istanbul = love

Loving Istanbul... We made it here two days ago. It is a fantastic city.

It's super modern, super chill and super clean. I love the food and am still loving the Turkish people. Yesterday we did the tourist circuit of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, the Grand Bazaar and the spice market.. today we are going to go to a totally different part of town to hang with the musicians and hopefully get to play some music, go to the Turkish bath (which i am totally in love with) and eat another AMAZING meal... the food here is out of this world super yum!!

yesterday in our wanderings we also happened upon the goldsmith part of town, which I am going to explore more after steven leaves on Monday. I am going to try to hang with the goldsmiths and get a feel for how they work.

All is well here.. still in love with Turkey!!

leaving this land of unusual rocks and caves

It's our last day, well actually it's our last few moments in Cappadocia. I think of all the wonderful places in the world, I've been, this one had me gasping the most. The combination of ancient civilizations ingenuity and the incredible geology makes for a great combination in my book.

Yesterday was a full day. We wandered around on the motorbike driving through small villages and hiking along some paths. Steven loves to go offroad on the motorbike and I love adventures so it was quite fun, as we explored the countryside. We made our way to an unassuming village. In a quiet corner of the town lay an underground city. It is called Kaymakli. We decided to hire a guide for this underground labrynith. It is said, this city began to be built 4000 years ago as a place for the Hittites as a place to hide from their enemies. It was abandoned during peace time and many others followed in their footsteps eventually ending with the Crusaders in the 12th century. The Crusaders made it into what it is today. A city that can hold 5000 people for 6 months.. all underground and completely unseen above ground. There are tunnels and communication holes, bathing areas, small living quarters, a place to make wine, churches and booby traps, a communal kitchen and blocked entries for the enemies.... I LOVED IT and loved imagining what it was like living in there. It is not for the claustophobic, that is for sure.

From there we tried to go to another town, but a storm came in so we decided to go back to our cave and hang for the afternoon. it was a wonderful few hours of rest before we went into town to see a whirling dervish performance, have a lovely meal and then watch another amazing performance from two local muscians...

We are on to Istanbul in a few moments and I can't wait.

badlands on crack!!

The cave is raining on me... raining little pieces of limestone.. I love it..

Cappadocia is like the Badlands, Bryce Canyon, Mesa Verde and Petra on steriods!! It is really quite unbelievable. We rented a motorbike and rode around yesterday, I couldn't stop taking pictures. Really it is quite inspiring.The combination of geology and ancient traditional living. It makes my heart go wild just thinking about ancient civilizations and what they accomplished and how they lived. Steven and I were in awe the whole day and I couldn't stop talking about it. He said he was feeling really inspired too..

We went to a place called Zelve yesterday, it was a living place until 1950 when the government decided it was too unsafe (because of erosion) to keep on livi, the people were moved to another location. It was a cave fantasy land of tunnels and monasteries and mosques and living quarters. One of my favorite things is the pigeon houses. the photo with the little squares carved out. There was a mill and all sorts of other amazing things.

Today we are going to explore an Huge (8 stories deep) underground city that was living thousands of years ago.. I can't wait...

Badlands on crack!!

The cave is raining on me... raining little pieces of limestone.. I love it..

Cappadocia is like the Badlands, Bryce Canyon, Mesa Verde and Petra on steriods!! It is really quite unbelievable. We rented a motorbike and rode around yesterday, I couldn't stop taking pictures. Really it is quite inspiring.The combination of geology and ancient traditional living. It makes my heart go wild just thinking about ancient civilizations and what they accomplished and how they lived. Steven and I were in awe the whole day and I couldn't stop talking about it. He said he was feeling really inspired too..

We went to a place called Zelve yesterday, it was a living place until 1950 when the government decided it was too unsafe (because of erosion) to keep on livi, the people were moved to another location. It was a cave fantasy land of tunnels and monasteries and mosques and living quarters. One of my favorite things is the pigeon houses. the photo with the little squares carved out. There was a mill and all sorts of other amazing things.

Today we are going to explore an Huge (8 stories deep) underground city that was living thousands of years ago.. I can't wait...

Rumi, and fariy tales

Unexpectedly we left the coast late Saturday night... It was the only bus ticket we could get and as awesome as the beach is, Steven was ready to get out of there and move on. So, we got the midnight bus to Konya and arrived at 5:30 in the morning. We decided to check our bags at the bus station and spend the day wandering around Konya, the place where Rumi died and is enshrined.. It was a lovely day of wandering and his memorial and tomb were quite powerful. Over 1.5 million visitors (mostly Turkish) visit this site every year.

The stop was a middle point for our journey to Cappadocia. An amazing place of caves and towers of limestone which doubled as castles at one point in history. We hopped on the 2:30 bus out of Konya and made it to Urgup by 6:00. We now have our amazing private cave room overlooking the vast landscape of beauty..

I am loving Turkey!! the people are so very very kind and the food is amazing (especially the deserts). The place where we are now is other worldly and we have decided to stay here and rest for a few days. we will rent a motorbike today and tomorrow to see it by two wheels. i'm quite excited...

First Class....ticket to paradise.

I made it!!!

Seattle to LA...nothing exciting. I made it to LA and had a 7 hour layover, which I was not looking forward to, just happy I had a flight out.

LA to Paris... The Air France ticket counter was chaos. People had been stuck in LA for days. They let me check in 6 hours before my flight. The lady gave me my boarding passes and she handed me a ticket to the VIP room (the fancy room as my friend calls it).. hmm I thought, that is really nice of them. I get to wait in the VIP room during my super long layover. I looked at my ticket and my seat was 04L. hmmm I thought, that is really close to the front of the plane. So, I went to the fancy room and there were snacks and alcohol and nice chairs and it was quiet and light.. aahhhh... I took out my book and read. The 6 hours went by quickly. It's interesting how my perspective changed when I went back out by the gate. It was crowded with people and loud and messy and I thought, I could really get used to the fancy room.

I boarded the plane with a smirk on my face knowing I was going to be in FIRST CLASS, let me say that again, FIRST CLASS.... aaaaaahhhhhhhhh..... the 10 hour flight to Paris was in a 180 degree reclining super comfy chair, with an electric massager and my own little lamp along with several different adjustments for my comfort, and much more, my own lotion, and cucumbers for my eyes :)... OMG!!! I still can't get the shit eating grin off my face. It was so awesome. Because of the volcano.. you know, the volcano I hated a few days ago. Yes, that one, because of it, they were able to rearrange my frequent flier ticket to any open seat on any plane going to Istanbul and I just happened to call at a moment 04L was available and I got it... So exciting!! I slept the whole way to Paris. comfortably.

Paris to Istanbul... not quite as exciting, although I did sit next to a Turkish national ice hockey player who was on his way home from the World Cup in Mexico.. He was cute too..

Istanbul.. arrived at midnight.. got picked up at the airport, went to hotel and slept..

Istanbul to Antalya.. this morning woke up early and flew to Antalya to meet my husband and be on the beach. He has a conference here and it is in a big hotel on the beach. it's beautiful, the blue blue sea is surrounded by amazing mountains, some of them snow capped. The air is warm, the sky is blue and I am so happy to be here...

leaving tomorrow...

I'm so excited... Yesterday, I called the airlines every 2 hours with no changes.. Then, this morning I called again and got a flight out to Turkey tomorrow... yay!! I hope, it's smooth flying from here.

I'm hoping to continue this travel part of my blog from Turkey, so, we will see how easy that is. The jewelry there is supposed to be fantastic!! And I would love to show you picts..

Our journey is planned like this.. Antalya (on the coast), Konya (a little north, where Rumi died), then to Cappadocia, the "fairy towers" of sandstone, i am soooooooooo excited about that place.. we will end our trip with a few days in Istanbul and I will stay on for a few more after that..

yay!! thanks for all your support and listening to me whine about something I could not change or do anything about.

update: ideas & opportunites

Ok, so my whining has slowed down and I am regulating my emotions a bit better this evening, but I am still pissed at Eyjafjallajokull even with all it's beauty spewing from the depths of the earth!!


photo by Neal Karlinsky


I am amongst many millions of people being put out over the last few days and I can hardly say I'm being put out... More like put on hold, from the confines of my own home (and yes, to me they are confines)... If I can't get to Turkey, which at this point does not look good, I will make other plans since I've already rearranged my life for the next two weeks and I am a die hard traveler, super die hard...

So, does anyone have any good ideas? I thought maybe I would go visit my mother-in-law for a few days, because we were supposed to travel to Turkey together. And then go to Hawaii!!

Or, I could drive down the coast of California and go to Esalen for a few days or go to NYC....or even Mexico... The ideas are endless really.

I am blessed with this life and feel so lucky and happy to have been given the opportunities I have, and made the choices I have with those opportunities..

DAMN YOU VOLCANO!!!

So, my degree is in geology and I did want to study volcanology, but I'm a little bit pissed off at that damn volcano in Iceland.... My flight to Turkey is cancelled and I can't get out of here until a week from now, which leaves me almost no time in Turkey.... So, I just need to bitch..

I know my life is awesome and I know I just got back from India and I know I've just had 2 glasses of wine and I know I have nothing to be complaining about in my life....BUT, GOD DAMN YOU STUPID VOLCANO... Didn't you know, I had plans to go to the coast and swim amongst the Roman ruins? Didn't you know I had plans to go to Cappadocia?


Didn't you know I love adventures and that I planned on having several over the next 16 days? Seriously, didn't you know that I live to travel, and travel to live?? Didn't you know that?

So, I'm stuck here in Seattle, with blue skies today (thank you God for that), not crying (yet), but whining in a kind of major way...

I'm trying to figure out how to get to Barcelona or Morocco or somewhere else that is not here... been on the phone for hours and wish so badly I had been on the same flight as my husband who will be flying into Istanbul in a few hours...

Grrrrrrr.....

my first moments in India... journal excerpt 09.24.1999

Many years later, I now realize how completely auspicious my first day in India was 11 year ago.






09.24.1999

MY FIRST DAY IN INDIA.
I made it safely woo hoo!! I inhaled and felt something familiar.. The smells, the sights, wow! I'm on sensory overload. The men wear these drab tan and gray clothes and then a woman will walk by with the most beautiful sari. Really the colors are so fantastic, they glow on their beautiful dark skin.

Arrived at the airport everything went extremely smoothly. I shared a taxi with some other travellers. The 30 minute ride to Colaba was full of sights... My first observations were the poverty, the pollution, dirt, and these beautiful women.

I took a nap at the YWCA (my guesthouse for the first few nights) and went out to get some food. The first thing I ate in India was a masala dosa...I met some other travellers and wandered around with them trying to look for the market with clothing. So, we walked and walked. Finally, we made it to where we wanted to be and all the shops were closed. Oh well. So we walked some more and came across these people splattered with hot pink powder and the streets were covered with it as well. We followed the trail of pink and eventually came upon a celebration for Ganesha (the elephant looking God) There was a huge parade and people were dancing and singing and playing the drums. The procession lead down to the Sea where they put thelarge statues of Ganesh. I HAVE NEVER SEEN SO MANY PEOPLE IN MY LIFE!! Today was the last day of a 10 day festival celebrating Ganesh and it was amazing.

It was a spectacular first day in India. I made it back to my hotel room. Life is good, it's time to sleep.




It turned out to be Ganesh Chaturthi, the Hindu festival for Ganesha, the elephant God of new beginnings, he removes obstacles and is worshiped at the start of many things. For instance, at the beginning of your work day or the beginning of a new business. For me, I did not know any of this at the time. I actually knew almost nothing about India, but somehow I landed in Mumbai on that auspicious day. The day that changed my life forever, my first day in India. The last day of the festival and the most festive of them all, the large statue of Ganesha is paraded through the streets along with dancing and singing. It is then submerged in the sea symbolizing a ritual see-off of the Lord in his journey towards his home in Kailash while taking with him the misfortunes of his devotees.

giving back... with sacred jewels

Kathy and I spent a whirlwind few days in Jaipur scouring the market and when we came upon these sacred pendants, we looked at each other and sighed.



These are oxidized silver discs hand-painted (in 22k gold) with hands and feet, a symbol of respect in India. This is a revered symbol all over the world meaning different things to different cultures, but even without meaning, they are awesome!!!

With all that India has given both of us, we want to give back. So, with the purchase of one of these beautiful pendants, we will give a portion of the sale to this wonderful organization, an orphanage near Jaipur in India. We only have 28 pieces left!!!



Each pendant with a 18" chain is: $108

there are three styles
1. 28mm X20mm oval feet pendant
2. 28mm circle hand pendant
3. 28mm circle feet pendant

Contact me if you are interested in one of these special necklaces!!

new goodies at Essenza

Thanks to all who stopped by our trunk show last Saturday, it was a very fun girls day... also thank you to our host Jennifer (you should check out her hilarious blog)

I just got back from delivering lots of new goodies to Essenza. They have a nice new collection of my gold from this year, a beautiful star ruby ring, a Mexican fire agate ring, plus much more including one Ganesha necklace, one Shiva necklace, one lakshmi necklace and one elis... Stop in and check them out, it is such an amazing store!!



Also, Les Amis will be carrying some of the scarves we bought in India...

India Feb. 17, 2000.... an old journal excerpt

UPDATE on an older blog post from 2010, but this is really about a journal entry from Feb. 2000: Now it's been 17 years and I just saw this post again... I wanted to share a little from my first time in India... It changed my life forever and I still feel the same 17 years later... Sigh....


It's been 11 years since I first started going to India. And oh how I love her. Her people, her energy, and her spirit have given so much joy, so much growth as well as a lot tears and bugs in my tummy, but we won't focus on that...

It was February 2000, I was 24 years old and so sick with amoebic dysentary. And sitting on the rooftop of my guesthouse in Dharamsala, thinking.... writing... wondering...

Here is an excerpt from my journal over 10 years ago, it was about one month before I was going to leave India after traveling there for 6 months:

February 17, 2000

"It makes me so sad when I think about leaving India. It's less than a month now and to think of all I have learned and experienced in the last 8 months.. Wow!! I realize it's just the beginning. I have so many ideas and dreams. I know the only way they will happen is if I make them. 'Everything is possible' as they say here in India.

I'm sitting on the rooftop of my guesthouse enjoying the mountains, the sun and the breeze. The air is clean and sweet as the mountains over power in the distance. How do I describe these feelings of happiness? I hope they don't fade with the new territory. I need to take all I've learned, seen, and experienced on this journey and make my life complete.

After 8 months of traveling alone, I know I have courage to conquer the challenges that lie ahead. The life here is easy, but the initial shock was not, getting through all that, helped me to develop a sense of empowerment which I hope continues.

I need to take this trip to another level, reach out and inform, support and push people to live their dreams. As I wrote to my parents last night. 'I am a dreamer. Their are few in this world who have the opportunities or courage to live their dreams, but the people I know who do, have few regrets and enjoy. And to me that's what this life on earth is all about... Being happy!!'

We tend to get caught up in the day to day and forget to live. We wake up each morning to a routine, not to a new day. Everyday is special and different, we must not forget that.

These are the things I need to remember when I return to the pressures of living in the United States."

For me, it's fun to read my old journal entries and go back to what I was thinking then as a 24 year old. The thoughts that swept my mind. And how some things change and others don't.. In my next few blog entries. I am going to find a few more of these and post for you to read. Plus, I have exciting new jewelry.. We are selling it with the idea of giving back. So stay tuned!