his story is unique. He is a native of the region and was born in one of the cave houses in the village, long since abandoned and only those willing to turn some of the structures into new cave hotels for examples are allowed to buy them. Some, however, are truly inaccessible, but the experience of being there was so worthwhile. I like working with locals to create trips and he is one. We tried different foods and different drinks, but it is a much quieter area, as there are no big cities where these cave hotels, cave dwellings and amazing natural landscapes are. ​

There is civilization, but once you leave the city into which you fly, Kayseri, there is nothing around. It is a much different world altogether with the landscapes with wide open spaces, but some amazing mountain snow covered peaks. It does not remind me of Iceland as the landscapes are different, but you get the gist that you are in a different world in the middle of Turkey. We also enjoyed the pomegranate and orange juices that we freshly squeezed right there and in fact, Rosa got into the act as she wanted to try out her skill set. She did well and we enjoyed it. By the way, Cappadocia is a region of Turkey, it is not the name of the town, so there is no confusion. In any case, we stayed a few nights with the cave hotel experience, the cave dwellings and the amazing natural formations and their version of the Grand Canyon and the pigeons, which seems to be a big deal. For Rosa and I, not so impressive, as we can see pigeons all over. ​

Next week, I look forward to sharing the last few days of our time in Turkey for our honeymoon, to Antalya, but that is for next week. As always, I hope you have enjoyed my offerings each week and appreciate that you have read my blog posts and look forward to continuing with sharing. As always, thank you so much for your support of Rosa’s and my little world now that they have been merged into one. We truly appreciate your support and congratulations. Stay safe, healthy, and most importantly happy, and as always, your shared comments and thoughts are most welcome!!!

What can I say about this past week. It was crazy busy, getting ready for client arrivals, documents, invoicing, and general living in Rome, but tying up loose ends here. We had taken an apartment in a neighborhood where we had stayed before, and it was convenient for getting around the city for both of us. Just one more step getting closer to my life here, but we are in the process, or shall I say, Rosa and others are in the process of renovating an apartment not used for decades, but in the family, except for storage, of the family’s stuff. It is a very nice apartment and will work out well for Rosa and me. Lots of family memories there for her as she showed it to me. When she first described it, I thought when she opened the door, I was going to see cobwebs and dust everyone. It was simply in disuse as it was her grandfather’s home until the 70’s and has lots of charm, but also will be lots of work, but, and it will be our home eventually, she and I agreed on about 80% of the changes to be made. The nuts and bolts were a given, but decoration, of which I know nothing, well on the same page. ​

We also greeted clients from Colorado that arrived in Rome after a week in Iceland and time in Norway and enjoyed dinner a local restaurant. It is interesting to note that while I have very much gotten used to the Italian ways, of course, I am becoming a resident and possibly a dual citizen in a couple of years, was to see the interaction of someone, while having been here years ago, shown brightly. Asking for bread, not a problem, as it was going to be brought to the table, but also asking for butter, a no no in Rome and unfortunately, the restaurant could not provide it, but had olive oil and in the end, which she said she did not like, and ordering a salad to start the meal, among other things, not the Italian way, but in the end, the staff at the restaurant, made accommodations for our clients, all was good and the evening very pleasant. The next morning, met them at their hotel, was a bit of a pack mule and got them off and running on the train to Venice, where they are currently. Rosa will be with them sometime next week to be their guide for a few days, before they head on to their next destination, Greece, on their whirlwind tour. ​

But enough about this. As promised, more about our honeymoon in Turkey and after leaving Gallipoli and Troy, we drove to Izmir, which I mentioned last week. It is the jumping off point for Ephesus and the House of Saint Mary. It is one of the larger cities in Turkey. I had not been here before but had been to Ephesus off a cruise ship years ago, but it was all new for me, and certainly for Rosa. We were picked up by our guide and driver and left the city to see these most impressive ruins of the ancient world and while I had been there before, I was even most impressed this time. Our guide and driver were excellent in that getting to the House of Saint Mary first, we would avoid the big tour groups, even this time of year, and we learned the story, explored this little residence, where Mary supposedly stayed and the story of a local who had, in a dream, I believe describe this place in detail, including the location and other pieces that lead archologists and other to find this residence of Mary. It is tiny, but it was fine for one person. Also, there were several water fountains, each representing something and Rosa took her water bottle and took some of the holy water. ​

After leaving the House of St. Mary, we took a relatively short drive to Ephesus. Again, remembering bits and pieces, but since it had been years, finding out how much more had been excavated, whole sections including the public toilets and a brothel, I believe. The crowds were not too intense, so our guide was right, we were lucky, or it was still early in the season or all three. As a privately guided tour, it was at our own pace. She was well versed in the region and shared her insight, but for me, what was most impressive, and she was much younger, is that Rosa, having revealed, or maybe it was me 😊, that she was a guide as well, and knew some of the “stuff” 😊, provide her input to the conversation and our guide appreciated it and said, she could share with other travelers in the future. It is nice to know that people in some places in the world are still open minded. ​

As you may already know, Ephesus is still being excavated, as I have mentioned, and the most famous of the sites is the library and it truly is very impressive. Again, having seen it before, and through more mature eyes and Rosa’s eyes, I gained an even better appreciation for it. Also, on the site, this being very new, was an interactive museum they built, I believe around the time just before the pandemic or maybe just after. You go into this museum, into different rooms and you are “hit” with amazing screens of history and what Ephesus is all about, from its inception to its demise. I think this was a very nice way to bring Ephesus to life. We went to the amphitheater and other ruins of the site. This is a must see, coming to Turkey and yes, many cruise ships offer the opportunity to see Ephesus and the House of St. Mary. I did it privately the first time and this time and not with 30 or 40 of my closest friends. This offers flexibility and more attention to detail, so I would recommend everyone to see these amazing ruins but do it with your own private guide. Next week, Cappadocia, a totally different world. ​

It has been a crazy week as my life with Rosa gets closer and closer to becoming a permanent resident of Italy, with any luck by summertime. At least the wheels are turning, albeit slowly as we did go to city hall last week and submit every bit of paperwork we had, as a first step, really a second step, as we had, back in the states, gone to the consular office in Boston, but at least steps are taken, and I found out, Rosa knows someone, who, at the very least can possibly provide updates. With any luck, by the time I return to Rome this summer, and I am still there for a bit longer, I may be resident upon arrival, which would be great, but all good bureaucracies love to move at a snail’s pace and Italy is no exception. In any case, that is for later. ​

I have just finished a few days in London and another travel trade show and met some very interesting new people who have already and potentially more become partners as they fit into some needs that I have. And potentially others will fall into that fold of future business. Of course, there are always re-connections with partners and friends who seem to show up at these events and the best part, the evening social, this evening was at one of my favorite places. Now wait, think and you may guess it, but really who has the time. It was at the Hard Rock Café and the original one that last year or one before celebrated it 50th year. Of course, the three keys for me, service, food, and the vibe were what I would expect. And tomorrow morning, early, I return “home” to Rome to continue the process. ​

​To tell the whole of our adventures in Turkey, in one blog would not be good, so we have decided that breaking it up into parts, as we were in many different places would be best over the next couple of weeks. Pictures to share, of course, but we were busy, shall I say. Istanbul is an amazing city as you may be aware, or not, sits on two continents, Europe, and Asia, and we stayed on the European side, but spent time on both sides. It should be noted that I have an excellent supplier in Turkey, no, not that kind of supplier, based in Istanbul, with whom I work, when arranging client’s trips to Turkey, so I asked Tijen to arrange our honeymoon, which she did with our specifications, some classic experiences, some out of the ordinary. Istanbul, of course, had the classics of Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque, the Cisterne, a cruise on the Bosphorus, a local foodie tour and the Grand Bazaar. I have to say that while, I have been to the Medina in Morocco where they are on you the minute you arrive, I did not feel that same feeling of being hassled to buy at the Grand Bazaar or the Spice Market. We did, however, but some things, needless to say. ​

We were in Istanbul for 3 full days, so plenty of time to walk around and we were well located to see the major sites and sounds. We took a ferry around the water, the metro from the Asia side to get back, a private boat ride to see both sides of this metropolis of 12 to 14 million people and the heartbeat of this living history museum called Turkey. Even with three days to explore and we had excellent guides throughout the time, including in Istanbul, you still need time to wander, and we did do some of that. Our guide, Ali, on the second full day out, asked if we were comfortable there and yes, I felt quite comfortable. You must be cognizant of your surroundings, but it is a relatively safe destination. The only bad side, as it was on a full day of exploration, was the rain, but even that was not a problem, really, as we found a Columbia store, Rosa was cold, and while she found something to warm up, so did I, so we ended up buying some warmer, waterproof things and we went on. Not cheap, but comfort does not have a cost when you are wet from the rain. ​

Our two guides in Istanbul, Nilufer and Ali, were both wonderful and really helped bring Istanbul to life. I would say that we accomplished a lot and perhaps one more day, just on our own would have been good, but we had so much more to experience in Turkey. The foods we had, including the fish dishes, the local kabobs, the fried potatoes, yes, and other foods were very enjoyable. Using the days wisely, we did a lot, thanks to Tijen, my colleague, and one more day would have been good.  Be prepared for a hectic and lively city wherever you go throughout Istanbul, on both sides of the Bosphorus. The Asia side with its quaint neighborhoods, bakeries, coffee shops, bring a vibrancy, which is different from the European side where most people spend their time, so try to get across to the other side, to the Asian side. We really enjoyed strolling around here, and seeing some of the palaces on this side, as well. ​

Oh, and for the record, Istanbul has a Caribou and other cities as well. What is a Caribou, you ask? It is a chain coffee shop based in Minnesota, for those not from there and much better than Starbucks, but no coffee wars now. Apparently, a rather wealthy individual in the Middle East bought Caribou and brought it to Turkey and the Middle East, so it was shocking to see. Did not order anything, just chatted with the people inside. By the way, Turks are very friendly people and very welcoming!!! Thank you. 
As always, I hope you have enjoyed my offerings each week and appreciate that you have read my blog posts and look forward to continuing with sharing. As always, thank you so much for your support of Rosa’s and my little world now that they have been merged into one. We hope you enjoyed the Elvis experiential wedding we had on the 19th. Rosa and I truly appreciate your support and congratulations. Stay safe, healthy, and most importantly happy, and as always, your shared comments and thoughts are most welcome!!!