Marci and Steve Go Back to Europe

BONUS BLOG Dateline: Nov. 12, 2013 Place: New York City Event: Bumble and Bumble Private Party Reason: To celebrate the publication of a new Book Wow. Marci & I were invited to attend “an intimate affair’ in NYC this week. It was a spectacular party to celebrate a new book written by our friend, Laurent Philippon. Laurent at the Party Regular readers of this blog will recall that Laurent, who lives in Paris, spent a bit of time with us back in June & July when Marci and I were staying in the Marais section of Paris. We met him traveling in Mexico City a few years back... Laurent is a very talented and world famous Hair Designer, Stylist, and Consultant to Bumble & Bumble  ( see:  http://laurentphilippon.tumblr.com/ ) ….he was kind enough to take Marci & I to the Haute Couture fashion show in Paris, and even arranged for Marci to have the world’s best hair color touch-up in Paris at salon Superstars ….see the old...

The Last Reveal  We all know Steve is the king of WTF blogs. They are so his thing, not only because he has that kind of sense of humor, but because he is a great observer of those little things as we walk or drive or metro around.  I, on the other hand, am not funny and not a keen observer. But, in case you haven't guessed, I am THE blog writer and so I thought, with no new odd photos to use as a final WTF, and with the great interest in the WTF blogs, perhaps we should end on that note (actually there will be one more post before we go dark). We got lots of guesses. Right away. From our usual players and from some first timers. From people who don't travel much to people who travel a lot. From guesses in Euros to guesses in Turkish Lira (good thing we're now experts at all those exchange rates). From low guesses to high guesses- they were all over the place.  Then, so as to ruin MY first WTF blog (and possibly in fear of being usurped as the WTF king) Steve pipes up and...

>>>>> Omitted from last blog post was the winner of the WTF #9....congratulations to Mark Berger for the closest guess . October First.....and the Last Things We Learned - What you really NEED and What you really should know when hitting the road for four months abroad One lipstick and one lip gloss last four months. One pair of sneakers, one pair of flip flops, one flat sandals, one ballet flats and no heels. Go for comfort, not style. And if you have room, water shoes would be great.  No pajamas. Seven pair of underwear and three pair of socks. One...mascara, eyeliner, foundation, blush...nothing else required for the first three months, after that, you can just throw out all your makeup. Five scarves to help you change your look and keep warm when needed. Everything in your suitcase should match, except the scarves. They are your break from the monotony of black, white and beige. Forget nail polish or nail polish remover, have natural nails and stop for a pedicure...

Transitioning to Reality (which clearly includes being confused about your blog daily posting deadline when you go from Turkey time back to East Coast time so sorry we're late) It was a LONG trip home. September 28, Steve's birthday and he was wide awake at 1:30 A.M. anticipating the day's travel. I was not much better, up at 4 for our 7A.M. flight from Izmir to Istanbul.  Although the flights went according to plan, our five hour layover in Istanbul was painful as we could not check in early and head to a lounge to wait as planned. And though the flight touched down in London on time, we had only an hour to connect and there was enough of a delay in getting us deplaned and onto the bus to the terminal, that we barely made it. We managed to O.J. it and board seven minutes before flight time. Little did we know that we would sit at the gate another hour waiting for other connecting passengers arriving into Istanbul late. All said, we got into Philadelphia on tim...

LAST GAME!!!! WTF #9.....And the Final Count, our best estimate, your best guess Our TOAL (Trip of a Lifetime) totals: Gone for three months, three weeks, four days and two hours of which all but five days were sunny 12 Countries 40+\- Cities  21 Hotels 3 Apartments 1  Sailboat cruise 11   Plane rides 5 Train rides 5 Boat rides 2 Car Ferries 1 Kayak ride 5 Rental cars for eight weeks 150+  Metro rides 25+ Bus rides 4 Taxi rides  250+ Miles walked 200+ Meals eaten out 30+ Churches, Cathedrals, Basilicas visited 10 Synagogues visited 4 Mosques visited 10+ Castles visited 25+ Museums visited 12 Beaches visited 4  different Seas swam in 100  Bottles of wine, plus many more glasses 10  Packages sent home 2 Pair of shoes worn out 7 Pair of shoes bought 12+ Pieces of jewelry bought  16 Scarves bought 10+ Turkish/Tunisian towels bought 4 Haircuts  3 Touchups 2 Pedicures 0 Manicures 3 Times we really could have used a cell phone  28 Skype ca...

Turkish Taffy was only the beginning.... Of my love affair with Turkish food.  I had no idea what to expect when we arrived in Turkey. I knew halva, Turkish taffy (ha) and dried apricots. Maybe if pressed, I would have included meze, but not really knowing anything except they were something like tapas served at the beginning of a meal. So here is a primer of Turkish food. Breakfast A feast of cheeses (always at least three or four kinds from soft to hard), some plain, some in olive oil, some spiced. No meats, thankfully. Olives, black ones in oil that are delicious and this coming from someone who never would eat black olives. But then again, I never ate any olives until I had olives in the Alentejo in Spain. Sometimes green olives too. Tomatoes, many times peeled but not always. I had no idea that Turkey is well known for their delicious tomatoes. Cucumbers, again a bit different than ours, much crunchier and way less water and seeds.  Toast, simple breads, not much variety....