Archives for posts with tag: Istanbul

Home?

July 29, 2020 //

Where to call home?

I pretty much always “feel at home” wherever I am. I’ve always thought this to be a good thing, and it is. It also makes picking an actual “home city” a bit of a challenge.

Here’s the thing. I’ve been lucky that work has allowed me to go to other countries and cities and discover more about what this awesome planet has to offer. That means I am also fortunate enough to have amazing friends all over the place. So if “home” equals being surrounded by friends and family…well…I’m not sure that narrows the question down for me!

Sometimes I think “I’ll meet a guy, and that will decide where I live”. Or “Work…I’ll find work that excites me and means I have to live in a certain place (for more than a year…), and that will decide where I live”. So far, neither of those “plans” have worked out very well.

So…I keep going back to places that really feel like home for me, and that is:

1.Vancouver – I have called this city home for over 20 years now. I have amazing friends and people I consider family there. I know who my “maintenance team” (doctor, dentist, TCM, chiropractor, massage therapist, workout trainer, etc. etc. etc.) are. I know where my gym is (kick-ass boxing workouts at Contenders…ouch…and so good!), and I know where my pools are (Kits in the summer and Hillcrest in winter). These are people that can not be “replaced” and who make time for me when I get back to Vancouver – no matter how long I’ve been gone.

The beauty of this city is undeniable – where the mountains meet the water.
Kits pool – my happy place!
Walking the sea wall around False Creek on a sunny day is always worthwhile.
The Richmond dike is one of my favourite places to run – I love the scent of the salty air, watching airplanes and seaplanes come and go, and the view of the mountains.

2.Montreal – well, Montreal and the Eastern Townships, to be precise. This is where I grew up. I have tons of family here, and I have some pretty amazing friends here as well. Having moved away when I was 16, my time spent in this part of my country has recently increased, and as I get to know it more, I love it more.

I love this old water bottle – amongst downtown high-rises, a sign of what used to be
Brrrr….I love the snow though!
I do enjoy seeing the lights adorning the city in winter.

3.Germany (my brother’s house, to be specific). Definitely a home away from home – with the added bonus of spending time with my brother and his family. You spend that much time with little ones and its harder and harder to leave. Doesn’t hurt that they live in a beautiful little village, and it’s easy to get to.

Schwäbisch Hall – I mean really…..beautiful!

Always a treat to go to the city centre for a stroll.

4.Istanbul….you didn’t think I’d forget about my beloved Istanbul did you??? I’m not sure how to describe my love for this city. I also have some amazing friends who live there and who welcome me back every time I visit. Last year ago I spent 6 weeks in Istanbul. Glorious. When I do that again I really need to take some intensive Turkish lessons. The little I know gets me by, but it isn’t enough.

Meandering through Istanbul’s neighbourhood streets early on a Sunday morning.

The name of the boat says it all.

Kahvalti – Turkish breakfast – my absolute fave! Especially the menemen (eggs scrambled in tomatoes with peppers) and bal kaymak (heavy cream drowned in honey) – delicious!

I spent much of the past year in Tokyo – getting to know another city, another culture. So in my little head, Tokyo was “home” for a little while (cut off short by the Covid-19 pandemic and an early end/postponement of the project I was working on there).

My Tokyo abode – At just under 400 square feet – no waste of space in this apartment! All of it very cleverly thought out.

This space quickly became my little sanctuary. And then…believe it or not, two of us worked at that table for a few months. Good thing we know each other and like working together!

I loved discovering “little streets” away from the high rises and main avenues.

Which brings me to now….I find myself back in the Montreal/Eastern Townships area with time on my hands and thoughts in my head about “home”, and the desire to take what little I own out of storage. I don’t have a ton of possessions, but I do have some and for the most part they have been stored in Vancouver for the past seven years.

Church Steeples, green leaves and lilacs
Downtown Granby. I love the old buildings

Given the current Covid-19 realities, Montreal is my pick for now. Making the move into the city next weekend, and looking forward to discovering more about what the city has to offer and creating my home base. Then the unpacking and rediscovering of the items I put into storage will come. Fun times ahead!

Montreal’s Atwater Market – soon to be my neighbourhood.

PS: while looking back through photos and picking those to go with this post I am reminded of what a charmed life I lead. Massive smiles on my face and gratitude in my heart!

Blessed to be on the Bosphorus – for work. Seriously!

Tags Germany, Home, Istanbul, Montreal, Schwäbisch Hall, Vancouver

Categories Health & Wellbeing, Random Thoughts

A Broad Abroad – Summer Sizzle Part 2

September 13, 2015 //

46 days. 17 flights. 6 countries. Old friends. New friends. Desert night. Beaches. Sunshine. Dancing. Wedding. Calamari. Rosé. Champagne. Rakı. Baptism. And so much more.

From Oman I went on to some familiar and some new spots…Here is part 2.

Stop #4 – Country #4: Turkey. Istanbul. What can I say. I cannot help myself. Initially I was flying through Istanbul 5 times without stopping. Not sure what I was thinking there…it felt wrong to just fly through and not stop at least once! As always, I stayed at my favourite hotel – the House Hotel Galatasaray. It feels like home.

It can be hard to leave this room…but with all that Istanbul has to offer, I generally find my way out!

Caught up with some “old” friends and introduced them to some “new” friends who were visiting. And also managed to catch up with a friend from NYC who happened to be in Istanbul at the same time. Love it.

Dinner in Beşiktaş with old and new friends.

The lovely Nuray – a friend from Baku, who was on her way to Toronto with her hubby.

And of course…there was the requisite visit to the Cağaloğlu Hamam.

When in Istanbul, do yourself a favour and go to the Cağaloğlu Hamam in the old city (Sultanamet). Sooooo good!

Istanbul – it is always a joy to see you.

Kavahltı – Turkish breakfast. My fave. So much so I make it at home sometimes as well. Menemen…bal kaymak…Yum! Even tastier when eating it down by the Bosphorus.

Our view at breakfast. Beautiful. Never gets old.

Stop #5 – Country #4: Turkey. Ankara. Time well spent catching up with a friend I hadn’t seen in about 18 months.

Red, red wine…and another delicious dinner. I seriously need to stop drinking and eating like this.

And…was taught how to properly drink rakı. I’m not the master that Taylan is, but I held my own. I have said for a few years now that my first rakı experience would be with Tay – but somehow I managed to live in Istanbul for the better part of a year without doing so (and that was 2 years ago!). Clearly it was time…

Rakı! In a beautiful little Greek restaurant.

This was my first visit to Turkey’s capital. It’s a government town (I lived in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, for 3 years – so I know what those are like). I enjoyed it. As a city it has a huge footprint (really spread out). The central area is easy to walk around in and I managed a short visit to the Canadian embassy.

For a moment there I was standing on both “home” soils…one foot in Canada, the other in Turkey. 🙂

I was also taken to Ataturk’s mausoleum – a must see.

Ataturk Mausoleum – beautifully done.

Ataturk Mausoleum. The exhibit is really well done. Hard to photograph though, so you will just have to go see it yourself.

In the 35+ degree heat we also managed a trip to the old fort in the city. I wouldn’t stay in a hotel there (too separate from the part of the city you want to spend your evenings in), but it is definitely worth a visit.

With the walls of the old fort, which dates back to the Byzantines.

Inside the old fort in Ankara. I loved seeing women on the street working on their handicrafts. I wanted to take a close-up of this lady, who has a beautiful, National Geographic, face. But it felt like I would be intruding, so I didn’t ask.

Stop #6 – Country #5: Greece: Athens! A pit stop for a couple of days to meet up with friends before we headed to Mykonos for a week. It’s my second visit to Athens, and I know I’ll be back. This was really a functional stop (laundry, etc.)…so no photos. That said, we did manage a beautiful dinner overlooking the Acropolis and an evening walk in the area. Lovely.

Stop #7 – Country #5: Greece. Mykonos.

The day we arrived – a sunset swim at the hotel pool where my friends stayed. And of course, some rosé.

Mykonos – incredibly beautiful sunset. From the pool deck at the Vencia Hotel (which is where my friends stayed).

WOW. What a week. Beaches by day – dinner and some clubbing by night.

Such beautiful beaches and water.

What became my daily meal – Greek salad and calamari (friend and grilled).

One day we took a break from the beaches (who knew you would need that! But we did), and we rested by the hotel pool. Underwater photos were taken…but somehow my head never appears in them! Either I was lazy and didn’t swim as far as the rest of the gang, or I simply float too easily. I’ve always said that if floating were an Olympic sport I would have more gold medals than anyone in the history of the Games. It was soon determined that if we were on a sinking ship, I was the one to be beside. We tested it out…and apparently I’d be the only one drowning as everyone grabs onto me for bouyancy. Rumour also had it that I am “clearly” a secret agent… No comment! 🙂

Where is Lise’s head???

Even when I was the only subject matter….no head in the photo. So funny – but a great shot nonetheless!

And then our last beach day arrived – how quickly a week goes by!

Final day at the beach…say it ain’t so! But luckily I would be at another beach in a few days.

A farewell shot, brought to us by our server (on the very right) and the guy who booked our beach lounge chairs (2nd from the right). See you again gentlemen!

So much fun. And such a beautiful place. White washed houses, blue skies, clear blue water, hot sunshine, dancing, rosé, drag shows, friendly people, new friends. What more could you ask for?

Mykonos, from the hill where our hotels were.

Sunset, from my hotel – the Myconian Inn.

Breakfast area at the Myconian Inn. Everyone working here was lovely, so warm and helpful.

Myconian Inn – even the resident dog was friendly and cute.

View from my room at the Myconian Inn. Such blue skies!

Thank you Istanbul, Ankara, Mykonos and all my friends that made these two weeks so amazing!

Part 3 coming soon…

Tags Ankara, Ataturk Mausoleum, Greece, House Hotel, Istanbul, Kavahlti, Mykonos, Travel, Turkey

Categories Travel

A Broad Abroad – L-Istanbul

May 17, 2015 //

You need to see the city from the water. Even if all you do is ride the ferry to Asia, and then immediately hop on a ferry back. But if you have the time, take the 2-hour Bosphorus boat tour.

Believe it or not, another blog about Istanbul. Shocking, I know.

I will admit that it is not all that clever to add “L” to the front of “Istanbul” to make it sound like “Lise-tanbul”. But…there are a few reasons for doing so. “L” for “Lise”, yes. “L” for “love”, yes. It’s fitting. I LOVE this city. Period. Over the past 2 1/2 years I’ve been extremely lucky and able to spend a good amount of time here. It gets harder and harder to leave. And to be honest, the thought of living back in Canada, such a long way away, makes me sad. But, where I end up living come the fall is yet to be determined…and the subject of a future blog. So I’ll get to this one…

Walking down to Karaköy through Galata.

I should just buy that old building… I wish…

My home in Istanbul. The House Hotel Galatasaray.

Not only do I love Istanbul, I love showing it to someone who hasn’t experienced it. This quick weekend in Istanbul was shared with three people I work with – one of whom had never been to Istanbul before. There’s nothing like seeing someone experience this city for the first time. And it brings back the first time I was in awe of this place and its energy.

Istiklal - recovering from the night tat

Istiklal – recovering from the night that was.

Istiklal starts to wake up.

And Istanbul – you never disappoint. The weather was perfect. Sunny, warm but not too hot – perfect for exploring. I do not know if it is purely the geographical location, but it was made obvious to me this time that there is something truly magical about the light in this city – be it early morning, high noon, sunset, or any time in between. The sun certainly shines bright (like a diamond…HA!…some of you will know what that means…) on this city.

Reunion with I2020 friends – more like family actually. Ladies are shining bright!

Here are a few examples of the beautiful light in the city – and the treasures you discover by walking down random streets.

Beautiful old mosque across from one of my favourite cafés – Café Cuma.

Morning light in the city. I love going for walks as everything wakes up.

Just around the corner from the House Hotel Galatasaray. This neighbourhood just feels right.

You will want to look around every corner, down every street.You never know what you will find.

Technically cheating with the next two photos…as they were taken on a previous trip. But seriously, mother nature loves this city. No filters…All natural.

Sunset over the Maiden’s Tower

Sunset over Sultanahmet

A case study in light – our view from Banyan restaurant in Ortaköy. The food is amazing, the drinks are well poured, and the view is unmatched.

View from Banyan as the sun starts to set.

View from Banyan – the sun is gone, but night has not arrived quite yet.

View from Banyan at night.

No matter how many times I go back, there are some places that I can never get enough of. Top of this list is the Çağaloğlu Hamam. Do yourself a favour and go… Sorry folks, no photos from the haman! 🙂 I will even admit that I once had a 6-hour layover at Ataturk Airport – so I hopped onto the train into the old city, had a hamam, then hopped the train back to the airport. Aaahhhhh.

Next on the list is the Aya Sofia. I could sit in there for hours. And this time there was a new courtyard open. Magic.

The walkway up to the 2nd level in the Aya Sofia. I can not help but think of all the people who have walked this before me (and I am not referring to the plethora of tourists).

I’d love a home with marble doors like these…

Peek-a-boo view to the Blue Mosque.

The newly opened inner courtyard.

Görüşürüz Aya Sofia.

And then there’s the food….So much good food…

Kahvaltı — Turkish breakfast. If I invite you over for brunch these days, you will see this along with crèpes and maple syrup. The perfect French Canadian/Turkish meal.

Afternoon Prosecco and nibbles.

Oh hello chocolate baklava…

Banyan Orange Beef…and a Cosmo, of course.

When in Beşiktaş make sure you visit the Ayıbedenler coffee shop.

Istanbul…always a pleasure. Loved sharing some of my favourite sites and neighbourhoods with my friends.

Good for the soul. See you again soon.

Blue sky over the Blue Mosque

Although the sun sets, the Bosphorus never sleeps.

Still love the lights.

House Hotel Galatasaray

And a final note. Thank you again to RASK Travel for making the arrangements for us. It’s always a treat to be in Istanbul, but when we got to our rooms at the House Hotel Galatasaray and found personalized welcome notes, a bottle of wine, and a box of truffles from you to welcome us there and wish us a fabulous weekend…well, that was above and beyond. You really are the best!

Tags Aya Sofia, Banyan Restaurant Istanbul, Café Cuma, Istanbul, Istanbul Sunset, Istiklal, Karaköy, Ortaköy, Sultanahmet, Travel, Turkey

Categories Travel

A Quick Trip “Home”

February 17, 2014 //

View of the New Mosque, Galata and the Bosphorus.

I have been very lucky – I’ve had interesting jobs that I’ve enjoyed tremendously, and some have included international travel. This past year and a half has been extraordinary on that front.

Istanbul.

I had the pleasure and good fortune of spending the majority of last year there. It is a phenomenal city, with so much to offer – unbelievable scenics, a diverse culture and history, friendly and welcoming people, great food, new awesome friends, and of course, the hamam! Admittedly I was as sad to leave Istanbul as I was happy to go home, back to Vancouver. But that’s the thing about contracts that take you to distant, exotic places – they end and you go home. And I wouldn’t necessarily have it any other way – the one makes the other that much more special.

Having started a new contract in an even more distant city, I’m experiencing the initial ‘getting used to the new surroundings” phase. So after 3 weeks in Baku, I headed to Istanbul for 3 days. The fact that I am currently getting used to living in a new city and country put a new light on my reflections of the time spent in Istanbul.

After arriving in Istanbul Thursday morning I checked into my hotel in Beşiktaş, and as I unpacked the small mosque down the street started a mid-morning call to prayer. “Aaahhh” I thought, “I’m here – back in beautiful Istanbul”. I still love the sound of call to prayer. And hearing them is a definitive reminder that I am far away from home.

I walked up the hill from Beşiktaş to Nişantaşı to meet a friend for lunch. I hadn’t done this particular walk before and I hadn’t realized how quick a walk it was – just 20 minutes up the hill. Luckily for me Kutlu gives directions the same way I do, using landmarks not street names. It’s so much easier! But I digress… The point is, I enjoyed discovering how one area of the city I love connects to another.

Kutlu and I post lunch

After lunch I walked from Nişantaşı to Taksim Square and Istiklal. Again, a route I hadn’t done before. Another new discovery in a city I’ve spent a lot of time in. It was time to stop by a few of my favourite jaunts.

Tea and a chocolate macaron at the Pera Palace Hotel bakery.

As I was enjoying my tea, the lady who served me asked if I’d been there before. She remembered serving Elenie and I last summer…on the patio, saying it was fun, that she’d recommended a drink and that we had laughed a lot…that’s quite a memory – we’re talking about something that happened last July!

Walking down Istiklal I remembered the first few times I’d walked that street – it had seemed so crowded and so different. This time, it felt like I’d come “home”. Now that put a very large smile on my face. And it was a feeling I had many times over the 3 days.

Beautiful, bustling Istiklal.

One of my favourite things to do is take the ferry across from the Europe side to the Asia side. There’s just something about seeing that city from the water. Meeting some friends on the Asia side provided the perfect “excuse” – though in truth none was needed. The ferry ride to and from did not disappoint.

I love seeing this Mosque right on the Bosphorus with the “modern” city behind.

Haydarpaşa train station – stunning.

Arriving in Kadiköy. I’m now officially in Asia 🙂

Lunch with Ozan and Alaz.

Make that….lunch with Ozan, Alaz and Ayça!

And look what's on the menu! I love "menemen". It's turkish scrambled eggs with peppers and cheese in it. And it makes me laugh that it sounds like you're saying you want "many men" for breakfast. But seeing it like this on a menu was a first!

And look what’s on the menu! I love “menemen”. It’s turkish scrambled eggs with tomatoes, peppers and cheese in it. And it makes me laugh that it sounds like you’re saying you want “many men” for breakfast. But seeing it like this on a menu was a first!

Time to head back to the Europe side. Pst...Elenie...what's missing from this photo? That's the ferry we used to take from Ataköy to Kadiköy.

Time to head back to the Europe side.
Psst…Elenie…what’s missing from this photo? That’s the ferry we used to take from Ataköy to Kadiköy.

Mother nature loves this city too! The sky often gets this beautiful at sunset. And the bird was intent on getting into the picture. Love this view of the old city – and the silhouettes of the Blue Mosque and the AyaSofya.

I could go on in detail about every moment of the weekend…but I’ll get to the point. As I was leaving Istanbul I thought about how “different” this city is to my home town and country, and yet how at “home” I now feel there. If we could all travel to distant places around the globe and immerse ourselves in a different culture for a little while, wouldn’t we begin to understand and appreciate each other more? Wouldn’t we see that we are not so different after all, no matter what our beliefs? Others who are “different” wouldn’t feel so scary, and we’d realize we have more in common than not. And that’s the key with going somewhere new – being open to experiencing it for what it is and not wanting to duplicate what we have at home. The more I travel and experience new places, the more I want to travel and experience new places. Istanbul is going to make that challenging though, as it is going to be hard not to simply keep going back there!

Görüşürüz Istanbul and my wonderful friends.

Beautiful Sunday morning in Bebek.

Incredible view from Mangerie in Bebek.

Walking back to my hotel in Beşiktaş.

Dinner with the very lovely, and funny, Gulin.

A big thank you to my hostess Gökçe for letting me crash for a couple of nights.

And last but not least, that’s a very happy, rejuvenated, grounded and soul satisfied moi enjoying Kahvaltı (classic Turkish breakfast), sunshine and a beautiful view before heading to the airport.

Tags Bebek, Bosphorus, Haydarpasa Train Station, Istanbul, Kadiköy, Pera Palace Hotel, Pera Palace Hotel Bakery, Travel, Turkey

Categories Travel