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July 2, 2014
Hot Air Ballooning in Cappadocia: Turkey Trip Part 1
Yes, that’s us hot air ballooning in Cappadocia! The morning after we arrived in Turkey, we woke our boys up at 4:00 a.m. and said “let’s go on an adventure!” Amazingly, we had kept the ballooning a secret until the very last minute when we arrived at the ballooning area. They were sure we were going on an early morning hike (which is so not us!). It’s amazing how quiet it is in the balloon, except when they add more fire! Even though Jane doesn’t like heights, she felt completely fine being inside the basket and the kids did great…they even have little peepholes for kids to look out. The pilots take their jobs very seriously, although it was a little freaky seeing some of the balloons go into the canyon so close together that they “kiss” as the pilot calls it! After the hour-long ride, you share your rush with the other passengers over champagne which is a great time to meet other tourists from all over the world! We had no idea how popular hot air ballooning in Cappadocia is but people come to this part of Turkey from all over to do it!
Go visit Turkey! It’s relatively easy to get to (direct flights from JFK and Logan to Istanbul), pretty affordable, and the combination of warm, welcoming people, layers of history, and lots of natural beauty is hard to beat. Sebbie, Jude, Jane and I took a field trip to Turkey this past May, checking out sights from Cappadocia in the center to Kas on the Med coast, Ephesus on the Aegean sea (with a detour to Rhodes, Greece) and Istanbul…and loved it all! Logistically, we used a company that was recommended to us called Turista Travel who booked us with Urgup Balloons and also handled all the transportation logistics throughout the trip. We also booked our tours through them, but found most of our hotels ourselves through Trip Advisor.
America–with huge oceans both sides and peaceful neighbors–has such different history from a place like Turkey, which has seen conquerors storm in from east and west for thousands of years. Cappadocia has seen them all, lying on the Silk Road from China to Europe in the center of the country.
We flew from JFK to Istanbul then took another short flight to Kaseri (Caeserea in the Roman days). Talk about history…where to begin…from the underground city where locals have hid from invaders throughout the ages to the churches of early Christianity carved out of the soft rock. We started our adventure with a hot air balloon flight on day 2…when it’s still easy to rise at 4am! Great experience…here are a few pics…more to come…
January 28, 2014
2014 Sundance Film Festival – Our Movie Reviews
Jane and I just got back from the Sundance Film Festival out in Park City, Utah–had lots of fun watching the films and meeting so many nice folks along the way. That’s the bonus to Sundance…you find yourself meeting so many attendees on the bus and in line, talking about movies and life in general. We didn’t even ski…a real different vacation, kind of like camp for adults. Check Sundance out some year…we’ll post some tips we learned to help you out.
Right to the movies…below are photos from Hellion, starring Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, with a wonderful performance by newcomer Josh Wiggins. Set around Galveston TX, it’s the story of a family’s struggle with death, parenting and the acting-out of its 13 year old. Very Sundance in its emotional, dysfunctional themes.
Skeleton Twins: Bill Hader and Kristin Wiig star as twins alongside Luke Wilson and Ty Burrell in this drama with lots of funny riffing. An emotional story about coming to terms with both adulthood and one family’s mental illness and dysfunction. Hader especially shines here. This movie got picked up for a later summer release.
Lambert & Stamp: Who knew? The story of odd couple Kit Lambert (gay posh Oxford boy) and Chris Stamp (straight working class Joe) in 60s London who discover The Who (known as the High Numbers back then) and wheel and deal their band to stardom. Fantastic movie with all kinds of vintage footage, and honest “looking back on life” commentary by Stamp along with Pete Townsend and Roger Daltry. Nice retrospective on where rebellious rockers came from in post-war Britain. Seek this out, it’s not just for Who fans.
The Trip to Italy: Another Brit flick, this follows on 2010’s The Trip, which pairs comedian / actors Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon on an Italiano road trip, eating their way from the Piedmont to the Amalfi Coast. Lots of impersonations and humor along the way.
The Lunch Box: Set in Mumbai, this movie stars Irrfan Khan (from Life of Pi and many other Bollywood films) and premiered at Cannes last spring. It focuses on isolation and human connections in modern Indian urban life. Starting with a lunchbox mix-up (some 6,000 men work in Mumbai delivering metal lunchboxes from homes to offices), a real relationship develops for two lonely souls.
Life After Beth: A most welcome light-hearted Sundance movie, with lots of “names” in the cast, including John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, and Anna Kendrick who star alongside the leads, Aubry Plaza and Dane DeHaan who are terrific. File this in the zombie love story category, managing to add something funny and new to the ever popular zombie genre.
Lastly, check out this video made by Sundance about the 10 days of the Festival…great insights into what Sundance is all about!
July 17, 2013
reStore Personal Project Portraits: Shelley Dodd from SD Design
Shelley baby! Our good friend and design muse for our new IRIS Photography studio in West Hartford Center had her turn in front of Jane’s camera and natural light studio for her reStore project. Shelley’s a West Hartford-based interior designer with an amazing design sense–she had a strong vision for the store from the beginning and we love all the elements she chose to make it beautiful…thanks so much Shelley!! Shelley and her husband Matt and their three adorable kids live in West Hartford. For a design consultation you can reach Shelley at belle_dodd@comcast.net.
