Trixie heads West ...

to Kanata? Last year, V bought us tickets to see the 2008 Homesense Skate Canada International held October 30 - November 2, 2008 in Ottawa. Under the International Skating Union (ISU), a Grand Prix series is held every Fall. There are six events in different countries, one of them being Canada, and skaters can compete in two of the six events. At the end of the six events, the top skaters go on to skate in the Grand Prixe Finale. The Grand Prix series provides skaters an opportunity to showcase their routines and allows them to work out and tweak their routines throughout the season prior to their nationals, Worlds, and Olympics.

Well it's come and gone and they were four great days of watching athletes practice and compete. It was also fabulous to see former skaters who are now coaches or commentators. I found it fascinating observing how the atheletes interact with with one another during the practice sessions. Some skaters are friendly and joke with one another and other skaters are uptight and indifferent. One of my highlights was seeing Alexei Urmanov in person, the coach of Russia's Sergei Voronov. Alexei Urmanov, Olympic champion in 1994, was one of my favourite skaters back then and he continues to look good and I'm sure he can pass on a wealth of information to his current and future students. Another highlight was seeing Alexander Zhulin, former Dance medallist, who has been linked to Maia Usova, Oksana Grishuk and others. The skating world is another version of the soaps or Hollywood, where everyone is someone linked to someone else and there's always a story about some current or former athlete. Over the course of the we heard some good stories about some of the skaters from other fans.

Canadians did great at this Grand Prix, see the top three results below.

Men:
Patrick Chan - CAN
Ryan Bradley - USA
Evan Lysacek - USA

Ladies:
Joannie Rochette - CAN
Fumie Suguri - JPN
Alissa Czisny = USA

Pairs:
Yuko Kawaguchi / Alexander Smirnov - RUS
Jessica Dube / Bryce Davison - CAN
Keauna McLaughlin / Rockne Brubaker - USA

Ice Dance:
Meryl Davis / Charlie White - USA
Vanessa Crone / Paul Poirier - CAN
Nathalie Pechalat / Fabian Bourzat - FRA

See you next year in Kitchener.

Hot, Hot, Hot!

I had a great weekend visiting with Vicki and Lady M and her new "friends" (foxes, a mom and her two kids are living under Lady M's wood shed) on Wolfe Island. They really are sly, sneaky creatures as they creep along the edge of the trees to spy on us while wearing their black socks (okay, they're not really wearing socks, but it looks like it). They like to eat birds and they weren't shy about leaving the evidence laying around as we would come across wings here and there.

Boy, I wanted to see the sun this weekend and out it came and blazing too. It was a very hot weekend. Lady M took us out in her boat and rowed us around the St. Lawrence River for a couple of hours. She took us into the marsh so we could see the jumping carp. It's their mating season and I'm not sure if both sexes jump out of the water or if it's the male fish chasing the female into mating and one them jumps out. Well, we didn't see them jump right out of the water, but we did hear some splashes and saw movement in the water. Perhaps it wasn't the right time of the day.

One day, we put on our rubber boots and took on a tree with clippers, a hand-saw, and a hack saw and set about cutting down dead branches and parts of the tree. It was a lot of fun to saw branches down and to stock pile the brush. We felt such an accomplishment after seeing the final result of hard work. Poor Lady M, was left with the job of going through the brush and it will keep her busy for a little while.

Most of the our time was spent relaxing on the deck either at the house or down by the boat house and eating (good food), drinking, chatting, reading, and mostly, just enjoying the sun. I was the only one brave enough to go swimming in the river and chilly it was, but only at first. It was great to float around in the water and watch the clouds move across the sky, and to watch the speed boats fly by and lastly, to watch the sail boats' sails billow in the wind.

Thank you Lady M for inviting us and for being a great host. See you later this summer.

Where's the Sun?

Today, my friend Vicki and I are off to Wolfe Island to visit Lady M for the weekend. I'm very excited about visiting Lady M as she always has great stories to tell us. Whenever we visit Lady M, the time it spent talking, laughing, eating great food and heading out in the water.

This morning it's pouring outside and I'm starting wonder if the sun will ever come out for the summer. It continues to play hide and seek with me ... coming out for one or two days to taunt me then it hides itself and lets the rain fall down on us. It's suppose to be sunny and bright outside this weekend and I hope it is because how can you truly enjoy floating around in the St. Lawrence River starring up at the blue sky and white fluffy clouds when it's grey and wet outside?

I will report on my weekend when I return.

Our overall impressions of Turkey

Our trip to Turkey has come and gone in a whirlwind motion that us left us wanting more. Although we have been back for a couple of days now, we are still on Turkey time and wonder what we would be doing if we were still there. It was a great trip and I fell in love with the country, the people, and the food.

Things we will miss:

• Göreme
• Great hospitality
• Çay (also free at times :))
• The landscape
• Göreme boys
• Fresh fruit
• Tasty desserts
• Fabulous dishes (Iskender Kebab, Chicken Shish Kebab, Gözleme, Köfte)
• Erol’s breakfast
• The HOT men

Things we will NOT miss:

• The haggling
• The cigarette smoke
• Celine Dion music
• Weird toilets
• Beethoven’s Fur Elise ringtone (I swear it’s the most popular ringtone in Turkey)

Nina's Post Travel Tip:

• Be aware that weaning off of Turkey is a slow and painful process!

Our Last Day in Turkey

Last night, Nina and I went to the Nazar Börek restaurant for the last time and we decided to go crazy and ordered three desserts: baklava with ice cream, apple and cinnamon börek (basically it's an apple pie in phyllo pastry), and another dessert made with grape syrup. After our dessert feast we headed to Fat Boy's Bar to watch the Turkey-Switzerland football game with the locals. One of the guys thought Nina was a good-luck charm because as soon as she went into the washroom, Turkey scored and tied up the game. The guy kept telling Nina to go back into the washroom so Turkey would score again. They eventually did and won the game. The Turkish men in the bar jumped up and were cheering and hugging one another. After the game, Fat Boy's was the place to be for fun and dancing. So it was another late night (very late night or should I say early morning) of having fun with all of our new friends.


Today, we said good-bye to our friends and returned to İstanbul for our last night. We are feeling quite sad to be leaving Turkey. In some ways it feels like we've been here forever but at the same time it flew by. A piece of us will be left in Turkey. It has captured our hearts.

Nina's Travel Tip:

• Sixteen days is not enough time for Turkey.

A Turkish Bath is a Turkish Delight

Yesterday's rain turned us into lazy lumps for most of the day. We were stuck at the Internet cafe during the afternoon rain storm. Once the rain let up somewhat, we went to Sultan Carpets ... and I bought a rug for my living room. I fell in love with this carpet when we first came to Goreme, however at the time, I did not want to spend that much money so early into our trip. I have looked at some other rugs from different places, but none of them appealed to me as much as this one. It will look fabulous in my place!

After my crazy carpet purchase, we returned to our room for a nice long nap, then we went to meet one of the locals to try the nargile (Turkish water pipe), which is a way of smoking Turkish tobacco. The nargile has a metal pipe on the top and a glass bottle on the bottom, which is half-filled with water and a long flexible hose is attached to the pipe. The top of the pipe has a small metal try which holds the tobacco and coals. Each person receives their own sipsi (a mouthpiece) and it is placed at the top of the hose. As you suck through the mouthpiece, it draws tobacco smoke down through the pipe, through the water (makes a bubbling noise) and into the mouth, then you exhale. You will notice the apple flavour. There are numerous flavours, such as cherry, kiwi, blackberry, but the most popular flavour is the apple. The nargile is a social function, which is mostly done by Turkish men and last night, Nina and I were the only women in the place trying it.


After a while, we went to the Flintstone's bar and danced the night away. These Turkish men really know how to dance. There was one man who was an exceptional dancer and Nina and I watched him dance most of the night.

This afternoon we went to Elis Kapadokya Hamam (Turkish bath) and it was an amazing experience. We were taken to a change room to lock our items and were given a pestemal (towel) and sandals to wear. We were directed upstairs to a room where a woman painted mud on our faces then were told to sit in the sauna for 15 minutes. I roasted in the sauna and had to leave it earlier than expected. We were led to another room and Nina and I laid on this round hot stone to await our turn to be washed. Once it was our turn, we take the pestemal off and lay it on the stone, then we lay face down on it. The lady pours warm water over your body and places a kese (loofah mitt) on her hand and starts massaging your body and at the same time is exfoliating you. I loved having my back exfoliated. Once she's done with your back, she pours more water over you and tells you to turn around so she does the front part of your body. After this step, the lady covers your body with bubbles and starts to massage your body and rub the soap in. I think the last time I was scrubbed this thoroughly was when I was a little kid or a baby. It's truly one long massage. After the lady pours more water over your body to rinse the bubbles off, she tells us to have a shower to rinse the mask off. After this step, we're directed to the jacuzzi to sit in it for as long as you want. After the jacuzzi, I had a shower to wash my hair and went back downstairs to have a 10 minute oil massage. I think I should have gone for a 20 minute massage. Not including the massage, the Turkish bath cost 35 YTL and it was an extra 10 YTL for the 10 minute oil massage. It was so wonderful and relaxing and am happy to have experienced it.

Nina's Travel Tip:

• Pay extra and get the oil massage (Nina's favourite part)

Peace at Last!

Yesterday morning we went to the Spice Bazaar near the Galata Bridge and bought some spices (of course) and tea. It was very quiet and the salesmen didn't seem to hassle us like the ones from the Grand Bazaar. We also went back to the Grand Bazaar and came away with nothing because it was too early in the day. The salesmen are more than willing to bargain later on in the day, but not so in morning. They kept saying "You're my first customer of the day." Blah Blah! I almost had the one guy down to a lower price but he wouldn't budge.

Before we left I had Mado's ice cream: caramel with walnuts and orange with orange pieces and pistachios.

We're back in Göreme and it's so quiet and relaxing compared to İstanbul. We are very happy to be finishing our trip here. Last night we went to a Turkish dinner/dance. The dinner consisted of a bunch of cold mezzes dishes and a hot main dish, which was rice, beef, tomatoes, and hot peppers. The dancers performed traditional Turkish dances from different areas of Turkey.

Today, it's pouring in Göreme.

Nina's Travel Tip:

• None for today as she's ecstatic to be back in Göreme.

Living it up at the Topkapi Palace

Today we went to the Topkapi Palace. It was huge and breathtaking! It was opulent but not ostentatious as Versailles (Nina's opinion). The harem's quarters were fantastic and Nina wants to steal one of their couches. It took the entire afternoon to see the Palace. They appear to be very clean people as every room practically had a cleaning fountain. The bathroom makes my apartment look like a ghetto. The grounds were expansive and there are gorgeous roses every where. There are views of the city and the Boshporus all over the grounds. The artwork in the domes, on the walls, and the mosaics are wonderful. In the jewellery room there was a display of an 86ct diamond. The story is that it was found in the garbage by an homeless person who sold it in exchange for three wooden spoons. We also saw relics of the prophet Muhammed and Moses. One being a wooden rod of Moses, which I highly doubt as the stick looks brand new.


Check out our new pad (the Harem) at Topkapi Palace:




Nina's highlight of the day was having chocolate baclava. She enjoyed it immensely and would love to bring some back to Canada.

I had ice cream again from Mado's: pistachio and walnut flavours.

We also hung out with Eduardo for the last time. :(

Nina's Travel Tip:

• Make sure to bring enough memory for your camera

The Otherwordliness of İstanbul

After travelling all day to İstanbul in a bus with no air conditioning, we finally arrived to the lively metropolis. Everything is more in this city: more people, more aggressive sales people, more expensive hotels and food. During our time in Istanbul, we will be staying at the Coşkun Pension. Our room here is our most expensive room and our worst room of the entire trip, plus it doesn't include breakfast. The bathroom is questionable with it's glass walls. We walked around the Sultanhamet area, which is home to the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. We saw part of a light show on the Blue Mosque.


Yesterday, we visited the Hagia Sophia, which is pretty mind blowing. The craftmanship and detail in design is incredible and puts current architecture to shame. Unfortunately, we could not see the dome in its entirety due to work being done on a nearby wall.

We also visited the Blue Mosque and we were given scarves to cover our shoulders because apparently our shirts did not cover our neck and collarbone enough to their liking. The Blue Mosque is very impressive and very luxurious with its carpeting. The mosaics are gorgeous!

We took a break and went for dondurma (ice cream) at Mado's. I had chocolate, banana, black mullberry, and a mix of vanilla/chocolate. Nina had black mulberry and raspberry.

We also went to the tomb of Sultanhamet, then headed to the Grand Bazaar. WOW!!!! It's a maze and at times we felt like we were going in circles. We were overwhelmed and didn't stay for very long as the pushiness of the salesmen became too much.

We took the tram to the Galata Bridge and went to the original Turkish Delight store. How many Canadian stores can say "Established in 1777"? We bought some Turkish delight. :) Afterwards we walked across the Galata Bridge and watched people fishing off the side and we went to Beyoğlu, which is the nightlife district. We went to the Galata Tower, which provides a great panoramic view of the city. We went to Vera's and people watched while drinking Efes beer with Eduardo. Last night, Turkey was anticipating a win from their football team in the Euro 2008, however, Portugal won the game much to the dismay of many Turks.

Nina's Travel Tip:

• Efes beer wıll always help regulate your system if you're feeling a little "clogged".

Hagia Sophia pictures:

Blue Mosque pictures:

Sights from Bozcaada

We spent another exciting day at the Ayazma beach and this time I had the privilege of rubbing sun block on the good-looking Spaniard's (aka Eduardo) back. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it. :) Nina sat on her lounger in the shade suffering a cold and trying not to burn more weird spots on her body. We had supper at Cafe at Lisa's, which is owned by an Australian woman from Perth. She told us she exed her Turkish husband two years ago. Her place was very cute. We had homemade pizza and at first it didn't look like it would fill us but we were stuffed in the end. We felt a little a sad saying good-bye to Ergin and Mama, the owners of Ergin Pension. They are a cute couple. I got to practice my Turkish since they didn't speak a word of English.

Ergin and Mama (owner's of Ergin Pension):

Here are some pictures from Bozcaada:

Tomorrow we're off to Istanbul.

Nina's Travel Tip:

• You can actually burn your belly button and it hurts like hell.

Fancy Supper in Bozcaada

Nina and I decided to go to one of the restaurants that overlooked the harbour. We ended up going to the first restaurant we saw called Yosun. The head waiter took very good care of us. We picked out our appetizers and the rest was a pleasant surprise. Two sea bass were brought out for our inspection and Nina had a nice glass of local white wine while I contented myself with a cold Efes beer. The appetizers which consisted of marinated peppers, aubergines, cured fish, and salad were brought out with fresh toasted bread. When the cooked fish arrived we were not sure how to eat it because everything was still attached (thankfully the head had been removed)! The waiters proceeded to dissect and remove all the unneccessary parts. We were quite impressed with the procedure! Afterwards we were presented with a lovely dessert of ice cream and what seemed to be a dessert couscous of brown sugar and cinnamon with nuts and raisins. To finish the fantastic meal we were given a small glass of Turkish coffee (strong stuff!) and a liqueur. The saucer had rose petals all around it and a mini rosebud was placed next to the cup. It was our most expensive meal here in Turkey, which still isn't expensive by Canadian standards, but it was absolutely worth it!

Which way to the beach?

Today was rough, really rough. First, we ate breakfast in a courtyard covered with vines and fruit trees. A typical Turkish breakfast consists of fresh bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, olives, a hard-boiled egg, and çay (tea). I love çay! Sometimes I even get it for free. :)

After breakfast we took a mini dolmus (bus) to Ayazma beach on the Aegean side. There were maybe 30 people there at the very most. We met a fellow traveler from Spain, named Eduardo and he hung out with us at the beach. I must say that it felt like heaven as we laid on the beach with the sun beating down and the warm breeze blowing on us while watching the sea, the barges float by, and as we read. In case you're wondering, I'm reading "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger. After a while, I would become warm from the sun and would go in the water. The best way to approach the frigid water is to run towards it full speed then dive in, and try not to scream like a banshee when you come up for air. After you come up for air, swim around to keep warm.

Casper got some colour today. She's gone from glow-in-the dark white to a nice shade of beige. Casper also had a rough day today, especially when she had to put some sunblock on a good-looking Spaniard's (aka Eduardo) back.

We' re heading back to the beach tomorrow. I hope it won't be so rough.

Nina's Travel Tip:

• Make sure to reapply sunscreen when at the beach

"Winter" Wonderland

Yesterday, we did a day trip to Hierapolis/Pamukkale. The trip was 3 hours each way and it was a very long day especially with it being so hot outside. Our tour guide said she was exhausted at the end of the day because of all the talking she did. However, she spoke for a half hour at the very most for the entire day. We started to walk through the Necropolis of Hıerapolis and five minutes later she said lets take the mini domus (small bus) for 2 turkish lira each because it's hot outside. Then the bus whipped us through Hierapolis so we could not get off to take pictures. The Necropolis, which means "city of the dead", has 1200 tombs dating back from the Hellinistic period.

After our very quick tour of Hierapolis we went to Pamukkale, which means "cotton castle" in Turkish, and is located just below Hierapolis. Pamukkale has a number of hot springs and one of them has a high mineral content of chalk and thus gives the white cotton appearance. Most of the pools have dried up and there is speculation that it has dried up because of tourists visiting the area or its due from the town below. Pamukkale's white formation could be seen from a distance and it is something to behold. We walked around some of the travertines and in some of the pools. The water was very warm. It was a beautiful place, but too touristy.

We have decided not to go to Bergama and just veg on the beach instead. We are currently on the island Bozcaada, which means "the island" in Turkish and are staying at the Ergin Pansiyon, which is run by this little old couple named Ergin and Mama. We have a lovely room that looks out onto the Aegean Sea and there is a rooftop terrace. Tomorrow we're off to the beach. Rooms are very expensive here and I negotiated breakfast with our room.

Nina's Travel Tip:

• Don't leave anything behind on the bus. You might not get it back.