I just spent 6 full days over Thanksgiving Week in Istanbul, Turkey. I found this bustling city to be full of history, color, art, friendly people and was  overall very exotic.  It is easy to manipulate and get around that I found that I didn’t need to have a guide. Many people speak English and the signs unlike in Japan were easy to read and understand. I took the tram many times which is an easy way to get from Sultanahmet to other areas of the city.  I loved my hotel The Empress Zoe right around the corner from the Four Seasons Hotel. It  was am amazing place to stay with wonderful rooms, roof top terrances and a lovely garden, breakfast included and friendly staff

Day One

After a Turkish coffee, head out today to explore Sultanahmet.  By the way just around the corner form the Four Seasons near the Haghia Spohia or Aya Sofya is a bank of ATMs which are the best in this area of town.   Check out the Haghia Sophia which is among the world’s greatest architectural achievements and is more than 1,400 years old. In the rear are a series of four mausoleums which you can visit through  a separate entrance. Loved the splendid Byzantine mosaics.  Most of these are found in the gallery upstairs which is accessed by ramps from the lower level. Don’t miss this.

Across the street near the corner  on Yerebatan Cadessi is the Amazing Basilica Cistern.  This is a vast underground water cistern, with the  roof held up by large Corinthian and Doric columns which are beautifully lit.  Make sure you walk to the end to see the two large stone Medusa head bases supporting two columns. 

For lunch enjoy a traditional Turkish meal at the House of Medusa ( how appropriate since you just saw the Medusa heads in the Cistern).  This restaurant is on Yerebatan Street  at no. 19 just up from the Cistern.  Found in an old mansion, it has a nice outdoor terrace and garden and attractive inside dining rooms.

After lunch explore the famous Blue Mosque.  Enjoy the wonderful courtyard, Ixnik tiles and beautiful inside domes.  Make sure you check out the men washing their feet in special taps outside the mosque.  Women I believe need to cover their heads so pack appropriately. You may have to wait a while until prayers are over for admittance.

Just outside the mosque is a Mosaic Museum, the Istanbul Crafts Center which never seemed to be open and a small crafts bazaar called the Arasta Bazaar which has many small shops and which serves tea, coffee and snacks.

For dinner I recommend Rami Restaurant at Utangac Sokak No. 6.  (0212) 517 6593.  A block or so  from the Four Seasons, it is located right across from the Arasta Bazaar. It is a beautifully decorated Ottoman style restaurant in an old house with  amazing views of the Blue Mosque.  Make sure you request a table by the window.  I loved item #24 on the menu , the elbasan tara, an ottoman style lamp dish with amazing sauce. I also enjoyed drinking Turkish red wines at every dinner!  Check them out.

Day Two

Visiting the Topkapi Palace is a must (just realize that it is closed on Tuesday).  It is a series of pavilions contained by four enormous courtyards.  Entry is 20 lire, but make sure you pay the extra 15 lire admission to the Harem which is a beautiful labyrinth of exquisite rooms where the sultan’s wives and concubines lived.  The tile work is amazing.  Check out the rooms in the back including the Circumcision Pavilion (ouch!) and the Badhdad Pavilion.  There are also several exhibitions of artifacts belonging to Mohhamed including Moses’ staff, the treasury with many precious objects, and beautiful rooms of jewels and costumes. 

Having lunch at the Konyali restaurant (located in far right corner as you enter) is a must. It is on the palace grounds and has wonderful views of the Bosphorus.  I bypassed the cafeteria line and instead enjoyed the table service and the better menu. Loved the combination plate of  cold Turkish mezes as a meal. 

Following the tour of the palace you can visit the Archaeological museum which is basically next door which has one of the world’s richest collections of classical artifacts. My favorite was the Cinili Pavilion which houses a rich collection of ceramics.  The building itself contains beautiful tile work.

Make sure you see the row of  old Ottoman houses just outside the west palace gate.

For dinner that night I highly recommend Balikci Sabahattin. This is a highly recommended fish restaurant  located in a refurbished Ottoman townhouse.  The address is Seyit Hasan Kuyu Sok, Cankurtaranmah at 0212 458 1824,  It is about a 3 block walk from the Four Seasons.

After dinner explore the rug stores and ceramics shops surrounding the Four Seasons hotel.  Gallery Ugur  on Utangac Sokak No 15 had nice ceramics and leather goods. It is out the door from the Four Season and straight down the street on the right.  I bought a rug, just south of the Four  Seasons at Artemis Rug Store, at Akbiyik C. Adliye Sk. No 11/14 phone 212 517 8112.  Ask for Murat Bor the owner.  You go out the door of the Four Seasons turn left, go to the corner and turn left, right at the next corner and the entrance is two doors down on the right.

Day Three

Walk to the Grand Bazaar from the hotel and plan to spend a wonderful day exploring the thousands of stores. It is a covered bazaar with areas divided into several areas, Antiques and carpets, leather and denim, gold and silver, fabrics and textiles, souvenirs and household good and workshops.  I had lunch in the bazaar at Havuzlu Lokantasi which had decent food  served quickly. 

Walk to the Suleymaniye Mosque which is Istanbul’s most important mosque.  It should be seen (1000 Places To See Before you Die) however it is under renovation and only a small portion is open for viewing.  Stop for tea in a café outside the mosque.

After a long day of shopping end the day at the Cagaloglu Hamam or 300 year old Turkish Bath. It is listed in the 1000 Places to See Before You Die.  I would do the entire five  step service. It is fun and I recommend  trying. The address is on Yerebatan Caddesi.

For dinner I enjoyed Albura Kathsima a nice restaurant two blocks from the Four Seasons.  It is on Akbiyik Cadessi where there are many fun small restaurants. Check out the 1600 year old palace in the back after dinner.

Day Four

Take the tram to Eminonu.  Visit the large New Mosque near the tram stop and then walk a short distance to see the beautifully decorated Rustem Pasa Mosque.  Walk the small side streets to the Spice Bazaar. This L-Shaped market is not as large as the Grand Bazaar and much more manageable.  I loved buying spices and my new favorite olive oil soap.  Having lunch at the second floor restaurant, Pandeli is a must.  At the water side entrance to the Bazaar take the stairs to left. (right side as you exit).  The restaurant is beautifully decorated with blue tiles and has great food. Try to get a window table to see the water.

After lunch take a cab to the Kariye Museum (Chora Church) .  Also in the 1000 Places to See Before you Die Book, this is a little-known mosque-turned museum has dazzling 14^th century mosaics and frescoes depicting biblical scenes as well as some of the most important and extensive Byzantine paintings in the world.  There are some lovely cafes at the exit where you can have a cup of tea and a baklava to end the day. The address is Kariye Camii Sokak, Edimekapi 90 212 631 9241.  Closed on Wednesday.s  It is out near the western wall.

Try Hamdi restaurant for authentic Turkish cuisine , I did not try, but is was recommended and is not too far from the Spice Bazaar.

Day Five

Take a tram so Kabatas and then a cab to see the Dolmabahce Palace. I did not see it but it has been recommended. Then stop by the Ciragan Palace, now the Ciragan Palace Kempinski.  Heard their Sunday Brunch is great. I did not eat there but enjoyed  seeing the hotel and then walking to Ortakoy which is an area with a great village feel at the foot of the Bosphorus bridge. I enjoyed a fun lunch at the attractive House Café where they have both indoor and outdoor dining.  They have burgers if you are tired of kebabs and lamb.   Then visited the impressive mosque right on the water.  It is one of the prettiest mosques I saw.  Don’t miss this.  To the left of the mosque is a boat pier from where  I took a one hour Bosphorus cruise from the first bridge to the second bridge. This was a perfect trip since I was able to see palaces and beautiful homes along the way without taking the full day trip to the Black Sea.   Stop for coffee or tea at one of the many cafes following the cruise.

Tonight I suggest something contemporary. Try the sleek,  Changa which is a wonderful contemporary restaurant in the Taksim area just off the square.  It is on Siraselviler Caddesi No. 47 , phone 212-249-1348. They have a tasting menu and also  offer wonderful dishes off the menu. The eggplant was amazing. 

Day Six

Take the Tram to the Tophane stop. Wander the streets of Cukurcuma which is a great neighborhood for antique buffs.  Walk the hilly backstreets in this area of Beyoglu.  Check out A La Turca at Faikpasa 4 in a four floor townhouse.  Walk to Cihangir and find a café for lunch. Walk to Taksim Hill and Taksim square and then stoll down the pedestrian Istiklal Caddesi. If you have time check out the Pera Museum or the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art. There is a Chagall exhibition at the Pera Museum through January 24, 2010.

Have a drink or dinner at 360 Istanbul. This is a glass penthouse restaurant on top of a 19^th century apartment building.  Great views of the city.  Istiklal Cadesi 32/309, phone 212 251 1042.

On your next trip to Chicago check out the new Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago. It is truly exceptional!

Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano, the Modern Wing will provide a new home for the museum’s collection of 20th- and 21st-century art. Now a decade in the making, this 264,000 square-foot building makes the Art Institute the second largest art museum in the United States. The building will house the museum’s world-renowned collections of  modern European painting and sculpture, contemporary art, architecture and design and photography The extraordinary scope and quality of these collections will be a revelation; each will be displayed more comprehensively than ever before. The opening of the Modern Wing will allow the Art Institute to take its rightful place as one of the world’s great collections of modern and contemporary art.

According to the  Financial Time’s Travel Unravelled, the  AIC’s new Modern Wing “is a building to rival the outstanding art collection it’s been built to house.”

I was fortunate to spend two nights in Patzcuaro in early April before Semana Santa.  This historic, colonial  city on the shores of Lake Patzcuaro was once an important religious and political center.  It is known for it’s Day of the Dead celebrations on November 1st of each year.  Here Mexicans from all over the country gather on the island of Janitzio and in the villages around the lake. This trip I visited the villages of Tzintzuntzan, Tocuaro known for its award winning wooden masks, Erongaricuaro and Quiroga.  Patzcuaro has lovely squares,  old churches, great restaurants and many shops offering the best of local crafts.  Do not miss Zocalo which is owned by good friends.  I stayed at La Siranda, an amazing boutique hotel right off the Plaza Grande.

La Siranda, a classic residence in the heart of Patzcuaro, which has been transformed into a cozy, special class casa-hotel with 5 suites and picturesque grounds. It combines tradition, refinement and serenity, with the element of exclusivity and therefore has no name on its facade.

With origins in the eighteenth century, the grounds were once the orchards of the Santa Caterina de Siena convent. The property retains spaciousness and breadth prevalent in the houses of that era, and has been furnished with modern and sophisticated decor that blends tastefully with Mexican furniture and objets d´art from around the world.

The spacious suites are crowned with impressive five meter ceilings and wooden beams, and also feature adobe walls, fireplaces, modern bathrooms, king size beds, heating for winter, and fine folk art from Michoacan.  I ate two meals on the terrace.  The food was the best I had in town!

Located adjacent to Plaza Grande, known for it´s exceptional size and elegance, La Siranda is a neighbor of the Casa de los Once Patios, the Santa Caterina de Siena convent, which was constructed in the 18th century, but today is home to many artisans who reflect the richness of Michoacán culture in their work. It is within walking distance from the former Jesuit College, the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Salud, and other magnificent buildings of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when Pátzcuaro was the political and religious center of the current state of Michoacan.

Patzcuaro is easily reachable from Morelia.  The new cuota from the north is now open so it cut off an hour from the drive from San Miguel de Allende!

While looking for the next Weybridge Collection project in Sonoma, I spent a great weekend in Healdsburg, CA.  This was my third trip!  I love the wonderful square with its great restaurants, wine tasting rooms and galleries.  From a restaurant standpoint, I loved SCOPA, a fairly new Italian restaurant.  The owner’s wife was delightful and it was a great experience.  Next I tried Bistro Ralph, an upscale bistro on the Plaza.  Great food and atmosphere.  I had a great Sunday Brunch at  Charlie Palmer’s well-known Dry Creek Kitchen . The salmon benedict was perfectly done and the carrot cake excellent also. I also enjoyed Zin Restaurant and Wine Bar.  Better atmosphere than food though.  One of my favorite new places was Jimtown Store on Highway 128 in the Alexander Valley outside of town.  It has home-style seasonal food including sandwiches, soups, entrees, wine, espresso and desserts.  It is funky and quite fun.  I would highly recommend it.  My worst meal was at Manzanita. Worth skipping.

I heard that Santi in Geyserville is amazing.  I never got there however. Check out Powell’s Sweet Shoppe for their blackberry cabernet sorbet!  I also like the Flying Goat.  They had great chai and I undertand the have wonderful coffee also  Locals recommend the Downtown Bakery and Creamery for breakfast  and Hotel Healdsburg for jazz at night.

On July 2nd I tried two NYC restaurants in Mid-town. For lunch I went to Remi at 145 West 53rd between 6th and 7th. The restaurant was bright and sleek and I enjoyed  the chicken dish I ordered. A great place before the theater. For dinner I went to Visaversa at 325 West 51st between 8th and 9th Avenue. The decor was outstanding and sleek and the pastas were wonderful. Mine with the duck ragout was really great. This is another great location for a pre-theater meal.

I just returned from two amazing weeks in Aspen. I loved going to five performances of the Aspen Music Festival. Highights for me included Musorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, music my Leonard Bernstein, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major and Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra Chorus. I enjoyed seeing The Last Five Years a musical put on my Theatre Aspen. This year’s Anderson Ranch Art Auction was excellent. I enjoyed my 2 week ceramics class with Christa Assad and Scott Parady, two very talented artists. I loved Scott’s very organic teabowls and enjoyed trying to create similar work using things I found on my hikes for texture.

I was so fortunate to meet Julia Hansen founder and artistic director Theater Masters in Aspen. Using her connections as former President of the Drama League in New York, she has brought several theater programs to the Roaring Fork Valley including supporting new works and producing them in New York. I have joined the National Council and am really excited about getting involved.

I had some amazing meals while there. I loved Lu Lu Wilson’s and Elevation. I also tried Crave downvalley near El Jebel. The salmon was great. I highly recommend this new find. I went to Wild Fig for the third time. My whole fish entree ($31) was not great. I think there are many better choices for dining in Aspen. Pine Creek Cookhouse for lunch and their hiker’s buffet was great as usual. I would also recommend the food at Anderson Ranch. The cafe is open to the public and the food with many vegetarian dishes is really excellent.

The weather was magnificent. I can’t wait to go back in September to see the Aspen leaves.

Santa Fe Restaurants

I have been attempting to try new restaurants on every trip I make to Santa Fe. In June I thoroughly enjoyed 315 which is a great restaurant on Old Santa Fe Trail. The service was great and I loved the food and the small outdoor garden. I tried Aqua Santa which was recommended to me and was just written up in Travel and Leisure but I was very underwhelmed. The food was good but the service poor. We felt totally neglected and I could see that other diners were upset as well.

This trip I went to Geronimo’s for a wonderful meal. Nice wines, great service and an outstanding menu made for a great experience. The ambiance was also perfect. I loved the seared tuna entrée that I ate and the coconut sorbet was amazing. Last night I went to Trattoria Nostrani. It was a small intimate restaurant with a great chef Nelli Maltezos who was sous chef for Charlie Trotters in Chicago. The asparagus salad and halibut were great but I also liked tasting the seafood crepes and the scallops. I highly recommend this new find.

But my new favorite spot in Santa Fe is the Cloud Cliff Bakery and Café on 2nd Street. I met Willem Malten the owner at the Santa Fe Folk Art Market last year where I purchased a number of Peruvian textiles from the Amazon rain forest from him. I purchased more this year which was a highlight as Allie McGraw helped me with the sale. Willem is from the Netherlands and is helping raise funds for the Shipibo Konibo villages in this remote area of Peru. I loved the café with its art and textiles and like it so much that I ate there two days in a row. The blue corn blue berry pancakes were great and the salmon frittata omelet was really good. I highly recommend this spot for
breakfast and lunch.

My local favorite near Casa Las Artes is the Tesuque Village Market where you can get great food at breakfast, lunch and dinner. I love the salmon for dinner!

Make a note that Santa Fe Folk Art Market will again happen this year from July 14-15, 2007. The two day market, held on Museum Hill, has a purpose of fostering economic and cultural sustainability for folk artists and folk art worldwide.

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Though a little tired from my other travels in 2007, I flew to Guatemala City for Semana Santa or Holy Week in this Central American country. I was so pleased to have worked through Elizabeth Bell of Antigua Tours who planned my trip flawlessly. I arrived in Antigua where I stayed at the lovely Hotel Mansion Del Pensativo located three blocks from the main square. Though I had a small single room I loved being away from the many people who had jammed the streets for Palm Sunday and for Holy Thursday and Good Friday or Holy Friday. The hotel had a lovely garden, pool, a terrace overlooking flowering trees and a large volcano where one could enjoy the view while eating a great breakfast. I also saw the Posada Del Angel which has five suites and looks like a wonderful spot to stay also.

Holy week in Antigua is the largest celebration in the Western Hemisphere and second only to Seville Spain. The highlight of being in Antigua for Easter week is to see the many processions. There can be several in a day. The streets are blocked off beforehand so the neighborhood can complete the amazingly elaborate and colored alfombras or carpets made out of colored sawdust. Flowers, flower petals, pine needles, fruit, seeds can also be found on some of the carpets. The people who make them take great pride in their designs. However, as soon as the processions pass the garbage collectors are not far behind.

The processions were amazing. Originating from the many churches the processions were led by Roman soldiers some on horseback. The large floats, some weighing 7,000 lbs. were carried by 80 or more people. Thousands of processional carrier know as cucuruchos participate in the processions. Many are members of a brotherhood and have carried the statues since childhood. Men carried floats of Jesus while women carried the Virgin Mary. Often somber music was played by a small group of musicians. As the floats were so heavy the carriers were replaced almost at the end of each block. These somber events sometimes went on for twelve or more hours. Some started early in the morning and others started late and ended in the middle of the night. I could hear the drum beats often in the distance from my hotel room.

I found some wonderful restaurants in Antigua. I loved the Café Contessa. It had a great brunch on the weekends and I loved eating outside in the back overlooking the courtyard. It had wonderful food and pastries. Since it is right on the main square it is a great place to stop in for a cup of coffee or snack. I frequented a great store and café called Casa Cicob. I loved stopping in for a late afternoon tea and again to escape from the hoards of people in the streets. The owner was delightful and I purchased some nice accessories for my home in San Miguel de Allende. The newspaper estimated that there would be 1 million visitors for Semana Santa in Antigua. Though many of these people were not frequenting the nicer hotel and restaurants it is wise to book your reservations early. I found the restaurant a the Meson Panza Verde to be excellent with a wonderful atmosphere. The Cuban jazz was a real highlight on weekends. I liked Nicolas International food and also had a great meal at Romarin. I would also suggest trying La Fonda de la Calle Real with its lovely courtyard and great Guatemalan cuisine.

I frequented many art galleries, shops and folk art stores. I loved the colonial architecture and atmosphere. I recommend Antigua for a great getaway. I would consider the city for one of my fractional homes but I don’t know if the government is stable enough for the investment or if people would want to go back several times a year.

I did travel by van to Panachal on Lago or Lake Atitlan located the western part of the country. . The lake is surrounded by three volcanoes and is really beautiful. I stayed at the Hotel Posada de don Ronrigo right on the lake in Panachal. I traveled by boat to the small village where my guide Sara Matzgar introduced me to some local weavers. I am a textile collector and loved seeing and buying some wonderful pieces.

A real highlight of my trip was attending the Mayan New Year celebration on the Tuesday before Easter. I was taken by Sara and her family to a sacred Mayan site at just outside of Tecpan. Her son was one of the Shaman who was participating in the ceremony. We arrived early to watch them build the altar. They started making the sign for the day in colored sugar. Then round pieces of incense were added along with multi-colored candles, cigars, flower petals, pine needles. It was a colorful altar that was lit as the ceremony began. The Shaman were all smoking cigars. All who came to the ceremony brought things to add to the altar. The group that had gathered all were greeted by the Shaman. There was praying toward the North, South, East and West as well as dancing and drumming. It was a wonderful experience as they prayed to the Mayan Gods. There were a few of us gringos present. We were welcomed and told that we could take pictures as long as they were used for good and as long as we told the world that the Mayan people are still alive. I thought that was really a great message.

The next day I visited Chichicastenango for the huge indigenous market. I bought a great number of Mayan textiles some used in the homes on their altars. Thank god for ATMs. They are really outstanding pieces and I could have purchased more. The market was really crowed with the local people shopping for the holiday as well as a large number of tourists.

After the processions in Antigua I flew to Tikal for a night at the Jungle Lodge. We arrived at the National Park on Saturday morning. But I was disappointed with the large number of people visiting the Mayan ruins. However, on Sunday which was Easter Sunday, I went into the park before 7am and I was so pleased to see the wonderful ruins and temples before the crowds had arrived. It was a great experience and I was glad I spent the time to see it. I was a little nervous about flying over the jungle in a small plane but everything worked out with no problems. The Lodge was simple but comfortable and the food was okay for being in the middle of the jungle.

I had a wonderful week in Guatemala! I highly recommend it. Remember Elizabeth Bell at Antigua Tours can do a great job in planning your trip.

I just returned from a wonderful weekend of viewing art in Dallas and Fort Worth Texas. The trip was arranged by the Auxiliary Board of the Art Institute of Chicago of which I have been a member for almost 15 years. I had not been in Dallas for quite some time and was impressed with the growth of the mid-town area just north of downtown. I liked seeing the Dallas Museum of Art and was so impressed with the generous gifts that three prominent Dallas families, the Roses, Rachofskys and Hoffmans have made to the museum. I was even more impressed with the new Nasher Sculpture Center next door. Raymond Nasher personally guided us through his outstanding new museum which was designed by Renzo Piano. Don’t miss the wonderful works by Matisse!In Ft. Worth, we toured the museum campus which include the Kimball designed by Louis Kahn, the new Modern designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando and the Amon Carter which was designed by Philip Johnson. The Kimball has a wonderful collection of European paintings, and the Amon Carter an equally impressive collection of American paintings, bronzes, prints and drawings and photographs. As far as the Modern goes, I loved the building but was not impressed by the collection.

We also toured four private homes and collections including those of Rusty and Deedie Rose designed by Anton Predoc, the Rachofsky House owned by Cindie and Howard Rachofsky which was designed by Richard Meier and the home of Charles and Jessie Price which was designed by Stephen Holl. The highlight was Raymond Nasher’s private home with outstanding garden and sculpture park. This 1949 home is exquisite in every detail and filled with magnificent art.

When in Dallas, make sure you try Stephen Pyles and Abacus for Dinner. We had two wonderful meals. Both have top ratings according to Texas Monthly Magazine. We stayed at the Crescent Court which was a lovely hotel just north of downtown.