The last blog entry was rushed which meant I missed some important things, not the least of which was the story of the GypsiesThey are both loved and hated but most of all tolerated in Bulgaria and Romania. Gypsy music plays a big part in the tourist industry as well as the local culture but the Gypsies themselves do not seem to profit. The word Gypsy means people without a country (or so we were told). They have been treated as slaves for centuries which is w...

Though this journey actually began in Istanbul I won't go in to too much detail except to say that life at the Ritz Carlton is a whole lot different than the guest house we stayed at in the old city. Chocolates, turn down service and...wait for it...bacon (!) for breakfast (hard to find in a Muslim country).City tours begin by explecite instructions to follow the yellow lollipop. And so it begins. Saw the Topkapi Palace & the Dolmabahce Palace as a sort of...