It was that time of the year again: Memorial Day. I like Memorial Day because not only does it signify the start of summer (my favorite season), it also means that I get to go on vacation! My cat hospital is open seven days a week, and I can’t have our other veterinarian, Dr. Sheheri, work 11 days straight while I’m gone. …
Traveling the world is one of my great pleasures in life. It expands my horizons and it’s good to get out of my comfort zone now and then. Like most travelers, I like to document my trip by taking lots of photographs. As the years go by and technology marches on, the cameras that I’ve taken with me have become…
I recently had the pleasure to take a trip to my favorite international city, Amsterdam. I first visited this wonderful city in 1998. Although I have traveled to most European countries, I hadn’t had a chance to return to Amsterdam until 2011. At that time, I was fortunate to discover the Poezenboot, a cat shelter/sanctuary permanently docked in the Singel…
Just before venturing out for our final day in Istanbul, I look out of our room window; First thing I see is a kitty across the street. This should be a good omen for the rest of the day. Our goal today was to see the Quincentennial Museum of Turkish Jews. The museum is located not far from the…
Our last full day in Istanbul. Today, the plan is to take a cruise up the Bosphorus. Anyone who’s read Orhan Pamuk’s book, “Istanbul” knows the importance the Bosphorus Strait plays in the lives of the people of Istanbul. The 19 mile-long Bosphorus serves as Istanbul’s main highway, hosting a never-ending stream of vessels, from little fishing boats to humungous…
Today I thought we’d try something a little different. Today we’re gonna pop on over to the Asian side of Istanbul. Our destination is Uskudar, a charming district easily accessed by ferry and teeming with historical mosques. Exploring Uskudar gives us a chance to experience the streets of a quiet, everyday neighborhood, without the opulent architecture, modern style and throngs …
To fully appreciate the urban Istanbul of today, you must leave the Old Town and plunge headfirst into the hip, happenin’, lively, upbeat, European-feeling New District, and that’s what we did. After spending the first two full days exploring the classic sites of the Old Town, we indulged in the part of the city where our hotel was located. We…
Today turned out to be one of the most exhausting days of the trip. We decided to tackle the famous Topkapi palace. This is the place where the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror decided to set up shop after capturing Constantinople. It ended up serving as the sole administrative palace for Ottoman sultans for more than 400 years. It housed…
Holland. The name conjures up windmills, tulips, and wooden shoes. With laid-back friendly people, scores of museums, a multitude of restaurants serving top-notch international cuisine, “coffee shops” that feature marijuana on the menu, gay marriage, and legalized prostitution, Amsterdam is undoubtedly Europe’s most progressive, hippest city. Its beautiful canals have earned it the moniker “The Venice of the North”. For…
I’ve been extremely busy since I got back from my trip to Amsterdam and Brussels, plus I have over 2000 photos to sort through, but I want to make sure I share some more pictures. Here are some more from Poezenboot, and I’ll post more from my Europe excursion soon.
As it turns out, arriving late was not a disaster, because the weather in Budapest was horrible. Despite the steady downpour, we decided to make the best of it, and grabbing our umbrellas, we left our perfectly-located hotel and strolled over the modern Elisabeth bridge to Gellert Hill. The climb up Gellert Hill was exhausting, but we were rewarded with…