​Weathering the Storm with the WP#161

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. ​

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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. ​

This blog was, however, as promised a continuation, in part of our Turkish honeymoon, which, as mentioned last week, was an amazing experience for both of us. Last week, I shared the vibrant city of Istanbul, and once done there, we drove, or should I say, my wonderful colleague Tijen drove from Istanbul where we were dropped off in Gallipoli, having a wonderful tour and getting a better understanding of what happened in WWI and the Anzacs, as well as others fighting for and with the British to take Turkey, and potentially get them out of the war. In the end, many lives were lost, no ground was gained, Turkey retained its position for the time and out of that, the first leader of their republic emerged several years later. We saw the beaches, the cemeteries, the monuments on both sides and learned that Ataturk essentially told his men, make peace with yourself, because you are going to die in this conflict, and many did on both sides. In the end, a Turkish Republic was born, out of the end of the Ottoman Empire and the rest is history, good or bad. ​

For the record, this experience was for me more than Rosa, and we spent the evening at a resort on the water, which had seen better days. Even Tijen, who met us at breakfast the next day, said it had seen better times. I had noticed the town through which we traveled, and arrived in after the ferry across the water, had a Hilton, which as you all know me, would have been a better choice, but that is 20-20 hindsight and we survived. The next day was for Rosa and seeing Troy and its whole history, the Trojan War, the horse and all the layers of what this town and then city state became of the centuries. Yesterday’s guide at Gallipoli was amazingly knowledgeable and so was our guide, who was also a local, owned store, and other ventures, but in both cases, they made the stories more understandable, for me, as Rosa knew the Trojan history more than I did and the day before, I understood and better understood Gallipoli and the waste of life that was and the different levels of Troy that also led to the Trojan Wars. ​

As we all know, a good guide makes all the difference and it is also something to note, that most people, do not come to places like Gallipoli or troy for that matter whether visiting Turkey, as other things take precedence. We did, of course, later in our time in Turkey, see more of the classics, but we wanted something a bit different, and, in both cases, we can highly recommend these two destinations, and the guides who shared their passion and expertise. After leaving Troy, we move on to a more familiar place, Izmir, as it is the jumping off point of Ephesus and the House of Saint Mary, but that is for the next segment. Enroute to Izmir, we also stopped at Bergama which has Roman ruins and anytime there are Roman ruins enroute, we stop, and it two was impressive. I even said it looked like Caracalla in Rome, and Rosa surprised, as I am quite sure, she thinks I do not remember the places we have been to in Rome or if she tells me about a place, she thinks I do not remember, but I do.

 In the end, we had arranged a Doubletree by Hilton, Tijen dropped us off and she went to visit family in another part of the city. Rosa and I, after checking in, went out, and found a very nice local Turkish restaurant and it were just that; locals and the family and had a wonderful meal. We also knew that we were there for the next couple of nights, as the next part of our journey, noted above was to begin and that will be for next week’s blogpost, starting with Ephesus and the House of St. Mary. ​

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, and if you did not see it, I can always send you the link. 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!!!