Category: Uncategorized
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The art of eating well
As you may have gathered by now, we do eat well here in the Algarve. Thus, one sun-filled day, Randy, Marc and myself, made the trip to a favourite restaurant of ours: Tia Bia. I had wanted to celebrate my birthday there in February but they weren’t open so this was a makeup visit. Of…
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Encore Fonte Benémola
The hiking trail at Fonte Benémola has become a favourite: it’s not too far away, it’s a loop, and not a difficult walk. So Randy, Jackson and me went for an encore edition on March 17 Saint Patrick’s Day. The weather was perfect, there were a profusion of wildflowers including heather in full bloom.
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Spring has sprung in the Algarve
in Just-] BY E. E. CUMMINGS in Just- spring when the world is mud- luscious the little lame balloonman whistles far and wee and eddieandbill come running from marbles and piracies and it’s spring when the world is puddle-wonderful the queer old balloonman whistles far and wee and bettyandisbel come dancing from hop-scotch and jump-rope and …
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Birds and bees and flowers and trees…
It’s been more than a week since I’ve returned to the Algarve from Istanbul. It was wonderful to be back, to have Jackson’s company and to acclimate to familiar surroundings. The weather over the past few days has been cool, wet, and windy. The result is that everything is green and flourishing now that the…
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The Istanbul adventure ends
The last two full days in Istanbul were cold, wet and windy – rather gloomy in some respects. On Tuesday morning, we set out for the Royal Palace Museum not far from where we were staying. It seemed like a promising museum day. We arrived and were told our passes were not acceptable and we…
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Topkapi Palace Museum
One of the main residences of the Ottoman Sultans for over 400 years, the Topkapi Palace is now a fascinating museum. It was the main focus of our attention on Monday. It’s a series of buildings that grew over time in a beautiful park setting. We started with the kitchens which are divided into buildings…
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A day in Asia
Because the sky was clear, we set off across the Bosphorus on Saturday to visit the Çamlica Mosque, the largest mosque in Turkey. It was completed and opened in 2019 and is visible in most parts of the city. I was warned there would be a lot of walking. The metro doesn’t go there –…
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From Cisterns to citterns
On Friday, we decided to visit the Basilica Cistern. It’s one of several ancient underground water reservoirs that are open to the public for a fairly substantial sum of money and they’re not part of the Istanbul Museum Card program. The original floor is covered with several centimetres of water and we were walking on…
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Mosques and shopping
Our second full day, Thursday February 23, was all about focus. First on the list was a visit to the Grand Bazaar. It really was a religious experience! Mahmood coached me in advance about how to bargain if I decided to purchase anything. He also emphasized not paying any attention to the stall owners as…
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Istanbul, Constantinople,Byzantium
A city where continents and cultures collide A trip to Istanbul has been on the back burner for two years. Yesterday, well. actually today it became reality. My friend Mahmoud from Tehran met me at the Istanbul airport at 1H00 and we made the trek into the city by bus. We’re staying in a small…
Five Feet, Nine Inches Above Ground 