even old New York was once New Amsterdam

I am just freshly returned from vacation with the whole weekend to recuperate and relax and let the thoughts and memories settle and sort. 

Seeing Istanbul was probably the most exotic exposure I have had, and while I am glad to come back to our little house in a city founded by Charlemagne himself, it amazes me that one can be in the capital of the Ottoman Empire, the capital of the Roman Empire, the seat of the Eastern Orthodox church at lunch time and then back in Unterfranken by mid-afternoon.

salut de Istanbul

H and I are having a fantastic time in the city. Here is a picture post card view of the Hagia Sofia from the terrace of our hotel.

by any other name

We are excitedly packing and rearranging the indoor topiary and landscaping to make it easier for our neighbor to manage watering this jungle of plantlife.  We'll be in Istanbul, Byzantium, Constantiople, and PfRC will be taking a short sabbatical.  I have read that the Turkish people have a slang designation for Germany--exonyms are a challenge, Deutschland--Frengistan or Frankistan.  I feel I have barely cracked the guidebook but we have already an overwhelming amount to explore.

when I know more of tactics than a novice in a nunnery

Though I do not presume to know more about the effects of invisible volcanic ash on jet engines than assembled experts, pilots and government by committee, there seems to be more and more of these events of extreme caution that cry wolf or rather swine flu that's left us with an embarassment of spoiled vaccine doses or nacked body-scanners or firewalls.  Twinkle-twinkle, little bat--how I wonder where you're at... I hate to sound angry and second-guess good intentions--I feel like a tea party-goer.  It is not as if the internet, however, was invented for seediness or miscreants, nor the miracle of flight for underpants bombers, nor Mortimer J. Marker or spray-paint for huffing.  More protections are afforded for the abusers and we are kept too safe for misguided reasons.