The MET: Edited Version Picture Heavy

It has been quiet a while since I had been to the MET so, my BFF and I went to the MET Breuer on Sunday. The exhibition they have there was not quiet for us. So, we kept it short and went into the MET on 5th Ave. I wanted to see the Impressionists and Expressionists along with a few other areas. However, I still have exhibitions to see there. On Tuesday, I will spend some more time at the MET.

Since Cloisters was open on Monday, I visited that museum. It has been very interesting since I like the Medieval Period Art. The building itself is exciting. You feel like you just walked into one of those Medieval Castles. I loved it. Never been to a European Medieval era bulding before so, it was fun to do it in NYC. Lol!

I took the A train all the way up to 190th St. and hopped on the M4 bus to get to the entrance. The museum is situated in Fort Tryon Park and that park is absolutely beautiful with wonderful views aof the Hudson River Foliage.

The above were absolutely stunning an my pictures do not do justice to the real colors.

Would you like to have that fireplace? The artwork was quite amazing.

Feels like you are at a Medieval castle. Doesn't it?

Hudson River

Downton Abbey Movie and more NYC

Yesterday my hosts and I went to see the Downton Abbey Movie. It was cute and I got to see my favorite actress, Dame Maggie Smith.

We had wonderful lobster rolls by the water before we went in to the theater and it was a nice, relaxing day.

Today, I went to Chinatown and Little Italy. I walked and walked and walked. I had a light lunch of  soup and grilled chicken salad at Il Corallo Trattoria. It was a busy place but the service was wonderful. I liked it so much that I think I will go back once more.

After walking some more and checking out stores and the general neighborhood, my legs and feet screamed at me so I went to Ferrara where I always have cannoli. Theirs is the best cannoli ever. However, their service is always slow. This time was not different. If it weren't for the taste, I would not go there.

Then I walked over to 6th Avenue and got on the subway to come back home. As I type this, I am waiting for my BFF to have dinner together. She will stay with us at her sister's over the weekend. I think they have planned a winery visit on Long Island tomorrow. Should be fun.

I love being back in the City walking around and taking in the city.

I should be taking more pictures and sharing over here.

NYC!

After a long but comfortable flight, I made it into NY.

My day started at 6 a.m. Istanbul time. I got up, took a shower, carried my bags up to the Security Gate because in our apartment complex, the road in front of my building is only for emergencies and a vehicle cannot normally come to the front unless I ask the security guards to open the big gate.

The driver arrived right on time with a big luxury van and I thought there would be other passengers because I had booked a regular size car. But no, it was for me only. There was only some light traffic and we made it to the airport in thirty minutes.

Checking my suitcases and going through Customs took less than twenty minutes. Such Luck!

The Turkish Airlines flight made it into Frankfurt Airport in 2 hours and 45 minutes. The weather was nice and the flight was good.

Since I had about 5 hours to kill before my flight, I walked around quiet a bit and stretched my legs. I only had a small carry-on with wheels and the exercise helped me a lot.

I had lunch at the airport which turned out be pretty dried roast chicken. But, I sent that to my stomach with a small bottle of red wine and it wasn't so bad. Lol!

My flight on Lufthansa was on a Jumbo Jet and my Premium Economy seat was excellent. The leg room and the comfort of the seat were superb. Despite the fact that we left Frankfurt a good 40 minutes late, we made it to JFK 30 minutes earlier but, because of that we had to wait on tarmac so that the Gate would become available.

Going through the crowded Customs was a breeze because, they routed me to the machines where you self-check through Customs only to meet an officer for a brief moment to get the passport stamped.

I had to wait a little while to collect my luggage and 10 minutes after I got out of the airport, my friend pulled in to get me. She is the sister of my BFF and I am staying with her and her husband's nice home in Forest Hills till next Friday.

Yesterday I went downtown to stroll around and meet my BFF to sit among the live audience in the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The waiting in line part is a killer but the monologues were very funny, the band excellent and the guests were interesting. It is taped with a live audience and broadcasted later at night. The guest was Mia Farrow's son Ronan Farrow who is an investigative journalist. His book Catch and Kill came out and it is on Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer.

Then we had a quick bite and my friend returned upstate. I hopped on the subway to go back to Forest Hills. Was a great first day.

Today I am home as I type this. My hostess and I are going to see the Downton Abbey movie.

Hope everyone is having a good time.

Packed and almost ready!

Well, today I was able to fold all the laundry and put them away, packed my suitcases, cleaned up my kitchen, grocery shopped and put a lot of stuff in order.

I initially thought I should order food today but then decided to walk to the small grocery store right by my apartment complex. I bought just enough food to tie me over till I leave. It cost less than what I would spend on the order so, I am glad.

My suitcases are nowhere near the weight limit but, they are full. Some of the gifts and winter clothing take up a lot of space. If it weren't for them, I would probably be able to take only one with me.

Before I leave, I will change the sheets on my bed and the guest bed so that if anyone in the family wants to visit while I am gone, will have fresh sheets. That also means, there will be laundry waiting for me. I think, I can wash the sheets on the guest bed today and put them away before I leave. My bed sheets will have to wait. I could wash them and hang them to dry but they would collect a lot of dust. Who needs fresh but dusty sheets?

The only things that I need to pack at the last minute are my eye drops and my toiletry items.

Tomorrow, as the apartment gets cleaned, I will clean the fridge and plan my initial days in NYC.

I will go take a warm shower and have a cup of coffee and a banana now.

Hope, everyone is having a good weekend.

Ugh!

My apartment is a mess. The gifts, the clothing items, the meds and other necessities are all scattered around. I have no idea how and when this happened but, I am the culprit.

Today, I have decided to take care of the meds and pack my carry-on. I had borrowed my mom's carry-on rolling suitcase and was planning to take that. I only packed it halfway, thinking that I could put my laptop on top and be done with it. Something made me weigh it and opps! It was 7something kgs. What? A pair of pants, a blouse, a cardigan, meds and a change of underwear plus pajamas. How could that be?

Then I emptied the thing and weighed it by itself. It was 4,5 kgs! The allowance is only 8. So, it turned out to be a stupid idea to take that.

I hopped on a bus to go to Metro Gross Market and looked at the suitcases over there. Their prices were outrageous although all the bags were super light. I took a cab to Carrefour and looked at the carry-ons over there. The selection was huge with a variety of prices. I had this luggage scale and a measuring tape with me and I started looking at all the bags and compared prices. I spent more than half an hour choosing a carry-on. The lightest bag was less than 2 kgs and before I walked out with it, I sat down to grab a bite.

My inner voice told ne to check the luggage requirements one last time and of course what I selected was not good on the airline I am flying with. Some airlines tell you to add up three dimensions and anything below 115 cm. is good. But the airline I am flying with specifically requires a maximum of 55x40x23. So, I walked back and spent another good 20 minutes. By the time I checked out, there were no cabs available. I waited for a WHOLE HOUR to get a cab and could not get one. So, I stuffed my things in the rolling bag and walked outside the store to a busy intersection. Luckily, I found a cab. The driver told me at that hour it was almost impossible to find a cab.

I normally never need cabs and certainly I had no idea about their rush hour and driver exchange hours.

I am so exhausted. Took a long hot shower and will kick back and relax.

What a waste!

I did not realize that the fridge door was not closed properly last night and today, I had to throw away the chicken I bought yesterday, the yogurt, the salad with mayo and the cheese. Thankfully, I did not have much stuff in there but still...

I hate wasting food and this was totally my stupidity. I changed the places of some condiment bottles and did not see that one of them was getting stuck.

Ughhh! Now I have to shop for food again.

Busy day...

I woke up late today but I had many errands to run and since I left my car at mom's, I had to walk.

First I went to the the local health care center to get a prescription for all my regular meds plus an antibiotic.  I did not think the doctor would prescribe the wide spectrum antibiotic but, as I told her I would be away for quiet a while, she agreed. I hope not to have to use it.

Then I went downstairs to the pharmacy to hand them my prescription. Didn't wait for them and said I would pick the package later in the day and walked to the bank to pick up my renewed credit card. The lady at the bank was a former employee of my BIL and she was super nice.

I then went to get my prescription sunglasses. I had them put in new lenses into the frame I already had so, that did not cost a lot.

I hopped on a bus to go to Carrefour to check out suitcases because the duffel bag I am planning to take is now off acceptable limits. Bummer! I have a twenty dollar cheap bag I bought from Chinatown years ago. May be I will use that along with my good suitcase. So, before I bought another one, I decided to pack and see first. I purchased a few grocery items to consume what I have on hand. By the time I was finished, I was exhausted and had a heavy bag to carry so, I hailed a cab.

I went back to the pharmacy, picked up 3 months worth of meds.

I also picked up the delivered packages while I was away.

Now it is time to wash everything, plan what to pack in which bag and etc. I feel so ready for this trip. I am crossing all fingers and toes so that, nothing comes my way to jeopardize my plans.

Back home and getting ready!

I just came back home and am trying to rest a bit. I am not doing anything today except for fixing dinner.

Tomorrow I need to pick up some deliveries I missed, my prescription sunglasses, my new credit card (Yay! I knew my sis would be able to help with that) and do some laundry.

I will start piling up the stuff I need to pack on the bed in my spare bedroom.

I will most likely be home on Thursday all day. On Friday, I will be meeting a friend and completing my shopping. Will pick up some Turkish Delight, pistachio nuts and dried figs. These are popular among my friends.

I have so much to pack. I am allowed two suitcases, a carry-on, and a purse. I want to be done packing on Sunday. My flight is early Tuesday. I have arranged for a pick-ıp service from my home and allowed myself ample time at the airport. I hate to be in a rush when I am traveling.

I have 5 hours to kill at Frankfurt Airport. Good opportunity to stretch my legs and chill a little bit before the longer leg of my flight.

Off I go to see the luggage weight and measurement requirements just in case something might have changed lately.

Surprise that I figured out

Since I am going to be away from home for almost three months, my sister and BIL decided to come to Ankara and say goodbye. They wanted it to be a surprise but, I read between the lines while I spoke to my sister several times last week and figured out that they would be coming.

My sister tried too hard to hide the truth I guess. Lol!

Anyway, early this morning my uncle showed up. We took both cars to the tire place for winter tires so, I did not have to make two trips. I ran a few errands for mom. Later in the afternoon my sister and BIL showed up grinning from ear to ear. We all went out for dinner and had a good time. It has been quiet a while since the five of us have been together.

Tomorrow, we are having breakfast together and then, they will be on their way back to Izmir. On Tuesday, I am leaving for Istanbul.

Life is on the fast track.

Long Day

Today I took mom home. A friend of mine accompanied us and as we chatted all the way, the 4 hour drive was a breeze.

She insisted to make us coffee and we had a nice break after the trip. We then went to do our grocery shopping and had dinner. It took several trips to the car to take everything home.

Tomorrow we will get her prescriptions re-filled and run some errands. On Saturday, I will have the tires changed on both cars and help mom purge. On Monday, I will see my eye doctor and dine with a couple of childhood friends and will get back to Istanbul on Tuesday.

My uncle is coming to Ankara on Saturday and will be staying with mom.

I am such an idiot!

Yes I am! I forgot my ATM/Credit combo card in the machine today. Thankfully, nobody took it and the machine swallowed it. I have spoken to the Call Center rep and he says a new card will be issued and sent to my address within 7-13 days. Yikes! That does not work for me. Thankfully my sister is a branch manager at the same bank and I know she can pull some strings to get me the new card faster.

To be on the safe side, I inquired if my other card will allow me to make payments in USD when I use it in the US. It looks like they do. In the past, I would make USD purchases and the bank would convert it to TL at a higher exchange rate than the prevailing market rate and I would end up losing money. So, I had stopped using this card. Tomorrow, I will take care of that.

The only inconvenience is that, I will have to deposit USD into an account at this bank. When I come back from Ankara, I will deal with that. Not a big deal.

I have so much going on at the same time and when I do, I sometimes act without my brain. Today was one of those days... Sigh...

Started tracking my travel budget already!

I have been carefully planning my big vacation for weeks now. I have set aside a notebook and a notepad. The notebook is for keeping track of the places I want to visit, notes about my day and etc. The notepad is for lists and budget tracking.

Last night I made the first important purchase and entered that on my notepad. I ordered this package  from Mint Mobile. I could use my Turkish mobile phone but the roaming charges would kill me. I have actually calculated what it would cost me to use my phone and it turned out to be USD 533! Yikes!  60 bucks works for me. I use Whatsappp to call home and the 8 GB of Internet is plenty both for that and all my other needs.

I have searched for mobile phone solutions for quiet a while and this seems to be the best fit at the best price. I am bringing my old phone which is unlocked and compatible with the T-Mobile NW. I have checked the coverage and it looks very good on my route.

Since I am going to be spending quiet a bit of time in NYC, I have checked out The New York Pass and calculated whether it would be worthwhile to get it. Made a list of places that I want to visit and checked entry fees. I have decided against it. I can do better without one.

Getting the 7-day Unlimited Pass of MTA in NYC is a fantastic deal for my visit. You can use the pass on the buses and on the subway. It is also refillable after the 7 days are up. At USD 33 for 7 days, I think it is an awesome deal. Besides, I know my way around the City and as long as the weather cooperates, I will be just fine.

The contractor came today for additional work and things seem to be fine. He must paint around the window frame from the outside and the site manager will supply the required paint. He has nothing to do inside till I decide to get my room painted which is months away. Once he finished the paint job, I will pay him. I haven't paid a dime until now and I think, the payment has been motivating.

I am only praying that the fix will work.

After lunch, mom and I are going to the mall to order me prescription sunglasses. I will use one of the frames that I already have and the glasses will not be progressive. That will save me a good chunk of money.

Contractors...

I have a problem in my bedroom by the window. Unfortunately, the contractor who changed my window frames did a lousy job and the wall next to the frame has been damaged causing some humidity issue in the wall and the paint.

This year I found a contractor through a good friend. All summer long either the contractor was busy or I was traveling. Ever since we came back to Istanbul, I had been bugging the guy to come and fix the wall. He always had a reason to postpone the repairs and finally, he came on Monday. He brought some stuff and looking at them, I knew something was not quite right. When I inquired further, he seemed to have totally forgotten what he and my friend discussed. I could not call my friend right away because she has moved to the US. So, I just texted my friend hoping that she would see it early enough to intervene. Anyway, the guy and his helper started doing what they were prepared to do but I was totally bummed.

Then I thought of asking the apartment complex' site manager. I am glad I asked him to come over and look at the work. He apparently was familiar with the kind of damage and he told the contractor what type of material needs to be used. Luckily, the contractor listened to him and did the first part of the job. Then the material needed to dry before other isolation material could be applied. So, they left.

Meanwhile my friend saw my text and called me and then called the contractor to find out what he was doing. She also video called me and I showed her what was done. Later in the day, she called me again to say that what he started doing after the site manager's intervention was OK. The repairs would be finished today but alas! It has been raining non-stop. So, may be, he may come tomorrow but, I doubt it. I have to take mom to Ankara on Thursday and run errands for her before I can come back next Tuesday. That leaves me just a week to get this work finished.

At least now that he has started, I am sure he will be wanting to finish and get paid. Wish me luck!

25 Solo Roadtrip Tips and Precautions

I will soon be on my way to the US. I have planned a solo roadtrip all the way to Florida and back. This means, I will be on the road alone and be staying at various hotels.

To be safe, I take some precautions while I am traveling alone and below you will find them. Please feel free to contribute your ideas in the comments.

1. Never stop in badly lit areas with just a few people around. I always pull into busy stops whenever I have to. Sometimes, I exit the highway just to do that.
2. Always check the gas level, around the car and the tires before pulling out of a stop.
3. Never leave any belongings in the car within plain sight.
4. Be aware of the surroundings, the cars and people around.
5. Don't stay at places where room entrances are from the outside. This means, I spend more money but, that's OK. Safety first.
6. If asked whether I am on the road alone in a general conversation by anybody, always tell them no or meeting up with friends right after whatever I am doing.
7. Always keep my phones charged. (This is easy to do in the car)
8. Share my itinerary with my sister and my BFF.
9 Check the windows and the door one in the room. If I am on the ground level, I make sure to draw the curtains well and place some objects like my suitcase, or an armchair by the window. I also use door stoppers if there are no deadbolts. Some may argue that, it might be a safety problem if my health fails me and if the hotel staff needs to open my room but, that's what I do.
10. I have my sit down meal during lunch time rather than dinner time in order to be in my room before it is too late. It is also cheaper.
11. Consume nuts and cheese rather than carbs in order to stay awake and focused while driving.
12. Keep myself hydrated and I drink water mostly.
13. Keep some extra food and water in the trunk.
14. Do not wear fancy clothing or attention attracting bling.
15. Act confident, not lost even if lost.
16. Do not drive for more than two hours at a time. Always, stop, walk, get the circulation going and rest.
17. Don't be looking at your cell phone and not be paying attention to your surroundings.
18. Get the navigation started before pulling out of a rest area.
19. Make sure offline maps are downloaded as well.
20. KEEP FOCUSED WHILE DRIVING!
21. Travel light and bring only the necessary items.
22. Keep the nightgown, toothpaste, toothbrush brush and meds within easy reach to hit the sack if too tired.
23. Keep USD 20-30 in small denominations in the pockets rather than fiddle with the wallet when paying for small stuff. Keep cash and credit cards out of sight.
24. Keep Emergency Info in cell phones and in wallet. This includes allergy information, who to call, the number for Turkish Embassy and meds regularly taken.
25. If not feeling well, re-arrange plans and take care of self first.

Gotta pick my readers' brains

During my upcoming vacation, I will spend Christmas with my BFF and her huge family. They draw names and each adult buys a gift for just another adult. I am prepared for that situation. However, everybody gives gifts to the 4 kids in the family. That part is a bit tricky. I have the two girls covered but there are a couple of boys 16 and 11 (I think). I have no idea as to what to give them. I intend to gift them money. However, I do not know how much is appropriate. What do you think? These kids are my BFF's niece's kids.

Missing in Action

I was missing in real action recently. Happy to report that I am almost done with my gift shopping. Two trips to the Grand Bazaar and I am done! I walked 13-14 thousand steps each day and my legs are screaming. Lol!

Lots and lots of walking is awaiting them in NYC too. I've got less than two weeks!

My friend got tickets for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The show is not on in Turkey but, I have watched him while I was in the US and sometimes, I watch the show on YouTube.

I am going to take mom to Ankara next Wednesday or Thursday. My uncle will go to Ankara to stay with her while I am gone.

Today, I made something. A total DIY type of job. You see, I am not a handy person at all. I have this big ottoman. It is also a box where I store my throw blankets. It is awfully heavy and when we want to stretch our legs on it, it becomes a hassle to move it around in the room. So, I have decided to put wheels under it. Unfortunately the base board was so thin, I could not drill holes. I bought a scrap wood board half an inch smaller than the base and installed four wheels that move in every direction. Pat on my back! I drilled holes and screwed the wheels perfectly. I then placed the ottoman on this thing that looks like a skateboard and voila!

Mom has two of the same ottoman and she wanted wheels on them too. I bought enough hardware to take to Ankara. I am very impressed with my skill. Lol!