Istanbul 10 May 2016 : Caspar Institute

Istanbul!

Culture shock ...and I thought I was shock-proof, culture-wise. My first reaction (to the airport) is: okay that we are only here for three hours.

Arriving 25 minutes early, they had no gate for us, so they parked on the tarmac and bussed us into the most crowded gate area I have ever seen. Finally finding the first class lounge (about a mile away through bustling corridors; a masterpiece of surfaces, but with awesome food!) we finally felt like we had enough air to breathe. Soft chairs, a little dark. Our bodies think it's 6am, but the clock says 5pm.

Although long, the flight was easy. Attentive, smiling, amused staff kept feeding us. The amenities were more than adequate (could have had more bathrooms). For airline food, it felt like the 1980s: A for effort, but a steak or an omelette that's been in the warmer for 12 hours tends not to be spectacular.

The best thing: the cameras pointing forward and down. We watched sunset over the cloudy Canadian Rockies ...and the glow of the first in northern Alberta. The glow never left the northern sky all night long, but it was the glow of the late Spring sun over the top of the world.

What do you suppose the yellow fields are?

Off to Barcelona!

4:35 in the afternoon on Tuesday in Caspar, but for us it's a little after 1am on Wednesday in Catalunya. Our "travel day" lasted 32 hours. We have our checked luggage. We are in our room at the Barcelona Airport Hotel with, as far as we can tell, all our parts intact (including our senses of humor.) Rochelle's ears performed perfectly, and she has taken a shower.

The flight from Istanbul was in an older plane, not so luxurious, but they made up for it with the food: a wild salmon mouse, a tasty tsatziki, hummus, and then local swordfish in a beluga lentil sauce, with chocolate cream over salted caramel for dessert. Yum.

We are very happy that we don't have to get on an airplane again for seven weeks. More to come. Just letting you-all know we're here, safe, and well.