Cartagena!

A teacher summer post in December? The people said it couldn't be done!! 

To them, I say, it's summer somewhere. Go ahead and put a tropical umbrella in your hot cider! And, really, shouldn't we keep summer in our hearts all year long? I think we should and I think we can. 

After a semester at home (ugh, day jobs, amirite?), I managed to squeeze in one last international trip. AT, my ever-ready travel companion, and I left unseasonably warm 70-degree weather in Atlanta for seasonally appropriate 90-degree weather in Cartagena, Colombia. 

Cartagena is a bustling port city with several different neighborhoods. We spent our time in the walled old city. It's charming, vibrant, and exactly the party we needed to end 2015. The majority of our days has been spent walking around and admiring. Narrow streets are lined with brightly colored buildings, most with balconies overrun by bougainvillea.

Vendors and shops sell street food, paletas (think popsicles and King of Pops), brightly woven bags and hammocks, and your regular assorted tchotchkes. 

The city is busy during the day but is really hopping at night when everyone is out in the streets. Light installations are everywhere, though possibly only up for Christmas and New Years. (They look great, Cartagena! I recommend bumping them up to year-round!)

Our hotel is next to a plaza that on our first night hosted an open-air Zumba class from about 8-10pm. I've really got to tell the local YMCA to step it up now that I've seen these folks in action! 

We ventured briefly outside the walls to visit the obligatory fort. It was very fort-y and I feel like I've seen my fair share of forts this year, but had great views of the entire city. 

The trip has been super quick but super fun! Gracias por todo, Cartagena!!

Happy Labor Day! or AT in Hats, Part II

Today, Labor Day, marks the unofficial end of summer. Sure, we technically have until the equinox in mid-September or until you feel a fall crispness in the air (mid-November in Atlanta), but by tomorrow, teachers everywhere will be back at work.* I feel the need to mark this end to my ultimate teacher summer with a tribute to my very own AT.

We've been back in the country for a while now and both had to travel-detox. For me, that meant going back to teaching, writing my dissertation, and binge-watching all four seasons of Scandal. For AT that has meant minor kidney stone surgery** and recuperation, finding out what UK did all those months, and binge-watching Shameless.

Now that there is some distance between myself and "The Most Amazing Trip Ever," I'm ready to reflect. I am glad we went everywhere we went. I encourage every single one of you to go to Cambodia as soon as possible and see Angkor Wat. I want to go back to Tokyo with a suitcase of only blue, black, and white dress clothes*** so I can fit in properly (or at least better) and spend quality time in the many different neighborhoods. I would go back to the Middle East but it's going to take some time and an unfortunate side effect of this trip is my new opinion on school dress codes. I've already started planning 2016 in South America and I can't wait.

The biggest takeaway from the trip is what an amazing person, aunt, and travel companion AT is. Let it be known that she planned every single thing on this trip and enjoyed doing it. This is great news for someone like myself who loves to travel and not to plan. AT graciously revisited places she had already been to give me the experience of seeing it for myself. Yes, she repeated countries for me. That is true love. 

AT let me walk her up and down cities and towns to see temples and museums and who knows what. She was a super trooper in an Israeli emergency room visit and generally suffered some pretty serious pain in the last few weeks while usually saying it was fine. She bought more blankets than you can imagine are possible and, thankfully, encouraged me to buy too many of my own.

She is amazing and I am the luckiest.

I am also the worst because I'm going to honor her with more pictures of her in hats.

Devoted blog readers will recall a previous post memorializing some fantastic hats over the years. AT will tell you herself, she does not have a real 'hat head.' She does, however, like to fill her niece with joy and will occasionally put on a hat just to make me smile. These are those pictures. Please enjoy them with the ridiculousness that is intended. May you all find your own AT who goes out of her way to bring the world so much happiness.

A store in Tokyo

Conquering Angkor Wat with Indiana Jones style

A temple in Delhi OR that time AT joined a biker gang

Red hat society!

Well, we all can look ridiculous. I still don't know why Dad didn't buy this turban.

Our best Jackie O

O-man, I wish she had gotten this one.

Full abaya-glam

OK, actually, I think we look pretty great here. The deserts of Jordan really suit us.

A beautiful felted hat in Istanbul that, oddly, was not purchased.

Happy fall, everyone, and may there be plenty more pictures of AT in hats to come!

-KT

*Let it be known that my Georgia students will be starting their sixth week back at school. That's right. We'll be giving report cards while most of the country is giving out their syllabi.

**Turns out that was not food poisoning. Our apologies, India.

***I still won't do the pantyhose. Sorry, Japan.

We did it!

Home is where the cat is...and all your accessories...and a shower you know how to operate. And it's good to be home! I thought I would have a lot to catch up on when I got home but it turns out I just needed to eat some Mexican food and watch things by Amy comedians. 

I think both AT and I have a lot to reflect on from all we've seen on this trip. Right now, I'm just glad to be home after two solid months of traveling and I can't believe how free everything is!

Last Stop!

I got my last country point of the trip yesterday (97. Whoa.) in Lisbon, Portugal. AT is holding strong at 115.

We are ready to get home to our family, friends, pets, and, in AT's case, ice machines. We are also ready for AT to be over her kidney stones or whatever it is that's been bringing her down. She's feeling better now, just tired, and I think sleep in her own bed will be the cure. 

With all that said, I was excited to walk around Lisbon yesterday. I opted with no guide book, no plan, and little information. I highly recommend it. The end results are:

I don't know what the population is, but I know the people love ceramic tile work.

I know nothing about the government system but I know you can find a delicious-smelling pastry shop on every block and it will be packed.*

I don't know what the name of this bridge is, but I know it looks an awful lot like the Golden Gate.**

Even without a guide and basic Wikipedia-level information, I know that I thoroughly enjoyed the very lovely European-ness of Lisbon. After so much time in the Middle East it was refreshing to just amble along little cobblestone streets. There were other tourists, there were tank tops, there were street performers. Today, that's all it took. 

*And they're really pushing the pastel de nata. Because it's delicious. 

**Okay, truth be told, I was informed there was a bridge that looked like the Golden Gate Bridge somewhere in Lisbon, but I didn't think I would see it. 

Istanbul (not Constantinople)

There is nothing better than being in one of your favorite cities with some of your favorite people! Today, we met up with Team JHHPHH in Istanbul!

It's their first time in Istanbul so we had the privilege of being the tour guides. We started at the Blue Mosque and the obligatory covering up. 

We looked amazing and so did the mosque. Fantastic red carpeting, blue tiles everywhere, and a fantastic ceiling. Who could ask for anything more?

From there we went to the Hagia Sophia. While the Blue Mosque is just a youngun' and was built in the 17th century, Hagia Sophia has been living it up since the 6th. It was originally a church, then became a mosque, and is now a museum. The building is an unusual mix of religions, cover-ups of religions, and repurposing of religions. 

Some of my favorite quirks from the building include the Islamic mihrab and minbar, both of which are supposed to face toward Mecca. Because the church was not built with the purpose of facing Mecca like all other mosques, the mihrab (a niche in the wall) and the minbar (think: pulpit) appear at an odd angle and not-quite-center to the rest of the building. 

Additionally, giant boards with Arabic text hang next to newly uncovered mosaics of angels and biblical figures. 

Oh, and that dome. According to our tour guide, it's getting a little bit bigger every year due to earthquakes. We've decided that can't be good and will probably require additional scaffolding to repair...

We rounded out the day with some bartering at the Grand Bazaar. Don't fret, gold AND saffron were purchased! Tomorrow--the palace!

Istanbul déjà vu!

2009:

2015:

It's great to be back!

Walk in Jerusalem

Today's blog is dedicated to Patrice because she would have gotten way more out of today than AT and I did. 

Patrice taught me* just about everything I know about Christianity, specifically Catholicism.** She did a great job, she just got to me about twenty years too late. Everything else I know came from that one western religions class at BU or from songs I've sung in choir.*** I'm going to include a lot of trip stops today that will probably mean more to you if you're up on your Bible. Any misinformation is 100% a reflection on my failure as a religious scholar and googler.****

AT and I had a guided tour of the old city of Jerusalem today OR we went on an accidental pilgrimage. For my part, I can say the city is beautiful and the history is fascinating. To see the three western religions all converge in the same small area and co-exist is truly special. AT pointed out that at one point we heard the Muslim call to prayer with church bells ringing on the Jewish sabbath. 

We entered from Lions' Gate***** and went to the Cathedral of St. Anne's built where the waters of Bethesda were. There is a Crusaders-era church and garden next to the old Roman ruins. 

Next we walked to the Church of the Flagellation--what you think happened at this sight is exactly right--thanks, Pontius Pilate. The church was designed by the architect Barluzzi and you'll be seeing him again later. The highlight is definitely the mosaic ceilings. 

This was the first stop on the Via Dolorosa, or Way of Sorrows. It is so named because it is the path Jesus took on his way to be crucified. It has fourteen places that are the Stations of the Cross. I'm going to gloss over most of the stops****** but I did get this nice arch known as the Ecce Homo arch!*******

The pictured-below stations are where Jesus saw Mary for the last time, his stop with Veronica********, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where the last several stations are housed. I'm not exactly sure which station featured a wacko lady hot from climbing steps but it's probably from the same biblical chapter where you see Matt Damon with Moses.*********

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was fascinating in and of itself because it currently has six different Christian churches operating out of it. They haven't been able to decide who should be in charge so the keys are left with a Muslim family that opens and closes the church every day. Below is the catholic portion, the Armenian portion, the 12th station with people lined up to touch the Rock of Calvary, and the 14th station where a memorial tomb has been built. 

From Christianity we ventured into Judaism with a stop at the Western Wall. Also known as the Wailing Wall, it is on the western side of the Temple Mount, the holiest place for the Jewish people, and represents where Herod's temple once stood. People line along the wall to pray and leave written prayers in the cracks of the wall. Pictures were not allowed in the area so there's only this quick one before we went down into the vicinity. 

From there we traipsed around the Jewish Quarter a bit but it was mostly shut down in observance of the sabbath. We hit a few more churches before traveling to the Mount of Olives, including the site of the Last Supper. It looked shockingly dissimilar to what Da Vinci always taught me was true. Where did they put the one-sided table?!

Our last stop of the day was the Mount of Olives. It has an amazing view of the city, including the spectacular view of Dome of the Rock. We were unable to visit it because it is closed for the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, but it's the big shiny golden one. 

The mountain is, of course, home to olives and a few churches. The prettiest was the Church of All Nations, aka the Patrice church. It was also designed by Barluzzi and, along with beautiful mosaics, has some amazing stained glass windows. Ptarcie- come visit and put all those organ hours to use!! Lvoe you!

*Our classes were three years of weekly masses as the dynamic musical duo of Watertown. They also included her teaching me RACKO during lunch at the Arsenal Panera. I am still really good at one of the things she taught me. 

**Seriously. Sit next to me at mass because I know exactly when to sit and stand and when they'll ring the bell. 

***This proved the least helpful today because I have always been a horrible memorizer. I could only remember fragments and thought things like, "Ah, Jericho. Where Joshua fit the battle," or "Zion's Walls! Thank you, Copland!" or "Mount Oliveti...I think somebody wept here...If it wasn't Palestrina..."

****It should be noted that I have probably misrepresented Islam and many other religions in this blog and I should have never been your spiritual advisor in the first place. Shame on you. 

*****An actual gate. Not the production company. 

******Sorry, Patrice. 

*******Zoom in for the bonus nuns!

********Bonus Patrice sister!

*********That unnecessary comment is just for you, the devoted blog reader.