A Very Long Venetian Day

The day started as I described before, with the walk to work and the local café with the excellent cappuccini. After writing the previous post, I grabbed my sunglasses and walked outside. I walked until I got as lost as I could get and then took out a map. I was exploring the other side of the Grand Canal (which I snapped above). There really wasn't anything exciting or noteworthy that happened on the walk other than that I got a really nice look at the city. Tired, I returned to the office where Kyle works. Shortly thereafter the office went to lunch at the place they always have lunch, just down the road on a busy street. We each had a spritz and a toasted sandwich as we watched Venetians and tourists walk by. Pictured are my hosts, Kyle and Fabio.In the late afternoon Kyle took me to a rowing club called Settemari (Seven Seas) where he has been learning to row a traditional Venetian boat called a "caorlina". It is not a thing for tourists but for locals to enjoy. Besides none of the others there knew more than a few words of anything but Italian. Kyle taught me a few useful words when we arrived. Pictured is the boathouse.I climbed into the boat nervously though it was not because I have a fear of rowing or water or anything like that. I was nervous because I knew that whatever transpired over the following couple of hours, I was sure to screw up. Besides, I had never rowed standing up. However, with five other rowers I didn't expect my contribution to me critical. I was wrong about that. There really was no stopping to enjoy the view or a swim. Pictured above is me after we reached the mainland and got out of the boat to restock the water and get some beer. The bad news was that the bar was closed. So instead of getting a nice rest, we immediately climbed back in the boat and rowed back. The boat I was in is the one closest to me in the picture. I am sweaty because we had just rowed 4.6 km non-stop in the summer Sun. I felt like a wimp because everyone else seemed to not be sweating as much. Also, I could barely stand because my legs felt as though they would collapse at any moment. The return trip was difficult, but my rowing technique improved a little. The others said I did fine for my first time. In any event I paid close attention to the pointers the instructor gave when we were on shore. Ultimately, I was glad to have had the exercise and the truly Venetian experience.
But the day did not end with that.

Kyle and I walked for another five or so kilometers looking for a good restaurant. I try not to take too many pictures when I am out and about but I snapped this one quickly as we walked.
The restaurant we found was right next to the location of the next event we had planned to attend: an outdoor concert of a jazzy Venetian ska band called Ska J. We ate a bunch of delicious food and had a couple Italian beers. When the show picked up, we moved to where we would have a better view. We snapped a couple of photos of each other.

On the walk home, I took another picture of the Grand Canal from the other side of its biggest bridge.
We stopped off at San Marco's Square where we listened to the bell of its enormous clock tower sound with its characteristically rich and eerie notes unique to the midnight chime. When we got back to the apartment I took a very cold and refreshing shower, fell into bed and slept very well again. In just this one day I had walked about 20 km and rowed 9. Rowing class meets again on Thursday and so I plan to take it easy for today to save up my energy. However, there are some fun plans for this evening. More about that tomorrow :)

Venezia

It's really true. I'm in Venice now and for the next few days. The picture above is one of the first ones I took. I think everyone has seen pictures of the place before, so I will only put a few more up. I will tell you about my trip here and the first day and then give some remarks about this city.

I bought my ticket the morning before my departure. I flew Swiss for the first time to Zurich from Boston. The flight was nice. Each passenger had their own flat screen with which they could select music or audio books to listen to or watch movies etc. I opted to sleep instead which was difficult because there was this one Turkish kid three people away who was whining to his mom all night long. I could understand most of what he said and it fueled my dreams. When I woke up, the kid stopped whining and then fell asleep. The Zurich airport was not that exciting to me. All the stores in the airport were displaying Swiss watches for $500. The scenery was rolling hills and forest. I could have believed I was in West Virginia or something. The flight to Venice was short and it was over the alps which was spectacular as always. About 5 minutes before the plane landed a thought suddenly occurred to me: 'Holy vino, I'm in Italy! about to land in Venice!' I just felt so excited all of a sudden. It was like I just remembered that I have always wanted to visit Italy.

I am staying with my friend from WPI, Kyle. He gave me very good and detailed instructions for how to get to where he was from the airport. By the time I arrived on the island where Kyle was, I had already gotten a nice view of the city on the boat ride in. He took me to the WPI project site office where he works and later we went out for a long walk around. The first thing I noticed were the tourists:
They are everywhere. It is like the city is one big museum on a Saturday during the busy season. The good news is that they stick to only one section of the city.
Kyle took me all over one half of the city. One thing I liked seeing was the sundial pictured right. The other thing I liked seeing was EVERYTHING ELSE! Everywhere you look is just as beautiful as the next part whether there are lots of people or no people. It's like I was only expecting a part of the city to have that old elegant feel, but really it's the whole thing.

In the evening we found ourselves at a restaurant not far from Kyle's apartment. It was a cute family-run restaurant and bar that Kyle frequents. Everything about the experience was lovely and perfect. I know that lacks description, but it is how I felt during and after. I had fish lasagna with a salad and chicken. Needless to say it was phenomenal. restaurant was picturesque but I decided not to take a picture.Everything about the food and the the street to the park. The experience was very authentic as we were nowhere near the After the meal, we each had an espresso and then walked across touristy part of town (and hence the cost of the food was an order of magnitude less). We watched the light fade over the city.

When the Sun went down, we went back inside the apartment. Kyle lives on the top floor and there is an attic room where I sleep. Since the apartment is under construction, it is very empty and open. I love it. We conversed about Venice by large open windows over glasses of Grappa and then went to bed. I slept like a baby. Kyle woke me up to a bright morning at 7:00. We got ready for the day and then walked along canals and through narrow streets the couple kilometers to work. We stopped at a small café for cappuccini. I hate to gush over everything because it makes it seem like while I was there, I gushed. Well I didn't. The café was what it was: busy, relaxing, adorable, and friendly. Thinking back on it (it was a couple hours ago now) it rocked. I love these simple yet wonderful experiences.

The First Half of 2009 in a Nutshell

I was in Turkey of course. Hanging out with friends in Taksim.


Pınar and I went out to our now favorite restaurant.


Visited more friends in İstanbul.


Pınar holding Eşref Armağan's (blind Turkish painter) depiction of the Van Monster.

To see more of his works go here.

...and Sasha from my hometown was sitting behind me on the flight home from Paris.

Now I am about to embark on the next and last great adventure for a while...
2 or 3 weddings, 4 or 5 countries, and 40-something days.

...

dum dum dum dum dum DUMMMMMMMM!!!

Ankara at last

I found a cheap ticket from İzmir to Ankara. Burcu was very kind to drive me to the airport. It was an evening flight on a small plane. I sat next to two women who were enthusiastic about trying their English on me. Talking with them helped to pass the time. When we landed I asked around for the bus to Aşti, a large bus station not far from Ayhan-Teyze's house where I would be staying.

These traveling situations used to make me more nervous but they don't bother me so much anymore. Whenever I was alone in Turkey I used to feel like I was lost, but now I feel more and more like I am just getting from place to place like everyone else. On the bus to Aşti, I sat next to a guy who looked to be right about my age. He was consumed with playing a soccer manager game on his laptop. I was silently cheering him on because he was managing Galatasaray. When they scored, I would say 'YES!' to myself and discreetly pump my fist. It was definitely entertaining. Toward the end of the trip, he asked me if we were at Aşti yet. I told him that we weren't. Then he guessed that I speak English and we talked for a while. He was a student in Michigan just coming home for the holidays. We carried on for a bit and then soon arrived at the stop. I shook his hand and wished him well, turned, and headed toward the taxi cabs.

After a short cab ride, I was dropped off at the apartment complex of Ayhan-Teyze. There were two buildings and I guessed that she was in the more distant one. I looked at the array of doorbells. There was one named Ayhan and at that moment I wished I knew her married name. I was about to push the button when someone else exited and I entered past them. I took the stairs to the third floor and stopped in front of what I hoped was the correct door. I took a deep breathe and then knocked. When the door opened I saw Ayhan-Teyze's large smile greeting me. At that time I met her husband, Muhtar. They immediately sat me down for some delicious dinner. Shortly into the meal their son, Kahraman's cousin Cenk, arrived with his wife, Nurcihan. A translator by profession, she enabled easy communication between myself and the others, which was a luxury I told myself not to get used to.

The following day there was an epic football match between Galatasaray and Altay in the Tukish Cup in İzmir, to which I had been invited but declined, because there was one even more exciting thing that was scheduled for that day: a long overdue visit with the elusive and mysterious B. This time, I told her that I was coming, and she had made preparations for some entertainment but kept me in the dark about the exact plan. I met her at school that Thursday morning and sat in class with her. I passed the time by trying to understand the lively discussion about topics in sociology all around me and also by writing down my thoughts about my adventures so far and my plans for the rest of my trip. The hours passed quickly, but by the end of the class my sheet of paper was covered with blue ink.

When school was out, B's friends all came together and we rode in cars over to her place. Final preparations were being made for a gathering. When we arrived at her apartment I paused in the doorway for a moment. It was the exact place I had surprise-visited her one year ago and my emotions from that time returned though un-summoned.

We were hardly inside the apartment when the phone rang. Of all the people in the world, it was Sumaré, my beloved Brazilian friend. He was, of course, in on this whole plan and hence the timing of his call. It was awesome to talk with him. I remember describing to him how strange it felt to be inside B's apartment. I mean that if I had been dropped in her room suddenly it would have taken me but a few moments to determine whose room it was. Books that she had recommended to me and that I had read were on the shelves. Pictures of people I knew and places I had been were on the walls. CD's of music and movies that she had inspired me to enjoy rested there. I was happy enough to be in the company of a great friend and her great friends, but to have Sumaré on the line just made it all the better.

Food and drinks arrived and were prepared, and everyone was either sharing stories or picking out music for everyone to listen to. I really enjoyed B's friends. At one point, one of the guys, Volkan, starting dancing in a very funny manner. It really fit his personality, actually, and it made us all laugh for quite a while.

The night went late and so I returned to Ayhan-Teyze's late, but it was definitely nice to have seen B and so many of her friends. After that long and wonderful day, I took it easy for a couple of days by just spending time reading as well as going out with Cenk and Nurcihan.

We went for a long walk around part of the lake at ODTÜ, the Middle Eastern Technical University in Ankara. Apparently, it is a very crowded place to be in the spring and autumn seasons, but in January it was very quiet. We took a lot of pictures there and talked about many things as well.


After the walk, we visited some relatives of Nurci's and then we stopped by at the Saturday bazaar...It snowed the morning I left Ankara.