No Agenda Travel

Posted by Kanga.

Years ago, I think it was 1993, my mother and I flew to Alaska, rented a car and drove from Anchorage to Fairbanks and back again in a big circular route. We stayed in a different hotel every night and the days consisted mostly of madly driving to the next town. I concluded there and then that was NOT the way to travel.

Current day, my husband and I are in the middle of a two week stay in Instanbul. We have a lovely little hotel room that has a well equipped kitchenette. It is in a tourist area, but in a neighborhood where the houses have been converted into hotels, so it does not have the usual hotel district air.

We have adopted an atypical vacationing style. We don’t have a tightly scheduled itinerary of activities to be checked off. We get up and ask “what should we do today?” We were here four days before actually stepping inside a museum. We are happy to walk the streets and get the feel of the city. Our first day, I was walking down the street with a silly “I’m just glad to be here” grin on my face.

I’m sure there are important things we won’t get to, but I don’t think vacation should be work. Isn’t the idea to take a break from work, enjoy yourself, and be refreshed by the end of it? That’s our goal.

This post has been entered into the Grantourismo HomeAway Holiday travel blogging competition.
http://grantourismotravels.com/2011/01/10/grantourismo-travel-blogging-competition-january/

HomeAway Holiday-Rentals

Technology Not So Bad After All

Posted by Kanga.

A lot of fuss is made about the impact of technology on children. There are definitely some negatives, but I was heartened to see a group of school children on a museum field trip NOT bored and distracted, but with their arms in the air taking cell phone photos.

Topkapi Palace

Posted by Kanga.

After the Hagia Eirene Museum, we toured the Topkapi Palace.

I’m actually glad we came during the winter. In the spring, these trees would be covered with leaves, which would be lovely, but the bare trees have their own grandeur.

This is the library, which no longer has any books. How sad is that? A beautiful place to study.

We picked the right day in terms of sunshine and clear skies. This is the view from the terrace restaurant.

Here is one of our lunch companions.

The tiles on nearly everything are quite beautiful.

This is the view up the Golden Horn from the Topkapi. The bridge is the Galata Bridge where we had tea and coffee a few days ago.

To see the rest of the pictures, check out the album at
http://picasaweb.google.com/kangayayaroo/TopkapiPalace#

Unfortunately, taking pictures was not allowed in the treasury. I don’t think I’ve ever seen emeralds that large. It is an amazing collection. You’ll have to visit yourself to see them though.