Travels

I was sitting next to a guy reading the January 2003 issue of American Window Cleaner magazine, formerly published out of Point Richmond, CA. (Now published out of Bedford, N.Y.). Who knew? During my 17 hour stint in Paris I managed to buy three of the four Marjane Satrapi Persepolis comics in French from a bookstore in the Parisian suburb of Issy, where my aunt lives, for a total of 45 euros. (Shipping to the US would cost me 15+…

Turkey is awesome. Especially awesome to see it with a couple of Columbia buddies of mine who have set up shop as journos in Istanbul — one at the Turkish Daily News and one at the Associated Press. Quick recap before I hit the sack (I leave Paris in about 12 hours for DC and then onto Oakland). Turkey is a European country trapped in a Middle Eastern country’s body — or at least it wants to be. Most obvious…

So I made it. Rebekah and I found Engin, (my aunt’s colleague’s best friend), who is an Istanbul native. He graciously picked us up from the airport, took us to his house a few miles from the airport and brought us to his family’s apartment. They served us a wonderful meal of kofte, rice, salad, french fries, Turkish cola, and something resembling Persian doogh. At the end of the meal, following five rounds of tea, two tangerines and a pear…

I’m in dc. slept the whole way over. podcasts will have to be done when I get back but I did bring recording gear. will post in paris.

The Wanderlust Geek is going to Istanbul ! That’s right, folks, you heard it here first. For a week, give or take, toward the end of October, Rebekah and I will head to Istanbul, where we’ll meet up with my buddy from Columbia, Tom Grove. With any luck, I can swing a stopover in Paris to see my family there. 🙂

One of my best friends, Dallas Bluth is enjoying his summer in Lyon, France, where he lived from Fall 1996 until 1999. Through family friends, he recently met a woman named Fanny, who is to be married to a Crown Prince of Kuwait. The new couple will be moving to Dubai in a few months, where Fanny is to open a small chain of lingerie stores. Dallas fell into this, and is becoming Fanny’s new English tutor and will likely…

I write this from the Soho Tea and Coffee, famous for its late hours, being near Dupont Circle, and free WiFi, natch. I’m staring out at P St. where the water is running down the street and flowing into 22nd St., and the thunder is pounding, and when it does loud enough, the six people in here with laptops kick up their heads and start paying attention to what’s happening around them. I’m here this weekend for a family wedding…

Greetings from Cincy, where I’m helping my buddy Dallas pack up his apt in preparation for his move to France. I’ve never been to Jesusland before, save a car trip from LA to Atlanta when I was eight years old with my grandparents. I’ve spotted one W ’04 sticker, but not much else. I arrived yesterday morning for the first of my three day sojourn. Dallas picked me up at the Cincinnati airport (which is actually in Northern Kentucky). We…

Flight to London got delayed. Update 6:50 [Pacific Time]: now delayed further, until 11:15 pm. Shouldn’t affect Tallinn arrival time, though. I have four hours in London and three in Stockholm. I’m now routed through Stockholm, arriving in Tallinn at 9:35 pm Tallinn time on Wednesday. (That’s 11:35 am Pacific Time, for those of you keeping score at home.)

Eesti: Tere! Minu nimi on Cyrus. Ma olen Ameerikast. Ma olen ajakirjanik Estonian: Hello! My name is Cyrus. I am American. I am a journalist. Favorite Estonian word thus far: ülikool (university) Favorite Estonian sentence thus far: Millised on Eesti koige tugevamad majandusharud? (What are the strongest sectors of the economy in Estonia?) T-minus 22 hours, 30 min.