XC 1X2

 Today had a relaxing start. Kivilcim mentioned it there wasn’t much to do and suggested I may want to head off into the city. After some discussion, it was decided that Reshat and I would go to handle some of his errands together. He took us in his truck to the Metro and we got out for the grand bazaar. He’s tall and walks quickly. Right now he’s in a particular rush to change money and deposit it in the bank before they close for the day. He whips through the crowded bazaar very fast and I almost have trouble keeping up. An Istanbul native, he knows every twist and turn in the place. When we get to an intersection and sees a crowd, he darts in the opposite direction for some hidden passage nobody else seems to see. I pass millions of dollars of gold, jewelry, and (well) dollars. I don’t remember what this was. We were moving at thirty miles an hour  We arrive at the money changing section of the market and walk to his changer’s store. They have a good rate and a long li...

 Istanbul day six. Today I got my first real look at the city. For the last week people have been asking me, “how’s Istanbul?” Today I’ll get an answer. It’s been a lovely time so far, I just haven’t seen much of the city I’m spending time near.  Rashad drove us all to Karakoy, the region facing the golden horn. Our first stop was a bookstore where I picked up another Joseph Conrad book. The store was massive and was full of books in English, mostly grey market imports from the US. We sat with our purchases and sipped tea with cakes. It’s a shame the US makes it so difficult to stick cafes everywhere. It is one of the greatest assets of the public spaces here. What we find in the stacks I skipped out a little early to get something I was in dire need of, a shave and haircut. Letting everything grow out apparently made me look Greek in Greece and makes me look Turkish in Turkey. At this point, it’s all getting a little too long. Blissfully the first barbershop I walked into was...

 This morning was, as we all expected, cold. My alarm went off and I was immediately filled with dread that I would need to move out from my blankets. I listened for footsteps, indications that anyone else had decided to rise at the prescribed wake up time. Blissfully, we all agreed without speaking that we would remain in bed just a while longer. After taking my clothes under the covers to warm them, I got dressed and went downstairs.  Pack out and hit the road. Out fist stop that was a marble quarry, this particular site specialized in columns. The marble from here went as far east as Nazareth and as far west as Portugal. At the site, you could see a chunk cut in the rock face and four massive columns in various states of finish, resting on the earth. Destined for projects that they never saw. Near the quarry site On our way to our next site, I experienced a road trip probably closer to the way road trips were in the US before the interstates were built. The US Interstate hi...

 Today’s title is a bit of a misnomer. We’re off for an overnight at Gul and Reshat’s summer house in Ezine on the very western tip of Turkey’s Asian side. The four hour drive was punctuated by a breakfast stop. Lucky me, I can read food descriptions in Turkish well enough to stumble my way through a menu. Chay Teshekular. Chain stores always have interesting localizations outside of the US and Starbucks is no different. A stop there revealed that they serve Turkish tea and even have a branded Turkish style tea set here. If I wasn’t going to be on the road for another month I’d buy it. After another eternity we arrived at the house. On the way, crossing another world record bridge. The Canakkale bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the world and extraordinarily impressive. As you drive up it looks like The Golden Gate until you realize just how massive it is. This behemoth is over a mile and a quarter long and nearly empty. Only one toll lane is open and a guard checks ID for...

 Today’s big adventure was some of what my grandfather would call “that culture crap.” Gul is in a choir and her teacher is putting on a performance with a band at a local performance hall. Think large banquet hall with a few dozen round tables, a stage, and a dance floor. Everyone was dressed nicely and the vibe screamed wedding. Mezze was out and the BYO B started to flow   The band began and played for hours without stopping. We spent the evening migrating back and forth between the table and the dance floor. I’ve been hungry to see a band and I think this is the first time I’ve run into one since I bumped into a rock band on the street in Milan. Box checked. Once again I’m starting want to do American things. A PHR sounds great right now.

 Today is Christmas and like most people in this house, it isn’t my holiday. In this home, Christmas is a reason to gather and share some time together. A lovely dinner with some of Kivilcim’s family friends. Lots of lamb, raki, and endless mezze. Mele kalikimaka or whatever suits you.

I slept like a dead rock and didn’t wake up until noon. Jake and I chatted for a bit and then Kivilcim and Reshat came home. Reshat made us brunch (wow that guy can cook) and introduced me to olives from his orchard. He has a few hundred trees on a plot close to Syria. The olives and oil were delicious. After tea, it was time to get ready for dinner. For Reshat‘a birthday, we were off to a restaurant build in to a disused hammam in central Istanbul. The drive over was a long one. The house is in Sariyer, a district north of the city. Specifically, we’re closer to the Black Sea than much of the city. The traffic to get there was immense which was just as well, the road down the Bosporus to the city is beautiful with a lot to see on the way. We passed embassies, the president’s summer residence, and the only Morgan dealership I’ve seen in my life. Roll out Dinner was not just dinner, but a show too. Dancers and musicians came out to tell a story evocative of a traditional hammam...

 Today started much too early. My flight boards at 7:30 am. The airport is miles outside of town and since I’m leaving the Schengen area, I need to allow for more time. That means waking up at 5 am and crossing my fingers. In order to make my flight, I have to get to the airport before the metro is running and I cover the distance by cab. It feels like cheating. We make it and after some shuffling, I get in line to check my bag. After an eternity, I get to the front and discover that my ticket does not allow me to check my bag and in order for me to pay, I need to stand in a new line and get back in this of one. Since the things I was bringing for my hosts in Istanbul were raki and honey, I had to make a choice. Go through the check in line again and risk missing my flight to keep the goods or take my bag through security and see if they missed my sweets. With only an hour to clear security and passport control and the Christmas airport lines already heating up, I pressed on with m...

 The pilgrimage to The Acropolis. To get from Psyri to the top of the mountain involves spiraling up the outside. Through this dance, the temples are always in sight. You might be transfixed were it not for the scaffolding and hordes of tourists that need to be dodged. From the line, I got my ticket and started my hike up the hill. If these stones could talk. It really is an incredible monument. The starkness of a crowded Athens making way for this forested hill in the center covered in trees and marble. The ruins are, well, ruins. However, they quietly convey the immense effort that was required of the Athenians to bring the stones such a far distance. The walls are thick and the scale is incredible. I walked down the mountain in search of something to bring to my next stop. I found it at the main market in Athens. An old man who runs a honey farm in the mountain with his sons in the mountains. The flavor of honey is heavily influenced by the plant that the bees are pollinating. I...

 The acropolis is slammed during weekends so I resolved to see it tomorrow. In the interest of exposing myself to some sort of culture, I went to the car museaum. Typically these are hosted in vast garages outside of the city center so it’s a rare treat to have one by the metro. This collection was incredible. Ferraris for days and lots of less common rare cuts. Badges like Packard, Voison, and Facel Vega. Not in the museum but who doesn’t love a battle Lada? I strolled the gardens near parliament but did not find much there for myself. The most interesting thing was a beggar I passed on the way. A woman lying prostrate on the ground, one hand covering her face. At first I was very taken with the dramatic stillness until I saw her hand was attempting to conceal her holding her phone in front of her head. Everyone needs a hustle. Peaceful, if dull For dinner tonight I went to a Sephardic restaurant. These are exceedingly uncommon and I was excited to see such a rare menu available t...

 Lately in the morning I’ve been making the tea I brought with me on this trip. I’m bound for a tea drinking part of the world so there’s no need to ration anything anymore. Some snacking, some tidying, and I’m out. I did not budget my time well so I’m taking a taxi to the train station instead of the bus. The driver doesn’t understand English but he can read my Hellenic train ticket. Golden. I get to the train station on time and the coach hadn’t started boarding yet. Welcome to Greece. Greece’s third largest city lacks a direct connection with its Capitol. To get to Athens I need to take a bus to Kiato and then a train the rest of the way. The fact that I need to take the bus from the Patras train station and there is a rail right of way all the way through makes it all the more infuriating. I can see the catenary from the highway. After too long we get to Kiato and board the train. Everyone is standing on the platform staring at it like it’s just come from space. I press the but...

 For my adventure today I decided to go to a winery. Achaia Clauss is well regarded in the area. Broadly, this region does semi-sweet whites which have all been lovely. Typically I stick to dry wines but I’ve been wasting a lot of local food. If it grows together it goes together. I walked to a taxi rank and hailed a cab. On the way over he was excited to tell me all about the winery. It seems to be a point of local pride. Less prideful was the traffic. The farmers are protesting a lack of government assistance by blocking the intercity highways. That does not bode well for tomorrow’s bus ride.  The taxi wound through the hills up to the winery. Tall pines lined the road and we came to a stop in front of a beautiful castle. The driver excitedly dropped me off and bid me farewell. I walked through the castle walls to the estate’s testing room. I was greeted by a sheet of paper bearing bad news. The winery is closed today and I need to call a phone number to buy bottles. Hoping ...

 After a long night out I slept in. After an eternity I managed to rouse myself from bed in search of a shower. The water ran forever within warming up. I remembered that in Greece you need to switch on your water heater beforehand. Back to bed. I was finally ready to go about my day at noon. Since I needed food and laundry, a trip to the local supermarket is in order. Buying laundry detergent in a language you don’t understand is a special kind of hell. Add to that, Google Translate’s camera translation doesn’t really seem to work on detergent labels. An odd bug. As the spin cycle went on, I rested and snacked on bread and cheese. Line dry, my favorite. For a few years I was living in my grandparent’s house and we had a massive clothesline there. It was so much fun to wake up in the morning, have breakfast while the top-loader worked its magic and listen to music while putting the clothes on the line. Go about your business all day and take your crunchy sheets down. Many of my old...

 After an eternity in bed, I finally managed to coax myself out for a shower. I had foolishly forgotten one of the hallmarks Greek apartments. If you want hot water, you need to heat it first. I ran the shower for an eternity waiting for it to heat up. My memory clicked and I flipped the breaker. Back to bed. It’s funny how these little things can set you back so much time.  Soon enough, I managed to hit the road for lunch. I’m annoyingly far from the city center so out here I am waiting on the bus. I walked outside just in time to see it pull away. Just one of those days I guess. Patras doesn’t do much for bus stops. No benches or shelters. Even the sign is fading away and won’t betray the route number. Thank God for Google. Moments like these are really making me appreciate LBT. A map at every bus stop, imagine that. Every city has a horrifying thing that they do with a hot dog. They always claim it’s unique (it rarely is) and that it was invented in the city (it rarely is)....

 Another morning with bleary-eyes walking to the port looking for my boat. I catch the yellow livery approaching and calculate that there is still time to grab a cheese pie before I go. The ride is uneventful, four hours later I am in Patra. The third largest city in Greece. This place is old and for thousands of years Greek and Byzantine ports have been on this site to trade with the Italians. After Kefalonia Patras feels like Manhattan. People and shops everywhere. An endless array of possibilities. What a concept to be in a place so big that you can’t go to all the bars in one night.  Patras is a sea of 200000 people packed into an endless mass of five story buildings. The roads are orderly and refreshingly easy to navigate. As I adjust to the new normal and check in to my new dwelling I hope that I’ll be able to enjoy a luxury that I haven’t had since Italy. No dice, soiled toilet paper still goes into a trash can in the bathroom. Oh well, some other time. I’m hungry and f...

A wake up A check out A morning walk by the water to a cafe A stop for books. Since I was down to one and I was in the big city, I went to Argostoli’s only bookstore in search of something new to read. I asked for the English section and they directed me to the floor. On the very bottom, there were about four linear feet of books in English. The employee seemed a little sheepish and I soon discovered why. Every single book was a romance novel. All of them. Unfortunately not my cup of tea. The rest of the foreign language section was in French. I made do with some Balzac, two euros to Honore the author and maybe learn a little French. Turns out French is hard and Balzac is a terrible introduction to the language. The coach winds its way through the mountain highways from Kefalonia to Sami. The oldest rule for right of way applies. The vehicle with the largest tires has the right of way. Since that’s us, Fiats and Daewoos cower in fear as we slowly creep up and down the mountains. Sami i...

 Waking up with a mild hangover and Christmas carols plating outside isn’t my worst morning. I know yesterday when I wrote that there are bullhorns in the square pumping the tunes out it may have sounded like an exaggerations. The square is literally covered in them. It looks like an intersection in Pyongyang. When you walk from one end to the other, you’ll invariably be caught in the middle of two (or more) out of phase units. I scurry through to avoid this place. Today is a slow day, Sundays always are in small towns. In the square, the stage is being broken down while children ice skate. I bring my scooter to a gas station so I can fill it before returning it. For those wondering, the going rate is the equivalent of $14 per gallon after accounting for purchasing power. We pay a pittance in the US for the privilege of using our atmosphere as a dumping ground. Today the cafes are packed again. The weather is good and everyone is sitting outside enjoying the sunshine. Since yesterd...

 Today started like all other days. The bullhorns in the square were bumping out an odd combination of holiday hits from around the world (FΕλίζ Νανιδαδ anyone?) and Europop bangers (Supernature at 10 am was a little unpleasant). I slept through the hotel’s breakfast so I walked to the water for an Oceanside pastry and a Greek coffee. Greek coffee is a speciality available here from most shops. You’ll know they can make it because you’ll see a small camping stove behind the counter. Water is brought to a boil on the stove with finely ground coffee and sugar. Somehow the extraction happens and enough of the grounds sink to the bottom to make the whole thing drinkable. Just be sure to go slow and dodge the sludge at the bottom. Take note espresso maniacs. Needing a pressure vessel and a frother to wake up in the morning should be in the DSM. Seek help. As I sipped, I chose a location for today’s adventure. I’ve run out of tourist sites and all the vistas and villages are blending tog...

 Laundry day. That means sitting and drinking too much coffee while I wait for my clothes to dry. The bonus compared to my last paid laundromat experience was the cost. About 10 euro total, I paid double that in Rome. A routine is emerging here. I wake up, have breakfast at the hotel, and point the scooter out in search of adventure. After a day’s ride and exploring a new town, I return to Argostoli before the sun sets and I get cold. This is a good routine. Today’s destination is Lixouri, the second most populous settlement on the island. I saw it yesterday from the wharf near the maritime academy. A ferry makes the trip from city center to center in about a half hour. I’ll be doing it overland in twice the time. What’s the rush? The ride is beautiful and familiar aside from the obstacles in the road. Slowing down for rocks is an occurrence but goats and cows in the road were much more common. The Ionians absolutely thunder along on their highways when nobody is in the way. When t...

 Amenities! Wow it feels nice to be taken care of. I had totally forgotten that this hotel has a continental breakfast. In the US, we often joke that continental breakfast is not real breakfast. On the continent, I am content with it. A cup of caffeine, some cheese, olives, maybe a pastry. It’s just perfect here. There’s a historic footbridge connecting Argostoli with Drapano, the settlement on the other side of the water. I figured I would start my day by hoofing across that. I walked Lithostroto, the main drag, to get there. What was deserted last night is now full of people. Like Paxos, this island is very shut down for the winter and the activity I see here is similar but scaled up. Lots of people sitting and drinking coffee. Old men on the patio smoking cigarettes. Young women inside chatting with their friends. The bridge extends across the water at a series of odd angles, veering left and right as it crosses the bay. Most people on it are exercising or just out for a walk. I...

 Today was a complicated plan. In the summer they run ferries from here to Kefalonia and it would be a no brainer to take a boat over. In the winter it’s a different story. To get there first I need to take a ferry from Gaios to Lefkimmi, the south end of Corfu. Then the ferry company runs a transfer service to take me to Corfu airport. The plane flys direct to Kefalonia but with one stop in Lefkada along the way. With a 7:30 am taxi pickup to get me to my 7:45 am ferry, we should be right as rain. I packed up my bag and waited outside for the cab. He was early and we made the ride to the port in a couple minutes, before boarding even started. The fast ferry is smaller and only seats 50 or so people. Everyone is piling on the as we cross the gangway the attendant isn’t checking for tickets, he knows everyone already. People are chatting with their friends and family, smoking, or listening to music to pass the time. We make it to Lefkimmi in short time and I wait in my seat for the ...

 Liina gave me an enthusiastic recommendation for a coffee in the middle of the island so I made that my first mission of the day. I had my morning cuppa outside, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. People are curious about an English speaker they don’t recognize hanging around at this time of year. When people realize I don’t speak Greek they’re always shocked and curiously ask me where I’m from.  A resident After coffee I went to Lakka, the northernmost village on the island. Lakka is more vibrant than Longos but still quite small. Chris and Liina enthusiastic recommend I go to a bakery there for a specific loaf of dense barely risen bread. No need to remember the name of the bakery, it’s not like more than one is going to be open this time of year. I scanned the shelves and found a short loaf that bore a resemblance to my own baking when I improperly activate my yeast. I ate it on a boat launch and took in the scenery. The bread was more like a Greek focaccia. Mission fail...