The Roving Eye

Last weekend, the boy, our roommate and I roamed out to Taksim, a district that is often referred to as the heart of modern Istanbul. We were strolling along İstiklal Avenue (the equivalent of Chicago's Magnificent Mile or London's Oxford street) when we came across an art exhibition named The Roving Eye, a collection of pieces by contemporary artists across Southeast Asia.

It all began with the donut-like ping pong table, which immediately caught our eye through the glass as we were walking by...

Curiosities thoroughly piqued, we wandered in, unsure of what we were getting ourselves into.

One of these is not like the other.

Some pieces like this one seemed whimsical at first but on closer inspection, carried heavy political undertones.

It became obvious very quickly that this was no ordinary museum. Many of the exhibits encouraged or even required their audience to interact with the art.

Listening to traditional Southeast Asian music.

Making some music of our own.

???

Hats in the styles of various monarchs, all made of scrap metal.

Playing dress up.

One particularly interesting piece was set up in such a way that the viewer is invited into a small area with ordinary furnishings and a mirror on the wall. You walk in, survey the things around you, wonder what's so special about this area, and take a quick glance into the mirror on your way out - only to see nobody there, or worse, a different person entirely! Because there is no mirror after all, just two identical, very cleverly set up spaces. Really alarming stuff.

Another really memorable exhibit was one in which high-def cameras mounted on the ceiling were pointed at records on a table. The view from the camera was then projected on the wall so as a participant, you could see your hands as you disc jockey'ed. In the picture below you can see on the left what both projections looked like (before I stuck my mug into the right one):

I managed to convince the boy to join me for what I think turned out to be an interesting photo. The pose was tricky and required performing a bridge-like move, arching our our backs back so that our faces could fit into the small frame of the lens.

At one point a museum docent approached us and I was sure he was going to give us a stern talking to for laying our heads down on the records... but he was so amused that he actually helped the boy bend back further. He also requested to see the photos afterwards, to which we happily obliged.

We spent almost two hours in the museum before wandering back out. It was getting dark already, so we weaved downhill through stores and restaurants until we reached the Galata Tower.

Along the way, we picked up a funny little souvenir.

Best 5 turkish lira I've ever spent.

We concluded our evening with a meal back in our part of town, Mecidiyeköy. I went for a traditional kebab dinner with a healthy serving of kuru fasulye, a Turkish bean stew that is addictingly good. A delicious end to a fun day out.

Reminiscing about Rhodes

Rhodes will always be special to me because it's where the boy proposed. But despite being the highlight of our trip, getting engaged wasn't all that we did during our week there. Here are some photos and memories from our vacation.

We booked our trip via Thomson, a UK-based travel operator. We chose a couples-only package that included flights and seven nights of half-board at the Atlantica Imperial Resort in Kolymbia, a small town on the east coast of Rhodes. This was our first time using Thomson and we weren't sure what to expect. Looking back, I loved how perfectly easy it was - all I had to do was choose my dates, flight times, and review the hotel options. 

This was also our first beach vacation together, one where we would stay in the same place for all seven nights instead of the city-hopping, sock-losing, two-night-maximum, suitcase-barely-unpacked-before-throwing-everything-back-in-again-and-dashing-off maelstrom that is our usual routine. I actually had some reservations about going to a beach and plopping my ass down into one place for this long. It seemed so... normal. So not mobile. So...not...me?

I was a fool. It was all amazing. Within just minutes of arriving, I could feel my stress and worries and control-freaked-ness wash away with the gentle lapping of the ocean waves.

Our resort was roughly halfway between Rhodes' two main cities. Our first excursion out was to the aptly-named town of Rhodes.

I use Yelp and TripAdvisor religiously when traveling, so I was stoked to visit the most well-reviewed place in town for lunch - a small restaurant named Tamam. I was met with impeccable service, fresh fare, and such a kind group of people who ensured my dining experience was utterly enjoyable. It may have been one of the best meals I've ever had in my life.

Having achieved culinary satisfaction to an extent previously unbeknownst to man, we spent the remainder of our day strolling around the rest of the city and the old part of town.

Then there was one day we went kayaking and exploring the grounds of the resort. I vividly remember feeling so amazed by how clear the water was and how well we could see the bottom even as we paddled far out beyond the bay.

I won't deny that we didn't spend an awful lot of time just lounging by the pool, Kindle in one hand and cocktail in the other. In the photo below you can see me holding the paddles we used to volley a rubber ball around in the water - sort of like tennis/ping pong for the lazy. Really simple good fun. We nicknamed the activity 'bum-paddle' and got mildly addicted to it over the course of the week.

Yet another lazy was spent relaxing on Tsambika beach, which all the locals insisted was the most beautiful of all the beaches on the islands. A perfect place to eat a gyro, down a beer, and get the biggest surprise of my life.

And last but certainly not least, there was Lindos, with her breathtaking views from atop the Acropolis.

As I hope the pictures show, Rhodes was just forehead-smackingly beautiful. I can't think about the trip or look at the pictures without grinning, salivating, and sighing hopelessly - usually all at the same time. It really was the vacation of a lifetime, one that will be hard to top. 

The Green Shack

Usually when I procrastinate too much a certain amount of time passes between when something happens and when I get around to blogging about it, I throw my hands up in the air and say "Crap, it happened too long ago and it's too stale to write about now."

But some things are too good not to share. Some things transcend time and space. Some things find a place in your heart and nestle in comfortably, never to leave. The Green Shack is all of these things.

When I say the Green Shack, I am actually referring to the Oban Seafood Hut. But the Green Shack is how it was first described to me and in my opinion, is a much more apt name for the best seafood establishment I've ever been to in my life.

Here's the backstory. The first time I visited Oban, it was with my family when we were en route to the Isle of Mull. We had heard of Oban being famed for its seafood so we stopped for lunch. At the recommendation of a local, we made the long, uphill trudge to a restaurant called Seafood Temple. Luckily for us, they were closed for lunch. "Try the green shack on the pier. You can't miss it," one of their employees told us. "Just don't expect to sit down with a tablecloth and everything."

Ten minutes later we found ourselves standing in line, drool pooling more rapidly than we could manage as we took in the smells and sights of fresh seafood all around us. A lifetime later, we made away with the goods: hot mussels cooked in white wine and butter, a grand assortment of various seafood, and a couple of salmon sandwiches to tuck it all in.









My family is from Maryland where lobster, blue crab, and other delicious creatures from the oceans make regular appearances on our dinner table. But we unanimously agreed that this was the freshest, most delicious seafood we had all had to date.

The boy and I went back to the Isle of Mull a few weeks later to go whale watching. We made sure to book a hotel in Oban one of the nights. This time we added oysters and scallops to the lineup.









I love how simple it all is.  It begins when local fishermen bring in their catch and unload right at the dock, often with their faithful sea dogs in tow.



The seafood is cooked simply to highlight its freshness and natural flavor. The prices are kept low; there are no middlemen. There is one large bench and another stand to eat. If you're lucky, you may find a seat. Many others stand or stoop near the shack, too engrossed in their meal to worry about such trivialities like a proper seat. You immerse yourself in heaven for a while, and afterwards, you clean up, wash your hands, and you wish you had four more stomachs to relive the experience.



It's been many moons since we've had a meal there, but the Green Shack comes up in conversation at least once a week between the boy and me. We reminisce about the flavors, torture ourselves with the pictures, and plan elaborate layovers in Scotland that give us just enough time for one more spin...

If you're a lover of seafood who is planning to visit the bonnie lands of Scotland, don't miss the Green Shack. It's truly one of the most unforgettable culinary experiences I've ever had in my life. Simple, scrumptious seafood at its very finest.