As noted yesterday our tour went off as planned. On way to Edirne Cem came along as guide and provide commentary. Traveling over rolling plains. A few hills would be work on a bike. Two lane road (Turkish say one lane) with no center line and a good driver at reasonable speed, say 50 mph max. Gypsies - the people around here who travel in horse carts - traders, good musicians, special area to live near Erdine, don't travel widely. Much investment in Bulgaria is by Russian mafia businessmen.
Itinerary in Edirne - First to historic train stn. Now not active but being renovated as part of Thrake Univ (1982) (Thrace) - was part of Greek territory in nice neighborhood - traded part of Turkey for it. Kara-agec area (sp?). Bridge over Meric (merinch) River with seat for Sultan to see sunset. We had our photo taken sitting on it. Brief stop at ruins of synagogue - no longer Jewish community here - was 25000, few in Kirk now. Were 2 communities - sepharats from Spain, other from Europe. Old wooden houses near centre are different and some with intricate woodwork. Drive by Macedonian castle was covered by firemen's tower, then uncovered. Selimaye Camii mosque. 8 large (15 ft) cols supporting great dome. Mostly red carpet. How do you describe a large mosque - see the photos later. 15th century. White marble from island in Maramare used in hammam (baths) and mosques. Gold leaf used in decorations on ceiling. Palace ruins destroyed by Turks when Bulgarians attacked - this is beside wrestling arena. (1561 - Suleyman). Remains of palace kitchen (mosque in background). Trakya university Sultan Bayezid II Health Museum began operation in 1488. This museum was another mosque and restored as the hospital museum. Music was used to treat the mentally ill in this museum since the 16th century. Gardens and building are very attractive.
After lunch quick walk through big bazaar and back up old shopping street. Stops at ice cream store for some (not me - still full of lunch) and candy store - almonds and chocolate. Met back at minaret steps of Eski Camii - oldest mosque - 1414, but did not visit inside. On to highest point overlook at 1918 Balkan War Museum. Cem (correct spelling of guy I've been calling Jim) helped work on this museum during his service commitment. On to home now at 3:30 - half hour later than our commitment. Not to be pessimistic, but from here weather does not look promising and bush camp awaits us tomorrow we've heard.
Back at hotel started organizing. Had local food today so went for quick pizza tonight. Need my rest though got to stretch out on back seat of bus and take a nap on return.
That's it for today. Have to pack. Pray for three days of good weather for us.
We have arrived in Turkey. Our final country on the first-ever Orient Express Bicycle Tour from Paris to Istanbul. We are all a little tired a little anxious but every night now we come to camp we huge grins on our faces. We know it is only a matter of days to the completion of our adventure.
Last night was our final night in Bulgaria. The town of Malko Turnovo was the perfect little village to end our time in Bulgaria-a small quiet place with friendly people modest houses heated by wood donkeys cows and chickens running all around. And in every front garden grew a wonderful variety of fruit and vegatable.
We stayed at the only hospital in town as no other accomadations were available. Which was an appropriate setting for some of the group who were still feeling the effects of a illness that has hit a number of us.
The town is in no way a tourist town. This was a real Bulgarian country village with real people leading productive and seemingly happy simple lives. Along the Black Sea we had our share of tourisy spots so Malko Turnovo became the perfect finishing touch to our time in Bulgaria.
Istanbul is the place to get the best of anything in Turkey. People are moving to Istanbul for jobs and leaving rural areas. Kurds are working for Kurds whereas other Turks consider themselves Turks first then recognize where they came from. Turks are a mixed culture with no native peoples. There is an obstacle to Euro Union for Turkey that seems to be an obstacle all over.
Today it started to rain just as we got up at 6:30. We had a steep hill climb out of camp for 6 or 7K to the border. The border crossing was easy enough and we didn't have to wait long. We had to pay for visas for the first time, but the advantage was for the Americans here not Canadians - $20 vs 45 euros for Canadians.
The problem then was that the rain came down much heavier and we were all loathing to leave the nice warm building for the cold wet foggy outdoors. It was at high elevation however, so there was the possibility of better weather down below. So finally we bundled up and hit the road for a too fast cold downhill. Soon we could pedal with force however, and we began to warm up.
The rain slowed and then stopped as we pulled out of the trees and, fantastically, the sun came out. Before long jackets came off and we were enjoying some great downhills and rollers with a tailwind. And in only 50K for the day we were in Kirklareli.
We met the lunch van at the hotel where Jenny still provided veggie subs and fruit for lunch. Craig had our rooms set up, bags out waiting, and gave us keys as we came in. What a great crew we have!! The hotel is a nice two star in center of town - Hotel Grand Sampiyon Hersekli. Apparently Mr. Hersekli the owner, was a grand champion greco roman wrestler around 1952 to 1954.
I went out to walk around with Sheila, Walter, Lincoln and Chuck. Found a delicious round bread with roasted sesame seeds on it, also some fantastic baklava, and, of course, ice cream cones.
Then we met our tour guides. Thanks to a chance meting with Neyar(sp?), his brother, and his friend Cem this may turn into one of the best off days yet. They introduced themselves as British but are from here originally. They heard us speaking English and asked where we were from and it went on from there.
Walter and Lincoln asked if there was a Turkish bath so that's where we went first after going through a small bazaar on the way. They got us in to see the building but it was being renovated. So then we went to the mosque next door - officially connected to the bath. Both are several centuries old. Next door was a store selling traditional halvah candy and we got free samples of several varieties. On back through a pedestrian area past the official mayor's residence and the local army compound and back to a cafe for some Turkish tea - good with sugar.
Lincoln played backgammon with Neyar. It's hard to believe but I think these guys are just nice guys with time on their hands while visiting back home. Really great.
After the tour above we went back to the hotel where Neyar met with Shanny, Henry and the police and helped organize a police escort for us into Istanbul - an invaluable service for us.
Then Cem took us to the bus station to help set up a trip to Edirne tomorrow. In the end he negotiated a personal tour just for us for 300 Turkish lira for as many of our group as want to go. If his dad(his current employer) let's him off he may come along. Jim speaks English very well and has been a hotel concierge 5 years in Istanbul and Dubai. He said he's back here now because he prefers to hear the birds, see the green, and have fresh air and be around friendly people. This town is only 50,000 and the guys seem to know a lot of people here.
We all can't believe our luck in meeting these guys. Tomorrow I'll let you know if it's real or a dream.
Jenny and (I think I heard Henry) fixed a great veggie chili stew, marinated pork, mediterranean salad, bread and wine for dinner. And our new friends joined us for dinner.
Others are internetting or partying tonight. I'm hitting the sack early for insurance. That is as long as the evening prayers, or whatever, broadcast from the mosque speakers don't last too long(8:45pm).
I feel strange this morning - not for health reasons but from seeing almost everyone else get on bikes to ride while I did not. After feeling really slow yesterday and feverish for first half of the night decided to take a rest or one of Brian's "mental health" days. Probably the clouds and strong winds had something to do with it too.
Brian's still dealing with the nerve injury plus he was up all night with the flu bug so he decided to head for Istanbul by train. He figured he wouldn't be riding anymore anyway. Joy decided to go along too - her bike isn't working well since the accident and her injury still bothers her.
So today after breakfast Kerry and I jumped in the van with Craig. We get to do the route in luxury today. We made it through Burgas with only one turn error. Fortunately as we retraced we didn't pass any cyclists until we were back on the correct route.
When we made the error Craig pulled over a guy to ask. That sent us back to where we belonged. Though we couldn't understand his words we got the gestures. Momentarily had a little confusion when we forgot the sideways head shake means "yes" and up/down shake means "no".
We finally got out of Burgas heading south into the interior on highway 98. This is still a good highway although not as smooth and well maintained as E87. Lots of hills again. Once back in the van I don't notice the difficulty of the ups and downs.
We're in what is called the Strandzha - a region of plateaus, hills and valleys covered by virgin forests. Really beautiful area and am wishing I had biked it. Oh well.
We got to Malko Turnovo and made our way through the town to the road (E87 again) to the Turkish border. We found the motel half way to border and it is a wreck. It looks like it was nice at one time but not now. We read in the Rough Guide to Bulgaria to check with the national park headquarters off the town square for lodging. So with the help of a local woman we found that place easily.
Here we were really lucky. The woman in the park office speaks English well. Sheand another woman there arranged for us to get rooms tonight in the hospital. No camping available.
So commenced another interesting vignette of this trip. The office lady pointed the way but we still needed another person to help us find the hospital. Once we found the hospital we eventually found a person who knew why we were there. Then three women tried to figure out the arrangements until a nurse who spoke English arrived and helped organize things. There seemed to be some concern on their part about room sharing even though all rooms have two twin beds. They were also
concerned about which people were couples. Eventually it all got sorted out and Craig got keys for all the rooms. I think Casey and Kerry have the best place - they have a bedroom, sitting room and private bath. Haven't figured out yet what ward we're on - probably psycho in line with the theme of this tour.
After setting us up we went to the hospital cafe to try for some lunch. We got some tea, then the director, Miroslav, came in and helped find some food. So we all had chicken soup and bread and a Cappy and Craig had a chicken cutlet.
This is a working hospital but not the busy place you see at home. No nurses stations. Of course the patients are on other floors. We are occupying most of the 5th floor. The director said there are only 10 - 15 patients at this time with a maximum capacity of 45.
Went down to the small town square with Daniel and walked around. This seems to be a nice peaceful little town. There are many wood sheathed
houses here - look like old untreated barnwood - as well as the stucco we have been seeing. Most houses have tile roofs. Back in my room finally reading Istanbul I can hear few cars, but many birds, also roosters, dogs, donkeys.
The only problem I have with this place is the sagging bed springs. That was easily remedied by dismantling the frame and putting the mattress on the floor. Now I am back in Japan on a futon.
I'll get this off early tonight as I don't expect many more thrilling events to occur today. Never know for sure though. Tomorrow we cross into Turkey heading into to a hotel rest day.
Take care as you start a new week.
It's Sunday which means its the start of another Tour week - in this case week 8, the last week of the tour. Wow! Shanny gave us a little pep talk this morning - make the most of these last few days, enjoy the company of the great people we've met, congratulations because we're the first (Tour) to ride from Paris to Istanbul. I certainly agree with all that - these are all really great people in the group and some I hope to retain as lifelong friends. I'll miss
the Tour but also am ready to go back.
Sheila says there was a big bonfire last night. They had 2/3 smores – no graham crackers. Must have been sticky business. But the weather was nice and a full moon over the Sea was beautiful. Unfortunately I missed - not enough sleep yesterday and a slight touch of some bug.
Today started out foggy and cool - two layers for me. The bug, water or effects of fresh food bothered me a little bit, but I am lucky so far. Jim is down a second time, Craig was down yesterday, Kerry got it again - nasty stuff- fortunately it usually lasts only 24 to 36 hours.
Today was a hilly day starting with the ride out of the Camp Mosquito Haven. Down near the beach where the cabins were the mosquitoes weren't too bad, but back in the woods by the entrance the swarmed all over.
We had rolling hiils up to the lunch van and they weren't too bad. Just a lot ups followed by downs. We followed Route 9/E87 again. Some traffic and lots of tour buses but few big trucks - probably because it was Sunday. I rode by myself most of the way to lunch. Chuck charged ahead and Daniel left earlier and I couldn't catch him. Sean and Shanny passed me about 2/3 to lunch. After lunch we had a little downhill, then the BIG hill. We passed "25K" painted on the road as we started to go uphill. Eventually as we pased 20K, 15K, 10K, 5K, 1K, 300, 200, 100 I realized they must have had a race on that hill recently. Before that we figured there would be a development or casino there. That was a tough hill for me today - no legs. I finally caught up with Daniel at the hilltop and Shanny came up at the same time. At the top was a little drink stand, so we rested there awhile. Fortunately that was the last uphill for the day. We had a good fast downhill for 10K or so then flat into Pomorie. I drafted behind Sean and Shanny there - luckily they weren't going too fast – probably because Sean had turned around and did 10K back up the hill. He really liked the downhill on which he got up to 72K.
Tonight our campsite is at a small motel just above the Black Sea about 100 yards away. A few people are camping but most of us are staying in the motel cabins. These are nice compared to others we have had. The cost is 32 lev per unit. Since Chuck and I are cheap we got the twins at 8 apiece(4 euros) and Brian got the full size room to himself. He's still suffering an injured nerve in his leg and needs to stretch out. We're trying to convert the Tour to the Constant Comfort Tour (no more camping).
Went out to check out the moon rise but too early or too cloudy. Sean looked at my bike re clicking noise from crank area. Changed my cleats but neither of us is sure that was the problem.
Time for bed. Good Sunday.
Phil
Here's our new itinerary from Pomorie:
Malko Tarnovo
Kirklareli
Day off
Saray
Tayakadin
Istanbul
Stayed awake last night until after 10 to email. Then up this morning at 6 to try to catch a sunset over the Black Sea. It was foggy to the east, but eventually the sun broke through at 7. Meanwhile I enjoyed a nice walk on the beach by myself and part of the time with Sheila and Sean. Walter with his ever-present videocam was also crazy enough to be up then on a rest day.
Since there is no restaurant or food vendor nearby as in the hotel cities, Sean and Shanny put out the usual breakfast goodies. Did a little more housework today - cleaned my muddy bike and squeaky chain.
Chuck is down to the mindset that there are only 6 more riding days and if its made it this far he expects no more problems.
Brian had ordered 2 cabs. On to a day in Varna (BapHa in the letters on signs). Varna is a large resort city and therefore has a lot of shopping in its very nice city center. There is an opera house and theatre on the main square along with numerous restaurants and cafes. Although Varna dates back almost 5000 years the current city architecture seems to be very recent - 18th to 19th century,
the earliest. The big Cathedral of the Assumption at the west end of the center was built in 1886. Varna is also a large seaport. The Archeology Museum is supposed to be impressive particularly with a collection of ancient gold jewelry (world's oldest gold they said on their billboard coming into town). I imagine Sandy made her way over their. I'm amazed at how she manages to maximize the cultural and shopping aspects of this tour while spending as much bike/van time
as anyone else.
I actually kind of like the site where we are lodging, but we have been spoiled by our previous hotels that have often been located very close to city centers. I spent 4 hours in the city then cabbed back. Finished the laundry, bike cleanup and most packing. (Note for future: don't dry socks on bare bulbs - they roast rather quickly if not attended to).
I went back to the beach after 5PM and found Kerry and Casey, David, Jennie, Walter(asleep), Vic, Tim, Lincoln over there. Since others said the water was nice, I jumped right in and found they were right. Some good little waves, a bit of an undertow and probably about 80 deg F makes for much more fun than a little swimming pool.
I think there may be a beach bonfire being planned for tonight and I heard rumors of "smores" too. I may just stay home and start reading up on Istanbul finally and get to bed early. With all that running around the old bod needs some rest.
Have a great weekend.
This paragraph is being written at 7:10PM as I'm standing on the beach of theBlack Sea for the first time. Cooool!!
Joy was digging in the sand and almost lost her plate to the waves.
The extra loud music from the restaurant next door was turned down by 10 but continued until late. Sleeping in the little cabin was OK and we awoke to a partlycloudy sky.
The bug decided to pick on Jenny today so Shanny and Sean have been doing a good job of substitute meal prep. Usual breakfast this AM, sausage and cheese sandwiches and veggie soup with pasta at lunch and chicken with veg. curry and rice for supper. Way to go guys.
Had a good riding day today for the most part. I rode the whole route with Daniel. We were 2 of the few that took the E70/2 older road the 60K to the lunch stop. Instructions said follow the signs to Varna and that took folks to the freeway. It had a very wide shoulder and light traffic so was safe.
The E70 was pretty nice riding although longer and hillier. Scenery today was part forest and part farmland with very little residential. Got a good photo of a couple ladies in a newly painted donkey wagon. We also saw several storks out in a field. No photo unfortunately.
Weather became cloudier and warmer as the day progressed. After lunch we switched to the freeway and had a good ride to Varna. Getting through Varna was sort of difficult. There was construction on
the highway leading up to the bridge over the big river there with only two lanes. Riding with big trucks beside me on a narrow road is not fun. Once over the bridge there was a long hill to climb. Finding the campsite/"hotel" site was a little difficult. Since Chuck and Brian
went into Varna to internet, Daniel were the first to the campsite.
This is not exactly the three star hotels we have become used to. It is called a resort but is not much better than the summer camp we used to attend as kids. We have an A-frame cabin with 2 bedrooms/4 beds upstairs, living/dining area down and kitchenette and 3/4 bath. Not that we are going to be doing any cooking. This place is mostly shut down as the season is almost over. There is no breakfast buffet, of course. The only food source is the little store and
restaurant/bar down at the end of the road.
Paid Chuck for hanging out my wet tent with the bread, chocolate and one of my chicken fillets. The next two hours were laundry time. Man, I'm glad to have that done. Joy is off the injured reserve list and did most of the ride by herself today.
Daniel didn't complain too much today and he makes good time in spite of that anyway. He's also good at finding the way and a good conversationalist most of the time.
Tomorrow hopefully sunrise over the Black Sea, bike cleanup, then head for Varna which word has it is an interesting town.
Henry started off the day by hiking up to the viewpoint of the horse and rider at the Schoumen campsite. It was only 400 m and 0.2 hours - I thought it said 2 hours.
After 9, so bedtime if I want to see sunrise. Have a great day
Phil
Lincoln continues to live on the edge. Last night he set up his tent on the edge of the platform of our covered washing area. However he himself was way inside so there was no chance of his going over the edge. He made it thru the night just fine and probably drier than the rest of us. It rained nonstop all night then let up a few minutes during the pack-up routine. By the time we were heading out on the road at 8:20 it was raining again. We stopped briefly at the camp reception on the way out and Daniel noticed there was a snail sitting on my helmet. I need a bike pet but maybe not a live one so we let it stay.
Road with Daniel this morning. Sheila still getting over her flu road with Jenny to lunch stop and then biked from there. We got soaked right off of course. The temp was not too bad but wet inside and out from sweating inside rain jackets.
Lots of midwest type scenery again - farming country. We did go thru some forested areas and crossed over a river in a valley way down below with forests all around. Not many photos today due to the weather. I took a deep breath last night and formatted, i.e., erased, my second card. Backups on cd and Brian's laptop should be safe.
Chuck and Brian who left later eventually caught us in the only town we passed through. About half an hour later we came up to them loading their bikes on Craig's van. The rain and fog were worse and they decided to quit riding for safety and comfort.
We also decided to put bikes on the truck but their was no room for us so we tried to hitchhike to lunch. That didn't work so Craig picked us up we got a good lunch at the Jenny van. Craig took off to the campsite with C and B and the bikes so we could either wait a couple hours there or find alternate transport. Fortunately a bus came along right away and for 5 leva for two we were on our way on a nice clean slow slightly decrepit old bus to Schoumen
The bus got us to center of Schoumen to the main bus depot where there were many cabs awaiting our command. We (actually Daniel) asked for the campground and we almost flew up there. We arrived just as Craig's van with Joy, Chuck and Brian made it.
We all came up to camp (actually near Schoumen at Madara) and luckily had no rain for an hour while we unloaded stuff, hung up tents and tarps to "dry" and secured possession of the little 2 and 3 bedroom cabins available. (They were available last night too, but only Sandy and David had enough foresight to use them. There is even a hot shower here too, which I got to use sharing with a clean (I hope) floor toilet and the drain from the washing machine. So we have luxury camping tonight. Luxury is how you define it.
After the shower it rained harder than I've seen it rain since the last Arizona monsoon I saw. I'm glad I wasn't out in that. The decision to abandon the bikes turned out OK. We probably would have made it to camp a little later if we had ridden it but maybe before the hard rain.
This appears to be a really scenic area which I may go take a look at if the rain ever stops. There is a big rocky cliff face behind the campsite. On the cliff is sculpted a horse and rider. But you have to do a hike to see it and we were not really in the mood for that today. So I took a picture of the picture. The description of the sculpture indicates some art up there originated in the 8th century.
We're again in a forest at this campsite but indoors is better. Some mosquitoes but fewer, perhaps because nights can get cooler here in the hills. Still some camp pets around as we've had since starting Romania. Tonight we have a couple dogs including a cute little puppy and some chickens.
The owners "restautant" just below our cabins has a stereo with heavy bass blasting away at 9:30 now.
Time for bed anyway. May not be a fun night. Oh well, tomorrow is hotel night.
Enough for this day hope yours is a good one.
Sitting in my tent in the rain typing this thing at 8PM. One of those interesting days. I finally figured out what to with that stupid duvet last night. My full size bed is actually a sofa bed with raised pillows on the head end. The night before last I tried to sleep reversed and angled across the bed and that didn't work well. So last night I took out the pillows, unsheathed the duvet and stuffed the duvet in the pillow hole. That gave me a flat bed and I slept well. Too well, in fact, however we had the alarm set for 7:30 since the campers were scheduled to arrive at 9. We awoke at 7:15 to see it pouring rain outside. Just like at Bratislava.
We packed and had breakfast. We were Joyful at breakfast again as Joy showed up. She stayed at a hotel nearby and didn't worry about herself like we did. We hung around the lobby waiting for the escorted campers to get to the hotel - late due to the rain. They arrived around 9:40, Shanny held a little riders meeting and we took off with our security patrol car guide in a rain that had slowed at least though didn't qualify as a drizzle yet. Shanny and Daniel had to push the guy's car to get it started!
Traffic was crazy of course, but we kept the group together in double file through the city. The main hazards were tram tracks that we need to hit at right angles. Hit them sideways and your tire slides along them and you're down in a second. Daniel's bike went down but he managed to stay upright. We also had a big puddle to negotiate and of course some guy passed from behind just as Chuck got to it. So his legs got a Romanian mud bath.
Soon after leaving Bucharest the rain quit for much of the ride. We had a tail wind and did the first 30K after leaving the city in about an hour. Lunch at noon then off for Bulgaria. I rode with Chuck, Walter and Sheila. Sheila caught the bug that's touring our group and wasn't feeling well but rode out the day just fine.
When we got to the border town we missed the turn of the road so did an extra 8K in town. The border people at the end of the road there also weren't happy when Chuck went barelling through. A little yelling brought him back and finally a senior official pointed out where we needed to go.
We saw the Danube for the last time today as we crossed it on the bridge into Bulgaria. The border is in the center of the river. The official crossing went easily.
We were "home" about 3:30 just after Craig got there. We set up and then it started to rain again. Now I wish I had rented one of the little cabins here for 10Leva (another currency)
Went into town by cab with Daniel, Brian and Casey - that ride was 5 leva -pretty cheap. Walked around the town a bit - appears to be another tourist town with some fancy older buildings down in their pedestrian shopping area.
The golden arches still look the same. Lots of ice cream stands. Brian thought maybe this is a drop off point for Danube cruises.
Dinner was good and there was a rain shelter nearby. Too bad it didn't shelter from mosquitoes.
Rain seems to have increased so not much to do but get to bed I guess. May be start reading my Istanbul book.
Sitting at a cafe in Chitila on the outskirts of Bucharest waiting for the private security outfit that is to "escort" us to the campground - or something.
We had breakfast out front at our food van. Some people left early this morning so we could all get to the rendezvous point by noon. Monday morning and more traffic today and a lot of people on the streets. We quickly figured out this is the first day of school this year. Kids walking to school and a lot already milling around the school already. Same all over the world I guess. Passed a horse cart with a lone teenager riding/driving moving pretty fast. They're just like we were in cars - without Mom and Dad along they like to go fast.
About halfway to Bucharest we hit a detour sign that Daniel just passed on through. Nearby a carnival was being set up or taken down. Along the road and set back several rows was a large food and flea market. It started out with several booths of onions of different varieties, moved on to other veggies and then to just about anything. Daniel suggested Chuck could have found his special spokes there.
So the detour was just around the market and former festival. We soon had two lane highway newly paved except for bridged and made good time doing the 55K in 2 hours riding time.
The escorted ride went well from noon to 1. The single escort car did a good job of keeping a steady slow speed so all could stay together. Would have driven Chuck nuts. The car blocked traffic at intersections until all were thru and Jen followed the group with her lights flashing.
The campground is nice - all facilities in good shape - showers with heads, sit down toilets, TP, fenced and guarded. Only negatives I noticed were another barking dog, shady so there are mosquitos. Also most of the trees are enormous oaks 50 feet + high and they were constantly pelting the place with acorns about twice the size of the ones I've seen.
Brian from Montreal heads home and Tim and Rhonda return to finish out the tour.
Chuck and I went out with Sheila and Sandy to find dinner. After a minimal review of guidebooks we decided to find the Count Dracula Club. Walking with a map is the best way for me to orient myself to a new city plus I get a feel for it being right in there with the people who live there. Anyway we never did find Dracula's cafe even after asking several people. Instead we ended up by accident at this place as described in the Lonely Planet guide under budget hotels: Hanul lui Manuc - an infamous hotel in one of Bucharest's oldest buildings. Originall a 19th century merchant's inn (caravanserai), it has an equally colourful guest list from its past including prostitutes, criminals and rogues. The food was pretty good too. They work 7 days a week now because after early fall the place closes with few tourists in town. Took a cab back because it was already 9:40.
Note: you meet strange people everywhere. Ran into Sean, Walter, Lincoln and Casey looking for another restaurant almost to ours. While we ate Brian, Henry and Daniel came in briefly - small town.
Have a good week.
