Destinations, Turkey

Bargaining at the Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar is one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world! It is comprised of over 3,000 shops spanning 61 covered streets. The Grand Bazaar used to be where the locals did all of their shopping, but today it is basically a tourist trap attracting up to 400,000 visitors a day. But it is a fabulous tourist trap! As soon as you enter, you are overwhelmed with sights, sounds, smells and even tastes (as shop owners quickly offer you samples of their tasty Turkish Delight!). You can probably find better deals elsewhere, but it is an experience that you shouldn’t pass up. Even if you don’t plan to buy anything, it is fun just to walk around and take it all in. The place is huge and you could easily get lost inside. Rob and I barely scratched the surface, but I feel like we got a good taste of what the bazaar had to offer.

One of my favorite parts was all of the lamp shops. I thought these mosaic lamps were absolutely beautiful! I didn’t end up buying one, but I definitely enjoyed looking at them (and apparently photographing them as Rob harassed me for taking yet another lamp photo over and over again!).

It is quite easy to get sucked into the shops that sell Turkish Delight. This stuff is well deserving of its name (DELIGHTFUL!). Clearly, Rob is the proverbial “kid in a candy shop!” (The shop owner was smiling because Rob actually paid him full price without even an attempt to barter!) Rob’s shopping privileges were put on probation after that.

The bazaar is filled with fabulous aromas from a wide variety of spices and teas. We didn’t buy either, but it made for some colorful photography.

The bazaar has an abundance of textile shops as well. You can find clothes, scarves, and carpets…and everything in between. Rob and I were thinking about buying a few scarves as gifts, so I took the lead on bargaining. The shop owner refused to drop his price below a certain point which led to me leaving the store a total of 3 times. He chased after us a couple of times and managed to get us back in to the shop, but then held steady on his price. It was a time-consuming process, but eventually he agreed to my price. Needless to say, the shop owner was happy to have made a sale, but he did not have the same shit-eating grin as Mr. Turkish Delight! Rob decided that the good cop/bad cop scenario worked best for our bargaining purposes. I don’t think there is really any need to point out which one of us was the bad cop. : )

I could have easily spent a lot more time at the bazaar, but my patrol partner has a much shorter attention span when it comes to shopping. All in all, he was a really good sport and we picked up a few nice things.

Destinations, Turkey

Fashion Citation at The Blue Mosque

No visit to Istanbul is complete without seeing the Blue Mosque. However, in order to enter the mosque, you must be appropriately dressed. Notice how Rob’s attire exactly matched the “do not wear this” column.

Don’t worry, Rob was still able to enter the mosque. But not until he covered himself up appropriately! All visitors are screened by Mosque Fashion Police (clearly not their official title) before entering to ensure that they meet the etiquette requirements. Women are provided with head scarves and men are provided with sarongs. Fortunately, I was prepared and brought my own scarf.

The mosque was built from 1609-1616 and it’s official name is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, as it was built under the rule of Sultan Ahmed. It became known (among tourists) as the Blue Mosque because of the thousands of blue tiles adorning the interior. There are more than 20,000 handmade ceramic tiles depicting more than 50 different tulip designs. The tulip is somewhat of an unofficial symbol throughout Turkey and can be found in many different forms pretty much everywhere you look. Watch out Amsterdam, Turkey wants your claim on tulips! I’m not sure if this is true or not, but our tour guide told us that Turkey actually gifted the Netherlands with tulips many years ago and essentially introduced them into the Netherlands (we both thought our tour guide made a lot of things up though, so we haven’t made a final decision on that claim as of yet).

The Blue Mosque is actually a little less blue than it used to be. The picture below shows a small portion of this column with its original blue color.

The floor of the mosque is covered by a beautiful carpet with a tulip design. The darker area of the rug is meant to be a place marker for where the men should line up for prayer. The dark portions are appropriately spaced to provide the men enough room to pray without bumping into one another.

The decorations inside the mosque were absolutely stunning! This is definitely a must-see for anyone traveling to Turkey (but of course, I’m sure you already knew that).

Destinations, Turkey

The Low Down on our Turkish Adventure

Just a couple of days ago, Rob and I returned from an amazing vacation in Turkey. This vacation was not our typical travel scenario because we booked a guided tour rather than gallivanting around a new country on our own as we usually do. We booked the 13 Day Turkish Treasures package through Gate 1 which included a loaded itinerary as well as most of our meals. Here is a brief breakdown of our experience:

The Good

This vacation package was super affordable and there is NO way we would have been able to see as much as we did had we not booked through Gate 1. We stayed in Istanbul, Çanakkale, Izmir, Antalya, Cappadocia, and Ankara. Additionally, we visited Troy, Pergamum, Ephesus and Pamukkale. Rob and I were also extremely grateful that we didn’t have to do any of the driving. Typically, we are quite comfortable renting a car in a foreign country and navigating the streets on our own. This would not have been the case in Turkey. Many thanks go out to our amazing bus driver Jason (whose name was not actually Jason, but something much longer and Turkish)!

The Bad

Rob and I are definitely used to doing things at our own pace while traveling and there were plenty of times during this trip when our tours moved much slower than we would have liked. But when you have a group of 40 people to accommodate we understood that it would have been impossible to please everyone when it came to tour speed. It was a bit frustrating at first, but we did our best to just go with the flow. Luckily, we had a wonderful group of people to share our travel experiences with and most of them didn’t seem to mind the slower pace of things. So Rob and I worked on our patience skills during the guided portions of our trip and then we were happy to relax and join our travel mates for drinks at the bar at the end of a very long day.

The Ugly

Because we saw so many different cities, that meant there was a LOT of time spent on the bus to get to each new location. Early wake-ups and departures led to a lot of this…

Doing the guided tour thing was a bit of an adjustment for us since it is not what we are used to, but overall it was a terrific way to see the country! While we didn’t have as much time as I would have liked in any given city, I am quite happy that we were able to see so many parts of the country because there is so much more to Turkey than just Istanbul. I took more pictures on this vacation than on any other trip in the past so stay tuned for lots of upcoming pics. Until then, here are just a couple more.

Leave it to Rob to make us look like little satans using minarets from a place of worship!

Destinations, United States, Virginia

Apple Picking for Acrophobics

Just down the road from Monticello is Carter Mountain Orchard. Their sign advertising fresh peaches reeled me right in! I had never gone peach picking before and it sounded like a really fun thing to do. Only problem was all the peaches had already been picked off the trees. We were too late for peach picking, unless picking them from here counts?

But we were just in time for apple picking and that was something else I had never done before.

Apple picking was fun, but it was not quite the adventure I had envisioned. I had always pictured myself climbing a ladder (funny, I hate ladders!) to pick the perfect apples. Isn’t that how they always do it in the movies? Anyway, there were no ladders here. Just plenty of apples well within reach. Damn you easily accessible apples, ruining my dreams of movie-style apple picking! : )

Once our apple selections were complete, we headed to the barn where they have lots of delicious treats. A bakery full of pies and cider donuts. And the country store full of preserves and other fruity goodness. We indulged in some peach cider donuts and they were worth it!

There are many orchards in Charlottesville, and while this one is the only one I have ever been to, I would highly recommend it based on the beautiful scenery alone! And the cider donuts don’t hurt either!

Destinations, United States, Virginia

A Glimpse into Jefferson’s Garden

When Jefferson referenced his “garden” in written records, he was usually referring to his vegetable garden. While the flower gardens of the West Lawn are lovely, they are miniscule in comparison to Jefferson’s vegetable garden. Monticello’s terraced vegetable garden is 1,000 feet long and the 19th century garden has been restored by referencing the meticulous notes of Jefferson’s Garden Book. Jefferson grew about 330 varieties of vegetables and herbs and today the garden serves as a seed bank to preserve 19th century vegetable varieties.

Today, the vegetables in the garden are labeled according to the notes found in Jefferson’s Garden Book. The stake marking this squash variety is marked “TJ 1812” which means it was first referenced in Thomas Jefferson’s Garden Book in 1812.

The stake marking this bean variety is labeled in a similar manner, but also shows “L&C” below the year. This means that this vegetable was brought back from the Lewis and Clark Expedition and planted in Jefferson’s garden in 1807. Jefferson’s presidency is most known for the Louisiana Purchase as well as the Lewis & Clark Expedition. In addition to adding vegetables to his garden, Jefferson also had many expedition “souvenirs” throughout his home that were brought back by Lewis & Clark.

There are also other vegetables currently growing at Monticello that were never recorded in Jefferson’s Garden Book. This tomato plant for example, does not have his initials and/or a year marked on the stake, but it is believed that it was likely planted in Jefferson’s garden based on what vegetables were commonly planted in the region at that time.

The garden pavilion sits in the middle of the garden and overlooks the eight-acre orchard, vineyard and berry plots. Jefferson used the pavilion as an evening reading location.

Thomas Jefferson was one of America’s original wine enthusiasts after serving as Minister to France. He was committed to growing European varieties of grapes at Monticello with the hopes of making his own wine. He never succeeded. Before the development of modern pesticides, these European varieties were extremely susceptible to local pests that killed the crop. However, Jefferson’s vision did lead to a successful wine market in Virginia. Today, Virginia ranks 5th in the country for the number of wineries and production of wine. And while it didn’t happen in Jefferson’s lifetime, Monticello successfully bottles about 1,000 bottles of wine every year.

Today, the vegetables and fruit grown at Monticello are used at their tasting events, served at the Café at Monticello, or distributed to employees.

Destinations, United States, Virginia

Exploring Monticello

A visit to Monticello should be at the top of everyone’s list when visiting Charlottesville. The grounds are extensive and you could easily spend an entire day there. Tickets cost $24 each which includes a guided tour of the first floor of the house and then you are welcome to spend as much time as you like exploring the grounds. There are two optional guided tours included in the regular admission price: Gardens & Grounds and Slavery at Monticello. Or you can just opt to explore the grounds on your own, which is what Rob and I chose to do. Additionally, they offer tours of the upper floors of Monticello, but those tickets are $42 each, they only do a limited number each day, and they sell out quickly. So, maybe next time we will see the rest of the house…

Thomas Jefferson spent much of his life involved in a variety of public service positions and his life was full of notable achievements. Undeniably, Jefferson’s greatest achievement was drafting the Declaration of Independence. To see a brief timeline of his life and other achievements, click here. Despite his very full schedule, Jefferson managed to find the time to design every aspect of Monticello; a project that he continuously updated and modified over a period of 40 years. He was a self-taught architect and began building Monticello when he was 26 years old after inheriting the land from his father. The house is situated on the summit of an 850 foot high peak in the Southwest Mountains. The name Monticello derives from Italian meaning “little mount.” Visitors are shuttled to the front entrance at the top of the mountain.

No pictures were allowed to be taken inside the home, but if you would like to get a glimpse of the interior rooms, click here. The view of Monticello from the West Lawn (rear of the house) is more famous than the view of the front of the home. The West Lawn is vibrant with beautiful gardens and butterflies galore. There is also a fish pond that was more function, than decoration. Fish were caught in nearby bodies of water and then “stored” in the fish pond until needed. A fabulous idea for an era before refrigerators!

Jefferson was always very outspoken about his views against slavery. However, he owned more than 600 slaves in his lifetime. He inherited about 175 slaves and the numbers naturally increased by the procreation of enslaved families. Jefferson purchased fewer than 30 slaves during his lifetime, which still seems like a lot to me for someone so outspoken about the abolition of slavery. But it is reported that he purchased these “few” based on labor needs and also to unite spouses. A fascinating aspect of Jefferson’s design of Monticello was the incorporation of hidden “dependencies.” Dependencies were necessary service rooms that remained accessible to the family and the slaves that worked there, but they were not visible to the public or even guests visiting the home. Two wings connected by an underground passageway provided the work spaces for the slaves that maintained the household. The kitchen, smokehouse, carriage bays, ice house, etc. were all connected to the home for easy access, but remained well out of public view. Did Jefferson have a guilty conscience for owning slaves, thereby designing his home in such a way to mask his contradiction?

My favorite part was the wine cellar fully equipped with a dumbwaiter that lifted wine directly to a hidden compartment in the fire place of the dining room! While Jefferson was hosting a dinner with guests he would simply send the empty bottle down in the dumbwaiter and that was the signal for the slave in the wine cellar to promptly replace it. Now of course I am NOT an advocate of slavery. But I AM an advocate of speedy wine replenishment! Pure genius.

Thomas Jefferson chose his grave site at Monticello and he also wrote the epitaph for his tombstone. “Author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statue of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia.” It is said that these are the accomplishments that Jefferson was most proud of and what he wanted to be remembered for. Some might wonder why becoming a U.S. President didn’t make the cut. But Jefferson wanted to be remembered for what he gave to the people, not what the people gave to him. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years after signing the Declaration of Independence.

Destinations, United States, Virginia

Dinsmore House Hospitality

Rob and I wanted to stay at a cozy B&B during our stay in Charlottesville. We chose to stay at the historic Dinsmore House Inn in the heart of Charlottesville. This charming B&B is conveniently located one block from the University of Virginia and only 5 miles from Monticello. The home was built by James Dinsmore in 1817. Dinsmore was Thomas Jefferson’s master builder and his monumental construction achievements include Monticello, Montpelier, and the University of Virginia.

The inn was absolutely beautiful and I couldn’t have been more pleased with our accommodations. There are 8 guestrooms available and we stayed in the Dinsmore Room. The room was gorgeous and I couldn’t believe how large it was. Despite having a four-poster king-size bed, there was still an incredible amount of space in the room. The bathroom was also very nice with a large claw foot tub as well as a separate shower.

Every morning they serve a full complimentary breakfast. The meals we had were fabulous! Delicious dishes with fresh, local fruit, homemade English muffins, and even their very own homemade preserves. The preserves were actually the BEST I had ever had! S.E.R.I.O.U.S.L.Y.!! A delicious concoction of figs, apple and pear, oh my! The owner was very accommodating about dietary restrictions and made sure that everything was to our liking. In addition to the breakfast, the inn also hosts an afternoon social every day in the parlor offering light refreshments and a complimentary glass of wine or tea. I think it goes without saying here that I skipped the tea and went straight for the wine! As if that wasn’t hospitality enough, the inn always keeps a stocked refreshment station on the breakfast porch where guests can help themselves to free snacks, soft drinks and water. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Dinsmore House Inn. If you ever find yourself in the Charlottesville area and in need of a good B&B, I would definitely recommend this location.

Destinations, United States, Virginia

Discovering Charlottesville

Rob and I recently planned a little getaway to Charlottesville, VA. Charlottesville is a charming little city about 100 miles south of Washington, DC. The area is rich in history and offers tourists a wide variety of things to do and see. Charlottesville and neighboring Albemarle County were home to three of our founding fathers that later became our 3rd, 4th and 5th Presidents (Jefferson, Madison, & Monroe – to save you the effort of having to Google it!). Of those 3, Thomas Jefferson definitely had the greatest impact on our nation and his spirit remains very much alive in Charlottesville! Everywhere you turn in this region, you are reminded of one of the world’s most important historical figures.

Charlottesville is home to Monticello (Jefferson’s residence) as well as the University of Virginia, both of which were designed by Thomas Jefferson himself (both have also been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites). Not far from Monticello is Ash Lawn-Highland, home to President James Monroe (they were practically neighbors and apparently very good friends). In addition to its historical sites, Charlottesville also has an active entertainment scene, plenty of outdoor activities around the Blue Ridge Mountains, and more than 20 vineyards along the Monticello Wine Trail. What more could you ask for in a charming little city? We only stayed in Charlottesville for two nights, so we knew we wouldn’t have time to see all that the city had to offer. But to get a good feel of the area, our plan was to stay at a cozy B&B, visit a local winery, and tour Monticello. I will cover the details of our trip in subsequent posts. Stay tuned…

General, Military

Honor Flight 101

Last month, I wrote about inspiration after seeing the Honor Flight documentary. I had never heard of the Honor Flight Network prior to that point, but I immediately knew it was an organization that I would be proud to get involved with. And this past weekend, I escorted my very first group of Honor Flight WWII veterans!

I arrived at DCA on Saturday morning and obtained my Gate Access Pass (permits entry to the gates for personnel not actually travelling). Once at the gate, I met the 4 other local volunteers that would be escorting the Honor Flight for the day. In addition to myself, there were 3 active duty military members and one other military veteran.

As the plane approached the gate, the Washington Airport Authority Fire Department “saluted” the plane with their fire hoses!

Then, an announcement was made in the terminal about the incoming WWII veterans and asked the surrounding travelers to stand and greet the veterans as they came off the plane. The immediate wave of support was overwhelming! Everyone gathered around the gate and cheered on the veterans as they made their way into the terminal. It was very emotional and I was extremely choked up the whole time. Since I absolutely hate for people to see me cry, it took every shred of energy I had to fight back the tears. What can I say….patriotism makes me sappy. Even this tough girl has an Achilles heel.

We had two busloads of veterans, guardians and other volunteers that were all part of the SW Florida Honor Flight hub. Once we got everyone loaded up, it was time to visit the memorials. Our first stop was the WWII Memorial. The veterans all seemed in awe of how grand and beautiful the memorial was. I heard one veteran comment, “Something like this… I don’t mind our government spending my money on!” There were local groups of volunteers that were standing by to cheer for these veterans and welcome them to their memorial as they got off the bus.

While at the memorial, I walked around and offered to take their pictures. Some of the feisty veterans said they preferred to have a “pretty girl” in their pictures so they asked for me to be in their pictures instead, to which I happily obliged. A few of the veterans were even more flirtatious. I spent some time talking to a veteran named Lionel and when I mentioned my husband, he said, “You’re married? What am I doing wasting my time talking to you?” I told him I would let him know if things didn’t work out with my marriage.

In addition to visiting the WWII Memorial, we also visited the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Marine Corps War Memorial, and Arlington National Cemetery to watch the Changing of the Guard. It was a lot for these senior veterans to do all in one day. It was enough to wear out even the young volunteers! But the veterans didn’t complain about being tired because for them, this was the opportunity of a lifetime and they didn’t want to miss a thing!

Of the 16 million WWII veterans, only about 2 million are still alive, and almost 900 of them die every single day! The Honor Flight Network is committed to flying as many of the surviving WWII veterans as they possibly can to Washington, DC so they can visit and reflect at their memorials before it is too late. If you live in the DC area and you would like to volunteer, please visit http://honorflightdca.wordpress.com/ to view the schedule of when volunteers are needed. If you are outside of the DC area, you can still get involved by volunteering with your local Honor Flight hub.

Editor’s note: I had volunteered with the expectation of being assigned to one veteran as his guardian with hopes of interacting with that veteran for the entire day. However, the 50 veterans that flew to DC from SW Florida were already assigned their personal guardians for the day. Their guardians assisted them in getting to the airport and made the journey with them from Florida. The role of the local volunteers was more of a floater/general escort. I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t get the one-on-one interaction that I was hoping for, but I was still proud to participate in such a worthy cause.

General, Goals

US National Arboretum (April’s New Experience)

This past weekend, my friend Bonnie and I went to the National Arboretum for the first time. It was a glorious day and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to check out our nation’s living museum. It’s hard to imagine that within a big city like Washington, DC, there lies 446 acres of lush grounds dedicated to conserving and showcasing thousands of varieties of plants. The arboretum is “in bloom” all year long, so no matter what time of year you visit, there will be plenty for you to see. To find out which plants will be in bloom during your visit, see the arboretum’s bloom schedule.

We happened to go on a very busy weekend and it was difficult to find a place to park. We finally managed to find a spot alongside a field of lilac shrubs. As soon as we stepped out of the car we were overwhelmed by the smell of fresh lilac. (Side note: I had been thinking about planting a lilac shrub in our back yard and after seeing this magnificent field of lilacs I went out and bought one the very next day!)

What we stumbled upon next was like something out of Ancient Rome or Ancient Greece. It’s not every day that you see free-standing columns amidst a meadow in the United States!

But the columns are of course, not ancient. These Corinthian columns were originally on the East Portico of the US Capitol. But due to an oversight in design, the columns didn’t appear to adequately support the Capitol dome which was completed in 1864. The columns were removed and an addition was built on the east side of the Capitol in 1958. In the 1980s, the Capitol Columns found their new home at the National Arboretum. The columns overlook 20 acres known as the Ellipse Meadow. They are set on a foundation of stones that also used to be on the east side of the Capitol. And nothing is complete in DC without a reflecting pool!

The current showstoppers in bloom at the arboretum are the azaleas. The area known as Mount Hamilton is ablaze with color from the all of the azaleas that flood the hillside. There are literally thousands of azalea shrubs in every variety and color imaginable and visitors can walk along footpaths to get a good view of them all.

With over 9 miles of winding roads within the arboretum, we barely scratched the surface during our visit. We spent most of our time looking at the azaleas, but here are a few other plant varieties we enjoyed.

I especially loved this Lace Bark Pine whose trunks look like army camo!

We even got to see some wildlife. In addition to the frogs below, we also spotted a fox.

This is definitely one DC landmark that I intend to revisit!

Where In The World Is Dayna…

Bordering on Travel Junkie?

Tag Archives: Tourism

Bargaining at the Grand Bazaar

Fashion Citation at The Blue Mosque

The Low Down on our Turkish Adventure

Apple Picking for Acrophobics

A Glimpse into Jefferson’s Garden

Exploring Monticello

Dinsmore House Hospitality

Discovering Charlottesville

Honor Flight 101

US National Arboretum (April’s New Experience)

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