Brooklyn in One Day

Spring is in the air and no one should be staying at home while the weather is becoming warmer. So this Sunday I spent the whole day in Brooklyn enjoying the sun shine and scenery. I know that Brooklyn is very large to tour in a day but if you have limited time to explore here, you can still cover a lot in just one day. Here is a list of places I've been in Brooklyn.

Victorian Flatbush, Victorian homes were built here in late 1800's and they are specacular examples of Victorian architecture. Located south of Prospect Park between Flatbush and Coney Island Avenues, it was easy to get there.

Prospect Park, built in the 1860's' it has a couple of historic places to see, so it was a great place to start the day. After I strolled along the park, headed to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I was hoping to see the magnolia blossoms but it was still cold for them I think , there wasn't any. If you visit here in April are, you can experiment cherry blossoms. It is free to enter the Garden untill 12:00 pm, after that students have %50 discount.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Park Slope, this area is famous for its beautiful architecture and park. If you like brownstone buildings and enjoy spending time in cute cafes you'll love here. After I walked around about an hour, had a lunch at Taro Sushi, food was delicious and price was reasonable.

The view of Joralemon Street

Brooklyn Heights, I walked through the Promenade to the Brooklyn Bridge Park, it has a wonderful view of The Lower Manhattan, picnic areas and playground for kids. Then made a quick visit to the Brooklyn Ice cream Factory and headed to the Brooklyn Bridge.

The view of Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge Park

Lastly, there are lots to discover by walking on the cobblestone streets of Dumbo and in the galleries of Williamsburg.

Bir Gunde Brooklyn

Baharin kapida oldugu ve havanin isindigi bu gunlerde evde duramayip tum Pazar gununu Brooklyn'de gecirdim. Brooklyn tarihi binalari, manzarasi, parklari ile gorulmesi gereken bircok yeri oldugu, ayrica genis bir alani kapsadigi icin bir gunde gezilmesi mumkun olmasa da uzun bir gun sonunda oldukca cok yol katedebilirsiniz. Simdi Brooklyn turumun duraklarini paylasmak istiyorum.

Victorian Flatbush, 1800'lerin sonlarindan itibaren Victorian tarzi evlerin insa edilmeye baslandigi bir bolge. Prospect Park'in guneyinde Flatbush ve Coney Island Caddeleri'nin arasinda kalan bu bolgeye metro ile kolayca ulastiktan sonra mimarisi ile ilgi ceken evlerin arasinda dolasip, sonraki duragim olan Prospect Park'a dogru ilerledim.

Prospect Park, 1860'larda kurulan bu parkin icinde tarihi oneme sahip birkac yer, gol, piknik alanlari oldugu icin keyifle gune baslamak icin ideal. Parkta biraz gezdikten sonra, parkin kuzey kisminda kalan Brooklyn Botanik Bahcesi'ni ziyaret ettim. Buraya giris oglen 12:00'ye kadar ucretsiz, 12:00'den sonra ise ogrencilere %50 indirimli, dolayisiyla ogrenci kimliginiz varsa yaniniza almayi unutmayin. Park'da, Mart'in sonunda acmasi beklenen manolya agaclarinin ciceklerini gormeyi umuyordum ama henuz acmamislardi, Nisan'da ise kiraz ciceklerini izlemek keyifli.

Park Slope, bu bolge guzel mimarisi ve parki ile unlu, eger kahverengi tas binalari gormekten ve sirin kafelerde zaman gecirmekten hoslaniyorsaniz burayi seveceksiniz. Etrafta biraz dolastiktan sonra Taro Sushi adinda bir mekana rastladim, susileri lezzetli ve makul fiyatli oldugu icin buradan memnun kalarak ayrildim.

Brooklyn Heights, burada Brooklyn Bridge Park'da yuruyup, Manhattan Mazarasi'ni izlemek cok keyiflidir. Buraya gelmisken Parkin kopruye yakin olan kismindaki dondurmacidan dondurma yiyip, unlu pizzacilarinin pizzasini yemeden donmek olmaz. Daha sonra ise Brooklyn Koprusu'nden yuruyerek gecerek manzaranin tadini cikartabilirsiniz.

Daha cok vaktiniz varsa Dumbo'nun arnavut kaldirimlarinda yuruyup,  Williamsburg'deki galerileri gezerek gunu sonlandirabilirsiniz.

Brooklyn Bridge

Must Do's in Boston

Spring is in the air and I think Spring is the best time to visit Boston. At the end of last March I made a short trip to Boston and enjoyed its culture and history. Boston is one of the oldest cities in the U.S, which was founded in 1630 and today is the 21st largest city in the U.S with the population of 609,690.

I went to Boston by train from New York, it was comfortable and I liked to watch the view along the trip. I got off at South Station and took subway to reach my hotel which was near the Charles River. This is the view of Charles River from my hotel room.

Charles River

I started the first day walking to Massachusetts State House,which was completed in 1798 and impressive with its golden dome. You have to call in advance for free tours if you want to see the inside of the building. After visiting The State House I walked to the Boston Common which is the oldest public park in America. This place is both relaxing and vivid with running squirrels, concerts and perfomances. There is a visitor center inside the park, I stopped by to get a Freedom Trial Map. Freedom Trial is a historic path that helps you to discover 16 historic sites by walking on it. Also you can walk with a costumed guide and an audio guide. Because Boston is a pedestrian friendly city I prefered to walk by my self and saw all the landmarks. 

Then I headed to The Commonwealth Avenue, this avenue was like a postcard with blooming magnolias. Newbury Street is parallel to The Commonwealth Avenue so my next stop was Newbury Street which is famous for chic shops and galleries.

Newbury Street

After I spent some time exploring this cool street, I found a chic a cafe to have dinner and it was the end of day one in Boston. On the second day I took the red line and got off at Harvard Square. This area has a charming atmosphere with bookstores and cafes. First, I visited Harvard University and joined a free tour that lasted an hour and learned about the history of The University. After Harvard I walked to MIT and spent a bit of time there too.

Harvard University

The last neighborhood I visited was the Charlestown, which is a very important place for American Revolutionary War. I reached here from downtown, walking through Charlestown Bridge, there are lots of cute cafes, houses and buildings and one of them was the Bunker Hill Barber Shop.

Bunker Hill Barber Shop

Bunker Hill is very important for American Revolutionary War, because first battle between British Army and Colonists fought here in 1775. After visiting Bunker Hill Monument, I headed to the USS Constitution, which is the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat. You can also visit USS Constitution Museum that is very close to the USS Constitution.

If you enjoy to spend time visiting historic landmarks, walking on cobblestone streets and red brick sidewalks like me, Boston will be a satisfying destination.

Boston'da Gezilecek Gorulecekler

Bahar kapida ve bence Boston'u ziyaret etmek icin en guzel zaman bahar aylari. Gecen Mart'in sonunda Boston'a kisa bir seyahat yapmis ve sehrin kulturu ve tarihi yapisini cok sevmistim. 1630 yilinda kurulmus olan bu sehir Amerika'nin en eski sehirlerinden biri olup bugun 609,690 nufusuyla Amerika'nin 21. buyuk sehridir. 

New York'ta yasadigim icin Boston'a trenle gitmeyi tercih ettim, konforlu bir trende yol boyunca manzara seyrederek yolculuk yapmak keyifliydi. Son durak olan South Station'da indikten sonra metroya binerek kolayca Charles Nehri kiyisindaki otelime ulastim. Asagida, kaldigim odadan Charles Nehri manzarasi.

Charles River

Ilk gunume Massachusetts State House'i ziyaret ederek basladim. 1798 yilinda tamamlanan ve altinla kapli kubbesi ile ilgi ceken bu bina bugun yonetim binasi olarak kullanilmakta. Onceden rezervasyon yaptirarak ucretsiz turlar ile binanin icerisini de gezebilirsiniz. State House'dan sonra Boston Common'i yani Amerika'nin en eski halka acik parkini yuruyerek gezdim. Burasinin hem insani dinlendiren bir atmosferi hem de kosan sincaplari, konser ve performanslariyla canli bir yapisi var. Parkin icerisindeki danisma burosundan Freedom Trial haritasini aldiktan sonra yuruyuse koyuldum. Freedom Trial, iki tane kirmizi tuglanin yanyana Boston sokaklarina dosenmesiyle olusturulmus bir yol. Bu yolu tamamlayarak harita uzerindeki 16 tane tarihi yapiyi kendi basiniza gorebileceginiz gibi tarihi kostum icindeki bir rehber ile birlikte de gezebilirsiniz.

Freedom Trial'in kuzey kismi disindaki duraklari bitirdikten sonra Commonwealth Caddesi'ne geldim. Cadde boyunca pembe beyaz acmis olan manolya agaclari ve muhtesem evleri ile bu cadde tam bir kartpostal gibiydi. Buradan sonra ise Commonwealth'e paralel olan Newbury Sokagi'na gectim, burasi ise sik cafeleri, butikleri ve galerileri ile unlu bir sokak. Burada uzunca bir sure yuruyup dukkanlari kesfettikten sonra, gunu bir restoranda oturup aksam yemegi yiyerek tamamlamis oldum.

Ikinci gune ise metronun kirmizi hattina binip Harvard'a giderek basladim. Harvard Meydan'i kitapcilari, sevimli kafeleri ile etkileyici bir yer. Etrafta biraz dolastiktan sonra Harvard Universitesi'ne dogru yurumeye basladim, burada Universiteyi tanitan ve bir saat suren bir tur oldugunu gorunce tura katilarak hem Universite ve cevresini gezdim hem de tarihi hakkinda bilgi sahibi oldum. Harvard sonrasi hemen yanindaki MIT'yi de gezerek universiteler turunu tamamlamis oldum.

Boston'da son gezdigim bolge Charlestown oldu, burasi Amerikalilarin Ingiliz Imparatorlugu'na karsi verdigi savasta tarihi bir oneme sahip. Charlestown'a, Charlestown Bridge uzerinden yuruyerek gecerek vardim. Yol uzerindeki tarihi yapilarin mimarisi gorulmeye deger, asagidaki berber dukkani gibi bir cok kucuk dukkan var.

Bunker Hill Barber Shop

Burada, Bunker Hill Abidesi'nin bulundugu tepede, 1775 yilinda, Ingiliz askerleri ve Amerikalilar arasinda ilk catisma yasandigindan tarihi onemi buyuk. Bunker Hill Abidesi'nden sonra ise yine yuruyerek USS Constitution Muzesinin bulundugu alana geldim. USS Constitution, Dunya'nin yuzer durumda olan en eski deniz gemisi. Yine bu gemi bagimsizlik mucadelesinde kullanildigi icin onemi buyuk.

Siz de benim gibi tarihi binalari gormek ve kirmizi tugla ile kapli kaldirimlarda yurumekten hoslaniyorsaniz, Boston cok tatmin edici bir sehir olacaktir.

San Francisco; Sea, Wind and Cable Car

Last May Mr.C and I spent a couple of days in San Francisco as a part of our long California vacation and I fell in love with the city. San Francisco has a land area of about 46.9 square miles (121km2) on the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula and it is the 12th most populous city in the U.S.A with an estimted population of 815.358. We arrived in San Francisco after a six hour drive from Los Angeles, trip was enjoyable and it was dark when we found our hotel on the Market Street.

The view of Alcatraz from the Cable Car

The next morning we got up early and began walking on the Market Street to find a local cafe to have breakfast and we saw a lot of homeless people sleeping on the street. There are a lot of people living on the streets in San Francisco especially around Market Street. After breakfast we took the F Line and went to Fisherman's Warf, once the center of San Francisco's commercial fishing fleet, Fisherman's Warf today is a melange of souvenir shops, restaurants, motels, tourist museums, and fishing boats. You can taste fresh seafood (clam chowder is famous) and walk the waterfront and enjoy the view. After we ate our crab cakes, we took a boat tour to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. In 1934, Alcatraz was turned into a maximum security prison, housing criminals like Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly. Our boat passed just near the Alcatraz Island and under the Golden Gate Bridge, the view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the boat was also amazing. Completed in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge, with its distinctive orange color and Art Deco style, was quickly recognized as a marvel of engineering and design.

On the way to San Francisco

After we got out of the boat, we walked to Pier 39, which is a nice marketplace on the waterfront, famous with its sea lions. It was fun to watch the sea lions but they are really noisy so I couldn't spend much time there and headed to the Ghirardelli Square and tasted delicious chocolate and bought some for later. While walking through the Ghirardelli Square I saw the list of suspension bridges in the world. Then it was time to get on a cable car but it wasn't as easy as I thought. After waiting in line for an hour, I was about to freeze due to strong wind. I didn't really felt cold when I was waiting under the sun but it was pretty chilly in the shade. Having such a wind makes the city a good sailing place but I can't say I enjoyed the wind as a tourist. If you are planning to visit SF in spring or summer, I would highly recommend you to bring a windbreaker with you. I think cable car is one of the must-do attractions in SF, because it takes you up steep hills and the view of SF from the cable car is amazing. Cable Car in SF runs on the Powell-Hyde, Powell-Manson and California-Van Ness lines and it is still manually switched by two operators on a wooden turntable. We got on the cable car from Fisherman's Warf and got off at Union Square. After we ate dinner near the Union Square, took a walk and rested at our hotel.

Cable Car

Painted Ladies

We started our second day at Alamo Square, in the middle of the Alamo Square there is a park surrounded by houses with distinctive architecture style called Victorian architecture. The Victorian Houses on the Steiner Street are known as Painted Ladies and the contrast of Painted Ladies and modern buildings in the downtown area is remarkable.

After the Alamo Square next stop was the Golden Gate Park. There is a lot of things to do in the Park, you can walk through the Japanese Tea Gardens, rent a pedalboat, and visit the Conservatory of Flowers and De Young Museum.

Golden Gate Park

Althoug there are much more things to do in SF my final stop was the Chinatown. Chinatown in SF is the oldest Chinatown in the U.S.A. We took some photos of the main gate and walked in a couple of stores but couldn't find something authentic. Then had a dinner at a restaurant in the middle of the main street, food was delicious but a little bir pricy.

The next day we left SF and headed to Napa Valley, but I couldn't get enough of San Francisco.

San Francisco; Deniz, Ruzgar ve Tramvay

Gecen Mayis'ta, Kaliforniya seyahatimizin bir bolumunu Mr.C ile birlikte San Francisco'da gecirmek icin yola ciktigimizda, sehre bu kadar hayran kalacagimi dusunmemistim. San Francisco Yarimadasi'nin kuzeyinde, 121km2 alan uzerinde kurulu olan bu sehir, 815.358 olan nufusuyla A.B.D.'deki en kalabalik 12. sehirdir. San Francisco'ya Los Angeles'den baslayan araba yolculugu ile alti saatte ulastik, Market Street uzerindeki otelimize vardigimizda artik hava kararmisti.

Ertesi sabah erkenden kalkip Market Street uzerinde yuruyerek kahvalti yapmak icin yerel bir kafe aramaya basladik. Bircok evsiz insan kaldirimlarin uzerinde uyuyordu, uyanmis olanlar ise yaniniza gelip bozuk para isteyebiliyor, para vermezseniz de hemen uzaklasiyorlar. Kahvalti sonrasi F hatti ile Fisherman's Warf'a gittik, balikcilik amaciyla kurulmus bu bolge bugun hediyelik esya satan dukkanlar, tekne turu duzenleyen firmalar, restoranlarla dolu. Sokakta satilan yiyecekler lezzetli, deniz taragi corbasi unlu, biz yengec koftesi yemegi tercih ettik. Daha sonra Golden Gate Koprusu ve Alcatraz Adasi'ni yakindan gorecegimiz tekne turuna binmek icin kalkis noktasina geldik. 1934 yilinda yuksek guvenlikli hapishaneye donusturulen Alcatraz, Al Capone ve Machine Gun Kelly gibi unlu suclulari agirlamis. Tekne ile Alcatraz'in yanindan gectikten sonra Golden Gate Koprusu'ne dogru hareket etmeye basladik. Art Deco tarzi ve turuncu rengi ile kentin simgesi haline gelmis olan ve 1937 yilinda tamamlanan kopruyu tekneden seyretmek ve altindan gecmek zevkliydi.

Tekne turunu tamamladiktan sonra, aslinda bir pazaryeri olan ve deniz aslanlari ile unlu Pier 39'a yuruduk. Deniz kenarinda deniz aslanlarini seyrettikten sonra, seslerine daha fazla dayanamayip, Ghirardelli Meydani'na dogru ilerledik. Burada unlu Ghirardelli cikolatalarindan yiyip biraz alisveris yaptiktan sonra cevrede gezinirken Dunya'daki asma koprulerin listesi gozume carpti, Bogazici Koprusu ve FSM de listede. Daha sonra sira tramvaya binip sehri gezmeye geldi fakat bu dusundugumuz kadar kolay olmadi. Tramvay sirasinda, ruzgara karsi yaklasik 1 saat bekledikten sonra sira bize geldi. San Francisco'yu ziyaret ediyorsaniz yaninizda mutlaka ruzgarlik ve bere bulundurmaniz lazim, hava gunesli olmasina ragmen surekli esen serin ruzgar insani serseme cevirebiliyor. Bunun disinda tramvay ile tepelerin uzerinden inip cikarak sehri seyretmek cok keyifliydi. Powell-Hyde, Powell-Manson ve California-Van Ness hatlarinda calisan tarihi tramvaylar, hala hat basindaki iki operator tarafindan tahtadan yapilmis donen bir tabla uzerinde iterek cevriliyor.  Fisherman's Warf'dan bindigimiz tramvaydan Union Square'de indik, yemek yiyip biraz dolastiktan sonra, kaldigimiz otele donus yaptik.

Ikinci gune Alamo Meydani'nda basladik, meydanin ortasindaki parkta gezerken parki cevreleyen Victorian tarz mimarisi ile goze carpan evleri seyredebilirsiniz. Steiner Sokak'in uzerindeki evlere ise Painted Ladies deniliyor, park icinden bu evleri ve arkasinda yukselen modern gokdelenleri izlemek keyifliydi. Alamo Meydani'ndan sonraki duragimiz ise Golden Gate Park'ti. Park cok genis ve icerisinde yapilacak cok sey var, Japon Bahcelerini gezebilir, pedalli kayiklardan kiralayabilir ya da 
Conservatory of Flowers ve De Young Muzesi'ni ziyaret edebilirsiniz.

Sehirde gorulecek daha cok yer olmasina ragmen bizim son duragimiz Cin Mahallesi oldu. San Francisco'daki Cin Mahallesi A.B.D.'deki en eski Cin Mahallesi'dir. Giristeki ana kapinin onunde biraz fotograf cektikten sonra dukkanlara girip cikarak gezmeye basladik, fakat buraya ozgun pek birsey goremedim ben. Ara sokaklarda da biraz gezindikten sonra ana caddenin uzerindeki bir restoranda yemek yedik, yemekler lezzetliydi fakat biraz pahaliydi. Ertesi gun Napa Vadisi'ne gitmek icin yola koyuldugumuzda San Francisco'ya hala doyamamistim.

New York City is Under a White Blanket

This morning, New Yorkers woke up to a layer of sparkling white covering. It has been snowing since Friday morning and through the Saturday afternoon it lightened in intensity. This was a serious blizzard, some schools were cancelled on Friday, lots of flights were cancelled, power failures were feared but now it is time to enjoy the snow.

Snow plows are working on a street in Upper West Side to clean the streets.

Because I couldn't miss the New York City under snow, after having breakfast, I took my camera and got out of home. My husband and I began to walk towards Central Park, I think snow blanketed Central Park is one of the most romantic places in New York. We began our long walking tour in Central Park from the Upper West Side. It was hard to keep going fast, because 

While snow is melting

everything under the snow looks spectacular and we couldn't keep ourselves from taking photos. People were running and skiing near Jacqueline Kennedy Reservoir, we watched them for a while and continued walking to Upper East Side.

We were tired a little bit so gave a coffee break in a cafe, then turned back to Central Park. Children were sliding down snow-covered hills, and making snowman.

Central Park after blizzard Nemo

Because tomorrow we are going to take a ski trip, we had to turn back home to make some preparations, so we couldn't spent much more time in Central Park. But if I had much time, I would go ice skating in Wollman Ring in Central Park. Ice skating is always fun, moreover it is more pleasant to see the snow-covered trees and skyscrapers while you are skating. After spending so much time outside we were cold and hungry, so rewarded ourselves with the banana puding of Magnolia Bakery.

Banana Pudding of Magnolia Bakery

This was a great day for me, I turned back home with nice photos and one of my favorite dessert. These were my must do's in a snowy day, I am sure that you will find much to do in a snowy day in New York City.

New York Beyaz Ortuye Burundu

Bu sabah New York'lular uyandiklarinda sehirlerinin beyaz bir ortuye burundugunu gorduler. Cuma gunu baslayan kar firtinasi Nemo, Cumartesi ogle saatlerinde hizini kesti. Yilin ilk siddetli kar firtinasi nedeniyle, Cuma gunu bazi okullar tatil edildi, ucuslar iptal edildi ve elektrik kesintisi endisesi yasandi ama artik Cumartesi ogle saatleri itibariyle karin tatini cikartma vakti geldi.

New York'u gezmek her mevsimde cok guzel bu yuzden kar ile kapli bir New York gunune hemen baslamak icin kahvaltimi eder etmez, fotograf makinemi alip evden ciktim. Esim ve ben bugune Central Park'a dogru yuruyerek basladik, bence kar ile kapli Central Park, New York'un en romantik yerlerinden biri. Upper West Side'dan Central Park'a giris yaptik ve harika bir manzara ile karsilastik, agaclar, banklar, kopruler karla kapli ve gunesin altinda piril pirildi. Kendimizi surekli durup fotograf cekmekten alamadigimiz icin yavas bir sekilde Jacqueline Kennedy Reservoir'a dogru ilerledik. Burada insanlar kayak yapiyor ve her zamanki gibi kosuyorlardi, burada biraz zaman gecirdikten sonra golun kenarindan yuruyerek Upper East Side'a ciktik. Bu tur yaklasik iki saat surdu, dolayisiyla soguk ve yorgunluk nedeniyle bir kahve molasi verme zamani gelmisti, Park'tan cikip kahvelerimizi aldiktan sonra, tekrar dogu tarafindan Park'a giris yaptik. Artik oglen oldugu icin ortalik iyice kalabaliklasmisti, tepelerden kayan ve kardan adam yapan cocuklari seyrettikten sonra eve donus yoluna koyulduk. Yarin kucuk bir kayak gezisine gidecegimiz icin Central Park'ta daha fazla zaman geciremedik ama biraz daha zamanim olsaydi mutlaka Wollman Ring'e buz pateni yapmaya giderdim. Wollman Ring'de kaymak her zaman eglenceli fakat cevresindeki agaclar ve gokdelenler karla kapliyken daha da zevkli olacagina eminim.

Bu kadar yuruyusten sonra artik kendimizi odullendirme vakti, ve son durak Magnolia Bakery. Buradan favori tatlilarimdan biri olan muzlu pudingimi de aldiktan sonra artik eve donuyoruz.
Karli bir New York gununde benim icin yapilmasi gereken en onemli seyler bunlardi, eminim siz bir gune daha cok sey sigdirabilirsiniz.

A Snow Gateaway in NY

February brings the cold weather, rain, wind and snow to New York City. When the weather is cold like these days, it is harder for commuters to reach their offices, to walk on slippery sidewalks and to exercise in Central Park. So why not to take a break and go for skiing in NY? When I made a quick search on the internet last week, I was surprised to found out there are lots of ski areas in NY, just 2 or 3 hours away from Manhattan. Then I called my friends, and packed my backpack for a weekend trip to Catamount. I met with my friends on Saturday morning and hit the road to Catamount. After two and a half hour drive we were there. Catamount has 33 trails and park areas, the trails are uncrowded and the lift lines are short but it is a little bit icy in the afternoon. If you are first timer you can take a group lesson, rent equipment and get your carpet lift ticket just for 75 USD. The only problem in Catamount was the restaurant, foods are expensive, quality is poor, workers are lack of understanding. There were out of bagels at 9 am on Sunday morning.

Swiss Hutte

After all day skiing, we believed that we deserve a good dinner, and we found the Swiss Hutte. I ordered tortellini and schnitzel both of them were excellent. Everything we ate there were delicious, but the desserts were the best. Swiss Hutte has a remarkable location, it is in front of the trails. Because they light up for night skiing, while you are having your meal, you can watch the view.

That night we chose to stay in a motel called Holiday House Motel, even it is one of the cheapest places to stay in that area it is overpriced for a room without wifi and with old furnitures but it is very close to skiing area. So I can say that it is good for one night staying. Overall, Catamount has been an enjoyable experience for me and I will be looking for new skiing areas close to the NYC for upcoming weekends.










New York'ta Kar Kacamagi

Subat'in yagmuru, sogugu, kari, ruzgari New York'a geldi. Havanin soguk oldugu bu gunlerde, sabah erken saatte ise gitmek de, kaygan kaldirimlarda yurumeye calismak da, Central Park'a spor icin gitmek de cok zor. Dolayisiyla bu havada yapilacak en iyi seyin, sehrin icinden kendimizi kurtarip, karli daglara dogru yola koyulmak olacagini dusundum. Internetten yaptigim kisa arastirma sonucunda, Manhattan'a sadece 2 - 3 saat uzaklikta bircok kayak merkezinin oldugunu ogrenince sasirdim. Hemen arkadaslarimi aradim, cantami hazirladim ve haftasonu icin Catamount'a gitmeye karar verdim. Cumartesi sabahi arkadaslarimizla bulustuk ve 2,5 saatlik bir araba yolculugu sonrasinda Catamount'a ulastik. Catamount kayak merkezinde 33 tane pist var, pistler kalabalik degil, teleferiklerde sira yok fakat ogleden sonra pisler biraz buzlaniyor. Ilk defa gelenler icin ise ders, ekipman kiralama ve teleferik icin 75 USD olan paket, uygun fiyatla kayak olanagi sagliyor. Fakat Catamount'daki restoran problemli, calisanlar anlayissiz, yiyecekler kalitesiz ve pahali. Pazar sabahi saat 9'da bagel bitmisti bile.

Swiss Hutte

Cumartesi butun gun kaydiktan sonra kendimizi guzel bir aksam yemegi ile odullendirmek istedik. Daha once reklamini gordugumuz Swiss Hutte isimli mekana gittik. Restoranin mimarisi cok guzel, bir dag evi havasi yaratilmis, yedigimiz tum yemekler ise cok lezzetliydi fakat gecenin kazanani tatlilar oldu. Ayrica mekanin tam olarak kayak merkezinin karsisinda olmasi ve pistlerin gece kayakcilari icin isiklandiriliyor olmasi, yemeginize harika bir manzaranin eslik etmesini sagliyor. Guzel yemek ve arkadaslarla sohbet sonrasi, kalacagimiz motele donduk.

Cumartesi gecesi kalmak icin Holiday House Motel'e rezervasyon yaptirmistik. Wifi olmayan, eski mobilyalar ile dosenmis bir oda icin odedigimiz fiyat fazla olsa da, temiz, guvenli ve kayak merkezine cok yakin olmasi nedeniyle pisman olmadik. Catamount'da gecirilen eglenceli bir haftasonundan sonra Manhattan'a pazar aksami geri donduk, simdi sira onumuzdeki haftasonlari icin yeni kayak merkezleri arastirmakta.

Bienvenido a Mexico

On a cold and windy New York day (the weather is 19°F) , I’m trying to keep warm by snuggling in my coach, drinking tea and looking my Mexico vacation photos. I didn’t write about my vacations before so why not Mexico be the first?

Last July, Mr.C and I went to Mexico for a 5 day vacation, and it was my best vacation ever. Our first destination was Mexico City, after five and a half hours of flight from New York we were at Mexico City. Transportation from the airport to our hotel by an authorized taxi was easy, also public buses are cheap and convenient way of transportation.

Mexico is remarkably diverse country; influence of ancient civilizations, Spanish and North American makes this country one of the most attractive travel destinations, and Mexico City with population of 20.5 million is most diverse city in Mexico. We arrived to Mexico City late in the evening so for the first day there wasn’t much to do. So we took a walk, ate something and visit Monumento a la Independencia (Independence Column). Independence Column was inaugurated on September 16, 1910 to commemorate the Centennial Anniversary of Mexico’s Independence.

On the second day we woke up early and found a local tour to visit Teotihuacan. Teotihuacan is one of the best archaeological sites you can visit in Mexico and it is nearly 30 miles away from Mexico City. When we arrived to Teotihuacan, we were like beamed up to thousands of years ago. Teotihuacan was the center of Mesoamerica until A.D.800. It was exciting to walk on the Avenue of the Dead, and climbing to Pyramid of the Sun and the Moon. Also there was a small local market near the archaeological site, and what a surprise, they were selling Blue amulets! (Blue circles in shape of eyes, which protects you from bad luck or sickness). When I asked sellers the meaning of these blue amulets, I’ve learned that it is exactly the same in Turkey. So people living on the different sides of Atlantic Ocean believe the same thing, interesting right? After Teotihuacan we turned back to downtown, spent some time at the Zocalo Square and prepared for the Cancun.

Pyramid of the Sun

On the 3^rd day of our vacation, we arrived Cancun after a short flight from Mexico City. While landing I saw that airstrip is in the middle of dense forest, at that moment I understood that I am in heaven. We spent two days in Cancun and stayed in the Hotel Zone. Most of the time weather of Cancun is perfect for vacation but tropical storms usually seen on September and October. We spent most of our time in the sea and on the long, white sandy beach. In the evening we took a bus to go to the downtown and enjoyed foods and drinks. By the way, when we got into the bus to go to the downtown we talked in English with bus driver and purchased our tickets, and when we got into bus to turn back our hotel from downtown Mr.C said to bus driver ‘dos personas’ and the bus driver charged half of the price we paid before. So if you can practice a bit of Spanish before coming here you can save some money.

Tulum

On our last day we stayed at Tulum. Tulum is smaller and quieter than Cancun, you can enjoy the beautiful nature without any interruption. There are lots of small boutique hotels in Tulum but we preferred to stay in hotel that is formed from cabanas. It was cool to stay in a cabana on the beach until I saw a scorpion on the floor. Apart from that, experiencing Tulum is wonderful, foods are delicious, beaches are perfect and sea is crystal clean.

Our time was not enough to visit every significant place in these three cities. There are many places from Mexico in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, this is the link if you want to check out. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/

Bienvenido a Mexico

Disarida hava -7 Derece oldugundan, bugun yapilabilecek en iyi seyin koltugumda kivrilirken, cay icerek, Mexico seyahatimin fotograflarina bakmak oldugunu dusundum. Daha once gezilerimle ilgili bir yazi da yazmadigima gore bu gunu Meksika gezisiyle ilgili bir yazi yazarak gecirebilirim sanirim.

Gecen Temmuz'da Mr.C ile ciktigimiz 5 gunluk Meksika seyahati hayatimin en guzel tatiliydi diyebilirim. New York'dan bes bucuk saatlik bir ucus ile ilk duragimiz olan Mexico City'e vardik. Havaalanindan sehir merkezinde kalacagimiz otele havaalani taksileri ile kolayca ulastik fakat toplu tasima araclari ile de ucuz ve guvenli bir sekilde ulasiminizi saglayabilirsiniz.

Meksika cesitliligi ile goze carpan bir ulke; Antik medeniyetlerin, Ispanyol ve Kuzey Amerika Kulturlerinin sentezlendigi bu ulkenin , en tercih edilen seyahat rotalarindan biri olmamasi imkansiz. Baskent Mexico City de 20.5 milyon nufusu ile bu ulkenin cesitliligini yansitan en buyuk sehir.

Mexico City'e aksam saatlerinde vardigimiz icin ilk gun yapilacak fazla birsey yoktu. Dolayisiyla otelin cevresinda biraz dolasip yemek yedikten sonra Monumento a la Independencia' yi(Ozgurluk Abidesi) ziyaret ettik. Bu abide Meksika'nin ozgurluge kavusmasinin yuzuncu yildonumu kutlamak amaciyla 16 eylul 1910 yilinda acilmis, ve Mexico City'nin simgelerinden biri haline gelmis.

Meksika'daki ikinci gunumuze erken baslayarak, Teotihuacan'a gidebilmek icin bir tur ariyoruz. Teotihuacan Meksika'da gorulebilecek en guzel tarihi sit alanlarindan bir tanesi ve Mexico City'e sadece 50km uzaklikta. Teotihuacan'da gezmeye basladigimda kendimi bir anda binlerce yil oncesine isinlanmis gibi hissettim. 8. yuzyila kadar Orta Amerika'nin merkezi sayilan bu bolgeyi gormek, Avenue of Dead'de yurumek, Sun ve Moon Piramitleri'ne tirmanmak cok heyecan vericiydi. Teotihuacan'dan ayrilmadan once yerel urunlerin satildigi kucuk pazarlari gezerken tezgahlarda nazar boncugunun satildigini gordum, saticilara bunun ne anlama geldigini sordugumda bizimle ayni amacla kullandiklarini ogrendim. Atlantik Okyanusu'nun iki farkli kiyisindaki insanlarin  birebir ayni seye inandiklarini gormek cok ilgincti. Teotihuacan'dan sehir merkezine dondukten sonra Zocalo Meydani'nda zaman gecirip, ertesi gunku Cancun ucusu icin haziliklarimizi tamamladik.

Gezimizin ucuncu gununde artik sira Cancun'a geldi, Mexico City'den kisa bir ucusla Cancun'a vardik. Ucak inise gecerken pencereden baktigimda, pistin sik ve ucu bucagi gozukmeyen bir ormanin icinde incecik uzandigini gorunce, tamam iste tropikal tatil budur dedim. Cancun'da toplam iki gece gecirerek Oteller Bolgesi olarak adlandirilan alandaki bir otelde konakladik. Tropikal firtina ihtimalinin yuksek oldugu Eylul ve Ekim aylari disinda, Cancun'un iklimi tatil yapmak icin uygun, tabiki sicagi sevmeyenler icin bizim gibi Temmuz'da gitmelerini onermem. Buradaki zamanimizin cogunu uzun ve beyaz kumuyla unlu plajlarda ve denizde gecirdik. Karayip Denizi'ndeki dogal yasam basta ilginc gelse de, balik yakalamak icin suya dalan pelikalarla birlikte denize girmeye zamanla alistik. Bu arada Meksika'ya gelmeden once mutlaka Ispanyolcaya calismak lazim. Aksam sehir merkezine gitmek icin bindigimiz otobusde, gidis icin odedigimiz bilet ucreti, donus icin odedigimizin iki katiydi. Cunku gidis bileti almak icin otobuse bindigimizde sofore Ingilizce iki bilet lutfen derken, donerken 'dos personas' dedik. Bu tur firsatciliga Istanbul'dan alisik oldugumdan sasirmadim tabiki.

New York'a donmeden once son gecemizi gecirdigimiz yer Tulum. Cancun'a gore kucuk ve sessiz olan Tulum, doga ile ic ice zaman gecirmek isteyenler icin harika, dolayisiyla bir bucuk gun bizim icin yeterli oldu. Tulum'da bircok butik otel ve cabanalardan olusan oteller mevcut, biz otelde kalmak yerine deniz kenarinda cabanalardan olusan bir tesiste kalmayi tercih ettik. Ekoturizm ilkesi ile kurulmus bir tesiste kalmak basta eglenceliydi ta ki cabananin icerisinde akrep gorene kadar. Neyse bu ayrinti disinda, yedigimiz tum yemekler, hava, kum, deniz harikaydi. Meksika'dan UNESCO Dunya Miraslari listesine giren o kadar cok yer var ki, bunlari yazmak yerine ilgilenenler icin linki buraya kopyaliyorum.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/