wendywitch

Lincoln Park Zoo is the oldest free zoo in the United States, and it shows. I’ve been to the zoo a few times, and I cannot recommend it to visitors. It’s depressing; the animals are kept in enclosures that are far too small. If you must visit a zoo, go to Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, IL. They have 200 acres, and the animals have much more space, in a far more modern facility.

I attended Drake University, living in Des Moines for 4 years. It’s a lovely, friendly city, with all sorts of things to do. The capital building is beautiful and the art museum is great. A lot of people think Iowa has nothing to offer but corn and cows and it’s simply not true! It’s a great state, and the capital city is a wonderful place to visit.

If you go, be sure to get one of the enormous cinnamon rolls from the Drake Diner, near the university campus! A walk through the campus grounds after a big breakfast is a perfect way to spend a fall day.

Kervansaray Restaurant and Night Club is located in the Taksim district of Istanbul. They have a Turkish Night with folk and belly dancers. The show comes with a meal, which was good but not fabulous. The real treat was seeing the dancers.

We found the folk dancers to be marvelous, and got pulled up onstage with the Anatolian dancers. The male troupe of Caucasus dancers were incredible. There were four belly dancers, the star was Asena, currently Istanbul’s most famous dancer. We found them to be rather indifferent. One of the girls was chewing gum (I swear it!), and most had a rather bored attitude. Asena was quite good, but she posed more than she danced. It was a little disappointing, but hey! We can say we saw Turkish belly dancers in Instanbul!

The cost (in Sept. ‘05) was about 35 Euros, about 45 US dollars. For a meal, wine, and a show, it was more than reasonably priced.