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November 30, 2006

LIVEBLOG/LAS VEGAS: Baby, it's cold outside

The weather in Las Vegas long ceased to be a consideration for the visitor. Just scope out The Strip in mid-August, when it's 110, and everyone's red as a beet and drunk as a skunk, but refuses to get indoors/get sunscreen/get sense. It's sort of fantastic. Nobody cares that they could actually die out there. After all, they assume, they'll be indoors soon again. (And they're right. They will.)

It is weird here in winter. It was in the low 30's this morning. The sun was out, of course, but duck in to the shadows, and you could be back east. (Except of course for the air. My lips are as cracked as a New York sidewalk.)

Posted by David on 08:46 AM | Comments (0)

LIVEBLOG/LAS VEGAS: Great Caesars' ghost!

I never thought about staying at Caesars' Palace. You look at it from The Strip, and it doesn't really beg you to come in. Its a jumble of vaguely Roman-looking towers, cheesy even for this town.

Go inside, though, and its hard to recognize the place. Things have been happening over there, though, and now I feel like an idiot for not checking in sooner. Over the past few years, really good things have happened piece-by-piece. Fantastic restaurants (Rao's, of East Harlem-can't-get-a-table-ever fame, opens shortly). Not just Celine Dion, but also Elton John. There's Pure, one of the top clubs in town (though this week, with it being off-peak and all, they were practically begging us to come in). The Forum Shops redid itself, and got enormous and a lot cooler (get a shave at Truefitt and Hill, then head to Joe's for stone crabs, flown in of course). Then the new Augustus Tower opened, on the south side of the property, across from the Via Bellagio.

The Tower now has the Guy Savoy restaurant, direct from Paris, and as of now-ish, the Qua Baths & Spa, not only the hottest thing going spa-wise in the city, but also a serious contender on the national scene. First off, it's 50,000 square-feet huge. You can do a lot with that space. Then they took that and made it seem small, instead of like some of those dreadful warehouse-style spas that you see in places that have yet to really learn how it is done.

Qua knows a thing or two, judging from today's tour. Speaking as a guy, the attention to the men's facilities is remarkable. Enter in the men's side and you've got a gigantic baths area, with 3 pools of varying temperatures revolving around an enormous rainwater shower that is more like a waterfall. It looks like one of those strip-club shower room things. There's a great barber shop, with a flatscreen TV. Then, in the back, in the locker areas, you've got the sauna, the steam room, a wet room for shaving ("to open up your pores," said the attendant) and something called an Arctic Ice Room, which always stays chilled ("it's like a cold towel for your body!"). I kid you not, it snows in there. (UPDATE: I tried it. It's synthetic snow. Sort of like soap. But funny all the same. Sort of like a dry cold plunge pool.)

Of course, in the locker room, there's a relaxation area with magazines, TV, wet bar. According to staff, you could even have room service bring you a cheeseburger. If you ever make it out to your treatment, there's one last stop, this one unisex: A Laconium Room, which uses infrared heat to warm you from the inside out, loosening you up for your therapist ("Come on, loosen up!") This is all while the Tea Sommelier is busy preparing the tea selected to pair with the treatment. You don't even have to do massage - they have a Crystal Room, where you can get crystal art (temporarily) done on your body. It's like the braille version of henna. I am pretty sure it is just a chick thing. (Though there was the opportunity presented to tattoo the word SEXY in crystals on my forehead. I had to think about it for a minute before passing.)

It is not our custom to speak for the dead, but it seems that Caesar would have definitely approved. On the scale of one to outrageous, this one knocks the scale on the floor. the stunningly-designed Bathhouse and the spas at Bellagio and Wynn are definitely top-notch, but for now, they'll have to step aside and let everyone get used to this. For guests, it's $20 for fitness center access, $35 for both fitness and baths. If you're staying here (and you should, if you can get in to the Augustus Tower, overall the nicest tower of the many on property), definitely stop in.

Posted by David on 08:15 AM | Comments (0)

LIVEBLOG/LAS VEGAS: Stardust to ashes

They'll be blowing up the Stardust soon, to begin work on Echelon, which is another mega-resort that looks to be sort of a Mandalay Bay of the North Strip, with hip hotels (Mondrian! Delano!) and all the things that young people from Los Angeles require in a Las Vegas casino resort hotel. Nightclubs and such, places where you can see Britney Spears, hammered on JD, take her pants off in front of you, as happened recently at Tryst.

No use getting all tutty about history. This is Las Vegas, but there's something just a little bit sad about the idea of Steve and Eydie's run coming to an end. It's possible they'll go on to other things once their home gets blown apart in favor of a Delano hotel, but they won't be at the Stardust. Is it weird to just think that a little bit sad?

In fact, as you look north from the Fashion Show Mall bridge, and see the old-style marquees of the Frontier, the Riviera, the Sahara, The Stardust, you have to think about the inevitable time when that will live only in history books. I just hope at least some of it hangs on for a while. Not that there time won't come, and not that it'll be a big tragedy or anything, but not having the contrast anymore between the old and new is just a little depressing. Then again, there's always downtown. That's plenty old. And more than just a little depressing.

Posted by David on 08:06 AM | Comments (0)

LIVEBLOG/LAS VEGAS: Wheel me out

One of the side effects of the cold weather: I'm really hungry. Of course, running around like a madman on foot for two days helps, but without the ridiculous heat, you just want to eat more. And nowhere else is as happy to scratch the itch than Las Vegas. Today, I have to confess, I ate at the buffet at Wynn. Not once, but twice. Breakfast, with my buddy Scott, then lunch, with my friend Kristen. I'd like to blame it on both of them, that they dragged me individually. It was more the other way around.

Good thing that we all love a buffet. Good thing that Wynn just does it best. And for not much more than the other high-end options (about $20 a head on average, per meal. Dinner's more - about $34.) The Bellagio buffet seems tired. Spice Market at the Aladdin/Planet Hollywood? Maybe five years ago. The Wynn rendition positively crackles. It is everything a buffet at a top casino should be. Vast. Clean. Artfully done. Nice servers. You wouldn't believe the selection. At breakfast, smoked salmon piled high. Freshly made muesli and granola mixed with loads of fruit. Enough meat to give your cardiologist a panic attack. Mexican breakfast. Asian breakfast. It goes on.

Lunch gets even better. I can't count the types of fish they offer. The shrimp cocktail, a Vegas mainstay, never disappoints. The sauce is better than usual, great kick to it.

Again, since this week is so slow, we have been able to sit in the Atrium (the focal point and best seating), where servers, not as rushed as usual, have been great. We ate jerk chicken, five types of salad (including a beet salad that was outstanding), grilled salmon, kung pao chicken, rock shrimp ceviche and sushi.

I once met the guy who runs the place. Nice dude. Well-experienced in feeding the masses, having done the banquet side of things at one of the biggest convention hotels in New York. What's the difference here, I asked. Basically? Bigger budget. Apparently, they often have caviar at dinner. I can't even imagine what dinner's like. I couldn't do a three-peat. The final piece of the puzzle will have to wait.

By the way - Wynn, celebrating its recent 5 AAA Diamond/5 Mobil Star win, its first time on the charts and the first time a Vegas hotel has ever gotten the double award; is looking good. For now, definitely the best overall resort in town. And this week, rates from $179. Bummed I didn't stay. Won't see those prices again for a while.

Posted by David on 06:50 AM | Comments (0)

LETTERS: Where the bargains at?

A reader emails in regards to our Grand Bazaar strategies posting:

"I'm sure Jimmy, Metin and Ismail will appreciate the business they'll be getting as a result of this article. However, this reader, at least, is disappointed that you didn't offer any tips on bargaining. I mean, what constitutes fair value in relation to the asking price? Is it a steal at 50% off or could I have gotten it for 75% off with a little persistence? Since bargaining is the rule there, some insight into the process would have been nice."

It's a fair question, and we should have been more clear regarding the purpose of meeting people like these three. We met other people, but in our 2 days at the bazaar, they became our main sources and did not disappoint. That's why they made it in to the story.

This is just an opinion, but the bazaar often seemed like a minefield of useless crap, albeit one with with pockets of brilliance. Much of what you see is the same, tired pashmina/t-shirt/"Gucci" wallets/Istanbul ashtrays, etc.

We wanted what you couldn't get everywhere. We wanted to go directly to where the quality was good, where the product was unique, and without fail, that's where we were led when we put ourselves in to the hands of our contacts.

In many cases, the prices on what we bought were non-negotiable, and we were told this in advance. In most of the shops that Ismail is involved with, as a matter of fact, prices generally aren't negotiable (we noted this in the story that ran in the print edition). Nice guy, but won't budge on price. Nor should he. He's offering really high quality, and something you can't find elsewhere. And, as also noted, all you need to do is look at the prices he's getting from suppliers in the U.S. to know that the bargain is already built in.

Hope this explains our perspective. Thanks for your comment.

Got a question regarding what you've read in the paper, or on the blog? Post a comment (all subject to approval) or email dlandsel@nypost.com.

Posted by David on 01:53 AM | Comments (0)

November 29, 2006

LIVEBLOG/LAS VEGAS: Buzz, buzz, buzz (now, with bonus rumor mongering!)

Good morning from the 26th floor of the Bellagio Spa tower, where our Partial Lake View room offers a view of the lake, as promised (just $209!) but also a full-quarter view of the Strip's hottest construction site.

It never gets old, watching this city take shape. I suppose that's a good thing, since it never stops. Constant change is attractive in any metropolis, but here, in this can't-believe-it-exists desert oasis, what's happening is just plain astounding. Every week brings a new announcement of plans some developer has yet to get approved. Every where you turn, someone has thrown up a multi-million dollar addition that you didn't notice last time.

Right now, it is more or less all about right outside our window, otherwise known as the corner of Harmon and Las Vegas Blvd. Here, no less than three major undertakings are currently being undertaken.

By 2009, this area, bookended by the Monte Carlo to the SW, crap shopping centers to the SE and the Bellagio (NW) and Paris (NE), will look completely different. Which is a good thing, seeing as how it was always generally awful.

Here's what's on tap:

First, there's Project CityCenter (UPDATE: I am informed that this project would like to now be referred to as "CityCenter" only). This is a $7 billion dollar city-within-a-city that MGM Mirage is fast-constructing. It contains a Mandarin Oriental hotel, plus buildings designed by Vinoly, Sir Norman Foster and Daniel Libeskind. It also will contain a Whole Foods. (I like to keep you updated on the important things.)

On the northern side of Harmon there's the Cosmopolitan Resort, a smaller but no less interesting project being shoe-horned in between the Bellagio and CityCenter, wrapping itself around the Jockey Club condos, which refused to sell. Hope they're happy - a south-facing view probably isn't worth quite as much anymore.

Finally, across the path, there's the Aladdin. The Aladdin was always a bit of a dud - the cheesy Moroccan theme was dated from about a month after opening in 2000.

It is now even uglier, seeing as how they have decided to keep it open while redeveloping into a Planet Hollywood casino resort. But at least that is now happening. As of late last summer, it was all just big signs and boarded up casino areas. Now there's actually Ben Sherman though, since I hate dealing with the SoHo store.)

Of course, if you're not satisfied to observe what's actually happening, there is always plenty of gossip to amuse you.

Right now the buzz gods are with Mohamed al-Fayed, owner of Harrods, which is rumored to be announcing a major (major!) project in early 2007 (see Norm's column in the R-J, here.)

It's hard to follow the line of reasoning that perhaps it will be part of a development to include a Ritz hotel (a Ritz-Carlton, but modeled on The Ritz, London, which only has a marketing agreement with R-C).

Wait. No it's not. The Strip already has two of Paris' best-known chefs, has/will have most of the world's top hotel brands, not to mention many of London's most beloved retail addresses. Why not a Ritz/Harrods project?

The potential location is the real kicker: word on the street is that it'll be plopped across the street from the Luxor, just south of the Tropicana, which itself is up for a de-scuzzing from new owners (a project that was announced last month.) For the actual site, see: "Future MGM Mirage project," marked on this map.

This would be enormous news for the South Strip, which has been looking just a little bit, well, common, what with all the up-marketing happening at the northern end of things in recent years (Wynn [done], Encore at Wynn [Late '08], Palazzo at The Venetian ['07], Fashion Show Mall and Forum Shops expansions [done], Trump International [Late '07?] Echelon Place/Old Stardust [???] etc.)

WHAT'S ON THIS WEEK: We'll be bathing in the neon here through Thursday, then slogging through the desert (Hello, Needles!) on to Palm Springs, finally landing on the beach in San Diego on Saturday. Join us.

Posted by David on 09:02 AM | Comments (2)

November 28, 2006

STRATEGIES: Grand Bazaar, Istanbul

1) It's big. It's chaotic. Get over it. If you're anything like us, you'll spend the time it takes to get here -- and the first five minutes shuffling past all the leather jackets -- freaking out. You're positive you're going to get lost. You just know you're going to get taken for a ride by some shifty carpet guys.

Well, you may get lost. That can't be helped.

Luckily, though, the bazaar isn't quite as big as you'd think, and sooner or later you'll find yourself becoming quite familiar with everything.

As far as the dodgy vendors go, the most frightening thing about them is their sense of humor. You'll hear a lot of: "Let me help you spend your money!" and "Hello, rich man!" (Next stop, Grossinger's.) But nobody's going to cut you in to a million little pieces.

Just handle it like the New Yorker you are. Do you let people on the street back home hand you flyers, or sell you drugs you don't want? So why be afraid of a guy selling crappy "Raki is the Answer, I forgot the Question" t-shirts?


2) A map is a good idea. While the Lonely Planet Istanbul is generally absolute rubbish, it does has one saving grace: A great map of the bazaar, located on page 103. Rip out the map and throw the book away. (We're almost not kidding.)

As far as getting to the market, that's fairly simple. Sometimes there will be signs for the Grand Bazaar. Most times, you'll want to follow the signs for the Kapalicarsi. Or the Kapali Carsi. (It depends. Be flexible.)

2) Meet Jimmy & Metin. Or Ismail. You'll generally find Jimmy and his partner Metin chatting away in English either at or somewhere near his counter, the Silver Corner, located at Orta Kazazlar 45/51, which is the corner of Ortakazalar and Zenneciler. (Look for the Delta plate hanging over the counter.) Jimmy has served as the informal tourist information desk for many a foreign traveler with money to spend. If you're looking for something specific, he'll probably be able to recommend a guy who can handle the request for you. If you're serious about shopping and want to chat, email him at silvercorner34@hotmail.com in advance. Be nice. He certainly is.

If you're interested in really wonderful (and unique) rugs, ask for Ismail at EthniCon - he's generally to be found somewhere between there and his other shops. EthniCon is at Takkeciler 47-50 - you can't miss it. Look for the colorful, modern-looking rugs that nobody else has. The ones you want in your new apartment. (Well, we did.)

NOTE: It should go without saying that if you're going to introduce yourself to either of these gentlemen, have some time on your hands.

Doing business generally requires a get-to-know you phase beforehand, which usually means you'll chat for a while first. Tell them you read about them in the New York Post.

If they like you, they may offer you tea, or cappuccino. Accept. Prepare to spend all day talking, if you hit it off. But for goodness' sake, remember to actually do some shopping, either at their stores or at other shops they recommend.

3) Speaking of cappuccino. The dignified men swinging trays of tea around the bazaar, delivering hot and collecting empties say it all. When in Turkey, you drink a lot of tea. If tea isn't your thing, have a cappuccino, either with your new best friends, or at one of the handful of decent cafes and coffee bars dotting the market. Our top pick is the Ay Cafe, located on Takkeciler Caddesi, next to Ethnicon. What they can do with Segafredo Zanetti beans should make anyone else stocking the stuff hang their head in shame.

4) Eat well. There aren't quite as many restaurants in the actual bazaar-proper as you'd think; most are on the fringes. The best one -- Havuzlu -- is hidden way in the back, near all the leather vendors. One of the best meals we ate in Turkey consisted of a bunch of things we pointed to on the steam table on the way in, which eventually landed on the table and disappeared shortly thereafter, seeing as we'd scarfed it down. Hint: Anything with loads of what looks like freshly sliced jalapeno peppers tastes really, really good (they're not jalapenos, but close.)

Havuzlu is at Gani Celebi Sokak No. 3. However, that is useless information. We found it by locating the Sark Kahvesi, a coffee house located at the top of Zenneciler. There, you'll note a neon Havuzlu sign hanging from the ceiling, follow the arrow, then look right - you'll see the restaurant, behind a fountain, down the end.

NOTE: Many, many people -- Turks included, unfortunately -- recommend leaving the bazaar and walking the few minutes to Pandeli, located upstairs in the Spice Bazaar (Misir Çarsisi 1). Pandeli is sort of the Oyster Bar of Istanbul - famous, historic really cool space, blah blah blah. The food is also really dull. Okay, but not worth a wait. If you eat anything, have the lentil soup. Nice.

So go -- check out the colorful tiled walls, the cool staircase up, take a picture of your girlfriend standing at the top, etc. But a far better choice for actual eating right around here is Hamdi, literally steps from the Spice Bazaar. The service is absolute rubbish -- erratic, weird and just plain rude at times. But the food's cheap, and really, really good. Love the Turkish pizzas and the kebap! Ask for the top floor, with a view of the Galata Bridge. Prepare to be shamed for even asking. (Kalcin Sokak 17).

5) Find the best 'hoods. This thing really is a city unto itself. As such, it consists of has many unique neighborhoods, some far more desirable than others.

Where you'll find most of the backpackers (and their moms and dads, in from Australia or wherever) is along Halicilar Caddesi, between Takkecilar and Kolancilar. It's the heart of the market, with an abundance of nifty cafes (none as good as Ay, see above), the interesting Abdulla shop -- all natural linens and soaps -- a nifty place selling kids clothes that wouldn't be out of place in Cobble Hill and more things that you wouldn't expect to find in this ancient place. Definitely worth a look.

As mentioned in the print story, Takkeciler has been called the "Fifth Avenue" of the Grand Bazaar. You won't see touts along here - at least not as many as usual. Most of the shops are serious-customers-only, and many keep their doors closed to protect the merchandise from the elements (and the clouds of tobacco smoke.)

Also a great break from the t-shirts and evil-eye jewelery is the Old Bazaar, a charming warren of mostly antique jewelery. Have a sniff around. It's pretty central as well.

Finally, the main street, Kalpakcilarbasi, is gold/jeweler central. It is wide, long, crammed with people, and a great place to get your bearings: this street essentially is the base of the bazaar, with everything running up from here. If you ever get lost, just keep looking for the signs back to it, and start all over again.

6) Plan in advance. The bazaar has a website. Lovely to look at, but if your high-school Turkish is rusty, you're out of luck. Frankly, you sort of just have to take your pick of the guidebooks and run with it.

Far better: If you know lots of people who travel regularly, fish around, as we did. You never know who might know someone who knows someone who has a mother who sources all her antique jewelery needs from some old guy named Ahmet in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.

You never know whom you might be introduced to once you and Ahmet swap stories about how cool your Mom is for an hour. You might spend the rest of your trip in the bazaar, meeting new people, and buying things you had no idea you wanted. Chances are, you won't regret a minute of it. It happened to us. It can happen to you.

David Landsel with Andrea Bennett

Posted by David on 06:53 AM | Comments (1)

FIRST TIMER'S: Istanbul

What is it about Istanbul that makes travel writers take leave of their senses? Forget geography. Let's just wax poetic. Forget the basics. This city is a "study in contrasts!" It's a crossroads! Let's discuss! The guidebook I'd brought along opened up with a bizarre, wandering essay that compared the city to a "juicy piece of lokum." (Wait. What's lokum?)

Will nobody just cut to the chase? Just explain the specifics? How about the geography. Is the city center big? Can I walk end to end in a day? If not, how many days will it take to see it all. As far as which side to stay on, which is better: old or new? Will I struggle to communicate without a basic command of the language?

So many questions, so few answers.

There's a lot of stuff I couldn't find in books or on the web before I left home. Here, a few of my questions answered.

NOTE: I loved this flash map. You can't really print off of it, but it will help you get your bearings as you read up on the city. So will Google Maps, which actually has Istanbul and environs done now. Just type in Istanbul, Turkey. (Warning: The neighborhood labels are often misleading, but you get a good idea of scale, very quickly.)

1) Getting here can be simple, but remember, the trip is long. Non-stop flights are easy. Easy in the sense that there's just two choices: Turkish Airlines and Delta. Turkish flies daily, and offers a codeshare with American. Delta flies three times a week.

Fares may surprise you -- about $700 non-stop in January, with a savings of around $80 or so if you take a one-stop through Western Europe. Just so you can't say we didn't warn you: The flight over is about 10 hours. The flight back can be more than 11.

Remember, Tokyo is about 12 or 13. Yes. Far.

2) Getting in is astoundingly easy. A few years ago, it was all, beg-for-mercy-at-the-consulate in New York. Now it's all, "Visa is $20, please." And that's at the special "visa counter" before passport control in Istanbul. Nothing needed in advance.

And here, there's no line, no look at our passport picture, just a $20, a sticker slapped over a full page of stamps and a customs official again ignoring our passport picture and going straight for the sticker, which he stamped. Done. Whole thing took about 3 minutes. Unbelievable.

The only other country that we can think of that hassles us less coming in is Mexico, where you just push through that rusty little gate into Tijuana.

3) Everyone talks about how modern Istanbul is becoming. Should you care? It seems sort of silly to travel halfway around the world only to look for the same sorts of clubs and bars you could find back home, or at least in any other European city.

Do we need minimalist rooftop establishments serving overpriced bowls of green thai curry (360 Istanbul) and cramped student bars with filthy carpet and bits of modern furniture (oh man, what is this, Bratislava?) that could well be anywhere else.

And what about shopping. Does one spend one's entire time checking out merch you could get back home? (Donna Karan! How interesting!)

Yes and no. It's great to get the contrast (oh, there's that word again), but Istanbul sometimes feels like its in that yes-we've-got-that-too phase. The modern is often feels a bit derivative, with the exception of the great home-grown department stores (Beymen sure is pretty), or a few unique restaurants run by ex-pat chefs.

But overall, it doesn't seem right to recommend that you just come here for the new. Come to see the Grand Bazaar. Come here to eat istender kebap. And then, dabble in a bit of what's new. After all, the old will be here, long after Harvey Nichols yanks the franchise and goes back to Knightsbridge.

4) The parts of the city that will interest you as the short-term, first-time visitor, are remarkably compact. If you're here for a long weekend, don't freak out. One day on either side of the Golden Horn will do if you're just doing the quick tour. In fact, we recommend that. One day do Beyoglu (new). The other day do old (Eminonu). Then, pick up the pieces, spending more time on the side that you liked best. The two couldn't be more different, so don't give one side short shrift until you've at least pressed your nose up to the glass. Three full days gives you a great overview of everything.

5) It matters where you stay. It really does. Public transport in this town is unbelievable. It exists, but in so many bits and pieces, you can't even begin to comprehend how to transfer between the light rail, the bus, the subway, the funicular, the goodness-knows-what else. Everything seems to go a few stops, then quit. (Okay, we're exaggerating). You're going to have to pick in advance which side you're most interested in being on.

We can't help you out as to which side is right for you, but we can confuse things further by announcing that the best-located hotels are not always the best hotels.

For instance, to get anywhere north of the Golden Horn quickly, Taksim Square is ideal. Unfortunately, all of the hotels right around there are really boring. Our favorite hotel on the new side is the Sofa, in Nisantasi. Chic and affordable. The restaurant there -- Tuus -- is one of the few high-ends that's worth the money. But you'll have to walk or cab it down to Taksim. No subway here.

Ditto the Four Seasons, our favorite hotel on the old side, even if not quite as astounding as some people say it is. (It's a Four Seasons. Very predictable late-'90's in feel, down to the gross green carpet, even if in a beautiful building. But forget all that. It's the concierge team that make the place worthwhile.)

Anyway, the hotel is in Sultanahmet. In the shadow of the Hagia Sophia. Sounds great, but you must know that Sultanahmet is one big theme park. It's cute -- the city spent a lot of money on those cobblestones, you know -- and at every turn, some dude is trying to part you with your money, whether it's on carpets, bad cafe food, whatever. To say that the neighborhood is somewhat fabricated is understating matters. It has none of the energy that you find everywhere else. Frankly, it is a big, fat, tourist ghetto. (There's one notable exception here. Balikci Sabahattin is a cozy seafood restaurant way down at the bottom of the hill, which you have to try. Ask your hotel concierge for directions, or call 0212 458 18 24).

So you thought you were doing the right thing by booking a cheap, charming hotel in Sultanahmet and slotting in lots of time with the Topkapi, but in the end, you'll get more of an accurate feel for what today's Istanbul is like by staying on the new side and coming over to the old whenever you're in the mood.

7) The geography is astoundingly dramatic. It can also make for challenging walking conditions. Your map may show everything being right next to each other, but imagine San Francisco if it weren't on a grid. That's a pretty typical Istanbul situation. Steep drops, winding streets, all very inspiring and wonderful, but lousy for getting from A to B. Additionally, there are many roads that are really, really grim for pedestrians. For example, anything down on the level, running parallel to the water - grim. (Yes, we're thinking of the road that runs past the Ciragan Palace, a favorite pick for well-heeled Germans and your grandmother. Not great for everyone else: too 80's, too isolated, needlessly high prices.).

The roads going down the hill from Taksim towards the Bosphorus? Basically, they're highways. With sidewalks. Feels a bit like walking in Los Angeles, really. Not fun. Be prepared to take cabs, but take heart: They're cheap. We crossed town for under $20.

8) You don't come here for the weather. Remember, in Istanbul, you're basically in southern Bulgaria. Which, last time we checked, was hardly fun-in-the-sun, come winter time. This is, essentially, Eastern Europe. It snows in late October. Covered in grey slush and spatter, you could be in Sofia. Also, in summer, prepare for humidity, and for heat. Think New York, but worse. As usual in a four-season climate, come in spring or fall for the best experience.

9) The Asian side really is a separate city. On short trips, don't sweat it. Leave something for next time. They've got some interesting hotels, their own high-end shopping district and markets - it's a whole other scene.

10) Finally, relax. One of the most surprising things as a first-time visitor is how familiar it all feels. You've been here before, haven't you? But wait. It's supposed to be exotic! (It is. Just not as exotic as other places.) Don't they hate Americans? (No, they mostly hate Washington.) Then you realize: This really is Europe. Just different. Go.

Posted by David on 06:44 AM | Comments (0)

November 27, 2006

THE PICTURE BUSINESS: Here's looking at Bombay

Photos? We're getting there. Soon. For now, we'll be celebrating the best collections of amateur/pro-am images on the web, the ones that take us places without leaving our desks.

This week, have a look at Bombay/Mumbai, on Flickr. (Call us crazy, but views from people's hotel rooms are awesome.)

Do you know of a photo album that could use a good linking, or perhaps have a Flickr tag suggestion? Email me at dlandsel@nypost.com.

Posted by David on 07:30 AM | Comments (0)

SUNDAY SECTIONS: Nov. 26

After being our non-stop source of depressing news and information from New Orleans, the Times takes a minute to encourage people to go there on vacation, doing the "I'm having fun, is that okay?" thing, which, if you remember, we did back in August before most everyone else. (BTW: That was just for starters. Tune in for the blog's Christmas In New Orleans extravaganza, Dec. 26 to 31.) [NYT]

File under G, for Great Timing: Oslo, shortly before they lose their 1 hour of remaining daylight? Is anybody minding the store? [LAT]

Again, timing: "In the summertime, this is an especially pleasant part of the Ardennes." Well, it's November, Grandpa Al. (Oh wait - December's when the Battle of the Bulge was battled. In that case, lets all go) [ChiTrib]

Chiapas, by bus. [WaPo]

That's all.

Posted by David on 06:58 AM | Comments (0)

AIR SUPPLY: Hi ho, Silverjet

Who could believe that a third biz-only service to London would actually launch, and just a year past that of Maxjet and EOS? It's happening: US customers can now book tickets on Silverjet, which will begin service from Newark to London Luton on Jan. 25.

We were just playing around with the site, and lets just say that we are totally flirting with the idea of blowing $799 each way, the lowest fare now offered for bookings made before New Year's.

The setup/level of service appears to fall somewhere between Maxjet's business-on-a-budget operation (they often offer fares of about $600 each way, JFK-Stansted) and EOS, the no-holds barred luxe service (also JFK-Stansted) that usually goes for somewhere between $3,000-$4,000 RT (their sales aren't frequent, but they can be good.)

What's on tap, Silverjet-wise:

1) Curbside check-in up to 30 minutes of departure time.
2) Only 100 seats on board.
3) Power, personal entertainment system, flat bed.
4) Pre-order meals.
5) Airport lounges on both ends.

Worth a try, even if to see if Luton isn't maybe a little better for getting in to Central. Anyone who's tried Stansted knows it is handy to The City and East London, but lousy for most else. (Nothing worse than getting to Liverpool Street station and remembering that you are still about an hour from South Kensington, what with tube slowdowns and traffic jams.)

From Luton, one catches a bus - 5 minute ride, free - to the train, where trains do a straight shot south (usually about 40 minutes) in to the more convenient-to-all Kings Cross. Bonus: As of next year, that neighborhood will be the hub for continental travel: Eurostar moves to the renovated St. Pancras station (adjacent) in the fall, with shaved-down travel times to Paris and beyond.

Silverjet [website]

Posted by David on 06:37 AM | Comments (0)

UPDATE: You knew it wouldn't be long

Waaah! Ian Schrager is a big jerk! Park Chinois isn't opening! Oh, let the man grow old in peace.

Posted by David on 06:36 AM | Comments (0)

SURVEYS: So, how was it for you?

Thanksgiving's over, and hopefully the lower-back pain from the bar in the sofabed has worked itself out. Did you know that a new survey from Hotels.com says that nearly 65 percent of us miss hotels when we're with family at the holidays?

Little soaps were a big deal, as was internet access. Only 2 percent missed the minibar. That makes sense, at least to me: at our family gatherings, you can always count on plenty of free liquor. Out of big bottles, not little ones.

Posted by David on 06:33 AM | Comments (0)

IT'S A BARGAIN! Christmas in Orlando

Tipster Jason brings word of a $99 nightly rate (plus tax) at the Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando's hometown retort to the brilliant, carpetbagging, Texas-based but all up in Mickey's grill Gaylord Palms. From Dec. 17-27, this rate gets you breakfast for two and loads of discounts on spa, golf and more eating. Ask for the (wait for it...) "Shingle Bells Holiday" package. (Such comedians.)

Posted by David on 06:32 AM | Comments (0)

EVENTS: Pierce Brosnan found the lovemaking to be very tender

Bora Bora's putting on a show! the First Annual Ever Tahiti Romance Film Festival kicks off Dec. 2. As the announcement sagely announces, "Celebrity panel to judge merits of film entires (sic)." Pictures to be screened on a deserted island. Natasha Henstridge and Pierce Brosnan will attend. This is funny to us. Apologize if otherwise to you.

Posted by David on 06:20 AM | Comments (0)

November 21, 2006

VACATION: The blog is off

Happy Thanksgiving. See you next Monday, when we hitch up the wagons and head off to the Southwest! You'll get a full a week full of live reports from Vegas' hottest construction sites, the Coachella Valley's best taco stands and our favorite of the San Diego beaches (IB rules!) after the break.

Posted by David on 12:15 PM | Comments (0)

November 20, 2006

SUNDAY SECTIONS: Nov. 19

It's the ski issue! The best stuff is buried (har) - a piece on a slope in Japan, plus another hey-dontcha-know from this season's T Travel mag about Silverton, Colo. which we love reading about, even if it's always sort of the same story (full disc: we've done it a couple times over here ourselves.) [NYT]

Another banner special issue floated out there for our pleasure: Travel Turkeys. (Get it? Thanksgiving? Turkeys? Get it? OH SHUT UP.) Page upon page of manufactured horror over vacations gone bad. (Though the one about two hospital trips, a crazy rott and an earthquake in one SF weekend did sound just awful.) BREAKING: Advertising department just jumped out of a window. [LAT]

The self-appointed reader advocates over at the ChiTrib prove they really take the macro view on the industry: Auntie Toni Salami-Salama-Stroud does her "is this package really value?" shtick on NYC's Buckingham (oy, rubbish) and commits the sin of using the words "boutique," "hipster" and "Ian Schrager" all in the same breath. Except she's not talking about the Gramercy Park. Guess the Pony Express no longer serves Chicago. [ChiTrib]

Wait, it gets better...how about four pages on exciting Stockbridge, Massachusetts? With nary a mention on how the traffic pattern pretty much ruins the "charm?" (Just stay at the Red Lion and feel the building shake every time a truck comes to the corner.) Nah, this story's about the whole Arlo Guthrie/Alice's Restaurant connection. Which is great, if you remember what the hell any of that is [WaPo]

Posted by David on 06:02 AM | Comments (0)

November 17, 2006

WEEK'S END UPDATE: Nov. 17

Welcome to the weekly who's who and the what's happening from around the planet, aired live every Friday, here in blog land.

HERE'S TO KEEPING IT ALL IN PERSPECTIVE: From a survey conducted by easyCar in the UK: "In a typical week-long driving holiday across the States, a fifth (20 per cent) of British drivers cover up to 700 miles. Lucky then, that America has the lowest priced petrol in the world." Yes. Lucky then.

IT'S OKAY TO ADMIT WEAKNESS: Headed to Europe? Stay at a Sofitel for 3 nights or more, and they'll charge you the Euro price in dollars (i.e. an approximately 20% discount per night). Valid until March 31, with some blackouts. I also expect to blackout a few times between now and March 31.

TIP OF THE WEEK: When in London, eat at Ishbilia, says a reader. "It's around the corner from Harvey Nicks. Best Chicken Shawarma plate I've ever eaten in my entire life, including in the middle east. It's like Beirut-standard (high). Amazing. Gets super busy at night with rich Arabs so go early. And their mezze is to die for." 9 William Street, Knightsbridge, SW1X

WORLD DOMINATION, CHECK: Well, at least they've got Hawaii covered. Four Seasons announces this week the relaunch/reopening of the Lodge at Koele, which had been closed for renovations. All bright and shiny again, the resort now waves the FSHR flag, for a total of 4 properties in the state. If they'd just like to go ahead and move Hawaii a few hours closer to New York, that'd be great.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US, HERE IN THE FUTURE: Yahoo! Maps gets hip to the whole click n' drag thing. The new and improved service, in beta, like, forever, has now rolled out system-wide. Two words: Po. Key. At least it isn't Mapquest, which we'd just love for once in its life to figure something out on its own. (For example: telling it to map 1211 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY, 10036 should NOT require confirmation, and yet, this and every other address always does, wasting our valuable time. "Did you mean 10036-8701?" C'mere, you...why I oughta...

WHAT IS, "GREATER THAN THE GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT OF THE SEYCHELLES": Mohegan Sun announces its latest expansion. To annex the town of Norwich. (Kidding). A $740 million project, this one, with a 1,000-room tower, a House of Blues and more. Coming soon: Foxwoods to purchase the state of Rhode Island, relaunch as giant bingo hall.

CAN YOU TELL ME HOW TO GET, HOW TO GET TO DUFFIELD STREET: Starwood announce aloft and Sheraton properties in Brooklyn for 2008 (in the same complex.) Savor the delights of the McDonald's on Tillary. Marvel at the architecture of the projects. Thrill to the adrenaline rush of trying not to get vehicularly manslaughtered crossing Flatbush Avenue! (ED: Alright already. They get it.)

WE STILL WON'T GO: Belize is giving away hotel rooms Dec. 3-7 "to promote the destination." There. You have been advised.

SAVINGS OF THE WEEK: Speaking of places we don't usually hang out, St. Maarten's new Westin Dawn Beach Resort 'n' Spa is offering an introductory package of $199/night, Jan. 2-21. That's 43 percent off. Send us a postcard, will ya? [website]

NEW ROUTE OF THE WEEK: Baltimore to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. No kidding. There's a new non-stop service on Air Greenland, launching May 25. "Sorry, not now, I'm just racing to catch the Baltimore-Kangerluusuag flight" has a certain ring to it, we think. [BBJ via Ben's blog at USAT].

It's the weekend! Lucky then.

Suggestions for inclusion to dlandsel@nypost.com.

Posted by David on 08:23 AM | Comments (1)

November 16, 2006

BOOKS: Tale of three cities

You may or may not have heard of Herbert Ypma, the grandfather of the "Hip Hotels" book series, which has included editions ranging from "Hip Hotels: USA" to "Hip Hotels: Beach," since the series launched back in 1999. London-based, he has just released three new books, guides to staying in "highly individual places" in London, Paris and New York.

A quick flip through all three makes it shockingly clear that of the three cities, Paris just does small, interesting hotels better. It also has the capability to do them inexpensively, when it wants to.

For example, with New York, we are treated to big photo collages of such thrilling options as the half-there Hotel on Rivington, Vikram Chatwal's silly Night Hotel, and heaven help us, The Carlyle (why that, and not the Lowell? Oh wait. The Lowell forgot to hire Thierry Despont to re-do their lobby.)

Of course, things are improving - the Gramercy Park is really interesting and unique, and the...wait. That's about it. Really, we are sort of stuck in a rut for the time being. Also: The cheapest hotel in the book starts at $175 (Balazs' Hotel QT, a freaking hostel, for goodness' sake.) Everything else is way expensive. Unless you count the Hudson, at $209 (yes, sorry, in which lifetime is that rate still available?). Which we don't. You send your enemies there. Not your friends.

In London, the picture's slightly better. After all, they've got Hazlitt's (retro!), The Soho Hotel (one of the most likeable hotels to open in London in years), The Zetter (fun on a budget) and The Pavilion, that outlandish cheapo near Paddington that seems like the kind of place you'd find younger rockers snorting lines with up-and-coming models (just $120/night, but not for the timid). And let's not neglect No. 5 Maddox Street, which everyone always forgets exists, which is fine, because there's never any room for you anyway.

Still, here, most hotels listed cost upwards of $300/night, what with the exchange rate, making it all a bit out of reach.

Then there is Paris, chock full of hotels we wish we were at right now. Which is funny, because of the three cities, Paris is one that always lags in so many other areas. Maybe it's because of this that small, almost-affordable, excellently located hotels like the Caron de Beaumarchais (from $160) and the Bourg Tibourg (from $205) can flourish. Even the Hotel du Petit Moulin, with its Christian Lacroix interiors, starts at $230.

If you're buying one book out of the three, make it Paris. That's the one that really does its job. (i.e., makes you want to hit the road, like, now.

Thames & Hudson [website]

Posted by David on 12:17 PM | Comments (0)

November 15, 2006

UPDATE: Urge to merge

The news of the day, clearly, is the US Airways announcement that it wants Delta (currently in bankruptcy) in the worst way. Now, more than the last time they brought it up. They're talking $8 bil.

Once again, Delta isn't having any of it. At least not for now. [Ben's blog at USAT]

Posted by David on 10:37 AM | Comments (0)

STRATEGIES: One day out of San Francisco

I am, as they say, on the horns of a dilemma. (Owwww...get me off get me off....) A friend is visiting San Francisco for the first time, and has one day to explore Northern California. She is having no luck figuring out where to start, mostly because nobody she knows can agree on where she should go.

I am now in the unlucky position of trying to solve her problem.
In the Bay Area, there's no one trip that beats the others - it is about which areas are you going to neglect. Happily, she was more interested in the coast than in wine tasting, so that ruled out Napa or Sonoma. But I'm still left with the problem of helping her choose between crossing the Golden Gate, or exiting via the back door, down towards Santa Cruz. Here are the two itineraries I've picked for her.

SOUTHBOUND
Hit Highway 1, through Pacifica (ugh) and Half Moon Bay. Most tourists spend time in HMB, I don't like it. Boring. Head further, through Pescadero (a couple beautifully rugged beaches near here), stop in Davenport. Park across from the Whale City Bakery, walk across the tracks and out on the cliffs. If you dare, head down to the water. Not too bad a climb, actually. Some cool grotto-ish swimming opportunities. Really marvelous.

Next, you'll hit Santa Cruz. Hard to sum it up, but just head straight downtown, do Pacific Avenue (stop for coffee at the Roasters and books at the Bookshop), head down to the pier to watch the sea lions frolicking.

Next door is Capitola. Pretty cute. Then, head further south, through the ugliness that is the bay, then pass Monterey and Carmel (boring!), heading directly for Big Sur. Take it slow along here. No hurry. Have a late lunch at Sierra Mar, the unforgettable restaurant at the Post Ranch Inn, before heading back north.

If you want to stop on the way back, make it Carmel. Still, it's kind of dull - a bit picture-postcardy, Connecticut-on-Sea. Not terribly dynamic. Don't stay here long. Better to just use it as a launching pad for the unforgettable 17 Mile Drive loop, which takes you out past Pebble Beach, and back over towards Monterey.

NORTHBOUND
Exit the 101 right after the Golden Gate, on to Alexander Avenue, turn left go up in to the Marin Headlands, park at top, walk up Hawk's Hill for 360 degree views. The ultimate makeout spot. (You'll wish you'd brought someone along!)

Then, head down the hill, hit the 101 north, exiting Northbound 1 through Stinson Beach (hippies, yet!), pass the lagoon and then turn left, into Bolinas (more hippies). Years ago, the rumor was Martha Stewart was going to buy there. I don't think she ever did.

Keep going north along 1, detouring in to the Point Reyes National Seashore (go all the way out to the lighthouse), then back to 1, stop at Tomales Bay Foods, home of Cowgirl Creamery, for cheeses.

Head north again, all the way to Bodega Bay, before turning around. Bodega is so little, it's almost not there. Head back to SF via 1, or take a detour inland, stopping for coffee at Hardcore Espresso on Gravenstein Highway, just south of downtown Sebastopol. They take their bean very seriously there. It's the ultimate pick-you-up before you hit the 101 south.

After some time has passed, I am leaning toward the southbound route, mostly because Santa Cruz is just so darn fun. Plus, in the winter, the beaches along here (say, Bean Hollow, and Pescadero State) are beautiful and empty. To top it off, the village of Davenport is one of those places you never forget, for no particular reason. And you can detour from any of these places up in to the hills, for redwood awesomeness (say, Henry Cowell SP, along 9, just out of Santa Cruz).

Which one do you think she should pick? E-mail me at dlandsel@nypost.com, and i'll forward your comments.

Posted by David on 08:08 AM | Comments (0)

November 14, 2006

IT'S A BARGAIN!: More reasons to go away now

Did we not tempt you out of your swivel chair with all the awesome cheapo deals on hand between Thanksgiving and Christmas we posted in late October? Here's a few more that that have us ready to give ourselves (and others, musn't be selfish) the gift of travel:

1) $165/night at the Four Seasons Jackson Hole, through Nov. 30. Jumps up just $20 in December, pre-holiday period (it then sky-rockets). The slopes open Dec. 2. Early-season skiing, anyone? (BTW - this property just got its first AAA 5 Diamond award.) This is huge value. Huge.

2) $209/night at The Boulders, that old battle-axe north of Phoenix. Stunning desert setting, spacious rooms. Place is tired, but new ownership seems to be helping out. Never mind all that. It's affordable, pretty, and from Dec. 17-22, yours for cheap.

3) $129/OW on Delta to the West Coast, on plenty of dates in early December. Good value on their new transcon product, finally launched, long promised after the demise of the lovely Song Airlines (RIP). Just book SFO, LAX or SAN - rate should show. (If not, please let me know, so I can update.)

4) $179/night at Bellagio, in Las Vegas, offered (stay with me here) Dec. 11-14, and 17-21. This isn't much lower than their usual starting rate of $199, but it has been holding steady for weeks now (I booked it! I'm going!). All the top properties in town tend to have rack rates under $200, few people ever get hold of them, due to demand (example: there are dates in December, random ones, going for over $400, simply because it is busy.).

5) $119/OW to Los Angeles on AirTran, which has a huge sale ending Wednesday (that's tomorrow). Loads of options out of LaGuardia, but bear in mind that many of them aren't nonstops. Book by tomorrow (11/15), fly through March 1, but never on Sundays. (Never!)

Posted by David on 01:32 AM | Comments (0)

LIVEBLOG/ITALY: Can't. Eat. Another. Thing. (Oh, okay, one for the road)

We wake up early to drive from Parma back to Bologna. But to drive on the autostrada, we need some espresso, so it's down to breakfast at the Hotel Stendhal.

We're in the elevator with two guys dressed like rave kids – those colorful tracksuits and trainers that only Europeans can pull off.

We're so tired we can barely look them in the eyes, but when we get down to the breakfast room, they join a group in similar attire spanning several tables, and then we realize: These are the men of Les Ballets Trockaderos de Monte Carlo.

We'd seen them perform the night before at the Teatro Regio, but in the cold November morning light, with their fresh-scrubbed faces, out of their makeup and tutus, they look like college kids. We see one of them is even eating with his mommy and daddy; two more are outside the door on a smoke break.

As we pass the smoking lads, we see they've stuffed their pockets with crackers and chocolate crisped-rice bars from the buffet.

We do not leave Italy for another 24 hours, but we are done eating. However, we must tell you that you have not eaten until you have eaten in this part of Italy.

We thought we were prepared. We weren't.

We have gorged our way through more than our share of all-you-can-eat BBQ and catfish buffets in Texas, feasted on tasting menus created by three-Michelin-star-brandishing chefs like Joel Robuchon and Thomas Keller, paced ourselves through 12-course Chinese banquets from Taipei to Vancouver.

And yet, even after all this and after scouring the outer boroughs for the best pizza in New York City and after visiting more than half a dozen Mario Batali restaurants in the last decade, we were not ready for this.

A story comes to mind: Once we were on a cruise ship, where like most cruise ships, they serve what is really an unlimited number of meals a day. If you haven't been on one, a typical day of stuffing your face could go something like this: breakfast, lunch, burgers and hot dogs at 3 p.m., ice cream, a four- or five-course dinner, midnight buffet and room service (usually chili and chocolate cake for us – we are serious, we know how to eat in ways that other find disgusting) at 2 a.m.

After Day 3 on the ship, we were happily on our way to the midnight buffet, which is a total family affair despite the hour because of its vast spread of cookies, cakes and pies that accompany the lobster, roast beef and salads. As we climbed the stairs, we saw a sad-looking boy, holding his mom's hand. He was no more than 5, and the sheer hopelessness, the complete fatigue in his eyes, still stays with us today.

He looked up at his mom and begged: "I don't want to eat!"

After a few days in Italy, that is how we felt. At 6 p.m. on multiple days, when it was time to start thinking about dinner, what our bodies were really telling us is that we didn't want dinner.

Starch from pasta was flowing through our bloodstream, convincing us we were already full, and the protein and fat that comes with eating more kinds of pig than we can count on our fingers was weighing us down.

But although we confess that we took it somewhat easy by only eating pizza for dinner a couple times, we pressed on and did not skip a meal. We did this in the interest of being good reporters, but we also did it because we know how food in Italy, perhaps more than anywhere else, represents tradition, history, physical and spiritual sustenance and love. Our goal was to take food as serious as the Italians do, and we think we mostly succeeded.

Later that day, we take a train back to Milan (30 minutes late, of course) and get ready to fly back to New York in the morning. We are tired, happy to go home and totally content to sit in our hotel room and do nothing on our final night in Italy. Then at around 7 p.m, something wonderful happens. Suddenly, we are hungry again, and we head outside, in search of one more meal.

– Erin Franzman and Andy Wang

Posted by David on 01:26 AM | Comments (0)

November 13, 2006

SUNDAY SECTIONS: Nov. 12

Macchu Picchu, through the back door (you know, just to spice things up a little). Also, there are things about The Borgata that Frank Bruni likes, ("...yuzu-bergamot moisturizer, mint-thyme hair wash smell like the nexus of a salad and an orchard") and there are things about The Borgata that Frank Bruni doesn't care for at all, no sir ("The lines at the front desk can be epic.") Easy there, tiger. [NYT]

Another potentially interesting story in the LAT (on the town of Loreto, in Baja Calif.) butchered by some humorless non-talent. This one spends more time worrying about the shaky balcony railings at the hotel (did she just say "mommy-o-meter?") than actually talking about why the hell we'd want to go to Loreto. [LAT]

Long and winding narrative about remote corner of Scotland from freelancer you've never heard of. Staff must be taking the week off to congratulate themselves on the success of last week's "Packing Issue." [WaPo]

Posted by David on 08:04 AM | Comments (0)

LIVEBLOG/ITALY: And now, to Parma

We leave Bologna at around 11 a.m. and head to Parma, birthplace of the famous prosciutto we've been eating all trip. After stopping for lunch in Modena at a disappointing pizzeria (great culatello appetizer, though), we arrive in Parma, where we quickly get tipsy on Negronis at a café on Piazza Garibaldi.

After that, it's off to La Greppia. This the only restaurant we've visited on the trip that we first saw in a travel guide. And, of course, the description in Fodor's is pretty off base.

The travel guide keeps insisting that reservations are essential at many of the restaurants it recommends, including La Greppia, but we walk in at around 9 p.m., see a handful of empty tables and are seated right away.

The Fodor's write-up also cites "chef Paola Cavazzini's innovative treats" like guinea hen with black truffle and chestnut puree. So we're sort of expecting Jean-George-like flourishes.

What we eat is wonderful, but also pretty damn traditional: prosciutto, anolini in broth (we skip a heavier pasta with pork ragu, because our stomachs tell us that we need to dial things down), tortellini with delicious in-season pumpkin, braised veal with spicy sun-dried tomatoes and slow-cooked veal bocconcini, which is about as tender as our braised dish.

Our lovable waiter is having a great time speaking to us in English, almost like he's showing off to the rest of the staff, and when it's dessert time, he vetoes our initial decision and forces us to have a meringue cake soaked in Grand Marnier.

It's a good call, but not as good as the green tomato marmalade pie we also have for dessert. Sweet and tart and a reminder that, hey, a tomato is a fruit.

Much as the commerce in Venice consists almost solely of Murano glass tchotchkes and Carnivale masks, the commerce in Parma is weighted heavily toward shoes and underwear. Mostly the stores show off women's lingerie, but there's also an inexplicable pair of men's boxer briefs printed with pirate skulls that we see proudly displayed in several shops.

Such man pants must surely fly off the shelves when acts like Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo come to town. Part of the ParmaDanza 2006 festival, this extremely specific niche of drag culture – namely, men with extensive ballet training and a proclivity for tutus and toe shoes – is playing at the gorgeous Teatro Regio di Parma, and 64 euros gets us our own box for the show.

The theater, which served as home base for Verdi, is what you might unironically call pre-bordello chic, with crystal light fixtures, flocked red-velvet wallpaper in the boxes and red velvet seats.

The ballet program includes scenes from Swan Lake, and the crowd is cheering on the dancers by name -- "Go Rafi!" – as if they're regulars. We're impressed that Parma crowds are so knowledgeable about drag ballet.

Earlier in the day, we ate lunch at La Duchessa on the Piazza Garibaldi. It was a good meal, but we're still reeling from La Greppia and stuffed from Bologna. Our waitress is a nice, crazy Italian nana who refuses to accept that we don't want to order a Coke. Finally, she believes, and we get wine and water. We haven't felt actual hunger in days, though we still enjoy our culatello, spaghetti carbonara, farfalle with clams, tomato, shrimp and mushrooms and fritto misto with calamari and shrimp.

The concept of eating has, for us, gone from something you do to fuel you with energy into an obligation that must be fulfilled. We've ingested so much pasta and protein that we begin to understand how bears must feel in the moments between stuffing themselves for the winter and actually going into hibernation. Ashamed and defeated, we can only muster a slice of pizza for dinner.

– Erin Franzman and Andy Wang

Posted by David on 05:55 AM | Comments (0)

November 10, 2006

LISTS: The gas station people give out prizes

It's ratings season! On the heels of the AAA announcement last week, Mobil releases its 2007 ratings.

There's some debate over which award is more prestigious, but the main difference between the two is that Mobil doesn't rate nearly as many hotels and restaurants as AAA does, giving more cache to the five-star recipients.

As usual, our question: Who lost/gained five-star status? The answers may shock and surprise you. Or not.

California showed the biggest changes this year, with the Ritz-Carlton (returning to the top after some significant room upgrades) and St. Regis (first time, it's new) in San Francisco coming on board.

Further south, in Dana Point, the St. Regis Monarch Beach also gets tapped, a few years after opening.

We don't see how this resort rates higher than the Montage or Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, both nearby and with coveted waterfront locations, which the St. Regis most definitely does not have. (Both received 4 stars this year, which is a bit like getting honorable mention at the Special Olympics. Nearly everyone gets it.) Anyway, Mobil and AAA are both notoriously check-listy, and probably didn't like the bathroom scales (or the trouser press, who knows!) at the latter two properties. It is a bit like the Academy Awards. Don't go logic-hunting.

Then we've got business as usual, until you get to Florida, where the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach - which isn't even open right now - retains its status. This is news. Since when can you rate a hotel that isn't open, and when you only have their word as to how things are going to be after the opening?

Wynn in Las Vegas also makes its debut with Mobil, which chooses only to give the Tower Suites portion of the resort the top honor. This is definitely a worthwhile distinction. The Tower is far preferable. It is also usually about $100 more per night than a Resort Room (their version of standard-issue).

In New York, the Mandarin Oriental makes its debut on the list; we're pleased to see The Point in Saranac Lake also retaining its spot. If it got knocked off and Twin Farms in Vermont stayed on, we'd know there's no justice in the world.

Other than that, the list is business as usual. Frankly, the AAA awards were more exciting.

2007 Mobil 5 Star Ratings [website]

Posted by David on 11:25 AM | Comments (0)

LIVEBLOG/ITALY: Making the "no possible" possible

When we picked up our rental car in Bologna and asked for directions to the Piazza Maggiore, where our hotel is located, the garage attendant is all, "No possible."

Turns out, it's possible.

Bologna Centro (the central part of the city) – encompassing the Piazza Maggiore and all the sights of historic significance – is closed to auto traffic except for buses, taxis and special exemptions, like tourists in stick-shift Lancia Ypsilons.

In order to promote tourism, your hotel (in this case, the Hotel Orologio) can register your license plate with the authorities, and then you can drive just about anywhere your car will fit, including traveling, as we do, through the center of the Piazza Maggiore.

In terms a New Yorker might appreciate, it's like getting a pass to drive through Gramercy Park during a street fair.

Not only are the streets around the Piazza so narrow that we fear losing a side-view mirror, but they're traveled by pedestrians, babies and small dogs, none of whom seem the slightest bit perturbed to find us rolling in neutral up alongside them.

The morning we drive through is a holiday, All Saints Day, in Italy, and the Piazza Maggiore is full of vendors, musicians and street performers. Navigating the Lancia around their haphazard placement in the square has us white-knuckled but also marveling at how cool it is to basically drive up the steps of a 13th century church.

We do not eat well on this day, but that's OK because we see the future.

After knocking on the door of Home Food, an organization that sets up meals for tourists in private homes, we are able to secure a lunch two days later in Bologna.

Home Food bills itself as the "Association for the protection and increase of the value of typical Italian gastronomic and culinary legacy." Something tells us we should expect a lot of pork.

– Erin Franzman and Andy Wang

Posted by David on 08:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 09, 2006

LIVEBLOG/ITALY: Get me to Bologna (on time?)

We arrive back at the Santa Lucia station to take the train to Bologna, and see that it's 10:45, and the train leaves at 10:57. We figure there's no way we'll make it.

First we try to purchase our ticket at the automated machine, but it won't take credit cards. Then we go to the ticket window, and as we make our purchase we ask the guy at the counter what train our ticket is good for.

He says "10:57." It is now 10:54. He does not seem worried that we will miss our train. It is almost as if he knew the Bologna train wouldn't even show up until quarter after 11.

We are reminded of the easygoing national character of Italy, where Mussolini's dictatorship inspired the saying: "At least the trains run on time."

By the way, if you decide to buy a ticket in advance, like we did for our Day 1 trip from Milan to Venice, on the Trenitalia web site, you can expect to register for the site, have it ask you for a password and then ask you to change it two seconds later.

It will then forget your login and make you go through the whole process again, forget all your personal information if you leave just one field blank, reject your Mastercard even though it says it takes Mastercard, reject your AMEX card even though it says it takes AMEX and then finally accept your Visa card after most reasonable people would have reached their breaking point.

So, we arrive late in Bologna and are in danger of missing the lunch hour; luckily, we find Taverna del Postiglione.

This meal is our first real sign of what kind of people the Bolognese are.

We're dealing with a culture that looks at a fried pork cutlet and says: "You know what this fried piece of meat needs? More pork, and then cheese and butter. Let's cover this fried pork cutlet in prosciutto, cover that with parmigiano-reggiano cheese, and top the whole thing in a thick, buttery béchamel sauce. We can serve this as a secondi after a big plate of pappardelle with wild boar ragu!"

These people are not sane.

Of course, that means their food is delicious.

At one sitting, we eat the wild boar ragu, a short spiral pasta with sausage and mushrooms, the pork cutlet Bolognese, and a tomato-mozzarella salad covered in fried bacon.

The myth that Italian portions are smaller is instantly debunked.

We've heard you're only supposed to get a fistful of pasta before your secondi, but so far, portions are more than a handful. After this lunch, dinner seems unnecessary.

And yet, after hours of walking, we're ready to eat again, this time around 9 p.m.

We've looked at menus for 10 to 15 places, and we decide on a spot with a handwritten menu, Ristorante Teresina.

There's a party – we think it's an engagement party – spread over two tables in the tiny restaurant and we watch their feast unfold: By the time we finish our modest three courses, they're still on course number five (first a butterflied prawn, then soup, two pastas, and then fish) and show no signs of slowing.

We skip antipasti and dig right into tagliatelle ragu and tortellini in brodo – the tortellini is filled with a ball of seasoned meat that melts on your tongue like a lozenge.

For secondi, we eat branzino with porcini and halibut with tomatoes, capers and olives, and the avuncular waiter, who called us "bella famiglia" and "molto simpatico" convinces us to have tiramisu, not usually a favorite dessert – too heavy and too sweet. This boozy, fluffy version is just light enough, and we finish it all.

– Erin Franzman and Andy Wang

Posted by David on 09:37 AM | Comments (0)

BULLETIN: The end is near

THIS.
CAN'T.
BE.
HAPPENING.

(yes it can - find a loved one and hold them tight)

Emirates Airline goes to the dark side, announces cell phone access for all, fleet-wide.

Roll-out starts in January. [Emirates]

Posted by David on 09:23 AM | Comments (0)

November 08, 2006

UPDATE: It's raining Mancations!

The epidemic rages on....here's a sample from today's inbox:

MAN + VACATION = MANCATIONS

Personality Hotels Says It’s Time for Guys to Have Some Fun!

San Francisco, CA – Guys, who said girls have all the fun? Well, it’s now your turn, so grab your buddies and let San Francisco’s Personality Hotels show you a wild night out on the town!

The “ManCation Package� includes all things manly (sans chest hair):

· Deluxe overnight accommodations available at any of Personality Hotels’ four boutique properties – Hotel Diva, Hotel Metropolis, Hotel Union Square and Kensington Park Hotel (the perfect crash pad)

· A list of R and X-rated night clubs (here comes trouble)

· A stack of 10 $1 bills (true gentlemen always tip)

· A six pack of beer (the breakfast of champions)

· A list of tattoo parlors (remember Mrs. Right Now forever)

· A list of nearby golf courses (male bonding is always good)

· Complimentary bourbon tasting with the purchase of dinner at Farmer Brown’s farm-fresh soul food restaurant (remember, no shots until you’ve eaten your dinner)

· Tanning lotion (don’t forget to cover that wedding ring mark)

· Condoms (you can never be too optimistic)

· Late check out until 2:00 p.m. (recovery time is always good);

· Two $3 Starbucks cards (caffeine = hangover cure)

Rates start at $139 per night, excluding tax and based upon availability. Valid through June 30, 2007. For reservations, call 800.553.1900 or visit www.personalityhotels.com and ask for the “ManCation Package.�

-----

and then, comes this....

From: (redacted)
Date: November 8, 2006 11:49:06 AM EST
To: (redacted)
Subject: The Newest Trend in Mancations - SCOTLAND IS MANCOUNTRY!

Hi (redacted),

I thought you might be interested in the newest twist on the “Mancation� trend – Scotland is ManCountry! VisitScotland has created a unique collection of all-guy getaway packages featuring exclusive stays in private castles, whisky tastings, mountain biking, rounds of golf, fishing and gourmet dining.

Please let me know if you need more information. I look forward to hearing from you!

Best regards,
(redacted)


Help.

Posted by David on 11:45 AM | Comments (0)

LIVEBLOG/ITALY: Service will be delayed

There's a surprisingly strict – even by post-9/11 NYC standards – restriction on bringing even a handbag into the Peggy Guggenheim museum, but our little Rafe wristlet passes muster and garners compliments from the multilingual museum gals.

We choose to take the compliment without revealing that the wristlet was just $19.99 at Target.

Out on Peggy G's terrace overlooking the Grand Canal, we get hit for the first time with how beautiful the light is in Venice. It's hazy, so everything looks as though it's been shot with the same soft-focus, Vaseline-smeared lens Barbara Walters is always seen through.

But even more than that, the light has a tinge, the way a pink light bulb in your grandma's bathroom might cast a flattering tinge. The tinge is a kind of pink-yellow-orange, a coral color, even. And it makes everyone look healthy and lively.

We walk across the Ponte Rialto and we're hating the schlock. We need to find a place to eat before 2 p.m. hits and all the restaurants close for the afternoon. We turn down an alley that looks like it will end at the canal, but instead opens up onto a lovely campo where we find Naranzaria.

The waiter tells us service will be delayed, and in fact, it takes almost an hour for our main course to come but that's probably because the kitchen doesn't even start braising our lamb shank until after we order it. Because this place is so close to Rialto, we expect that it will kind of suck, so we order a meat and cheese platter to start, as insurance. We also see some people eating sushi, but that doese not seem like good insurance, so we do not order any.

There are no pastas on the menu; instead the place seems to specialize in polentas, so we go for the aforementioned lamb shank (stinco di agnello, which, we bet, many Americans can't say without giggling) and a fresh-tuna stew with tomatoes, capers and olives, both over polenta. Everything is better than we could've hoped.

The lamb is a gorgeous braise, full of flavor with meat sliding off the bone. A shaggy black dog whose crusty teen owners are spare-changing over on Rialto takes a significant interest in the lamb, circling our table and nuzzling our elbows, vying for a bite.

The tuna stew is a bit of a gamble. It might've been bland, as cooked fresh tuna often is; we luck out. The tuna is chunky and flaky, well seasoned, and married wonderfully with the salty, unctuous red mush of tomatoes, capers and olives. Plus, that sauce dresses up the polenta with its oily goodness. It is hearty, and it warms us against the cold wind that blows off the canal every time the sun disappeared behind a cloud.

Our table is about 10 feet from the edge of the canal, and we watch gondoliers navigate through the waters, as a pack of nuns stop to take their picture, while Asian tourists take pictures of the nuns.

Six hours later, after navigating dozens of cobblestone streets and looking at dozens of menus, we finally decide on dinner. It's back to Antico Capon for more of the crab pasta that rocked our mouths yesterday. The spicy prawn pasta and roast veal we have are quite tasty too, but the crab was better.

-- Erin Franzman and Andy Wang

Posted by David on 07:23 AM | Comments (1)

STAR TREK: Joe Torre likes a facial, now and then

Canada-based Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has always struck us as a bit off.

After all, on whose watch did The Plaza fall apart? Sure, the owners might have had them by the short hairs, but a good management company doesn't stick around once it realizes it can't get anything done.

But that's not for here, really - today's news out of Fairmont-land is their chain of Willow Stream spas. They are everything the name implies. It sounds like a bland suburb in the Midwest somewhere. They're real crowd-pleasers. Don't care for 'em.

However, they've got major, major celebrity clientele, according to their publicists, and they're not afraid to tell us EXACTLY who got what, when.

Paula Abdul came to the Scottsdale Princess for a Pedicure! So did Jessica Simpson!

Meg Ryan got massaged in Banff Springs, as did Kenny Loggins. We're even informed that Loggins booked under an assumed name. Alec Baldwin used the fitness center, regularly.

It goes on. And on. John Travolta likes a deep tissue when staying at the Acapulco property, Regis and Joy booked a couples massage at the Southampton Princess in Bermuda.

Question: If you've got such a scary great clientele, why would you go blabbing to the press? Seems to us, the fastest way to lose what little street cred you have is to start running your mouth.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts [website]

Posted by David on 06:43 AM | Comments (0)

November 07, 2006

LIVEBLOG/ITALY: Where the crab pasta at?

Venice, you will quickly discover, is not wheelchair-accessible.

We are here to eat our way through three notorious Italian food cities, but first we must lug.

Just out of the Santa Lucia train station, we must carry our bags up the stairs of the bridge across the Grand Canal, threading past vendors selling counterfeit Gucci handbags, and then down a flight of stairs.

And then up more stairs. And then down more stairs.

The shops lining the cobblestone street opposite the station are full of Murano glass tchotchkes and Carnivale masks.

Though we've heard friends go shoegasmic over shopping in Italy, if you're not in the market for Murano glass or Carnivale masks, you probably don't want to come to Venice.

After we check into our hotel, we're quite content to just wander.

Most of the streets look like dead ends: alleyways so narrow that if you spread your arms, your fingertips would touch the walls on both sides of you.

Many of the streets actually turn out to be dead ends, or to end in water. In Venice, it's easy to feel like the placebo-group mice in the maze experiment and that whoever invented NYC's street grid is a genius.

We have a few tricks we use when determining where to eat in a new city. We look for restaurants that are busy, particularly ones that have large groups and/or families eating together. We look for handwritten menus that indicate the restaurant is serving fresh or seasonal items. And of course, we look for places that we've never seen in a guidebook.

The Campo San Margherita in Dorsoduro is promisingly local and extremely bumping. Babies ride little scooters through the open square; old women gossip with the vegetable vendor; mothers with strollers chat; college students flirt outside the wine bar; and a long-haired young man broods silently on a bench as several people walk by with boxes of pizza.

We pick Antico Capon out of the several dining options and are rewarded with crab pasta that's full of briny ocean flavor. Each spaghetti strand is imbued with a taste that we can only compare to the oyster-liquor left over in a shell after you've sucked out a raw oyster.

The restaurant has an indoor dining room, but the three long rows of outdoor tables, warmed by heat lamps placed every 6 feet or so, are so much more inviting. There must be seating for about 150 people out here. When we sit down at Capon around 7 p.m., there are only a handful of tables full, but by the time we get our drinks, it seems the whole campo has joined us for dinner.

After dinner, it's off to try gelato, even though we've been informed that in Italy, ice cream is less of a dessert and more of a snack. At one euro for a generous scoop (we pick hazelnut), it's a bargain, simultaneously lighter and tastier than American ice cream. For another 2.2 euros, we could have gotten four more scoops, but still full of crab pasta, we decide to pass.

– Erin Franzman and Andy Wang

Posted by David on 06:34 AM | Comments (0)

UPDATE: It's Tuesday. There's news.

Bill Gates and some Saudi prince dude are hoping to take Toronto-based Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts private. Founder Issy Sharp wins big cash prizes and stays in control, with 65% of voting rights. [National Post]

Gatorland burns. Orlando suddenly remembers its there. Park vows to re-open, right quick. [Sentinel]

The ChiTrib writes an almost nasty piece about how JetBlue is for sure going to go down in flames at O'Hare when it starts flying there this January. Their evidence? American and United are matching their sale fare of $59 OW to New York and Long Beach. Says JetBlue honcho David Neeleman: "We get matched everywhere." Chicago is an amazing city, but sometimes I am reminded of why I don't live there any more. (Ooh! We're Midwesterners! You can't change anything! Help! We're cold and frightened!) By the way, what is the Tribune doing carrying water for American and United? [ChiTrib]

Bulgari has finally opened its second hotel (first is in Milan). This one's a resort in Bali. Why you'd choose this, at $1,330 a night, over many other more affordable luxury hotels there is beyond comprehension, but the place sure is purty.

Posted by David on 05:44 AM | Comments (0)

November 06, 2006

THIS WEEK: Mangia. Bene?

Grab a fork and knife: Starting tomorrow, we'll be eating our way through Emilia-Romagna (and also Venice).

Is Bologna really one of the best places to eat in all of Italy? Can one get a proper meal in Venice at all?

All questions answered, plus lots of complaining about public transport, no doubt....tune in tomorrow.

Also: If you missed it, last week's liveblog from Istanbul started here. Apologies for any incoherence. We are new at this.

Posted by David on 06:29 AM | Comments (0)

LISTS: Diamonds are a hotel's best friend

The American Automobile Association (AAA) has announced their 2007 Five Diamond Hotels.

This year's list has been freshened up, to say the least - they're learning slowly that Las Vegas really does know luxury, and that all-inclusives should not be punished simply because they are all-inclusive (there are 2 Mexico resorts added to the list this year.)

What we really want to know is, who got bumped?

1) Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, Calif.
They make a mean Bloody Mary at the pool bar, but this place is so very, very tired. Not sure why the Dorchester Group refuses to take things in hand.

2) Mandarin Oriental, Miami
Apparently, the AAA people got wise: this place isn't that special. (Incidentally, the Four Seasons, around the corner, got added to the list. That's got to hurt.)

3) The Kahala, Honolulu
An ownership change and an unclear future (could it once again become the Kahala Hilton?) meant curtains for this former Mandarin property's 5 Diamond status.

4) Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans
Katrina closed this property down for over a year - it will re-open before Christmas.

5) Omni, Houston
What was this doing on the list in the first place? (Then again, the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey enjoys long-running 5 Diamond status, for no particular reason. At least it looks out at an ocean. The Omni looks out at Houston.)

6) Ritz-Carlton, Cancun
Now re-opened after a major refreshing, expect it back on the list, following the battering from Wilma last year.

New adds, after the jump.

Here, the 2007 freshman class:

1) Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, Ojai, Calif
This long-running resort has reinvented itself to the tune of $90 million. Clearly, it's paying off.

2) Four Seasons, Miami
One of the best business hotels on the planet. Quiet. Fantastic service, killer in-room dining, comfortable. A huge relief after the chaos of South Beach.

3) Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation, Georgia
A sleeper - loved by weekenders from all over the east. Took AAA a little while to find the place, though. (It is in the middle of nowhere, east of the Atlanta airport.)

4) Wynn, Las Vegas
Everyone was so eager to hate it. But in the end, it wasn't about whether or not it was better or more fantastic than anything on the Strip....it was about the environment they created, which is pretty damn cool.

5) SKYLOFTS at MGM Grand, Las Vegas
The ONLY place to stay in the mini-city that is MGM. Amazing spaces. Great soundproofing, fantastic furnishings. A must for the high-roller.

6) Falling Rock at Nemacolin, Pennyslvania
Finally, they've built something we'd check in to. This vaguely chic property on the golf course at this absolutely gigantic resort destination southeast of Pittsburgh is worth a look. ANECDOTE ALERT: I lived across the road for a while back when I was a kid, and would swipe newspapers from the lobby of the main hotel all the time.

7) Sanctuary, Kiawah Island, SC
The best oceanfront resort on the East Coast, bar none (well, north of the Florida state line, anyway). A must for New Yorkers, whether or not you care to golf.

8) Four Seasons Resort, Jackson Hole, WY
This newish property at the base of the lifts is one of the group's best on the continent. As far as we're concerned, nowhere better to stay in Jackson in this price bracket. (Not even Amangani, which is overpriced for what it is.)

9) Occidental Royal Hideway, Playa del Carmen
One of the top all-inclusives in Mexico gets its due.

10) Grand Velas All Suites & Spa Resort, Nuevo Vallarta
If you're going to Puerto Vallarta (and why would you, when you've got the Riviera Maya closer), this is your best bet, all-inclu.-wise.

AAA 2007 Diamond Awards [website]

Posted by David on 05:15 AM | Comments (0)

SUNDAY SECTIONS: Nov. 5

Simon Winchester visits the Ajanta Caves in India. You'll need some strong coffee. [NYT]

Good idea, crap execution (it happens to the best of us): a how-to of spas, plus, a visit to the country's top address (Miraval) to see how good it actually is. Should all be fun reading, but the writer is just awful. [LAT]

SKI CANADA! (Okay, okay! Why are you yelling?) [ChiTrib]

The Packing Issue. We know people who should read this (Yeah, you, with your 12 suitcases! What is this - 1885?) [WaPo]

Posted by David on 05:05 AM | Comments (0)

November 05, 2006

LIVEBLOG/ISTANBUL: Why is it snowing?

It snowed here over the weekend. Snow. In Istanbul. Barely November. Around the bazaars, it was a topic of some discussion. Apparently, this snow business is unusual, particularly when we're barely out of October.

After a fascinating day in the Grand Bazaar - more about that later - I met with my friends for dinner at Hamdi. Hamdi et Lokantasi is the proper name of the restaurant, but everyone just calls it Hamdi.

Hamdi is an institution, kind of like, say, Tavern on the Green. Special events. Big parties. Bring your visiting friends. It is pretty, for sure, perched over the Galata Bridge, which crosses the Golden Horn, connecting Beyoglu (downtown) and Eminonu (the bazaars/old town). Tonight it is a particularly nice place to be: warm, while it is cold outside.

We weren't going to go to Hamdi. It's about as obvious as you can get, restaurant-wise. But one in our party had been before, on one of those big blow-out evenings with lots of new Turkish friends. So we went. The hotel was able to get a table upstairs on the terrace (enclosed, obviously). This terrace business, this is the "get." This is where you want to be. Huge views.

Our table wasn't ready, but we were invited to sit at another, larger, empty table, right by the window, while we waited. The place is a zoo. It's mostly Turks.

Drinks. Someone orders raki. Raki is the national drink of Turkey. In the Grand Bazaar, I saw a t-shirt that read:

"Raki is the answer. I forgot the question."

Basically, this stuff will mess you up. Get you high. It's a lot like ouzo, which the Greeks drink, next door. Anise-flavored.

The Turks call it "Lion's Milk." It's powerful stuff. Comes clear, in a cylindrical glass, but drop ice or add water in, and it goes all milky.

So there was the raki. There was also a bottle of wine. And that is when things started to go horribly wrong.

Up until that point, everyone had been perfectly polite. But once it became apparent that a certain person at our table (not me, I swear to you) was drinking wine and raki at the same time, the staff got downright surly.

Our promised window table suddenly was no longer available. We were moved deeper in, on one of those long rows of tables that can be shoved together/taken apart depending on how many are seated. Boy, did we screw up.

The service was awful. I'd say something like, "Can we have some white beans?"

"Only kebap!" Which is nonsense. Everyone around us was eating whatever they wanted.

Luckily, a little earlier on, they'd brought by the big tray of meze, so we could just point, and get what we want.

Soon, one of the waitrons comes over to sneer at us a little more.

Unable to understand what he was muttering, I ignore him, and try to order more food. Suddenly, he's ignoring us, instead preferring to examine a matchbook we'd brought from Indochine, back home. (He later stole the matches. It would be really too bad if he were to accidentally set his own pants on fire.)

Every time another glass of raki was ordered, every time they came over to pour another glass of wine, I could feel our stock tumbling further.

Finally, the couple next to us, homely guy/pretty girl on a date, could hold back no more, and we received a 5 minute lecture as to our bad behavior. The girl was trying to shut her date up. He wasn't listening. I don't think he was very smart.

Nobody bothered me. I was just drinking beer - Efes, which is what always comes out when you ask for a beer. The food was great - lots of typical stuff - kebabs, salads, yogurt, the like. We would have tried more, but frankly, we didn't want to start an international incident, so we ate up and bolted. At least it was cheap - about $70, including beer and a bottle of wine.

Plus, of course, the raki.

Actually tried the stuff myself later in the evening, in a bar off of Istiklal Street. Wasn't half bad. I did not have wine on the side.

Posted by David on 11:51 AM | Comments (0)

November 04, 2006

LIVEBLOG/ISTANBUL: Crossing over

Yesterday we finally left the new side of town, and delved in to the old. What a strange transition.

Crossing the Galata Bridge is like crossing in to another city - everything feels old, the streets seem narrower, the buildings of another era...I know that's not necessarily always the case, but it seems as if time stopped here at some time in 1950, while the "downtown" keeps changing.

My hotel is in Sultanahmet. I didn't know much about the area, except that it's where the Aya Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace are. What a strange little neighborhood. Completely cut off from the rest of the city, behind the museum campus-like cluster of historical buildings, spilling off of a hill into the Marmara Sea, this Ye Olde Istanbul-esque type environment is totally throwing me for a loop.

Off to the Grand Bazaar now...I don't do carpet so much, but should be good for a laugh.

Posted by David on 02:34 AM | Comments (0)

November 03, 2006

LIVEBLOG/ISTANBUL: I love the nightlife

"I was playing this music in my restaurant in Washington, D.C. twenty years ago," said my new friend Sahir.

It was midnight in Istanbul, and the thousands (well, seemingly) of clubbers bumping and grinding to a remix of Laid Back's "White Horse" was a sight quite difficult to appreciate under still-slightly jet-lagged conditions.

"If you want to be rich, you've got to be a bitch," goes the song.

Everyone was singing along.

What an evening. Dinner was at Tuus, the hot-hot-spot du jour which Sahir owns. I got dragged along by my friends (you know, the ones I spent all yesterday trying to connect with). They know Sahir.

Sahir's quite the dude. He knows a lot of people.

"Ruth Bader Ginsburg sat right up there," he said, motioning out towards the terrace. I'd just wrapped up a dinner of grilled local squid (not too local I hope, judging from the ship traffic on the Bosphorus), with a chard and garbanzo bean stew, in a lemon/tahini sauce. Really, really good.

"Over there, see, she's a famous screenwriter." A beautiful woman had just sat down with her companion.

We were introduced to the former U.S. ambassador also. Basically, Tuus is the place to be at the moment.

At the end of dinner, I was exhausted. It had been quite the day.

"So. Shall we go to the parties now?" Sahir was ready for a night on the town. You don't say no in Turkey. You just do as you're told. So we did, cabbing it down towards the heart of the action downtown, where on a street running north from the Marmara Pera hotel, a sort of hip clubland has developed.

We forced our way in to Wanna (see, now, you can get away with a cheesy name like that in Tokyo, where it's expected, but in Istanbul? Supposedly hip/fabulous Istanbul?), groping and getting groped by accident, towards the back.

Everyone was here tonight. I do not know what the party was in aid of, and if Sahir had told me, I don't think I would have been able to understand, the music was that loud.

But we found a place near the back, and again, we started seeing people.

"This guy, he is a big modern artist. He was just in court on obscenity charges. He put his sperm in a painting."

Well, at least it was put to good use.

"She is a famous actress," says Sahir, pointing out a gorgeous/tall girl, with dark, curly hair. Men are fawning over her.

"Beautiful girls, no?"

Beer arrives. Everyone loosens up. Things get fun. Everyone around us seems to be drinking from huge bottles of liquor. Nothing really happens. It's a lot like any other club, in any European city. The pretty, the not-so-pretty, the once-pretty, the badly-dressed and the dressed-to-the nines...no one seems sure why they're there, except for the fact that it is the place to be. They spend much of the night checking out other people, and congratulating those they know for being here.

After fighting our way out of the club (an experience which in some cultures would probably be classified as indecent), we end up back at the hotel bar, for $20 beers.

Nearby, an older gentleman is sweet talking what appears to be a Russian hooker. She doesn't seem at all interested. If I were a good journalist, I might have stayed around to watch their clumsy interaction, but unfortunately, I was about to fall over dead. I hope their evening was most enjoyable.

Posted by David on 10:28 AM | Comments (1)

November 02, 2006

LIVEBLOG/ISTANBUL: Missed connections

Today I rode the Metro about 6 times. I think it was 6. It may have been 7. I can't really say. Going the same place repeatedly over a short space in time, it all sort of runs together after a while.

You might find this uninteresting. However, let me remind you that the Metro in Istanbul is not that long. There is light rail and tram and suburban rail, but actual underground, actual subway, there is one little stub, with 5 or 6 stations.

It all started long before i got to Taksim Square, the line's southern terminus. My hotel, bless it, has a phone system so frustratingly futuristic I might just have to throw it in to the Bosphorus. (Maybe it will float across the hemispheres to Miami, where I threw my computer in to the Atlantic two weeks ago. Perhaps they might like to have a party together. A party for angry-making electronic appliances.)

Anyway, if the phone had been working, I would have been able to connect with my friends from New York, whom I was supposed to spend the day with today. Unfortunately, things went awry, and damn quick.

Our meeting in the lobby at 10 never happened. I waited awhile, then ran down to Starbucks. (Don't get huffy, if the Good Lord didn't want us to go to Starbucks, they wouldn't be in every city in the world besides, say, Tashkent.) I came right back, to find a note under my door.

"Sorry we missed you! Let's meet up at 3 in Taksim Square!"

Okay, cool.

It's a short walk down to the Besiktas ferries, about 5 minutes from the hotel. Major transportation hub. Ferry boats come in from the Asian side, buses take everyone everywhere. Major action down there. Huge fruit and veg market. Loads of cheap shopping and restaurants.

From there, I walked up the hill in to Nisantasi, which is like Turkey's Rodeo Drive. Really smart, and hugely lively. Which is more than I can say for Rodeo Drive, where nobody walks except for tourists with big maps.

Beymen, sort of like the Bergdorfs-Barneys of Turkey, has a beautiful store up here, there's all sorts of fancy London/other international brands, and a fantastic hotel, called (unfortunately) The Sofa. A definite recommendation, in this city where far too many of the more famous hotels tend to be at the end of a long driveway off of a superhighway-like thoroughfare, just far enough away from the actual street life to be useful.

Anyway, seeing as I have no money right now, shopping wasn't in the cards, so I headed down to Taksim, to catch the metro somewhere else.

Somewhere else was the Kanyon, Istanbul (nay, Turkey's!) hottest new shopping/lifestyle destination. Jo Malone! Harvey Nichols! Multi-million dollar apartments! High-end offices. You know the drill. So that was that.

Again, I don't have any money, so I kept going, besides, I had to get back to Taksim to hook up with my friends. We were supposed to get picked up by a guide and driver, who was taking us up to the suburbs to see more shopping. (There's a reason for all this shopping business, by the way - I am working on a shopping story for the print section, November 28).

So, I'm waiting with the guide, a woman who is, shall we say, a little bit short on the politeness, and she thrusts out the phone to me.

"Your friend."

It's now 330pm. They're calling to say they'll meet us up at the Kanyon Mall. Where I just was. They will do so some time "after 4."

Apparently, they've been waylaid by some new Turkish friends (this happens), who want to show them around the city. And apparently, they are having trouble convincing their friends that they need to pick me up at Taksim before the fun progresses any further.

Okay, so that's that, I think. I politely tell the guide and driver, no need for car, or guide, Kanyon is 10 minutes by subway, and probably close to an hour at this point by car, what with traffic. I tell them, why not pick us up from the mall at 5?

I go up. I sit in front of the Starbucks, on Level B2 of the Kanyon Mall, for an hour.

For an hour and a half.

For two hours.

You have got to be kidding me.

Then, my friends...I spot them. They're heading the wrong direction. I chase after...they disappear in to staff quarters. Apparently, their new BFF's have connections at the Kanyon Mall. Of course, I can't exactly follow them behind secure lines - they have metal detectors to get in, I'm sure the staff won't take kindly for me bolting through doors clearly marked NOT FOR YOU. Anyway, so I can't follow.

Then the guide shows up.

"Where your friends?"

She doesn't actually position this so much as a question, but as a statement. It sounds more like:

"Your friends have deserted you."

I'm starting to think that she's right, the old girl. I wait. The guide goes to the bookstore. I wait some more.

About 20 minutes later, my friends reappear. They walk away from the Starbucks, lost in conversation with their people. I chase after. They don't see me.

I flip them off (we're friendly, I can do that) and motion that I'm going outside to wait for them, whenever they're ready.

Ten minutes pass. It's now nearly 6pm. I walk back inside. They're gone. You have got to be kidding me. I wander around. By now, security is on to me - I have spent about 4 hours total in this mall today, mostly just wandering around. I'm getting looks.

I don't know if I was relieved or even more annoyed to see the guide, still shuffling about, sending text messages.

She seems thrilled to let me know that my guys have left.

"We thought you were gone," she said, referring to when I'd run out to the pavement for a smoke.

Is the driver still handy, at least?

She seems double-pleased to inform me that no, he is not. She has let him go, since my people had a ride home, and everyone has assumed that I have left.

I have not left. I'm still at the bloody Kanyon Mall. Without a ride back to my hotel, which is like 8 miles away. Luckily, I got here once, I can retrace my steps, no problem. You know, for the 4th time today.

The story of why and how this all happened is a long and uninteresting one. I won't bore you further.

However, know this: If you plan to spend time with your friends here in Istanbul, make sure they don't get waylaid by other, new, local friends. You might never get them back. Sounds like they had fun though. And as far as I can tell, they didn't end up at any carpet dealers, and at no time were they offered any apple tea.

To see where I spent most of today, check out the Kanyon Mall website. I know I found my visits unforgettable.

Posted by David on 10:41 AM | Comments (0)

November 01, 2006

LIVEBLOG/ISTANBUL: One of your finest visas, please

Greetings from beside the Bosphorus, in not-sunny-at-all Istanbul. (They now have a Harvey Nichols, and apparently, they imported the London weather as well).

What a country, Turkey. Am sipping Domaine Ott (purchased at the duty free for less than $30!) in my overpriced luxury hotel room at the Kempinski whilst competing calls to prayer crackle from too-small amplification systems all up and down the waterfront. (Istanbul! It's a study in contrasts!)

I don't believe I've ever been to a country that cared less about who I was, or what I was about to do in their country. The Canadians are tougher at the border than the Turks. Here, they slap a visa on top of some old stamps in your passport without even looking at the picture. The nice ladies at the visa office sent me over to the passport control line (no messy forms to fill out). Passport control didn't look at my photo either, just the visa. With that, I was off to customs, where, as is so common in Europe, you can choose to declare or not declare whatever it is you are bringing in to the country. I think it would be easier to get in to Turkey than to get through the toll booth at the Lincoln Tunnel.

And, here we are...must to run, am off to eat Turkish food for dinner. Although, here, I believe, they just call it food.

Posted by David on 11:44 AM | Comments (0)