For packing light....I'm sure collecting a LOT of baggage...

And today, I'm determined to add some more! Murano gorgeous glass, check. Venetian gorgeous mask, tba (to be acquired) first, lunch. For an eating country, they have some odd rules, and it's best you're aware of them, or you'll be caught in the "no food for you" zone, roughly 3-7 as I can figure it. Granted if you've already sat, and you're still eating course number 1,500 it's all good, just don't expect to be able to sit yourself down and get anything beyond a pastry come 3, and no they really don't care if you were on a flight and unfed. Apparently, the FAA needs to abide by the schedule of the server. Knowing this, and having a grump ass pain our first day in Venice, (I asked for bread dude, BREAD, a damn inmate gets that! Ass) anywho, as we slept in after our adventures in traindom today, we decided eating prior to heading to venice and potentially being caught in no foods for you vill, was a muy bueno idea. Drat, too friggin bad this was the first day we did this!! Restaurant was YUM yumyum. Brought out crispy crunchy warm bread, a soft yogurty white cheese, and salami...and that was just the "on the house" starter! We had a bottle of proseco (as did every table that came in after us, don't judge, as they say: when in Rome!! So I say, I'm being polite thank you very much, and doing as the Italians do!) mom had a fungi spaghetti, and I had (off menu!) cabonara, after he checked to see if he had any ham delivered. Oh em frigging gee!!!  It was so fresh, the spagetti had a golden yellow hue,creamy and chunks of ham with a touch of crunch. 

Excuse the pause, I needed a moment to relive the glory of the yumminess. Frick. Bummer we're leaving today. But so so happy to have found you!!! Grab our bags and get into Venice. All the large train stations have a bag check. Smaller ones have lockers....ain't no way our stuff would fit in a locker, but just as an FYI for those who may be Italy bound! Bags safely off my shoulders (yay!) and we're off to buy masks. A word of caution....the cheap street kiosks, are likely mass produced in the same stupid place america exploits (cough China) do yourself, Italy, and child labour a favor, buy elsewhere. Now I'm not saying you must spend a fortune..and believe me, you surely can! However, it's very easy to find a shop where the masks are being painted while you're looking...and they were GORGEOUS!!! On a handle, or not. Made with: feathers, some from wire so delicate it looks like lace. Glitter, crystals, painted paper mache. Each one a piece of wearable art. We wound up with two boxes worth...and were still oogoling after our limoncello break by the canal. The shop keeper was teasing us, saying come back, come in, he had bigger boxes to fill for us. So, now with 2 boxes to add to the ever growing collection of pretty things, we head back to the station, and off to Florence! This time we have assigned seats, air-conditioning and: a bathroom. Florence= mumsie (the art major) dream city. The seat of the birth of the renaissance.
" Getting in touch with your true self must be your first priority." -- Tom Hopkins
"Our lives improve only when we take chances ... and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves." -- Walter Anderson
"Adventure can be an end in itself. Self-discovery is the secret ingredient that fuels daring." -Grace Lichtenstein
 “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” ~ Andre Gide

Venice dia dua

Call me the water bus queen! Got an all day pass, and yes,we put that baby to use! First and likely only time I'll ever see: a boat ambulance or a stop light on a waterway, awesome. Venice has a graveyard that is about the equivalent of San Francisco's Colma, beautifully kept grounds, famous deceased, all walled in on its own island. We went Murano glass shopping today. Yes, I did. Spent a whole afternoon shopping, and actually had fun doing it...so weird. I tell ya, that dormant girly gene is out in full force... I best beware where I travel...somebody warn me if I'm headed to the land of lots of kiddos...no waking that sleeper please...oyi... Though I do hope (and believe) the kiddo place would have a repellent effect...don't know if I wasn't lost enough or a bit too lost, however, though there was a ton of gorgeous glass pieces, the galleries near San Marco's, well (in my opinion, they win) had I known how or where to find the person who made the devil chandelier....yeah, never mind, likely a very good thing I stayed lost. For the inquiring, please note, mucho eruo was spento. We filled an entire hedgehog purse (more on him later) with pretty little glass things -I swear I'm turning into Eddie! (AbFab reference, watch it love it embrace it) got back to the main section of Venice and caught the 1 vaporetto (water bus) and took a tour of the grand canal (technically was just a bus ride...but if ya know what you're looking for {get a walking tour map} very cheap, easy way to get yer culture on!) had a (relative to european terms) earlyish din din. Super cute little cafe outside deck over the grand canal. (I'm on a mission to find the best cabonara in zee land! And if you've ever been to Italy, please tell me your fav!!) We were getting ready to go, and as I was on my way to the ladies room, what do I spy? A man with a hedgehog (purse) in his hand. I convince him (or ya know, perhaps my boobs persuaded him) to let me show it to my mom...(back story here: mumsicle collects hedgies, don't ask why or where this came from, as I have 0 clue. Anyway, thankfully it's a rarely found critter, doesn't cost me as much, glad she's not into cows or some such thing!...so though I personally wouldn't be caught with this silly ass critter, I brought it to my mom) she loved it! I had a procession behind me, as apparently it was a prototype for the winter collection...I swear if this is the new hot item of fall...I'm gonna need some grapa. Happy birthdays to mumsie, she is now the happy proud owner of "hedgie the purse." we head to the train station, frickola, just missed the 10:15pm, 3 more leaving before we're stuck till 6am, still, we checked the bus options as the next train is in +45 from now...too late, they're done hon. Ahem, always always check the digital posts...not sure if 2 of the 3 trains were no shows or on a platform other than what was written on the paper schedule. It's now past midnight, and though the paper schedule states "bus transfer" the train that's about to pull out, has the same destination, so dragging mom behind me, we dash for the closing doors....she wanted to read the whole damn listing, and was insisting this was a bus transfer...um, 2 trains on this stupid thing failed us, it's this or 6am on a bench...argue later: train, NOW! Barely make it through the door, mumsie still grumbling under her breath, both of us getting bleary eye tired, but on the train, headed home (we friggin hope!) So as I'm peering through the darkness at stops that I really don't recall from the prior trips (2 into and this is our 2nd back) I'm doing the "what ifs" in my head: okay, so if we get to the end of the line, and our stop isn't on here, if it's past 4am, might as well sleep on the stupid bench, unless getting back to the hotel via cab (damn i miss magic taxi) is less than €80. If it's 3:30amish, and the cab is +€80, hotel room and train in the am it is...Clearly after 1:30am, we're on a wrong train...shit be our stop, please crap be us...now I'm up, looking out the doors. Nope, and no I don't recall this on the prior trips. Frick frick frick. Sigh of relief, OUR stop!!! And for being such a middle of no where place, sure is a popular station for the last train of the evening...and shit, no cab...now what? Oh thank you kindness of strangers! A guy who was on the train, calls a cab (to no avail) however, the coffee shop/bar/restaurant across the way, though closed, still has employees hanging out. And I had a bira here earlier today, the server, used to work at McCormick's in SF! (sky opening, angels singing..and both mumsie and I peeing!) [me also drinking a celebratory Moretti bira!] long friggin day. Gorgeous, great fun...least now that we're back in the hotel! Oyi vey, time to hit the hay!!!
Quotes:
“I travel light. I think the most important thing is to be in a good mood and enjoy life, wherever you are.” ~ Diane von Furstenberg

I have found my shopping gene..

It lives in Italy. Apparently every woman does actually have one, who knew? Needless to say. I heart Venice. It's difficult to remember, this is actually a mainland. I feel less like an outsider here, no one stares me down because my leg is showing. I've heard more American English than I have in a month and a half...not sure what to do with myself. The place is amazingly beautiful, and the statues here, all reside in their original settings (the buildings they were built into) not in a museum. And they're complete, not missing a head, arm or nose (for the most part) the buildings are around 5- 10 stories, so walking around is like navigating a maze (much like Mykonos) though here, you dead end into water, there are 177 canals (yes, I looked it up). Venetian masks are everywhere, and they're amazing, gorgeous, beautiful, add the adjective of your choosing, it still will pale in comparison to walking through Venice. Prices range from €5.00 to €1,100. Feathers, lace, leather, crystals..beautiful, and the merchants proudly display "made in Venetia, NOT China" And the glass pieces! We're not even to the island of Morano yet, and they take your breath away. From a chandelier that had devils and fire, to earrings and animals, to giant paint brushes. Another art piece is made of painted wooden eggs that from afar create a giant mural depicting the Madonna, a sultan and other figures. Up close, you see the detail of the decorative eggs and loose the people...gorgeous. Gondolas, water buses, and taxis. Best friggin pasta (here's to walking enough to counter balance the carbs I'll be consuming!) The clock in San Marco's square has moving bronze statues of men who ring the bell....very cool, but frankly, also a bit creepy: big giant green bronze statue that moves, made in the 1500's..yowsers, no animatronics in those! There are 3 palaces (that I've found to date) in San Macros square. I could use the space normally given to a day on the trip just to describe the square, there really is THAT much to see, and yes, it's all gorgeous...pretty sure mom may have filled a gig picture drive today. The purses...well (so far!) we bought 4, in our defense 2 are for other people =]. And we've yet to do more than drool at the other leather wear (shoes, gloves, jackets...) likely a good thing we got here on a Sunday...window shopping was a bit less of a wallet drain, lots of the shops were closed...tomorrow, I smell tr-ou-ble! you need to look in every direction,(up, down, right, left) or you're likely to miss some gorgeous detail. From a dragon light fixture, to a mosaic, or a statue covered in gold. The buildings here are really weather worn, bits of stucco missing and the brick showing through, honestly looks like something we pay for in the states....here it's just happened naturally with time. Given the grander here, and the bits left over from the Greeks, Romans, and Turks....I now have a better appreciation, and sense of awe at how gorgeous the ruins of those times must have been when they were standing....it's mesmerizing. Before it sinks (no really it's a "modern" Atlantis) add it to the must see list. Words fail to describe.
Quotes:
“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”-Ashley Smith
“You are the center of your universe, and you can make anything happen.”- Ashley Smith
“Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it” - Confucius

Slept in today...

Well if you can call getting home at 6am and sleeping till 11am "sleeping in" have breakfast with mom and Ilker...gotta admit glad to have met and made friends with a tour guide, and he's got a day off today...luckiest gal ever! He took us to the cistern which was in the movie "To Russia With Love" side note, adding this to the movies to see list...along with Gallipoli. There are coi swimming around. The columns were brought by the Romans, and were "left overs" so they're a bit of a hodgepodge. Some Ionic, some Hellenistic a few Corinthian. Though the tunnels are a labyrinth beneath the city, the majority of them were walled off. Why? because people are nuts, and felt they needed to swim in the area where the movie was made. There are 2 medusa heads used as pillar bases. One is sideways, the other upside down...which has left plenty of room for speculation, from the pillar was too tall (sideways) to medusa normally looks over a building to protect it and this was underground, so she needed to be upside down to do her job...in the end, no one really knows. After the cistern, mom and I head out to the spice market to pick up a few things (rose oil and saffron) then off to the baths! The one we visit is the oldest in Istanbul. (çemberlitas hamami, built in 1584)  http://www.cemberlitashamami.com.tr/ It's segregated (men and women) and there are multiple options as far as services go, from self service, traditional to multiple add ons. We went with traditional plus a massage. Mine was pretty basic, mom on the other hand got a lady who scrubbed her footies, face, shoulders...she started before me and finished a full 5 minutes after. Happy birthday to her! Had a turkish tea and relaxed a bit before leaving, this a must do for the full experience of a bath...really feel the modern day spa was born of the baths of ancient times. Something that bemused me, the Turks stopped drinking coffee for the same reason Americans started, politics and money. The sultan decided too much money was going to the import of coffee, since the area was better suited to tea, Turkish tea was born! (Boston tea party, conversion to coffee) We were both pretty tired and have an early flight tomorrow, so grabbed a kebab and headed to bed. Tomorrow, Venice!
Quotes:
"God acts in history: that is, God provides ideas, methods, and experiences intended to bring comprehension to man, an understanding heart, a conscious life."- Jacob Needleman  

Today was a whirlwind of epic proportions

Was a bit better prepared for the full burka barrage known in other realms as a "tourist bus" had on capris and a shirt with short sleeves, so think I downgraded from whore of Babylon to slut in training...can someone please explain to me why, when, and how one gender deemed itself more human and somehow more important than the other? What a frigging crock of crap, and yet there are many who still eat from the dung pile with pride...from both genders....we aren't even to the subject of skin tone yet. Last I checked every Holy book out there took judgment out of human hands..ummm, stillllllll waiting. Odd to me, to see the bond shared by the pain of the war, yet  judgment and sheer disgusted loathing still pervades toward all women....the modernization of the world as a whole, is noticeable in the younger generations...on the coastal cities anyway. Made me very grateful to be born an American woman. Back to the bus...we went to: (more on each after) the blue mosque, Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) the hippodrome, lunch, little haga Sophia, the grand bazaar and the palace of Topkapi (and that's the official part of the day, oh yes, there is more) you could spend a day plus at either the bazar or palace alone. Istanbul is an amazing city, full of history. Would strongly advise women to travel with others. Now a bit about the things we saw. The blue mosque was built by Sultan Ahmet I to outshine the Hagia Sophia. The word for gold (altin) and six (alti) are similar in the Turkish language, so instead of getting gold minarets (call to prayer tower) he got 6 towers that matched the mosque. Thankfully the sultan was pleased and the builder (unlike his predecessor) kept his head. The name derives from the +20,000 ceramic tiles that decorate the interior. Blue gold and white in color. All mosques are "mini communities" of sorts, having a kitchen to feed the needy, a school, a shopping area (to support the kitchen/school) and a burial ground. Sultan Ahmet and his family, are on the grounds of the blue mosque. Across the way is the Hagia Sophia, meaning  "Holy Wisdom" in Greek (Aya Sofya in Turkish) was built by Justinian the Great in the Byzantine era to establish (then Constantinople) as the most powerful city, and he as the richest most powerful leader. (sounds a bit familiar, eh?) he was successful. The dome and church remained the largest until St. Peter's basilica was built in Rome (the Vatican) anyone want to lay bets that St. Peter's was built to: a) prove the center of Christianity was now in Rome, and b) double bonus points if it was built smack over and with bits of a temple to Apollo...but sure, religion has nothing to do with politics...right. (King Henry VIII: divorce, Episcopalians...puritans scandalized, America created...) anywho, I'll have the answer (if you're not interested in using the google finger, as the Vatican tickets have been purchased) when the Koran became the holy book oh choice for Turkey, the Sophia was converted to a mosque...least they didn't fully demolish it... I guess. The frescos, statues, and mosaics (many of them blinged out in gold) were covered up, destroyed, or, to put it kindly "repurposed." To end the bickering between the religions, it's now a museum....wonder if this strategy would work with the holy land? Make it like DC, an independent area belonging to no one and everyone...yeah right, who am I kidding, first let's get to a place where boobs are equal to balls. Out the door from the Sophia is the hippodrome coming from the Greek: hippos=horse dromos=path or way (modeled after Circus Maximus in Roma) this was the meeting place of the city, beheadings, horse racing, politics...all at the hippodrome. From here we had a yumalicious Turkish lunch. (salad, humus, kebab, watermelon, and coffee) we then visited the little Hagia Sophia, built as a prototype for the larger building and converted to a mosque that's still in use today. Grand Bazar time....for my haggling friends, this is your dream come true. Much like the Vatican, the bazar operates as it's own entity (minus the status of self governing) there are 27 gates, a police force, mosque, post office, and every trinket you can dream of...I was overwhelmed, my shopping gene still lays dormant. From here we went to the palace of Topkapi, was a bit disconcerting, armed with machine guns guards were everywhere. Sigh of relief when we were told this was due to a large portion of the treasury (including an 86karat diamond, yes, really...and it was once a ring...no I'm not clear on how that worked either..) the place is HUGE, gorgeous, amazing. Each gate becomes more private, once past the 3rd gate as this is where issues of the empire were discussed to work there you must be a mute...if you weren't, and wanted the "privilege" well, let's just say "wish granted" all sultans had to know sign language to communicate with servants. There's much more to describe, and I've not even gotten to our evening, so should you want to know more (you do, I promise) link below! From here, mom and I walked back to the hotel...no CLUE we we were so central, thank you Mamko! Met up with our tour guide Ilker for an amazing dinner. Walked around the new city...they had up Christmas lights, color me amused. Went to a hubbly bubbly bar under the bridge, oh yes, mumsie partook as well! Then off to club reina, gorgeous, on the water, views of the straight and a bridge, no roof. Home as the sun came up.
http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/go/Istanbul/Sights/index.html

Quotes:
"We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race." -Kofi Annan
"The connection between women's human rights, gender equality, socioeconomic development and peace is increasingly apparent." -Mahnaz Afkhami 
"The day will come when men will recognize woman as his peer, not only at the fireside, but in councils of the nation. Then, and not until then, will there be the perfect comradeship, the ideal union between the sexes that shall result in the highest development of the race."- Susan B. Anthony