Hot days. Hommage to Istanbul.

When you drive the streets at 10PM and it is 32 cels, it means HOT. 24h/day temperature does not go below 30 cels last week. Add pollution and crowd...and Hsinchu is not so bad, compared to larger cities.

Working weekend. In fact here and in Greece I learend to appreciate freedom of these hot days, at work. Air conditioned space a must, there is no better place than work (not to have to pay for AC).

A bit about my recent reading. It is as travel there.
Orhan Pamuk's "Istanbul" is certainly not great literature, but surprises by outbursts of originality sometimes. To add something new to Constantinople is not easy, but Pamuk managed, brava.
Here some pics from my last short visit there. The Church. I had this nice opportunity to see Athens, Istanbul and Rome close in time, and understand what it meant last 1500 years, and why the impact is so big. Of all the monumental buildings, Hagia Sophia has the simplicity equal maybe only with... St.Sulpice in Paris, surprisingly, this is the association pushing to my brain. That Jesuite mind was so close to Orthodox and Islamic purity of space...I am surprised to find, but it is true.

Me, small inside it, as should be.

Waters of Bosphorus.

Yes, Istanbul is place to go. Highly recommended. The City, definitely. I am proud on this one, it was no easy to find the place to make it.

One and last here, "very funny".

Summer 2007

I was in Kolan first half of July. This will be all for this year, I think.

I did not speak with many people there this time, too hectic a time with 3 kids and 2 ladies there ;-)
Fela became constant there, with next generation ofher ubiquitous kids, she is a breeding machine and good, really good matrone mother, although she is still so young. Curious I am why it is so, genetics, or our handling her to be hard one, when she was yooung?

But some of my reflexions: stone is source of peace for me, as is the night sky-but they polluted the sky, too many lights, really! And of the worst kind, white balls, without upper cover, so they give half light to Aliens. Stupid, they should put a shield inside, above the bulb, to prevent spreading of the light upwards, or simply paint this part of the cover black.

We visited also Rijeka & Opatija - thanks to TurboDijana which is there now for good, and hosted us for an afternoon. Nice to meet finally on some of our sites, the 1st time we had such chance :-)

In Croatia now it seems to be better, some light for young people-credits are given with normal interest rates so it is possible to buy apartments, build house or buy a car. This third is very much visible, cars are better than few years ago,not so many old ones around. It seems Croatia is, finally, on the course to become normal european country.

Prices are moderate or low-but I might be biased by recent visits to Italy, which is double if not more expensive for touristic eye.

Except Croatia, I visited Poland and Azores, Portugal, more on this on mikidtaiwan blog.

Donkeys: TWO in Kolan, it seems. I saw ONE, in one garden closeby school. Poor times for donkeys.

On the beaches no changes, fortunately.Only in camping "Simuni" they moved with sites a bit eastward, what is worrying, but they do not seem to hurry much, so our usual places are safe for now. There were many sea-urchins which were-surprise for them, I am sure-eaten by my Han ladies.

Novalja naguzvana kao i obicno,Pag nesto manje, ali isto podosta.Dojam na cestama ipak da nematih turista bas toliko-ali bili smo prije top-sezone, jos stignu doci