STEVEN F. UDVAR-HAZY AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM--Thursday, July 4, 2013 Happy Independence Day! Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Chantilly, VA Our original plan was to go to the Mall where the SmithsonianMuseum was having an international festival and then st... read more

Final thoughts on the whole two month overseas adventure: As Valerie wrote at the beginning of this blog, this trip was very atypical for us. We of course, could not take Rosie, and instead we planned to visit many countries that we have never been to before relying on others to convey us from place to place. We had never sailed on a typical cruise ship with a casino, nightly entertainment, planned activities, miniature golf course, rock climbing, etc. Plus, we had never been on a long guided bus tour as usually when going overseas, we rent a car and drive ourselves, or plan our trip using planes, trains, etc., and going where we want, when we want. So not only were the countries with their different cultures, sights, and planned experiences new, but the mode ... read more

ISTANBUL, TURKEY ON OUR OWN (PART 3, including Dolmabahce Palace)—May 17-28, 2013 We took a taxi to the DolmabahcePalace as looking at the map of Istanbul we mistakenly thought it was too many blocks for us to walk from the end of the tram line to the palace gates. We first waited in line to go through a security check and then waited in line to get separate tickets to both the main administrative building (the Selamlik) and the harem. Although the literature said you could purchase a photograph "use ticket," it didn't seem to be available and the tickets had to be paid for in cash, which we didn't expect. Thankfully, we had enough cash and were within the 3000 per day quota of visitors; unfortunately, you were not allowed to take pictures inside. For ... read more

ISTANBUL, TURKEY ON OUR OWN (PART 1, including Topkapi Palace)—May 17-28, 2013 Istanbul, Turkey at the ZaGreb Hotel, Friday, May 17th-Tuesday, May 28th My usual style for this blog has been to report day-by-day happenings and thoughts. In this section that covers the 10 plus days we spent in Istanbul, I am not going to do that. I am, instead, going to cover things that we did during this time plus write about observations and thoughts on Turkey and on topics that I haven't covered before in my postings. Picking up from my last blog entry, the next morning, we had breakfast with some of the tour group and said our "goodbyes." We repacked our clothes and put all the stuff we wouldn't get into, like our dressy cruise clothes, into the larger bag. We were ... read more

BURSA TO ISTANBUL, TURKEY—Wednesday, May 15, 2013 Almira Hotel, Bursa Started today on the bus at 7:30 as we are driving to Istanbul and will then tour some places this afternoon before checking into the same hotel we started this tour from. As we left the city, we could see how modern and commercialized this city had become. Its proximity to Istanbul and location on the highway between Ankara and Istanbul has helped the city become ideal for new developments. Between these two towns, there is hilly forested land with lots of plant nurseries along the way. Would have liked to stop and browse through one to see if they have any interesting plants. So far, other than some different native blooming trees, the plants planted around for landscaping seem to be the same ones we ... read more