company and art Paul, I do believe you could teach Art Appreciation wherever you choose! Thanks for the history of early Ranaissance art. Glad your visitors made it and enjoyed the Florence area with you. When I was 13 I remember that gelato in Florence. Son Paul will be in Paris near the end of May for tennis business, the French Open is then I think. He will probably e-mail you his plans. In about two weeks you will have a new relative! We will be in Spokane. Love to all, Louisa and Paul
SEEING The many dimensions of your enjoyments are a thrill for me! Paul, you have a wonderful way of presenting art and history so they live. The originality of your SEEING is a pleasure.
I'll have three scoops of gelato please!
Hello Castelloes! Great write up and pictures. Can't wait to see the weary travelers tonight, and it was wonderful to get a preview of their time with ya'll. I would love to be able to download some of the pictures to my computer. Any easy way you know of that I could do that? I'm sure I'll also get some from Mark. Thanks again for being such welcoming hosts. Happy trails as you adventure on! love, Jeanine
Florence I enjoyed your comments on Florence and the comparisons of Florence and Asia. I have never been to Asia, but I have always been comfortable in Europe even when I couldn't always understand the language. I never took any Spanish and had difficulty some of the time in Spain. There didn't seem to be as many people there that spoke English. Brad and I are going an a Mediterranean cruise in September and we make several stops in Italy. We spend a day in Florence and it was nice to hear some of your comments about life there. We'll have to learn when you get back if you recommend a tour or just being on your own. We also spend a day in Portofina, Rome, Sorrento, and Taormina, as well as 2 stops in Greece, 2 stops in Turkey, and 1 in Monaco. We actually land in Istanbul, and I wonder if it is worthwhile to spend an extra night or two there. Continue to have a wonderful time. Love to all, Doris
A year to remember! I always enjoy May's viewpoints that come straight from the heart and real life. I love Paul's informed sharing of art, history, philosophy and cultural travel studies. Ella's sweet smiles in all the pictures and her innocent observations are a genuine joy. Jordan is a winner who will digest it all over time and give us many future pleasures with her writings. Thank you all for being in touch. Love, Maggi
European-ness Interesting to read your comparisons of Asia and Florence and how you feel almost at home now. People in Europe generally "look like" us too. Although several generations hence, typical American appearance will probably show more Asian and African genetic characteristics. (Same may be true for Europeans.)
Florence It is fun to read your comparisons for Asia, America, and Europe. Glad you have such a nice place to stay. The ice cream could get me back there! The bathrooms on the trains in India are something I think I blotted out of my mind until you refreshed my memory. Heard about Jordan's big honor. Congratulations! Love, Louisa and Paul
Fun to hear your views Hi Paul, Deb Scott just turned me onto your blog and I so enjoyed reading this, my first entry. Richard and i also visited Istanbul when we were in Ukraine, and loved it's variety, old + new comos, etc.
And May's reflections on taking yourself out of your comfort zone to wake yourself up again are so right! Stay open, enjoy the adventure!
I appreciate your comments on time and the to-do lists, May. Your ability to let travel be your teacher is wonderful. I also hear your eagerness to walk the hills of your own local neighborhood. Paul, thanks for sharing history and current realities of life in Istanbul.
We miss you and send Ella and Jordan love too.
Megan and the gang
Istanbul today May, I love your thoughts on travel. I have always thought that you learn more traveling for a week than taking classes for a year. Home is more comfortable especially as one gets older, but traveling somewhere new is so exciting and so much fun. I never thought of Istanbul as being at the top of my travel wants, but Patsy and the rest of you have made it sound like a wonderful destination. I'm sorry Jordan has had to experience such rudeness......but, I guess that too is a learning experience. Love to all, Doris
thanks for the thoughts I really appreciate your thoughts May. I travelled so much earlier in my life but have been States bound for a while. And while the moves I've made have been challenging for different reasons, I long to break out of the dull and comfortable.
Continued safe travels! Marion
Istanbul today I wrote a comment, then let Paul read this. Now I can't remember if I sent the comment. Now you know my mind is deteriorating at an alarming rate while you have been gone! We have enjoyed your blogs so much. You have really been educating us! I hesitate to send this blog to our children because they will immediately leave and live abroad next year! Sorry Jordan has had some problems there, but I am not surprised--she is so attractive! The power of the press is disturbing in every country, I do believe!Love, Louisa and Paul
Istanbul today May's thoughts about travel were thought provoking. And Paul's history helped me fill in gaps. I never realized that the pro-Islamic party is currently in power. I remember when it emerged to take part in an election (must have been 2002) there were fears that it would bring Turkey a religious dictatorship sort of like Iran. But Turkey as I remember is Sunni--Islam without the hierarchy that Shiites have. Good thoughts.
Gran
Great memories Great memories. Its great to hear such stories and memories about this city, it makes each place become more than just a building. So sorry that you thought Shanghai was a bit boring. Most things are closed due to the city-wide makeover for the expo (which is almost finisehd). I just drove by the bund yesterday and its beautiful.
Ottoman blog This was a beautiful blog! It does make me sorry that we didn't visit the harem at the Topkapi Mosque, however, because it is better preserved than the parts we did visit. We, too, loved the tiles! The tile of Turkey reminded me a little of Mexico which also has a great tile tradition. Ottoman influence in Spain may have passed on to the Spanish as they conquered Mexico. Who knows? Marian
Istanbul/Byzantium Hey all, catching up a bit here. So glad you got to try some burek (borek). I didn't like it as a child, but grew to love it later. In Croatia it used to always be sold by Albanians. Craig and I had some in Serbia on our last trip. I have a recipe or 2 if you want when you get home... Paul - so I guess you don't know that I was baptized Serbian Orthodox. This was mostly to make my Serbian grandmother happy... hope you continue to enjoy your travels!
Sasha
Istanbul Hello to all, Thanks for your history, descriptions, and especially the pictures. The art work is fabulous. That alone would make the trip worthwhile. Continue to enjoy. Everyone's hair is getting longer which means lots of time has elapsed. Love to all, Doris
the ancient world I found Paul's history very interesting as well as May's comments on the food (yum) and covered bazaars (ancester of the modern malls). Having driven to Iran through Turkey, including Istanbul and Ankara, in 1969 it brough back memories of how eye-opening the ancient history and culture were to me at age 26. Ancient Persia is equally as interesting and interconnected. love, ma
Great Palace and Crusaders You are sayin in the article that:
"The Great Palace Mosaics. Byzantium had a Great Palace, like the Forbidden City in Beijing or Versailles in Paris. It was pretty much destroyed by the Ottomans, as they built their own huge palace. A few mosaics survived, however. These mosaics are from the 400s, when Byzantium (Constantinople) was the capital of the Roman empire."
You are transmitting incorrect information here. This palace and Hippodrome was destroyed before Ottomans took the city by the 4th Crusaders at 1204. Hagia Sophia also was almost destroyed. Building has been demolished by the same Crusaders. Many valuable items, treasures of great Hagia Sophia have been taken to Rome and Venice by the Crusaders. Hagia Sophia neglected, palace and Hippodrome was in ruins when Ottomans started to live in this great city. Then Ottomans started to take care of Hagia Sophia. That's why we can see beautiful mosaics of Hagia Sophia and great dome. It's been always easy to sue Ottomans for everything happened bad and has been done by someone else like Crusaders. Turks always respected other Civilizations' values. You can see this fact every where in Anatolia and Europe.
favorites Overall it looks likes Singapore wins to me! Certainly have enjoyed all of the Asian experiences through your eyes and your thoughts! West Lake, the lanterns, people exercising together in parks, playing on the ice, all that food, Hong Kong excitement, McTyere School, and the pandas all sounded wonderful! Thanks for the memories! Looking forward to the next chapter! Love, Louisa and Paul
Shanghai Loved hearing about your family in Shanghai. I had no idea they were from China. What a wonderful treat to see where your grandparents were. Did you know them at all? I just finished a book entitled "The Piano Teacher"(couldn't figure out how to underline) which takes place in China (I think it was Shanghai) during the invasion of Japan and shortly after. It was a good read and I think if you haven't read it you will enjoy it.
McTyere School Greetings! I learned a lot from your information about McTyere School. I wonder if you knew a lot about it before you went or learned it there. Anyway, thank you for the information. I thought McTyere was much smaller! Ching Wen was one of mother's students there as you probably know. They shared many fond memories of their time there. You all look great and so do the pandas! Love, Louisa
Thank you, May! I loved hearing about your family in Shanghai. Thank you for sharing! You know so much about your mom's beginning years. I know it was special to be there where she was born and your grandparents lived. You must treasure that knowledge. I think your mom is very special. I love hearing about her roots.
We are a family of four from the US traveling for 8 months in Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia). We'll end our trip with two months in an apartment in Paris.... full info
Louisa Goebel
non-member comment
company and art
Paul, I do believe you could teach Art Appreciation wherever you choose! Thanks for the history of early Ranaissance art. Glad your visitors made it and enjoyed the Florence area with you. When I was 13 I remember that gelato in Florence. Son Paul will be in Paris near the end of May for tennis business, the French Open is then I think. He will probably e-mail you his plans. In about two weeks you will have a new relative! We will be in Spokane. Love to all, Louisa and Paul