Dem nuh ready!

 I have now added frontier airlines to my list of undesirable Airlines that I will never use again.

Number 1 6, (American), number 2 Air Europa, (Spanish) and now Frontier (American).

The first leg of my flight to Colorado for Christmas was, FLL to Cleveland and it was a small airplane with tiny seats that  could not be adjusted, back straight up. Luckily I had paid $20 extra to get a seat in the emergency exit row, so luckily it had leg room.

But can you believe we couldn't even get a cup of water unless we bought it! 

That flight was over 2 hours long.

Denver airport has a kind of magical look to it.

Loved the sunset coming into Denver.

The connection in Cleveland was smooth and this time it was on to a large Airbus for the next flight which was scheduled to take more than 3 hours.

The seats on the aircraft were bigger and softer but like on the smaller plane, they were non-adjustable.  

I again paid extra for better leg room at an exit row.

On a three hour flight, not even a drink of coffee or a soda unless you bought it. I requested water and got a cup and expected to be asked to pay and nearly died from shock when told there was no cost!😁. 

The flight was smooth however. That is after we had to de-ice after taxiing in Cleveland, for it snowed as we waited for permission to take off.

Because of de-icing we reached Denver about an hour late. (Not complaining.) But would you believe that when my daughter who was picking me up, checked Frontier's web page, it showed the plane had landed early although it was a whole hour late because of the the de-icing!!!!

Then there was the baggage madness!

We patiently waited and waited at carousel 7 where the board showed the 3 or 4 frontier flights that came in, would be unloaded.

Then a lady touched me saying she recognized me from her flight and she had gotten her luggage at carousel 8!

We headed there and that's where my bag came out.

That capped it for me. No more Frontier.

No sah, Dem nuh ready.

Istanbul-Europe

Modesty dressed and ready for Islamic Turkey.

Istanbul has a population of almost 21 million people and the 3rd or 4th largest Airport in the world.

Some pics in airport.

Interestingly,  sections of this exotic city falls into two separate Continents, Europe and Asia.

The European section is larger, with around two thirds of the population living in  that huge, bustling city.

Huge crowds in the Grand Bazaar.

The European side also attracts the vast majority of visitors, so traffic jams are the order of the day.

Incidentally, we paid around twenty Euros more from the airport to the city, than when we were returning. The explanation for this anomaly was that airport taxis use toll roads while regular ones don't. 

I don't believe tolls make such a big difference though!😡

To tell the truth, I can't see why so few people travel to the Asian side, as while there may not be as much to see over there, I find it calmer and the food is just as good.

On the ferry, heading to the Asian side.

 The bridge joining both sides is visible behind me.

And talking about food, the Turks treat their stray dogs and cats as well as the Greek do, so you don't see any mangey, skinny animals in either country, as all are friendly and well fed.

This cat had dinner with me.

 There is no difference with how people are treated on either side of Istanbul (whether Europe or Asia) for all are Turks, regardless of where they were born or live.

(I have a separate blog on the Asian side at :https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2024/04/istanbul-asia.html?m=1.)

 Below are pictorial memories of the European side.

They seem to be very patriotic, as huge flags are on buildings all over the city.

We melted in with the crowd😁

Whoever is delivering the 'message ' in the mosque each day, stands atop the stairs 

Mosques galore all over the city. Loud recordings from the tower remind Muslims of their prayer times. 

 It's 5 times per day.

Everything under the sun is available at the Grand Bazaar.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised that things are not as restrictive in Istanbul as the western media implies about Muslim countries.

Women pray behind this partition

In Istanbul women are active in every profession from the army, police, taxi drivers immigration, everywhere, and they don't have to be modestly dressed or covered from head to toe, unless they wish to or are attending prayers. 

So I saw lots of women roaming around skimpily dressed. No problem at all.

The Sultan who built the famous Blue Mosque and his family are buried in this special area next door.

Hot, freshly roasted corn is very popular there.

A favorite of mine😊.

The guys selling ice cream cones made it into an hilarious ritual🤣

Everyone entered the Grand Bazaar here. I guess giris is Greek for entry . We thought it was girls and wondered why men were entering through that side.😁

Check this blog for further info.

https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2024/04/proud-of-turkish-women.html?m=1

Lusaka

 We left Livingstone today on Airlink and were in Lusaka just over an hour later. My only regret is we never got last look at the amazing Victoria Falls from the air as we did coming in. But we could see the mist in the distance.

Wendy is the greatest.

She hasn’t changed a bit, looks like the same beautiful young lady I knew when she and my daughter Michele became close friends at UWI.

She picked us up at airport, then surprise of surprises, transported to a brand new apartment. 

This apartment is in a newly built complex called Agora Village. It’s composed of shops on the ground floor, office space upstairs and apartment blocks as well.

I was surprised as I had thought for months that we would be staying with her! 

As she is working from home, she wanted us to have our space, she said. 

A creative way to build a bench. Just a slab held up by stones packed in a wire cage!

And our apartment was  stacked with food and even wine!

I tried to protest that she had gone to too much expense but was put in my place by “ Just sharing the blessing. God don't hold back. I am blessed. So I am sharing”. Now how do I argue with that?😊

Next, we went to her home, picked up her son at school and went back home.

She has a lovely home close to her children’s school.

We spent the afternoon catching up on old times then had the most delicious lunch.

While the curry smelled and tasted like the types we are accustomed to, it had a red color. 

It came from South Africa I was told. My lesson for today😊

Her backyard and the bigger dog

Lusaka definitely reminds me of Kingston in so many ways, except: crime is minimal if not totally non existent, People drive a lot more sanely than we do but many roads have no sidewalks and there are no mountains in sight. (Wendy says the only mountains (hills really) are at the border with the D.R).

It must be at least 100 time larger than Kingston though as from the air it appears to spread out forever!

And I find the people here extremely polite, friendly and helpful. 

Reminds me of how Jamaicans were in the olden days.

Looking forward to a wonderful stay ‘at home’ in Lusaka 😊