On a Magic Carpet Ride

I do not need a rug, I do not need a rug, I do not need a rug were the words I repeated to myself on the way to the Turkish Carpet demonstration/store.  We were shown a few women working on the rugs. . . the process is tedious.  Turkish rugs are double knotted as compared to rugs made in other countries (so says the presenter) and a woman will usually work on the same pattern of rug for 10-15 years.

Turkish woman at the carpet loom

The wool that was being used for the above rug was hand spun and vegetable dyed.  The yarn in the store was gorgeous and you could pick out your colors for your own rug. . . it would take anywhere from 6 months to 1 1/2 years to get your special order rug depending on materials and knots per square inch.

Vegetable dyed hand spun yarn

My favorite rugs are the wool and silk or all silk rugs.  They spin and dye much of their own silk.  They first place the cocoons in boiling water to kill the larva and other mites that might be living in the cocoon.

Silk Worm Cocoons

 They then take the straw brush and stir the pot of cocoons, as they lift the brush out of the water it catches the end of the silk strand that makes up the cocoon.  This is then transferred to cooler water and the ends of the strands are fed into the spinner to make the silk thread.  The threads are then dyed.

Beginning the unwinding process

We were then taken to an room with a very large floor space and they started telling us about the different types of rugs, how to spot a good rug, the different families that make specific types of rugs, etc.  It was a very fascinating presentation.  My favorite of all the rugs was a small 3x5 silk rug of the highest quality, a mere $21,000!  Needless to say that rug is still in the showroom!

Plethora of rugs

I will not buy a rug, I will not buy a rug, I will not buy a rug. . . "Ms. can I show you something?"

Long Road to Cappadocia

We left London bright and early on Saturday morning and headed to the Harrod's Airport where we met our plane.  The plane is a 757 and it as been outfitted with 78 seats.  We arrived to our seats and were welcomed be a fresh flower and lots of goodies for our travel comfort.  You can see the pinocchio enjoyed his new digs!  We will have seats 3A & 3B until we hit the Maldives and then we moved back to the 12th row.  The flight was good and we had lunch and were ready to arrive near Cappadocia.

Our seats on the plane

All was going well until about 20 minutes before we were going to land when the captain announced the weather was not what they expected so we would have to circle for 15-20 minutes.  The turbulence was rough and there was lightning outside. .. he tried to make two landings and we aborted both at the last minutes because of cross winds on the runway!  We were diverted to Ancora (sp?) and then had to take a bus for 4 + hours.  We missed the Whirling Devishes :-( but did get to eat at a Turkish Truck Stop along the way.  It was midnight when we reached our hotel.  The Museum hotel is a cave hotel and each room is a series of caves.  We were tired and motion sick when we finally opened the door to hotel and we were stopped in our tracks by the beauty of the room!!!

Our Living room in the Museum Hotel Room

 The walls are all stone and there are carvings along the walls for decoration.  If you can see behind the couch the two black levers. . .the dispense red and white wine!!  There are beautiful artifacts all around the room.  Our bedroom is up one step and is a wonderful cave room!

Our bedroom carved into the rock

 The bath room is breathtaking with the bath tube tucked into the cave arch way!  The bathroom is huge and the floors are heated!  The hotel room was a little warm last night but this morning it was so nice to take a hot shower and have the bathroom heated!

Our bathroom

 We got to bed last night at 1am and the wake up call came at 5:30am for the balloon ride.  I was tempted to blow it off and sleep but I got up and went ballooning!  The landscape of Cappadocia is amazing . . .rock spires that have been hollowed out for living in and raising pigeons!

Pinocchio ballooning

 This morning about 40 balloons were dotting the landscape, in the summer there can be upwards of 200 balloons in the sky.  It was cold and raining but the sights were still spectacular!

Balloons over the rock formations

 The balloons hoover over the landscape and then go way up in the sir to get the panoramic view!  I loved the wave like wall in the picture below.  The carved sections were used as a pigeon house. . .they used the eggs for food, used the birds for sending messages, and used their dropping for fertilizing the soil for their grapes and apricots!

Pigeon houses

After the early morning balloon ride we toured some cave churches that were once part of the early Christian movement.  The churches were hollowed out of the stone and were beautifully painted.

Tomorrow we fly to Rwanda for the gorilla part of the trip.  We pray for a smooth flight and easy transportation to the mountains!  I will post again on Wednesday I hope!

We got up bright and early this morning to meet our walking tour guide, Ann from London Walks.  She walked us around for 4 hours giving the highlights of London.  It was a grey chilly day in London so we donned our vests, fleece jacket, and our down coats and headed out to the streets.

Royal Mail being delivered

When we arrived at Buckingham Palace the Royal Mail was being delivered by horse and carriage, it stops at all the Royal's households with their mall.  There was no changing of the guard today because in the winter they only do it every other day.

Buckingham Palace

 The Queen is home because her flag is flying over the Palace but she did not invite us for a visit :-(!  There are over 300 rooms in Buckingham Palace!

Guard infront of Prince Charles and Camilla home

 This guard was in front of Prince Charles and Lady Camilla's residence.  They now live in the house that was occupied by the Queen Mum until 2002 when she passed away.  His hat is made from Canadian Bear Fur. . .they wash it and blow dry it to keep it clean.

Memorial to the Queen Mum and King George

These were to statues that honor the memory of King George (King's Speech) and Queen Elizabeth (Mum).  The statue of the Queen was designed to look like she was when King George died in 1952.

Royal Pelican

These are the Royal Pelicans that live in the park by Buckingham Palace, they are fed fish each day.  They seemed quite chilly and were probably dreaming of a warm climate, sand, and surf!

Before the horse nipped me

 We were able to see the changing of the horse guard and this picture was snapped just before the horse turned his head and nibble on me!  In all fairness there was a huge sign that warned of the horse kicking and biting. . .I ignored the sign for the photo opportunity,

Big Ben

This is the Tower of Parliament inside of which resides the bell Big Ben.  The original designer of Big Ben also made the Liberty Bell.  I mentioned to the tour guide that ours cracked. . . the original Big Ben cracked as well.

Beefeater at The Tower of London

This was a Beefeater that guards the Tower of London where all the crowned jewels are located.  There are some serious jewels on the various, crowns, scepters, swords and orbs!  One of the diamonds is 540 carats!  There is a gold plated punch bowl that can hold 144 liters of wine. . .now that's a party!

Tower of London

I thought this was a pretty photo taken as we came out of the torture chamber in the Tower of London.  In the torture chamber the devices either stretched you or folded you in thirds and put a cage around you!

We also had an extensive tour of Westminster Abbey and saw the graves of many famous people.  We can help wondering where they are going to sit all the people for William and Kate's wedding . . .the best  views will most definitely be on the telly!

Tonight we get to meet the other 74 people on our trip. . .should be an interesting couple of hours!

Jeanna almost came over to add to the blog but the doorbell rang with her afternoon tea. . .she is warming up with a perfect spot of tea. . .a true English woman!

A Virgin on Virgin

This was our first trip on Virgin Atlantic and what a treat it was!  We happened to find this awesome deal last summer when Virgin Atlantic was having a sale. . .so we got a great deal!  I have never had such service on any airline!  We were welcomed with a glass of champagne (Jeanna had orange juice) and were handed our night kits which had the eye masks, socks, toothbrush/paste, ear plugs, and lip balm.  We then explored our personal cubbies.

Pinocchio enjoying the welcome champagne

 Each cubby has it's own entertainment section, reading light, foot stool (or if you have a visitor they can sit there), and there is also a fold out table.  The seats were narrow but comfy and can turn into a completely flat bed (more on that later).

My cubby

My cubby

The flight attendant came around and asked if we wanted a "sleep suit"?  It didn't actually register what she was asking but I said "yes" because I never turn down anything free :-)!  She asked our sizes and then handed us these bags which had pajamas inside!!!  So I looked around and saw my fellow passengers going into the lavatory and coming out in their Virgin jammies. . . so off I went to change into my sleep suit!  They were soft, cuddly, and quite warm!  I was now set for the rest of the flight.

Jeanna and I decided we would have a quick dinner and then she will go to sleep and I will watch a movie then sleep.  Dinner came it was really good for airline food and Jeanna decides to get her bed ready.  There is a button that has a picture of the flat bed so I say just press the button and the seat should slide flat.  I am looking over my wall and instead of sliding to a flat position, the seat starts folding in half with Jeanna in the seat!  I see her head being pushed forward and then flashing blue lights start over head to alert the attendant!  We were laughing so hard that she barely made it out before it trapped her!  I only wish I could have grabbed the camera for that shot!  Anyway, flat beds are the bomb and with the duvet and fluffy pillow will actually got a decent amount of sleep!

The trip over the pond went smoothly, plane was early, transport to the hotel on time, passed the Queen's motorcade on the way. . . we are off to a good start!

Tonight I had dinner with an old friend, Ann who I had taught with at Sewickley Academy.  It was great to talk and reconnect.  Tomorrow we head off for a walking tour of London and then in the evening we meet our fellow travelers!  So I am sitting here in my Virgin jammies signing off until tomorrow :-)

And We Begin!

After almost a year of planning we are on our way to enjoy the "Experiences of a Lifetime" journey.  The first mini leg of our journey was smooth, a quick flight from PHX -> LAX on Southwest Airlines.  I am a big fan of Southwest. . . no hassles, no fees. . . and a painless stand in line according to your number seat assignment.  Well, I like that when I have a number that begins with "A" :-)!  My friends who know me and have travelled with me you will attest that I can be an anxious flyer. . .I like to be early, have all my ducks in a row and if set backs happen. . .I can go into a melt down faster than chocolate chip in a warm oven!  I have learned over the years to help prevent these nuclear meltdowns. . .on an airline like Southwest I have my finger on the enter button to check in as the clock flips to the 24 hour to take off mark, if we have connections to be made I allow plenty of time (we arrived in LA at 12:20pm for a 6:25pm departure), we traveling abroad to meet a trip we arrive the day before, and most importantly I carry Xanax in my front pocket!

So we are here in the Air New Zealand Lounge (Virgin Atlantic shares) waiting for a couple of hours until our flight.  All the bags made it from Phoenix and are safely checked to London.  We have talked about what we both brought. . .no one has made any "oh shit I forgot" discoveries so far.  Things are looking good!

Here's to a great beginning and on with the show!

Gearing Up

Packing is hard.  I do not like to pack.  I know you are thinking that I must be a pro at it now, however that is not the case.  I will do anything rather than pack. . .organize my closet, my sock drawer, go through my change and sort of quarters according to their states, and even write a blog!  This trip has been a little different because Jeanna likes to get started packing early, so I thought I would try it her way and reduce the anxiety about getting ready.  So last Tuesday I started to gather the clothes and equipment  I would need for this trip. . . starting to build piles around the bathroom. . . Jeanna started in the living room.  The thing is that you cannot bring out the suitcases too early because the dogs, especially Greta gets very anxious when she sees the suitcases.  

Deb's Packing Central

 This trip is especially tricky because we are often moving every 2 days and a couple of times only stay one night in a location, this necessitates packing and unpacking a lot!  We have used packing cubes in the past but the trouble was you can't really tell what is inside them. . .so Jeanna came up with the idea of velcro labels!  The idea was quite genius and I sewed all the packing cubes with velcro strips. . .thank you high school sewing home ec!

The Packing Cube

Packing Cube Labeling

 The other difficulty of packing for this trip is the varied activities that we will be doing during the trip and the different climates.  London, Turkey and Bhutan will be chilly. . .think down jackets, hats, and gloves and Africa, Maldives, and India will be warm.  We also have to have special pants for the gorilla trekking, they needed to be heavy canvas to ward off the stinging nettles, plus you need hiking boots, gators, and garden gloves to protect you hands from the nettles!  You can see Jeanna's gorilla pants in the picture below. . .very fashionable!  I am still insure about the stinging nettles but at least we will be prepared!

Jeanna's Packing Central

We then were advised by some friends who recently travelled to Morocco and rode camels that bike shorts and Chamois Butter would be a good thing to have to prevent camel butt blisters!  A welcomed tip for sure but more things to pack for a single event, although the bike shorts might come in handy in the Maldives for riding bikes on the island.

Next is the snack collection. . . I could be stuck in the middle of the desert and would be able to live for a long time with the collection of snacks we have in our bags!  At least we will have room coming back for trinkets in the suitcases after we have devoured the snack supply.

We also have to carry all medications that might be needed in a 21 day period!  We have over the counter drugs for colds, sore throats, upset stomach, and aches & pains.  We have yet to go away without catching some intestinal bug so we have prescription drugs to kill those!  We are in malaria territory so we have meds for that as well!  I can only hope that we have everything we need for the trip.

We are now down to final toiletry selections and electronic gadgets and cameras. . . remembering all power cords, adapters, and extra photo cards. . . earphones, ipods, ipad, mac air . . . .cameras, flip video, good video camera. . . we will be ready for anything!  The rule is the cameras don't stop rolling. . . I can't wait to see the big Silverback Gorilla approach Jeanna!

So it looks like after many trips to REI, Best Buy, Orvis, and numerous online retailers we are almost ready to go!  So with less than 48 hours to go I am 95% packed which is a record for me!  I am still not sure about starting the packing early. . .but I know that Jeanna feels better about it so that is good enough reason for me!

Peruvian Pals

The best thing about traveling is the friends we meet along the way.  We have truly been blessed by the friendships formed during our trips.  This past weekend we travelled to Bend, Oregon to have a reunion with our Peruvian Pals!  The lynch pin to this group is Iwalani.  We met Iwa on the Mt. Kilimanjaro climb and thought she was the best!  When we decided to hike the Grand Canyon, Iwa was the first person we called and she signed up!  She brought two of her friends, Gayle and Stacey with her to the Grand Canyon.  While on the trip we met Melanie from Utah and she fit in perfectly to the growing group.  When Iwa decided that she wanted to hike the Inca Trail for her 50th birthday she sent out the call to her friends.  The trip was full with 14 participants in less than two weeks!  What an amazing group of 14 women!

We arrived in Peru knowing 4 of the 12 other members in the group.  It was soon clear what an incredible group of women had been assembled.  These women are all remarkable. . . independent, bright, caring, FUNNY, warm, driven, beautiful, compassionate, and adventurous!  The days spent on the trail were great fun surrounded by these women.

The reunion weekend was wonderful because we got to reunite with our friends (sadly no Melanie or Melissa).  We got to see them in their habitat and strengthen our connections with each other.  I loved sitting around the dinner table sharing conversations, hiking along the river, sharing iphone apps (damn Plants vs. Zombies), and getting to know each other a little better.

I hope that this reunion will become an annual event because I have fallen in love with Bend!  There is so much to do from skiing to hiking, eating and shopping this town has it all!  I also hope that we will have many more adventures together and that our group will continue to grow.

Thank you Peruvian Pals for a great weekend and for your gift of friendship!