Well, I definitely enjoyed my two days in Istanbul more this time than I did back in my last visit in 2009. Having three friends to laugh with definitely helps. The Turkish people I interacted with on the street were still a bit sarcastic and dry but it didn’t bother me as much as it […]

read more from this topic.....

After my last couple of trips to (what I felt was a) pushy city like Istanbul, I’ve arrived again with my friends Caitlin, Branden, and Kate. Today begins our two week long adventure in the Middle East – a few days in Istanbul (their idea, heh) followed by the rest in Jordan, where I’m a […]

read more from this topic.....

Last week, Christine and I took a week-long trip to the American Southwest. She’d never been before, and I hadn’t visited since a 1996 trip with my grandparents – man, I loved that motorhome and I’m sure 1996-level gas prices were a good deal for my grandpa. We had a noon flight out of Milwaukee, […]

read more from this topic.....

Like most ancient ruins of ancient civilizations, the Zapotec/Mixtec ruins of Monte Alban are filled with big rocks. Built on a large mountain overlooking the modern city of Oaxaca (the priestly/ruling caste of the Zapotec had a thing for being able to overlook their subjects), Alban has a serene, tranquil feel to it even during […]

read more from this topic.....

It’s not proper IPA spelling, but hopefully Christine the linguistics Masters degree holder will forgive me. It’s been quite awhile since the last post, and instead of addressing things consecutively as I usually do, I’ll handle the food of the Oaxacan region first. On New Year’s Eve, Christine and I went out from Casa Giron […]

read more from this topic.....

We ate our way around some of Oaxaca’s plentiful taquerias and food stands. Second breakfast (after the omlettes served by Concepcion) was at Oaxaca’s number one rated restaurant, a bakery conveniently located only a couple blocks from Casa Giron. The owners were both there, two young Mexican men who spoke perfect English and made us […]

read more from this topic.....