Istanbul and Ephesus, Turkey

Last month, we had the great opportunity to visit Turkey. We enjoyed a couple of days in Istanbul and one very memorable day in Ephesus. The two places were very different, and gave us a taste of Turkey.

The Blue Mosque was the first place we visited in Turkey. It is a large Muslim Mosque surrounded by six very slender minarets. After centuries, the intricate tiles are still brilliant in their colors. Soon, after leaving the mosque, the calls to prayer sounded from the minarets throughout the city. It was very surreal and a moving experience.


We also visited, Topkapi Palace. The palace of the Sultans for hundreds of years. We enjoyed learning about Turkey's past and seeing how the Sultans used to live. We walked through rooms full of armor, jewels, royal clothing and in one word, WOW!

Each of the days in Turkey, we were able to visit a bazaar and walk the streets of the old city. It seemed that every street had a Turkish bath and venders selling Turkish Delights, a sort of honey and nuts chewy candy. We pleasantly tried all flavors and found it interesting to bargain with the street vendors at the bazaar. We went away with some great buys and treasures to remember our trip.

In Ephesus we started our visit at the ancient city ruins. We were able to walk down Curetes Street, which is known as the Marble Road, through Hercules' gate. We stopped to take a picture of our feet in front of one of the shops. In the ground at our feet you could still see the Christian symbols, recognizing the businesses owned by christian proprietors. We ended our visit to Ephesus at the theater where The Apostle Paul preached and lived for 2 years or more. This was one of our favorite places.

On our way home from Ephesus we visited a carpet factory and watched the ladies follow detailed drawings, tying the tiny knots that would make up the silk or wool carpet before them on the looms. Then, we were treated to apple juice and a carpet show. They even made a carpet fly!!!!

Parallel parking + Europe= TRAPPED

When I was 16, I had to parallel park in order to pass my drivers test. Since that time I have parallel parked plenty, but I would rather not have to. In my 30 something years driving I have never had a mishap. YAY!

Last year, there was an interview with drivers in Europe. Most European drivers said that they equate the resulting stress of parallel parking to having to visit a dentist or the sudden arrival of unexpected guests to the house. Today, I saw why!

I went grocery shopping this morning. I had to parallel park, but I left about 1.5 feet between my and the other drivers. I was in the store for maybe 10 minutes. When I came out to put my groceries in the car, I was horrified to see that the two cars I had parked in between had left, and THREE new cars had taken their place. The front car was snuggled in with maybe 3 inches to spare and the space behind me now was occupied by two Smart cars. There was maybe 1 inch to spare. I loaded the groceries and waited, but no one came. I was a prisoner. I decided to take measures into my own hands and get out of this spot. When I turned on my car, the parking assist went BEZERK beeping and warning me to STOP! So I listened. :(

After waiting 20 minutes, a lady came to the car behind me and drove off. I was at last able to get out of that tight spot and get on my way. Give me the dentist anyday!

GET THEE TO AN ABBEY!

Paul, Laura and I had a great trip with friends, to visit an abbey about 15 min away from our home.


The Abbey of Bonmont is one of the oldest abbeys in Switzerland (1098). It was established on the teachings of St. Bernard.



The restored abbey church was opened June 23, 1995. Since then, it has been run by the Foundation of the Abbey of Bonmont and used primarily for concerts of Gregorian Chant.



We had a fun afternoon, seeing the fall colors and enjoying the beauty of the abbey and surrounding forest. We also had fun collecting walnuts, plums and picnicking near by. We would love to go back for a Gregorian Chant concert sometime.


I am not sure where the phrase, "Get thee to an abbey!" comes from, but I am glad we did. It was fun!

Get Along Lil Doggie..... Swiss Style!

This last weekend we drove about 30 min. away to the quaint village of St. Cergue, Switzerland. Every year in October, the shepherds or cowherders bring the cows and sheep down from the mountain pastures to the valleys and barns for the winter. In French it’s called Le Retour des Alpages. It is a great experience to see this happen.

Just a month ago we hiked high in the mountains and saw these same cows eating the high mountain grasses. Now we were back to see the herders take them to our valley near Lac Leman.

The day began with bell ringers, St Bernard Dogs pulling carts, Alpine Horns and beautifully costumed singers/yodlers. Soon the cows could be heard as they loudly were directed through the small village and down the mountain. Some cows wore huge flowered head-dresses, but all wore the signature Swiss bells around their necks. After the parade of cows, we had to hop and skip on tippy-toes around the town, because of all of the cow droppings. It looked like the whole female herd had saved their morning trip to the Cow 'ladies room' and opted for the village road instead. Yucko!

Later on in the day, we drove back to our home and came across some of the cow paraders back in their home fields, but still sporting their large flowered head-dresses. Farmers and family were gathered around their barns ready to continue the days festivities.

We could not have asked for better weather or a more relaxing day.It was another day of Swissness for the Johnson Family, which is my new word for days such as this.