Lunch in Istanbul

This is the real I-HOP. It's a Turkish pancake house, but the pancakes are more like flour tortillas filled with cheese, spinach or meat. It was a festive lunch complete with wandering minstrels playing traditional tunes (which do little to aid the digestion). The meal was accompanied by apple tea and, for me, Turkish Coffee (I'll stick with northwest coffee anyday).

Istanbul is incredible, overwhelming and fascinating. More on that later....

Tintagel

Here's Rory sitting on the remnants of the castle of Tintagel on the Cornish coast. This is the mythical birthplace of King Arthur. The misty, rugged coastline seems the ideal place for a legend to be born. This visit fulfilled a longtime wish of Theresa's to return here after visiting with her father when she was four years old.

Okehampton

After visiting Stonehenge and another Iron Age site, the hillfort of Old Sarum, we spent the night at a typical English hotel, supposedly haunted by several ghosts. It was a place frequented by the Emperor Hali Salasi of Ethiopia during his exile.

In the morning we visited the castle, one of the many built just after the Norman conquest in 1066, by the knights, friends and family of William the Conquerer.

Those of you in the Columbia Gorge will recognize the structure behind us, the original of which sits on a cliff just below Goldendale, Washington (just kidding). This is the real deal. Stonehenge, Iron Age site of song, story, legend, and many a meade soaked druid fantasy.

Really, little is known about the purpose and uses of the stone circle and the giant ditch (henge) that surround it, but it may have been, in part, a giant seasonal clock.

Here we are in front of the Tower Bridge in London, Cheryl (Theresa's mom) is on the left and, Helen (my mom) next to moi. We spent some time at the tower looking at Henry the 8ths armour an weaponry, then we went and saw Big Ben and the Houses of Parliment.

Finished up with a nice italian dinner and finally got to our hotel near Gatwick airport around midnight.

York

Here I am in York. We tried Indian food immediately upon arrival since it is now the de facto cuisine of England. We had a lovely day shopping and walking around on the walls of the city. Tomorrow I will head down to London to pick up Rod and the kids and his mom, Helen.