A Chrome Kind of Day

 The Lake Mirror car show is held annually in Lakeland.  This is the first year that the Turk and I attended, and we went with Dad and Tim.  What impressed me - the amount and assortment of cars from the early years to today;  the attention to detail for the renovated cars;  the enthusiasm of the owners and the admirers of these cars, the well laid out event setting.
I was fascinated with the details - mostly in chrome.  Hood ornaments were a complete study by themselves.
The weather was perfect and the string quartet added the personalized touch.

Dad, Tim and Mark in the background

 

Essence of sleek speed

 

Hello New York

I got a call on Sunday that I needed to be in NYC Monday night for 3 days. GREAT! I raced to the closet to check my clothes, knowing I would be having meetings in the SoHo and Greenwich Village neighborhoods with marketing folks and agencies.  I needed to dress appropriately - I currently work from home and haven't really done face to face meetings the past couple of years.  I tried on all the long pants in my closet....none fit.  That is good news because I lost weight, but it is bad news on a Sunday when you leave Monday and are expected to wear clothes!  
In a panic, I contacted 'cousin' O'Leary who assured me between her daughters and herself that I would have something to wear.  I went over for my fittings and discovered some fashionable tops and jackets. Then off to the mall for a pair of black pants.  Whew!  Packing on Monday, I realized I didnt have closed toe black shoes that I can actually walk in...so open toe it is - with Mark's black socks.


It was an arduous trip, a 2 1/2 hr flight that ended up taking 6 hours due to weather in NY. We ended up in Baltimore for a large part of the night. Waiting in the long cab line at LaGuardia, I heard 'the airport is now closed. All passengers must leave the building'.  It was 1:30am and the airport was full of people just arriving after the delays.   But I finally got to my funky SoHo hotel (over $400/night) a few hours before I needed to get up again.
 
 I raced back after work each evening so that I could explore. Wow, SoHo has definately changed since I lived over here.

Here's what I found:
- Shops, bars and restaurants every where.  The neighborhood is no longer edgy, but upscale gentrified.  I walked to the Bowery which used to be walking to the edge of hell - but there I was with well dressed young people walking on the sidewalk.  Granted, there were some very dark, scary men standing in the doorway of what looked like a club with no windows, lights or name. I didn't hang around to investigate.
- A restaurant that sells only rice pudding, in different flavors like coconut, almond, chocolate, raspberry.
- Streets busy with mostly young people...in their 20's. Where do they get the money to live or even eat here?
- A shop of chocolate powders from all over the world.
- my taxi driver helping out another driver who was lost by telling her to follow him as he led her part of the way to her destination...on my fare
- The owner of a bakery handing out free pastries when a customer didnt pick up their purchase
- A shop called 'the worlds best chocolate cake' which is about 10ft wide and serves...chocolate cake (milk and dark) and coffee.Not a heavy chocolate cake - its 3 layers of baked meringue-like chocolate with chocolate mousse fillings and chocolate ganache topping.
- An elegant young woman riding her bike to work in the morning in black slacks and a short sleeved lined white lace top. She slides off her bike to walk it into her office when I notice her stunning blouse is...inside out with the tag waving in the breeze.
- Restaurant gave me free glass of wine when the bottle was empty before the glass was fully filled.
- Tried Pinkberry frozen yogurt - always wondered about them after their american express small business ads
- Many non-native speaking people, mostly from Europe (the value of the Euro brings them in) and from Russia.  Did Russia kick out their twenty-somethings to the US?  What is going on with Russia?
- Very personable and friendly people - like you'd expect to find in a small town, not a big city
- Cab drivers were friendly and not wierd.
- JFK requires you to check your bags up to 1 hour before the flight, or else you can't check your bag!

The End of Our Journey

BabaAna's favorite spot

It is always sad to say 'farewell'. To send us on our way home, the family stayed up most of the night just talking.  Gradually, each person fell asleep where they sat (some did manage to get to their homes).
 We were up at 5am for the hour drive to Izmir to catch our flight for Istanbul.  After getting to Istanbul, we found out our flight to the US was canceled until the next morning, and there were no hotel rooms available in Istanbul.  We ended up in a small town on Marmara Sea in a beautiful hotel.  Delta woke us up at 3 for our trip back to Istanbul airport.We finally arrived after 28 'awake' hours of traveling.

Aysa listens intently

What will I miss?  Of course the family. Even though it was 12 years since I last saw everyone, once you arrive, it is as if no time has passed, except the kids are grown! I relaxed and enjoyed the Turkish pace, which is slow and unexpecting. They don't expect things to be on time, they don't expect things to always work out, they just live through the experience and enjoy what they can. 

Minaver is thinking, 'you've got to be kidding'

Ibo full of mischief

Zeynep ready to get the tea

Fatima always laughing

The Turks are welcoming people and are excited that you are visiting their country. Our visit was made even more special by the experiences we had with individuals who went out of their way to help us have a great trip.  I'll miss dancing to Turkish music on the boat or on the street at family festivities...Eating everything from the rich yogurt, grilled peppers, Ramadan bread, kizartma with eggplant and yogurt, grilled fish, home made baklava, fresh figs, thirst quenching Efes beer,  turkish pizza (pida).....   and my new food love - Magnum double chocolate ice cream bars (which are not sold in the US).  I'll miss the casualness of getting ready for the day - no real prep required...the amazing turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea... how old things are...sunsets...walking everywhere..the exotic look and feel of Istanbul...and more and more.

But, we are happy to be home to our own wonderful beaches, Mark's great cooking (his Turkish food is even better than a lot of what we ate), our friends and my family.  Mark will always be torn between both countries and I plan to enjoy the opportunities to experience 'his' side as often as I can.